“I am very fond of our pianoforte, though likely it is not half so fine as yours. I am sure that many an instrument has a better tone. Nonetheless, it has served me well,” Mary said.
Georgiana bit her lip. This sister was taking a bit longer to warm up to her, but perhaps she was that way with everyone. “If you come to call on me at our lodgings here in Meryton, I would be happy to play a four-hand piece with you. Though I have never practised a four-hand before, I have been longing to try it with someone who is as avid a lover of music as I.”
She was trying to compliment Miss Mary, but she felt her words fall flat. Thankfully, Elizabeth came to her rescue once again. “Why not try it now? The pianoforte here at Longbourn may not be a thing of beauty as yours is, but it still makes music, does it not?”
“Would you be willing to try it, Miss Darcy?” Mary asked expectantly.
Georgiana nodded a little nervously and followed the sisters out to the narrow hallway and down to the little room off the dining area. They sat down at the bench together andtried a piece that Mary found after rummaging through a dilapidated trunk. In the joy of music, Georgiana quite forgot her nervousness, and even when the piece ended and she remembered it again, she found that Mary Bennet seemed to have warmed to her considerably. In sharp contrast to her previous silence, she nearly chattered about the pianoforte, the tune they had played, the difficulties of playing four-handed, and the pieces she wished to learn next. Georgiana listened with a good will, saying “yes, certainly,” and “no, I am sure you are right,” as the occasion demanded. It was a delightful luxury to listen instead of speaking for a time, especially when the subject was so interesting.
When the time came to conclude their visit, Georgiana stood and curtsied. “I am sorry we missed your younger sisters: Miss Kitty and Miss Lydia, I believe?”
“Yes, they will be sorry they missed you as well,” Elizabeth replied. “But they were on a walk to Meryton and were set on making some calls of their own.”
“Well, perhaps next time,” Georgiana said. They left the drawing room and were soon on their way home. Georgiana hardly wished for the walk to end. It was so pleasant to bask in the autumn sunshine and in memories of how glowingly well the call had gone.
∞∞∞
Elizabeth turned from the porch where she had waved them off, smiling at Jane. “Well, that was a pleasant surprise, was it not?”
Jane nodded. “It was indeed. Once she finds her feet in the neighbourhood, I am sure Miss Darcy will be a favourite among us.”
“I quite liked her,” Mary agreed.
When they entered the house, they could hear their younger sisters’ excited voices coming from the kitchen. They all went to greet them and see what they had been up to on their walk to Meryton.
“Oh, we found the most beautiful ribbons. Next time, you shall have to come with us when we purchase them,” Lydia said to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. “Why? So we might give you the money you require to do so?”
Lydia rolled her eyes. “I have money of my own, thank you very much.”
“Well, you just missed our visitor. Miss Darcy came to call,” Jane said softly.
Lydia screwed up her nose at the very idea. “Miss Darcy? What do I want to do with her?” Lydia brushed past them and went into the corridor to hang up her bonnet and wrap. “She is proud and thinks she is better than the rest of us. I do not know why she even came to Meryton.”
“She is only shy, Lydia,” Jane persisted.
“Yes, once she gets to know you, she opens up and is a very sweet young woman.” Elizabeth added.
“Well, I am glad we missed her. Are not you, Kitty?” Lydia asked.
“Yes, indeed,” Kitty agreed, as she always did.
“You ought not to say so,” Jane reproved them gently. “That is very unkind.”
Mary even came to her defence. “She was not the least bit prideful or arrogant. She was sophisticated of mind and speech, for which I commend her.”
Elizabeth held her chin high. “I intend to repay the visit soon. And I hope you will both come with me, even if Kitty and Lydia do not choose to join us.”
Jane and Mary agreed without hesitation, and the three eldest sisters decided to repay the call without delay.
Chapter 6
“Do stand up straight, Mary,” Jane said as they came to the lodging number that had been supplied on Miss Darcy’s calling card.
“I am standing up straight,” Mary argued with a scowl.
Elizabeth smiled to herself at the exchange. Jane, ever motherly in her care for her younger sisters, was always gently reminding them of how they ought to act and present themselves. She could not deny that the reminders were necessary. For her part, Elizabeth knew her own spirit to be sometimes more wild than the dictates of society would prefer. Mary’s troubles were of a different kind. The poor soul was standing as straight as she could, she imagined. But with her jutting chin and severe scowl, she looked as if she slumped. The top of her back rounded ever so slightly, like a preacher leaning forward to deliver a fire and brimstone sermon to his congregants.
