Where character matters

Francine "Fanny" Gardiner had three examples to follow in her young life: her grandmother, who passed too early. Her father, whose name opened doors and merited respect. And her mother, who always wanted more and was willing to use any means to get it. On a fateful night at the Harvest Assembly, she had to make a choice on whose example she would follow.

AN: This idea came from CFW. Thanks for the feedback and the Fork in the Road twist that I had not considered.

Meryton church yard, 1761

Young Fanny Gardiner, at ten, felt as if she would never survive her grief and that she might never recover. Her beloved Grandmama Edith was gone and her casket lay under a mound of fresh dirt in the churchyard. Life did not seem fair. Even though her older sister had their grandmother's name, she was the one who had loved the old lady most and enjoyed spending time with her.

Then, as so often happened when her grandmother was alive, that gentle voice spoke into her mind and soul, "Peace, child. I will always be with you, watching over you. Remember what I told you at the end?"

"Yes, Grandmama. You told me to become a person that you would be proud of. I will, Grandmama! I promise!"

"And what else did I tell you?"

"You said that I had to watch others and see what good character means. I still do not understand that part, Grandmama. You should come back and teach me until I understand."

(Gentle laughter) "Impertinent child! You know that I cannot. But watch your father. Listen to what others say about him. And your mother... and listen to what is said about her. Then decide who you wish to be like... and who you want to be."

Fanny Gardiner left the churchyard that day with a lighter step and a focus. She knew that she was not as bright as her father or younger brother, but she could be focused and stubborn. She would apply that stubbornness now to living up to her promise.

Meryton, 1766

Fifteen year old Fanny Gardiner was offered little choice but to accompany her mother that day to pay visits to the two-and-twenty families of note in the area. Of course they would not see them all today... or at least Fanny hoped not... but they would visit enough that the gossip her mother and older sister Edith had to share would be quite stale and worked over. It would also have grown into something much worse than the original story by the end of their visiting day.

Following her promise to her Grandmama Gardiner, Fanny had made it a habit to watch her parents and watch how others reacted to them. That was why she was very cognizant of the fact that her mother and sister were vulgar, and that others laughed under their hands and behind their backs wherever they went.

On the other hand, Fanny had learned that her father was known as an honorable man whose "word was his bond" and with whom a "handshake is as good as a royal contract." From the lowest servant to the highest noble in the area, it was an accepted fact that their personal legal matters were safe in Edward Gardiner's hands. He might only be a country solicitor, but he was a trustworthy one.

The same could not be said of her mother. No secret was safe in her vicinity and she had proven herself willing to take unacceptable actions to advance herself and her children.

Fanny had no illusions that she would ever be as intelligent as her father, but she was resolved now to be his equal in character.

Meryton Harvest Assembly, 1768

Fanny tried not to roll her eyes as her mother grabbed her arm and once again repeated her instructions. They were well away from the rest of the neighbors who were strolling in and having cheerful conversations. The Harvest Assembly was one of the favorite events of the year. It happened just after the first harvest, before the weather began to turn, and was a welcome break from the hard work of making the farms and estates prosper. Now young people could gather to flirt and dance while older people could relax and visit.

As usual the event was taking place in the Longbourn estate's pole barn, as it was the largest structure of its kind in the neighborhood. It was both exciting and sad to think that such events would soon take place in the new assembly hall being constructed in the heart of Meryton. It would be the start of a new tradition but the end of an old one. Fanny could remember being a young child on the day after these country dances. She and many other children would have fun sifting through the straw on the floor of the barn, searching for coins and other items that had fallen out of the pockets of the inebriated and over-enthusiastic dancers!* That was until her mother decided that it was unladylike!

Now, at seventeen, Fanny was being pushed to exhibit a much more "unladylike" action. "Fanny, do not mess this up! Young Mr. Bennet is the wealthiest man in this area now that Sir Walter Davies left Netherfield. And he's single! Every girl in this area has set her cap for him, but you must be the one to catch him! Flirt with him first, but if that fails, watch for my signal and I will see you both appropriately compromised! It should not be necessary, though. You could not be so beautiful for nothing!"

Fanny had heard that last statement often. At one time she was inclined to be pleased by it, but over time she realized that beauty without character was nothing. So while her mother repeated her scheme, Fanny was busy hatching her own.

She only wished that her father was not in London conducting business on this important night!

It was no surprise to anyone when Thomas Bennet, at seven and twenty, solicited the first set from the vivacious and beautiful Francine Gardiner. There was no denying that she was the prettiest girl in Meryton, bar none. Her father was highly respected, both as a man and as a solicitor... not quite a gentleman, but perhaps close enough to make her a possible choice. Of course all of the ladies from the various estates with single daughters intended to push their daughters forward for his notice.

