An Accidental Elopement

Chapter Three


It took Mrs. Gardiner almost a full hour to calm down the young woman who was present in their carriage.

Margaret Gardiner had always been a patience woman, wether it be with her child, rambunctious young nieces or her sisters-in-law so she was the prefect person to handle the current situation.

Once the young woman's sods had slowed to barely a whimper she was finally able to talk.

"What is your name my dear child," calmly ask Mrs. Gardiner.

"G-Georgiana Darcy ma'am," sniffed the young woman.

"I see. You must be Miss Darcy of Pemberley. Am I correct?" ask Mrs. Gardiner.

Miss Darcy's eyes grew wide. They knew who she was! She had been abducted! Why had her brother not followed after her. Surely he realized by now she had been stolen.

"My my brother will pay you whatever you want, just p-please don't hurt me," replied Georgiana.

Mrs. Gardiner gentle clasped the young woman's hands.

"My dear please don't have any fear of us. There seems to be nothing more then a slight mix up. I fear our young niece may have accidentally stepped into the wrong carriage. My name is Mrs. Gardiner. I grew up in Lambton and know of the great family the Darcys. Since we just left there I assumed you must be one of them. Have no fear we will head back there immediately once we get Mr. Gardiner's trunks unloaded for the coach to London."

Georgiana gave the man a curious look as to why she was being left.

"I have urgent business in town but I know you both will be quite safe with our footman and driver," the elder gentleman assure the young girl.

Nodding slowly Georgiana responded, "I am so sorry that I have caused you such an inconvenience. The fault is all mine. Had I not left the carriage as my brother insisted this predicament could never had come to pass."

At this Miss Darcy was once again on the verge of tears.

"Miss Darcy please think nothing of it. Blame can be placed on an infinite number of people starting with the ship captains who came in early forcing us to cut out trip short, to my niece who loves to wander. We are now here and must rectify the situation as best we can," smiled Mrs. Gardiner.

"Plus traveling by coach is always far more entertaining," but having received a raised eyebrow from his wife added, "but of course the site is not as lovely as traveling with you my dear"

Mrs. Gardiner smiled at this but it faded quickly as something the young girl said came to mind.

"Did you say your brother? Mr Darcy was traveling with you," asked Mrs. Gardiner.

"Yes ma'am. We were traveling to Scotland to visit with relatives and then he was to return shortly to Pemberley to oversee the harvest."

"And pray tell, what is your brother's age," continued Mrs. Gardiner hoping she had miscalculated the young man's age or hoped the Darcys had another much younger son after she had moved away.

"He is seven and twenty but he's birthday is in about one month's time."

This answer caused the Gardiner's worry over their nieces absence to increase. Had she too just spent the entire night unaccompanied? With a single man?

Margaret Gardiner held out one more hope, "And was anyone else traveling with you, your maid perhaps?"

"No ma'am. I had just lost my previous companion and my brother was in search of a new one for me."

Mrs. Gardiner gave her husband a worried glance. His expression mirrored her own. Their Elizabeth would never be happy with a force marriage. Hopefully all of this could be kept quiet but they would have to leave as soon as possible.

"Well my dear it looks as though my things have been removed. You need not wait for the coach. I'm sure it will be here shortly. You best be on your way," Edwin Gardiner said casting his wife a knowing look. "Be safe my dear."

Mrs. Gardiner nodded in replied, "And I will make sure everything is addressed and no harm is done." Mr. Gardiner grabbed his wife's hand and placing a kiss on it, waved off his carriage while he hoped for the best.

Mrs. Gardiner wished to offer more comfort to the young woman in her carriage but was now overcome with concern for her niece.

Since one of the women was exceedingly worried and the other one exceedingly shy, little conversation passed over the next few hours.

Despite her extremely timid and modest disposition Georgiana Darcy had to ask a question that had plagued her since they left. It only took three hours to gain the courage to ask.

"If you please ma'am could I ask you a question?"

"Of course my dear," said Mrs. Gardiner turn from the window determined to keep her features calm so as not to frighten the young woman further.

"Why did you wish to know my brother's age?"

Margaret Gardiner's expression instantly became grave. "Well Miss Darcy, while I have no doubt your brother is every bit a gentleman, the implications of a young man and woman who are unmarried and traveling to Scotland may have some scandalous implications."

Georgiana's brow knitted together in thought for just a moment before the realization hit her. Her eyes immediately grew wide and she grasped has she brought her hand to her mouth. Tears rapidly formed in her eyes.

She had just ruined her brothers life! He is a man of honor. Of course he would marry the young woman to save her reputation. Because she had left the carriage Georgiana just condemned Fitzwilliam to a life with a total stranger.

Noticing her distress, Mrs. Gardiner changed sides to sit next to the girl and kindly embraced her.

"There's no need to worry yet child. If no one observed my niece traveling with your brother perhaps everything can be fix without injury to either party," this was said with more confidence then Mrs. Gardiner currently felt.

Georgiana could only nod slightly and turned back to look out the window without really seeing anything outside.

Feeling the young girl needed sometime to think, Mrs Gardiner gave her one last reassuring squeeze before moving back to the other side. Thus another couples hours passed in complete silence.

Georgiana's mind was very much in turmoil. How much had she let her brother down. 'Oh why did I not just stay put? How much more am I going to disappoint my brother? What if this woman is nothing like her kind relatives?"

It was with that thought that her mind became even more clouded with worry. What if she was another fortune hunter? What if she was mean and cruel? What if she demand Georgiana be sent aways?!

The young woman couldn't stand it any longer.

"What...what is your niece like," asked the timid girl.

Mrs. Gardiner smiled, clearly understanding the question, wanted to ease the young woman's mind.

"Elizabeth is a wonderful young woman. She loves her family, long walks through the countryside and a good book. Not only is she smart and witty but also kind and caring, I promise you."

"My brother is the best of men...incase you were wondering," replied Georgiana as a blush spread across her cheeks.

"Thank you my dear. It does in fact put my mind at ease."

If they were observed, what would it be like to suddenly go to being a family of three? Little did Georgiana know that at that moment race back toward Lambton, her brother was having a very similar thought.

AN: You all are awesome. 100 reviews! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. Sorry the chapter is small AND no E&D but don't worry, you'll see them again soon. As for all the reviewers that have pointed out errors, I want to thank you and let you know I'm not ignoring your comments. I'm keeping notes on everything you've caught and plan to fix everything before I post the epilogue.

Disclaimer: Pride and Prejudice belong to Jane Austen. This story is protected under copyright law and is not allowed to be used, copied, or republish without written consent from the author.