Chapter 28

“I feel there is so much to discuss. And at least this time we do not have an attentive audience.”

It was the next morning and Darcy and Elizabeth were walking through Hyde Park. It was early, hours before the fashionable time, and they were well wrapped up. They both knew this was not going to be a short conversation. Claire and Robert trailed them, out of hearing but within sight. Elizabeth nodded at Darcy’s opening statement.

“I agree completely. When I got home Claire and I thought about all the things we need to discuss and I have a short list.”

It truth it was closer to a long list than a short list. Darcy smiled at her preparation. She had informed him weeks earlier that she wrote notes at the end of every social event she attended. He expected no less.

“How do you propose to proceed?”

“I think dealing with my family and circumstances will take longer than yours. Should we address your family, and any potential concerns and then move onto mine?”

“I can see that makes sense. Where would you like to start?”

“Let us slay the dragon first. How was Lady Catherine after I left? To quote she felt ‘ill-used’ and was proclaiming this engagement would never stand.”

“I am glad I had spoken of her obsession with my marrying Anne. She claimed a cradle engagement agreed by her and my own mother. Yet she only starting spouting this nonsense after both my parents had passed on. It was something both Anne and I had to work around, and frankly it limited our interactions in the last five years. Anne suffered a severe illness when she was around 10 years of age and has been delicate ever since. She loves me, but as a cousin, and has no intention of ever marrying. Aunt Catherine can shout from the rooftops as much as she wants but it will never happen. Especially as all four Matlocks are supporters of you, and us.

“As to actually dealing with her last night, she sowed the seeds of her acceptance during her antics. She deliberately insulted Lady Maria, and if she was not so intent on bullying you, she should and would have realised it. To insult the sister and cousin of two separate Dukes? Idiocy. And my uncle was blunt in pointing that out to her. He also informed her that you and Desmond were acquaintances, met regularly at Lady Maria’s home and were frequent dance partners at private balls. She is bitterly unhappy at how everything turned out but recognised that there is nothing she can do. She is being despatched back to Kent this very day.

“Oh, and she really upset Lady Susan with her behaviour. She took great delight, almost pleasure, in reminding Aunt Catherine that she was the instrument that brought us together. There is a word I remember from my German classes, schadenfreude. It means taking pleasure in the misfortune of others. It is the only way to describe Aunt Susan last night. I thought Aunt Catherine was going to have an apoplexy.”

Elizabeth had to school her face not to exhibit similar tendencies.

“How was Richard?”

“Richard?”

“Your aunt rather overshadowed his day.”

Darcy smiled at her concern.

“He was fine. Andrew opened his bottle of brandy and the two of them had a very pleasant evening. None of us had a chance to thank you properly for those magnificent gifts.”

“We will come back to the brandy presently. How is Georgiana?”

“Mortified yet happy at the same time. The reason for her letter is that it was a response to a letter from Anne. Apparently, my regard for you was obvious even to her. And she has not even met you.”

Elizabeth blushed wholesomely.

“Anne wrote to Georgie regaling her with stories of my behaviour at Rosings Park and asking for her thoughts on the matter. It was this reply that Aunt Catherine stole from Anne. I do not think she actually read the whole letter, at least not properly. She saw the one section talking about us courting and she was furious. Thus her arrival yesterday afternoon. As you can imagine Georgie felt guilty that her, well gossiping, with her cousin caused the confrontation.

“Yet she is also congratulating herself as a matchmaking.” He stopped. “She is not a mama. Is there such a thing as a matchmaking maiden?”

They both chuckled.

“We will talk to her this week and remind her that letters can fall into the wrong hands. To follow on from your naming of a Shakespeare play, All’s Well That Ends Well.”

“I was wrong. It was not Much Ado About Nothing, more like The Comedy of Errors. But I agree we can provide some guidance in the use of initials and circumspection with regard to family matters. I will send a note today and invite her to call tomorrow. I should stop visiting Darcy House except at public occasions. There will be gossip as it is.”

Darcy did not disagree.

“Can we talk about more personal matters please? I know that you were not at your best in the autumn but you spoke eloquently about the need to ‘marry well’ not just for yourself but for Georgiana’s prospects. What changed? And why me?”

