Night descended more quickly than Elizabeth expected as Mr. Darcy’s carriage transported them both to the seedier side of London. Watching various shadows appear from the lanterns lit on the corner of the carriage, Elizabeth twisted the cords of her reticule in her hands. Mr. Darcy watched her agitation from the bench across from her and reached over to gently touch her hands to still them.

“I am nervous now when I was not before. What has you so afraid of us returning to your aunt and uncle?”

Elizabeth licked her lips and pressed them firmly together. “I may not have been completely honest with my aunt about my activities this afternoon. So the arrival of a gentleman will be a rather large shock for them. I am afraid, that is, I fear . . ..”

“Did you know I rode all the way to Hertfordshire on November the Fourteenth just to renew my acquaintance with you?”

This new intelligence startled Elizabeth out of her anxiety, and she was interested to hear more about Mr. Darcy’s day trip to her home county.

“I believe you forgot to mention that, sir.”

“Did I? How un-elephant-like of me to forget.” He paused to see her smile at his invoking their afternoon frolic in the park. “Three months ago I was certain there was no other in this world for me than you. And when I heard you were married to another –”

“Whoever told you I was married?”

Darcy blushed, realizing he had misspoken. “While it was not so much that anyone said those exact words, it may have been conjecture on my part when your sister Lydia said both you and Mr. Collins were gone, never to return.”

Elizabeth groaned, but she was saved a response by the carriage arriving at her aunt and uncle’s house. No longer worried about their reception, Elizabeth was happy to avoid further discussion of her family and that cousin of hers.

The front door opened and Madeleine Gardiner stood illuminated by the light inside with a very stern expression on her face. “Elizabeth Rose Bennet ,have you any idea how late it is. . .?” her aunt stopped her tirade as a handsome, wealthy gentlemen escorted her niece up the steps.

“Aunt, may I introduce to you Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Derbyshire. Mr. Darcy, this is my aunt, Mrs. Madeleine Gardiner.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, ma’am. I am a great admirer of your niece.” He bowed as low as he would if he were meeting a peer.

“Derbyshire, you said? I grew up in Lambton. I am familiar with your family, sir.”

Darcy stood on the steps, slightly embarrassed that Elizabeth’s aunt knew of his family in the area. Still, it was always nice to meet another person from his home county. And if the conversation stalled, he could ask her about her memories out of politeness.

“Well, don’t stand out there in the cold, you two. Come in, come in, you have a great deal of explanation to give to me and your uncle.”

Darcy accepted the invitation and was happy these people had such concern for his Elizabeth. Mrs. Gardiner’s sharp chastisement was not said out of schemes and personal gain, but from a place of warmth and genuine love.

Shown into the parlor, Darcy sat next to Elizabeth as she fielded the questions from her aunt and uncle. She explained how they had met, literally by accident, and how he had spent a great deal of time reading to her and visiting her when she was ill at Netherfield.

“But Miss Jane Bennet was always present during those times,” Darcy added in his clear baritone voice. He did not wish the Gardiners to get the wrong impression.

“I just don’t understand. If you and Mr. Darcy are so closely acquainted, why did not your mother mention this fact?” Mrs. Gardiner looked to Mr. Darcy with an apologetic expression on her face. She did not want to come right out and say that Fanny Bennet would have pushed a match with the heir of Pemberley over a lowly parson any day of the week.

“I swore Jane to secrecy and my parents did not know. They only knew that Mr. Darcy was the one who nearly killed me,” Elizabeth said quietly, remembering her father’s abusive words about Fitzwilliam.

A silence descended on the parlor as the Gardiners were at a complete loss for words, Darcy was not the best at making conversation, and Elizabeth sat lost in painful memories of her last month at Longbourn.

“Mr. Darcy, would you care to have a drink in my office?” Mr. Gardiner interrupted the quiet.

Although Darcy was reluctant to leave Elizabeth, he understood the pragmatism of accepting Mr. Gardiner’s invitation. By all appearances, Elizabeth’s nearest male relatives would have every right to question his behavior as a gentleman. It was remarkable for a man unknown to a family to return a gentlewoman home.

“What will you have to drink, Mr. Darcy?” Mr. Gardiner offered, flatly.

“Anything you have to offer, sir, I would be happy to accept.” Inwardly, Darcy could hear his cousin Richard’s voice making fun of Fitzwilliam Darcy, a man presumably master of his own universe, playing the nervous suitor in the office of a tradesman. But he genuinely wished to come to an accord with Mr. Gardiner. Elizabeth had made it quite clear these relatives were very important to her, and by extension, that made a relationship with them important to Fitzwilliam. After all, he highly doubted she would find much to approve of in his family.

