To Admire A Gainsborough

by katriaine

What if walls could talk

2. Chapter 2

Prompt: When I was your age

TO ADMIRE A GAINSBOROUGH PART II

If Elizabeth was shaken to find her own likeness in the gallery at Pemberley, Mr. Gardiner was even more perturbed. He wanted the two pictures taken down and burned immediately, but Mrs. Reynolds refused to do so without her master's permission.

Mrs. Gardiner was also concerned. "I have so many questions right now I do not know where to start."

Mrs. Reynolds suggested starting with refreshments. "Perhaps things will seem clearer after a good cup of tea."

Mrs. Gardiner was doubtful. "Perhaps."

"But if not, at least you have had good cup of tea and excellent scones besides."

Mr. Gardiner was not in the mood for scones, or for the housekeeper's company. "Elizabeth, I need a word. In private."

Mrs. Reynolds offered a parlour for their use but he refused that too.

"Frankly, Mrs. Reynolds, I would prefer not to have this conversation in this house."

"I suggest you take the path to the lake," Mrs. Reynolds said. "You should have enough privacy to ensure nothing is overheard, and you will be able to see if anyone approaches."

He thanked Mrs. Reynolds and half-walked, half-dragged Elizabeth outside, not saying a word until they were well outside anyone's hearing range.

"Do you have an understanding with that man?"

"No, certainly not," Elizabeth said.

"Have you had a flirtation that might have led him to suppose an understanding might be forthcoming?"

"No, I do not think so."

"You do not think?"

"Well, I certainly did not think any such thing. It did not even occur to me as a possibility, because nothing happened between us."

"Maybe you should describe the entirety of the nothing that happened to me, in more detail. Because those paintings did not seem like nothing to me."

"The first time I saw him was at the Meryton assembly last autumn. Mr. Bingley wanted Mr. Darcy to partner me in a dance but he refused to be introduced to me, rather rudely."

"Rudely?"

"He said he hated the pastime and did not wish to dance and that there was not one pretty girl in the room, besides Jane. Then Mr. Bingley pointed me out to him and he said I looked tolerable but as I was obviously being slighted by other men there must be something wrong with me."

"In those words?"

"I do not remember the exact phrasing, but I heard his tone clearly, and understood that he was not at all attracted to me."

"If a man paints pictures of you and puts them on his wall it would seem to indicate differently."

Elizabeth was quiet for a while. "In truth, it casts a very strange shade on everything. But I am being honest that I never thought of him as a suitor and he never acted like one."

"When did you meet him next?"

"We were thrown together in various events in Meryton. Sometimes I thought he was watching me or listening to my conversations, with other people, but he never said much so I did not imagine it to be a sign of anything but boredom."

"But you spoke sometimes?"

"Yes, a few times, mostly when Jane got sick in Netherfield Park, and I stayed with her. Mr. Darcy and I met at meals, but Miss Bingley always had him seated next to her and far from me so there was little opportunity to speak then. During the evening entertainments he spoke a little more, but usually to the group and not to me in particular, and what he said I often took as criticism. Once we were in the library together for half-an-hour and he said not a word. So pardon me if I did not immediately jump to any assumptions about his regard."

"Think harder, there must be something that gives you a better clue," Mr. Gardiner said. "I did not get the impression that Mr. Darcy is mad, but a sane man must have some reason for the things he does. He does not just get up and nail a picture of a random woman on the wall amongst the mistresses of his house, for everyone to see, for no reason."

"Maybe there is a hole in the wall that he wanted to cover."

Elizabeth's jest fell flat, and she shrugged helplessly, wringing her hands. "That man is a little more than a stranger to me – why am I expected to be able to explain his motivations?"

"The paintings were unfinished. He did not put them up for the artistic value," Mr. Gardiner said. "He has a Gainsborough, for goodness' sake."

"Alas, this outing was a huge waste of time," Elizabeth said sadly. "We came to admire the Gainsborough and never got that far."

"Never mind the Gainsborough!" Mr. Gardiner stopped walking. "He did paint those pictures himself, did he?"

"I have no idea. I suppose he must have. I did not pose for him, or for anybody else, if that is what you are asking,"

"I was not but that is good to know."

"I do not think Miss Darcy has ever seen me so it could not have been her work unless Mr. Darcy gave her a very good description. His two cousins saw me wearing these clothes in Hunsford but I did not get the impression that either of them was of an artistic bent."

She shrugged. "Then again, I did not get that impression of Mr. Darcy either, so I might not be a good judge of the matter."

"What about the clothing in the other one? The one with the two women? Who saw you wearing that?"

"It is an old gown so anyone in Meryton could have seen it. But I think Mr. Darcy saw it in Netherfield Park."

"Do you know who the other woman is? Or what that place is?"

