“Lizzy, can you be a little more… specific?”
Elizabeth sighed in exasperation.
Anne continued, “On what subject should I speak to him? Why speak to an associate of Mr Read?”
Elizabeth let the tension of her last practice session ebb and hurried to communicate her wishes.
“You may talk about anything you choose. I wish you to speak with him because I believe the man is of a kind with George Wickham. I do not trust him, though I cannot say specifically why, nor am I convinced of my conclusion. I overheard enough of their conversation to set my teeth on edge, but I would not condemn a man based on that alone.”
Anne was pondering this news when Mr Read brought his associate from the library to introduce him.
“Miss de Bourgh, Miss Bennet, may I present Mr Gillingham, an associate who has proposed a certain business with me that sounds most promising—most promising indeed.”
“Mr Gillingham, a pleasure to meet you, sir.”
The ladies, in their usual custom, offered nearly identical responses simultaneously. By long-standing tradition, they also curtseyed in unison.
Anne studied the man. “If it is not impertinent, I wonder if you might enlighten us as to your business, Mr Gillingham. Miss Bennet and I are more curious than is common for women.”
“It is not impertinent; not at all. Mr Read seeks to build a canal, and I am in the business of persuading other men of means to participate in the venture. We were simply determining how we might assist each other.”
“And how do you go about that, sir?”
“Well, you see, I am engaged in trade with the territories, and I have certain contacts that might prove useful—men of industry, men of importance, men of stature—that sort of thing.”
Nothing he said was in any way wrong, per se… but a chill ran through Anne at his words, which she had listened to while studiously averting her gaze. She might neverhave truly detected falseness. He was well-dressed, possessed engaging manners, sounded intelligent, and carried an air of trustworthiness. When he looked at them directly and spoke, he appeared sincere. When she looked away and only listened, he lost that ability. Anne supposed she would have thought very well of the man had she not been warned by Lizzy. Of course, she was never entirely certain she did not simply adopt Lizzy’s thoughts without bothering to form her own; but she supposed that when Lizzy held a strong opinion, she was willing to accept her word, absent compelling proof to the contrary.
“Very interesting, Mr Gillingham. Are you connected with men in the legislature, or in industry? Perhaps you are involved in trade, or farming?”
“Ladies, I am not involved in anything that is particularly ladies’ business, or that would interest you. I am sure you would find it dull. I am involved in all those things you mentioned, and I have many contacts who can benefit Mr Read. We are simply working out the specific ways we might help each other. Some will support Mr Read’s proposal, while others will stand in opposition. It takes experience to know which is which, though, as they are not always forthcoming.”
Neither Anne nor Lizzy could completely condemn him because he tried to exclude women from business. By that standard, hardly any man in the world passed muster. They would not take him to task forthattransgression, but something about the way he said it gave them pause.
They conversed for a few more minutes, the ladies becoming increasingly uncomfortable.
Mr Read noticed the ladies’ nervousness, and immediately yet courteously escorted Mr Gillingham out, returning for tea as was his custom. In fact, regarding courtship, Mr Read was a most diligent suitor. He came early and left late, but nobody complained.
“Mr Read, Lizzy has something to say about Mr Gillingham, and I must say I concur.”
Mr Read looked at Lizzy, and listened very carefully to what she had to say. One of the best things about the man was that he listened to anything anybody talking to him said, whether that person was the lady he was courting, another person in his business, a servant, or a street urchin. All got the courtesy of his attention. Lizzy thought that one day she might put him to the ultimate test with Mrs Bennet or Lady Catherine, and dared to think the man might even survivethatexperience.
Lizzy’s description of what she found uncomfortable about the man was brief but sustained; like many revelations, it seemed obvious in hindsight, if not beforehand. Neither Mr Read nor Anne believed they could have detected the falseness before the man had done definite harm, for he had the look and sound of honesty.
Mr Read took his leave a little later, deciding to investigate Mr Gillingham and inform the ladies of what he learned. Mr Hopkinson, not especially busy that week, volunteered to ask around among the trade and servant classes. It seemed unlikely the man could escape their scrutiny.
The exchange confirmed to Elizabeth and Anne that Mr Read was a consummate gentleman; he did not treat ladies as imbeciles or fragile creatures who should be ignored, but treated both with respect, giving their opinions due consideration. It must be noted that both ladies found these traits appealing, andonefound themmost appealing indeed.
~~~
The month after what the ladies euphemistically called thecourtship-forte incidentbrought several revelations.
The first was that Mr Gillingham was a snake of the worst sort. He was much subtler, but also more damaging, than MrWickham could ever be. The man was absolutely mercenary, wholly lacking in morality or proper feelings, and had managed to exhaust the fortunes of several prominent families. Like Mr Wickham, he could never keep the profits, most squandered in local gaming halls and brothels, so he always looked for more. He had perfected his act and could fool nearly anybody.
His perfidy discovered, Mr Read was both mortified to have brought such a snake into Miss de Bourgh’s home, and frightfully angry at men who tried to take advantage of those he held dear. The man disappeared without a trace a few weeks later. No amount of cajoling could get anything out of Mr Read about his fate, aside from the observation that men who had been taken advantage of were generally quite eager for the opportunity to find the perpetrator. Whether Mr Read had any connection to the disappearance, neither lady was particularly concerned about, as long as Mr Gillingham never returned.
Elizabeth’s second revelation was that she gradually concluded it was better to play the pianoforte with her fingers than her head. The sound on her best days was still nearly as bad as Mary on her worst, but it was improving. She could now play some of Beethoven’s simpler pieces, and some of Herr Bach’s began to sound good enough to bring a little pleasure. It would still be some months before she was willing to let anybody else listen, but she could at least foresee a time when she would be prepared. She had also begun singing again, even more to her chagrin, since she had always possessed a good voice and there was less excuse for giving that up than the pianoforte.
Her third revelation was that she was quite possibly the worst chaperone in the civilised world; though not for the reason the uninitiated might assume. She was blind as a bat, so having her sit as chaperone for a couple might seem unreasonably silly, since they could get away with nearly anything. The problem was that she could perfectly well hear an ant crawling up a wall onthe other side of the room. There was nothing a couple could do that did not make enough noise to sound like a herd of horses running through the parlour. It took only one or two sessions of this duty to decide she had had quite enough, and Elizabeth discovered pressing business at her school anytime Mr Read and Anne engaged in serious courting.
