Then, Miss Bennet finally decided to talk to him. However, the contrast between her manner of speaking now and the way she spoke to his sister could not have been more obvious. Her questions were so mundane, so full of artifice, that he was reminded of Miss Bingley. He tensed. Was she setting her sights on him, as well? If so, he had to be very, very careful not to encourage her. He answered as briefly as possible. He did not know what to make of the situation, nor how to deal with it, so he did what he always did when he was out of his depth: he became silent.
His clipped answers must have caused offence, because Miss Bennet gave him the cold shoulder for the rest of the way. He could not blame her, but for some reason he could not fathom, it still stung.
Finally, the carriage reached the last toll gate. Their road merged with others as throngs of wagons, horses and cattle poured into London. The unnatural silence was drowned by the cacophony of the city. The cries of the street hawkers selling their wares, theclopping of hooves against the cobblestones, the incessant rattle of carriages.
“Don’t you love it, Miss Bennet? The city is so alive!”
“It certainly is,” replied Miss Bennet. Darcy had expected her to be more curious about London, but now it occurred to him that she must be an experienced traveler. After all, she had ventured as far as Derbyshire with her uncle from Cheapside. She must have spent time in London with them.
As they gradually emerged from the labyrinth of narrow alleyways with houses leaning towards each other, the streets widened into broader avenues.
“We’re nearly there!” Georgiana peered out of the window, eyes full of anticipation, waiting for the moment her new home came into sight. “There it is, Miss Bennet!” She pointed to the house with a blue door. “That is where we will be living.”
Miss Bennet abandoned her aloofness to lean over and look where his sister was pointing. Darcy felt a sense of pride. He had chosen well. There was no doubting the refinement of the neighborhood. The townhouse itself was situated in a row of Georgian townhouses, with large sash windows, black iron wrought balconies, with checkered black and white marble entrances.
“It is very fine, indeed!” said Miss Bennet. “Those balconies look worthy of Romeo and Juliet. I can just imagine the scene, with Juliet calling down to him.Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo.”
Georgiana chortled.
“And it overlooks Cavendish Square, which, it turns out, is not a square at all, but a circle!” continued Miss Bennet. “What a pretty place to sit and read when the weather permits, and we can walk round and round if we are tired of sitting,” Miss Bennet turned to smile at Georgiana. “I cannot wait to see what your house is like inside.”
Darcyalmostsmiled. She had such an irreverent way of speaking, but he was not sure he approved. He did admire the deft way she managed to compliment Georgiana without any sign of awe or deference. Her reference to reading surprised him. He would never have thought of reading in the Square, and had never seen anyone do it. He examined her unobtrusively to see if she had mentioned Shakespeare to impress him, but there was no sign that she cared for his opinion. In any case, she had no way of knowing that Darcy was a dedicated reader. Intrigued, he resolved to ask her about her taste in books.
It would have to wait until later. The carriage came to a halt in front of the blue door and the footmen in Darcy livery came forward to receive them. He had tried to memorize the names of the new staff members, but it was too soon to know them all. They had come as part of the lease, and Darcy intended to ensure that they were loyal, but it would take time.
For now, he had to restrict himself to introducing Miss Bennet to the most important members: Mrs. Morton, the housekeeper, and Thompson, the butler.
“This is Miss Darcy’s friend Miss Bennet, who will be staying with us for the next few months.”
His whole being rebelled at the wordfriend, but he had promised Mr. Bennet he would refer to her as such. In a way, he supposed, Miss Bennetwasthe closest thing Georgiana had to a friend.
Miss Bennet said all the right things, then turned to Georgiana.
“I am eager to see your new home, Miss Darcy. I was wondering if you would show me around.”
His presence was no longer needed, but he was reluctant to leave. Truth be told, despite his reassurances to his aunt, he was uneasy about putting Georgiana in charge of her own household. Shewasmuch too young. Of course, he had to do it, sooneror later, and it was already too late, the house was set up, and someone needed to run it. She had been taught how to do so, presumably, in that very expensive school of hers.
His sister would either be worthy of the responsibility, or she would fail, in which case he would have to consider alterative arrangements.
Torn between worrying about Georgiana and leaving her to her own devices, he remained rooted to the spot. However, the ladies were already turning away, and he could not very well trail after them as they toured the house. He came to a decision. For the next few hours at least, the ladies would be occupied with the business of unpacking and setting themselves up. He had no role to play in that process. He could come back later, or tomorrow, and ensure that everything was going smoothly.
He cleared his throat. “I will take my leave now.”
Miss Bennet bobbed and thanked him courteously for coming to fetch her. Georgiana nodded and said it was better not to let the horses get cold.
The only one who really paid attention was Mrs. Annesley. “So soon? Will you not stop for refreshments?”
“Thank you, but I will be going home directly. They are expecting me.”
He watched as Georgiana and Miss Bennet started up the stairs.
“In that case, I do hope you will visit us tomorrow,” remarked Miss Annesley.
Despite Mrs. Annesley’s amiable tone, the words rubbed the wrong way.Visit us?Had he become no more than a guest in his sister’s house already?
As he made his way down the marble steps and climbed into the carriage, he felt strangely disoriented. Something had shifted in his world, but he did not have the slightest idea what it was.
Elizabeth gritted her teeth at Mr. Darcy’s frosty withdrawal. What harm would it have done for him to follow along while Miss Darcy showed her around? It would have made his sister happy. She could only suppose he felt it was beneath his dignity to let his sister take the lead.
