Chapter 4

Darcy looked around his surroundings and inhaled deeply. Even though it was not a typical place that he would visit, this old bookstore was a hidden gem in the middle of Cheapside and he loved smelling the scent of old books.

He was in awe of the collections that could be found here. It was obvious that the owner of this little-known shop had great taste in books, and editions of higher quality as well as economical versions could be discovered here. He made a mental note to return here as soon as his usual income was reinstated.

Darcy was browsing through a very handsome copy of Shakespeare when he heard a deep sigh.

He peeked behind the shelves in an alcove to see Miss Bennet balled up in a comfortable chair while she was reading a book and appearing forlorn. He smiled seeing the girl who, although resembling nothing like his sister, reminded him of Georgiana at every interaction. It had been a full week of having Miss Bennet interfere with his work but he had found her bright and quite tolerable now. He had set up a chair to share his desk so she could assist in reviewing the receipts and at times writing short letters with him. She was rough around the edges, without the demure manners of an educated lady, but now understanding that she grew up without a governess and was almost entirely self-educated outside of the typical 'lady's accomplishments', his respect for the young woman grew.

Mr. Gardiner explained to him that her father was lackadaisical but kind and had given her access to his library to expand her mind. Miss Bennet was driven and excelled at mathematics and was fluent in French. She was taught some Spanish and Italian by Mrs. Gardiner, who had learned before her marriage to Mr. Gardiner, and she was constantly trying to learn something new. Darcy wished his own sister would be so dedicated to her studies and not become one of the hundreds of the insipid ladies of society that he had met, who were constantly attempting to entrap him into marriage.

"Ahem," Darcy coughed as he stood in front of the young lady, causing her to startle and jump up to standing. "I apologise for alarming you, Miss Bennet. I came upon this store unexpectedly and it has been a pleasant surprise to find such a jewel in the middle of Cheapside."

Elizabeth smiled, "It has been my favourite for years. Mr. Blotts has known me since I could walk. My grandfather, my mother's father, I mean, used to bring me here when he was alive, and then my uncle brought me. Now, I come on my own and Mr. Blotts allows me to borrow an edition or two at times. I find it most peaceful here and I love the scent of the books and the leather bindings."

Darcy grinned, as his thoughts had been the same. "But I did hear you sigh quite loudly and wondered if I could be of service. You are well?" He asked kindly.

"I am well. I am always well, but I miss traipsing through the wilderness of Hertfordshire and this book reminded me of taking my long walks out of doors. There are not very many places to go in town and wondered how in the world I would survive the next four months here." Elizabeth responded as she sat back down.

Darcy chuckled at her sentiments, as his thoughts definitely aligned with hers. "And how had you survived in the past? I understand you are here every year."

"Oh, I usually come with my sister after Christmas to stay for two months but this year, a neighbour began to pay my sister some attentions in the new year and mama wanted me to be out and leave my sister alone while she is being courted. I am usually not here for so long and I had been assisting with my uncle's business so I had been quite busy in the past. Now with you here and what you have done with Mr. Matthews already, I am quite confined to pursuing my ladylike accomplishments instead." She laughed, "With my aunt needing to rest often, I find myself with little to do and yet there is still not enough time to read through my favourite books." She rose to gather her belongings, leaving the copy of Wordsworth's volume on the table next to the chair.

"And could you not borrow that copy? I would think it should entertain you for several hours in the least." Darcy asked.

Elizabeth softly smiled, "Alas, it is the only copy and it cannot leave the shop in case someone wishes to purchase it. It has been in high demand after Lord Byron's scathing reviews, and more readers have been supportive of Wordsworth's works these past few years than opposed to it." She curtseyed, "I will see you tomorrow, sir. Good evening." She departed after caressing the book once more.

Darcy took her seat and held the volume in his hand. He looked at the copy of 'Poems, in Two Volumes' and laughed. He had a beautiful first edition bound in highest quality leather and gold leafing, as well as a copy he usually travelled with, that was currently sitting in his rooms at Pemberley. He came upon the realisation once again how much he had been given in his life and the freedom that came with such an enormous fortune.

