Chapter Fifteen
E lizabeth was well on her way to abandoning Mr. Darcy altogether, ideally as rudely as possible and never mind what the gossiping matrons watching them so carefully made of it. Lady Matlock in particular had scarcely taken her eyes from the pair of them since Mr. Darcy had manoeuvred them both to the dance floor. When their waltz had ended and he stubbornly led Elizabeth to a chair to continue their conversation, the Countess of Matlock's brows had risen markedly. Mrs. Houghton, beside the countess, had smiled at Lizzy in the most odiously knowing way. The matrons evidently believed she wished to be congratulated that Mr. Darcy had thrust his company upon her. Far from it .
She had, Lizzy belatedly realised, said far too much to her partner — that much was made clear by his immediate demand for an explanation of her plans. He spoke in so proprietary a manner, as though he assumed that all he must do was require something of her and she would immediately give it. What was it to him that they were in London? Or what did it matter that Jane should enter the card rooms? He was no relative of theirs to presume mischief on her part or danger lurking about them. Elizabeth had attempted to tell him as much, but he seemed to believe that to play cards with the likes of Sutton was a sure pathway to debtors' prison .
His worry, however, was genuine as it was officious. There was something in his expression, as he bent his head to see her face more properly, that gave Elizabeth pause, and she gentled her response somewhat even as her temper was riled .
They were distracted from another heated exchange by the sound of a loud shout coming from the card room. They looked at one another in alarm, and Mr. Darcy immediately offered his hand to assist her to stand. She took it. and found that even through gloves the warm steadiness of his fingers was a source of reassurance. Or it could be, she amended in her mind, were she his sister or even a niece.
Mr. Fitzroy was seen to come hurriedly through the card room doors, his face a picture of thrilled animation. His searching eyes landed on Elizabeth and he made his way over with a quick step .
“Miss Elizabeth — the most exciting game! I could scarcely believe it when Sutton proposed the stakes but Miss Bennet took him up mighty coolly. Your sister — I never saw the like of her! If she were only a gentleman she would be sought after in every club in London — not a flicker in her expression, y’know. That is a sign of true gentility. You ought to come in. Mrs. Gardiner looked ready to faint and Eckworth helped her to a chair. He has a grandmama, so he knows what he is about with assisting faint ladies. It's a fortune. A fortune! Daresay it will hurt the losers but you'd never know it from any of their faces. All mighty cool, Miss Elizabeth. Mighty cool.”
Mr. Darcy's hand remained still underneath hers throughout this bewildering speech, and it did not occur to Elizabeth that she ought to release it. “Mr. Fitzroy! Do tell me more plainly what has happened. Of course I will come with you. My aunt is faint? ”
Mr. Fitzroy nodded. “From the shock of it all. Daresay she took over faint at the thought of Miss Bennet losing such a sum, but she will come about.”
The room swam. “Jane lost ?” Mr. Darcy put another steadying hand beneath her elbow and supported her.
“Mr. Fitzroy, speak plainly, sir. Neither Miss Elizabeth nor I is able to make head nor tail of your account.” Quietly he said to her, “Whatever has happened, Miss Elizabeth, I shall not permit it to harm you — I give you my word.”
Fitzroy waved his hands, clearly amazed at their slowness to catch on. “Lost? Has she lost?” He retreated a pace from them and a crack of laughter escaped from him, a loud and excitable laugh. “Does Miss Bennet ever lose? She is a queen, Miss Elizabeth! A queen! She took Sutton up and turned over the queen of hearts and the ace of the same. An immediate twenty-one, Miss Elizabeth. Sutton did not even have the opportunity to turn his cards, as she was to his left and he dealt. Double the stake, twenty thousand pounds apiece, and Miss Bennet stands from the table with fifty thousand pounds to boot. Your sister left it all on the table to go to your aunt when Mrs. Gardiner took a funny turn, and Miss Bennet asked me to find you.”
Elizabeth stared, doubted, and was silent .
Mr. Darcy, permitting himself an exhale, began to lead Miss Elizabeth across the room with Fitzroy at her other side. As they walked, Darcy questioned him .
