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“Someone from the Royal Society,” replied Darcy.

“By Jove, not one of those jobbernolls!” declared the earl. “Send him to the rightabout!”

Darcy, who was rather tired of arguing with his uncle, saw a possible escape from the current impasse.

“Send him in,” he advised the footman.

“Hang it, Darcy! We haven’t finished discussing the layout of the mews—not every townhouse will have need of space for a carriage!”

“I beg your pardon, Uncle, but I try to make time for other members of the society. This is a casual call. I do not expect it will take long.”

“Oh, very well!” huffed his uncle. “I’ll make use of the convenience whilst you send him on his way!” And so saying, he stepped into a closet under the stair that contained a commode chair.

Mr Gardiner was duly announced and stepped into the room, casting a wondrous glance around at the bookshelves, appreciating the opulent but erudite atmosphere of the study. He was tempted to forget his mission and discuss his winch with Mr Darcy who, as a fellow member of the society, must surely appreciate his invention. But his sense of family duty won and, with an internal sigh, he cleared his throat.

“Mr Darcy, it is an honour to meet you, sir, although not under the circumstances I would have chosen.”

Darcy, who had grasped Mr Gardiner’s outstretched hand to shake it, frowned and released it; dropping his own hand to his side and saying “Oh?”

Mr Gardiner looked down and bit his lip as he gathered his thoughts, before looking out from under his brows.

“Mr Darcy, I have just returned from Hertfordshire and called here at the urging of my sister, Frances Bennet, who is very upset…”

The name finally clicked into place like a puzzle piece in Darcy’s memory. Gardiner… the dance at Netherfield with Elizabeth Bennet… her uncle elected to the Royal Society… Damnation!

Suddenly furious that he had been imposed upon in this clandestine fashion, Darcy retreated behind his desk. Sticking his well-shaven chin out, he asked rather imperiously: “Yes?”

Edward Gardiner’s heart sank at Mr Darcy’s defensive reaction. Drawing on his best skills in negotiation, he continued: “Mr Darcy, I believe that my sister wrote to you. Please let me apologise if that letter was not as respectful as it might have been—she has had much to bear lately. I understand there was an incident at the Netherfield ball, which resulted in you falling off a balcony with my niece, Elizabeth. I love my niece very dearly, Mr Darcy, and I am disturbed by the rumours circulating in Meryton. I have come to ask you to do the right thing and marry her.”

Darcy cast his eyes to the ceiling and let out an exasperated, “Erggghh!”

Returning his eyes to his interlocutor, he regarded him stonily in silence, before speaking.

“Sir! This is ridiculous! I danced with your niece once at Netherfield. We were merely taking the night air afterwards on the balcony, in full view of other guests, when she slipped. My clumsy attempt to prevent her falling resulted in us both going over the side. While I regret being unable to prevent your niece’s subsequent injury, I am not the cause of it and have nothing to answer for.”

Mr Gardiner shuffled his feet and swallowed uneasily. His cravat felt uncomfortably tight. “I beg your pardon, Mr Darcy, but my niece is not a clumsy lass. The word is that you had your hands on her waist prior to the fall.”

“That is a total fabrication, sir,” returned Mr Darcy. But before he could say anything further, their conference was disrupted when the imposing Earl of Matlock stepped out of the closet.

The Earl’s hand tugged the bellpull and, after adopting a stance that reminded Darcy forcibly of the portrait of Henry VIII in the Trinity College Great Hall, he spoke: “You, sir! are trespassing, and will kindly remove yourself from my nephew’s property!”

Mr Gardiner stood his ground. “I beg your pardon, sir,” he said, knowing nought of Mr Darcy’s relative who did not frequent the Royal Society; “but my business is with Mr Darcy. It is a most serious affair of honour, and I beg your leave to settle it with him, tête-à-tête.”

“Are you challenging my nephew to a duel, sir?” continued Lord Geoffrey belligerently. “I would not recommend it! He is an expert with both sword and pistol!”

Before Mr Gardiner could deny any such sanguinary intention, Darcy’s footman Farley arrived. With a flick of his wrist, the earl signalled his wish that the visitor should be ejected. Never having received such a request from his master during the course of his employment, Farley hesitated; but when the earl impatiently grabbed Mr Gardiner’s left upper arm, he mirrored Lord Geoffrey’s action and together they bundled the fellow out the front door and deposited him on the step.

Throughout these proceedings Mr Gardiner protested but did not resist. He was left feeling humiliated, not only by his summary ejection, but also by the knowledge that his coachman had witnessed the whole thing.

For his part, Darcy, who had stood rooted behind his desk in his study, was torn between relief at finding the interview at an end and embarrassment at having such an unprecedented fracas occur in his house. On further reflection he could not help but feel that his uncle’s physical intervention in the matter implied some guilt on Darcy’s part.

When the earl returned to the study slapping his hands together as if ridding them of dirt, Darcy voiced his concern. “Uncle, I thank you for your interest in my welfare but surely such a matter would have been better settled by reasoned dialogue.”

“Nonsense!” said the earl. “I heard everything from your cubby hole and saw the instant I stepped into the room that the fellow was a Cit. Encroaching mushroom! Why my father would have had the fellow horse-whipped! Member of the Royal Society, my foot!”

“I assure you, sir, he is what he claimed to be,” replied Darcy calmly. “I would rather have settled the matter with him at once. Who knows? He may now seek me out in public at a Royal Society meeting.”

The earl was on the verge of expounding on how he would deal with such a contingency when Farley returned to the open study door.