"If I had to guess, I would say Miss Bingley, in the drawing room at Netherfield Park. She asked me to walk around the room with her once, but Mr. Darcy declined to join us."

"What did he say?"

"That he could admire our figures better from where he was sitting."

"Oh Lizzy!" Mr. Gardiner sighed. "And you did not think he was flirting with you?"

"Well, I thought he must be flirting with Miss Bingley, if anyone. She was very eager for his attentions."

"And did he seem to return the feeling?"

"No, I should say not. She kept asking questions about the letters he was writing or the books he was reading, and sometimes he seemed rather annoyed, and responded very curtly."

"So, maybe he liked you because you were in a library together for half-an-hour and you let him read in peace."

Elizabeth let out a strangled laugh. "That is it, exactly, Mr. Darcy likes me because I am so quiet and taciturn."

"What do you think he likes you for?"

"For the time being, I still do not know for sure that he likes me at all."

Mr. Gardiner humphed. "Elizabeth."

"Uncle?"

"He put your picture on his wall next to a Gainsborough because he does not like you?" Mr. Gardiner was exasperated. "Sure, you must be right. He painted your picture and displayed it in a room with precious artworks because he dislikes you so strongly."

"I used to think he looked at me because he kept finding faults."

"You did not pose for him, yet he painted you in two dresses that were easily recognized. Do you not think he might have been looking because he was committing you to memory?"

"Oh." Elizabeth had not thought about that but it made sense. "But I am nothing like his ideal woman."

"How do you know?"

"Once, at Netherfield, Miss Bingley listed the requirements to be a truly accomplished woman, and the implication was that I had none of them."

"What did he say to that?"

"He said Miss Bingley's list had merit but he had one more requirement to add."

"What was it?"

"That a woman should broaden her mind by extensive reading."

"And what were you doing at the time?"

"Reading a book."

"Oh, Elizabeth." Mr. Gardiner sighed. "You really are oblivious, are you not? That first day, you had decided that man was not attracted to you, and there was absolutely nothing he could do or say thereafter to convince you otherwise."

Elizabeth was greatly struck by that thought, and spent some time replaying all the looks, all the conversations, all the expressions she remembered, trying to figure out if she had got it all wrong.

"Did he ever ask you to dance?"

"Yes, at Mr. Bingley's ball, and a couple of times before that he almost asked, but I did not take him seriously then."

"Why not?"

"Once it was at the behest of Sir William Lucas. The other time was in the drawing room at Netherfield Park. No one was dancing but he asked me if I did not want to dance a reel, and I said I did not."

"So there was some ambiguity," Mr. Gardiner said. "But I dare say if he did not wish to dance with you he would not have taken the risk that you'd say yes. If no one was dancing it was not at all the expectation that he ask you."

"I thought he just asked to mock me."

"Oh, merciful heavens!" Mr. Gardiner put his hands up in despair. "Yes, when I was your age young men often asked pretty young ladies to dance just to mock them. It was by far the most common reason. In fact, I asked your aunt to marry me just so I could laugh at her morning hair."

"He had told Mr. Bingley he was not tempted to dance with me, so why would I assume he suddenly was?"

"Did he dance with others?"

"At the ball, he danced with Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst. I did not see him asking anyone else."

"He danced with his host's sisters," said Mr. Gardiner. "And you."

"And me."

"So he hates dancing, and dislikes you, yet he asked you to dance, even if your looks are only tolerable."

"It does sound ridiculous when you put it like that."

"Did he ever touch you when you were not dancing?"

"No." Elizabeth shook her head. "No, he handed me in the carriage once but I cannot remember anything more."

"There were no kisses, embraces or other indiscretions that he committed only because he does not find you at all tempting?"

"Uncle!" Elizabeth exclaimed, dismayed. "Of course not!"

"I had to check because anything could slip by you," Mr. Gardiner said.

"I think it is a little unfair to expect me to be able to read that man's mind."

"No one needs you to read minds," Mr. Gardiner said. "But you could afford to pay a little more attention."

"Perhaps."

"He made you no offers or declarations that you immediately disregarded because you did not think he would ever stoop so low?"

"I think I would know if someone had made me an offer!"

"So you say."

"Has he hinted at making you a dishonourable offer?"

"To the best of my knowledge, he has hinted at nothing at all."

"So what happened at the ball? You danced, and then?"

"Then nothing. We had some words, and he left Meryton after the ball.

"You had words, and he left. A lover's quarrel?"

"It was not a lover's quarrel to me. We were talking about Mr. Wickham."

"The same Mr. Wickham who got banned from Pemberley?"

"Yes. Mr. Wickham had told me how Mr. Darcy mistreated him, and I confronted Mr. Darcy about it."

"What did he say?"

