Elizabeth and Jane's uncle had been true to his word, and once they were in London, a very short drive, indeed, they were led not to Gracechurch, but instead, to a townhome, located on one of the more fashionable streets.
Lizzie had heard her mother and father talk about these streets and their townhomes, as her father had had his heart set on having a townhome in this particular neighborhood.
"Oh, Papa, it would be perfect for entertaining, and I could take the girls to the park," Mrs. Bennet had said, "and the shops are only a short walk from us. Oh, if we were only not so poor, and could afford the expense."
The carriage had rolled to a stop in front of a townhome, which was set back slightly from the road. The street was wide, with a large fenced in garden just in the middle, the trees thick with foliage, green and bright against the blue skies. Lizzie wondered what it would be like to take a turn about the park, or to sit on a bench, watching the world pass her by.
But as she followed her uncle and aunt from the carriage, and the footman went around to the rear of the coach to retrieve their trunks, her uncle leading them up the steps, and Jane just ahead of her, Elizabeth was sure that they had come to the wrong address.
This home was not their Uncle Gardiner's, and she could not imagine why her aunt and uncle had taken her and her sister here, rather than their usual haunts in Gracechurch.
Jane had gone inside, and Lizzie lingered on the stairs.
"Are you not well, Lizzie?" Mrs. Gardiner paused, a hand on the door.
"We are not," Elizabeth gestured at the house, "at the wrong address?"
"Wrong address?" Her aunt's expression was so sweetly kind, Lizzie had no idea how to explain herself. "No, my dear girl, this is where we will pass the Season. I can sure you, all is well. All will be well, indeed, and once you have shaken the road dust from your skirts, and settled into your rooms with Jane, I will explain it all."
The staff waited for them at the tops of the stairs, and Lizzy's eyes ranged over them, shocked at how many there were.
Mrs. Gardiner seemed to notice her noticing, and commented quietly,
"And more below stairs, I can assure you. Our ever need, known or not even thought of, will be taken care of this Season, Lizzy. I have promised you both the best proper coming out, better than we could have dreamed of providing you with. And-"
There were shrieks, delighted ones, as they stepped inside the entrance hall, and Lizzy's eyes widened at the sight of her four little cousins as they came running toward their mother and her guests. Mr. Gardiner had disappeared, and Jane was waiting, barely concealed excitement in her expression as she bent to greet the young ones.
A governess followed, and a nanny, both at a steady pace, one tall and elegant in a dark gown, the other plump, short, and with a pleasant smile on her face.
"I can see," Mrs. Gardiner murmured, "that there will be no time for rest before tea. Children, children, please, allow your cousins Jane and Lizzie time to settle into their rooms, and then they will join us."
The mystery of the house would remain unsettled.
A housekeeper, with a curtsey, made herself known.
"I'm Mrs. Giles, ma'am, and I'm to take Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth to their rooms." When Lizzy shot Jane a panicked look, Mrs. Gardiner patted her hand.
"Next to one another, so that if one of you so much as sniffles, the other will be right there," she assured her niece.
Mrs. Giles led the girls upstairs, gesturing to some of the fine architecture and design.
"Approved by the Grosvenor family themselves," she said, "and designed by their pet architect of the time, you'll see touches of the Viscount's hand in every room," Mrs. Giles said, as Lizzy worked hard not to inhale noisily. A Viscount? They were staying in a home that had some association with a Viscount?
The floors were polished to a gleaming dark finish, and as they arrived on the second storey, Mrs. Giles gestured them up even further, onto the third. "Your room Miss Bennet," Mrs. Giles said as they arrived on a landing lit with cornices, and four doors leading off of it. The housekeeper opened one, revealing a spacious and light-filled bedroom that looked onto the back garden of the house, and the mews beyond.
"This is all for me?" Jane whispered, as Lizzie followed her in, her eyes widening. There was a dressing table with a mirror, a small desk, and a wardrobe. The bed was something to behold, bigger still than the one Lizzy and Jane shared back in Longbourn, and crowned by delicate gauze that fell over the sides of the bed itself.
"There is a dressing room beyond," Mrs. Giles said, opening a door, and Lizzie peered inside, seeing the clothespress and shelves, and another small window overlooking the mews, the glass paned and bright. There was a door in the far side of the dressing room, and Mrs. Giles smiled. "This house was updated three years ago, to have the most modern of conveniences. You'll find a water closet for you both to share, as well as a bathing room beyond. It leads to your room, Miss Elizabeth, if I might show you?"
They left Jane behind to wander the length of her room and admire the fine, beautiful furnishings. Lizzie had never seen a house like this before, and wondered if it was typical of London finer homes.
