Chapter Eight – A Timely Intervention
Two days after her sisters departed for the north, Jane arrived with her new husband John. When they learned about Mrs. Bennet's demands and what was done, they were both angry and relieved.
"I cannot believe that my mother would go so far as to try and force Kitty to marry this Mr. Collins!" Jane ground out, ashamed of her own mother. "And to think that she actually thought that she could order you to marry the man!"
Elizabeth laughed and hugged her cousin, "Uncle Edward did not allow me to read his reply... which suggests just how severe it must have been. The important matter is that Mary and Kitty are safely tucked away for the winter. Hopefully the man will have secured a bride before spring."
John nodded, his clenching jaw revealing that his anger still remained, "I must thank Sir William for his swift action. It is terrible indeed when parents put themselves above their children. Then again, how is it any different than when peers arrange marriages for political reasons?"
"I would hope that a parent would at least attempt to make certain that a daughter is not marrying a man with violent tendencies. What does my Aunt even know about this man? Lydia seemed to rejoice that the man was rather odious and odoriferous, but nobody has said ought about his character."
Jane sighed, "I fear that Lydia will have to endure much before she finally turns around. At least we can be confident that she will not be forced to marry him."
The other two both thought: IF she ever turns around. But for Jane's sake they did not express the thought aloud.
"So for the foreseeable future, Mary, your house-guest will be far away north. I hope that you will make the best use of your time alone," Elizabeth teased and enjoyed the fact that both parties blushed.
John shook his private thoughts away to say, "My Jane will need to do some shopping to purchase a married woman's wardrobe and possibly scout out furniture and items for our new home."
Jane smiled widely, "Oh, Lizzy, we made a detour to Hertford prior to coming here so that I could see our home. It will be different living in a row-house, but it is a fine little home and it faces a very pretty canal with a park nearby! The back door opens up to a walled garden just like Aunt Madeline had at Gracechurch Street. We shall only have two servants, an older man and wife, but they are both kind and good-natured."
"It sounds very promising indeed. Now, I know that you are most likely exhausted from your travels, so feel free to rest in the room I have set up for you. Aunt Maddie is only days away from her time, so I have assumed the duties of Mistress for the present. Oh, and John, Uncle Edward wishes to speak with you as soon as he comes home for the night. There is more to Jane's dowry than you might realize."
Jane's dowry had begun as two-thousand. With her uncle using the monies as investments, he was able to bring in from eight to eleven percent instead of the government's four percent. Since it was left to compound from the time of Grandma Bennet's death, it had better than tripled. Elizabeth had decided to raise the total to ten-thousand out of her own fortune. If John and Jane were willing to leave the account with Sir Edward, then it would most likely grow quite significantly in the next decades.
The couple regarded Elizabeth. After talking between themselves and comparing what they had noticed, they had concluded that their cousin was much wealthier than she pretended. In fact, they suspected that she had been the one to pay for their wedding trip. Though Jane wanted to confront her cousin and demand the truth, John had very wisely pointed out, "If we are correct, would it be right to demand anything? The fact is that your grandmother could not have chosen a better person to handle the wealth. Your parents would have mishandled it, and until recently you thought everyone was good. Not one of your sisters could have done it.
"So if she has the wealth and uses it for family, and if she wishes to give your uncle the credit then allow her to do so. It does no harm and could do a great deal of good. We certainly made the most of our trip," Jane blushed quite prettily and John coughed, "I meant that we took the time to see the beauties of Cornwall... when we could."
That reminder set their minds on private matters. For the next few hours their thoughts remained centered on one another and the true status of Elizabeth's wealth was forgotten.
-ooOOoo-
When John left Sir Edward's office that evening, he appeared very thoughtful indeed. Sir Edward neither confirmed nor denied John's question on who their true benefactor... or benefactress... was. John dropped the matter and focused on Edward's question concerning Jane's dowry. After some discussion, he resolved that nine-thousand would remain with Gardiner and Company, while one-thousand would be used to set up the new couple in a style which would make Jane feel the dignity of her new position.
