In the morning, as early as it was polite to call, the Darcys were at the door of the Gardiners' residence. Darcy had worried about venturing into Cheapside, but he found that Gracechurch Street was quite respectable and the house was large and obviously well-maintained. They were admitted by a butler who took their cards, led them to an elegant, but not overly large, sitting room, and announced them. Mrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth rose when they were announced and Elizabeth made the introductions.
Mrs. Gardiner said, "Mr. Darcy, I was raised in Derbyshire, in the village of Lambton. The great estate of Pemberley was near and it was owned by the Darcy family. Are you related to this family?"
Darcy smiled and said, "As a matter of fact, that is my estate. My father died years ago and I inherited it along with the guardianship of my sister. Are you very familiar with Pemberley?"
"This is amazing to have this chance to meet you. I was only on parts of the estate as a child but never was in the house. However, four years ago, we toured the North Country with Elizabeth. We even toured the Pemberley manor house with your housekeeper, then the gardens. I know why it is considered to be one of the grandest estates in Derbyshire. Before we went to the estate, we made sure that you were not in residence that day as we did not want to disturb you if you were home.
"I remember that the Darcy family was held in very high regard in the area. That must have been your parents when I was still living there. I remember seeing your father and your mother in Lambton, but I have not lived there for many years now. I still have very fond memories of the village where I spent many happy years. When we were last there, I had a chance to reconnect with a number of my old friends and some of the friends of my parents."
When Mrs. Gardiner mentioned that they had toured Pemberley, Darcy asked, "Miss Bennet, did you approve of the house and gardens?"
"I certainly did; the house is magnificent. My congratulations on your interior design and furnishings. We toured a number of other grand houses on our trip, but Pemberley stands out in my memory as being one of the nicest. The gardens were wonderful! So many flowers in bloom and such a fine layout. I could have spent hours admiring everything. I was tempted to walk in the woods, but we did not have enough time."
Darcy said, "I cannot take credit for either the furnishings or the gardens as I have changed very little from what our mother did. She refurnished the house and improved the gardens. The credit for most of that goes to her and the gardeners for their careful maintenance."
Georgiana interjected, "Fitzwilliam! You have been a good steward of the estate. I know that you will not tolerate any part of the estate to become shabby or rundown in any way. Even our tenants' cottages are fixed immediately if anything goes wrong. I know how much pride you take in Pemberley. I love being there."
Elizabeth sat back and watched the pleasant exchange while the other three talked about Lambton and Derbyshire. She could tell that both Darcys were impressed by her aunt, who proved herself to be very polite and knowledgeable. While they were still reminiscing, she ordered tea and biscuits. When this came, brought in by a maid whose manners impressed the Darcys, the conversation changed to more general topics so Elizabeth could be included. This included entertainments that were available in town and which ones Elizabeth had attended. The Darcys quickly realized that their social circle was quite different from the Gardiners', so they spoke less about the balls they had attended and emphasized the more public events that were in town just now.
The Darcys stayed longer than polite visits would generally last, but no one seemed to object. Before they left, Miss Darcy asked, "Miss Bennet, you had said that you were returning to Hertfordshire soon. Will you have time to dine with us before you go? I would love to have you all at our house for dinner." Darcy was surprised at his sister taking the initiative to make this invitation, but he only smiled at her obvious machinations as he also wanted to be able to renew his acquaintance with Miss Bennet. She was much different towards him than she had been four years ago.
Elizabeth looked at her aunt and saw that she nodded ever so slightly. "I will be leaving in just two days' time, so we really have only tomorrow. Aunt, I do not believe that we any engagements then, do we?" Mrs. Gardiners said that they did not have anything planned.
Miss Darcy said, "That will work for us as we also do not have anything important planned for tomorrow evening. I was going to visit some friends, but I can beg off from that and just see them another time. May we count on your company then? I would like to meet your uncle.
"Before we go, where are the children? I would like to say hello to them, especially little Tommy. He is so cute!"
Mrs. Gardiner said, "My four are at their lessons and Tommy is just playing, but they can take a short break." She summoned a maid and told her to bring all of the children down to greet their guests.
Darcy surprised them by greeting each of them in turn by their correct names, accompanied by a polite bow, which was properly returned by each child.
Georgiana said, "Miss Elizabeth, may I hold Tommy?"
Elizabeth picked up Tommy and passed her to Miss Darcy. "I warn you that he is getting heavy. He can be quite shy with strangers. Tommy, say hello to the lady." He would not speak, but he did not fuss when Georgiana held him.
"Master Tommy, you are getting so big! You are going to be handsome fellow when you grow up with all that dark hair. It is much darker than your sister's."