“I know this will seem surprising but I think you made me realise that I needed to change. You spoke very passionately about the importance of family when we were in Hertfordshire. It was unusual and downright surprising for a young lady to openly talk about her relations in trade. Once I came to understand the circumstances it made more sense but frankly I had been exposed for too many years to the attitude evidenced by Caroline Bingley. The desperate desire to hide the ‘taint of trade’.”

Elizabeth laughed.

“Yes, I made no effort to hide the stench of trade.”

“But you always talked about it within the context of helping family. I did not encourage Georgie to seek you out while Richard and I were in Kent but she wanted to hear about it as well. It is the differences in our upbringings. I could throw money at a problem and solve it. You, nor your family, were able to do such a thing and so you acted. I know you do not see it as a sacrifice but you spent four years working very hard to support your family. But again, I do not think this was in my conscious mind. Rather I believe it was lurking in my subconscious. During the month at Pemberley I spent many hours thinking about my future, the need to marry, provide an heir.”

They both blushed and Darcy hurried on.

“I had been an eligible bachelor for seven years, ever since reaching my majority. And the last three years had been the worst of them. That I was still single appeared to be a challenge to every mama of the Ton. You know that I am not my best in large social situations but I knew that I had to make an effort. But a week or so after I returned to London and allowed Aunt Susan to guide my invitations, our paths crossed again.”

His smile was wide and Elizabeth was treated to the sight of his dimples, at a very close distance. Her face flushed and her heart beat much faster. Fitzwilliam Darcy was a very handsome man.

“I did not know what I wanted back at the end of January, although I could have told you what I did not want. Richard and I talked about you once. He mentioned that you should not have been at some of the events, and it was only through your connection with Lady Maria that you were attending. Do not look concerned, because I think it is fundamental to our current happiness. You were open, unassuming and scrupulous in not behaving like a grasping, social climbing, fortune hunter. Again, Caroline Bingley springs to mind. Could she have been friendly yet appropriate with Desmond? Not if she practiced every day for a year. That is your special gift. And somewhere during the last two months you captured my heart. Now it was a sneak attack and I was unaware at the time, but it is the truth. I too thought about us last night, I could hardly do otherwise. I do not know when I fell in love with you, I was in the middle of it and did not even realise.

“Why you? You are intelligent, beautiful, outgoing, which is a wonderful counterpart to my own shy nature, well-read, kind, the list goes on.”

“Did Uncle Gardiner’s elevation play a part?”

Darcy sighed.

“My sigh is because I do not know. You are the daughter of a gentleman, you are proud of your relations in trade, yet that previous stigma, the taint or stench of trade, is no longer so important. It is clear that times are changing, slowly perhaps, but changing nonetheless.”

Elizabeth squeezed his arm as they walked.

“An honest answer, thank you.”

“We will always be honest Eliz…”

Darcy paused.

“I was about to say your name. Can we agree to that?”

“Please. I do notice that you are called Darcy by your family.”

“To call me by my first name is to invite confusion. Georgiana calls me William.”

Elizabeth tasted the name on her tongue.

“William. I like that.”

She was treated to a dimple appearance again.

“Is there anything else you wish to talk about from my side?”

She shook her head and took a deep breath.

“I will try and relate my story in a coherent manner but I know there will be points that need to be explored more thoroughly. Let us go all the way back to July of ’07 and the day of the accident. This will all become clear, because I have given this sentence a great deal of thought. Every Christmas my Aunt and Uncle Gardiner came to visit, and within the first hour of every one of those visits my mother said the following sentence.

‘Mr. Collins will turn us out before Mr. Bennet is cold in his grave, and if you are not kind to us, brother, I do not know what we shall do.’

It was this sentence I thought of immediately when we received the dreadful news. My mother expected her brother to save her but who was going to save the Gardiners? I did not ask so much as tell my parents that I was moving to London to take over running the Gardiner house. That is the start and it is key to many other events.”

Another sigh and Darcy watched Elizabeth square her shoulders.

“We are engaged William and so I am going to be completely honest with you. Other than to my uncle, and Claire and Robert, I have never spoken of this. But we are to be a family and as you said, we will always be honest.”