"I spoke with Judge Hawkins while you were away on your trip, John. He spoke highly of his meeting with you and seemed quite please to sponsor you to eventually become a barrister. He would like to meet with you again. He also recommended a list of books for you to study, which have been purchased and crated to go with you to Hertford. "
"That is too generous!" John protested, well aware of the costs involved with such reading material.
"On the contrary, Jane may very well turn out to be our least expensive niece. You see, I am paying for lessons for Mary and Kitty while they visit my wife's mother and you would not wish to know what all of Elizabeth's lessons have cost me over the years. A few books for your future are of little matter. Some of them came to me second-hand from barristers and judges who are retired or passed on. I sold those books that did not fit your needs for a significant profit, so I came out ahead. Just remember me if I require your services some day."
"You may count on me, Sir Edward."
"It is Edward or Gardiner to you, John. Now, I believe that we have spent enough time away from the ladies. And I would like to go up to my wife's room to check on her."
-ooOOoo-
Elizabeth had not been exaggerating when she spoke to her cousins of the potential dangers involved in her position and the need for a means to protect herself. Viscount Malford turned out to be only the first man during the season who saw her as an easy mark. Due to her perceived lack of powerful support, some men saw her attractiveness and viewed her as a candidate for their next mistress, or at least for a brief affair. Due to her rumored fortune, other men saw her as a means to shore up their own impoverished fortunes without the need to pay her proper court.
And a few men saw her as a beautiful trinket to be possessed and used for their own pleasure. Viscount Malford was in the last category. He wanted her fortune, but he also wanted her under his control since that first night when she had spurned his advances. His determination had only grown worse when she refused his visits. He was not used to being spurned by someone of so little importance in the world, so he had decided to teach her a lesson. Unfortunately for him her uncle and that rather large footman stopped him that night. And she had been well-protected ever since.
Elizabeth had not had any other encounters so blatant, but there had been more than one man who had attempted to use his height, weight, or social position to intimidate her into submission on the dance floor or at a party. Her new knowledge of how to defend herself had given her the confidence to remain polite while calmly turning such men away. In fact, when she found herself in such situations, she had learned to amuse herself by marking out all of their vulnerable spots and just how to exploit them to maximum effect. Unladylike thoughts, to be sure, but effective in helping her to keep her temper.
Nevertheless, her uncle and aunt had extracted the promise that she would always keep one of her two large shadows with her for added protection. Brie supported this by saying, "The best protection is prevention. When men look at Michael or my Sean, they walk away. If they see only you or me, they do not feel danger until we physically teach it to them. And never forget that we have all of the same vulnerabilities as those men. One chance strike in the wrong spot and you will suddenly be defenseless."
So it was ironic that Elizabeth was suddenly faced with a situation which made it impossible for her to keep her promise. Jane wished to have a day with her cousin shopping London to complete her trousseau. But one bodyguard, Michael was snowbound in the north with Aunt Maddie's family. And Sean, the second bodyguard, was with Brie, his wife, visiting her family on the on the other side of London to deliver the news that she was with child. Uncle Edward was tied down with a large order for the Navy, John was meeting with his sponsor, and Aunt Maddie was only days away from her own delivery. In short, Elizabeth and Jane were on their own with only a young footman available as an escort.
They should have waited, but truthfully neither thought that there would be much of an issue. People moved about London all of the time without problems, after all. And all of Elizabeth's unfortunate encounters had actually taken place in the sophisticated ballrooms and drawing rooms of the Ton, not on the streets as one might suspect. And so off the two ladies went to raid the shops of London.
There are some places where experience and memory serve to afford a person a sense or security, more imagined than real. For some it is the sights and smells coming from a kitchen, or a favorite sweet shop, or a bakery. For others it is a familiar trail or path with all of the scents and sensations of nature surrounding. For others it is the family stable, where the more dubious scents associated with animals are supplanted in the person's thoughts by the more pleasant aromas of fresh hay and oats, of leather saddles, and of a favorite horse. Although all of these held a certain attraction for Elizabeth, the type of place which held the most power to evoke security was a room full of books.
