His Uncle’s Favourite (Pride and Prejudice Variation)

Chapter 1

The journey to London was a challenge; it was exceedingly cold, and the horses plodded cautiously on the frozen road.

Inside the carriage, however, Elizabeth was cheerful as she entertained her little cousins. Opposite her, Jane remained in complete silence, her attention drawn outside, while Mrs Gardiner observed her children with loving looks.

Elizabeth quickly glanced at her dear aunt. It was Christmas time, the most heart-wrenching month for Mrs Gardiner two years after her husband’s tragic death.

There was little Elizabeth could do to comfort her beloved aunt.

All of them missed Edward Gardiner exceedingly, and they would never forget him.

He had been an excellent husband and father—and a dear uncle and brother for the Bennets.

Mrs Gardiner was desperately trying to overcome her pain for the benefit of her two children.

Eleanor was six and Edward, seven. They were so young when the tragedy occurred that they never understood why their mother cried every time their father was mentioned.

A lady in her late thirties, Mrs Gardiner was as amiable and intelligent as she was beautiful and elegant, despite her deep mourning.

She looked at her favourite nieces with an affectionate and understanding smile, pleased that she enticed them to accompany her to London.

Both girls needed a diversion: an escape from the fresh memory of Mr Bingley for Jane and from Mr Wickham’s presence for Elizabeth.

During a short stay at Longbourn, Mrs Gardiner had seen Mr Wickham a few times and enjoyed sharing pleasant conversations with him.

They had a subject of mutual interest: Derbyshire and, more precisely, Pemberley.

There Mr Wickham had grown up, and it was only five miles from the little town where Mrs Gardiner had spent the first years of her life.

Mrs Gardiner became reticent when Mr Wickham explained to her—in great detail—the present Mr Darcy’s mistreatment of him. Mrs Gardiner did not feel comfortable with Mr Wickham’s ease in discussing such an intimate story with a new acquaintance; that was not expected of a proper gentleman.

Even less easy was Mrs Gardiner with Elizabeth’s high opinion of Mr Wickham.

That fact determined her narrowly to observe them both.

Without supposing them, from what she saw, to have a serious inclination, their preference for each other was plain enough to make her a little uneasy; at the first opportunity, she spoke to Elizabeth on the subject and represented to her the imprudence of encouraging such an attachment.

Mrs Gardiner was pleased to receive a light, teasing reply from Elizabeth and her assurance that she was not—at present—in love with Mr Wickham.

However, Elizabeth did admit that Mr Wickham was, beyond all comparison, the most agreeable man she had ever met. If not for the abominable Mr Darcy leaving him in poverty, she might have become attached to him.

When Elizabeth accepted the invitation to spend the next month in London with Jane, Mrs Gardiner was relieved. Surely, Elizabeth’s heart was not seriously touched by Mr Wickham; she felt no disappointment in being separated from him for a time.

As for Mr Bingley’s departure, Mrs Gardiner knew these things often happened, and she told Elizabeth as much when the two of them had discussed the matter privately.

“My dear, a young man, such as you described Mr Bingley, so easily falls in love with a pretty girl for a few weeks, and when accident separates them, so easily forgets her that these sorts of inconstancies are very common.”

However, Elizabeth did not blame Mr Bingley as much as she blamed his sisters and his friend Mr Darcy. “It was not an accident, Aunt,” Elizabeth had replied. “It was a premeditated and malicious scheme of his sisters and his friend to separate him from Jane!”

“Poor Jane! I am sorry for her because, with her disposition, she may not get over it immediately. It had better have happened to you, Lizzy; you would have laughed yourself out of it sooner. But do you think Mr Bingley to be truly so blameless? How is it possible that he trusted his heart and his wishes so little? That is not a good sign to me. Surely, he would be able to stand up for himself against his sisters and against his friend.”

Elizabeth could not contradict her aunt.

In her opinion, Mr Bingley was indeed lacking the determination and self-confidence of a true gentleman.

Nevertheless, she was inclined to blame Mr Darcy for the turn of events.

A gentleman who had so grossly mistreated his long-time friend Mr Wickham surely would have a harmful influence upon the young and inexperienced Mr Bingley.

