Early in the morning Elizabeth walked out with Beth and her new governess though the tangled streets of the City to a particular street along which there was a large collection of used bookstores.
As they walked Georgiana smiled at Beth. "You have the list?"
The little girl nodded happily and began to pull out the sheet on which Georgiana had listed the set of educational books they would look for. Georgiana had made the little girl copy it out with an almost clean hand, and Beth was exceedingly proud of the result.
"No, no!" Elizabeth exclaimed, putting her hand on Beth's. "Not in this wind. It'll blow away without doubt, and you'd have to write it again from memory."
That sense of odd familiarity which had made Elizabeth particularly insistent on helping Georgiana had not faded. She just could not place it.
However, Elizabeth was fully satisfied that she liked Georgiana very much, and the odd mistake in her past of galloping up the North Road to the famous anvil was one which made her in no way despicable.
Elizabeth would have considered her husband despicable for taking such poor care of such a sweet soul. That is before the further consideration that he had apparently decided that "till death do we part" was too onerous of an obligation to be allowed to stand for long.
There was a gusting wind, but it was sunnier today than it had been since the day they met Georgiana.
It was good to be out of the house and walking. Elizabeth would have preferred a private walk at present, as her mind was filled with Jane's information that she'd conveyed the previous night, about how when she'd been returning with Molly, that she'd seen Mr. Darcy out a bit past Guildhall, and suggested that he call on them.
"I do hope, I do dearly hope," Jane said, "that you would not find it so deeply onerous to see him! I think I may have given him a little hope, but I cannot help but think from everything you said, that the whole dispute between the two of you was a matter of a simple misunderstanding. If you both only talked at greater length it would be made clear. You admired him — and even still admired him after you refused him. And though you never tell me about it, I've seen that you have not had your usual spirits since that ball."
"I am not unhappy, not like—"
"Oh, I have no right to be unhappy! Bingley never gave me any hint that I might expect an offer from him. It was simply a… flight of fancy."
Elizabeth looked sadly at her sister after she said that. But she had learned to not argue with her upon this matter.
"I do not expect to see Mr. Darcy." Elizabeth had replied, "Whatever he might have said, motives of pride, if nothing else, will keep him away. He is a man who would not risk the contamination that a visit to a house so close to Cheapside would bring. Further, he is a man who too proud to present himself as a friend to a woman who had refused his hand. We'll not see him."
"You misjudge him; he is a good man."
"I know that. But he has an excess of pride."
Jane's expression radiated with a celestial warmth. "But you do promise to be kind, and to… not allow your pride and prejudices to rule you if he does call?"
"As I do not expect him to call, should he do so, that will prove that my assessment of his character was mistaken. I would then need to pay close attention to him to come to a more accurate judgement."
Once they reached Paternoster Row, the street near St. Paul's where the book trade was concentrated, Georgiana's eyes lit up to see the long line of store fronts all advertising themselves as selling books. "So many bookstores!" Georgiana looked around excitedly. "I have not been here before, but I am sure my brother must know this street very well."
"Is he a great reader?" Elizabeth was half surprised to hear Georgiana mention her brother — from everything she said it was clear that he was extremely important to her, but at the same time she was very hesitant to speak about him, or about anything that might point back to her identity.
Almost absentmindedly Georgiana said, "Oh yes, I think we have the largest private library in the county." Georgiana then frowned. She said in a slow voice, "A family library is the work of many generations and must always be tended to by the present generation as a heritage to leave to the next. That is what my father used to say."
"An opinion which for once I cannot fault him for." Elizabeth had a sense that Georgiana's father was similar to Darcy's: Overbearing, with an excess of expectations, possessing no concern for the actual happiness of his children, but yet with an ability to instill the prejudices of class and station.
When they entered the first bookstore, Georgiana became all business. Mr. Gardiner had given over possession of seven pounds for them to spend on the books relating to children's education that Georgiana recalled from her own education as having been particularly useful. Both Georgiana and Elizabeth were determined to make the best use of that limited supply of funds.