One of the reasons that they were not too concerned was the loud and vulgar pronouncements of Fanny's mother, Caroline Gardiner. She was declaring to one and all that her daughter would soon be the next Mistress of Longbourn! If they could hear the woman, so could Thomas Bennet. Surely that would be enough to frighten off anyone.

None of them, especially Fanny's mother, knew of the conversation that was taking place as the much talked-about couple were having their first dance.

"Sir, I thank you for the dance and I apologize for my mother."

"There is nothing for you to apologize for," he answered rather stiffly. It was true that he was disgusted, but he would not deny himself the opportunity to dance with such a fetching young lady. He had no intentions other than this one set, however... possibly a second, as she danced as well as she looked. He truly had seldom seen her equal and she certainly stirred something in him.

"There is more, sir, and I pray that you will hear me out."

"I am listening." He was actually busy appreciating her decolletage, but but he would not say that. She was not one of the courtesans who resided close to the university and served the needs of the male populace, after all... something that he had to keep reminding himself about.

"If my mother does not feel that you are sufficiently enamored with me by the seventh set, she intends to engineer a compromise."

That bold statement shocked young Bennet out of his focused appreciation. "What did you say, Miss Gardiner?"

"My mother..."

"Nevermind. I heard you. And why are you telling me this?"

"Because while my mother may think in such a way, I am my father's daughter. I would not for anything besmirch his good name... or mine. So after this set I must ask you to avoid both me and my mother for the remainder of the night. And after that I beg you not to call or show interest in me in any way."

"You do not want me to show you attention?" His tone suggested his doubts. At this assembly every young woman and their mother wanted his attentions.

"You seem a good man, Sir, but I fear that we are not a match. You may appreciate my appearance now, but will that be enough? You are highly intelligent, according to my father, and will require a partner who challenges you mind. I cannot do that... and I am not even certain if I would want to do that. I have tried to be like my father and brother in intellectual matters, but it is beyond me. Look to Sarah Long perhaps, or Elizabeth Fullbright. They would seem to match you better."

They danced in silence for most of the rest of the second dance before Thomas Bennet said, "Remarkable. I will honor your request and I will also say that when you find the man who matches you, he will be a truly happy man. Thank you for this dance, Miss Gardiner. It had been an honor."

Caroline Gardiner left the assembly angry and frustrated that night, but she only blamed Fanny a little bit, since it seemed that those scheming Longs and Fullbrights were the ones who kept Thomas Bennet away from her lovely daughter.

At the Gardiner home, two days later...

Papa had a large home in Meryton, partly because he was a successful solicitor and partly due to the fact that a section of the first floor of his home also served as his office. It was understood by his family that his offices were sacrosanct and that his wife and children would not enter without a very good reason during his working hours.

Fanny waited until her mother took a nap on the day that Papa Gardiner returned from London. Then, once assured that he was not speaking with a client, she knocked on his office door. She had to ignore the rather uncomfortable stares she was receiving from both of her father's clerks. One at least should not have looked at her in that way: Mr. Phillips, the man who had married her sister.

"Enter!" Her father sang out. He only glanced up for a moment from his files. What he saw in his youngest daughter's eyes must have convinced him that she had a reason to speak with him. "Have a seat, Fanny. I have to get this written down while it is still fresh on my mind."

Fanny nodded, took a seat, and then entertained herself by watching her father work. He might not be a gentleman in the social definition of the word, but all that she had learned by watching told her that he was a man she could be very proud to call her father.

Less than ten minutes passed before Edward Sr. sanded the legal journal and closed it. Then he met his daughter's eyes, "What concerns you, my dear girl?"

Fanny told her father about the assembly and her mother's intentions. Then she made her request. He sat back and thought on the matter, then finally nodded, "I will write to your Uncle and Aunt Lewis. If they are willing, then I will send you to them this next week. I will also consider carefully who might be a good match for you. Speak of none of this to your mother. I will address her plan after you are removed from her influence and control."

Fanny rose, "Thank you father. I do not seek a rich man or a noble. I only hope for a man who will respect me and who will look after me and any children. Someone with a character and reputation as good as you would be the ideal."

Exactly six days later Fanny and a maid boarded Mr. Gardiner's hired carriage and traveled to Derby, where her Uncle Shaun Lewis and Aunt Jane lived. They owned several buildings in the shopping area and also owned several shops, to include a dressmaker, a haberdashery, a draper, and a cobbler. Fanny knew that her prosperous uncle was also seeking investors to establish a brewery, but had not heard how that was progressing.