Just those three sentences alone had myriad questions forming in Darcy’s mind. He momentarily placed his hand over hers and gently squeezed.

“I have many issues with my parents. That I am here under the guardianship of my uncle rather confirms that but I do not talk of them. Ever. My father was the third son and was a newly appointed professor at Cambridge when he suddenly and surprisingly inherited Longbourn. The was a severe outbreak of scarlet fever and his father, mother, and both elder brothers together with their families were victims. He had no training as the Master of an estate and to this day he has no interest. Here is my first tangent.

“The start of my impatience and dismissal of men was at a young age, just after my 11 th birthday. You know of my proficiency with arithmetic and I was already updating the ledgers for Longbourn. My review of the income and expenses had given me an idea for an improvement to the estate. I was dismissed out of hand by my father, and ridiculed by my mother who called me her favourite epitaph for me, a hoyden. For the next five years every time I suggested we do something on or for the estate it was dismissed, both by my parents and the tenant farmers.”

She looked at her fiancé.

“It will be something that we will have to discuss in depth. I have all these ideas, but they are purely as a result of my review of the ledgers. I would like you to listen to me and explain whether any of them are good ideas. I know that there are things I do not know; a review of the ledgers is no substitute for a lifetime of work in the fields.”

Fitzwilliam Darcy could see the passion in his fiancé’s eyes and he responded honestly. And in doing so sealed his marriage to Elizabeth Bennet.

“I understand completely, and even your recognition of the gaps in your knowledge is impressive. You will be at my side in all aspects of our marriage. There is no question I will not answer and frankly I cannot wait to hear all the questions you have.”

On an overcast day, early in the Spring of 1812 the sun burst forth over Hyde Park. Elizabeth looked radiant, delighted and impish, all at once.

“William, you are wonderful.”

It was not a word Darcy associated with himself but he would tolerate it if his wife-to-be insisted! They were quite the pair.

“Jane, Mary and I have undertaken the tenant visits for years and I updated the ledgers for a decade. The three of us ran many of the aspects of the Longbourn Estate. Once my uncle became aware of my aptitude with arithmetic when I was 12, I visited London and assisted him in updating the ledgers of Gardiner Import/Export every quarter. I was always busy, as were my two oldest sisters. Returning back to ’07, the first six months after my uncle’s accident are a blur. There was so much to learn, so much to do, so many demands upon my time. I helped my uncle where I could and his business did not suffer a loss even although he was now an invalid.

“From the start of ’08 things changed. It was clear that Uncle Gardiner was housebound. He fought the pain and went to his office once a week but even that short journey was torture. So I became ever more involved, to the extent that I visited the offices all six days of the week. It was at this point that Claire and Robert were permanently assigned to me. They have been my bodyguards ever since.”

“Bodyguards?”

Elizabeth nodded.

“The warehouses and docks lining the Thames have a reputation for a reason. I never felt threatened but I suspect that is because I was always guarded. I have never been unchaperoned in nearly five years, they have been my constant companions.”

“Yesterday, I noticed you talking to Mrs. Smith before you returned to the drawing room.”

It was not phrased as a question but the intent was clear.

“Claire, could you come forward a moment please? Hold out your left arm. Mr. Darcy, would you please rap your knuckles on Mrs. Smith’s arm.”

Unsure what to expect Darcy did as requested and was startled to hear a dull metallic sound.

“Thank you, Claire. Both Claire and Robert are armed with two knives. One on their forearm and one slipped into their boot. It has only been necessary for them to unsheathe a knife three times in the last four years but I am always protected. Yesterday I asked Claire to remain behind me. I did not know whether your aunt would strike me and I did not want her to react.”

Darcy was astonished at several levels and ashamed at one more, that Elizabeth thought his aunt would actually strike her. More importantly it was clear that there was a deep and close connection between Elizabeth and her two servants. There was friendship entangled with service.

“I really am getting bogged down in this tale. Let me see if I can speed things along.”

There was an immediate sigh.

“I have told this to your sister so I should tell my husband to be. I used a different name when I was assisting my uncle at his offices and warehouse.”

Darcy felt as if he had been unseated from his horse several times already, what was one more.