Georgiana took from Beth the list that they had written out, and ran her finger over the page, tapping briefly on each written item. "Your Papa already has a copy of all three volumes of Sandford and Merton, but I'd like to find here at least Barbauld's Lessons for Children, and Maria Edgeworth's The Parents Assistant. And for more general subjects, The Young Lady's Book of Botany, and Conversations on Chemistry. Fabulous Histories and A Concise History of England. We'll find Perrault and other works in French at a store dedicated to literature in that language."
The bookstore was filled with the familiar aroma of ink, parchment, and just a hint of staleness. The hand carved bookshelves made from a dark oak wood stretched from floor to ceiling, with a variety of movable ladders for the proprietor to reach the highest shelves. Thousands of leather-bound volumes were spread about just this small space.
While she kept half an eye out on Georgiana and Beth, Elizabeth quickly grew distracted herself. She had her own funds from the allowance that Papa had given her before sending her off to London. While much of that pocket money had already disappeared, finding a few good books to purchase would be an excellent way to spend the balance. Elizabeth had no need for a new book at present, as the Gardiners had an ample library, even if Mr. Gardiner's collection tended to have more works of science, history, and philosophy than novels or plays.
After fifteen minutes of wandering around, picking up books and flipping through a few pages before replacing them on the shelf, Elizabeth found herself facing a shelf dedicated to used lines of sheet music. She had practiced a little in the last few months, but a sudden memory of her conversation with Darcy about her defects at the piano made her wish to practice more diligently.
She picked through several books with titles like A Treatise of Good Taste in the Art of Musick and The Compleat Tutor for the Harpsichord before Georgiana came up behind her with Beth, and they carried a small handful of books. "Oh, we must purchase the Well-Tempered Clavier of course. We must purchase a copy — I do not see one here, but this store in no way focuses upon musical topics."
Elizabeth smiled. "There is a copy at my home, it is the one educational series on piano that I've pushed myself through. If we can't find a copy at any of the stores, I can ask Papa to send it."
"You play?"
"Not well." Elizabeth smiled as she recalled a discussion with Mr. Darcy about the quality of performers that he was used to. "You said you play well."
"Yes." Georgiana sighed. "I haven't though touched a piano since my marriage — no, wait. I played some on the piece in a public inn while we travelled back south. But that hardly signifies."
"You did not have a piano?"
"No, but…" Georgiana pressed her hand against her mouth in a gesture that always tickled the back of Elizabeth's mind with an odd sort of familiarity to it. "Even if I had, I rather think I would not have wanted to. I wished to distance myself from myself... You see, my favorite occupation used to be to practice and play."
"Would you enjoy to play again?" Elizabeth said. "I hope you would. If it brought you joy, that joy is part of who you really are."
"Yes. And I will need to, if I am to teach Beth."
"I dearly wish to hear you play when we return home — do not say that you are out of practice, or anything of the sort. I will forgive whatever defects that has brought to your play if you forgive the no doubt far greater defects generated by my failure to get into sufficient practice to become out of it."
Georgiana smiled at her. "It is… I begin to feel like I am wholly a new person, neither Miss…" She flushed. "I hardly know if it makes any sense to conceal my name… I have a little fear that your uncle would simply send a notice to my brother if he knew who he was, without allowing me to refuse."
"I do not think he would."
Georgiana shrugged. "My notion of gentlemen in positions of responsibility is that they always are confident they know what is best to do and act accordingly. Due to our feminine weaknesses, they usually do know best. But it can be frustrating."
"My Papa is nothing like that—" Elizabeth patted Georgiana on the shoulder. "Neither is Mr. Gardiner. At least, once you possess his promise not to do a thing, he will not do it. What you say sounds like how most women I know manage their doctors."
