She grinned at him, all her brief petulance gone, and Darcy’s heart softened. All he had wanted since his father died was to take care of his sister as well as he would have. His presence would deter Wickham, and perhaps after introducing him to her friends and showing him all the amusements, she would be more willing to leave.
“Let her show you what a fine young lady she has become,” MrsYounge said gently after they broke apart. “Escort her to meet her friends and see the amusements. Wickham will not trouble her if you are with her.”
Georgiana frowned, saying, “I like Mr Wickham very much. He is charming and ever so fond of me. Our father even liked him. Is he truly so bad, Fitzwilliam?”
Darcy looked her right in the eye, placing both hands on her shoulders. “Trust me when I say that he is.”
His sister huffed in disbelief, and Mrs Younge said, “You will be here, sir. What harm could come to her if you accompanied her to events and met her friends?”
“Nothing at all,” he said, smiling to encourage Georgiana. He hated to see her cast down. “Shall we go for a walk while you tell me about Ramsgate? Mrs Younge, will you join us?”
Mrs Younge was already opening her writing box and sitting down. Without looking up from her paper, she said, “I have a letter to write. It cannot wait. You and Miss Darcy must enjoy some time to yourselves.”
“Fitzwilliam, there is a concert tomorrow. You must come and meet the Bennet girls.”
They walked the promenade where he listened to all her chatter about her friends and how she had spent the last few weeks. He grew more accustomed to the idea of staying in Ramsgate rather than hauling her away from Wickham’s presence. It was not for him or his sister to be driven away by Wickham.
It was not as though absence would make the heart grow fonder. There was no affection on either side, after all.
CHAPTER TWO
The early hours characteristic of spa life meant that the concert his sister wished for Darcy to attend would begin at seven o’clock and he would see her home by ten. The hours in Ramsgate were suitable for those here for their health, but since he had no need of the spas or bathing machines or to drink the water, he found it all tiresome.
Georgiana, however, grinned when they entered the vestibule to look for her friends. She craned her neck, and Darcy led her through the crowd to take a station by one of the fireplaces.
“They will see you here,” he assured her, although little liking the impending introduction.
“There they are,” Georgiana said as four ladies rushed forward to acknowledge his sister.
There was more intermingling of classes when the nobility descended upon a fishing village for the summer. Georgiana was the wealthy granddaughter of an earl. Within thirty seconds he knew Mrs Bennet was vulgar, from trade, and that the daughters were desperate for the attention of anyone in breeches.
“My dear Miss Darcy,” cried Mrs Bennet after he was introduced and conspicuously appraised by all of them. “Your headdress looksvery elegant, does it not, girls? With a fortune like yours, of course, it ought to be fine.”
Three young ladies all around the same height with dark brown hair agreed. They ranged in age from about fifteen to twenty, and were all rather pretty, like their mother. Vapid compliments on good looks now passed, and he was sure he would perish from tedium. Georgiana, however, was all smiles. He supposed for a motherless, sisterless girl, the female attention was welcome.
“Are you to stay long in Ramsgate, Mr Darcy?” the eldest daughter asked him. “Miss Darcy has mentioned you with great fondness and will want you here as long as possible.”
At least this was a polite and sensible question. “I am here for a fortnight.”
“Then I hope to see you at the assembly rooms,” said Mrs Bennet meaningfully. “There is always a shortage of young men willing to dance.”
She may as well have added, “I expect you to dance with each of my daughters and marry one of them.” He only bowed. Mrs Younge wanted to bring his sister to the assembly to mingle, but she would not dance. And he would not punish himself by dancing with anyone.
“Stand up straight, Kitty!” Mrs Bennet barked at the middle daughter, a slight girl who seemed content to let the younger one speak for her. “How will any gentleman notice you if you slouch?”
The mother was someone whose society could raise no emotion other than surprise at there being any men in the world who could like her well enough to marry her. She had neither genius, accomplishment, nor manner. Perhaps beauty had enticed a weak man into matrimony.
“My dear Miss Darcy, that is not a problem you will ever have,” Mrs Bennet went on. “Such a tall, pretty girl. When will you be presented at court?”
Georgiana flinched. “Never, I hope,” she murmured.
“My sister is just fifteen,” he answered, narrowing his eyes at his sister’s strange answer. “There is plenty of time. Another two years, I suspect.”
“I am sure your brother will lay out fifty guineas’ worth of eleganceand fashion for your moment in the drawing room. You will make a splendid figure; everyone will want a look at you. You will find a husband that season, I have no doubt.”
These vulgar observations drove everyone into silence and turned his sister’s cheeks red. Was it Mrs Bennet’s coarse words or the idea of being on display that mortified Georgiana more?
“Did you hear Wickham has business that called him away?” Lydia finally asked his sister. “Miss Elnora told Kitty he will not be back until next week.” The girl’s lips pushed out in an unsightly pout. “Who will flirt with us now?”