“I used the name Rose Gardiner when assisting my uncle. When I turned left at the front door and ventured into the city I was Miss Elizabeth Bennet but when I turned right and visited the office or warehouse then I was Rose Gardiner. The first a niece, the second a more distant cousin, but both called Sir Edward uncle. It was done to maintain my reputation.”

“You told Georgiana?”

“I was trying to emphasise the chasm between gentry and those in trade. I am not sure I succeeded, she seemed to think it was a brilliant ruse. We shall have to watch out for any mention of Ana Matlock.”

Darcy almost choked before he saw Elizabeth’s smile.

“Tease.”

A nod and a smirk in response.

“Now that is out of the way let us move to ’09. Let me explain my connect to Lady Maria.”

Elizabeth recounted the day on Piccadilly.

“You saved one of the daughters of the Duke of Richwood?”

“I did.”

Darcy immediately saw the issue; the social status gap between the two parties.

“But Lady Maria decided to start and then continue a correspondence?”

“She did. That was at the start of 1810. She flat out told me that the family was in my debt but the usual manner of repayment, entrance into society, was unavailable. Six months later the debt was repaid.”

She paused and looked at Darcy.

“I do not want to lie, but this is awkward for me as it feels like bragging. The idea of legally importing what became known as ‘blood brandy’ was mine.”

Darcy stared at her with a mixture of shock and deep admiration.

“All the details, the shipping, dealing with the Spanish, dealing with the Excise, all of that was my uncle’s doing. I suggested the idea and asked Lady Maria to request a meeting between my uncle and her brother-in-law.”

“Bathurst?”

She nodded.

“That is what I have done for my uncle over the past four years. I read newspapers, magazines and journals but he has trained me to look at everything, connect the dots, make suggestions. He alone was the man who listened to me, however foolish my ideas. But between one in five and one in six have merit.”

Fitzwilliam Darcy was not an insecure man. He looked at his fiancé with wonder and in that moment realised he was going to have a fascinating life. And he could substitute fascinating for every other synonym in his thesaurus.

“I know that you do not wish to boast but can you give me any other examples?”

“You know that the tournament was my idea, directly as a result of meeting and talking with the Colonel. I will talk about the impact of that presently. My uncle has recently been sourcing grain from places other than the United States. He had bundles of American newspapers shipped over and even being several months old, it is clear that the Americans are unhappy at the behaviour of the Royal Navy and its treatment of American ships and crewman. It could come to war and we need alternate supplies for the both the Army and our Spanish allies.”

Darcy knew that it was the talk of the clubs of London, opinion split as to whether this policy was necessary or foolish.

“And the last one I can immediately think of is his purchase of two ships specifically fitted out to transport animals. It was many months after the retreat at A Coruna that I learned the Army had slaughtered all their horses so that they did not fall into the hands of the French. This struck me as such a waste, not just in the treatment of loyal beasts, but also in the resultant necessity to re-equip whole regiments of cavalry. As well as all the supply trains. Sir Edward was doing sufficiently well that he acquired an interest in two ships and appropriately fitted them out. One is used for horses and the other for cattle. There were others supplying the same service but there did not appear to be sufficient.”

“I am marrying a very insightful woman. We will have to strike the right balance when you are the Mistress of Pemberley but I wish for you to continue this endeavour.”

Little did either know but both were thinking of their first kiss being in public in the middle of Hyde Park. Propriety won, but only just.

“I know I have bombarded you with lots of information but in many ways, these are the easy parts of my tale. When Sir Edward married for the second time, I knew that my time at Gracechurch Street was over. His eldest son had finished school and could now perform the role in the business that had until then been mine. It is unfortunate that he is of standard opinion that women have no place in business. And my Aunt Agatha needed to be able to make their home her own. There could not be two mistresses.

“As a result, I returned to Longbourn for the first time in four years. By random chance, we travelled into Hertfordshire on the same day, I saw the back of your head as you left the inn where we both stopped for lunch. There is no need to recount the Assembly. I know now that you were concerned about your sister.”

Darcy still flushed at the memory. It was his lowest point as a gentleman.