Her own room was identical in size, and layout, but her dressing room and the door connecting the bathing room were reversed. Still, it filled her stomach with ennerved butterflies. Much, like she imagined, her mother felt all of the time. But for Lizzy, this was a very new sensation. She wasn't sure how she would ever grow used to it, if she would.
"I have taken the liberty," Mrs. Giles said, gesturing at a wardrobe and the dresser, "of making appointments for you with a very fashionable new modiste. For you, and for Miss Bennet both, as your aunt indicated that perhaps you would like some new gowns, the better to be armored for the Season."
Lizzy whirled, shocked even further into silence and stillness by this announcement. It was one thing, to spend money on books, and ribbons, and at the milliner's in Meryton, for there if you were not called Lydia Bennet, your pin money would stretch through the entire year if you were mindful.
But a modiste in London? When at home, the Bennet sisters largely made up their own day dresses, as most of them, especially the eldest two, were skilled enough to create the necessary garments for what little society they visited with. Certainly for their own society in the home, when visitors were not expected.
The cost would surely run her through the pin money her father had sent her with, and Jane as well. Lizzy made up her mind in that moment that she would sacrifice for Jane, and not spend a penny on herself, and then, perhaps, they could present Jane well for the Season, spending on the gowns and other fripparies necessary.
"If there is anything you should need, please, let the staff know. We are at your service, Miss Elizabeth," Mrs. Giles said, curtseying lightly before seeing herself out of the room.
Elizabeth crossed the room, the floorboards creaking a bit under her feet, and looked out the window. Her eyes were drawn down to the back of the house, where a young man was climbing down the ladder, a bag in his hand, and his tools resting against the house. She watched him for long moments as he began to perform some sort of repair on the back wall that butted up against the mews, his hair shining in the sun.
The door to the room opened, and she turned, seeing her aunt entering, Jane close behind her.
"I suppose," Elizabeth said, turning her gaze back to the window, although the young man was gone, and the ladder had been picked up, "I cannot pretend any longer that you are not keeping secrets from us, and we are not in some strange, dreamlike place. I have not had a good night's sleep for the last fortnight, and so surely, this must all be a dream. Is it? Please advise me at once?"
Mrs. Gardiner did not take her task for her sharp tone, but instead smiled with all the love she had for her two young nieces.
"I will have a girl up at once to help you refresh yourselves, as baths are being drawn for you, and a light meal is being prepared in case you are hungry after the journey."
"But I- you promised to tell us," Lizzy said softly, and Jane came to her side.
"I must confess, I am more than curious, but I can assure you this is no dream. Can the answers not wait a little longer, until dinner, perhaps? After our baths, and we've had some rest, you will feel so much better for it, I promise."
Lizzie's shoulders slumped, and she looked out the window again, wishing she could catch another glimpse of the man outside. He seemed normal, not strange in this strange world, a man who worked with his hands "Yes, I suppose," she muttered.
"Very good. Now, I will leave you. Rest well." Mrs. Gardiner closed the door behind her, and Lizzy leaned into Jane.
"You are the bravest person I know," she said.
"No, you are," Jane replied. "You've come to London, a place you never wanted to go to for a Season, to help me."
"As if I would do anything else." Lizzie reached out, and gave her sister a hug, holding onto her tight, as though her sister's presence would anchor her, and keep her from drifting away, lost and unmoored.
"Now," Jane said, letting her go, and taking her arm, leading her toward the dressing room. "Come and see this bath, the pipes are made of copper, and it is the most remarkable thing-"
"Lizzie! Are you awake yet?"
Elizabeth cracked her eyes open, the light of the sun just barely streaming through the gauzy curtains. She turned her head and saw Jane sat at the end of Elizabeth's bed, her long hair trailing down her shoulders, her cheeks pink from her bath and the nap that had followed.
"Mmmh," Lizzy sat up and pushed the hair out of her face. "What time is it?"
"Oh, not so late, but Aunt and Uncle were concerned that you wouldn't be ready to join us for dinner."
Elizabeth stretched her arms up, and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I slept so deeply, I'm surprised I didn't dream."
"No, nothing to apologize for," Jane replied, sitting up. "You look more rested."
"I feel it, yes," Lizzy replied, throwing the covers off and swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "And you look quite well, Jane."
"It's so exciting, isn't it?"
Lizzy bit her lip, and did not answer. The only thing exciting about it was that her father had consented to sending them off, and not just Jane. For it seemed the Season would be no fun if they were parted.
