Page 85 of Near Pemberley

Gardiner closed his eyes briefly. The movement lasted scarcely a second, yet it revealed more than any display of emotion could have done. When he spoke again, his voice was noticeably unsteady. “Thank God.” The words seemed drawn from him involuntarily.

Darcy looked away, granting him the privacy of the moment.

Gardiner resumed his seat after several seconds.

“God bless you, sir.”

“The circumstances in which she was discovered were unfortunate. But by a singular good fortune, she is… no irreparable harm has been done.”

Mr. Gardiner snapped his head. “What do you mean?”

“Miss Lydia deserves more credit than I believe she has often been given. She resisted where another girl might not have done.”

“She-she,” Mr. Gardiner swallowed, “What are you saying? Is-is untouched?”

“Yes.”

“Good Lord… After all this time… And where is she?”

“At my house.”

This produced a second silence. Not shock exactly. Something nearer astonishment. Gardiner blinked twice before he found his voice. “At Darcy House?”

“Yes.”

Gardiner regarded him steadily. “My niece is under your protection?”

“She is under my sister’s protection principally,” said Darcy. “Miss Darcy and Mrs. Annesley, her companion, have shown her every kindness. My family doctor has attended her.”

Gardiner looked at him in silence. The arrangements sounded less like a temporary refuge than a deliberate attempt to protect a frightened girl from further injury.

For a long moment, Gardiner said nothing, breathing heavily. Then quietly: “You have done a great deal for people who possess no claim upon you, Mr. Darcy.”

Darcy’s gaze dropped briefly to the papers before him. The answer, when it came, was equally quiet. “I could not have acted otherwise.”

Gardiner studied him for a moment, as though considering something he ultimately chose not to say.

“Good God… Mr. Wickham,” he exclaimed.

“He had abandoned her.”

Gardiner drew a long breath and passed a hand across his face. When he looked up, he thought out loud. “But then why did she not come here or…”

“She was not in a position to do so.”

His head shot up.

“Mr. Gardiner, it is best if you do not ask questions.”

The older man looked at him in silence.

“Is it better I do not know?”

Darcy gave a deliberate nod.

Gardiner looked away, then nodded. When he turned back, he said, “My wife must be told.”

“Of course.”