“What I need to explain is how Longbourn was unchanged but I was a very different person from the young woman that had left four years earlier. I have talked of my father but not yet of my mother. You heard her annual statement at the start of my narrative. The worry about being thrown into the hedgerows is a constant, near daily, concern. There are two sides to this. I can understand her worry about something that seems unfair; when my father passes away, she and any remaining unmarried daughters can be thrown out by the new owner. You met him, Lady Catherine’s parson Mr. Collins.

“But the other side of this concern is not so flattering to her. She has not made, and continues not to make, any effort to save money.”

Elizabeth stopped for a moment but then rushed on.

“You have seen her, to this day she spends more than half the week being driven round the neighbourhood and there is no restraint on her spending. When I returned home after four years of working long hours every day it was such a jarring shock. I did not regret any of that time, I was getting such an education. It started with me as a 16 year old young woman and my uncle having just lost his wife and his legs above the knee. We spent four years working hard, raising the three children still at home and expanding the business. I do not remember the exact chapter and verse but there is a quote in Proverbs about a negligent hand and a diligent hand.”

“He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich, chapter 10, verse four.”

“That is the one, thank you. You are right it is slack not negligent. I was faced with this behaviour. It was one thing to see it in the ledgers, lower income yet the same expenditures, but it was a shock to have it staring you in the face. Then Mr. Collins arrived and suddenly four years of sacrifice was not enough. The day after the ball at Longbourn he proposed, in the most insulting manner possible.”

Darcy’s feet stopped working. Elizabeth could have been lost to him!

“That ridiculous man proposed to you?”

She nodded sadly. Darcy had a thought.

“I was making polite conversation with Mrs. Collins, the former Miss Lucas, and remarked that I had been unaware that she and Mr. Collins were courting when I was in the neighbourhood. She blushed and I admit to confusion.”

“That is because the Netherfield Ball was on the Tuesday, he proposed to me on the Wednesday, where I rejected him most vehemently, and Miss Lucas accepted his proposal on the Friday.”

“Three days later?”

“Yes.”

“No wonder there was an embarrassed silence when I talked of the matter. That is.”

He was at loss for words.

“You would agree that Richard fought a brilliant match against Captain Uxley yesterday?”

Darcy was confused by this apparent non-sequitur, but knew that Elizabeth could make conversational right turns.

“Er, yes.”

“I think the way I respond to slights is similar to Captain Uxley.”

Darcy was struggling to catch up to this conversation.

“He was described as a brilliant but brutal man, charging the quarterdeck and putting all before him to the sword. On reflection, I think that is the way I verbally responded to Miss Bingley’s slights.”

Darcy now saw what she was saying. It was a very effective analogy. Elizabeth, when her ire was raised, verbally chopped and hacked without mercy.

“Mr. Collins would not do me the courtesy of listening to my rejection. My first no was utterly disregarded, the second which was extremely vehement was also ignored. When he made the mistake of saying what I wanted was of no account and that the marriage would be sanctioned by my parents I rather lost my temper.”

Darcy internally winced.

“I called him a poor man of god and accused him of violating the 1 st and 10 th Commandments and at least five of the Deadly Sins.”

Darcy had to laugh. He had no idea where it came from, he just burst out laughing.

“Do not be mad with me Elizabeth. I am not laughing at you, in fact I want to hug you.”

Elizabeth’s blush disappeared under her collar.

“You never cease to amaze me. Having met the man, I can understand the 1 st and most of the Sins. The 10 th ?”

“He looked at Longbourn with envy and greed.”

“I see. Carry on your tale.”

“My mother was adamant I had to agree to marry the man and my father suggested the match without forcing it upon me. When Miss Lucas accepted his second proposal there was not a moment’s peace at Longbourn. Between Christmas and the New Year my father told me I should return to my uncle here in London. He was clear I was not being disowned or banished, but it felt close to that. I came to London after Twelfth Night. Within two weeks I was staying with Lady Maria which has been a gift I can never repay.”

The walked in silence for a while.

“Did you know of Sir Edward’s elevation before it was announced?”

“No. Not even Aunt Agatha knew. We both found out the same morning, January 8 th .”

“That has been quite the tale.”

“It is not over yet William. I am leaving all the problems until the end.”

He managed not to laugh for a second time.