Jane stood up and smoothed her hands over the skirt of her dress. "I will wait for you in my room, and we can go downstairs together." She tugged on a bell-pull, smoothly as if she had experience with that sort of thing when back home they took care of their own dressing, and left the room, her skirts swishing as she went.
A maid arrived within moments, and after Elizabeth had dressed, and refreshed herself, the two Bennet sisters made their way downstairs.
Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were awaiting them in the drawing room, although the children were nowhere to be seen, probably with Nanny. Lizzie had the impression that the staff was much larger than what was usual for a home like this, but perhaps the Gardiners were not yet used to the running of such a place.
"There you are," Mrs. Gardiner said, looking up from a book that had been placed on her lap. "Are you well rested?"
"Yes, thank you, Aunt," Jane said, taking a seat, and Elizabeth followed her lead, perching on the edge of the sofa.
"I am sure you have questions," Mr. Gardiner said, looking up at the sisters. He looked different somehow, not so much as if he had grown or changed, but rather the situation had, and now they were seeing him as their uncle truly was, not as he had been when he was visiting them in Hertfordshire.
"I have several," Elizabeth answered, and Jane glanced at her, before smiling.
"Well then," Mr. Gardiner said. "Perhaps if we begin at the beginning."
"Or perhaps, at least, the middle, to where we find ourselves," Mrs. Gardiner cut in, giving her husband an affectionate smile. It made Lizzy's heart ache somewhat, to see true love right in front of her. There had been not much, if any of that, in their own home between their parents. From what Lizzy new of life, it was rather unusual to love one's wife, or one's husband. It didn't seem... practical.
"Alright yes," Mr. Gardiner grumbled a bit, but was mollified as his beloved wife patted his hand. "We have come into favor, and in such a timely manner to, with Dowager Countess of Ashford. And given that her own son is married with no daughters of his own, she saw that we had four young children not requiring any sponsoring for a Season... but my dear wife, your aunt, mentioned that she had two nieces, much beloved to her, that would benefit from the support of someone as doughty as the Dowager Countess."
Lizzy's lips parted in surprise. She would have been less shocked if she'd been told that the Gardiners had found an emerald mine in the basement floor of their Gracechurch warehouse!
"It was her ladyship who insisted upon our staying here, as this townhome was not to her taste, and she felt that a smaller home would make it easier to manage the staff and the young ladies, should they be accepted by the Ton," Mrs. Gardiner said. "And so we find ourselves here, and you, in our company. I hope you are ready for what comes."
"A smaller home?" Jane asked faintly, then looked around the room. "This is... her smaller home?" Mrs. Gardiner seemed amused by that, and hid a smile behind her hand.
"She will be here, at a formal dinner, next week, and she will be bringing the Earl of Matlock and his wife. It will be a busy dinner party, and you will have the opportunity to meet all of these people, Jane, Lizzy, and hopefully, impress them."
"So, if the Dowager Marchioness has sponsored us, and has brought us to this place, will the Season be... easier?" Jane asked.
Mr. Gardiner smiled.
"I should expect so. I think if it won't be, then it won't be her fault, it'll be down to the two of you, although you comport yourselves so well, and we are sure you will be favorites, as you are favorites with us."
Lizzie looked over at her sister, and found her face flushed and pink. "Thank you, Uncle, Aunt, I do not know how to express how grateful we are to have such a family," she said.
"I should hardly think your own mother would arrange something so grand as this," Mr. Gardiner observed. "Now, it is time for dinner, and we will not talk any further on such matters tonight. You should enjoy your meal and be at peace with what you have learned. And know that you have our full support, from the both of us, to make the connections you will, and the matches that hopefully suit you both and ensure you each have a love-filled future. I cannot think of a finer goal, than to be a part of a match where love exists and grows."
With that, Mr. Gardiner held out his arm to his wife, and the four made their way to the dining room, Lizzie wondering, in the back of her mind, if indeed the future she had imagined for herself could have any sort of love in it.
For, if she was being honest, she had not ever had such a dream. Her focus, her goal, had always been to be the best sister, and to see that Jane was well settled, and had all the happiness that Lizzie would not.
It would have to do.
And perhaps, with enough luck, there would be a good, kind, intelligent man in the Ton for Jane, and one who could overlook the flaws and imperfections of the Bennet family.
And perhaps, just perhaps, if her mother and father would accept it, she could return to Longbourn a spinster after her Season was over.
If anyone asked her, Elizabeth would tell them it was her dearest wish, for reasons she barely wanted to think about.
Thank you for the delightful feedback! I am so enjoying this story, it has always been my dream to see Lizzy and Jane have a Season in London. Hopefully the vision I have in my head will translate into a wonderful story for you to enjoy!