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Outside the door, Mrs Gardiner rolled her eyes. There was no way she was going to permit Lizzy to start a day school anywhere!

“How much longer do you expect to be at the Garths’? Have you heard anything more of Jane Fairfax?” asked Lizzy.

Mrs Gardiner could not hear the reply, but the conversational tone of Jane’s answer convinced her that her eldest niece had mastered her emotions. She made her way up the stairs to the landing. There she found Finn, still bent on reconstructing Mr Gardiner’s shirts into something grander than their original maker had ever achieved. An interview was arranged for five. Then Mrs Gardiner called for tea in the parlour with her nieces before Jane departed.

Thus, at five, Mr Darcy, dressed once more in his boots and tailcoat, was transported downstairs by Finn and Mick into Mr Gardiner’s study. As he was eased into a wing chair in front of the fire, Darcy felt as though his cravat had suddenly become uncomfortably tight.

From his superior position leaning against the mantelpiece, Mr Gardiner was about to start with a very condescending: “Well, young man, I believe you wished to have speech with me,” when he realised that Mr Darcy was probably only a few years younger than himself. He supposed that having a wife of several years and three sons had influenced his viewpoint. Instead, he hastily deconstructed his false sense of comparative worldliness, cleared his throat and offered Mr Darcy a brandy.

Accepting this, Darcy took a nervous sip, reflecting that he had never been a particularly persuasive person—that was Bingley’s forté. Furthermore, Darcy had just realised how much more difficult his task now was—to explain a delicate topic without being able to see the reaction of the man he was trying to convince. Taking his heart into his hands, Darcy launched into his speech.

“Mr Gardiner, you must understand that as master of an enviable estate and tolerable fortune, I have been the object of continuous very unflattering attention from dozens of ladies and match-making mamas.”

Mr Gardiner bristled and said in a very tight voice, “Go on.”

Darcy took a very deep breath. “I had not long been at Netherfield when your niece, Miss Elizabeth, came to my attention. I believe I can trace my first admiration of her character to a card game. I was saying some very cutting things in Latin to my friend Mr Bingley regarding his gameplay when she defended his character in kind with a quote from the classics.”

Mr Gardiner frowned, wondering how this second statement followed from the first.

“You must understand,” continued Darcy, “that my father married an earl’s daughter and that my uncle, the Earl of Matlock, has considerable influence over my affairs until I turn thirty, which is still over a year away.”

The frown deepened. It sounded to Mr Gardiner like Mr Darcy was trying to talk down the value of Lizzy’s compensation.

“But I must admit that during my time at Netherfield,” said Darcy, “that I developed a deep regard for your niece...”

Mr Gardiner’s eyebrows shot up. Maybe not.

“Given that the match would hardly be welcomed by my family, I tried to resist my growing attachment to Miss Elizabeth. As you are probably aware, I agreed to visit the Continent on behalf of my uncle to arrange the marriage of my cousin, the Viscount Stanley, to a foreign princess.”

Now Mr Gardiner was thoroughly confused, unsure which way Mr Darcy’s speech was heading. It was just as well Darcy could not see Mr Gardiner’s consternation; else he might have been daunted.

“Before I arrived in Vienna I began to acknowledge my feelings for Miss Elizabeth; that her innate qualities meant more to me than the wealth of one lady I had considered as a potential mate or the nobility of another. But it was only when I fell sick with a brain fever that I truly knew my mind. I became deathly ill in Vienna, Mr Gardiner, and am lucky to be alive. My life was spared by God through the agency of a very proficient doctor, a miracle worker. It is truly ironic that I was only able to glimpse happiness from the pits of despair. Your niece was the only one I thought of then and I understood that I had forfeited my chance of complete happiness by not securing her in Hertfordshire. Had I offered for her then I would likely have never even gone to Vienna. Miss Elizabeth is unlike any other lady I have known. With such beauty, charm and grace, mixed with such ready wit, I finally realised that I could search the world and not find another like her.”

This was not quite the speech that Mr Gardiner had been expecting in response to his letter. It was clear that Mr Darcy was either hopelessly in love or insane. Perhaps his illness had tipped him over the edge?

“Mr Darcy, you will forgive me, but this comes as a surprise. I had hoped merely that you would settle some money on my niece, as compensation for the damage to her reputation incurred by that unfortunate incident at Netherfield.”

Darcy sighed, feeling his suit was not being well received. “I realise that I am no longer the catch that I once was, Mr Gardiner. My blindness and infirmity render me ineligible in the eyes of most. But I want you to know that I truly love your niece, Mr Gardiner, and had intended to return to Hertfordshire to offer for her if God had seen fit to return me to health. Alas, it was not to be. I know I can only be a poor husband to your niece, sir; a vibrant and healthy lady deserves better, but I hope that the things I still possess: my wealth and position, will make you look favourably upon my suit.”

Well! thought Mr Gardiner, a marriage proposal! It was not what he had been expecting after being turfed out of Mr Darcy’s townhouse in Mayfair! He began to get suspicious. While Mrs Gardiner had not told him of the gossip she had overheard on the state of Mr Darcy’s health that very afternoon from her niece’s lips, she had privately speculated to her husband on the nature of Mr Darcy’s infirmity since his arrival and, coincidentally, made several philosophical speeches about how important her nieces’ health and happiness were to her.

“Mr Darcy, forgive me for making further inquiries of such a personal nature... You said you had a brain fever, but I worry that your blindness and infirmity arise from... some other source—one hears such stories of the Ton. I could not forgive myself if my niece’s health was jeopardised in any way. I love her dearly.”

Darcy blushed deeply. “Sir... You have not, perhaps, been speaking to my aunt’s parson?”

Mr Gardiner was again having difficulty following the conversation and had further doubts about Mr Darcy’s rationality.

Prompted by the dread silence, Mr Darcy continued. “I assure you that Lady Catherine is completely misinformed!”

“Lady Catherine? Oh! Mr Collins! No, no! Is there something that Lizzy’s cousin knows that I should be aware of?”

Behind his rose-tinted glasses, Mr Darcy closed his eyes in mortification. It was clear that nothing less than full disclosure would be sufficient.

Darcy cleared his throat. “My aunt was under the mistaken impression that I had contracted syphilis due to an unfortunate remark made by my uncle. She arrived at my townhouse several days ago demanding that I marry her daughter, my cousin Anne.”

“Marry her daughter because you had contracted venereal disease?” spluttered Mr Gardiner.

“Do not ask me to explain my aunt’s logic, Mr Gardiner, because I do not understand it myself.”