Chapter 14
The Gardiners planned to wait a few days before talking to her about anything serious, including her fortune. Elizabeth needed a few days to settle. Fanny Bennet had written three times already, and three times her letters were returned to her unopened.
The day after Elizabeth arrived, a Monday, Gardiner visited the firm of Norman and James at the Inns of Court, who were the barristers and solicitors he used for all his legal work. He met with Mr. James, the head solicitor in the practice, who reviewed the document Bennet had sent.
The document was in the correct form, and being it was notarised, a clerk was sent to the Court with it. Two hours later it was certified, and the Gardiners became Elizabeth’s parents, irrevocably.
Elizabeth was most appreciative the Gardiners were not pushing her to talk.
She split her time between resting, entertaining her cousins, and walking in the park opposite the house.
As it was London and not the peaceful countryside Elizabeth was accustomed to, she graciously accepted the accompaniment of both a maid and footman when she walked out.
Elizabeth received a letter from Charlotte Lucas, a further balm to her soul.
12 November 1810
Lucas Lodge
My Dearest Eliza, the sister of my heart,
It pains me that you had to suffer in the way you did. I am sure you will be loved under the care of the Gardiners. It is sad your birth family could not appreciate the wonderful person who you are.
I understand why you felt the need to be with your aunt and uncle in London, and I agree it is the best place for you, so I will not argue that.
What I will remonstrate with you, though, is why you stayed at the Red Rooster and did not come to us the evening your mother and Jane banished you from Longbourn.
You must know if we had received word, Frank and Johnny would have come with the cart to convey your trunk and you could have stayed with us on Saturday evening and Sunday and left Monday. Before you say it, you would have been no trouble.
You know you are considered an honorary Lucas, so you know you would have been welcomed with open arms. That being said, and given what you had just been through, I understand you may not have been thinking clearly, so I will forgive you in full measure.
Some news about they-who-shall-not-be-named: They are feeling the pain of what they did to you as no one will acknowledge them any longer—that includes your Aunt and Uncle Phillips! Mrs. Bennet is no longer welcome at her sister’s house or any other in the area.
Now I must convey something ironic to you.
Mr. Collins is to be wed. Who is the lucky bride, you may ask?
It is none other than Jane Bennet! I understand Mr. Collins demanded a very short betrothal and they will marry this coming Friday by common licence.
That, my dear friend, is what I call poetic justice.
If there were some who did not like you before, that is no longer true; everyone now loves you for exposing Mr. Wickham for the profligate blackguard that he is.
He was overheard while making his indecent proposal to you and then, with a little urging on my part, his debts were investigated.
It was discovered he owed more than he could pay with years of his militia salary.
Colonel Forster is an acquaintance of a Colonel Fitzwilliam, cousin to Mr. Darcy. Colonel Fitzwilliam arrived in Meryton and had with him the libertine’s vowels that Mr. Darcy held; they were in excess of three thousand pounds.
Mr. Wickham has been discharged from the militia and is now a resident at Coldbath Fields Prison where, given the amount he owes, he will remain for the rest of his wasted life. He is lucky the blacksmith was kept away from him. That man would have killed Wickham for trifling with his daughters.
Mr. Darcy sent money to cover all of the debts, both with the merchants and the debts of honour to his fellow officers. Mr. Darcy is no longer considered the blackhearted knave Wickham painted him, but rather a knight in shining armour who has saved many of our merchants from ruin.
I find Colonel Fitzwilliam to be a very honourable and affable gentleman. He is the second son of the Earl of Matlock, but you would never know that speaking to him. He is friendly and warm to everyone, regardless of their station. He is just as a man should be.
My parents, brothers, and sister all send their warmest regards and want me to emphasise you will be welcome in our home anytime for as long as you desire.
I must sum up now, my friend. Do not make me wait long to hear from you.
Your best friend,
Charlotte
Elizabeth wrote to Charlotte the same day she received this most welcome letter. She also wrote to her Aunt and Uncle Phillips to let them know she was well and appreciated their support.
When she informed her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner of Charlotte’s news, both with respect to the Bennet family and to Jane Bennet specifically, they agreed after what the Bennets did it was nothing less than they deserved.
