Chapter Sixty-Six
Longbourn
Brother!’ Mrs. Bennet threw herself into her brother’s arms.
Mr. Gardiner laughed aloud and kissed his sister’s hair. “It is good to see you, Fanny.”
Mrs. Bennet turned to find Mrs. Gardiner. “Madeleine! How was the journey!”
“With three little boys? Long and noisy!” Mrs. Gardiner replied. Her tone was cheerful, but it was clear that she was weary.
“Come inside, all of you.” Mrs. Bennet led the way.
The three little boys in question clung to their mother’s skirts, uncertain. They had come to Longbourn for Christmas every year, but their age precluded past memories, no matter how pleasant.
But when Mary whispered, “There are tarts in the nursery upstairs,” nothing else was required. Robert, Jonathan and Charlie raced up the staircase with Mary trailing behind.
Mrs. Gardiner sighed in relief. “I love them more than my life, but the noise three boys can make in a carriage beggars belief!”
Mrs. Bennet compressed her lips; she would have put up with a good deal of noise to have birthed even one boy, let alone three, but she said nothing.
Soon the Bennets and the Gardiners were comfortably seated in the parlour with teacups and plates of tiny sandwiches, though Kitty and Lydia had elected to go upstairs and enjoy their tea with their cousins.
Their uncle began with, “Jane, Lizzy, what is this rumour I heard about you two getting married in a few weeks?”
Jane blushed and looked down at the floor, but Elizabeth looked at her uncle with a smile. “It is true, Uncle, and well you know it.”
“I do not like the idea of you being taken so far away, Lizzy,” Mr. Gardiner said. “I must meet the young man who thinks to do so.”
“You shall, of course, Uncle. After the wedding, we are going to London first, and I believe the Bingleys intend to accompany us.”
“We will, yes,” Jane agreed, looking up with a shy smile.
Mrs. Gardiner leaned forward to look at Elizabeth. “And you are to marry Fitzwilliam Darcy! I can scarce believe it! It was always thought that he would marry quite high. Not that you are unworthy of such a man, of course, Lizzy,” Mrs. Gardiner added hastily.
“It is quite a strong inclination,” Mrs. Bennet said at once. “You have only to see them together to understand.”
“We expect the Bingleys, the Darcys, and the Hursts to visit very soon,” Jane said.
Her words were prophetic, for their Netherfield neighbours were announced that very moment. More chairs were brought in to the parlour, and introductions were performed.
Georgiana had entered the room with some trepidation, fearing that these newcomers from London might have heard of her disgrace, but if they had, there was no sign of it.
And upon learning that Mrs. Gardiner had known her mother, Georgiana sat beside her and begged for any memories that might be shared.
Mrs. Gardiner was happy to oblige, of course, leaving Mr. Gardiner to observe the young men who had come to ‘steal away his nieces,’ as he put it.
Mr. Gardiner had spent a good deal of time with his two eldest nieces, and knew their characters well.
He immediately saw that Jane and Mr. Bingley would do well together.
Neither of them had particularly complicated characters, and both were kind-hearted, warm and generous.
He was satisfied with the match in just a few minutes.
This Mr. Darcy was a different matter altogether.
In just a brief conversation, he understood this man to be a far more complex person than his friend; in addition, it was clear to Mr. Gardiner’s discerning eye that the man carried a burden of some sort.
It must have to do with his young sister, as he continually glanced her way.
As if she could get into some sort of trouble while speaking with Madeleine Gardiner!
She could not, of course, so there must be something else afoot; he would ask Lizzy about it later.
“I understand from Lizzy that you plan to go to London after the wedding,” he said to Mr. Darcy.
“Yes; I plan to introduce Elizabeth to Society.”
“You do understand that she has never been exposed to the ton, do you not?”
“I do, of course; but can you doubt her ability to navigate those waters? One has only to look at her to be enchanted; one has only to listen to her to be captivated by her intelligence and insight.” As he spoke, Mr. Darcy looked at Elizabeth with so much love and passion that Mr. Gardiner felt almost embarrassed to have witnessed it.
