“My advice to you, Lydia, is to forget your offense and learn to be content with what you have.”
The girl’s expression reeked of suspicion. “What do you mean?”
“Only that your wish of balls and parties will not be realized until you are at least seventeen, and that only in Meryton, Lambton, or if you stay with your other sisters after they marry. In London, it will not come until you are eighteen.”
Lydia glowered at the notion, but Susan did not take any notice.
“I shall not bore you with a recitation of maturity or any of the other things your parents or sisters have told you. The inescapable truth is that you are not yet of age, so you will nottake part in society; the sooner you accept that, the happier you will be.
“Yet I would not have you believe that all is dreary studying and watching your elders participate in society. A young girl not yet out may still have her share of fun in activities that will help prepare her for her debut.”
“Anything would be preferable to endless lessons,” said the girl, something of her irascibility fading away.
“Yes, I cannot but suppose you are correct. You will not have the balls and parties you crave, but outings to the various attractions in London, such as the menagerie, Kew Gardens, Hyde Park, the Royal Academy, and even the theatre, are acceptable.”
“Those things are all more to Lizzy’s taste,” said Lydia, though Susan noted her interest. The trick would be to learn which activities would stimulate her enough to turn her attention away from those things she could not yet have.
“Perhaps they are, but I do not think you are averse to them.”
“Should they be all I can expect, I am not opposed.”
Even then, the girl was not yet willing to release her grievances, diverting Susan all over again. “Then let us plan some activities you will enjoy. As I suggested, you may remove to Darcy’s house if you wish, but if you are amenable, I would like to keep your company for a short time. Let us come to know each other better.”
For the first time in their brief acquaintance, Susan saw a measure of acceptance and even a hint of shyness in the girl’s response. It was a start, one that Susan thought they could all nurture to bring genuine change.
“I KNOW NOT WHAT YOUhave done with Lydia,” said Elizabeth. “I have never seen her this restrained.”
In Darcy’s opinion, Lady Susan showed a full measure of smugness at Elizabeth’s comment. “She is not unreachable, Elizabeth. One simply must understand how to speak to her to induce her to listen.”
The girl of whom they were speaking was sitting with Kitty and Georgiana, eager and relieved all at once to be in their company. It was less than a week after the girls had moved to Darcy’s house, and now Lydia was to live with them. Elizabeth had told Darcy of Lady Susan’s prediction of Lydia’s wish to remove to his house, but he had not thought it would happen with this speed.
“Then you have uncovered the key no one else could.” Elizabeth shook her head. “Lydia has never been beyond redemption, but there has always been an air of wildness about her that no counsel, rebuke, or demand could drive away. At the moment, she seems almost happy.”
“I only pointed out to her the hopelessness of her situation and directed her to other interests. Do not suppose you may allow her to exist in Georgiana and Kitty’s company without additional stimulation, for I have made certain promises of amusements that she will wish to explore.”
Darcy regarded Lady Susan with interest. “And what might those be?”
“The girl was interested in thoughts of the menagerie and allowed the notion of the theatre being a fine entertainment for an evening, though that took a bit of convincing on my part. Kew Gardens might entertain her for an afternoon, but she was not at all interested in museums and the like. You may attempt that last, but I would not try to do such activities often.”
“Then we shall be pleased to oblige her,” said Elizabeth, her sly look at Darcy predicting some witticism. “After all, such activities will lessen our need to participate in other occupations my husband would prefer to avoid.”
“Yes, thatwouldlimit our involvement in balls and the like,” said Darcy, projecting an exaggerated air of smugness, much to the ladies’ enjoyment.
“Then I shall leave you to it. Hosting Lydia has been a pleasure, but I believe she will be happier with you.”
Lydiadidappear happy, and their schedule for the next few days proved the supposition. While disagreements and even arguments must inevitably arise, the girls got on in a state of harmony such that Darcy could not deny the good they were doing each other. Kitty was old enough to come out the next year, though Darcy agreed with Lady Susan’s assessment that she might prefer to wait a year for Georgiana, and while Lydia would feel left out again when they entered society, she was now on the path of acceptance and behaving with credit when her turn came.
One who did not appear to appreciate Lydia’s arrival at his house was Mrs. Younge. The woman said nothing during the first few days of Lydia’s presence, but the sour expression she wore appeared etched upon her face. In time, Darcy’s curiosity about the woman and her behavior aroused again from its dormant state, for there was something unusual about her, and Darcy could not put his finger on it.
Thus it was that she stood before his desk in his study, making her case again about the Ramsgate scheme, though the notion she was there unwillingly would not leave him; Darcy could not understand this last, but he felt it, nonetheless. Unlike the last time she had applied to him, this time Darcy was not angry, for an intense interest in her inability to allow the subject to rest despite repeated reprimand was now urging him to discover the reason for it. Such an application to the woman herself would be fruitless—Darcy knew this with no need to ask her. There were other ways to discover what he wished to know,and Darcy shunted those thoughts to the side for the moment, focusing his attention on her instead.
“I am curious about your rationale for continuing to press this issue, Mrs. Younge. What do you mean by it?”
“What I mean is to fulfill a promise I made to Georgiana and planned with your predecessor. Georgiana has been in London long enough; it is time she separated from it and enjoyed some time of her own in Ramsgate. If you will pardon me, you have had your holiday. Do you not suppose Georgiana deserves a holiday of her own?”
“Georgiana deserves everything I can give her,” said Darcy, amused rather than offended at her attempt to appeal to his sense of fairness. “That is not at issue here. Ifyouwill pardonmysaying it, I thought the girls were getting on well together, and yet you wish to separate them?”
Lips in a tight line, Mrs. Younge refused to speak. While Darcy thought she had the same opinion of Kitty, enhanced by Lydia’s arrival at the house, she would not disparage them again, given Darcy’s reproof the last time she had presumed to criticize his sisters. It seemed she had learned something in the time since she last approached him, though in essentials she had not altered. There was a measure of surliness in her air, again suggesting to Darcy that whatever she meant by these repeated requests, there was something amiss with them. Perhaps it was time to speak to the earl and his son to learn more about this woman and her background. She may have been someone prominent before becoming a companion, which would account for her pride, though not account for other facets of her behavior.