He noted that the cost of the book was five shillings, a luxury that a common person could not afford, and certainly not a young lady like Miss Elizabeth, who had £50 a year to her name. Remembering that it was her birthday next day, Darcy rose and paid for the book, to give to Mr. Gardiner to present to his niece. He was thankful that Miss Bennet had found the error last week and desired to do something nice for her.

Although he did not have the funds as accustomed in the past, he knew his situation was temporary and could not fathom the struggles of the working class who desired to rise above their status. Once again, he thanked God for his family and hoped his father and sister were well.

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"Mr. Gardiner, I came across Miss Bennet at Blotts' Bookstore today and it was very obvious that she enjoyed this book by William Wordsworth. The descriptions of his poems are actually based on Derbyshire and it reminds me of home every time I read it. I purchased it for Miss Bennet so that you can present it to her on my behalf for her birthday tomorrow, since she has been very helpful in helping me in the office and I wished for her to have something enjoyable to read." Darcy laughed when he saw the older man raise his eyebrow as he had often seen Miss Bennet do.

"I know she is out since her mother has declared her so, but she is going to be only sixteen. I hope you do not have any ideas of courting her, sir." Mr. Gardiner inquired gently.

Darcy chuckled, "No, sir, not at all. She is…" He took a moment as to not offend his host, "She is a very energetic young woman but she reminds me of my sister and I know she is very young. I thought her twelve or thirteen and offended her greatly last week."

Mr. Gardiner relaxed, "I know she is very slight. Her sister Jane was more womanly at fifteen but dear Lizzy has had a slower growth. Perhaps in the next year or so, she will go through a spurt of development but she is still a child, albeit a brilliant one."

"Yes, sir." Darcy handed the book to Mr. Gardiner.

Elizabeth's uncle inspected the wrapped book carefully and came to a decision. "Why do you not give it to her? I know you see her like a sister and I appreciate your generosity. With your current income, it is not a luxury that one would splurge on but she will appreciate that you thought of her. She has so few friends in the world and is constantly overshadowed by her elder sister, that this token of friendship will help her with her own esteem. She thinks of you like a brother and it will be good for her to know she is respected by someone outside of the family."

Darcy was surprised to hear that Miss Bennet was so undervalued. "But she is witty and very bright. Being so young, I understand all ladies go through a difficult time but certainly she must be admired by many."

"Well, if you met Jane, you would understand. Her sister is a goddess compared to Lizzy and her mother makes certain Lizzy knows it. Even though she is her father's favourite, my poor niece always felt inferior in her looks and she has been told by more than one person that she has 'large ears and teeth'." Mr. Gardiner replied, as Darcy flushed red in embarrassment. "No matter now, Mr. Darcy, she will appreciate your gift and as long as you give it to her in my presence, I will approve it. It will make her very happy." He laughed.

Darcy took the book back in his hand and bowed. "I will see you tomorrow, sir. I have an appointment with Mr. Matthews and several of your employees tonight, as we are to go to a tavern for dining tonight. I have visited a number of pubs before but never in this area and I am curious on what kind of character study I will find."

Mr. Gardiner laughed, "And I will understand if you have a headache of unequal proportions in the morning. I advise you to take care to not overindulge but you are certainly welcome to do what young men do and enjoy some entertainment. See you in the morning, Mr. Pembers." He winked.

Darcy returned to his room and placed Elizabeth's book on his desk. He dressed for a night out in town, even if it was only Cheapside, and soon departed for a night of indulging and fellowship with his associates.

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"Wake up! Awake, sir!" Darcy heard a voice call. He felt a hand roughly shake his shoulder.

"Argh," Darcy groaned, "What is it, Wilkins? Why in damnation must you wake me up so early?"

He startled and sat up straight when he heard a feminine voice call out, "Who is Wilkins? You have to wake up because you must begin your work now!"

