Chapter 27

"W es, you will accompany me to Gardiner's office today," Lord Cyril De Melville, the Earl of Jersey told his son, Lord Wesley, Viscount Westmore. "As my heir it is important you are aware of our investments. You remember how I told you that Gardiner has consistently delivered better than expected returns for us."

Wesley De Melville, called Wes by his family and friends, was seven and twenty, relatively tall, just over six feet in height, well built, with light brown hair, and almost grey eyes. Unlike many lordlings in the Ton , Westmore did not participate in the debauchery and dissipation of many of his set.

"Yes Father, I am well aware his endeavours have paid off handsomely for us. As I have nothing which precludes me from accompanying you, I am more than happy to do so," Westmore told his father respectfully. "If memory serves Birchington told me he and his father are to meet with Mr. Gardiner as well."

"That is correct, Son," the Earl agreed. "Bedford is a participant in this venture. Thanks to his owning the Dennington Lines he will provide the ships, Gardiner the capital and knowhow, and us additional capital. We are to import spices, tea, and fabrics from India, China, and other countries in the east. With the volume we will purchase, the prices will be reduced which will give us a competitive edge when the ships arrive in England and Gardiner and his men sell everything. It could be one of the most profitable ventures yet."

"It is sad that rather than disdain trade, more of the landed gentry do not embrace it," Westmore shook his head. "That way, a bad yield one year, or more than one, would not bankrupt some, like has happened to too many landowners when there have been a failure of crops."

"Unfortunately, too many of our class are determined to hold onto the past ways of doing things—even at the cost of self-ruination," Lord Jersey stated.

"When are we to depart for Mr. Gardiner's offices?" Westmore enquired.

"In an hour," his father informed him.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

"Jane dear, Hopkinson heard you were with us and requested you visit the offices to check some complicated computations in which he cannot discover the error or errors," Gardiner told his niece.

Just like her sisters, Jane too was very intelligent—in her case it was with sums and maths in general. She could look at columns of numbers and find an error almost immediately, one which had eluded clerks for some days already. Not only was she good with numbers, but she enjoyed working with them immensely. The aforementioned Hopkinson was the head clerk in Gardiner's offices.

Gardiner was aware his head clerk found any excuse he could to request Miss Bennet's assistance. Like so many who saw Jane's beauty and experienced her kindness, he was infatuated with her. It would always be from a distance as the man was under no illusions that his employer's niece would be interested in himself. Because Gardiner was aware Hopkinson would never move beyond speaking to Jane, he knew she was completely safe with him. Besides, there were six other clerks in the office, and his own office looked onto that area via a large window, so he would see Jane at all times .

"As I have nothing scheduled today, it would be my pleasure to accompany you. If it were the morrow, I would have had to demur as I am to visit Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley in the morning," Jane averred. "You know how I love numbers and visiting 23 Gracechurch Street where we used to visit you and Aunt Maddie before you moved is always a pleasure as I reminisce about when we were all much younger."

She intended to invite the sisters to visit her at Gardiner House after Lizzy and Mary arrived in a few days. Jane was looking forward to seeing her Mama and sisters again. It had been less than a sennight since she departed Longbourn but she was already missing her family members.

"If Hopkinson ever crosses a line you will not hesitate to inform me, will you?"

"Uncle Edward, Mr. Hopkinson is harmless and has never come close to breeching propriety."

"I did not think he would, but you are under my protection, so I had to mention that." Gardiner paused for a moment. "Will you be able to be ready to depart in a half hour?"

"We could leave now. All I need is my outerwear and to farewell Aunt Maddie and my cousins," Jane smiled.

Not ten minutes later uncle and niece were in one of his carriages on the way to Gracechurch Street. As soon as the footman on duty at the offices relieved them of their outerwear, the two made for Gardiner's office.

The whole of the first floor had been altered. Gone was the dining parlour, sitting room, drawing room, and a parlour. In their place was a waiting area for clients who had an appointment to see the owner, Gardiner's office, and a large open area where the seven clerks sat. There was a door leading from the waiting area into Gardiner's office, another from his office into the large space where his clerks worked, and a door from the clerk's space to the waiting area. Rather than a solid wall between the offices, there was a large window in the wall which, if Gardiner desired, could be covered from inside of his office.

