Chapter 9 A Winter Wrong

When Mrs. Gardiner said she did not mind and urged Mary to take her sewing into the study with Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, the three young people soon found themselves much more comfortable.

As Elizabeth set up the pieces, Mr. Darcy removed his dusty gloves and placed them inside of his hat to hand off to the butler, Kline. Giving the man a nod of thanks, Elizabeth paused for a moment and raised an eyebrow. Finally, she held one of each color pawn in her hand and pretended to mix them up behind her back. Producing her hands, she offered for Mr. Darcy to choose.

“White. It appears you have the advantage, Mr. Darcy.”

“I assure you it does not feel so,” he said as his eyes wandered around the room. He had never been inside the Gardiner home, let alone in a man’s study that he had never met.

“I apologize if you are discomforted. I made an assumption that you needed to speak to one of us and that a four-woman inquisition was more than you bargained for,” Elizabeth explained, and tried to give him a warm smile, but found Mr. Darcy paling before her instead.

“Your powers of observation are remarkable, Miss Elizabeth.” He finally managed a grim smile before moving one of his pawns.

For a few minutes, the two were quiet as they employed the opening sequence of a dance. Pawns came out to bow, the knights took a twirl, and before too long the rooks were barging into everyone’s way.

“Ha ha!” Darcy said with great cheer as both sides were low on players with which to wage battle. “It appears I’ve captured your queen, Miss Elizabeth.”

“So you have.” She nodded graciously, and the game lasted three more moves before she could applaud her own triumph.

“It appears you have captured my king.” Darcy bowed his head before the lady in front of him, clearly pleased with herself for besting him. “Let it be said that man should always fall when he is too easily distracted by a woman’s fine curves.” Darcy held up the black queen piece, but Elizabeth sucked in her breath and locked eyes with Mr. Darcy.

As the two of them began to return the chess set to its case, both were much more relaxed and tried to speak at the same time.

“Mr. Darcy, I must apologize—”

“Miss Bennet, I’ve been abominable—”

With a laugh, the two stopped, and Darcy rubbed his chin.

“Ladies first.” He held out a hand to motion he would await her conversation.

Absently, Elizabeth rose from the small table and found a place in the window seat. Clasping a pillow over her midsection, she absently pulled on the loose threads of the tassel. “My headstrong actions upset your sister earlier today when I mentioned the name of Lieutenant Wickham and—”

Darcy’s face boiled with anger just under the skin, and she witnessed him take a number of calming breaths before she could continue.

“Miss Darcy and I have repaired our friendship, but I realize now I was wrong to think meanly of you simply because he had a pretty tale with which to pay me while I was infuriated that you and Mr. Collins would sell my father’s books.”

After a few ticks of the clock, and Mary clearing her throat, Mr. Darcy finally spoke, very softly. “I appreciate your candor Miss Bennet, and I am sure any offense you gave was unconsciously done.”

Elizabeth grimaced for a moment as she couldn’t quite claim innocence of a rift, but she quickly recovered her emotions in the interest of beginning things anew with Mr. Darcy as a friend, not an enemy.

“I hope we can forget and forgive each other for our slips of the tongue?” he asked, with an earnest look on his face.

Elizabeth looked at him confused and then glanced at Mary for help. Mary’s look of disbelief snapped Elizabeth out of her stupor, and she began to laugh. “Oh of course, how silly of me. I forgave your dreadful comment at the assembly ages ago. I should never have felt the injury if not my pride had been so strong.”

“And I should never have made such a remark had not my prejudices run away with me.” Darcy cleared his throat and leaned over briefly to look out the window at the evening’s darkness creeping in. He was running out of time to fulfill his purpose, not that the afternoon hadn’t gone well. “I have two pieces of news to impart, the first I hope will bring you joy, but the latter I’m afraid may not.”

Both Bennet girls looked at Mr. Darcy expectantly. Taking another deep breath, he stood up from his chair and walked to the door to request his hat and gloves.

“It was wrong of me to suggest for Mr. Collins to sell your father’s books. I do not imagine for a moment I could forgive someone who had made such an egregious affront to my father’s memory, but at the time I was truly thinking of the best way to ensure you and your family’s continued success. Once I realized my mistake, I hurried to Meryton and purchased the entire consignment, and you will see it is just outside ready for delivery.”

Mary called for Jane and rushed to the window to join Elizabeth. All three girls looked out a different pane and waved at the poor driver still sitting on the wagon in the biting winter chill.