Charlotte’s letter was also the catalyst for Elizabeth to start accepting that she may have been very wrong about Mr. Darcy.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On Tuesday, Madeline Gardiner attended the meeting of a charitable committee on which she served. During tea afterward, she was approached by the Countess of Matlock. “Mrs. Gardiner, how are you?” Lady Matlock greeted her acquaintance.
“Thank you for asking, your Ladyship, I am well,” Madeline responded.
“May I ask you a question? I need help with something,” Lady Matlock asked.
“Please feel free to ask anything,” Madeline responded.
“I have a daughter, Lady Tiffany, who is just seventeen,” Madeline nodded and Lady Matlock proceeded. “I have been having the devil of a time finding a companion for her. She is an active sort and she desires a younger lady who can keep up with her. Mayhap you know of anyone like that?”
“Yes and no,” Madeline replied. When she noted Lady Matlock’s quizzical look she elucidated.
“My niece, Elizabeth, is living with us; she is our ward now. It is a long story, but it is hers to tell, not mine. She is twenty and extremely active and athletic. That being said, she does not need a paid position. Without revealing the exact amount, she has a fortune that would rival many dowries in the upper echelons of the Ton. She is a gentlewoman, so working for money is out of the question.”
“Do you think she would agree to meet Tiffany and my niece Giana—Georgiana Darcy, who is staying with us. To have her as a friend may be a solution for a while, but only If the girls get along,” Lady Matlock enquired.
“Lizzy has been through much, having just left the only home she has known near Meryton in Hertfordshire. We are giving her a few days to rest and then we will talk to her. I will suggest she meet with your daughter so they can see if they would like to further a friendship,” Madeline told the Countess.
Something about the town and the first name stirred a memory in the Countess. “May I ask what her full name is?”
“Currently, it is Elizabeth Bennet, but she no longer wants to use that family name, so I have a feeling by the time you meet her she will be Elizabeth Gardiner,” Madeline shared.
Lady Matlock remembered the conversation she and her husband had with their nephew about his late father’s wishes.
When she had asked why he was asking now, he had not explained fully, rather alluding to a love lost to another due to his wrongheaded ideas.
However she suspected it had something to do with the country miss whose name had appeared in every letter William had written to Giana from Netherfield Park. The name was Miss Elizabeth Bennet.
Listening to Mrs. Gardiner talk about her ward Lady Matlock realised she was possibly the same girl William had spoken about as the lady he loved and who was lost to him as she was to be betrothed to Catherine’s idiot parson.
“She is unattached?” Lady Matlock asked casually.
“Very much so,” Madeline confirmed.
The Countess wanted to meet the young lady before she would consider what, if anything, to do with the newly acquired intelligence.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Darcy did not know if he felt better or worse after he spoke to his aunt and uncle. They had explained to him what his father meant when he told his son to marry well. It had nothing to do with connections or fortune and everything to do with love, respect, and compatibility.
He became despondent and withdrawn and decided he needed time at Pemberley. Being at his estate was always a balm to his soul. On the same day his aunt was talking to Mrs. Gardiner, Darcy departed for Pemberley.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Miss Bingley was most annoyed when she arrived at Darcy House uninvited. She intended to put her plan into motion by having Mr. Darcy visit Gardiner Emporium, but she was informed the master of the house had left Town.
The butler, a Mr. Killion, refused to provide any information other than the master was away. Miss Bingley left in a snit and vowed the butler would be the first one she sacked when she became Mrs. Darcy.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Jane Bennet hated her life. Everything she had planned for her former sister was now happening to her.
The only positive thing she had managed to do was to demand a clause be added to the marriage settlement stating once they married, Mr. Collins had to bathe each and every day or she would be granted an annulment.
When her idiot betrothed repeated the drivel his father had told him about the evils of bathing, he had been asked how it was everyone else bathed daily and none of them were sick from it. When he was asked if they should apply to his patroness for her opinion, he accepted the clause with alacrity.
It was also written in the settlement that Mrs. Bennet and any unmarried daughters would have the right to live at Longbourn until death or marriage. The penalty for reneging on that clause was the loss of Longbourn.