London in winter was as Elizabeth recalled and though the Thames had frozen in years before, it was not to be this winter.
When their carriage stopped before the townhome on Gracechurch Street, Elizabeth stepped down after Mr. Bingley and Jane. A genuine smile lifted her lips as her aunt and uncle rushed out to greet them.
“Oh what a wonderful surprise!” Aunt Gardiner said as she hugged her two girls.
Uncle Gardiner took Mr. Bingley’s hand and shook it firmly, his smile brilliant as Jane’s new husband asked whether they might join them for a ride over to Grosvenor to open Bingley House.
“We would love nothing better,” he said as he received Jane’s hug. Mrs. Gardiner smoothed her skirts and went back up the steps to poke her head inside the door. She told the butler they would return before dinner.
Once the party was settled inside Mr. Bingley’s carriage, the ladies spoke of the wedding trip while the gentlemen discussed matters of trade.
“I am eager to see whether we might join our efforts on some project, Uncle Gardiner. I have long admired your warehouses and brisk business,” Mr. Bingley declared as he pulled on the gloves he had removed when shaking hands with his wife’s uncle.
“I am certain we may manage a beneficial partnership, Mr. Bingley. Your father was a very good friend to me many years ago when I bought my first warehouse. He helped me secure a steady supplier of silk that I use to this day.”
Elizabeth smiled at her uncle and Mr. Bingley as she half-listened to their conversation. Jane’s match had proven to be a serendipitous one. Mr. Bingley had not been offended that the Gardiners were established in Trade as it had made his family their fortune.
In but a short time, their carriage rolled down Grosvenor and Mr. Bingley pointed out the home of his sister Mrs. Hurst, and the townhome of Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth noted it was only but a few doors down from the house Mr. Bingley proudly announced as Jane’s townhome.
She had not thought to see Mr. Darcy in London in all her excitement to join Jane. Elizabeth realized she had been daft to forget Mr. Darcy was a part of Mr. Bingley’s world. Of course he would be invited to Bingley House, and they would have cause to meet again.
Instead of brooding on the matter, she happily stepped down when her uncle offered his hand and joined the merry group now gathered on her sister’s doorstep.
Mr. Bingley produced the key to the home and handed it to Jane. “I brought champagne to toast the moment once inside, but I ought to have brought another bottle to christen our doorstep. I had some flutes ordered especially for the occasion with grape vines engraved upon the bowls. Caroline was to bring them over yesterday.”
Aunt Gardiner gave a small laugh and teased Mr. Bingley. “It is not a ship, nephew! We would not like to see a window broken in celebration.”
Mr. Gardiner and Elizabeth joined in the laughter and Jane held up the key in victory. She kissed it for luck and hugged her husband tightly. “My dearest Charles, you are the kindest and best husband. I thank you sincerely for such a gift as this.”
Mr. Bingley kissed his bride without reservation and Uncle Gardiner groaned. “It is the dead of winter you two! Hurry up and let us inside.”
Elizabeth and her aunt had turned to look away from the happy couple and laughed when Mr. Bingley let Jane go but grabbed her for another kiss for good measure.
They all rushed inside and Elizabeth stopped short as she took Jane’s arm. “Look there, my dear sister. It is splendid. I have never seen such a lovely staircase.”
Jane gave Elizabeth a little nudge with her elbow. “Why Lizzy, it looks as any other staircase to me.”
“No, let us walk closer, there is something shiny upon the newel. I can see it clearly from here.” Elizabeth pulled her sister forward.
They took the first two steps and bent over the newel post. There was a brass plate affixed to the newel, and in curved script carved into the plate there was the letter C and the letter J intertwined. The date of their wedding was carved below the letters.
Jane lowered her lashes and made a sniffle but Elizabeth hugged her tight in excitement. “How awfully romantic is Mr. Bingley!”
Mr. Bingley stepped forward and polished the brass plate with his elbow. “I could not help myself, my dear wife. There are many such touches throughout the house, but I cannot say where you might find them all. Let it be a game of sorts. When you find one, come kiss me like you did on our wedding day.”
