Chapter 21
Darcy
After a rather emotional discussion with Elizabeth about her family, Darcy decided to go to her uncle’s place of business for a short conference. Perhaps, if he understood what challenges her family posed for Elizabeth, he could somehow help her.
Darcy sent a messenger to Gardiner and received confirmation that half past nine was a convenient time to meet.
The next morning, after his early ride, Darcy dressed more carefully than usual, because he wished to convey respect to Mr Gardiner in front of his employees.
He ordered the carriage for a quarter to nine and then entered the breakfast room.
Georgiana joined him before he had taken even a single bite of his poached eggs.
He wished her a good morning and served her the foods she favoured.
Darcy was still eating when his butler arrived. “Pardon the interruption, sir, but Mr Bingley has called and wishes to consult with you. Should I make your excuses or show him to a room?”
It was far too early for a social call, and in fact earlier than he would have expected to discover Bingley awake, let alone at his door. Darcy said, “Invite him to join us here, Stanford.”
Darcy greeted his friend cordially and invited him to eat. He had seen evidence of Bingley’s prodigious appetite before, so he was not surprised to see his friend amass a mountain of food on a plate. He often wondered why his friend was so slim as to be termed wiry.
After a few minutes, when Darcy had finished eating and was beginning to sip his second cup of coffee, he asked, “To what do I owe the pleasure of this very early visit, Bingley?”
“Apologies for the hour, Darce. I know you are an early riser, and I had my valet roust me out of bed and out the door early today, because every time I have tried to visit you for the past few days, my sister Caroline has attempted to join me in the hope that I was heading your way. Each of those days, I went elsewhere, because I know full well how limpet-like she is with you.”
Georgiana giggled, and Darcy grinned at the description of Miss Bingley’s clinginess.
Bingley paused to eat another few bites, and Darcy said, “I appreciate your efforts on my behalf, Bingley, and I wish you to convey to your sister that I am very much off the market, now, having found the woman I will marry.”
Bingley, a forkful of rashers halfway to his mouth, said, “Believe me, I have conveyed this news to Caroline several times already. Yet she remains a loyal limpet.”
“Well, whatever it is you wish to say, it must be important. Shall we seek the privacy of my study for our discussion? I have a meeting at half past nine—” Darcy glanced at the mantel clock— “but I am happy to spend half an hour with you.”
“No need for privacy, Darce.” Bingley shot an easy grin at Georgiana and continued, “I am hoping that you could help me with my goal of selecting an estate to lease. You remember, I hoped to lease in order to learn more about being a landowner?”
Darcy nodded, and Bingley continued, "I have the particulars of three properties, and I wonder if I must traipse to three far-flung counties in order to make a decision, or if you can help me choose based on the information I have.”
Bingley fished a packet of papers from a pocket and placed them on the table. Darcy unfolded them and immediately saw the word Meryton on the top sheet. He caught his breath, quickly read the entire page, and then asked, “Bingley, do you know where this estate is located?”
“I do. It is just three to four hours from London, so that is the one I am most excited about. But the next one is halfway between London and Pemberley, which has its charms, as well—”
Darcy interrupted. “My apologies for my intrusion, Bingley, but this top one is located just outside Meryton, in Hertfordshire, which means that it is only a few miles away from the estate on which Miss Bennet grew up. She will be going home to this estate, named Longbourn, in a few days, and I planned to follow her and book rooms at Meryton’s inn so that I could continue my suit. ”
Bingley’s mouth gaped open, but he grasped Darcy’s intimation and replied, “That is splendid, Darcy. If I choose this estate, this Netherfield Park, then you could stay there and take as much time as you need to court Miss Bennet.”
“Miss Bennet’s uncle grew up in Meryton and visits Longbourn at least twice a year, he has said. He would likely be knowledgeable about Netherfield, and it is he I have an appointment with this morning; would you like to join me?”
“I most certainly would.”
Darcy read the rest of the papers while Bingley dispatched the rest of his enormous meal. It was not long before they said their goodbyes to Georgiana and climbed into Darcy’s smallest but swiftest carriage.
Gardiner was welcoming, and Darcy explained that his original intent was to better understand Miss Bennet’s family, whom he would shortly meet, but he also wished to find out anything the man knew about Netherfield Park.
Gardiner enthusiastically described the estate, which actually bordered the Bennets’ Longbourn, and he shared information about the town of Meryton, as well.
Before long, Bingley declared that he need look no further, because he had decided to lease Netherfield.
He then tactfully withdrew from Gardiner’s office, allowing the men to discuss family dynamics in privacy.
As the door began to close behind him, Darcy heard his friend gladly agree to a tour of the warehouses.
“Now, how might I help you, Darcy?” Gardiner asked. He smiled at him in quite a fatherly way.
“Miss Bennet has informed me that she is nervous about introducing me to her family. She has never shown herself to be nervous about anything up until this point, and although I cannot convey how much I love and admire her strength, this unexpected vulnerability has given me the chance to love her in another, more protective way. I wondered if there was anything you could tell me that would help me understand how best I might support her as we continue our courtship in Hertfordshire.”
Gardiner looked more surprised than Darcy would have expected, and Darcy blushed when the man said, “I am happy to see this evidence of your care for my niece, which is obviously so much more than enjoying her as an ornament on your arm.”
“So very much more!” he protested, and Elizabeth’s uncle nodded and began to tell Darcy about her family.
According to Gardiner, Elizabeth’s father was shrewd and dryly humorous, but he was also indolent and took little responsibility to ensure his family’s comfort after his death.
He had provided no schooling nor governesses, only small dowries, and in truth spent little time or effort on his children’s upbringing.
Gardiner looked quite peeved as he stated that Mr Bennet quite frequently insulted his wife in the guise of teasing.
