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During the visit young Mr Goulding paid many pretty compliments to Kitty and Lydia, which were met with barely concealed disdain by the younger Bennets. Lizzy was not surprised when their mother admonished her sisters upon the Gouldings’ departure, but she was astonished when Mrs Bennet went on with:

“You should take a leaf from your sister’s book! We all know how unpleasant Mr Darcy was when he first came into Hertfordshire and how Lizzy hated him. Aye! And he was crippled and blind when Lizzy accepted him too! But she is no fool! Now she will have a comfortable life as mistress of a grand estate while you chase your penniless officers!”

“Mama!” said Lizzy, aghast that such words should be expressed at all, let alone with her husband staying under the same roof. “Please know that any unpleasantness on Mr Darcy’s part was a misunderstanding. He is merely uncomfortable with people he does not know, just as Papa was. It is all forgot. I would not have accepted Mr Darcy if I did not hold him in the deepest affection. Nor do I think that any marriage without that as a basis can prosper.”

Kitty and Lydia giggled, thinking that Lizzy had declared herself their champion.

“As for you two,” said Lizzy, rounding on her younger sisters. “You would do well to look beneath the surface. Mr Goulding has never been anything but kind to you. He may not be the handsomest man in Hertfordshire, but he is certainly very amiable and would be a loving husband and father.”

“That is all very well for you to say!” said Lydia. “At least Mr Darcy is comely, even if he is blind!”

“And a little old,” added Kitty.

Lizzy pursed her lips but forbore to say more, having guiltily recalled her speech expressing her disdain for young Mr Goulding to her aunt.

Later, when she was walking in quiet companionship in the garden with Jane, idly deadheading roses, Lizzy assuaged her conscience on the potential hypocrisy of her outburst by observing that while Mr Goulding’s intellectual powers might not have suited her, he was more than a match for Kitty or Lydia.

Jane stopped and cast her eyes down. “I suppose your rebuke to Kitty and Lydia might just as well have been directed at me.”

“No, Jane!” assured Lizzy. “They just annoy me sometimes with their shallowness. My speech was not aimed at you.”

“It should have been. Mr Thorne has been more than kind to me, but I have heartlessly ignored him while pining for a man with not half his character. I have seen Mr Thorne at the theatre occasionally with the Garths, but he did not come by our box. He even recently visited Uncle, looking very well in a dark suit with a striped waistcoat, but was unable to stop for tea.”

“He has been very busy lately,” replied Lizzy, “doing some deal with the East India Company to help transport their goods to the Americas. That is his biggest problem, you see—finding cargo for the forward journey. I only know so much because Darcy has put some money towards his venture. I find I do not care for commerce. I leave that aspect of Fitzwilliam’s work to Mr Trevor.”

“Perhaps I have exhausted Mr Thorne’s patience,” sighed Jane.

“I do not think so, Jane. He may simply not wish to impose himself. Did you smile encouragingly at him at the theatre?”

“I could not be so forward, Lizzy.”

“Then how is he to know that you would have welcomed his visiting your box? Please talk to Uncle about it.”

Jane promised to do so. The rest of their walk in the garden was spent reminiscing on the happy days they had spent there, knowing full well they might never walk in the garden at Longbourn together again.

Elizabeth spent the last morning of her visit discussing estate matters with Harry and Charlotte. After lunch the two eldest Bennets kissed their mother goodbye and promised to write. Darcy gave a very creditable bow, which made Lizzy’s heart swell with pride—only she and Finn knew how hard he had worked to regain full use of his legs. Darcy then kissed Mrs Bennet’s hand so gallantly that she giggled girlishly in response. Finn guided his master into the carriage, the step was put up and they were off.

Chapter 55: Bristol fashion

Mr Thorne had a crisis of confidence when his new valet Kimble gave a finishing tug to his cravat and invited his master to view the result in the mirror. Who was the fine-looking stranger staring back at him? He had always thought of himself as a man of action. The gentleman in the glass looked instead as if he should be sitting in a club, drinking brandy and playing cards. Mr Thorne had the presence of mind to pretend to look pleased and thanked his valet graciously. But after Kimble had retreated to the dressing room, he tugged a little at the uncomfortably tight cravat and twisted his square chin in defiance of the high shirt points that hemmed it in. He wondered if he was going too far, whether his attraction to Miss Jane Bennet had become an obsession. Perhaps he was just making a nuisance of himself? Thorne wished his mother was still alive so that he might talk to her. She had always been the voice of common sense when his ambitious business plans went slightly awry.

Thus, instead of hounding off immediately to London to visit the Gardiners in his new feathers before his scheduled meetings with the representatives of the East India Company, Mr Thorne lingered in Bristol and continued to oversee his business there. If he was having second thoughts about his new wardrobe, indeed, his whole new look, these were quickly assuaged when he encountered others in the street. Gentlemen of his acquaintance gave him especially deferential nods. No less than three ladies who had entertained hopes towards him tried to gain his attention by either waving, or in one case, calling out to him across the street. He tipped his hat and moved on. Thorne tried to imagine talking with his mother, divining what advice she might have given him. It was not long before he knew what it would have been: put it at the back of the stove. He would stop importuning Jane Bennet like a callow youth and try to regain his equanimity.

Thus, March was largely spent in Bristol, during which he focussed on his upcoming negotiations, possibly the biggest deal he had ever made—if it came off—although he did not think it particularly likely to succeed. The deal he was offering was a good one, beneficial to both parties, but Mr Thorne thought it likely John Company would turn it down simply because they were used to doing things themselves.