“Let me finish with my family. Mary has been the sister I am closest to for many years. She was allowed to bring Longbourn’s ledgers to London whereas Jane only brought them once in ’08. Other than a weekend visit in early ’09 by Jane I only saw Mary of my family until my return to Hertfordshire. I had invited both Jane and Miss Lucas to visit in practically every letter I sent but they had been denied by both their mothers. As a result, they became closer, if only through shared misery. What I did not realise was they were jealous of the freedom I enjoyed in London. Even when I returned there was a distance we were unable to bridge.

“Then Jane started to receive attention from Mr. Bingley. I do not think either of us can claim to be experts on courting.” Mutual chuckles. “But his attentions were marked. Just as we glossed over the Assembly so we will gloss over my stay at Netherfield Park. What you probably do not know is that Jane took the side of Miss Bingley that evening. Now it was not really her side, more supporting Mr. Bingley, but it drove a wedge between us. She wanted to escape the confines of Longbourn and did not want me to upset an eligible gentleman. When he left suddenly and did not return, it only reinforced her belief that my intemperate tongue had done her wrong.

“With Miss Lucas now Mrs. Collins Jane is worried that she will end up on the shelf. She apologised in January once I was settled in London. We reconnected and we are working on re-establishing our sisterly friendship. But we both want it, so it is more a matter of time. I will come back to that in a moment. Let me finish up with my two youngest sisters. They are a mixed-up combination of guilt and innocence. You only have to observe their behaviour to assign the former, but they have received no parental guidance. My Aunt Madeline helped establish the manners and genteel behaviour in Jane, myself and Mary. As she had more children of her own she was unable to spend as much time teaching us good manners. I received the most time with her, due to being sent to London every quarter. Kitty and Lydia did not have the benefit of any time with her. The three of us try our best but are constantly undermined by our mother and occasionally our father. I worry about them, especially Lydia who has the body of a woman but still the mind of a child.”

She looked at Darcy.

“Let me tell you about Wickham.”

She watched his shoulders stiffen, the tension immediate and obvious.

“When he was suspected of seducing the daughter of the wheelwright in Meryton I knew something had to be done. She was a year younger than Lydia who had been overheard extolling Wickham’s handsomeness.”

She looked at Darcy.

“This will go no further. Not to Georgiana, not to the Colonel, to no one.”

“I will not mention this to a soul.”

“It was Robert that came up with the plan. The wheelwright’s son was driving a cart with two wheels to the northern outskirts of London. He left in the afternoon but did not travel far. When he saw Wickham walking along back to the Militia camp he drove him off the road. Conveniently close to Robert and his cosh. They covered him with tarpaulins and drove him down to the docks.”

She paused and blushed.

“He was left at the back door of a house of ill repute called the Sailor’s Delight. The madam was happy to inform the Impressment Squad of an easy capture and he was on board a Navy vessel before dawn. Robert and the young man delivered the wheels and returned to Meryton, with no one any the wiser. In the meantime, Wickham had been discovered missing. Mr. Green was the immediate suspect but he had been drinking at the Inn all evening. Sir William Lucas is the local magistrate and he had stopped by for a drink that night, so Wickham’s disappearance is being treated as desertion until proven otherwise.”

Darcy pulled Elizabeth to a stop.

“You must think of a reward, not just for yourself but for Robert as well. I cannot describe to you how I feel knowing that miserable human being is gone from my life, and my sister’s life, forever.”

Elizabeth looked over at Robert and beamed with pleasure. He had not heard the words but she would let him know as soon as they returned to Hanover Square. Her smile faded as she decided to tell her fiancé about the sordid parts of the last four years.

“Let me tell you this next part as quickly as possible. It is embarrassing and I do not wish to remember it but I will tell you the full truth. I was propositioned to be a man’s mistress three times. The first time was when I was 17 and the other two were the summer after I turned 18. At that point, I would allow no man to talk to me without Claire being close enough to hear.”

Darcy clenched his fists, three unknown faces waiting for a beating.

“As you can imagine, it did wonders for my attitude towards men.”

With a blushing face, she recounted her experiences while working in her uncle’s offices.

“Thank you for telling me, I can see that it was not easy. And thank you for not sharing any of that with Georgiana, however persistent she was. No young woman should have to suffer such behaviour.”

“This next tale is one that only Sir Edward knows.”

She sighed.

