“My wife loves books as well, but she would also like to explore your shop,” Darcy stated.“William here, since he learnt to read, likes nothing more than to lose himself in a book.”
“You are all very welcome here.” Gardiner bowed to the inclined heads from the Darcys.“You are free to peruse anything in the emporium, but I have a feeling you are more interested in the books. Some are in that corner, but the first editions are in a room which is through that door.” He indicated the door he mentioned.
“Father, may I look around the rest of the shop as well?” William asked.
“Robert, you go look at the books; I will take William, and we will investigate together and see what treasures we find,” Lady Anne suggested.
“I will see you both soon,” Darcy agreed.“Lead on, Mr Gardiner.”
When Gardiner informed Mr Darcy that the books all came from Lords Warwick and Spencer, his anticipation grew. He was well aware that both Earls had to retrench thanks to their love of games of chance, many of which did not go their way. He had a very good idea that most of the first editions were ones he had wanted and lost out on to the two peers.
In the room where the first editions were carefully displayed, Darcy’s suspicions were confirmed. There were close to thirty valuable books, all ones he had wanted to own for some time. He looked at the prices listed with each book and saw they were all just below the market price.
Next he looked at the rest of the books displayed in the shop.“I will take all of them, the first editions and the books here as well,” Darcy stated.
“And I will have this bolt of fabric. William found a box of toy soldiers he would like to give to Richard,” Lady Anne added as she rejoined her husband.“You know how our nephew loves anything to do with the army, do you not, Robert?”
Darcy wrote out a bank draft for more than fifteen thousand pounds and left instructions to ship most of the books to Pemberley. A few were to be sent to Darcy House for the library there. As he, his wife, and son entered their town coach, Darcy calculated that had Mr Gardiner used the full price, he would have paid about two thousand pounds more. He would have willingly paid that, but he was greatly impressed that the man had not tried to gain every penny he could from the sale. Darcy had heard that Gardiner was very good at managing investments. Next time he was in London, he would look into investing, and he would recommend that his brother-in-law, Reginald Fitzwilliam, the Earl of Matlock, do so as well.
Gardiner gave Lambert a draft for one thousand pounds. When the other man protested, Gardiner explained that he had made an eighty per cent profit. In their need to gain ready funds as debt collectors were at their doors, both Lords had blindly sold all of their books without attention to what they had.
Once he understood this, Lambert accepted the commission gratefully.
There were two more dinners before the Lamberts departed London. As he had no hostess, Gardiner could not have them at his house, but he hoped to fill that vacancy in the not too distant future.
Chapter3
“You are certain you want me to hold this copy of your Last Will and Testament?” Phillips verified.
“I do,” Bennet confirmed.“I lost my trust in Gardiner after he went along with his daughters, but I am aware you never approved of their actions, which has led me to use your services. In fact, I heard that you would have turned your late wife out had she not been with child.”
“That is correct,” Phillips acknowledged.“I am pleased that your refusal to do business with my late father-in-law does not continue with me. As such, I am more than willing to perform any legal services you need.” He paused as he thought of something.“Bennet, you are a young man; why are you so concerned with your will now? You are not thirty yet.”
“Are you aware that my father passed away when he was quite young?” Bennet enquired.
“I had heard something about that. What of it?” Phillips queried.
“Unfortunately, I inherited whatever the malady was that took my father’s life…” Bennet shared the truth of his health with Phillips and that he did not expect to live much longer.“Given Fanny’s selfishness, I want to make sure that she has no power over my daughters or the child she is carrying now. With her going on and on about her nerves and the entail, if the babe she is carrying is a female, I know not what she will do once I am called home to God. With both you and Gardiner knowing what my wishes are, my children, at least it is my hope, will be as well protected as possible.”
“I am sorry to hear that you will not live much longer, but I will keep the copy of the will here and do what I am able to in order to assist Gardiner when the time comes,” Phillips promised.
“And I will write to Gardiner and inform him that he has my permission to pay for your legal services from my estate after I am gone.” Bennet stood and shook hands with his former brother-in-law.“It may be an impertinence, and feel free to tell me if it is, but it has been over a year since your wife passed away. Are you not considering marrying again?”
“In fact, I am. As you know, I have been doing a lot of work for Morris at Netherfield Park. He is the heir to a much larger estate in Devonshire, and he has had me work on plans for when the estate becomes his.”
Bennet had to fight to school his features. He had a feeling he knew who the lady was who had claimed Phillips’s interest. The only lady of marriageable age at Netherfield Park was Agatha! He checked himself because even though he had loved Agatha for many years, he had made the conscious decision never to further an understanding with her because of his knowledge regarding the length of his life. As such, he could not show any negative feelings if Agatha was in fact the one who Phillips decided to have as his wife.
It was well known that as long as his only daughter was happy and loved the man, Morris would not reject a suitor because of the way he earned his money. In all honesty, the law was one of the professions deemed suitable and acceptable for a gentleman to pursue. Bennet concentrated on Phillips’s wordsagain.
“I am free to tell you this because it is not a secret in the area. He intends to move to the other estate, and he is leaning towards leasing Netherfield Park out when he does. If he ever receives a good offer, he may consider selling it if, by that time, he is living in Devonshire. In the time I have been working closely with Morris, Agatha, Miss Morris, and I have become very close. If she is amenable to it, I will request a courtship very soon.” Phillips paused.“You know that she is Morris’s heir, do you not?”
“I am aware. Fortunately for him, Netherfield Park has no entail to heirs male, and it appears that the estate in Devonshire also does not.”
“You have the right of it. The fact she is his heir is not my motivation. After Hattie, which was a badmésalliancefor a similar reason to your marriage to Fanny is, I was looking for an intellectual equal, one who was interested in more substantial things than gossip and fashion. Agatha is all of that and more.”
There was nothing Phillips was saying about Agatha that Bennet did not already know. The reasons were the same as the ones which had pulled his own interest to her.‘If it were not for the damned malady that haunted my father, which I suffer from now, she is exactly the woman I would be married to today. I cannot condemn Phillips for his interest because it was my own choice to walk away and not attempt to court Agatha. If Phillips succeeds where I dared not walk, then I will give him, both of them, my hearty congratulations.’ With thoughts of what his illness had cost him in his head, Bennet took his leave of Phillips.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