The Lewis family included four children, two girls twelve and ten and two boys eight and four. As a part of Fanny being welcomed into their home she had agreed to help with the children. That was no hardship since she loved little children.

True to his word, Edward Gardiner Sr. worked with Shaun Lewis to search for a man who would see Fanny as more than just an ornament and a beautiful bed partner and who would respect and even cherish her. They found this man, ironically, in the person of Sir Fulton Lockhart, one of the prospective investors in Shaun's businesses.

Sir Fulton was made a baronet after heroism and leadership in the fight with the French Canadians and the Iroquois, then returned wounded to England to build his own estate and breed horses, mostly for pulling carriages. His first wife had died in childbirth leaving him with a son who was now two and in need of a mother. Little Michael took to Fanny immediately. Sir Fulton was taken with her beauty, but spent several months before he was assured of her character. One of the important deciding factors was a conversation that Sir Fulton shared with his friend Thomas Bennet. This, more than anything convinced Sir Fulton that Fanny was more than just a pretty face and figure.

They were wed almost exactly one year from the day that Fanny took steps to avoid the compromise that her mother had planned. Michael had already fully adopted Fanny as his mother and she felt the same for him. Though they had begun their interaction as almost an arranged business matter, the longer that Sir Fulton and Fanny Gardiner courted, the more that they began to develop true feelings for each other.

Caroline Gardiner crowed to the heavens when her youngest daughter became Lady Lockhart. Fanny tolerated her mother but was pleased when her new husband whisked her away to the south for a wedding trip. Michael went with them, though a nurse made certain that the couple had plenty of time together alone.

Over the following years she gave her husband three additional sons and two daughters, along with a happy home.

Meryton Assembly, 1811

"Sir Fulton!" Mr. Darcy said with surprised pleasure, "I had not expected to see you here. I had thought that your estate was in Hertford?"

"Hello, Darcy. I have not seen you since your father's funeral, but I have heard nothing but good reports about all that you've done. In answer to your question, we are visiting our relatives by marriage, the Bennets. My son Michael married Mr. Bennet's eldest daughter Jane."

"Ah! I believe that I met them a Lady Eleanor's ball in Town, but I did not make the connection."

"Here are the rest of the Bennets now. Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, I am pleased to introduce my dear friend and now in-law, Mr. Thomas Bennet of Longbourn, his lovely wife Mrs. Elizabeth Bennet, their eldest daughter and now also mine, Mrs. Jane Lockhart... my scapegrace of a son is walking towards us now from across the room... and their two other lovely daughters Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Miss Mary. Their sons are one at Harrow and one at Oxford, but I have chosen to be the better man and not look down on the family due to that."

Darcy grinned, making several young ladies feel weak in the knees and even the beautiful Elizabeth Bennet's eyes to widen. "Spoken like a true Cambridge man. I am honored to meet each of you and if your lovely daughters are willing, would like to ask for a set with each?" He looked at the dark-haired Elizabeth with hope and she returned his expression with a smile, "I am not engaged for the next, Mr. Darcy." He penciled his name in and then did the same for the following set with Miss Mary.

Mr. Bingley arrived soon thereafter with his "fashionably late" sisters. When the introductions were repeated, he was disappointed to learn that the stunning blond beauty was already married. He also danced with the unmarried Bennet sisters and was everything that a gentleman should be... but much to shallow for either the Lockharts or the Bennets. Fanny did not even wish that she had brought her daughters along to meet the man.

Later in the evening Thomas Bennet requested a single dance with Fanny Lockhart, just as he did each time the two families came together for such a gathering. She was just as lovely as ever. He was still handsome and, thanks to his marriage to Elizabeth Fullbright, had settled down in to a man of industry and action. All of this Fanny could appreciate, yet she still felt that her decision decades before had been the best one for both of them.

After that dance Sir Fulton Lockhart collected his lovely wife for the final set, where he showed her once again that she had made the better choice.


AN: There you have it, CFW. I hope that this was what you were looking for. Thanks for the great twist.

* Sorry, had to throw a little autobiographical twist in there. When I was a child in a village in Germany they had such dances. I and the other children would help to clean on the day after the event, always hoping to discover treasure among the dirty straw. Mostly it was just pfennigs, but one time I found a 5 mark coin and spent the entire thing on candybars! Boy did I get sick and scolded!

In response to several reviewers who understand German currency:

It seems that I must retract my previous assertion. Enough people have told me that there was no such thing as a 50 mark coin that I searched myself. Then I used common sense and phoned my sister, the only other person still alive who was there. She thinks it was probably a five mark piece and it was when I was six, only a month or two after we arrived. I apologize because in my mind it was always a fifty mark coin.
LFU