“I say that but it is known to the servants, and by now almost certainly Aunt Agatha. But it is another thing that was at my instigation. While I was mistress of his house, I organised a cauldron of soup and several loaves of bread for the women of the Sailor’s Delight.”

Darcy was, for about the 10 th time that morning, speechless.

“Can you tell me why?”

She nodded sadly.

“There were two routes to my uncle’s offices, one shorter than the other. This shorter route went past the house of ill repute. Normally I would use the longer route, so as not to be exposed to the people there. But on occasion I was in a hurry and we would take the shorter route. I was never bothered by anyone who worked there although it was mortifying to hear some of their catcalls to poor Robert. But I thought nothing of it, frankly it was an inconvenience, forcing me to take the longer route. But one day we were taking the shorter route and for the first time I really saw the impact on the poor women.”

Her sigh was profound.

“I had seen farmhands returning from the fields at the end of a long day of planting or harvesting. I had seen the blacksmith, filthy and sweaty, at the end of a long day in front of the forge. And I had seen washerwomen after a long day of beating clothes at the riverbank. All of them being beyond tired and instead being deeply fatigued. I did not want to know, and I refuse to imagine, what these women had done to appear so exhausted. Some of them were bruised, both on their arms and their faces. And many of them were younger than me. It profoundly affected me. When I returned to Gracechurch Street I asked Uncle Gardiner if I could instruct Cook to prepare a cauldron of soup and some bread. He was reluctant at first but eventually agreed. It is delivered every Sunday morning by two footmen and the empty, and clean, cauldron is collected on a Monday.”

It was the Wednesday after Easter and Darcy was humbled by Elizabeth’s Christian spirit.

“Thank you for telling me. I do not think there is such a place anywhere close to Pemberley but it is not the establishment but rather the spirit. This is a moment when I know we will be very happy as a married couple. Your lack of judgement, willingness to help those scorned by others, a true Christian. In this aspect of our life I think I will learn from you.”

Elizabeth’s worries about Darcy’s reaction were all for naught.

“You asked me why I chose you. Can I ask you the same question?”

“I am not sure that either of us ‘chose’ the other but I understand the essence of the question. At the core, I think I stopped being angry at men. Being treated poorly by men, be they gentlemen or tradesmen, was a poison to my mind. I needed to step back from that. There is a degree of sophistry required with that exercise as the attitude is still out there, I am no longer exposed to it. That was a vital first step. And it was the same when I left Longbourn, and my father’s indolence, to return to London. After all these years I only respect gentlemen who in turn respect their inheritance, industry or good fortune. I have trained myself, and been trained, to be busy. I have no interest in shopping all day, eating and drinking to excess and being out until the small hours, indeed the large hours, of the morning.

“The next stage was actually participating in society. I enjoyed it much more than I anticipated. It was rare that I did not have at least one interesting partner at a ball, or an interesting dinner companion. But at the same time, I was adamant that no man would match up to my standards. And for the most part I was correct, it was only a matter of time before a gentleman disparaged either women generally or myself personally.

“Last night I tried to recall all our conversations, going all the way back to the brief moments at the breakfast table at Netherfield Park. I wondered if I was failing to remember any, but none came to mind. It fills me with perverse pride that most men do not see me as a good match. And it fills my heart with joy that you do see me in such a light. Which brings me to my final secret, probably the biggest one of all and known only to my uncle. I have not shared this with my family or Lady Maria.”

Darcy was mentally beaten down. He could not imagine any more shocks, after a morning of being shocked.

“I own one eighth of Gardiner Import/Export. It was granted to me by my uncle in gratitude for my work over the four years I lived at Gracechurch Street. We kept 200 crates of ‘blood brandy’ for personal use. While I do not drink the stuff, it is useful to have so as to present as gifts as I did yesterday. I still have 23 cases set aside for me in my uncle’s warehouse.”

Darcy was a prize fighter reeling on the ropes.

“When I spoke to Sir Edward on Sunday afternoon he was excited to tell me that his business is growing steadily and so is the profitability.”

She stopped and looked at Darcy.

“He expects my share to be over ￡3,000 this year.”

In the four percents this equated to a dowry of more than ￡75,000. Darcy was officially broken.