Mr. Gardiner handed Darcy a glass of brandy and motioned to the two chairs by the fireplace with his hand. “Why don’t we have a seat?” The suggestion was not truly a request but an expectation. “I understand you met my niece because you were the gentleman racing your horse and nearly trampled her to death. Am I correct?”

Darcy took a healthy swig of his drink and licked his lips. “I am afraid I am guilty as charged, but I credit that accident as one of the best days of my life.”

Edward Gardiner was surprised that the conservative looking gentlemen would jump to sentiment so quickly. He decided to test the man further. “Yes, I heard you speaking in the parlor telling both my wife and me how much you ardently admire my niece. I would expect such affection from a man who was already having an affair with an innocent.”

Darcy choked on his drink, taking to pounding his chest with his fist to restore normal breathing. “An affair? I assure you, sir, your niece and I have not engaged in any amorous behavior of the kind. The only liberty she has allowed me was to kiss her hand over her glove, well within the bounds of propriety.”

“Your definition of propriety, Mr. Darcy, is a strange one, I’m afraid. My niece was in possession of a book from you, clear evidence that she accepted gifts. My brother-in-law in Hertfordshire expected her to marry another and made no mention of Elizabeth’s acquaintance with you in his letter to me when she came to live here in November. So the only logical conclusion I can arrive at is that you and Lizzie have not told the whole truth, and that is what I am waiting for.”

Darcy took another gulp of his drink and then set the glass on the small side table between their chairs. He sat up with straighter posture in his chair and prepared to explain everything to Mr. Gardiner. Darcy began with the summer and his sister Georgiana’s elopement and continued to spill the truth of his situation all the way through the present moment when he confessed he was madly in love with Elizabeth but, unfortunately, unable to make an offer for her until he reconciled his family business this Easter.

Edward Gardiner rubbed his eyes in exasperation at the many scandals of the Darcy family that had both occurred and were currently afoot: a runaway girl, a passionate marriage, a servant son marrying the daughter of the former master. Why, the whole tale could fill a novel! But the part about Darcy absolutely being honor-bound to another was what frightened Mr. Gardiner the most. He did not wish to see his niece taken in by the pretty words of a rich gentleman who had truly no designs on making her an honest offer.

“I’m afraid I can no longer allow my niece to see you, sir.” Mr. Gardiner said with a heavy sigh.

“But, sir!”

Gardiner held up his hand. “Young man, you have more problems than solutions at the moment. Now one of them, I think I might be able to assist with. I have a number of contacts in the shipping business and can help you find cargo space on one or two vessels for Pemberley’s spring and summer harvests.”

Darcy appreciated the offer of assistance with business, but hearing he would be barred from seeing Elizabeth was still foremost in his mind. “I appreciate your help in providing for the many families of Pemberley that count upon me. But I must ask why you would bar your niece from my presence when she has so clearly expressed a desire to remain my acquaintance.”

Mr. Gardiner rose from his chair and poured himself another drink. He did not offer to refresh Mr. Darcy’s glass. “I’m a businessman, Mr. Darcy. Some might even describe me as shrewd. All I know about you is that you claim not to have engaged in an affair of the heart with my niece, that you claim to be in love with her, but yet you are engaged by honor to another lady, your cousin. I prefer to see actions, not hear words.”

Darcy carefully considered the older man’s accusations. Putting himself in Gardiner’s shoes, he would have far less hospitality to offer a man in a similar situation offering for Georgiana. But Darcy was not willing to lose Elizabeth again.

“What if I prove myself to you, sir? My family owns a box at the theater and in three days’ time there is to be a performance of The Bard’s famous comedy Much Ado About Nothing. It is only early previews, but I should be delighted to escort yourself and your lovely wife, Mrs. Gardiner, and your niece personally to the performance.”

Mr. Gardiner inhaled deeply and held his breath for a moment. He held many misgivings about this man, but he also knew that trying to lock Elizabeth up in her bedroom would be an utter disaster. If she wanted this Mr. Darcy, Edward Gardiner held no delusions that his niece would find a way to his side. She had already braved London’s streets on her own merely to return a book and renew their acquaintance.

Although Gardiner had no choice but to accept Mr. Darcy’s offer, he took no pleasure in encouraging what he thought to be an ill-fated endeavor for both young people. “I accept your invitation, and you may come to call on my niece any evening you choose, so long as I am home.”

Darcy stood and offered his hand to shake with Mr. Gardiner, who accepted the gesture warily.

“I appreciate the consideration, sir, and will respect your rules. May we return to the parlor?”

The eager expression on Darcy’s face made Gardiner laugh. Although he didn’t think Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley would achieve all that he hoped, he had to admit he had all the appearance of a man utterly smitten with his niece.

“Certainly, and you may be the one to share the happy news with my wife and niece.”