I am excited to share an excerpt from my newest work I anticipate coming out soon. Given that one of the most amusing ways I’ve learned valuable lessons was through wagers and challenges, I could not resist using it as a premise for one of my vagaries, and I hope you enjoy this in-edit so not yet polished offering. For those who attended the JAFF Reader/Writer Get-Together, you may recognize it!
Chapter 1
Two months before the ball at Netherfield Park in Meryton, Hertfordshire
The office of BG Emporium near Gracechurch Street, London
“I see we’re alone this morning, Mr. Gardiner,” Lady Matlock said as she swept into the warehouse office.
You have impeccable timing, Lady Matlock. I’ve just ordered coffee.”
“That delicious brew from the West Indies, pray?”
“The very one.”
“Excellent. Young Bingley and my nephew?”
“Preparing for a journey to Hertfordshire, I’d imagine,” Gardiner said in a merry gusto as he looked up from what he was writing.
“The impetus?”
“Young Bingley declared it impossible to find an eligible lady who is both pleasant to look at and has enough sense not to agree the sky is green just because he suggested it. I put the paperwork for an investment in a shipping line Darcy reviewed on the desk for your approval.”
The partnership, established between Gardiner and Bingley’s now-deceased father, was longstanding. Darcy had become a silent partner some years previous. More recent, additional investors included Darcy’s aunt.
“And what does their ‘Aunt Madeline’ think of this? I cannot believe your wife has no opinion on the matter.”
“She’s heard them complain that the debutantes this Season will be equally insipid as those they rejected last Season. Same as the one before that, and the Season before that.”
“I’m beginning to despair. Even the gossip rags occasionally mention my nephew’s odd lack of attention to those coming out on the marriage mart and young Bingley’s lack of interest in ladies fresh from the nursery.”
“Yes, they’ve quite given up, or so they said.”
“Darcy refuses to dishonor the memory of his parents by marrying a woman he cannot greatly esteem.”
Society considered Darcy a prize. His family was nearly two centuries settled at their ancestral estate in Derbyshire. Few knew the reported income of ten thousand pounds per annum was only part of his earnings. And that amount was more than most could claim in all of England.
Bingley, once snubbed for his origins in trade, had found himself equally coveted after rumors claimed his income exceeded Darcy’s. The two now dreaded any events they could not refuse.
“Young Bingley still harbors a bitter taste after Miss Hammond’s attempted seduction at her father’s demand. To avoid the Season, he mentioned the need to look into becoming a landowner in consideration of his own father’s dying wish. Darcy suggested a lease.”
“And you just happened to know of a place they could lease in Hertfordshire?”
“Not per se. I own an estate there. It’s all been a hush-hush investment. I offered Bingley Netherfield Park so he could learn estate management. The steward is excellent, and Darcy quickly offered his own assistance. The solicitor for Meryton is my brother-in-law Philips. He aided me in the purchase when it was being sold for a fraction of its value. Save Madeline, you three are the only who know. I intend to sell it for a profit to support my sisters when their husbands have gone on to their reward. I currently employ a few local servants, and they quietly maintain its upkeep.”
“Of course my nephew offered, for he hopes to avoid the Season. But that doesn’t mean they’ll notice your nieces. Aren’t you concerned that young Bingley’s manners may mark him capricious and my nephew reticent in so small a society?”
“Your nephew is reticent? Quite escaped my notice.”
“I haven’t seen such satisfaction since we made my wayward son enough to sell his commission and purchase an estate, should I ever find him a wife to induce him to stay on our shores. No doubt Darcy thought one grasping Miss Bingley easier to avoid than two matchmaking aunts. Your wife and I are equally determined to see them settled.”
“Not to mention the bets in White’s book on who will be compromised first,” Gardiner said with ironic pleasure. “I wouldn’t put it past someone short on funds to assist a lady’s efforts in doing so.”
“What assurances from my nephew and his friend did you demand as they are put in the path of your nieces, Mr. Gardiner? How many do you have again?”
“Five.”