"Miss Bennet!" Darcy opened his eyes and saw the young lady step back with a frown on her face. "What are you doing here? You should not be in my room!"

Elizabeth walked to the already-open door and stood under the frame. "I did leave the door open and I brought your breakfast to leave with Mr. Smith here but he told me he had difficulty waking you up. Perhaps you needed the extra hour of sleep or he did not shake you hard enough. I wondered why my uncle insisted on such an unusual meal but I have brought it nonetheless and you must prepare for the day."

Darcy rubbed his face as he sat up and placed his feet on the floorboards. "Thank you. I… I must have had more to drink than expected. I do not recall how I got into my bed." He looked up to see Elizabeth scowl. "And what have I done to incur your wrath now?"

Elizabeth crossed her arms in vexation, "You are a drunkard and a wastrel and I do not care to associate with anyone who likes his drink so much. I thought… I expected more from you." She huffed, "I thought you would be better than that. Mr. Matthews often comes to work intoxicated and I thought he was improving but here you are, being just as bad as that man."

Darcy grunted, "But I am not! I usually do not…"

"I do not wish to hear excuses. Good day, sir." Elizabeth turned and stormed off.

Darcy slowly stood and opened the basket and saw a raw egg and a mug of ale. He cracked the egg to drop it into the ale and drank it all down. The last time he had imbibed so much was before his cousin departed for Spain for the war and he had been given the same remedy for his headache.

He sat back down and rubbed his face roughly. He could not understand why Miss Bennet was constantly offending or being offended by him. They were like cats and dogs at times, although he had thought they had been getting along better lately.

If Georgiana behaved like Lizzy, I would have given her a spanking. He thought. Then he laughed out loudly, remembering that given Miss Bennet's temperament, she would not hesitate to spank him in return.

A few moments later, Mr. Smith brought up some warm water and Darcy washed himself to prepare for the day. He would have to explain himself to the young woman that it was uncommon for him to drink so heavily and that nothing else had happened. He recalled several buxom ladies of questionable morals sitting with the group and while the other men had participated in flirtations or went off to find privacy, he returned home soon after to collapse on the firm bed. He had consumed more than his wont due to each of his companions purchasing a round of drinks and there had been six of them.

After looking as presentable as possible, he headed downstairs to the office to find Elizabeth sitting in his chair and going over the receipts.

"Good morning, Miss Bennet," Darcy carefully approached, not wishing to get another earful.

"Sir," Elizabeth bluntly replied, without looking up from the desk.

Darcy let out a deep breath. He had suffered through Georgiana's moods a few times but they were nothing to how furious this young lady was. He looked toward Mr. Gardiner's office and saw that he had already arrived and working. He turned to leave his own office and knocked on his employer's door before entering.

"Mr. Gardiner," Darcy began, "I apologise for my delay this morning. I… I had a difficult time waking and Miss Bennet had to enter my rooms to get me out of bed. I… She is quite angry with me and with your permission, I would like to give her the gift now."

Mr. Gardiner burst out laughing, "Hahaha! You are learning the ways to a lady's heart, son! I assure you, once you are married, you will be grovelling often at your wife's feet with flowers and trinkets. Yes, you have my permission. I know Matthews is not here yet and is likely to arrive at least two hours late. I know it was Frank's birthday yesterday and they usually celebrate like this and I am accustomed to it. I did try to warn you, Mr. Pembers. I hope you enjoyed your breakfast."

Darcy smiled, "Thank you, sir, the breakfast was very much needed. Yes, it was quite a celebration and I did attempt to fend them off but it was a merry time, Mr. Gardiner. I will return to my desk now."

Darcy fetched his book from his room first and returned to his desk where Miss Bennet was still working.

"Ahem," Darcy coughed to gain Elizabeth's attention. "Ahem!" He coughed again after she continued to ignore him.

Without looking up, Elizabeth commented, "I hope you are not getting ill. Do not cough near me; I do not wish to catch whatever you might have."

