Instead, her mother had bartered Jane’s marital felicity for her own future comfort. As she changed, Jane realised how wrong her treatment of Lizzy had been. Jane finally acknowledged the correctitude of the words Lizzy hurled at the three of them before she departed Longbourn.
Jane burned with regret and shame at what she had done. She had written to that nasty piece of work, Miss Bingley, to crow about her part in having her sister banished from Longbourn.
She knew there was much to think upon. She changed, looked around her former room longingly one last time, took her valise and walked out, closing the door on this chapter of her life.
Bennet did not even walk outside to see the Collinses off. A much-subdued Fanny and her three remaining daughters stood and watched until the hired gig was no longer visible.
Fanny had purchased a secure future for herself, and she cared not about the price others had to pay for it.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Lady Matlock, this is my ward and now daughter, Elizabeth Gardiner,” Madeline performed the introductions after they had been shown into Matlock House’s drawing room on Saturday morning.
“Miss Gardiner, you are most welcome. This is Lady Tiffany Fitzwilliam, my baby,” Lady Matlock smiled as her daughter showed mock distaste at the appellation. “And this is my niece, Miss Georgiana Darcy.” The young ladies all curtsied to one another.
Lady Matlock called for tea as she and Madeline Gardiner sat in two armchairs close to one another; the three young ladies shared a settee. “Miss Gardiner, Mother tells me you are a great walker,” Tiffany, who was an outgoing girl, began the conversation.
“I do enjoy walking,” Elizabeth owned. There was no mocking in the younger girl’s tone as there was when Miss Bingley had said the same words. “There is only a small park near our house on Gracechurch Street. I have not had the type of ramble I was used to when I lived on an estate since I moved to London.”
“I am not sure if you are aware, but there is an entrance to Hyde Park from Grosvenor Square. I have enjoyed many long walks in the park, but not as many as I would like of late,” Tiffany informed Elizabeth. “Do you ride, Miss Gardiner?”
“As a little girl of seven, I started to learn, but through my own negligence, I was thrown off the horse and broke my arm. Since then, I have preferred my own two feet to transport me when not in a conveyance,” Elizabeth shared. She was watching Miss Darcy out of the corner of her eye and quickly identified another lie Wickham had told her. She did not have any improper pride about her; she was only extremely shy. “Miss Darcy, I hear you are a prodigious talent on the pianoforte.”
“I-I d-do p-play some,” Georgiana stammered.
“Do not listen to my cousin, Miss Gardiner, ‘play some indeed!’ Giana—that is what we all call her—plays extremely well,” Tiffany corrected. “How did you hear about Giana’s playing?”
“Miss Bingley,” Elizabeth offered simply.
“How I dislike that lady,” Georgiana said and then clapped her hand over her mouth as she burned with shame for having spoken the words aloud.
“Please do not make yourself uneasy, Miss Darcy, I could not agree with you more,” Elizabeth stated, attempting to put the shy girl at ease. “For my own part, I play very ill. It is my own fault, as I do not practice nearly as much as I should.”
“If you knew Miss Bingley then may I assume you lived in Hertfordshire?” Georgiana asked with a little more volume as she began to feel comfortable with Miss Gardiner.
“Correct,” Elizabeth responded, not wanting to explain more of her past as she did not know the young ladies very well yet.
“My brother William, Fitzwilliam Darcy, was Mr. Bingley’s guest. Did you know of him as well?” Georgiana enquired.
“Yes, I know who your brother is,” Elizabeth replied non-committedly.
“Mayhap you know a Miss Elizabeth Bennet,” Georgiana probed.
“Yes, I know of her,” Elizabeth responded circumspectly, still not willing to talk about her history yet. “Why do you ask?”
“My brother wrote about her in his letters to me from Hertfordshire. He described her as someone who, like you, enjoys walking,” Georgiana explained. “He told me how much he admired that she walked miles to come nurse a sister of hers who had taken ill at Netherfield Park. He also told me he had never heard playing and singing that pleased him more.” Georgiana gave a little giggle into her hand as she began to feel very comfortable with Miss Gardiner. “William has never mentioned another lady to me; he called her the most handsome lady of his acquaintance.”
Elizabeth was thunderstruck. How was it that the man who called hertolerableandnot handsome enough to tempt himhad spoken so about her in his letters to his sister? She could not account for it as being done in jest, as he would have no reason to make fun of her to one who had never met her. Did he admire her?
“The times I saw them in company together, I never noticed a preference on his part,” Elizabeth stated.
“In public my cousin, who has been hunted for his fortune and connections since he first came into society, is inscrutable. We call itthe mask. He hides his true feelings and from time to time when he is worried, uncomfortable, or both. He is prone to making thoughtless utterances that he regrets right after he says them. Giana here is not the only Darcy who is shy,” Tiffany clarified. “William is uncomfortable, just like Giana, with people he does not know, which adds to his stress in social situations. Added to that, his friend’s sister has set her cap at him and no amount of hints have made her realise he has no interest in her. The same woman, Miss Bingley, told my cousin Miss Elizabeth Bennet was to wed her cousin, the sycophant who is my Aunt Catherine’s parson, so he returned to Pemberley as the news affected him greatly.”
She knew it was not the time, but Elizabeth acknowledged that she needed to re-evaluate all of her interactions with Mr. Darcy through the prism of this new information. “Miss Darcy, will I hear you play sometime?” Elizabeth asked to redirect the conversation away from the confounding Mr. Darcy.
“If you agree to sit with me and turn the pages, I will play for you,” Georgiana replied quietly.
Lady Matlock leaned closer to Mrs. Gardiner. “Tiffany and Giana have no idea your ward and the Miss Bennet they are talking about are one and the same.” Seeing the look of consternation on the other lady’s face, Lady Matlock reassured her. “As you said, it is your daughter’s tale to tell. I will not say anything to either the girls or my nephew.”
