“Then you must go to him rather than your aunt. It is a much shorter distance.”
Georgiana laughed at this and stood. Taking Elizabeth’s hands into her own, Georgiana asked, “Would you walk with me?” When Elizabeth hesitated, she added, “Just to the edge of our garden path? It’s not too far and I know I will lose my courage as soon as I am away from you, so if you are with me until nearly the end...”
“Of course I will be,” Elizabeth answered, happy to help her young friend, especially if it did not mean treading on propriety so much as to enter a house where she had not been invited by its master or mistress.
Indicating a path away from the road that wound in the opposite direction from the way they had come, Georgiana invited Elizabeth to follow. They walked like that, Elizabeth trailing behind her new friend, for several minutes before the well-worn dirt path widened. At that point, Elizabeth moved next to Georgiana and offered her arm.
“May I escort you, Miss Darcy?” she asked with mock solemnity. Georgiana smiled widely and slid her arm through Elizabeth’s.
The young ladies chatted throughout the ten-minute walk, learning the important details about one another. Favourite flowers, colours, books. Elizabeth was also excited to find out Georgiana loved horses and rode regularly with her brother. Georgiana delighted in Elizabeth’s descriptions of each of her sisters and how they got along or didn’t. Amid a discussion about the songs they could and wanted to play on the pianoforte, they reached the edge of the wood.
Elizabeth was nearly awestruck at the site before her. It was a garden in the strictest sense, but it was unlike anygarden she had seen before. It was neither overly manicured nor completely wild. There were large oak trees lining winding dirt paths, rose bushes clustered around a small pond, fruit trees dotted amidst an open space with colourful, vibrant flowers swaying in the light breeze. So lost in admiring the sight was Elizabeth that Georgiana had to tug on her arm to regain her attention.
“I am sorry, Miss Darcy,” Elizabeth said with some embarrassment, “but this...this is so beautiful.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Georgiana responded, turning from her companion to look at the garden.
Elizabeth wondered if having constant access to such beauty could make one immune to it. She doubted it.
“It is one of William’s favourite places in Pemberley. He says our mother is responsible for much of its design, and see there.” Georgiana pointed to the small oval pond with willows bending on one of its banks, their branches tickling the water. “My father had that created shortly after I was born. Mother loved the lake on the west of the estate, but when she . . . she was sick and was not able to, it is a long walk. She could no longer ride, and even carriage rides were too much. Therefore, Father had the pond dug, and she would spend all her time out here until she died.”
“It must have brought her so much joy,” Elizabeth said.
The two stood silently for another moment before Elizabeth asked, “Are you ready to speak with your brother?”
“I think so,” Georgiana answered before throwing her arms around Elizabeth and pulling her into a fierce hug.Although she was several years younger, Georgiana was nearly the same size as Elizabeth and quite strong when she had cause to use her strength. Her arms held Elizabeth fast for several moments. “Miss Elizabeth, you have been the truest friend. Thank you!”
“You are quite welcome, Miss Darcy. I am glad I saw you by that stream. I hope we will meet again soon.”
“As do I,” Georgiana agreed eagerly.
“You better be off; the sun is about to set and you must speak with him before you lose your nerve.”
“You are quite right,” Georgiana agreed, though she made no move to step away from her new friend until her eyes caught on something. “Oh, look, there is William!”
Elizabeth turned to where Georgiana indicated. It was him. The gentleman she had thought about so often since that afternoon on the green. She had been nearly certain the man she had seen that day was the brother Georgiana spoke of, but here was confirmation. He was walking in their direction, seemingly absorbed more in his thoughts than his surroundings. A book dangled from his right hand. Elizabeth could just make out the golden letters—The Republic. She was fairly certain she had seen that book in her father’s library. His curly brown hair was shorter, his cheeks a little thinner and his clothes a little less formal, but his eyes, his deep dark brown eyes, were just as striking. They were also now scanning the trees where she and Georgiana stood—barely concealed by the shrubbery which lined the path.
“You should go,” Elizabeth insisted, squeezing her new friend’s hand and stepping back into the trees. “Tell him, and I am certain all will be well.” With one final clasp of her hand, Elizabeth turned and started down the path.
“Thank you, Miss Elizabeth.” Georgiana darted onto the path, nearly colliding with her brother, who had probably followed the movement he saw in the trees and arrived just where the girls had been hidden.
“William!” “Georgie!” they said at the same time.
Alerted to the reunion by their voices, Elizabeth could not help but turn around to observe. Georgiana was speaking animatedly to her brother, and it occurred to Elizabeth a little too late what she might be saying. Having moved out to hear and see them, she made to step back into the cover the trees provided when his deep brown eyes collided with hers. Just as had happened when she was above him in the chestnut tree and their gazes connected, Elizabeth’s stomach fluttered, her heart began to beat quickly, her palms itched and her breathing became slightly erratic. She chided herself for such a reaction. They were just eyes. He was just a handsome gentleman. A stranger at that. Sensible or not, Elizabeth got her mind and body under control a moment too late. Although she had finally turned to go, a voice stopped her.
“Please wait.”
It was not Georgiana.
Elizabeth took a deep breath and reminded herself to maintain her composure before turning around. It did nothelp. HE was standing in front of her, only a few feet away, his brilliant eyes looking at her intently. She saw curiosity in his gaze. Before the silence that she could not seem to break stretched on too long, Georgiana appeared at her side.
“We had no one to perform the office when we encountered one another, but I may do so now,” she said with a smile. “William, may I present my friend Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Long . . .”
Here, Georgiana turned a worried glance at Elizabeth. Her friend’s distress helped Elizabeth shake off whatever had immobilised her.
“Longbourn,” she whispered to her.
“Yes, of course,” Georgiana resumed, her smile returning, “Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn.She is staying at Barlow Hall with her aunt and uncle. Miss Elizabeth, this is my brother, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.”
