“True! Are you all on foot? May we take you somewhere? It is the least I can do.”
“Your ladyship is exceedingly kind and generous, we thank you. Our carriage is waiting close by. We have been strolling in the park because my niece here is very fond of walking. I and my other niece do not enjoy it so much, so we were hurrying to our carriage and missed seeing yours, which almost caused an accident.”
“Ah, I see. A young woman fond of walking. That is refreshing, indeed. I shall not detain you any longer. You must be tired after the exercise. May I have your name, if you do not mind?”
“Of course. I am Mrs Madeleine Gardiner. My father’s name was Mr Gilford Martin.”
All three bowed to the lady when a small voice sounded from inside the carriage.
“I know a Mr Peter Martin, who owns the inn in Lambton.”
“Peter Martin is my cousin,” Mrs Gardiner replied.
“I know Peter Martin too, quite well. This is another lovely coincidence,” Lady Matlock said. “Oh, this is my niece, Miss Georgiana Darcy.”
The young woman nodded her head in a silent greeting from the carriage, and Elizabeth felt Jane grasp her arm in a gesture of obvious distress.
“It is a true delight to make your acquaintance, Miss Darcy. Please allow me to tell you how much I admired your parents — along with everyone else in Lambton.”
“Thank you,” the girl replied in the same small voice.
“And these,” Mrs Gardiner continued, “are my nieces, Miss Jane Bennet and Miss Elizabeth. Their father owns an estate in Hertfordshire, and they are visiting us in London at present.”
Lady Matlock nodded with a friendly expression. Elizabeth curtseyed, watching Miss Darcy with the deepest interest. Also, out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Jane, who looked extremely pale and disturbed.
“Forgive me, did you say Hertfordshire?” Miss Darcy enquired. “Miss Bennet? Are you by any chance acquainted with a place called Netherfield…or Longbourn?”
Lady Matlock seemed puzzled, so the girl added, “I apologise for my boldness. My brother and his friend Mr Bingley returned from Hertfordshire recently, and I heard them mention the name Bennet.”
“Longbourn is our home,” Elizabeth answered. For some reason, she felt a strange and immediate friendliness towards the lady and the young woman. “If your brother is Mr Darcy and his friend is Mr Bingley, I am quite certain we are the Bennets they spoke of. Mr Bingley rented an estate three miles from ours.”
Lady Matlock’s eyes and lips opened in apparent bewilderment. She looked at Elizabeth in disbelief, then voiced her astonishment.
“Surely this cannot be? Truly? Not one but more coincidences! So you grew up in Lambton, and your nieces are acquainted with my nephew Darcy? And I almost hit you with my carriage! Several occurrences in a row, wholly unconnected. This could be a play or a novel, really!”
“Indeed, it is exceedingly strange. Almost a little bit frightening,” Elizabeth responded, keeping her smile.
“I agree! Well, well, wait until I tell my husband and my nephew. So young Bingley rented an estate, finally! I rememberDarcy mentioned something, but I pay little attention to such dull men’s affairs.”
“It was an honour to meet you both and speak to you, Lady Matlock, Miss Darcy,” Mrs Gardiner said. “But I am afraid we must leave now. My children are at home with their governess, and they are waiting for me.”
“Of course, of course,” Lady Matlock said. “Mrs Gardiner, I live on Park Street, at number thirteen. If you happen to be in the neighbourhood and are in no hurry, come and have a cup of tea with me. And bring your lovely nieces, of course.”
The invitation left Mrs Gardiner stunned and speechless, and she needed to breathe deeply and compose herself before replying.
“Lady Matlock, I am truly honoured by your invitation. I confess I am not sure whether I would ever dare to take advantage of it, but I thank you nevertheless.”
“Nonsense. If I invited you, it is not a matter of daring or not, merely of having time for tea. And may I ask where you live, if you do not mind? I am just curious in case I should ever be in that part of town.”
“Of course I do not mind. Your interest flatters me. But we live quite far from here — in Gracechurch Street. Number twenty-two. My husband is a lawyer, and he has other business interests.”
“How lovely. Well then, we must leave too. I hope to meet you again, either by coincidence or by design,” Lady Matlock concluded before she returned to her carriage.
While the lady and Miss Darcy departed, the other three remained still, gazing after the carriage in silence.
“Well girls, that was certainly the biggest surprise I remember having in my life.”
“Quite shocking,” Elizabeth admitted. “Mr Darcy’s aunt and sister happening upon us in the street. I would neverhave imagined it, and certainly nobody would believe such a coincidence.”