"I am not ill, Miss Bennet. I hoped to wish you a happy birthday." Darcy placed the wrapped book on top of the ledger.

Elizabeth gasped in surprise, "How did you know it was my birthday today?" She fingered the paper and string and all of her anger quickly melted, "I did not expect… this is so…"

Darcy grinned seeing her cheerfulness return, "I recalled your saying today was your birthday and I confirmed it with Mrs. Gardiner a few days ago. Sixteen is a very special age, is it not? The last year of childhood before officially coming out in society." He raised one hand, "I know; I know you are already out in the country but here in town, you have another year to be your happy self."

"I absolutely agree! No girl should be out at least until seventeen. May I open it now?" Elizabeth asked with a broad smile, looking up at Darcy now, who was sitting in the chair in front of her.

"Of course, it is yours to do as you wish. I hope you like it." Darcy replied.

Elizabeth carefully pulled the strings and unwrapped what felt like a book. Her eyes bulged with surprise when she saw that it was the same volume of Wordsworth that she had wished for more than any other book in the world.

"I hope you are not displeased, Miss Bennet," Darcy quietly spoke when he saw her eyes moist. He was concerned that she would be offended by such a masculine gift. "I have your uncle's permission and he assured me that you would not be angry…"

"No, Mr. Pembers, I am very pleased by it. I am touched far beyond all of my expectations. I know I have treated you abominably and yet you are so kind. How in the world could you afford such an item? This was a full shilling more than the usual four that Mr. Blotts sells. You truly should not have, sir. It is too kind." Elizabeth wiped her tears as she smiled.

Darcy relaxed with her comment and sat back in the chair. "I have so little to spend here and I am glad to see you smiling once again. I did purchase it yesterday so you know it is not to make peace with you for this morning's dispute, per se, but I did present it to you earlier to pacify the tensions. I wish to explain myself if you will allow."

With Elizabeth's nod Darcy spoke honestly. "I do not imbibe often, only a small glass after dinner and not even every day. I felt… my associates here were very generous and we were having a grand time to celebrate and I was quite distracted by all of the activities around me. I did not take into account how many drinks I must have had and I brought myself home as soon as the party began to dissipate. I hope you are not too offended by my ungentlemanly appearance this morning and forgive me for my conduct. I believe I cursed in front of you as well."

"You did, did you not?" Elizabeth giggled, "I forgot about that. I was so surprised in how awful you looked and the stench from your mouth," she shuddered, "I was quite upset but it was not truly your fault and I should not have taken it out on you." She fingered the binding of her new book. "A close neighbour of mine, a Mr. Long in Meryton, died last year because he was a drunkard and he walked out into the freezing cold. He left his wife destitute and only due to her brother's kindness, did she finally recover. Her nieces came to live with her and they have been generous in sharing what allowances they have. I cannot condone such inebriation where a man loses control of his mind."

"And I agree with you, Miss Bennet. I have only overindulged a few times that I can count on only one hand. This one yesterday was not the worst and I assure you, I was in full control of my faculties. Even after the men went off with the wh…" Darcy stopped speaking. He almost spoke of prostitutes in front of this impressionable girl and could not believe how he could slip so.

"Yes?" Elizabeth inquired.

Darcy shook his head and laughed, "Perhaps I am not quite in control this morning. You have an unfailing power to make me spill out the truth. No, I will only agree with you and wish for you to know that you will not see me intoxicated again. You can trust me to not break my word to you."

Elizabeth smiled, "I trust you. You are a very honest person, Mr. Pembers." Darcy coloured at his name, knowing that it was not his real name. Elizabeth continued, "Can you tell me a little more about your father? You speak very highly of him and it is obvious to me that you have a great respect for him. You do not speak like Mr. Matthews or other tradesmen around here. If you had dressed differently and I met you at a ballroom, I would believe you a gentleman of some means. You are far better educated than most of my acquaintance."

