Chapter 9 A Consequential Conversation #2
“In time, I hope you will feel confident that you know me well. I encourage you to ask me anything you may want to know so you will not have doubts about my nature.”
She nodded. “I appreciate that.”
“First, though, I have a great deal to relate, and you are apt to find the information shocking.”
A short, euphonic laugh escaped her. “Nothing could shock me more than your earlier declaration.”
“In fact, part of what I have to say may distress you.”
The skin on her forehead constricted. “Oh dear. Well, by all means proceed.”
In a tentative style, I explained my decision to hire Mr. Notley and shared the pertinent details of his report.
She listened in silence, with the occasional flaring of her eyes the sole hint to her thoughts.
Whilst I recounted the evening Hayward and I spent with Mr. Gardiner and his wife, Elizabeth’s left foot tapped upon the grassy ground.
At the conclusion of my narrative, I removed Mr. Gardiner’s packet from my coat pocket and handed it to her.
She turned the package reverently in her hands and examined Mr. Gardiner’s neat handwriting. “So, my uncle Gardiner has been writing to me each year?”
“Yes, that is what he told us.”
Elizabeth tore through the seal.
I leaned forwards and braced to rise. “Shall I leave to give you privacy?”
“No, I should prefer that you stay.”
My heart leaped at her sweet statement. “Very well.” When she reached the end of Mr. Gardiner’s correspondence, a single tear escaped the corner of her eye. I took out my handkerchief and pressed the cloth into her hand.
“Thank you.” She snuffled and dabbed at her face.
“My uncle is kind and eloquent. He wrote that he and his wife would be pleased to have me stay with them, either on a temporary or permanent basis, and he offered to come to Wiltshire so we may meet.” She peered at me.
“You spent an evening with my uncle Gardiner and his wife. What is your opinion of them?”
“I found Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner to be admirable people. I liked them very much.” The corners of her lips edged up.
Elizabeth took up the second page, a shorter letter in a feminine hand, and glanced my way. “This one is from Mrs. Gardiner.” She skimmed the missive. “She echoes my uncle’s invitation and declares her eagerness to meet me. How generous of her.”
Next, she unfolded a crude painting. “Oh, look at this!” She held up a picture depicting four children with a brown dog and read the writing on the back. “My cousin Tabitha painted this for me. She is eight years old. Is it not adorable?”
“Yes, quite so.”
She refolded the papers and shifted closer.
“Why would Uncle Barton go to such lengths to keep me and Uncle Gardiner apart? He must have taken my uncle Gardiner’s letters.
He declared that Uncle Gardiner took no interest in me and even made me fear him.
” She searched my countenance. “What could have possessed him to do this?”
“I know not. Mr. Barton’s duplicity is deplorable. Hayward, too, is dismayed, as he had considered him to be an honourable man.”
“He has been the closest I have had to a father.” Her lower lip trembled.
I fought the inclination to take her in my arms. “I am sorry to have been the bearer of this disquieting information.”
“You need not apologise. I should rather know the truth, however unpleasant it may be.” She folded my handkerchief into a square. “Since I grew up believing myself to be penniless, I have wondered whether I might one day seek employment as a companion or a governess.”
The cursed man! Mr. Barton had caused her to needlessly fret for her financial future. “Your uncle has abused his position as your guardian.” My voice had a raspy sound.
She shuddered through her exhalation. “I cannot reconcile his actions. He maintained he had sold Lily for my sake, and the one thousand pounds you paid him would be set aside for me. That was the first time I ever argued with my uncle. I told him I did not want the money, but he said the deal could not be undone.”
“Lily is another of my regrets. Although I had initially intended her to be a gift for my sister, Georgiana agrees with me that Lily belongs with you. If you will accept her, I shall give her to you now.”
“I cannot do that, although I appreciate the generous suggestion.” Her fingers kneaded her forehead. “I shall confront my uncle today and demand answers from him.”
My chest tightened. “I urge you not to do that—not yet. He is your guardian and could decide to isolate you and prevent me and others from seeing you, at least until you reach your majority.”
She chewed upon her lip. “I suppose that is a possibility. I shall turn one-and-twenty in May.”
“Ah, I see.” My jaw clenched. May, seven whole months from now.
“While I cannot conceive of Uncle Barton going to such extremes, I must not know him as well as I had believed.”
