1. A Man of Trade
A/N: The Bow Street Runners, established in 1749 by magistrate Henry Fielding, were London’s first professional police force. Initially, just six men operating from Bow Street Magistrate’s Court, they investigated serious crimes, pursued highwaymen, and executed warrants throughout England. They were paid per arrest and through government stipends.
By 1800, they had expanded into a more organised force with both uniformed patrol officers (“Bow Street Patrols”) and plain-clothes investigators. They gained respect for solving high-profile cases and developed forensic techniques. However, they remained relatively small—never more than 70 officers—and focused mainly on serious crimes rather than routine policing.
Prior to 1812, notable successes included breaking up major criminal gangs and establishing a mounted patrol to combat highway robbery around London.
~~~~~
“Mr Darcy, I have a gentleman to see you on what he says is important business,” Albert Soams, the butler at Darcy house in London, said in his usual grave tone while holding out a salver with a single card on it.
A glance told Fitzwilliam Darcy that it was a business card, rather than the more usual personal calling card. From this, he deduced that his butler was just being polite in use of the word gentleman , as the visitor was clearly a tradesman. That said, he expected his visitor to be gentleman-like in his appearance or Soams would have said something entirely different. He decided he may as well see what the man was about. He was stuck in London in the summer, which was more than a little disagreeable with the heat and the smoke, but his business required it for another fortnight.
Further perusal told him something out of the ordinary was occurring. He had never heard of the particular firm, but the name suggested the business should probably be dispatched sooner than later.
“Cheapside Runners… quite a name for a business. Have you ever heard of them, Soams?”
“No sir. The name seems reminiscent of the Bow Street Runners, and the services listed suggest as much, but I can surmise little else.”
“Let us see what this Mr… ah… Gardiner has to say.”
It seemed obvious the man was trying to capitalise on the Runner’s reputation, and equally likely he was engaged in something to do with crime, but nothing else could be surmised.
Soams left and escorted a man of middling years into the study. He did, in fact, look gentlemanly, though his appearance seemed more business calculation than preference. The man looked like he could be jovial or serious as the occasion demanded, which seemed a useful trait for someone in his line of work. He was perhaps a decade Darcy’s senior, though still trim and strong looking, as if his profession had some physical demands or he went to the effort to keep himself in good condition. That said, Darcy was a very wealthy gentleman who need not even lift his own teacup if he chose, and yet he still was strong enough to help out in the fields with the harvest, box at Gentleman Jack’s, or fence at Angelos for hours at a time—so not much could be implied reliably from his appearance, save the fact that he was obviously not an indolent sluggard.
“Mr Darcy, I appreciate you seeing me without notice,” Mr Gardiner asserted respectfully, though to Darcy’s keen ear, it seemed to be simple politeness more than any feeling they were unequal in any way.
“Mr Gardiner, it is my privilege,” he said because it was the right thing to say, little though he believed the sentiments.
They both bowed, and Darcy added, “May I offer refreshments?”
“I have heard worse ideas.”
Darcy nodded to Soams, and the gentlemen took two seats with a table between them. Soams always called for hot water when a guest arrived, so he had no trouble bringing a tea tray and serving immediately.
“How may I be of assistance,” Darcy said once all the social niceties were finished.
Gardiner set his teacup down. “I presume you have some inkling of the nature of my business from my card. We do certain types of confidential investigations… what amounts to policing of a sort. That said, our business is of quite a different nature than our more famous namesake.”
“All right,” Darcy said, since nothing the man had said thus far was of any more than an introduction.
Gardiner took another sip of tea and continued, “Despite the similarities in our names, my operation is completely different. We specialise in particular areas, including some that might not strictly speaking be crimes per se, but they fall into the purview of what we consider punishable actions. We work entirely privately, and we specialise in one particular area—which I will expand on presently.”
“Very well, I get the gist of it,” Darcy said, not particularly interested thus far but willing to hear him out. “How does this apply to me?”
“We come to the crux of the matter. I particularly wish to speak to you about your father’s godson, one George Wickham.”
“What about him?” Darcy growled angrily, somewhat regretting hearing the man out.
“I have a question about him. You see sir, he has come to our notice. Our business involves the protection of certain people, mostly young ladies, and I am supported by fees from guardians and the like. Whilst we are about our business, we occasionally run afoul of people who, while not specifically targeted at our clients, still present a general threat. In such cases, we prefer to act first and ask questions later. My specific question to you is as follows—do you have any particular reason to protect Mr George Wickham from the consequences of his actions?”
“What can you possibly mean? Are you trying to extract something from me to protect my father’s ill-chosen godson? If so, you have hit on a dry well. I am finished cleaning up that man’s messes,” he said, breathing hard and angry as he could be.
His companion did not bat an eye. “Shall I take that as no , then?”
“Absolutely. What has the miscreant done now and what are you planning to do about it?” Darcy asked, against his better judgement.
“Let us just say he found a sudden burst of patriotism. The navy presses thousands of men into service every year. I supply a few of them, and absent your intervention, this Mr Wickham will ship out within the month. My men are holding him in our gaol, but if they hear nothing within the week they will proceed.”
“You will have no objection from me,” Darcy said emphatically, though he was not entirely certain how he felt about his childhood friend’s fate.
“Agreed. I am glad we got that out of the way. Some might argue that your father created the menace, but I am not inclined to criticise a man for honourably upholding his duty to a trusted employee.”
Darcy was astonished Mr Gardiner knew so much, but assumed any investigator worth his salt should not have that much difficulty getting the story, especially with Wickham available to give his version which was generally about half true.
“I appreciate your forbearance,” he replied, with something of a haughty attitude.