“You tell me that Miss Bennet won against Mr. Sutton? ”
“Aye. He suggested the stakes be raised to all that had been won. Nobody watching thought she would accept it, but once Bingley did, so too did she.”
As closely supported by him as she was, Lizzy heard Mr. Darcy make a stifled noise in his throat. His manner, however, was calm when he replied.
“Bingley was the other player and has also lost twenty thousand pounds to Miss Bennet. Am I correct in this, sir?”
Mr. Fitzroy expressed his pleasure in Mr. Darcy's quick grasp of the situation, and Lizzy, looking up just then, exchanged a speaking glance with Mr. Darcy that caused a laugh to bubble forth from her. The sound seemed to break her of her shock .
“Oh dear, no; do not think I laugh at poor Mr. Bingley's expense, for indeed I do not. I think it is just that I am so astonished. I had never hoped for so much as this.”
As they entered the card room, the noise of the excitement enveloped them. It was an easy thing for Mr. Darcy to make out Miss Bennet beside an elegantly dressed lady who sat rather listlessly on a chair. Another moment located his friend, standing a little way behind Miss Bennet with a number of papers in his hand, his face alive and eager as it had been during the autumn .
Darcy grimaced and led Elizabeth forwards.
“Aunt! We will call for a carriage and take you home immediately — you do not look well.”
“I am to blame, Lizzy — she has so kindly chaperoned us for so many evenings now and…and I am afraid that I have caused her to sustain a very great shock. I am so very sorry, ma'am.”
Mr. Bingley edged forward. “I can have my carriage called in a moment. I do trust that you will permit me to escort you home, Miss Bennet.”
Jane turned to look at Mr. Bingley, and whatever he saw in her face caused Mr. Darcy's grimace to be removed .
“We should not wish to inconvenience you, Mr. Bingley. Surely you will wish to remain to enjoy the rest of the evening.”
Promptly Mr. Bingley replied, “I have no wish to do anything other than see you home safely this evening, Miss Bennet, and I hope that once I have your aunt's address, you will allow me to call in the morning.”
“Jane, I think we ought to accept Mr. Bingley's kind offer. ”
The young man smiled at Elizabeth, and noticed his friend. “I say, Darcy! Is this not the finest of evenings? There I was thinking nothing in particular should happen, and here are Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth! The most unexpected of pleasures!”
Mr. Darcy bowed. “Good evening, Miss Bennet. I hope I may likewise call with my friend in the morning, to enquire after your aunt's health.”
Mrs. Gardiner, who had been sipping on a glass of excellent wine that Jane held to her lips, seemed to revive a little, and spoke. “Mr. Gardiner and I should be delighted to receive you, sirs. You will forgive me; I do believe that the heat in here has caused me to behave foolishly. I do not ordinarily do so, I assure you.”
She spared a single glance at Elizabeth's hand in Mr. Darcy's but only said, “If Jane and Elizabeth will help me, I daresay I shall do very well once Mr. Bingley's carriage has been called round.”
“Excellent!” exclaimed Bingley, who had been staring at Jane again. “I will go now and give the order. I ought not be more than five minutes or so.” He glanced down at the vowels in his hand and offered them to Jane. “It will also be my pleasure to call to settle up with you, Miss Bennet. Here, you ought to take these and keep them safe.”
Jane did not precisely recoil from the papers he offered her but neither did she move to take them. Lizzy released Mr. Darcy's hand then and took them for her. “I will keep them safe, Mr. Bingley — my sister has the greatest dislike of taking winnings.”
Seeing that Mrs. Gardiner had recovered somewhat, a few people passing paused to congratulate Miss Bennet as they went.
“Finest game I have seen in some time, Miss Bennet!”
“The game was clearly yours all along; said so at the start.”
“An exciting match. Sutton finally met his equal, eh?”
To each response, Jane shook her head and sincerely disclaimed any credit or skill on her part. Either the cards had been in her favour or she had been deeply fortunate that Mr. Sutton had dealt or some other outside influence had assisted her in some way .
Mr. Sutton also approached to enquire after Mrs. Gardiner's health and congratulate Miss Bennet .
