Chapter 4. Miss Gardiner’s Arrival #2
Now the workmen were gone down the stairs and Miss Gardiner turned her full attention to the master of the house.
She offered him the papers and quill, saying, “Please tell my uncle if you wish for a different arrangement. There is cargo ship from the Spice Islands just arriving that I should dearly like to explore the cargo with my uncle.”
Mr Darcy bowed and apologised, “Again, forgive me and my sister, Miss Gardiner. She is at an awkward age, and we have had an unsettled spring. I shall speak to her.”
“Mr Darcy, I have younger sisters who must be ‘spoken to’ regularly. I wish you good fortune with your attempts. I do believe that one of the best remedies is to practice good behaviour yourself,” Miss Gardiner replied before turning back to her papers once again.
Blushing to be spoken to in such a manner by a young woman of no consequence, Fitzwilliam Darcy turned and strode from the room.
On the stairs, the workmen moved out of his way and exchanged smirks though they kept their opinions to themselves.
Mr Gardiner was a fair merchant to work for, and his niece was sharp with numbers and names.
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Georgiana sat in her private sitting room, feeling miserable to have disappointed her brother as well as Mrs Banks. She stood when there was a knock on her door and her brother entered. He crossed the room to hug her, kiss her brow, and lead her to a sofa where they sat together.
“Georgie, I was shocked to hear you speak to Miss Gardiner in that manner,” he said to begin their conversation.
Not looking at her brother, Georgiana explained, “I thought it was the way that we were supposed to speak to girls in shops and service.”
“Who told you that?”
“I was out with Mrs Young, and we met Miss Bingley at the modiste. She spoke sharply to every girl working there and even to Madam Cleary,” Georgiana replied. “Mrs Young explained to me that I would be expected to speak to all servants in that manner once I was out.”
“Think dearest, do you ever hear me speak to any of our staff in that manner? Have you ever heard me speak in a ‘mean’ way to a tenant, store clerk, or servant?”
“No, but you admire Miss Bingley so…” Georgiana said. “I thought I should be more like her.”
Darcy stood up and walked to the window before he turned around and asked, “Georgie, would you ever mimic Miss Bingley’s fashions?”
His sister immediately replied, “No. She dresses in the mornings almost as if she expected to be taken before the King at luncheon. And her choices in colours do not compliment her skin or hair.”
Darcy smiled and nodded agreement before his sister continued saying, “Brother, I truly thought you admired Miss Bingley.”
The man shook his head and explained, “I am friends with her brother, and I tolerate Miss Bingley for his sake.”
Now Georgiana stood and approached Darcy saying, “But she is here so often, and she always tells me how much you admire her!”
“Truly? I do not understand how she…” Darcy sputtered. “Georgie, do you know she invites herself along with Charles to family dinner? I have never issued an invitation to her, but she arrives with him, and I do not want to turn him away.”
“I remember the first time she came–Mr Banks having to send for more plates and cutlery when we were ready to sit down to eat,” Georgiana admitted.
“It is my fault for not asking Charles to stop her,” Darcy concluded. “But I wanted my friend to have some exposure to our rituals.”
Georgiana thought for a moment and then said, “Brother, let us change our ritual. We shall have family dinner at luncheon once during week and on Saturday night. This will give the two of us time together without any friends. You can inform Mr Bingley of the change and then you can meet with him at your club.”
Fitzwilliam considered his sister for a moment and nodded. “I believe you have formed a good plan. But then what do I say when Charles invites me to family dinner?”
Glancing down at the floor, Georgiana replied, “You should inform Mr Bingley that your sister requires your presence to review her lessons. Or tell him that you have an inventory to complete.”
“I am always happy to spend time with my sister, but we must not say anything to anyone about the inventory,” Darcy confided with his sister. “Now, I hope to continue seeing more of this mature reasoning in the future.”
Nodding, Georgiana added, “Mrs Banks tells me that I must listen more than I speak.”
“And about…”
“I shall apologize to Miss Gardiner immediately,” Georgiana said, rising from her chair and moving toward the door.
As they climbed the stairs once again, Mr Darcy asked, “And Miss Bingley and Mrs Young taught you it was appropriate to speak in that manner to shop workers?”
“They merely mirrored Aunt Catherine. She is horrible to the servants when she visits here and at Matlock,” Georgiana explained.