Gardiner asked Darcy if he should order tea and rang his office assistant with the request before continuing.
He explained that Elizabeth’s elder sister was extremely proper, with a lovely appearance to go along with her lovely manners; however, she was quite reserved and, to his mind, too prone to assume the best of any situation.
“I fear it will make her vulnerable to scoundrels of all sorts.”
He went on to describe Elizabeth’s three younger sisters in unfortunate terms. They were not as charming and well mannered as either Elizabeth or Miss Bennet.
His descriptions could be summarised as a list of diverse faults: one sister was too self-righteous; one was too loud and selfish; and one was too dull, a young lady who echoed others’ words and ideas and had no interests or opinions of her own.
Darcy knew Gardiner to be a kind and generous man, so he supposed that his descriptions must be fairly accurate. Of course, Elizabeth’s mother was Gardiner’s sister, and Darcy was certain that there, at least, would be a more positive description.
But, shockingly, Gardiner’s description of Mrs Bennet was the worst of all.
“I am very ashamed to tell you that my sister is often quite cruel to Lizzy.” He explained that she was crushed that her second child was not a son, and she fell into a state of melancholy that lasted more than a year, ending only when she became pregnant again.
“Oddly,” Gardiner said, “as each new baby also turned out to be another daughter, rather than the longed-for heir of Longbourn, my sister’s anger remained riveted on Elizabeth rather than transferring to the subsequent daughter.
I tend to think that her melancholy somehow anchored her anger on only one of five daughters, but my wife believes that the reason she is cruel to Lizzy is because she is the professed favourite of my brother, Mr Bennet.
My sister’s attitude is entirely unreasonable, and I imagine it will infuriate you at times—it does me!
—but I hope you might look beyond my sister’s poor behaviour and see that she is a woman rightly fearful of what will happen to her should her husband predecease her. ”
Until the night before, Darcy had assumed that the family that raised the delightful Elizabeth would necessarily be pleasant and loving.
“How—” he paused, aware that his intended question was so blunt as to be rude, and he struggled to ask for information in a polite way.
Finally, he asked, “How is it that Miss Elizabeth Bennet is well educated, beautifully behaved, and extremely kind, with such a family?”
Gardiner blushed, and Darcy jumped to a conclusion: “You had a great deal to do with raising her, I imagine.”
“As I said before, Mrs Bennet suffered melancholy after the birth of Elizabeth, and in the meantime my wife and I had no children, as yet. So we cared for Elizabeth as much as we were allowed. Even after we had children, we were able to host Jane once in a while and Lizzy quite often.”
Darcy nodded and said, “Well, I congratulate you on your success in raising your niece. She is remarkable.”
“I was about to say that it was not entirely Madeleine’s and my influence that led to the unique person that is Elizabeth.
A great deal of it is the fire she has inside.
She, not her elder sister Jane, has the strength to speak up to her sisters and her parents when needed.
She, not any of her sisters, has chosen to read almost everything in her father’s library.
She has accepted far more of our invitations to visit and to attend lectures and concerts, plays and operas.
We have of course extended invitations and efforts towards the other girls, and more often than not Jane gives us polite refusals, and the younger girls mostly ignore us.
Lizzy…is Lizzy mostly because of her, not me, not Maddie. ”
Darcy shook his head, then stood up and shook Gardiner’s hand when he, too, rose.
“I often think to myself that I could not possibly admire a human more than I admire Miss Elizabeth Bennet. But then I learn something more about her, and my admiration for her grows even more. Is there no end to how much one can admire and love another?”
Gardiner’s smile could not be wider. “No, sir. Those verbs can indeed be endless.”
Georgiana and Darcy called on Elizabeth that afternoon, and he told both ladies about Bingley’s decision to rent the estate that adjoined Longbourn, and his invitation to the Darcys for as long as they wished.
Elizabeth was excited, and Georgiana was even more so. She said, “I would love to meet all your sisters, Elizabeth, and to see the trees you climbed and that hill where you dreamt of the future….”
Elizabeth smiled, but Darcy sensed a bit of the anxiety he had first noticed the day before.
He said, “Elizabeth, you must know that Georgiana and I will be certain to treasure knowing even the things that are not entirely wonderful. We were blessed with caring and principled parents and a great deal of wealth, but it was due to luck, rather than our own efforts, that we enjoyed these privileges. We also had a great deal of loss and sorrow, including, as you already know, losing those parents. Some of our sorrows I have not yet shared with you, and even our small family has its members who…are challenging; and just as our privileges were not our due, the less fortunate aspects of our lives are not of our doing. We will still value you, no matter what we experience in your home county.”
Georgiana chimed in, “Of course we will.”
Elizabeth looked into their eyes, and her own eyes brightened. “Thank you for these assurances. Because you are disposed to be generous to me and mine, I too am unreservedly looking forward to showing you around Meryton, Longbourn, and even Netherfield Park.”
Georgiana said, “I think it is romantic that Mr Bingley wished to lease Netherfield Park without having any knowledge of it bordering Longbourn. Does it not seem as if your relationship is inevitable? As if all the forces of nature and all the plans of God are conspiring to ensure that you two found each other and could easily remain near one another?”
Darcy smiled broadly at his sister, then turned to Elizabeth to bask in her lovely smile. “I think it does,” he said in a low voice, just as Elizabeth murmured, “I agree, Georgiana. I think we were meant to be.”
Darcy could not wait for time alone with Elizabeth—he simply had to kiss her hand that very moment.
He was still a bit worried about meeting Elizabeth’s family, but having faced the issue, having armed himself with information, as best he could, and having an even-more worried lady who would need him to remain strong, he was assured of success in Hertfordshire.