“Thank you, your Ladyship,” Madeline responded gratefully. She did not want Lizzy pushed to talk about anything if she was not yet ready to do so. She would talk to Edward about the fact Lizzy appeared to have a potential suitor who she did not realise admired her, and that he thought she was betrothed to, or married to, another.
Lady Matlock inclined her head toward the three young ladies saying, “As I suspect we will be spending much more time together, please call me Elaine in private and Lady Elaine otherwise.”
“Thank you, Elaine, I am called Maddie,” Madeline accepted.
“Miss Gardiner, would you join us on Monday for a walk in Hyde Park?” Tiffany asked.
“Only if you call me Elizabeth or Lizzy,” Elizabeth accepted.
“In that case I am Tiffany,notTiff as my brother Richard calls me. The word sounds too much like a fight,” Tiffany responded.
“Please call me Georgiana or Giana,” Georgiana added. She did not know why she felt so comfortable with Lizzy so fast, but she had never before taken to a new acquaintance in this fashion. She would have much to write to William later.
“Lizzy, notwithstanding your experience when you were much younger, will you allow Giana and me to teach you how to ride?” Tiffany requested. “We will be able to cover so much more ground on horseback and it will give us two ways to exercise together.”
“In the past I have demurred, but I claim my courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me, so yes Tiffany, I will learn to ride,” Elizabeth averred.
By the time they departed for Gracechurch Street, the three girls had made plans for every day of the week and Lady Matlock had invited all of the Gardiners, including the younger children, to a family dinner the coming Friday evening. Lady Matlock had no compunction about allowing the girls to visit Gracechurch Street as well. The Gardiner ladies were introduced to Mrs. Annesley before they departed, as she would be present at most subsequent meetings.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Lizzy you look very thoughtful,” Madeline noted as the two rode home in the Gardiner carriage. “Does your introspection have anything to do with the new information you gleaned about a certain gentleman from Derbyshire?”
“How wrong I have been as far as he was concerned! I thought he looked at me to find fault and it seems they were looks of admiration. How could I misinterpret every interaction between us?” Elizabeth berated herself.
“Do not forget, you had Jane pouring poison into your ear about him. Speaking to Lady Matlock, who knows who you were, I found out why Jane was so determined to stoke your hate of Mr. Darcy,” Madeline shared. Seeing the worried look on Elizabeth’s countenance, she reassured her. “Lady Matlock will not reveal anything she knows, as it is your story to tell.”
Elizabeth visibly relaxed. “What was Jane’s motivation?” she asked.
“She saw Mr. Darcy admired you and she wanted him and his wealth for herself. The night before you and Jane departed Netherfield Park, she attempted to compromise Mr. Darcy,” Madeline revealed.
“That was the night she went to bed early and insisted I not disturb her when I came to bed. How devious she was! It seems she failed,” Elizabeth noted.
“Elaine, Lady Matlock, explained all to me…” Madeline told Elizabeth about Mr. Darcy’s father being compromised and how he had made his son vow never to give in to a compromise and to marry only for love.
Elizabeth had much more about which to think.
Chapter 16
After a week of spending time together, Elizabeth, Tiffany, and Georgiana became as thick as thieves. Elizabeth had not yet shared her past; she was having too much fun in the present.
It seemed she had not forgotten everything she learnt as a child about how to ride. It did not take many lessons before Elizabeth was riding well enough for the three to ride along Rotten Row. Unlike most in society, they rode for exercise and the enjoyment of one another’s company, not to see or be seen. They always finished their rides or walks well before the so-called fashionable hour.
Lord and Lady Matlock, after the first few days the young ladies spent together, insisted Elizabeth call them Uncle Reggie and Aunt Elaine. They were amazed at Elizabeth’s ability to draw Giana out. In five days, she had accomplished more than the rest of them combined had done since Ramsgate.
The first time Tiffany and Giana visited Gracechurch Street, Lady Elaine accompanied Mrs. Annesley and the girls. She had expected no less, as she found an elegant, well-appointed house on a street of similar townhouses. Many would say they were in Cheapside, erroneously; they were not?they were near?not in.
Andrew and Marie, the Viscount and Viscountess Hilldale, had attended the family dinner. By the end of the evening, Marie loved Lizzy as much as the rest of the Fitzwilliams and one Darcy present. Additionally, Lords Matlock and Hilldale had made an appointment with Gardiner to consult about investing with him.
The only member of the family Elizabeth had not met was the middle son, a colonel in the Royal Dragoons who had been on duty for the past fortnight. She had heard Tiffany refer to her older brother Richard but only recently had Elizabeth realised the brother she had not met was the man who featured heavily in Charlotte’s letters.
Once she realised Tiffany’s brother was the man to whom Charlotte seemed attracted, she asked her Aunt and Uncle if she could invite Charlotte for a visit. Knowing Maria would get along well with Tiffany and Giana, Elizabeth requested Maria be added to the invitation. The Gardiners happily acquiesced.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Darcy was torn. He had to decide whether to return to London and be with the family for Christmas or remain at Pemberley in solitude, continuing to mourn the loss of Miss Elizabeth Bennet—who was surely Mrs. Collins by now. He chose the latter; he knew he was not yet fit for company.
He was intrigued about his sister’s new friend, who seemed to be garnering universal praise, not only from Giana, but all of the Fitzwilliams who had met the young lady—a Miss Elizabeth Gardiner, from the same part of Hertfordshire as his Elizabeth before she moved to Hunsford.