“The man had an accomplice, though I am loathe to apply similar treatment to her. A woman obviously cannot be pressed, but there are equally harsh measures that could be applied if necessary. She was in on his plan, but it is hard to say how much she was motivated by malice and how much by plain stupidity. I am holding her and will decide how to handle her later.”
“That seems more than I really need to know,” Darcy said in some confusion. “What was their crime, and how does it apply to me?”
Gardiner blew out a breath before continuing.
“The man no doubt deserved his fate for any number of crimes, such that I would be comfortable with any punishment from transportation to the rope. That said, the particular offence that caught my attention was an action involving my speciality. You see, our primary activity consists of protecting young ladies, often of high-status, from the depredations of rogues and fortune hunters. We mostly protect them from compromises, assaults, and of course, elopements. We interrupted an elopement in progress. He was not preying on one of our clients, but we got wind of it anyway and stepped in.”
“Stepped in… why? Is this a way to get more business?” Darcy growled.
“Of course not! Most guardians would be quite happy to engage us retroactively after we saved their charges, but it would be a lessening of the honour of my triumph very sadly. Madness lies down that path, for obvious reasons. I would be little better than a common blackmailer. Who is to say I did not engineer the situation just so I could swoop in and play the hero. No sir, it would not do,”
Darcy sat stunned at the statement. “Just to clarify, you assert that the woman’s guardian owes you nothing?”
“ Exactly! Not only will I demand no payment, but I would not accept it if freely offered. I consider it my basic duty as a family man. Unfortunately, scoundrels are common as rats, so I shall never lack for customers. We cannot fix the world, but we should at least fix the problems that are right in front of us. If a guardian wants to engage me later for another matter, that is perfectly acceptable, but for the original action, nothing is owed.”
“An admirable system,” Darcy replied, feeling sheepishly guilty about his suspicions, though it appeared to him that Mr Gardiner was not the least bit surprised by his supposition. In that man’s business, he may well have a conversation just like that once a fortnight.
Darcy was just beginning to congratulate himself on his forbearance when a disturbing thought occurred to him.
He asked nervously, “Can you tell me who his intended victim was?”
“I can tell you she is an heiress, but fifteen years old, with a reported dowry of ￡30,000. Absent my men’s intervention, they would have left Ramsgate tomorrow. As it is, your sister is very curious about why her erstwhile suitor disappeared abruptly, and her companion soon followed.”
Darcy jumped up and yelled, “Why did you not lead with that? Why all the tiptoeing around the subject?”
Gardiner just let him vent his spleen as experience told him was best. He took a minute to grab another biscuit from the drinks tray, then even poured himself another cup of tea and gestured to Darcy to ask if he wanted some.
He finally said, “Be easy, sir. Miss Darcy is perfectly safe. I have taken the liberty of ensuring she is unmolested, and she has been given a convincing story about her companions. You should go to her soon, but do not kill yourself getting there. A day or two will make no difference.”
Darcy realised the man was acting sensibly and felt slightly bad about his outburst—though it would be many days before he got over the worst of the shock and worked out that Mr Gardiner had presented the information in the only manner that would allow him to listen to anything beyond the danger to his sister.
He finally calmed down enough to ask, ‘What liberties have you taken, exactly?”
“We investigated the housekeeper at your lodgings, and she seems reliable. She is unaware of what transpired and not a part of the scheme, as the companion was careful and rather sneaky in her machinations. I temporarily engaged a lady I can personally vouch for who seeks employment as a companion to look in on your sister. Mrs Annesley is reliable, and she will look in on the young lady each day, though I obviously could not actually engage her. I also have a couple of men watching the house in case Wickham had accomplices. We are holding Mrs Younge in slightly better accommodations than Mr Wickham and will leave her to your discretion. She was part of the scheme, but I do not know why or how she became involved. It is possible this Wickham fellow held something over her and blackmailed or threatened her for compliance, though it is equally likely they were paramours.”
Darcy leaned back in his chair, too stunned to speak.
He finally started feeling guilty for the cloud of suspicion he had for a man who in no way deserved it.
“Mr Gardiner, I can freely admit you have saved my life—or at least my sister’s, which amounts to the same thing. I am in your debt.”
“As I said, no debt is owed. I am here simply to finish the action and reunite you with your ward. I will say that Mrs Annesley might do for your sister, but that is for you to decide. If you do not employ her, I will find her another charge.”
“May I assume that is not a particular challenge for a man with your connexions?”
“You may.”
“I still feel I owe you something, sir.”
“I have explained my reasons against that.”
“There must be something I can do,” Darcy insisted, his brain not quite able to comprehend a man who wanted nothing from him.
Gardiner sat back and thought about it a minute. “If you insist, there is a small favour you could do—though it is a favour , mind you—not an obligation. You might even enjoy it in the end.”
“Name it!” Darcy stated emphatically.
Gardiner seemed to think about it a few minutes and finally replied.
“Fetch your sister. That should take a week or so. When you return, I have a couple of nieces staying with me. One of them has become a bit too cynical for her own good. If you could bring a friend to my residence in Cheapside for dinner and spend a pleasant evening politely enjoying company with my nieces, I would be much obliged.”
Darcy tried not to show dismay at the request, but as a gentleman, not to mention a man who owed an enormous debt, he had little recourse. “It will be my pleasure,” he asserted, though he suspected he was not particularly convincing, specially to a man as discerning as Mr Gardiner.
“Let us say the last Thursday of the month,” Gardiner replied with a smile.
He then stood and offered his hand, suggesting, “Do not be too hard on your sister. She is young and inexperienced but call on me if you need additional assistance with her. We offer both protection and education services that may be of use.”
“I thank you,” Darcy said, doubly happy that his sister had been saved, but far less enamoured with the idea that her saviour seemed inclined to throw his nieces in the path of rich men… as usual.