Jane did not miss the waiting area was being cleaned by a maid. She knew the cleaning usually occurred at the end of the day, so she looked at her uncle questioningly as the two entered his office.

"My partners in the latest venture will be calling in less than an hour. You know one of them as you address him as Uncle Reggie. In addition the Duke of Bedford, his son, the Marquess of Birchington, and the Earl of Jersey will be meeting with me," Gardiner revealed. "The latter may bring his son, Viscount Westmore, with him today."

It did not surprise Jane that her uncle was unaffected when mentioning his highly ranked business associates. Like the Bennets, Uncle Edward judged a man by the content of his character, not his rank and wealth.

After a few minutes, Jane used the door leading into the clerks' office, and made her way to Mr. Hopkinson's desk which was in front of the opposite wall facing her uncle's work area. "Good morning everyone," Jane greeted the clerks who were present. All stood and bowed to their employer's niece.

She was used to Mr. Hopkinson's cheeks pinking when she approached him so she ignored his reaction to her as she always did so as to not embarrass the man. Soon, any other distractions fell away as Jane poured over the ledger with which the clerk was having trouble. She was in the world of numbers and that was all she saw.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

"Matlock, I did not expect to see you here," Bedford stated when he and his son were shown into the waiting area. They were followed by Jersey and his son and the former had the same reaction as the Duke.

"My second son is engaged. The announcement will be in the papers on the morrow, and Elaine and I spent Christmastide…" Matlock gave a brief synopsis of meeting Gardiner who had offered him an opportunity to invest in his newest project. "Elaine, Richard, his fiancée Mary, Mrs. Bennet, and Miss Elizabeth will arrive at Gardiner's house in two days. Once the Bennets are at Gardiner House, my wife and son will join me at Matlock House."

"Well I for one welcome my daughter's father-in-law as another investor," Bedford boomed.

The Duke and two Earls discussed a bill they were all interested in while Birchington and Westmore spoke of when they would meet at Angelo's for a fencing match.

Not five minutes after the men arrived, they were shown into Gardiner's office. Westmore was last to enter and he was about to join the other men at the table when he froze. Sitting in the larger office, pouring over a ledger was a wonderous, blond, beautiful creature who immediately captured his attention.

Jane felt someone staring at her and lifted her head from the ledger. The tip of her tongue was protruding from the one corner of her mouth, a habit she had when she was concentrating on solving a numerical puzzle. She saw a man whose eyes were locked on her person. Being a rational woman, Jane Bennet did not believe in love at first sight, but even through the glass separating them she felt something inexplicable.

Westmore could not believe that Mr. Gardiner employed female clerks, especially one who looked like that. If he had looked at more than her face he would have noted her clothing was that of one gently born.

"Wes? Will you join us?" Lord Jersey asked gruffly.

"Mr. Gardiner that is very modern of you to employ a female clerk," Westmore stated as if he had not heard a word his father had said.

Gardiner could not but be amused as he fought to stop himself laughing aloud. "That young lady is my niece, Miss Jane Bennet. Her late mother was my sister, and she hails from the estate of Longbourn in Hertfordshire," Gardiner explained. "She is a wizard with maths and can see problems in a blink of an eye that my clerks have missed."

‘ Beautiful and intelligent, ' Westmore told himself silently. ‘ I need to meet this lady .' As much as he wanted to keep his eyes fixed on the woman he now knew was Miss Jane Bennet, Westmore forced himself to sit next to his father who fixed him with a questioning look. All Westmore could do was shrug his shoulders. He could not explain his reaction to himself, much less his father.

As hard as it was with Miss Bennet the other side of the glass, Westmore forced himself to concentrate on what was being discussed around the table.

As soon as she saw the younger man sit, Jane chastised herself. ‘ You are not a schoolgirl enamoured with romance novels! I had just discovered the errors and now I need to locate them again. Jane Lydia Bennet, pull yourself together! ' Jane commanded herself silently. As much as she wanted to look up at him again, Jane kept her eyes glued to the numbers on the pages before her.