“If you agree, I shall call upon Mr. Barton this afternoon and inform him of my intentions towards you. I want to avoid any further misunderstandings.”
“Yes, I think that would be best.” She folded her hands in her lap. “And I shall speak with Cassie lest she imagines you and she may make a match.”
Blast. “I have attempted to avoid raising Miss Barton’s hopes whilst preserving civility. It seems I may have failed. I should hate to be the cause of tension between you and your cousin.”
Elizabeth flashed a smile. “I expect she will see reason, eventually. The most difficult aspect for me will be to keep what I have learnt about my two uncles to myself.”
“I understand that will be a burden. Yet I could not in good conscience allow you to go another day not knowing the truth about Mr. Gardiner and the money he has been investing on your behalf.” Although, I had hoped to explain all this as her betrothed.
“How long must this information be kept secret?”
“That depends on you.” I swayed closer to her.
“Are you prepared to meet Mr. Gardiner? The Haywards are willing to host him and his wife.” Last night, Hayward had assured me that Mrs. Hayward would be pleased to have the Gardiners as guests.
“If that comes to pass, the Haywards will make every effort to keep their presence a secret.”
“Yes, I should like to see my uncle Gardiner as soon as may be.” Her brow furrowed. “My uncle Barton must have directed Oliver, our butler, to intercept my correspondence from Uncle Gardiner. I shall write to Uncle Gardiner today and take my letter directly to the post office.”
“You need not go to Salisbury. My messenger will deliver your missive for you. If you have your letter ready this afternoon, you may give it to me then. Otherwise, you may bring it to me at Springvale tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you.”
“I am glad to be of assistance. Once you have met Mr. Gardiner, we may plan the best way to confront your uncle Barton.”
She touched my arm, and I held still, diverted by the tingling warmth she generated. “I shall never forget what you have done. You have given back my uncle to me, as well as a family I did not know existed.” She removed her hand, leaving my limb bereft.
“Anything I may ever do to help you is my pleasure. No matter what the future brings, that will always be true.”
Her bewitching eyes lingered on me, and my breathing grew shallow. What should I do if she did not fall in love with me? I need her.
Back at Springvale House, a footman directed me to find Hayward in the study. My friend greeted me with a grin. “Well, Darcy, shall I be the first to wish you joy?”
“No, there is no call for that. At least not yet.” The admission left an acrid taste in my mouth, and I sat heavily in a chair. While I gave Hayward a succinct summary of my meeting with Elizabeth, he poured two brandies and set one at my elbow.
My friend took a seat across from me. “You must be disappointed that you are not already betrothed, yet there is every reason to hope that you and Miss Bennet will wed in time. I know her well enough to assert that if she had been decidedly against you, she would have denied your request for a courtship.”
“That is what I have been telling myself.” I took a healthy swallow of the liquor.
Hayward leaned back in his chair. “Will you inform Barton of your intentions for Miss Bennet?”
“Yes, I shall do so today.”
He stared into his glass before taking a sip. “I truly detest this situation with Barton. At some point, we shall have to tell him what we know.”
“Yes, but for the time being, I want to eliminate any possibility of incurring his ire. And there is the matter of Miss Barton. The sooner she knows there is no possibility of a match between us, the better.”
“Ah, yes. She has tried her best to get your attention.” His eyebrows shot up. “You know, I realise this will be cold comfort to you, but at least we know the problem of Lily has an easy solution.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you and Miss Bennet do not marry, she can well afford to buy Lily from you.”
A humourless laugh escaped me. “Yes, as comforts go, that one is rather frosty.”
Knight’s Manor
Elizabeth
Good Heavens, Mr. Darcy loved me and wanted to marry me! In a morning full of revelations, that one remained foremost in my mind, overshadowing my disappointment and confusion over Uncle Barton’s artifice—at least for now.
Had I erred in not accepting Mr. Darcy’s proposal? I could not state with surety that I did not already love him. How did one distinguish a true, lasting sentiment from a transient one? Before I met Mr. Darcy, I had experienced neither.
And until today, I had believed that a union between us could never happen, so I had not allowed myself to form an attachment to him.
Of course, the heart is not so easily confined.
And I could not deny that my entire person hummed in his presence with my senses attuned to him.
Could this equate to nothing more than a physical attraction?