Without wishing to, his thoughts turned again to Jane Bennet and her uncle. Mr Thorne had dealt with Edward Gardiner for several years now and knew him to be an honest and hardworking man. Mr Gardiner wished to extend their interactions, had hoped to form a partnership with him, with Edward running the London end of the business while Mr Thorne chiefly handled Bristol and the Americas. The problem was that Mr Thorne already had his own office in London, run by a competent quartermaster he had trained himself, Bob Childers. In short, the advantage was mostly to Mr Gardiner. Probably Edward realised this and hoped to forward the partnership through his niece—to keep it in the family, so to speak. The problem was that Mr Gardiner had his own ways of doing things, which weren’t entirely consistent with Thorne’s methods. Edward was something of a perfectionist whereas Thorne knew himself to be far more practical in nature. In short, he judged Mr Gardiner to be a far better inventor than a trader. Thorne had already bought the rights to set up Mr Gardiner’s winch on his docks in Bristol and was arranging to use it in Boston also. He supposed that if he did marry and have children, he would probably go down to London less frequently, but again he was certain that Childers could handle that. No, thought Thorne, he was probably better focusing his interactions with Edward Gardiner on the winch.

Then it came to him—surely others could also use this winch? If Benjamin Thorne could trade in tea and cotton, could he not also trade in mechanical devices? And would not the winch transform the East India Company’s docks? They had that new yard, filled with antiquated devices for loading and unloading... Perhaps there was a good reason to take Edward Gardiner into partnership after all. Childers could run the day-to-day business in London while Edward focused on improving how they did things. They could trade the devices he built as well...

Having reached his office overlooking the docks, Thorne viewed the harbour and tried to step back from his thoughts. He wondered if his passion for Jane Bennet was driving his reasoning. He had always thought of himself as a coldly analytical man, a risk-taker, but one who carefully calculated the odds. Now he wondered if was convincing himself to make a bad bargain because of her. He had never been in love before. Jane was so different to the other ladies of his acquaintance; compared to her, they hardly deserved that appellation. She was so calm and genteel. She reminded him a lot of his mother, but she looked like a goddess. If his feeble imagination had tried to conjure the perfect woman, Thorne was sure that lady would have resembled Jane Bennet... Then he realised he was thinking of Jane Bennet again.

The talks with the East India Company, begun in early April, proved protracted. Nonetheless, he was in familiar territory, knew their game, and was patient, even dogged, though they tried to get more for less. He was less sure of his footing when it came to the mixed business and pleasure of Jane and her relatives. Mr Thorne struggled to gain some perspective. When in Bristol, he went for uncharacteristically long walks, disdaining his carriage and walking all the way from his residence in Clifton to his office downtown, much to his new valet’s dismay. He focused resolutely on his proposals to Edward Gardiner and John Company; weighed them up and down and turned them around like two tea chests. He put them inside each other; considered them apart. Finally, he decided that whether Jane Bennet would have him or not, a partnership with Edward Gardiner would be an asset and a way he might put his thumb on the scales with the East India Company. With new resolution, he set out for London, taking his valet.

In accordance with her sister’s advice, Jane broached the topic of Mr Thorne at breakfast on the day following her return to Cheapside. When Jane entered the parlour a little earlier than normal so that she might catch her uncle before he left for work, she found him relating the latest developments in the East India deal to her aunt with great animation. Mr Thorne had brought two directors of the company to the Southwark dock on the previous day in order to demonstrate Mr Gardiner’s winch to them. Their arrival half an hour after one of his ships had docked was likely no coincidence. Mr Gardiner was sure one of Mr Thorne’s spotters had seen the ship enter the Thames. Thus, the visitors were able to see Mr Gardiner’s men unloading the ship with great efficiency using the winch. One of the directors, who had been consulting his watch, pulled a notepad and pencil from his pocket, immediately calculated they could shave a week off the schedule of each of their ships, translated this to tonnage and whispered the figure of the additional profit into his colleague’s ear. They had thanked Mr Gardiner politely and gone off with Mr Thorne for further discussions.

Thus, while pouring herself a cup of tea, Jane casually remarked that she had not seen Mr Thorne much lately and missed his visits. A quick glance was exchanged by the Gardiners. When Mrs Gardiner saw her husband to the door a quarter of an hour later, he assured her he would invite Mr Thorne for tea or dinner at the first opportunity.

Mr Gardiner did not have to wait long. Mr Thorne arrived at the warehouse in the afternoon with outstanding news—the East India Company wanted to go forward with the partnership. They were to present themselves at two to sign the contract. Mr Gardiner was ecstatic. He immediately suggested they return to the French café for lunch to celebrate, but Thorne had a better idea. He was staying at the Clarendon, an extravagance his valet had suggested on the basis that his previous master had frequented it. Thorne had been inclined to return to his usual lodgings at The Bolt-in-Tun in Fleet Street. But the thought that any messages relayed between himself and John Company during the final stages of their negotiations would be directed to the Clarendon had swayed him—after all, success bred success. When Mr Thorne suggested to Mr Gardiner that they instead have dinner together at the Clarendon at his expense, Mr Gardiner asked if he might be permitted to bring along his wife and niece. Mr Thorne could not suppress a wide grin when he said they would be most welcome.