Well, Mr. Gardiner thought, there can be no doubt that this is a love match.
***
But there was something different in the family, something that appeared to have nothing to do with Jane or Elizabeth. “Did you notice something – well, something odd – about Kitty and Lydia?” Mrs. Gardiner asked her husband that night in their room.
“Well, the dinner table seemed a good deal quieter than usual,” Mr. Gardiner said, scratching his head. “Is that what you mean?”
“There was no caterwauling, no complaints of being treated badly. And both Kitty and Lydia asked if there was anything they could do to make our stay more pleasant!”
“That seems very much out of character,” Mr. Gardiner agreed.
“I shall get to the bottom of it,” Mrs. Gardiner declared.
***
And the very next morning, she did so. “Lizzy, what has happened to Kitty and Lydia?”
Elizabeth chuckled. “What happened, dear Aunt, is Georgiana Darcy!”
“Georgiana Darcy?” Mrs. Gardiner was baffled.
“Yes; she succeeded where all the rest of us failed. Kitty and Lydia admire her greatly, and when she described how she had been taught to behave by her governesses, Kitty and Lydia evidently decided that this would do for them as well. Oh, they slip up now and again, but overall, Longbourn has been a far quieter place!”
***
Over the next few days, the Gardiners met Miss Bingley and the Hursts; all in all, they were very satisfied that Jane would be happy with the Bingleys.
But the question of what it was that weighed on Mr. Darcy – for Mrs. Gardiner agreed that it had to do with Miss Darcy – remained. Finally, Mrs. Gardiner approached Elizabeth directly.
“Lizzy, it is not my place to pry…” she began.
“But you will in any case!” Elizabeth laughed. “Go on, Aunt Madeleine; what is it?”
“It seems to me that something is very much distressing the Darcys. Oh, they hide it well, but there is something in the way that he watches her that concerns me.”
Elizabeth paled. She opened her mouth to reply, and then visibly changed her mind, compressing her lips together.
“It is a secret, I suppose,” Mrs. Gardiner surmised.
“It is, but – oh, I must tell you, for you of all people will be able to offer me good advice!”
“Go on, then.”
“You must promise not to judge harshly.”
“I believe I have always been reasonable, Lizzy.” There was a touch of a reprimand in Mrs. Gardiner’s voice.
“You have, of course. I apologise, Aunt. Very well, here it is.” Words tumbling out, Elizabeth laid forth Georgiana’s history with George Wickham, and the resulting scandal.
Mrs. Gardiner had tears in her eyes at the end of this recital. “Oh, that poor child!”
“Yes; she was all but mute when she first came to us. She was so shy and so – well, guilt-ridden, I suppose! – that she could only stare at the rugs.”
“The Bennet girls have been good for her, I take it. But wait – why, then, are you to go to London after the wedding? I would think that the last place Mr. Darcy would wish to take his sister!”
“His aunt thinks that the ton will be so interested in the new Mrs. Darcy that any talk of Georgiana will fade into the background.”
“His aunt? The Countess of Matlock?”
“The very one. Evidently, she goes about in Society a good deal and so knows of what she speaks.”
Mrs. Gardiner frowned. “I cannot like this, Lizzy. You will be stared at and talked about a good deal, and I do not think you will enjoy it.”
“I do not expect to enjoy it. But if it will help Georgiana, then I will suffer through their insults and mockery.” Elizabeth’s tone was flat.
Mrs. Gardiner shook her head. “Remember that you can always come to Gracechurch Street, if it gets to be too much.”
Elizabeth thanked her aunt, well aware that her words were brave enough, but it was all she could do not to be very much afraid of the upcoming ordeal. She prided herself on her courage, but here in Meryton, where she was known and valued, it was easy enough to be courageous.
Would her courage fail her when confronted with the haughty, important members of the ton, who would look down at her for her birth (lack thereof), her breeding (lack thereof), her dowry (lack thereof), her beauty (lack thereof), her accomplishments (lack thereof), and – oh, heavens, what else?