With a laugh Georgiana interlinked her arm with Elizabeth's and took Beth's hand in her other. "You ought to hear my Aunt Cathy speak about the doctors who have served on my cousin over the years. She has always tended to illness, you see. And Aunt Catherine has a low opinion of the whole species of physicians, and she will always state her opinions in the most forthright manner possible. She always rather scared me, but I do not think I would be scared if I met her again — she would refuse the meeting. She would say that I had been polluted by my husband's inferior circumstances."
They went to the counter.
The owner served them himself proudly, a bald Jewish man with one of those funny little hats perched jauntily on the top of his pate. He packaged up the books which they had selected, promised them excellent prices if they ever wished to sell or purchase further books, and they marched out from there to the next promising looking store along the line.
After three more bookstores a multitude of purchases had been made, and the money which Mr. Gardiner had allocated to this shopping expedition had been fully spent, along with most of the funds that Elizabeth had possession of.
A copy of The Well-Tempered Clavier was held by Elizabeth, along with a bag full of books, including Perrault's Histoires ou contes du temps passé, and The Journals of Captain Cook.
Georgiana had exploded upon them finding The Well-Tempered Clavier into enthusiasm about it was the best beginning point for a proper education in any keyboard instrument. This was followed by a five minute discourse upon how Herr Bach and the older composers were in many respects superior to the composers popular today, such as Beethoven and Hummel — despite this judgement against him, she then spoke for five minutes more about how excellent actually Beethoven was, though in her opinion "Für Elise" and the "Moonlight Sonata" both lowered themselves in comparison to his better pieces by conforming too closely to the public taste.
Beth listened as wide eyed and astonished as a hero struck seven-year-old could.
Whatever else would come of bringing Georgiana into the household, Elizabeth was now confident that Georgiana would give Beth a first-rate musical education.
As they walked back from near St. Paul's to Gracechurch Street, Georgiana pressed a hand against her side and stopped against a fence.
Beth exclaimed, "Are you sick! Are you sick?"
Georgiana's face was rather pale, but she smiled and shook her head. She looked very young whenever she smiled at the child. "Just a touch in my stomach. I've felt a bit sick in the morning the past few days."
"I hope it is not our kitchen," Elizabeth said with a smile.
"Oh no! Everything is delicious! It is very good, not fancy, but delicious — especially that melted cheese on toast." That was said to Beth with a wink. "It is a passing thing, and I am always particularly hungry in time for luncheon. Maybe I have not fully overcome my terror from when I ran last week."
"Maybe," Elizabeth said quietly. A different, and rather concerning, possibility occurred to Elizabeth. A young wife who'd just left her husband's house, and who felt regular passing nausea in the morning.
This concern was shoved out of Elizabeth's mind when they reached the home on Gracechurch Street.
Soon as the door was opened, Molly rushed to them, excitedly conveyed the information that they had callers. "It is that Mr. Bingley and that Mr. Darcy we have heard so much about."
"Mr. Darcy!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "And with Mr. Bingley? — Here! At Gracechurch Street."
"Yes, they been in the drawing room with Miss Bennet and Mrs. Gardiner these twenty minutes."
"Oh, I must say my greetings then before they leave." Elizabeth felt herself flush. Was this a compliment to her? Did Mr. Darcy still have some hopes, like Jane had suggested? — no, surely not. The purpose of the visit must be to accompany Bingley in calling on Jane.
As Elizabeth stepped towards the door, she noticed that Georgiana was pale and trembling. She seemed caught by some emotion. Georgiana's hand gripped one of the antlers of the coat rack, while her jacket was held high in the other hand.
Despite her eagerness to see Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth stepped over to the girl and put her arm around her. "You do not look well. That touch of something in the stomach must be worse than you thought."
"I am well. I assure you — merely… excuse me — you know Mr. Darcy?… but surely. No. No—" And then she quickly went through the doors towards the kitchens and nursery followed by Beth.
As her color seemed to be returning, Elizabeth shrugged, and she told the footman that they needed to make sure that Mrs. Georgiana ate light biscuits or toast, and then she hurried to see Mr. Darcy.