Page 12 of Miss Gardiner
“Miss Darcy,” the gentleman completed the name quickly.
“Miss Darcy, I apologize for introducing myself to you this morning. I was unaware that there was a child in the house who wandered about without her nanny. My offer to answer any questions about our tasks here in the ballroom remains but I must insist you only come with your nanny. You could…”
“I am out of the nursery, girl! Mind how you speak to your betters, or I shall have you thrown from the house!” declared the girl stepping around her brother.
Mr Darcy suddenly found himself with Mrs Banks and more workmen behind him, his rude sister beside him, and a young woman standing in front of him with a perplexed look on her face.
He turned to the housekeeper and said, “Mrs Banks, if you would escort Georgiana to her rooms and wait with her there, I shall be along shortly.”
“But brother…” Georgiana whined as only a girl of ten and five years can when thwarted in her plans.
“Come along Miss Darcy,” the housekeeper commanded and pulled the teenager from the room and around the workmen.
On the stairs when Miss Darcy objected to being treated as a child, everyone heard the voice of the housekeeper ask sternly, “Do you wish a return to the nursery? Where have you ever heard someone speak like that to another person?”
Loud enough for everyone to hear, Miss Darcy replied, “Mrs Young encouraged it that one time we went shopping with Miss Bingley. She speaks to shop girls in that manner and my brother admires her!”
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Darcy allowed Miss Gardiner to direct the workmen to begin moving boxes down the stairs after showing them where to place the empty boxes. Then she directed the workmen already in the ballroom to also begin moving boxes down the stairs. Miss Gardiner stood at the door and wrote notations concerning each box that passed through the door.
“Allow me to apologise for myself and for my sister, Miss Gardiner. We are unused to having strangers in our home.”
“Certainly, Mr Darcy,” the young woman replied graciously.
Noticing her attention to the boxes and crates being removed from the ballroom, Darcy added, “You are singularly focused.”
“Indeed. I must correctly catalogue every box leaving the room, Mr Darcy,” she explained. “I am sorry to have upset the young lady, but she offered insult upon hearing that I was ‘working’ here.”
“You must admit that it is unusual for a woman to be working,” he said.
“Mr Darcy, I am not ‘working’. Unlike these workmen, I am not paid a wage by my uncle, nor am I an apprentice. I am simply Edward Gardiner’s niece who enjoys numbers and puzzles,” she explained motioning toward her papers and the room of boxes and barrels. “This may cure me of puzzles though. After four days, I continue to discover new items hidden in chests and boxes.”
Then she looked directly into Darcy’s eyes and said, “My father is a gentleman and if I wish to remain respectable, I am barred from ‘work and wages.’ But as a favour for your patronage over the years, my uncle asked me to create this inventory for you.”
Now the workmen were gone down the stairs and Miss Gardiner turned her full attention to the master of the house. She offered him the papers and quill, saying, “Please tell my uncle if you wish for a different arrangement. There is cargo ship from the Spice Islands just arriving that I should dearly like to explore the cargo with my uncle.”
Mr Darcy bowed and apologised, “Again, forgive me and my sister, Miss Gardiner. She is at an awkward age, and we have had an unsettled spring. I shall speak to her.”
“Mr Darcy, I have younger sisters who must be ‘spoken to’ regularly. I wish you good fortune with your attempts. I do believe that one of the best remedies is to practice good behaviour yourself,” Miss Gardiner replied before turning back to her papers once again.
Blushing to be spoken to in such a manner by a young woman of no consequence, Fitzwilliam Darcy turned and strode from the room. On the stairs, the workmen moved out of his way and exchanged smirks though they kept their opinions to themselves. Mr Gardiner was a fair merchant to work for, and his niece was sharp withnumbers and names.
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Georgiana sat in her private sitting room, feeling miserable to have disappointed her brother as well as Mrs Banks. She stood when there was a knock on her door and her brother entered. He crossed the room to hug her, kiss her brow, and lead her to a sofa where they sat together.
“Georgie, I was shocked to hear you speak to Miss Gardiner in that manner,” he said to begin their conversation.
Not looking at her brother, Georgiana explained, “I thought it was the way that we were supposed to speak to girls in shops and service.”
“Who told you that?”
“I was out with Mrs Young, and we met Miss Bingley at the modiste. She spoke sharply to every girl working there and even to Madam Cleary,” Georgiana replied. “Mrs Young explained to me that I would be expected to speak to all servants in that manner once I was out.”
“Think dearest, do you ever hear me speak to any of our staff in that manner? Have you ever heard me speak in a ‘mean’ way to a tenant, store clerk, or servant?”
“No, but you admire Miss Bingley so…” Georgiana said. “I thought I should be more like her.”