It took her ten minutes to discover the errors again. Jane pointed out the three small errors she had discovered to Mr. Hopkinson; they had been caused by transposed numbers. As he always was, the clerk was effusive in his thanks. She stood and made for the door which would lead her into the waiting area. Before she reached the door, Jane saw her uncle beckon her to enter his office.

Jane took a deep breath knowing she was about to meet the man who discomposed her without trying to. She censured herself for being a silly girl. She had not so much as spoken to him. Jane commanded herself to put her serene mask in place. Taking a deep breath she opened the door into Uncle Edward's office and stepped in .

All of the men around the table stood at her entry. Gardiner made the introductions to the men she had not met. "We are all but concluded here," he told his niece after she sat in the only open chair at the table.

It was the one between the Marquess of Birchington and Viscount Westmore. Even when she was not surreptitiously watching him with her peripheral vision, Jane was aware of the Viscount's presence next to her. It excited her that whenever she looked at him, his eyes were firmly fixed on her.

"So we are agreed," Gardiner summed up, "Bedford will supply eight Dennington Lines ships and we," he looked to the two Earls, "will provide twenty thousand pounds of capital each."

There were ayes and nods from the three men Gardiner had named. "When will the final contracts be prepared?" Bedford enquired.

"By Friday at the latest," Gardiner averred, "what say you we meet back here at eleven on Friday morning to sign the contracts." The other three men all gave their assent. While the men were shaking hands, Westmore turned to the angel next to him.

"Miss Bennet is it impudent of me to ask how long you will be in Town," Westmore enquired.

"The question does not offend me, my Lord," Jane inclined her head. "I plan to remain with my aunt and uncle for at least two months, possibly longer."

"Would you object if my mother were to invite the Gardiners and yourself to a ball being held at Jersey House next week on Wednesday?" Westmore queried.

"Unfortunately I will not be able to attend," Jane responded. There was no missing the way the Viscount's face fell. "Not because I would not like to, but my mother and two younger sisters will be in London and I choose not to attend a ball and abandon them. "

"That is easy to solve, if you give me the names, I will have Mother invite all of you," Westmore stated as a grin lit up his face. She wanted to attend, but she was loyal to her family and would not abandon them just for her own enjoyment. How different she was from the society ladies he knew. A breath of fresh air.

"If Mama and my sisters desire to attend, it will be my pleasure to join them," Jane averred. It was so easy to talk to this man she had only just met.

As much as he wanted to request her hand for all three important sets, Westmore knew that would be imprudent on so short an acquaintance and he wanted to get to know her, not frighten her off. "Did Mr. Gardiner not say his sister passed away?" Westmore remembered.

"Indeed, my mother passed away as she gave me life," Jane explained. "Papa married again and Mama gifted us with two more sisters and two brothers. Elizabeth is next after me, then Mary and Henry, the twins, and Tommy is but sixteen."

"It is only me and my sister; Alicia is twelve years my junior. She turned fifteen on her last birthday. After Alli, Mother and Father were not blessed with another child. We are a small family," Westmore told wistfully. "It would have been nice to be one of five." Westmore noted the other men were standing indicating the meeting was at an end. He too stood, but he bent over and bowed over Miss Bennet's hand. "May I call on you at Gardiner House?" he requested.

"You may Lord Westmore. I believe I would be happy to receive your call." Jane blushed deeply.

When Westmore joined his father in the Jersey town coach, he had a dreamy grin on his face, something about which his father did not comment.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

It did not take much effort for Wes De Melville to have his mother agree to invite the Gardiners and the four Bennet ladies to her ball. "It helps that your father informed me one of the Bennet sisters is engaged to Richard Fitzwilliam and the Matlocks found nothing wanting in the Bennets. The Fitzwilliams will be attending as well."

He intended to call at Gardiner House on the morrow, so Westmore would deliver the invitation in person. As he left his mother's company, the invitation in his pocket, Wesley De Melville, Viscount Westmore walked down the hall whistling.