Darcy knew he could not tell her the truth. As much as he liked the young lady like a sister, she was sixteen years old and a daughter of an inconsequential gentleman in Hertfordshire. He was certain he could trust her but his father had made him promise to not tell another soul unless he was in mortal danger. Secrecy was utmost important when he was left unprotected, as any schemes to kidnap him and blackmail his family could be easily attained should a person of dark design learn of his true identity.

"I promise to tell you more about my family in the future, Miss Bennet. I do respect my father greatly and he is a good man. He has been somewhat ill with a heart ailment and I have been concerned for him, but I wished to make him proud and embarked on this journey to learn from Mr. Gardiner's business. It has been truly eye-opening but part of my experience was to acquaint myself with men like Mr. Matthews and Mr. Frank, and to study the characters of the people around me. I find you to be a fascinating study as well and you remind me of my sister." Darcy explained.

"Oh, yes, Georgiana! And how is Miss Pembers?" Elizabeth asked.

Darcy grinned at the thought of his sister, "Georgiana is doing well. I received a letter from her only yesterday and she misses me but is having a marvellous time with a new music master. Her governess is proficient at languages and mathematics but not so talented on the pianoforte. She does play the harp well enough."

"Your sister has a governess as well as a music teacher? That is very unusual, is it not?" Elizabeth furrowed her brows. A daughter of a clerk with a governess was unimaginable, when she herself grew up without one and her father had £2,000 a year.

Blasted! I slipped again. What is it about Lizzy that makes me so candid? Darcy could not believe how quickly his disguise came apart.

"And I do recall you received a franked letter yesterday. Does your father… he is a clerk?" Elizabeth asked.

Darcy took a deep breath before answering. "Miss Bennet, I do not seem to have the capability to keep anything hidden from you and I know you must be wondering at the contradictions of my background, but I assure you there is no foul play and no hidden motive to damage you or Mr. Gardiner. I will be able to reveal all in June when I complete my tenure here but please know that my father has sufficient income for my sister's education and I can certainly afford to give you a book for your birthday. I have been lonely here without my family near but you have been like a sister to me and I appreciate your company very much. It has certainly made a few hours of my day run faster." He smiled. "I hope you think of me like a brother as well. It is nice to have someone to confide in, is it not?"

Elizabeth snorted as she laughed, "You are too handsome to be my bro…" She shut her mouth. She flushed bright red in mortification. "I mean… I said… Dear lord, I am so embarrassed. I suppose you are not the only one who is too honest now."

Darcy laughed out loudly, "I will take whatever compliment I can receive from you, Miss Bennet! My vanity had taken a severe beating since meeting you."

Elizabeth laughed again, "And mine, too! Big ears and teeth, remember?" She finally recovered from her amusement. "I do think of you like a brother. Will you call me Lizzy, Mr. Pembers? Miss Bennet is my sister and I truly do not care for it."

Darcy reached over the desk and gripped her hand for a few seconds. "I truly did not mean it, Lizzy. I think you are a pretty young woman who will grow up and break many hearts. Please call me Will from now on. I find that I do not like to hear you call me Mr. Pembers."

Elizabeth nodded and they both silently acknowledged that this was a very special friendship. Darcy would have a sister-like companionship and Elizabeth would have a brother-figure to care for her. Once again, she wished she had a gentle older brother to protect her from the evils of the world.

"Well, I have taken up enough of your time and your desk," Elizabeth stood. "I did finish transcribing the receipts from yesterday but I did so in anger and I may have made a mistake. You will have to look at my entries and make sure they are correct. I am most eager to return home to read my book. I will see you at dinner, Will."

"See you later, Lizzy." Darcy bowed. He sat in his chair and gathered the paperwork and thought of the friends he made during the past week. He could not have fathomed meeting and befriending such people in the past but now, he would treasure them for the rest of his life. Even Mr. Matthews, whom he had found dull and unintelligent in the beginning, had grown on him.

Darcy returned his thoughts to his work and spent the rest of his day looking forward to the small dinner party at the Gardiners for Lizzy's birthday.