Fitzwilliam was unsurprised to hear his sister say these things, but he was not pleased to hear his aunt had acted thus with his servants.
“Do not take Lady Catherine’s behaviour as the model of what to do.
In fact, do the opposite. Remember, she benefits from the work of many servants each day and being polite is such a small thing to do.
And Georgie, consider the good service we receive from every staff member here at the house and in Pemberley,” he added. “Lady Catherine cannot say the same.”
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Among the crates and wooden boxes in the ballroom, there were several that were nailed shut. After discussion with her uncle and a trip to an art gallery, it was determined that there were several paintings or tapestries stored in the ballroom.
The next morning, Uncle Edward joined his niece when she departed for Mayfair to discuss the possibility with Mr Darcy.
Upon arrival at the house, Mr Banks directed them into Mr Darcy’s office.
As they waited for Mr Darcy to appear, Edward watched his niece looking at the paintings and furnishings in the gentleman’s office.
“I did not pay attention to the room in detail the first time I was here,” she explained to her uncle as Elizabeth examined the upholstered chairs, polished tables and crystal decanters filled with spirits of different varieties. “This is a room for conducting business.”
“Indeed, it is, Miss Gardiner,” said Mr Darcy, entering his office though the door in the far wall. He approached Uncle Edward to shake the man’s hand though he gave the niece a simple nod of the head to acknowledge her presence.
“Banks informed me that you wished to speak with me,” Darcy said to bring the unscheduled meeting back to the purpose for interrupting his day.
Uncle Edward motioned to his niece who explained, “Mr Darcy, I have found four crates of a shape to be paintings. They are nailed shut and I needed workmen who are trained to open them carefully and not damage the contents.”
Darcy frowned and approached the door to summon Mr Banks. While waiting on the butler to appear, the gentleman spoke to his secretary working at a desk across the room from Darcy’s desk.
“Clemmons, were there any bills for artwork left in my father’s papers that we never reconciled?”
“I believe there are sir,” the man replied as he rose from his desk and exited the room for another room where records were stored. He returned quickly and explained, “The bills may be at Pemberley, and it will be many months before I can retrieve them.”
Mr Banks appeared at that moment with a younger man holding several iron tools that could be used to pry up nails and boards.
“Lead on Miss Gardiner,” Mr Darcy commanded.
Uncle Edward said his goodbyes and left through the front door before Mr Darcy, his servants, and Miss Gardiner began the climb to the third floor.
“Your uncle does not wish to see the paintings?” asked Mr Darcy.
“Like yourself, he had business meetings this morning before I demanded his time to resolve a mystery,” Miss Gardiner said.
She glanced at Mr Darcy before adding, “Perhaps he does not wish to climb all these stairs to the top of the house. And he must believe that you can assist me properly this morning.”
The footman and secretary both snorted and covered their mouths. Mr Banks kept his face neutral, but his eyes twinkled as Mr Darcy laughed aloud.
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Returning to her rooms after breakfast to work with her needles, Georgiana heard laughter outside her door and quickly crossed the room to open the door.
There she found her brother escorting Miss Gardiner along the hallway to the final staircase leading to the ballroom with Mr Banks, Mr Clemmons and a footman following.
“Brother?”
Darcy glanced over at his sister and motioned for her to join them, “Come along Georgiana. Miss Gardiner has a mystery from among our mother’s treasures to solve this morning.”
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It had been two weeks since Darcy climbed to the third floor to view the room, and he found that the workmen had made great progress in moving crates and barrels out.
There were rough cloths spread about in many places that Miss Gardiner said were to protect the floors while the workmen sorted boxes and crates.
There were clear passageways through the piles of material and many bolts of the cloth were gone.
He stopped before an arrangement of furniture that surprised him, two tables with a sofa and two chairs arranged on a Persian rug with a chest to one side of the rug.
Stepping forward, Georgiana explained, “I arranged this setting myself for my visits with Miss Gardiner last week.”
“A parlour in the middle of our warehouse in a ballroom?” Darcy asked his sister.
“Yes, brother. Miss Gardiner is helping me with sums while she creates the inventory–I must never call work–and I wanted appropriate chairs. She brought the chest to lock her papers away every afternoon, and I selected the rug from a few piled in a corner.”
“Miss Gardiner does not have time to give you lessons, Georgiana,” Mr Darcy said.