“Thank you,” Georgiana said brightly. “I would never have dared to wear it before travelling to Scotland. How Elizabeth’s advice has changed me! She has given an entirely new direction to my life, I daresay.”
“Elizabeth?” Caroline asked. She looked around at the assembled company. “Who is this Elizabeth?”
“Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Do you know her? She lives just a few miles south of here, if I am correct in my directions.” Georgiana beamed at her. “I have been so looking forward to coming to Netherfield, not only to see all of you, but for the chance to see my very good friend, Miss Elizabeth Bennet. She is the one who helped me with my new wardrobe and my etiquette lessons. She has been an excellent friend to me.”
“And you met Miss Elizabeth in Scotland, then? You did not mention that in your letter.”
Darcy frowned. Miss Bingley sounded almost as if she were scolding Georgiana for not telling her every detail of their trip to Scotland and of all the people they had met. It rankled him, but thankfully, Georgiana did not seem to notice.
“I did not think there was any reason to do so, as I did not know the connection between your two families until shortly before coming to Netherfield. How fortunate that you all live so close!” Georgiana exclaimed. She took a very dainty sip of her tea, then looked about the lavishly furnished room. “How are you enjoying your stay in Netherfield, Mr Bingley? Is it to your taste?”
“It is, very much so, Miss Darcy,” Bingley replied. He could not seem to stop smiling. Darcy suppressed a smile of his own, for Bingley’s appreciation of the new Georgiana was all that he might have wished.
“It is fortuitous, isn’t it?” Caroline Bingley asked. But Darcy doubted whether she meant it. From their first meeting, she had seemed to hold a certain antipathy towards Elizabeth. He suspected it originated in Jane Bennet. Or perhaps she had identified Elizabeth Bennet as the true recipient of his feelings, and resented her for receiving the attentions she wished to claim for herself.
Darcy was relieved she had expressed herself so mildly. No doubt she held her tongue despite her feelings toward the Bennet family so that she might befriend Georgiana, and thus improve her chances of catching him. She ought to know that he would not be caught, for his affections lay elsewhere.
If only he could be sure that the lady who had captured his heart returned his feelings.
When they had finished their tea, Darcy excused himself and Georgiana under the guise of allowing her to rest before supper was announced.
“I am not tired in the least,” Georgiana confided in him with a laugh, “but I am very pleased to go, for it will allow us to have a nice confidential chat. I have missed you, brother.”
“And I, you. I am heartily glad to see you again, Georgiana. Will it do?” Darcy asked ironically as they entered her suite of rooms. The room was nearly as elegant as her bedroom back at Pemberley. It lacked only closer proximity to a piano to be perfectly suited to Georgiana.
“It is beautiful, to be sure.” She sighed and sat down in the little sitting area near the hearth. “I do not think I would mind if the room were as tiny and rustic as some of the inns we stayed in on our way up to Scotland, I have missed you so,” she said.
He joined her in the sitting area as her maid began unpacking her things for her. Mrs Annesley had gone to her own adjoining room, which was smaller, but not lacking in comforts.
Darcy watched her closely as he asked his next question. “How do you find Bingley? Is he much changed from when you last saw him?”
“No, he is not changed in the slightest. Mr Bingley is still as amiable and kind as I remember,” Georgiana said. “And just as handsome as well,” she said shyly. “It must be three years or more since we had him to visit at Pemberley.” She played with the lace at the hem of her sleeve. “I am sure he finds me much changed. I was only a girl when he last saw me.”
“And now you are growing into a lovely young woman,” Darcy said.
Georgiana blushed, still unused to receiving such praise. “Well, thanks to Elizabeth, I am trying. Speaking of Elizabeth, when may we go and call on her?”
“I leave that entirely up to you, Georgiana. I thought you might need a few days to recover from your journey before going to make calls.”
“No, indeed. I am not as frail as all that. I have been longing to see her ever since she left Strathalt House, and I do not think I can contain myself any longer. May we go tomorrow during calling hours?” she asked eagerly.
Darcy, who had never been able to refuse her anything, heartily agreed. He was eager himself and was glad when they set the time to see them for shortly after breakfast the following day.
With a sigh, he leant back on the settee and watched her, for his little sister was growing up fast — sometimes too fast. Georgiana took off her gloves and travelling bonnet, then set them aside. She had had her maid arrange her hair in the latest London fashion, and he could not get over just how grown up she looked. Had she not grown even more elegant than when he left her in London only a fortnight ago? It was impossible, but true.
“You look so much like our mother,” he said softly. “Of course, her hair was darker, but you have her eyes and her face shape.”
“Do you really think so?” Georgiana asked, hope filling her tone. “I do so want to make her proud.”
“You would make her proud,” Darcy told her. “I have not the slightest doubt of it.”
“I am beholden to Elizabeth, then. I often think of the advice she gave me while we were in Scotland.” She sighed and looked down at her hands for a moment, as if trying to fend off a sudden sadness. “I wasted so much time pining over Mr Wickham and all that he stole from me — namely, my innocence in how I saw the world. I thank the heavens and you, dear brother, that he took nothing more. But after him, I thought there would be no other man that would ever want me for a wife, not when they found out what nearly happened. She helped me to see that Mr Wickham could not turn me into an object of ridicule unless I allowed him to hold that power over me.” She met his gaze and gave him a courageous smile. “He cannot hold any power over me anymore.”
“I am glad to hear that,” Darcy said softly. At her declaration of confidence and freedom, he felt almost as though a weight had lifted off his own shoulders. “Did you mention Wickham by name to Miss Elizabeth?” he asked.
“No, of course not. He does not deserve to be spared embarrassment and scorn, mind you, but I found I could not bear to do it. I would rather leave him in the past where he belongs.”
“You are a wonder, Georgiana,” he said and leant forward, offering her his hand. “I am sorry I could not protect you from all the pain that Wickham caused. Believe me, if I could have taken it upon my own shoulders, I would have.”