Elizabeth's dear grandmother had taught her a love of books. The times spent as a very young girl in her father's study were among the few pleasant memories of Longbourn. And the libraries of her Uncle Edward's homes, first on Gracechurch Street and now in the much larger house in Mayfair had both been places of wonder and learning for Elizabeth's hungry mind. So it is only to be expected that the allure of a well-stuffed bookstore might make a dent in her otherwise carefully learned caution.
She and Jane were at Madame Boussette's Fine Dresses just shortly before noon. Jane was enjoying the freedom of dress shopping without her mother's controlling presence and conflicting tastes, so she seemed little inclined to depart. Despite years of living with Aunt Madeline, who had exquisite tastes, Elizabeth had never discovered the love for clothes shopping with seemed almost instinctive in all of her female relatives. She was bored.
But just across the busy street was one of her most favorite places in London: Paulson's Books, the place where her Grandmother had brought her to purchase books and the place she still frequented. Surely a quick jaunt across the street would not be amiss?
Unbeknownst to her, one of the more notorious gaming hells was also nearby. Though it was morning, one of the regular visitors to that establishment had only just made his exit and wandered down the street when Elizabeth rushed past. The youngish aristocrat, though drunk and tired from a night losing at the gaming table, was nonetheless sober enough to recognize the illusive creature who passed by his view. With an evil smirk he concluded that the night might not have been a total loss after all.
-ooOOoo-
Mr. Paulson greeted Elizabeth cheerily. Not only was the young miss a beautiful and cheerful addition to any day, but Miss Bennet had been a faithful customer for a decade, with just the type of hungry mind which the elderly man enjoyed. The two had just begun a discussion on his latest acquisitions when a another person entered the shop.
Elizabeth knew the man immediately. Viscount Malford, the very reason why she had endured so much restriction on her movements for the past year! Now she berated herself for letting her guard down and placing herself in danger. He was dressed fashionably, but his attire was disheveled, his cravat skewed, and his hat missing. In his right hand he held the jeweled walking stick which never seemed to leave him for long, even in a ballroom. Uncle Gardiner had surmised that it housed a sword.
Two things were immediately clear: the man was drunk in the middle of the day and he was in a belligerent mood. "Well, well, well. Here you are right when I need something to cheer me up... and look: no uncle, not aunt, and no hulking footman. How very fortuitous indeed."
"Sir," Mr. Paulson interjected sternly, "I will have to ask you to leave my..."
"SILENCE, Cur!" the viscount barked and carelessly swung the cane at the older man. The heavy jeweled top of the walking stick struck poor Mr. Paulson a blow to his head and he immediately crumpled. The drunken man stood there for a long moment, staring blankly at the heap on the floor before turning back towards his quarry... who had fled toward the back of the store. Despite his befuddled state, he stumbled after her.
"Miss Bennet! Miss Bennet! Come out to play! Don't worry, I fully intend to marry you, so my intentions are mostly honorable."
When he turned the corner it was to discover that the girl was not running at all. She had stopped at a pot-bellied stove and availed herself of a fireplace poker. Now the chit was facing him, poker extended, "Leave now, Lord Malford! You have cause more than enough grief for one day and you will get no satisfaction here."
The man was too drunk and arrogant to realize that Elizabeth held the poker like a rapier and with a notable degree of familiarity. "Now why would I wish to do that, Miss Gardiner? I have long appreciated your fine figure and pretty face and I mean to enjoy my fill of it. I also have use for your fortune. Just think, you will be a viscountess and a future countess. Now put that poker down before you hurt yourself."
