Chapter 9
“Coat or cloak?” Elizabeth asked Jane as they stood together before the looking glass in the bedroom they shared at Gracechurch Street.
“Coat,” Jane advised her. “The weather is fine and not too cold. You will be in the carriage most of the time, in any case. The cloak will be too warm.”
“Yes, you are right,” Elizabeth agreed, fastening the grey coat she had previously only draped over her shoulders, and then pushing a few more pins into her hair to hold her curls in place. “It matches your grey hat, too. Thank you for lending it to me.”
“You look very neat and professional,” Jane said, regarding her sister critically and not without anxiety. “But are you really sure you want to do this?”
“I am only meeting a prospective employer, and Uncle Gardiner will be there too,” Elizabeth told her reassuringly. “Likely he is some doddery old man who will leave immediately when he finds that I am twenty rather than forty years of age. I dare say that he will be at least as nervous as I am.”
Jane looked back at her doubtfully.
“That was not quite what I meant, Lizzy,” she said. “I was asking whether you are really sure that you want to work rather than marry? It seems so very radical to me. I have always wanted to marry someday and have a family like Aunt Gardiner.”
“My dear Jane,” Elizabeth declared, kissing her sister fondly on the cheek.
“I want to go and meet this old man and maybe his ward too. If they offer to employ me as a companion, I dare say I shall take the role. It is all very unlikely, though. The chance of being offered a good job seems only slightly less remote than making a good marriage.”
“Lizzy, really,” sighed Jane. “You should not say that.”
“Why not? It is true. You are likely to find a good match, Jane, but I doubt I shall. Look at my life these past few months: I have been slighted by a man for whom I have no regard and proposed to by a man for whom I have no respect. I must take other chances while I have them.”
“You must not judge the whole world by Mr Darcy and Mr Collins,” Jane objected. “There are many other fine men in it, I am sure.”
“For you, there will be,” Elizabeth repeated herself, believing it a little more each time she spoke the belief aloud. “I am not sure that there is one for me.”
Jane sighed with resignation and brushed some lint from Elizabeth’s shoulder.
“Well, take care then, if you are determined. You must tell me everything tonight.”
They hugged one another affectionately, although Jane’s eyes remained grave. Then Elizabeth went downstairs to join her uncle.
∞∞∞
“Your father has authorised me to sign any contract on his behalf, if it should come to that today,” Mr Gardiner told Elizabeth in the carriage.
“Naturally, I would want to meet both Mrs Bevan and her client before agreeing anything. We should also not agree to you starting work for at least a fortnight, in case I need to investigate the family.”
Elizabeth smiled at her uncle, glad for his company and good sense.
“I agree, Uncle, although I do not think it very likely that you will have to sign anything for me today. I remain convinced that Mrs Bevan’s client will talk to me for five minutes and then send me on my way.
He really is a very fussy man. You should have seen what he asked from prospective companions. ”
Mr Gardiner chuckled at Elizabeth’s account of the questions posed by her potential employer and his extensive reading list.
“He does sound like a most particular kind of gentleman. I hope his ward is not quite so fussy, or her companion’s task might be harder than imagined.”
“I know only that she is sixteen, orphaned, and plays the pianoforte,” remarked Elizabeth. “In any case, she can hardly be more of a handful than Lydia or Kitty.”
“Let us hope not,” her uncle agreed, and then patted Elizabeth’s arm encouragingly as the coach came to a stop near the employment bureau.
∞∞∞
“I am very pleased to meet you, sir, and very glad you are with Miss Bennet today,” Mrs Bevan replied to Mr Gardiner’s introduction with real eagerness in her expression.
“My client was most keen to be assured of your family’s approval, Mr Gardiner.
Given Miss Bennet’s age, he would not proceed without it. ”
“That’s a good sign, Lizzy,” noted her uncle quietly before addressing the agency’s proprietor once more. “I should welcome the opportunity to meet your client, if he wishes to offer Elizabeth the job.”
“Absolutely,” agreed Mrs Bevan. “I am certain that my client will make the same request once he knows you are here, Mr Gardiner. He has already arrived and is waiting in my private office for Miss Bennet. Perhaps you and I could discuss the paperwork while they meet? Then, if all goes well, you and he can talk and a contract can be drawn up quickly.”
“Very well,” responded Mr Gardiner after receiving a nod from Elizabeth. “I shall be here with Mrs Bevan if you have need of me, Lizzy. I am sure you are equal to any interview.”
Her uncle’s confidence in her powers seemed greater than Elizabeth’s own. She reminded herself that she could cope well enough.
“Before I go in, can you tell me more of the young lady for whom I would be a companion?” Elizabeth asked. “I know so little and would like to be able to ask intelligent questions.”
“My client’s ward is sixteen years old and not yet out in society,” Mrs Bevan answered.
“She is apparently a shy and quiet girl who loves playing the pianoforte more than anything else. They split their time between town and country according to the time of year. Until you are offered the role, I think that is all you will need to know.”
Thanking the older woman, Elizabeth managed to smile before Miss Greene led the way towards the door marked as Mrs Bevan’s private rooms. She liked the sound of the young lady and the life that she led.
Elizabeth found herself wishing hard for the guardian to be a kind and sympathetic man, picturing a white-bearded grandfather with twinkling blue eyes and rosy cheeks.
Miss Greene continued through the first office and into what appeared to be a small private sitting room, already occupied by one other person, who was definitely not the old greybeard of Elizabeth’s fantasies.
A tall, dark man stood beside the mantelpiece with his back to the door, and Elizabeth hesitated after taking a few steps into the room.
“Miss Elizabeth Bennet,” announced Miss Greene briskly, and then left them alone together, closing the door behind her.
At Miss Greene’s words, Elizabeth saw a distinct tremor pass through the man’s shoulders. When he turned around, the surprise on his features was just as great as the astonishment coursing through her own veins.
Of all men, her prospective employer was Mr Darcy!