“He is no cad. Perhaps that is where one must begin. I do not pretend that I am infallible, Uncle, but in nearly every way, he was the perfect gentleman and guardian.”
“‘Nearly’ every way? What was this chink in his shining livery?”
Every remembrance of pleasure fled. Before her, she could still drink in his tender look, see his loving eyes half closed, feel thesoft brush of his mouth, and hear the ardent plea in his voice. And then, that insulting offer, that dash of salt on her exposed heart, and that proof that he was not, after all, the complete fulfilment of the image she had crafted for him.
“Lizzy? What sort of face is that? He must have offended you insomeway or another.”
She shook her head. “Nothing of import, Uncle. A gentleman is still a man, after all, and I suppose none of them are perfect.”
“Knaves and wretches, to a man. Remember that, Lizzy, when you do marry, and give the poor soul the same generosity of spirit you seem to have bestowed on this Darcy fellow. By the by, you must still inform your father of this on Friday when you go home. When he learns of it, I doubt you shall be permitted out of Longbourn’s drawing room until the day your parents find you a husband, and God help you all in that search. I hope it all comes right, Lizzy. I am sorry to say that we shall have to curtail any further plans you had for amusement while here in Town.”
She leaned her head against the glass as the city rolled by. “I have seen enough of London for a lifetime, Uncle. It was a holiday I shall never forget.”
The house on Gracechurch street looked the same as it had two days earlier. For no reason he could describe, this struck Darcy as novel. Why should everything not be different? He was admitted with little ceremony and duly presented his card for Mr Gardiner.
As he waited, he would have been a cur not to confess that his ears strained for any sound from the family rooms or the stair. Wasshestill a resident of the house? Or had she already made her return to Hertfordshire, where she must be once again lodged in the apartment above some humble Meryton shop? Perhaps her father was the local bookseller—that would account for her great literacy and intelligence. Or perhaps a curate, or a stewardfor some generous landowner—either would have taught her that consideration for others and her understanding and sense.
No sound was forthcoming, save the scraping of a door behind him, where Mr Gardiner himself stood to welcome him into the study. “Mr Darcy,” he offered a slight, but respectful bow. “Please, do come in.”
“Thank you for seeing me, Mr Gardiner.” Darcy followed the man and was shown to a perfectly suitable study, lined with various sorts of books and furnished with understated quality. Darcy glanced about with approval and accepted the seat which was offered.
“Mr Darcy,” Gardiner began, “I must say, I remain curious about the events of two days ago. How was it that when I was not to be found, you and my niece took it upon yourselves to wait elsewhere and without any sort of chaperon? Why should her safety and her reputation have been jeopardised as they were?”
Darcy’s toes curled within his boots. “These are fair questions, sir. Miss Elizabeth must already have informed you of her desire to avoid the house and the reason for it.”
“Indeed, and while I can hardly blame her, I cannot condone either her actions or yours. If she was so desirous of avoiding Collins, she could have remained within her room rather than taking up with a stranger.”
“Mr Gardiner, I understand and accept your accusations of ungentlemanly conduct. Allow me to assure you that Miss Elizabeth has earned my highest respect, and I sought to protect her, and her reputation, as vigilantly as I do my own sister’s.”
Gardiner studied him gravely. “Why did you come to speak to me today, Mr Darcy? I have already sent a signed statement to the earl, concurring with your account of having passed the night in this house rather than your own. What more would you request?”
“I came to offer my gratitude,” he answered in a quiet voice. “Both to yourself and to Miss Elizabeth, if I may.”
“Lizzy is upstairs even now, preparing for her departure. She leaves for Hertfordshire within the hour, and when I asked if she would receive company, she declined.”
Darcy felt as if all the air had rushed from his lungs and could not understand why. Had he really counted so desperately upon seeing her one last time? “I am sorry to hear that,” he managed, a little roughly. He looked down to his hands, uncertain what he was next to say.
“Lizzy will naturally inform her family of her… high jinks. However, from all I can see, her reputation has been spared. I understand you protected her adequately both while in Town and in the presence of your own relations. For that, I must owe you something of my own gratitude, though I have not forgotten that you were the man to have placed her at risk. I presume your own circumstances have been brought to order?’
He released a low sigh. “Not so thoroughly as I would wish. My character has been cleared, with much gratitude to yourself, but there remain certain unavoidable matters which demand the exercise of duty.”
Gardiner frowned. “May I wish you the very best in your endeavours, sir.” He rose, signalling that the interview was over.
“If I may ask one thing, sir,” Darcy interjected as he stood. “Miss Elizabeth—her prospects are not in any way damaged?”
Gardiner permitted a twitch of his cheek. “I daresay no more than they already were by matters which were beyond her control. You may be easy, sir, for my niece assured me that she would not seek any sort of recompense from you for the risks she undertook. You are free to concern yourself only with your duty to your own family.”
Darcy drew a slow breath of freedom… and it stabbed him like an arrow. “I… I understand.”
“Good day, Mr Darcy.”
Darcy bowed his farewell and moved toward the door. His feet were numb, even more so than when they had been pinched andblistered by the wrong shoes. It was as if they simply refused to carry him away fromher,but his mind had decreed that he was to go, and so his body shuffled on without them. Could he not have at least bade her farewell?
A noise sounded on the stair, and he turned in that direction full of hope. It was only two men, carrying a travelling trunk down the steps. He closed his eyes, then one last desperate attempt turned him back.
“Mr Gardiner, sir, Miss Elizabeth informed me that you take pleasure in the Lake District. When next you journey North, I hope you will consider stopping in Derbyshire.”
The man’s face warmed. “We always spend a day or two, at least. Mrs Gardiner lived many years in Lambton, sir, and she frequently toured Pemberley as a girl. She took me back there last year, and a fine estate it is.”
