Georgiana shrugged. “I suppose. I do not know if I will ever have the chance to be a wife, though.”
Darcy frowned. “Why would you say that?”
She smoothed her dress down over her knees and then picked at her gloves. “I do not know,” she said, letting her words trail off. “If a man were truly interested in me, he would not be for long once he found out about what happened at Ramsgate.”
Darcy’s heart sank. It had been nearly a year, and still the shadow of guilt and shame hung over her. He would have done anything to see it removed from over her head. “Georgiana,you are quite wrong. Your reputation is intact, and no rumours have got out. If you wished, you need never tell anyone, not even the man who will be your husband.” Indeed, he had paid handsomely to ensure there was not so much as a hint of rumours. His staff were loyal to him and had said nothing. They would take the story to their graves. And Wickham would never breathe a word of what had happened. A combination of money and threats had taken care of that.
“I could not keep something so monumental from a man who was willing to marry me. I could not lie like that.”
Darcy could not help but respect her view, though he did not think the situation was nearly so dire as Georgiana seemed to imagine. “Any man worth having will forgive and forget, Georgiana. He will see what a treasure you are, and the past will have no bearing on the happy future you might have together. I rather think you will have the opposite problem. Your dowry is more than substantial, and the consequence of our family impressive. You are likely to have too many suitors, not too few.”
Georgiana shrugged. “I suppose you are correct, and yet I can hardly imagine such a thing.” She let out a short laugh. “As I’ve said before, I think you will be stuck with me for a long while yet.”
Darcy searched for the right words to console her, hating himself for his failure. “We need not worry about any of that now,” he attempted. “Besides, I would be happy to have you with me for as long as you would like — forever, if it came to it.”
Georgiana yawned once more and leant back on the settee. “It is lovely in this room, so close to the hearth. Perhaps I will just rest my eyes for a moment.”
Darcy looked at the clock again, trying to push down his anger. It had been nearly an hour since they had been shown into the drawing room. Much longer, and he would go in search of the housekeeper himself.
Just then, the door opened. A young woman entered — unusually young for a housekeeper, and surprisingly pretty and well-dressed. Though the style of her gown was rather simple, it was remarkably becoming, and would have better suited a young gentlewoman. Perhaps that had been the problem: Strathalt House had a housekeeper who paid more attention to her appearance than to the needs of guests.
But such woolgathering was not helping to procure a bedchamber for Georgiana. Darcy immediately took control of the situation. “You are here at last, and not a moment too soon. We have been waiting for a very long time. I hope this is not how Mr Campbell allows the house to be run.” He took a slow, measured breath, keeping his temper with difficulty. “If I am to inherit, I certainly will not permit such slackness.”
“I beg your pardon?” she said. She raised her chin as though offended by his rebuke, her dark brunette hair tied back in a tidy bun. Soft curls were pulled out on either side, framing her face. Nothing was covering her hair, not a white cap or bonnet. Very unprofessional, if he had his say. Indeed, the young woman was dressed much too elegantly for a housekeeper. While the cut of her gown was simple, it was a pale pink linen — another faux pas. Any housekeeper worth her salt would choose to wear sombre, professional colours. But perhaps things were done a little more laxly here in Scotland.
The young woman looked almost as if she would argue. After a tense pause, she looked away, no doubt chastised. “I am sorry you’ve had to wait so long, Mr…?”
“Darcy,” he said curtly. The least she could have done was remember his name when the servant had alerted her to his coming. “Will you show my sister to her room? As you must realise, she is in need of rest after the long journey.”
The young woman looked at Georgiana. Her face softened. “Your sister does look rather tired,” she said, frowning deeply when she met his gaze again. No doubt she was annoyed with his harshness. Then again, she should not have been surprised. Mrs Reynolds would have been appalled had guests been kept waiting half so long at Pemberley. His housekeeper took matters of hospitality seriously. But perhaps the housekeeper of Strathalt House was too young and inexperienced to have such standards.
