The rumours would not diminish. They would evolve.
Elizabeth felt a familiar tightening in her chest and resisted the urge to sigh.
She had agreed to a plan meant to bring clarity and closure. Instead, she found herself more unsettled than before, aware that whatever lay ahead would require more than careful appearances.
And that knowledge, she thought, was both troubling and unavoidable.
Chapter 9
Darcy did not like uncertainty, and yet he found himself uncomfortably aware that it had become a frequent companion of late.
He drummed absent-mindedly on the window frame as the carriage bore him through streets that grew steadily less familiar, away from the orderly symmetry of the fashionable quarters. Darcy had arranged the meeting with Mr Gardiner deliberately, choosing to meet at his warehouses instead of the house on Gracechurch Street. How to arrange the next step in their plan to combat the rumours might have presented considerable difficulties otherwise, for another visit to the family home would have been only too likely to stir up more talk. Passing information through Mr Gardiner seemed the wiser choice. He could not be suspected of wishing to see Elizabeth again when meeting her uncle at his place of business.
Even so, Darcy did not deceive himself. This was no ordinary call.
The meeting with Mr Gardiner filled him with more trepidation than he would have liked to admit. His expectations were not generous. He had encountered men of trade before,some admirable, others tiresome, and many inclined to mistake courtesy for opportunity. While Mrs Gardiner’s manners were refined and correct, the same would not necessarily be true of her husband. With that thought in mind, Darcy prepared himself for an unpleasant encounter. For a conversation marked by excessive familiarity, thinly veiled ambition, or a desire to extract some advantage from his position.
He thought grimly that it would not surprise him if Mr Gardiner sought to impress him with his success, or worse, to hint at an alliance that might serve his niece’s interests.
Darcy’s mouth tightened at the thought.
The carriage slowed and came to a halt before a row of substantial brick buildings. They were well-kept, solid and without ornament, their doors opening onto a street busy with carts and porters moving with practiced efficiency. There was nothing showy about the place, but neither was there any suggestion of disorder.
Darcy alighted and glanced up at the sign bearing Mr Gardiner’s name. It was as tidy as the rest of the place, a welcome indication of proper pride and a respect for good order.
Inside, he was greeted promptly and politely by a clerk who requested his name and offered him tea. Darcy declined with a nod and was shown into a waiting room that surprised him by its quiet comfort. The furnishings were plain but clean, the shelves lined with ledgers arranged with meticulous care. Maps adorned the walls, charting routes and ports with a precision that suggested both ambition and competence.
Darcy found himself examining them more closely than he had intended.
There was a logic to the operation that appealed to him, and Darcy found himself nodding in approval as he traced back Mr Gardiner’s plans from the notations on his maps. Nothing appeared excessive. Nothing appeared neglected. This was not the enterprise of a man scrambling for advancement, but of one who had already achieved it through steady application.
He had been waiting only a few moments when the clerk returned.
“Mr Gardiner will see you now, sir.”
Darcy rose and followed him into a spacious office where a large desk stood near the window. Mr Gardiner was on his feet at once, his expression open and composed.
“Mr Darcy,” he said, extending his hand. “You are very welcome. I apologise if I kept you waiting.”
“You did not,” Darcy replied promptly. “I arrived early.”
Mr Gardiner smiled faintly. “A most laudable habit. Please, sit down.”
They did so, and Darcy found himself momentarily at a loss for how to begin. He had rehearsed this meeting in his mind, yet now that he faced Mr Gardiner directly, he sensed that careful evasion would be both unnecessary and unwelcome.
Mr Gardiner, for his part, appeared content to let him speak first.
“I am obliged to you for agreeing to meet with me,” Darcy began. “I wished to discuss a matter that concerns your niece.”
Mr Gardiner inclined his head. “I thought as much.”
Darcy paused, struck by the absence of surprise in his tone.
“I will be plain,” Darcy continued. “There has been talk in London. Speculation that touches Miss Elizabeth’s name, and by extension, your family’s.”
Mr Gardiner’s expression grew serious, though not alarmed. “Yes. I have heard it.”
Darcy met his gaze steadily. “Then you will understand why I wished to address it directly, rather than allow it to circulate unchecked.”