"That Mr. Wickham was good at making friends but less proficient in keeping them."

"Do you not think that Mr. Wickham might have left out some salient points in his narrative?"

"It seems obvious now," Elizabeth admitted. "In that, at least, I was very blind."

"So Mr. Darcy asked you to dance, either because he likes you, or because he dislikes you, and you spent the dance defending his nemesis to him, so he left."

"I do not know that he left for that reason."

"Granted," Mr. Gardiner said. "We have no information. Maybe his favourite heifer died, and he had to go to the funeral. What happened then?"

"Nothing, I have not seen him since, except in Hunsford, and that was a complete coincidence. I did not know he would be there."

"Did he know you would be there?"

"I do not know. I suppose he could have found out for I am sure Mr. Collins seeks Lady Catherine's blessings before he dares to sneeze in the cabbage yard, let alone invite guests in her precious domain."

"And what happened in Hunsford?"

"Mr. Darcy came to the parsonage once, to introduce his cousin the colonel to us, and the colonel spoke more than Mr. Darcy. Then I saw Mr. Darcy at church a couple of times. He greeted us, and escorted his cousin Miss De Bourgh to the carriage. We did not speak for two minutes complete."

"Yet he could replicate what you were wearing."

"It is a mystery to me."

"It is plain as day by now that the man must be obsessed with you," Mr. Gardiner said. "But there is some mystery about his intentions."

"Oh, I am sure that he has no intentions."

"You were sure that the most remarkable painting in his gallery was the Gainsborough, yet here we are."

Mr. Gardiner was quiet for a while. Then he said, "If he wants you as the mistress of Pemberley, what will you do?"

"I do not know him at all."

"Yes, you do. You have been in company with him and his relations, and you know Mr. Bingley who knows him well. What do you know about Mr. Darcy?"

"I think he is quite fond of his sister. Both his parents are dead. His maternal uncle is an earl and he appears to be close to one cousin who is a colonel. His aunt and another cousin live in Kent. I know nothing about his paternal relations except what we learned from Mrs. Reynolds at the portrait gallery."

"That is family. What about his position in society?"

"Well, according to Miss Bingley, he is well established in London society although he seems to take little pleasure in it. He has this estate, a house in London, and the rumour in Meryton was that he has ten thousand a year."

"This house might not be horrible to live in," Mr. Gardiner said. "There could be some advantages to being the mistress of Pemberley."

"Yes, materially at least."

"What can you tell me about the man's character?"

"I wonder how much I know and how much I merely imagined."

"Well, what are other people saying?"

"That he writes long letters."

"What else?"

"He is irritable on Sunday nights when he has nothing to do."

"So he is industrious. What else?"

"Mr. Bingley, Mrs. Reynolds and Lady Catherine all think he is an excellent estate owner, and Bingley has certainly benefited from Mr. Darcy's advice. Even Mr. Wickham allowed that he takes pride in doing the right thing, taking care of his tenants, and being hospitable, generous and charitable."

"Mr. Wickham does not seem to be shy with his slander so if even he had to admit Mr. Darcy has these good qualities, can we take them for a given? If he could not disparage Mr. Darcy in this respect it must be because it would be too absurd and he would soon be proven a liar."

"Perhaps."

"So where are we? What do we know about the disadvantages of his character?"

"He is rude at assemblies."

"Noted. He was rude to you at least once."

"To me and others. I do not think he cared whether he appeared rude or not, when there were a lot of strangers."

"Would he be rude at breakfast table, eating with people he knows?"

"I do not know," Elizabeth said.

"Was he rude when you dined with him?"

"Not particularly, no." Elizabeth was deep in thought. "At Netherfield we had breakfast together twice."

"And?"

"He asked me if I wanted more toast, and watched me eat. The second day he knew without asking how I liked my tea."

"So he pays attention."

"I suppose."

"So where do we stand? We have a wealthy, generous man, who can be curt with strangers but shows some signs of being besotted with you. I do believe you could have a good life with him, if you both chose each other."

"Uncle!"

"Yet he is not at Longbourn, talking to your father."

"Now you see why this is all madness. Even if he wanted to, he is not going to marry a penniless girl from the country. He is expected to marry his cousin and to unite two great estates, and whatever feelings he may have imagined to have for me he must have long since conquered by now."

"But why are there still two pictures of you on his walls?"

"I think only he knows."

"Yes, undoubtedly so," Mr. Gardiner said. "I must see this fellow, and if his intentions are not honourable, you let me deal with him. At the very least we need those portraits taken down and preferably destroyed."

"Destroyed?" Elizabeth was suddenly dismayed at the thought of destroying something that had been born out of some affection.

"Unless you are engaged you do not want to explain to anyone why a bachelor from Derbyshire keeps painting you."