Edward Gardiner was pulled from his misery by admittance of his long time friend into his study. He and his wife had been shocked to receive the express from his good brother, but had happily prepared a room for Lizzy nonetheless. He knew the child was innocent of her accused crimes just as much as his brother did. Thomas has asked him to keep Lizzy, just until the "bad business" blew over, and Fanny forgot that she was angry with the child. After all, this wasn't the first time Lizzy had been sent to live with them, as her mother was always banishing her for some imagined slight. Really, he knew it was because she had survived infancy while her twin brother had not. Fanny had been devastated by the loss of her only son, and blamed her healthy baby girl for the tragedy.
But this was to be the last time, he and Maddie had already decided they would not be relinquishing Lizzy back into their care ever again. He had gone to every barrister he'd gone to school with, and any of his father's contacts that were still living after the last time he'd been forced to send her back, all of them happy to help the little girl they remembered happily perched on her grandfather's lap every time they came to visit.
Lizzy had been the apple of his father's eye, mostly because she was the spitting image of the man's late wife. It had always annoyed his father when his sister would spout off on how beautiful Jane would grow to be, and then lament about Lizzy's looks. He would remind his daughter, that her mother had been an extremely handsome woman, but as she had died giving birth to Fanny, so she never actually knew what she looked like. Sadly, his sister would just wave him off, and go back to praising Jane.
"I have heard about your loss my friend, I came to give my condolences." The gentleman spoke as he sat down across from him, "I had thought to leave Georgiana at home, but seeing Madeline with her just now I am glad I didn't."
"Your little one is a balm for our weary souls I assure you." Madeline was expecting their first child, and the loss of Lizzy had almost caused her to lose the child.
"I am actually here to speak with you about your niece." George spoke as he pulled a letter from his pocket. "My good brother, the Earl of Matlock, wrote to me about a child that had come into his sister's care. The story of how she came to be alone on the side of the road bore such a striking resemblance to the story of your own niece I had to come to you immediately."
Handing over the letter, Edward read it, his heart getting lighter after each and every word. "I'll have you know, Catherine will never give that child up. She has accepted her as her own, and if there is one thing that should be known of my wife's sister, she is fiercely protective of her children."
Going to his vault he retrieved all the paperwork he had received from his contacts, and handed it over to George. "As much as I want to be the one raising my little Lizzy, I know your Good Brother and Sister are in a better position to care for her and protect her. However, I would like to do my part, so this may help them to be able to keep her." He spoke, handing it all over to his friend.
"What are you looking at there, my little Beth?" Lewis spoke to his daughter, who had her nose almost pressed up to the glass of the jewelry store.
"That broach, I was just thinking about how much Anne would love it. She loves the color purple, and lilacs are her favorite." Ever since Elizabeth had found out his oldest daughter's favorite flower, a bouquet would appear in her room whenever she was feeling poorly. When the blossoms were no longer in season, a bouquet of all different types of flowers began making appearances.
"Well, your sister does have a birthday coming up, and I do not believe you've had the chance to get her a gift. Perhaps we should go inside." The purchase was made, and he couldn't help but smile as a shocked Elizabeth exited the shop, her purchase cradled safely to her chest. She had been shocked at how easily he had just handed over the money, proclaiming to everyone that his youngest daughter had her heart set on the broach as a gift for her older sister. The pride in his voice, and indeed his entire countenance, was unmistakable, and more than one lady smiled indulgently at the pair of them.
"Well then Bethy, we must be off if we are to make our appointment on time." He grinned at the girl, offering her his arm as he led her down the street. They had come to town to inquire after tutors, masters, a governess, and anything else his new daughter had been lacking in her education, but this meeting was not for any of those things.
"Lizzy!" He saw the fear in his daughter's eyes when her aunt and uncle called out to her when they saw them approaching Gunters. "We've been so worried about you my dear." The woman spoke, gathering the girl into her arms.
They almost missed the sound of the girl crying over the excitement, "No, I don't want to be Lizzy any more...Please, I want to be Beth. Lizzy's Mama hated her, but Beth's Mama loves her..." Hearing his Cathy referred to as Mama by Beth almost had him in tears, she had never referred to either of them in parental terms in the few months she's been with them.