"We six siblings have a range of colours, from my oldest sister, who is blonde, through all shades of brown, to Tommy's almost black."
Georgiana set Tommy down and he ran to Lizzy, hiding behind her skirts, but peeking out at their visitors, who both smiled at him. When Darcy looked at Tommy, he thought that he reminded him of someone, but he could not remember who it was.
Darcy gave them the directions to Darcy House and they left. "Fitzwilliam, I was very impressed by both Mrs. Gardiner and Miss Bennet. Their manners are beyond reproach and they are both obviously intelligent and well-spoken. I am sure that we will find Mr. Gardiner to be the same, even though he is in trade. Do you happen to know of him?"
"I believe that I have heard of him as his name seems familiar through some of the business dealings that I have had in the past. I am looking forward to meeting him as well. Do you intend to invite anyone else for dinner tomorrow?"
"No, as I believe that a small party will be more conducive to your being able to talk to Miss Bennet. From what I have seen, she does not appear to react unfavourably to being with you. Fitzwilliam, you smiled more this morning than I have seen in a very long time. What can I do to help you win her affections? I like her. If it means anything, I would not mind having her as my sister." She smiled at her brother.
"Georgiana! Since when did you become a matchmaker? I will certainly admit that without your help, I may not have met her again. I just did not have the courage to go to speak to her in the park. I certainly admit that I am looking forward to seeing more of her. However, she will be going home so soon that there will not be much time for us to be together. Georgie, I made such a mess of the time when we were in Kent that I do not want to make the same mistakes again. I need time to court her properly if I am to have any hope with her. She is the most impressive lady that I have ever met."
"Why not just follow her to Hertfordshire? Fitzwilliam, you obviously admire her and this is the very first lady in which I have ever seen you show any interest. You cannot let this opportunity pass. Will you tell me what happened in Kent? You cannot repeat the same mistakes that you must have made then."
"I could not go to Hertfordshire without her approval; that might upset her if she thought that I was stalking her and she did not have any serious interest in me. I first met her when Bingley rented an estate in Hertfordshire as her father's estate was adjacent to his. I admired her but thought that her station in life was too far below ours so I could not become attached to her. Then I met her again in Kent and knew that my attraction to her had not lessened. One of my mistakes was not to show her my regard until I actually proposed to her, which took her by complete surprise. I also made the worst proposal ever and she rightly rejected me, with bitter words as she thought that I had always disdained her and kept looking at her only to find fault. I gave her a letter trying to explain my position, but have not seen her since. Even though I have tried to forget her, I knew that I had not when we saw her in the park. After so many years looking for a wife, I believe that she and I would do very well together."
Georgiana listened carefully to his words and decided that there was hope for them. "I should not be the one giving you courting advice, but might I suggest that you find a chance to talk to her before she leaves? So, tomorrow, just ask her if you might court her properly. I will try to separate the Gardiners from her so you can tell her that you still admire her and would like a second chance. If you talk respectfully to her, I am sure that she will agree. She is what, about 24? Her age alone should make her more inclined to give you a second chance. If she was unhappy with you when you last met, I believe that her feelings are much different now as I did not detect any sign of annoyance in the way she responds to you.
"Fitzwilliam, I hope you realize that with her attractiveness and lively personality, she will likely have met a number of eligible men that she has apparently refused to encourage. She may even have received offers, so she is looking for someone special. She might even regret what happened in Kent as much as you do. Give her a chance.
"As she is leaving so soon, you will just have to go to Hertfordshire. I do not have any important engagements in the next couple weeks until the Matlocks' ball, so I could go with you for propriety's sake. I would not mind seeing that part of the country. Do you know of anyone where we could stay there?"
"No. As I said, Bingley was renting an estate next to the Bennet estate of Longbourn, but I have not heard from him in the four years since I returned from Kent and saw him in town. I encouraged him to return to Netherfield to reconnect with Miss Elizabeth's older sister, Jane."
Georgiana thought for a moment, then said, "When I first spoke to Miss Elizabeth in the park, I asked her if she was Miss Bennet, and she said that she was as her older sister had married. Do you think she might have married Mr. Bingley? I always liked him as he was so cheerful."
"He very well might have married her. I wonder where they are living if they did marry? I will ask Miss Elizabeth when I get a chance."
When they arrived back at Darcy House, Georgiana went to confer with the cook about the dinner and Darcy went into his office where he intended to look through the stack of correspondence that awaited him on his desk. Instead, he sat there thinking of a certain lady's fine eyes and chestnut-coloured curls. He did not get any work done that day.