Aunt Gardiner and Elizabeth made such a fuss over the endearment that color rushed up Mr. Bingley’s neck to his face.
Uncle Gardiner took the man by the shoulder and laughed. “Show me your library, young man. The ladies may explore the rest of Jane’s townhome.”
When the men had left them, Jane looked about and decided they would begin upstairs. “Since we have no butler nor housekeeper yet, why not start at the top and end when we find the parlor?”
Aunt Gardiner took her niece’s arm. “It will not do to go very long without servants, Jane. When do you plan to interview? I know of several decent men and women, some related to our servants, that you might speak with directly.”
As the ladies walked about seeing bedrooms and the nursery and servant’s quarters on the upper floors, Jane and Aunt Gardiner had determined they would begin the hiring on the morrow.
Elizabeth found the room she would love to have as her own, one down the hall from the suite of rooms Jane and Charles would occupy. There were two other rooms near hers where family and friends might stay and another guest room farther down a hallway past Jane and Charles’s rooms.
The one Elizabeth chose looked out onto a small back garden that was barren at the moment. Come spring, the three trees scattered about the rectangular space would blossom and provide shelter for reading on sunny afternoons. The room itself held a bed, a dressing table, and a wash stand but the linens were older and the drapes were in need of repair.
Jane took her hand and pointed at the windows that looked out onto the garden. “Won’t they be wonderful after a good cleaning and dressed with a beautiful set of gold drapery to match the paper on the wall?”
Aunt Gardiner agreed. “I am certain Edward has the exact color of silk to make the perfect draperies for this room. Oh, will it not be a delight to help Jane set up house, Lizzy?”
“I hope we shall be very busy for many months for I hope to remain in London for some time,” Elizabeth said and followed her aunt and sister back into the hallway so that they might return downstairs.
Jane teased her sister. “There is one person besides myself in London who would wish you might remain forever, Lizzy.”
Elizabeth wondered who her sister might be considering for there were not many people they were acquainted with in Town besides the Gardiners. “Who on earth could you mean Jane? Perhaps Miss Covington who lives on Gracechurch Street near the bank? We were never particular friends.”
Jane laughed. “Why no dear sister! I was thinking of Mr. Darcy in truth. Mr. Bingley shared on our trip that his friend was quite fond of you. That before the wedding he wished to know if you had preference for any gentleman in Hertfordshire.”
Elizabeth did not know what to think. “Surely Charles was teasing. Mr. Darcy held nothing but contempt for me when first he came to Netherfield Park. I cannot believe he might consider me more than an acquaintance.”
Aunt Gardiner looked at her favorite niece and shook her head. “Do not discount this information, Lizzy. Husbands and wives tell one another truths they would not share when amongst friends and family. Mr. Darcy comes from a fine family and his home in Derbyshire, called Pemberley, is the loveliest you may ever see.”
Elizabeth recalled how Miss Bingley exclaimed over the library at Pemberley, and she had been eager to see it someday because she dearly loved to read, but she doubted Mr. Darcy would ever welcome her there.
“Should we meet, I will be all that is charming and amiable but I doubt he should take much notice of me,” Elizabeth claimed and took her sister’s arm. She led the party towards the stairs hoping to leave the topic of Mr. Darcy behind them.
When they finally arrived at the parlor door, the ladies heard the amused deep voices of the gentlemen inside. Aunt Gardiner smiled at her nieces and pushed open the door, declaring their arrival.
Mr. Bingley and Uncle Gardiner stood beside a small round table that had been pushed near the fireplace where the footmen from the carriage had laid a fire. They must have also brought in the champagne for it sat open and five flutes were already half full of the pale, golden liquid.
The ladies joined the men at the table and a toast was made to health, wealth, and happiness, and a nursery full of Bingley children.
Elizabeth glanced about the room imagining how grand it would be to see Jane as mistress of her own home.