“I should like to know your secret, Miss Bennet, but I'd wager you would not tell me. Not one in twenty gentlemen would have stayed at that table after my wager.” He bowed in respect and then turned to Lizzy, who stood by with Mr. Darcy still looming over her shoulder. “Well, fair ghost, you were quite right. Shall you crow over me now as you once promised?”
Lizzy laughed again, albeit weakly. “I beg leave to defer any crowing until I have had a full week to fully understand in my mind what has gone on in here this evening. At present I barely comprehend the import, let alone the happenings of it all.”
Sutton grinned. “A gracious reply. I am to have a reprieve — I am almost disappointed. I wish you good health, Mrs. Gardiner. Miss Bennet, it has been my honour. I shall wait upon you at the earliest opportunity to fulfil my debt.”
Mr. Bingley reappeared. “If you would make your way to the front door, madam, I think that by the time you are there Holden will have drawn up outside.”
Jane busied herself with assisting her aunt to her feet, and Lizzy went to her other side .
“Do you think a message might be given to Lord Cranshaw, Lizzy? I shall have to beg off my dance with him.”
“He will be disappointed but he is too much of a gentleman to blame you for it, dearest. If Mr. Bingley will take our aunt's arm here, I will go myself to excuse you.”
Mr. Darcy shook his head. “If I might be of service, I will stay long enough to inform any dance partners that Mrs. Gardiner is unwell. ”
“That is kind of you, Mr. Darcy,” said Jane, smiling. “Thank you. Lizzy, will you give your dance card to Mr. Darcy? I will do the same.”
Elizabeth handed her card to him and smiled as she did so. “I hope you are able to interpret all of the writing, sir — I think there are some schoolmasters who would be severely displeased by some of the entries.”
He had already opened hers, and now pointed to a scrawl. “This gentleman is Mr. Lennox? ”
She leaned over to look, and nodded. “It is fortunate that he has an 'x' in his name, is it not? Come now, Aunt, in my opinion your timing could not have been better. I for one am quite desperate to be at home in front of the fire where we can establish just what it is that I have in my reticule.”
Mr. Bingley's carriage was comfortable, and large enough to hold the four of them. In the cool air, Mrs. Gardiner swiftly returned to her usual self, which eased Jane's conscience slightly. Elizabeth was content to listen to Jane and Mr. Bingley converse .
“Miss Bennet, I would wish you to believe that I had no knowledge of your being in London until tonight.”
“You have no need to explain anything to me, sir — I believe you. We were content to hear of your good health from Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst.”
“I may call upon you tomorrow morning?”
“We should be very glad to see you, Mr. Bingley. I am sure you will want to hear of all our friends in Hertfordshire. Have you perhaps heard that Miss Lucas is to be married?”
Elizabeth found it strange to be returning to Gracechurch Street in an ordinary carriage and listening to polite civilities on the way. Were the horses to sprout wings and Mr. Bingley to burst into song, it would surely be more fitting to the events of the night. In her own mind, she could hardly drag her thoughts from the extraordinary amount of money Jane had won that evening, and found it oddest of all that the weight of a life-altering fortune in her reticule was no different from the weight of far smaller amounts .
She knew, rather than felt, that she ought to be delighted. Perhaps the shock of it, the sudden nature of hearing rather than seeing, had delayed some of her glee. Elizabeth heard Jane murmur in reply to something Mr. Bingley had said and smiled .
She was certain that Jane had forgotten the whole game and that her sister's clear contentment now was due to the presence of the gentleman from whom she had won twenty thousand pounds. Lizzy could hardly blame her sister for her distraction. Perhaps in a few days events would reconcile in their minds and they would be able to decide what was to be done, now that they were so very rich. Lydia would be delighted, Kitty would be overjoyed, Mary would enjoy having access to better masters and teachers, and Mama…
Elizabeth's sudden giggle turned the heads of the others in her direction .
“Forgive me. I was thinking of Mama.” She laughed again, her shoulders beginning to shake. “Do you think she will believe the next letter we write to Longbourn? She will likely think it a joke at her expense and summon us home directly. Oh Jane, how are we to convince her of the truth when we hardly believe it ourselves? ”