Page 10 of Miss Gardiner
Now Mr Gardiner moved to an open barrel with stacks of dishes packed in straw. He picked up a large bowl and flipped it over before saying, “I suggest we get the different barrels of dishes into the market immediately. With many weddings coming in the months of May and June, customers will be seeking complete sets of tableware as gifts for newlyweds.”
“I do not know what is stored here in my home,” Darcy admitted, and the other two men nodded in agreement.
“We need an inventory,” Gardiner stated simply. “The first task is to create a comprehensive inventory as all the items are moved to my warehouse.”
“How do you suggest I obtain such a document?” Darcy asked.
“We need someone who can be here at your house in Mayfair for many weeks without drawing attention,” Gardiner said.
Mr Darcy nodded in agreement but added, “I prefer someone who can come and go without attracting attention.”
After a moment or two, Mr Gardiner said, “I have a niece who is twenty years. She is excellent with sums and understanding inventories of cargo ships as well as being well-read and intelligent. I believe she will be the best candidate if she is interested.”
Not certain he understood Gardiner, Mr Darcy queried, “If she is interested?”
Gardiner glanced at Clemmons who remained silent, so the tradesman explained, “Sir, my niece is an obedient child, and she is much beloved by my wife and I. She is a woman-grown who is making decisions how her life will unfold. I will not ‘order’ her into this project if she is uninterested.”
He added, “I can only imagine the resulting conversation with my lady wife if I attempted to do so.”
Darcy remained unimpressed until Mr Clemmons whispered, “Remember the times you did not listen to Mrs Reynolds at Pemberley or to Mrs Banks here in Mayfair, sir. You regretted your thoughtlessness for disregarding their counselfor several days.”
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It was only the previous month that Darcy ignored a specific warning from Mrs Banks. He interviewed and hired Mrs Young to be Georgiana’s first lady’s companion without the housekeeper’s review of the lady. Mrs Banks was clear in her disapproval of Mrs Young, but Darcy chose to ignore her. After just two weeks in Mrs Young’s company, Georgiana broached the idea of an extended visit to the shore at Ramsgate for the summer with Mrs Young as his young sister’s only chaperone and Darcy, distracted by business, was giving the notion serious consideration.
In the meantime, Mrs Banks made inquiries with the housekeepers of the two references Mrs Young provided, as well as with her counterpart at Pemberley. After only ten days, a letter arrived from Mrs Reynolds in far-off Derbyshire, revealing that ‘Mrs Young’ came from the town of Lambton and she was a known confederate of George Wickham, the most disreputable man to have once been associated with the Darcy family and Pemberley estate.
Mr Banks sent footmen to follow Mrs Young on her next day off and the woman led the men directly to an inn in London where she met in private with George Wickham. One footman followed Mrs Young when she returned to Mayfair while the second remained at the inn and observed Wickham.
At the Darcy house in Mayfair, two additional letters arrived from the housekeepers of the ‘references’ Young provided when she applied for the position as a lady’s companion. Mrs Bank’s correspondence proved that footmen or chambermaids could intercept and replace letters to the master of any house.
Mrs Young was confronted with true letters from the references–the first lady had never heard of her and the second lady had dismissed the woman for stealing. Mrs Banks and a maid packed Mrs Young’s belongings, and she was shown the street through the kitchens. While packing the woman’s clothing and brushes, the housekeeper recovered three silver forks, six silver teaspoons, and three silver butter knives.
Remembering the situation uncomfortably, Darcy directed Mr Gardiner, “Speak with your niece as soon as possible. If she is interested, bring her round tomorrow and I shall interview…I should like my housekeeper to speak with her before I allow her control of the third floor.”
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Chapter 4.Miss Gardiner’s Arrival
The carriage stopped outside of the grand house in Mayfair, the most affluent residential area in London, and the two passengers stepped down to the street. From the window of his office, Fitzwilliam Darcy noticed the young woman’s appearance and her face–not symmetrical but interesting. She was dressed appropriately for a social call though her clothes were not new.
‘Why do I think ladies wear new gowns each time they call at my home?’he wondered for a moment before the image of Caroline Bingley appeared in his mind.‘Miss Bingley keeps two dressmakers in business the whole of the season with her never-ending demand for new gowns.’
He noted a resemblance between the man and woman; enough to establish the familial connexion. Darcy returned to his desk and summoned Mrs Banks to interview the young lady…
‘I do not even know her name,’Darcy realized.
Luckily for the master of the house, Mr Gardiner and his niece were let into his office before Mrs Banks arrived. Gardiner introduced his niece as they waited for the housekeeper, “Mr Darcy, allow me to present my niece, Miss Beth Gardiner. For the last several years she has lived with my wife and I to broaden her education and give her experience in London society.”
The man turned to his niece and said, “Beth, this is Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy. His family holds a large estate in Derbyshire where Aunt Madeline calls home.”
Darcy saw the smile on the girl’s face with the mention of Derbyshire.
“I have spent many days dealing with his stewards to purchase the wool from his flocks of sheep,” Edward informed his niece.
“I am pleased to meet you, Miss Gardiner. May I ask why you smiled so broadly when your uncle mentioned Derbyshire?” Darcy asked the young woman.
With a grin on her face this time, Miss Gardiner explained, “At least once a week, Aunt Madeline mentions Derbyshire as the most beautiful corner in the whole of Britain. Each winter, she begs my uncle for a trip in summer to visit Lambton and even mentions ‘Pemberley’ as a mostmagnificent house.”