Elizabeth was furious with herself for stupidly ignoring her uncle's warnings, but mostly for putting poor Mr. Paulson in harm's way. That fury made her want to put the poker to work on this vile man. Yet even in her anger she realized that the daughter of a minor gentleman and niece of a tradesman, though a recent baronet, would have little chance in court against a nobleman's family if she maimed or killed the cur. Just two days before she had read of the wife of a baker who accidentally killed a baron who assaulted her. Despite the fact she was attacked in her husband's shop, she was transported for life.
She had to send the man away without inflicting harm... much as the thought irked her. "You are nothing more than a gambler, a wastrel, and a rake, Lord Malford. I have no intention of allowing you to throw away my fortune in the same manner that you have done with yours. And my uncle will only release my dowry if he sanctions the marriage. Now leave before I am forced to show you who will be hurt by this poker."
The viscount was unused to anyone but his own father and grandfather speaking about his habits. His former good humor upon finding the tasty miss alone and defenseless now turned to anger. He growled, switched his walking stick to his left hand, and prepared to draw his blade when another voice, this one male, spoke up. "Have a care, Malford," the deep voice warned. "If you draw that blade you will quickly regret it."
-ooOOoo-
Fitzwilliam Darcy thanked his footman as he stepped out of his carriage and proceeded directly into his favorite book seller. Mr. Paulson had sent a message just the previous evening to inform him that he had obtained a copy of the book he had long been seeking from an estate sale.
Paulson, a man nearer in age to seventy than sixty, had procured many of the most cherished tomes which filled Darcy House in London and the vast library at Pemberley, the Darcy's country estate. Fitzwilliam Darcy had enjoyed visiting the book seller since his early childhood, not just because of the variety of books available, but also because in his earlier years the merchant had traveled the world collecting rare volumes. Many the time Darcy father and son had sat with the old man and listened to his tales.
This time when Darcy stepped in, however, it was to find the elderly man sprawled on the floor while the raised voices of a man and a woman at the back of the shop indicated that he had stepped into a conflict. A familiar looking young woman, a gentlelady by her dress, was backed against a corner with a blackened fire poker extended towards the man like a foil.
Darcy recognized the man instantly, unfortunately as a distant relative and one of the worst of London's young Ton. When he saw saw the wastrel preparing to draw a blade against the young woman, he sharply barked, "Have a care, Malford. If you draw that blade you will quickly regret it."
Elizabeth watched as Malford spun around, almost stumbling in his inebriated state. Her own eyes went wide as she recognized the man from St. Albans. Shocked, but still cautious, she kept the poker facing the viscount. That man had forgotten her for the moment, however, as he addressed the newcomer, "Well if it isn't Fitzy. Long time since Cambridge, old sod. Can't say that I've missed seeing your scowling face around. Once again you are putting your nose where you are not wanted."
The man addressed as Fitzy stood tall and forbidding, one hand holding a sheathed saber while the other hovered near to the hilt. It was not clipped to his belt and Elizabeth wondered where the man had found the weapon. Then she shook off the meaningless thought as he replied to her assailant, "I think that the lady has made it very clear that you are where you are not wanted, Stephen."
"Lady! Hah! She is nothing but a shopkeeper's niece, a strumpet with a bit of pocket change. She and her kind exist to be sport for me and my kind. The chit had the nerve to refuse my calls! Me, a Viscount!"
The tall man smiled, "I would say that shows remarkably good taste. And I do not know where you got the foolish notion that anyone exists for just your pleasure. I know that your uncle, the Earl, does not think so and I am absolutely certain that your grandfather, the Duke does not either. Should we go and speak with them about the matter?"
The viscount growled and gritted out, "Or I could just run you through and take what I want."
Again the tall man smiled, but there was no humor in his eyes, "You can try, but you know perfectly well that the day has not come where you could best me in a contest of arms, be it fists, firearms, or blades. You should very carefully remember the last time you tried to harm a friend of mine."