“Girls, girls! And who may I ask is this in my study?” Mr. Gardiner arrived home from his day at the office, and all three Bennet sisters turned to show their most brilliant smiles that Edward Gardiner had not seen since their father died. “Hang it man, Edward Gardiner, at your service. If you can make my nieces smile like that, you are welcome to our home any day of the week!” The two men shook hands, and Darcy reciprocated the introduction.

“He brought all of Papa’s books back, Uncle. All of them!” Elizabeth squealed in a manner reminiscent of her mother and younger sisters, but not nearly as shrill. She bounded up to hug her uncle, and when she was finished, she moved towards Mr. Darcy but quickly stopped herself to remember propriety. Looking down at the floor, Elizabeth hoped no one noticed her faux pas, which meant for certain that everyone in the room did.

“You have forgotten my other warning, Miss Elizabeth,” Mr. Darcy reminded, gently.

“The bad news,” sighed Mary who moved closer to Jane in preparation.

“Er, yes, Miss Mary, though the last members of your family I tried to warn laughed me right out of town.” Mr. Darcy’s mouth twisted in disapproval as he recalled the cackling and self-congratulating between Mrs. Bennet and her sister.

“Young man, I am sure you would not go to such personal trouble if you didn’t have a grave warning to share. I am waiting and promise to give you the full consideration of my conscience.” Edward Gardiner took a seat near his desk and folded his hands together.

“Your youngest niece, Miss Lydia, is engaged to be married to a Mr. George Wickham who is a rake and gambler of the worst kind. He attempted the ruin, this past summer, of an heiress of my loose acquaintance who is set to inherit thirty thousand pounds. Her family stepped in to prevent the tragedy, and I’m sorry to say as he was quartered this winter at the Phillips’ residence, he has learned from his mistake to elope and instead engaged himself to Miss Lydia in hopes of securing her dowry.”

“I see. And what proof do you have that he is a dissolute sort that I should worry about?”

Mr. Darcy looked at the three ladies in the room and shifted his feet beneath him. Picking up on the man’s discomfort, Elizabeth announced that she and her sisters should see to dinner and asked Mr. Darcy if he would like to stay? Unfortunately, Mr. Darcy frowned and explained that he had already delayed his arrival home and his sister was likely very worried.

“Well please give her my regards and let Georgiana know I shall call on her tomorrow.” Elizabeth gave Mr. Darcy a big smile and was the last of her sisters to quit the room.

“Why did you have us leave, Lizzie? I wanted to hear why Lydia is in danger so we may save her.” Mary frowned at her older sister and crossed her arms in front of her. Seeing Mary behave so unlike herself, Lizzie and Jane nearly lost their countenance as they helped steer Mary towards the back of the house.

As Elizabeth stopped to see if there were any staff about to overhear them, she lowered her voice and huddled her head close to her sisters.

“Think about who was most upset about the mention of Mr. Wickham’s name? Can you see now why Mr. Darcy needed privacy?”

“Oh. Oh!” Mary exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand and Elizabeth nodded.

“We cannot say a word of this to anyone. It would be most unkind,” Jane reasoned.

Sighing, Elizabeth reluctantly agreed. “If the banns are being read, there is nothing that can be done but for Lydia to march down the aisle.”

After Mr. Darcy’s departure, Mr. Gardiner wrote a strongly worded letter to his sister-in-law with a stern reminder that Lydia’s dowry was not in the traditional sense and that if any suitor hoped to see a pence of the money set aside for his niece, he had better hie to London for a proper interview. Dinner was not nearly as lively an affair as it could have been, but Elizabeth tried to comfort herself with the recovery of her father’s books as she chased a few peas around her plate.

Thinking about how the books were recovered she became fairly certain that though he didn’t say as much, it was for her that Mr. Darcy went to so much trouble. She had seen a look of what she thought was a disappointment on his face many times this afternoon when there could be no reason for such a sentiment, and she was finding herself re-evaluating every exchange she previously had with the man.

“You’re awfully quiet, Lizzie. Anything you care to share?” Aunt Gardiner asked innocently as the rest of the table hid pathetic expressions of pretend disinterest.

Elizabeth looked up but didn’t manage to hide her dreamy countenance. “No, Aunt, I was merely reflecting on how much has changed in such a short time for us.”

Mr. Gardiner grunted and dug back into his own food. “It’s the way of the world, my dear. The way of the world.”