“Jane and Elizabeth are both lovely.” Lady Matlock flipped a page in the stack of papers. “The last time they were in London, they joined Madeline and me as we took pies and other viands to the orphanage.”
“Three of my nieces are of a marriageable age. To be sure, Jane and Lizzy would complement any gentleman fortunate enough to win their esteem, though I say so myself.”
“No doubt my nephew asked why they were not previously introduced?”
“As he studied his signet ring with affected ennui.”
“I daresay, your nieces are quite safe from the most eligible bachelors in all of England,” Lady Matlock declared with wry wit. “I’ve tried every possible means to get them to be serious in their searches for a bride.”
“Not every possible means, Lady Matlock.”
“Supercilious Darcy will arrive and offend everyone with his stoic silence. Affable Bingley will surely make friends, but can he stick to a decision if it is not in business? They may fall for your nieces, but would your nieces fall for them?” Lady Matlock asked without looking up from the pages before her.
“I’m certain Bingley could uphold a decision that will lead to his happiness. I’ve often said I’ve never met men better than these two and your sons, no doubt due to your influence.”
“Do tell how you overcame the infamous skepticism of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Mr. Gardiner?”
“After first stating that I believed no woman could meet their lofty expectations? I mentioned that while my nieces wouldn’t turn their heads toward matrimony, they would be exceedingly pleasant company during their stay in Hertfordshire.”
“In essence, you dared them not to fall in love with your nieces? Oh, that is delicious! Why did I not think of that?”
“Then, in detail, I listed the disqualifiers. This way neither would be shocked and so are prepared to overlook what would have initially disqualified my nieces out of hand.”
“Better and better!”
“I also made a point to say that our nieces join us when we travel out of London precisely because I never intended to put them in their path, unwilling for them to think I wanted special consideration for my nieces. They need no such intervention.” Gardiner waited as a servant delivered the coffee, then poured a cup for Her Ladyship.
“The proverbial hidden treasures. No man can resist a hidden treasure,” Lady Matlock said, her eyes gleaming with pleasure.
“I told Bingley he must make Miss Bingley understand that she doesn’t control him nor has a say in his life beyond sisterly concerns. Jane strives to make everyone happy, but I’m unconvinced anything would satisfy that particular sister of his. As the master of Netherfield in my place, he has a unique opportunity to set the parameters of his future life.”
“He has steadily asserted his will over hers these last five years. And she hasn’t pressed an over-familiarity with Darcy these last two. Or so they claim.”
“They do claim it is so.”
“Still, the dour expression Darcy affects when in the company of strangers will quite offend your sisters and their neighbors.”
“I intervened there as well. I explained that two of Meryton’s small society of twenty-four families are my sisters’ families. None in Meryton are of the first circles, not even the third, but they’re a welcoming, if meddlesome, people. My sisters may, on occasion, be made sport of by their neighbors, yet any of those same neighbors would rush to their aid. I warned them both that they were to regard those of the area with forbearance. I also explained that my nieces have no dowries. I asked my brother Bennet to invest with me for the girls, but neither he nor my sister practice economy,” Gardiner said as he looked into his cup, swirling his coffee.
“A dowry is an advantage, but you know it is not required by either. What of the younger girls?”
“The middle niece, Mary, is plain, bookish, and pompous. Their two youngest sisters are flighty and immature. But all are good-hearted girls. Still, Darcy would not have countenanced the acquaintance without warning. I also disclosed that my sister is loud and often vulgar. The estate is entailed away from the female line. Fanny birthed five daughters in her quest to have one son. She’s convinced herself that she and her unmarried daughters will be thrown out to live in the hedgerows when Bennet leaves this earth.”
“That’s every woman’s fear,” Lady Matlock interpolated. “Would your sister attempt a compromise?”
“Darcy asked the same question. Not only can I assure you she would not, but her daughters, certainly the older three, would thwart any schemes. Jane and Elizabeth determined long ago they would marry only for love. I suspect either would consider marriage if a deep and abiding affection existed—with mutual respect.”
“Given their situation, that is an extraordinary hope,” Lady Matlock said skeptically.