"Oh my darling girl, you can be whom ever you want to be. Your uncle has been helping Sir Lewis and Lady Catherine adopt you. It is high time you were permanently with people who love and care for you." Mrs Gardiner wiped her nieces tears with a handkerchief she pulled from her reticule. "We were just meeting with you and your new Papa today so that you knew we still loved you, and want to be a part of your life."
"Adopt me?" She looked hopefully to him, and he felt his heart swell.
"Your uncle went to your father and talked him into relinquishing his rights to you. That is one of the reasons for our trip, I wanted to make it final in the courts as soon as possible." He smiled at the girl, and while she looked happy, she also looked unsure.
"Your father did not want to give you up my dear, but he also knew that it wasn't fair to you to make you endure your mother, when you had a family who wanted to love and care for you." He liked the spin the man put on it for the girl's sake. He had been furious when he was told her father had just signed the paperwork without a fight, hoping to go back to enjoying his peace.
Apparently, there had been a carriage accident on the route her carriage was to take to London, and someone had strewn her trunk and clothes around it. This made it appear she had perished in the accident. When the man found out she had still lived he said that he had already mourned his daughter, and if someone else wanted to take on the expense of her care, they were welcome to have her. It made his blood boil, but Catherine said it was all the better as they got to keep their little Beth, and things were not held up in the air for overly long.
"Did Jane have to marry Mr Gastrell?" She was still concerned for her sister.
"No, he refused to have her, and your father had already said he would never have approved the match, not after we told him what Sir Lewis said you witnessed." Her aunt spoke gently as she ushered the girl into Gunters, and the men ordered the ices for their ladies, while said ladies found them a table.
Now that she knew the Gardiners weren't going to take her away, she was adamantly telling them about her new life at Rosings. It was hard to miss the grateful looks the couple would give him whenever she would excitedly tell them about something new.
"Lewis, I was not expecting you here today." He looked up at the familiar voice and smiled at his good brother George Darcy. He couldn't help but smile when he saw his niece hiding shyly behind her father's legs. She smiled when Mrs Gardiner opened her arms to her, and went willingly to sit on the woman's lap.
"Georgiana, would you like to meet your new cousin, Elizabeth?" Lewis asked his niece, the youngest of the cousins born into his wife's family.
"You may call me Beth if you like, it is what my family calls me." Beth smiled at the little girl. "Now, are you here for an ice with your Papa like I am?"
"I did well in school so Papa says I get a treat." Georgiana spoke shyly.
"Then a treat you shall have." Elizabeth grinned as she stood up. "Do you mind if I take her to the counter to get her ice, so that you all may talk?" George smiled thankfully to Beth, handing over a few coins for Georgiana's treat.
"Are you really my cousin?" Little Georgiana asked as they approached the counter, and Elizabeth was not surprised to see their parents' eyes fixed firmly on them.
"I am, does that please you?" She asked with a smile.
Georgiana nodded her head shyly, before sinking deep into thought. "Aunt Catherine always spoke of her daughter marrying my brother, are you the one he is going to marry. You're very pretty, I think he would like you."
Elizabeth was glad the child had kept her voice low, as she was sure no one had been able to hear her. "Thank you for the compliment, I think you are very pretty too." The little girl preened as she spoke, "Though I must tell you, it is not proper to talk of marriages that are not public knowledge, that is how gossip starts." The little girl's face fell, and she was quick to reassure her.
"Now, don't start thinking you've done anything wrong, it was an innocent question, and you had no way of knowing it wasn't proper. After all, making mistakes is how we learn, and that is all you did, you just made a mistake. I'm sure you shall never make it again." The girl was quick to shake her head no, and she smiled.
"There now, no harm done, and to answer your question, your brother will marry a woman he thinks will make him happy. Just as I will marry a gentleman who I think will make me happy when I am old enough to marry. Just because my Mama wants one of her daughters to marry your brother does not mean it will happen, for he may not suit either of us, just as we may not suit him." She explained quietly, before their conversation was cut short when their turn came to order Georgiana's treat.