“Thank you,” Darcy said. “I will speak with Mr Campbell about this incident, mind you. This is not the kind of first impression I would like to have associated with any house for which I was responsible.”
Georgiana placed a hand on his arm as the woman turned and motioned for them to follow her. “Do not worry on my account,” she whispered, smiling shyly at the housekeeper. Georgiana was too accommodating, fearing to inconvenience others even when caring for her was their occupation. She would have to learn to wield a stronger hand in running her own home in the future.
“A woman of her calibre should know better,” he replied, not even trying to keep his voice down. In the future, he hoped the young woman would learn her lesson and be the better for it.
After the door had closed, Darcy went back over to the hearth to warm his hands. It was an unusually sunny day, but it did not show any signs of getting warm. He sat down to waitfor Mr Campbell, hoping that, now that Mrs Graham had finally come, he would not have much longer to wait.
Only a few moments later, the door reopened, and a woman entered. Her severe black dress and white cap showed her to be some sort of upper servant, while the greying hair at her temples and the lines about her eyes showed her age. “Mr Darcy? Please forgive me for having taken so long in coming. I was dealing with a minor injury in the servants’ hall.” She came over to the sitting area and curtsied. “I am Mrs Graham, the housekeeper.”
Darcy stood suddenly, his eyes going wide. “You are Mrs Graham?” he asked in astonishment. “Then who was the young woman who was just here?”
Mrs Graham frowned slightly and looked toward the door to which he had motioned. “I am not sure. There are no other young women in the house, save for the upstairs maids and the kitchen staff. All were downstairs when I left.” She looked thoughtful. “Perhaps it was Miss Elizabeth Bennet? She is the daughter of the other potential heir.”
For a moment, Darcy was too shocked to speak. He had been appallingly rude. Taxing a young lady who knew nothing of him with having kept him waiting, demanding that she serve them, mistaking her for a servant in the first place…if he had ever made a worse faux pas in his life, the incident mercifully escaped him. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.
As he regained control over himself, Darcy realised that Mrs Graham had, in fact, relayed two shocking pieces of information. He was not the only potential heir to the property? The letter had said nothing of it. “I was not aware there was another claimant to the estate.”
“Oh, I beg your pardon, sir. Mr Campbell only learned of the other gentleman after he had sent the letter to you. He is Mr Bennet of Hertfordshire, a very fine gentleman.” She cocked her head to the side and clicked her tongue. “I am sure it is a surprise. But Mr Campbell will find a satisfactory solution, have no fear.”
“Yes, I am sure he will,” Darcy said, doing his best to conceal his distress. He was not worried about the estate, for he had no need for the income nor an additional house. The embarrassment of having treated a fellow guest, and a young lady at that, so harshly was far more distressing. She must be thinking him at best a fool, and more likely an utter boor. “Have Mr Bennet and his daughter been here long?”
“They just arrived yesterday afternoon.” Mrs Graham looked about the room, confused. “The footman informed me that your sister was with you. Is she taking some air in the gardens?”
Darcy could feel the heat rising over his chest and creeping into his neck. “Ah, no. That is, she did come with me. But I am afraid I mistook Miss Bennet for you, and asked her to show Georgiana to her room so she could rest.”
“Oh, dear,” Mrs Graham breathed, in as tidy a confirmation of how his mistake was likely to be received as Darcy could have feared. She rallied quickly, doing her best to look as though it were of little matter. “Well, Miss Bennet will certainly be able to help her, for I gave her a full tour of the house when she arrived. She knows where the guest rooms are.” Mrs Graham smoothed down her black dress and stood at attention. “May I show you your room now? I will send a footman when Mr Campbell returns, but there is no reason for you to wait here in the drawing room until then. I believe your luggage has beenseen to.” She motioned for him to follow her out of the drawing room. “I will check on Miss Darcy and see if she requires anything after I show you to your room.”