“My sister’s excessive complaints and worries have made it difficult for them to communicate with equanimity. Their daughters have witnessed their unhappiness. If there was ever love between them, no evidence of it remains. It’s no surprise their daughters are wary of marriage to just anyone.
“Mrs. Bennet’s fear is justified if she’s unaware of your intentions.”
“I also warned the young men of my brother Bennet’s penchant to expose his sardonic wit. I’ve pondered whether I should include him in my scheme, for he would think it great fun.”
“Would he?”
“To be sure.”
“Tell me what did you shared for the two eldest?”
“You may not know that Jane chooses to see the best of everyone in every encounter and situation. If confronted by highwaymen, she’d assume he resorted to such measures to care for his family.”
“My son Richard thinks all young ladies should be taught ways to safeguard themselves from a cad. I agree, for many ladies are left shamed with no consequences for the rogue.”
“I dread how our sweet Jane is pushed toward every gentleman in Meryton or anyone visiting the neighborhood. Still, were she unimpressed, you wouldn’t readily know it through her countenance. I told them that Jane, like Darcy, affects a mask. She’ll appear pleasant, but, as with him, the truth is in her eyes and the distance she puts between herself and another.”
“Oh, this really is delectable.” Lady Matlock sipped her coffee. “What did you share of Miss Elizabeth’s character?”
“That she often can be found in her father’s study, reading or managing estate matters. I told them that Lizzy is a staunch defender of her family despite our faults.”
“Darcy would think that an ideal trait for a sister of Georgiana’s to have.”
“They all are ideal sisters in their own way. Where Jane might smooth over a remark made thoughtlessly, Lizzy steps in to minimize the embarrassment her family may bring upon themselves, even as she attempts to correct her younger sisters. Lizzy has told my wife she believes her advice is often ignored. Maddie assures me it is not. Lizzy makes few allowances, unless there are good intentions, even if a situation might go awry.”
“As gentlewomen, your nieces would elevate young Bingley more in society. And I know them to be capable. A society so full of eligible young and so lacking in gentlemen would be a dull existence. I suspect these two men in particular will be quite doted on.”
“To occupy themselves, the girls read intrigues and seek the same in their everyday lives. They set wrongs to rights, actual or perceived. The young ladies of Meryton are quite capable, intelligent and whimsical by turns. Your reticent nephew will have an interesting time of it.”
“Darcy is not so much an ogre that he doesn’t know how to converse with a lady.”
“He’ll have the chance to prove it. Bingley decided to throw a ball.”
“Did you lay out any other expectations?”
“Only that at the end of eight weeks, they must return to Town. Should they tell me neither of them fell in love with my nieces, I’d be greatly surprised.”
“And me not at all. As I said, I tried everything, nearly everything. I confess I find your approach amusing, but I hold no hope.”
“And I hope they’re not so foolish as to overlook two ladies so formed for them.”
“Please tell me you didn’t use the same words my sister Lady Catherine proclaims when she declares my nephew must marry her daughter.”
“I wouldn’t be so foolish.”
“A wager then?” Lady Matlock challenged gleefully.
“A wager with our normal terms, or do you prefer to set others, Lady Matlock?”
“I think the normal terms quite satisfactory.”
As in previous friendly wagers, Lady Matlock and Mr. Gardiner stood to shake hands, officially sealing the bet.
“Knowing Bingley, I suspect you have him lost to the idea of your niece Jane already. Given your satisfaction, I presume that’s just as you intended. And though better than any scheme of my own, I still do not see Darcy falling for Miss Elizabeth, though she’s a lovely young woman.”
“Yet I shall hope. No man, particularly those of his standing, appreciates being told what he must or must not do. And the hidden treasure is always the most valuable, for he had to work to claim it.”
“True,” Lady Matlock said as she gathered the papers placed for her attention. “I’ll work with Madeline to see about gowns for all your nieces and the Miss Lucas’, Gardiner. The girls have long been generous in their sewing for the orphanage. We have, for ten years, benefited from their generosity. I think they more than deserve a small gift in return.”
“To the winner goeth the spoils,” Gardiner said as he lifted his coffee cup to her before she exited the office.
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