Jane declared that Mr Bingley was no longer in her thoughts. She hoped that, by Caroline Bingley’s not living in the same house with her brother, she might occasionally spend a morning with her friend without any danger of seeing him.

Elizabeth’s thoughts, however, were different. On closer examination, she did not consider the situation entirely hopeless. It was possible, even probable, that they would meet Mr Bingley in London, either during a call to his sisters or on some other occasion.

The Gardiners were accustomed to being out in society frequently before Mr Gardiner’s tragic death.

They had many influential acquaintances among the ton, as Mr Gardiner had been very successful in business during his last years.

His skills, knowledge, and intelligence had increased his fortune while Mrs Gardiner’s perfect manners, elegant taste, and amiable disposition secured his position among his acquaintances—some of them illustrious members of society.

Consequently, the number of invitations grew from one year to the next, and parties in the Gardiners’ house—an impressive building purchased three years before his death—were always well attended and much appreciated by their guests.

Of course, Mrs Gardiner knew that most of their ‘high class’ friends never overlooked that the Gardiners’ fortune was from trade.

However, Mrs Gardiner cared little about such talk and bore any unpleasant remarks or looks with humour and wisdom.

She felt content with her situation, her two beautiful children, and the company of a loving, caring husband.

She would not change her position for an entire earldom and considered herself the most fortunate woman—until fate decreed otherwise.

Mr Gardiner’s wisdom in business assured his family a comfortable situation. In fact, his legacy, besides the wonderful memories, was a considerable fortune, so neither his wife nor his children had any reason to worry for their future security.

That year, in an attempt to offer her nieces some diversion and to return to a sense of normalcy, Mrs Gardiner promised her nieces that she would accept invitations to a few parties or small balls from those she still considered family friends.

That would be a good thing, both for my aunt and for Jane, Elizabeth thought, hoping all of them would manage to traverse the Christmas season with a modicum of good humour.

With these considerations in mind, Elizabeth’s confidence in a chance meeting between Jane and Mr Bingley was strong.

And if it were to happen, Elizabeth was certain his affection might be reanimated and the influence of his friends successfully combated by the more natural influence of Jane’s attractions.

If only Mr Bingley were allowed to do anything without the custody of Mr Darcy!

“Dear girls, I am happy to tell you that we have a dinner invitation to honour three days from now on Christmas evening and at least a ball to attend in a fortnight.”

“I am not in need of balls and entertainments. Your company is enough for me, Aunt.”

“Jane dearest, we already discussed that we will attend a few events. Will you do this for me? I confess I want to surprise everybody by introducing them to my beautiful nieces.”

Jane tried to smile for her aunt’s sake, and Elizabeth decided to support Mrs Gardiner.

“I promise I will do my best to look beautiful, but I must warn you, I may not be as successful as you hope; it is well known that I am not anywhere near as pretty as Jane, nor do I have as happy a disposition as Lydia. Mama can testify to that.”

“Oh, I have no fear that you will do just fine, Lizzy. If only you would not scare young gentlemen with your sharp teasing. Few gentlemen are fond of a bright lady.”

“Thank you, dear Aunt, though I wonder whether that was a compliment.” Elizabeth laughed.

“You are most welcome! Now, about that dinner invitation on Christmas evening: Lizzy, you will adore the earl; I am sure of it. He possesses your father’s love of books but is more inclined to enjoy the amusements of the world outside his library.

However, I have to warn you: the earl takes great delight in teasing and vexing those around him, and he has a peculiar sense of humour.

As his daughter, Lady Selina, frequently says, ‘I am afraid he enjoys himself a little too much at times.’”

Jane looked at her with alarm while Elizabeth laughed.

“Do not worry, Jane. I am sure your beauty will charm the earl, and he will find no reason to tease you at all! You have no faults about which to laugh! As for me, I will be more than pleased to be the recipient of his interest in that regard.”

“Is his wife like him in disposition?” inquired Jane.

“Unfortunately, the earl’s wife passed away a decade ago. But he has two sons—both unmarried—besides his daughter. Lady Selina has been happily married for four years now.”

“Oh, so the earl must be older than my uncle,” continued Jane, puzzled, and a moment later she frowned and turned pale. “I am sorry, Aunt; I should realise that—”