The viscount snorted but his shoulders spoke of fear as he spat out, "You seem to have a thing for shopkeepers, Fitzy. I will leave this one to you for now, but know that this is not over." Almost sober at that moment, he shot a malevolent glare at Elizabeth. Then he stalked past the tall man and out of the shop, stepping carelessly over the fallen bookseller.
-ooOOoo-
If Darcy expected the girl to collapse in fright and hysteria at that moment, he was quickly disabused of the idea. The moment that Malford was out of the shop she rushed to the front of the store and fell to her knees beside Mr. Paulson's form. So surprised was Darcy that he stood rooted on the spot for a moment too long.
Elizabeth, having touched Mr. Paulson's head and come back with blood on her hand, snapped, "Please do not just stand there! Make yourself useful and send for a doctor!"
Darcy was too startled to take immediate offense at her peremptory tone. Stepping past her and out of the shop, he instructed his footman to hurry down to the next block with the carriage, where his own family physician had set up practice. Then he hurried back inside to lend what aid he could. The lady had a scrap of linen cloth pressed against the old man's head, the source of which Darcy quickly concluded must be her own petticoat.
Elizabeth looked up apologetically, "Forgive me, Sir. I should not have snapped at you after you saved me from doing bodily harm to that drunken lout."
Once again, for the third time in as many minutes, Darcy was shocked at the young lady's words and actions. Only this time he could not restrain his words, "That is what worried you? That you might harm him?" He found that he could not quite keep the amusement out of his voice.
Had she not been so worried for her elderly friend, Elizabeth might have taken offense. As it was the hilarity of the situation also touched her, "As much as I might have been tempted to remove the wastrel from this world completely, even beating him soundly would have resulted in difficulty with his family."
"You might have been doing them a service," he muttered.
He had just reached the decision to introduce himself when the door opened and several voices intruded. "Lizzy! What has happened? Your footman noticed that you were gone and one of Madame Bousette's seamstresses told me that you crossed the road and went into this shop."
"My Lady! I should have been with you!" The footman, Benjamin, who was only seventeen and raw to service, tended to call everybody by elevated addresses. Even though Elizabeth had repeatedly told the young man that she was only "Miss Bennet," he still slipped. The fact that he had a crush on Sir Edward's pretty niece did not help matters.
Darcy, watching and listening, was thoroughly confused. First, he was certain that this was the same young woman from St. Albans. Second, Malford had called her a "glorified shop-girl." And now this footman was addressing her as "My Lady." Who was she? But just then his own footman led the physician into the book store.
The young woman took charge immediately, "Dr. Belmont! Good! Mr. Paulson was struck on the head with a weighted walking stick. He is bleeding from the back, right of his head and has been out for over ten minutes. I staunched the bleeding as well as I could, but he will require stitching. I fear for his recovery."
Darcy stepped out to speak with his coachman and instruct the man to prepare the cab in such a way that the victim could be transported safely.
Meanwhile, in the shop, the young man addressed as Dr. Belmont quickly checked the man's head wound and nodded, "You did well, Miss Bennet. I want to take him to my home to watch over him. Any swelling in his brain could be problematic. I need..."
Darcy had stepped back in and he interjected, "My coach is prepared to carry Mr. Paulson comfortably. Jasper, my footman, tells me that your home-clinic is only a block away?"
"That is correct, Sir. I thank you. Now if I could have some assistance...?"
Elizabeth was favorably impressed when the handsome man stepped up and helped his footman and the doctor to lift Mr. Paulson. Unable to help with this, she looked along the wall by the sales counter and... Yes, there it is! "Gentleman, I will lock up Mr. Paulson's shop. My cousin and I need to return home, but I will have Benjamin drop the key off at your clinic.
The men, focused on safely transporting Mr. Paulson, gave only the briefest of acknowledgments before they were gone.
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AN: Hope this chapter is lucid. I have been under the weather for several days and finding it very difficult to think complex thoughts. So if you see a mistake, please do not hesitate to let me know. Hope your week is going better than mine.
Next chapter will include the beginnings of the meltdown at Longbourn!