“One could argue that a man in love who extends a proposal is almost as good as betrothed, even if the lady declines,” Lady Oakham said. Everybody burst into laughter as they agreed they did not need any rules.
“I shall compose a letter, but how shall I deliver it to him?”
But it seemed there was already a plan.
“You will visit tomorrow for tea, invited by Georgiana, who will inform her brother of your impending arrival during dinner this evening,” Lady Oakham declared, shifting forwards in her seat and looking at Elizabeth with affection. “Listen…Lizzy,” the lady continued, “if he is at home when you visit, and he takes a moment to greet you, that will signify his continued interest in you. I am confident that a man in love would be unable to resist the impulse to steal a moment with you. Do you agree, Mrs Gardiner?”
“Indeed I do, Lady Oakham.”
“And?” Elizabeth asked impatiently.
“And you will bring the letter. Mrs Gardiner, Georgiana, and I shall make it possible for you to have a brief moment of privacy as you prepare to take your leave.”
“And if he does not come?” Elizabeth asked, her anxiety apparent.
“Then you will leave the letter on the salver, and we shall allow him more time to mend his wounded heart. But promise me that in that case you will not abandon the…fight for love.”
Elizabeth nodded, suddenly possessed by a newfound confidence. Throughout her life, she had relished the opportunity to meet her problems head-on. Thanks to the counsel and support of these remarkable women, she was resolved to fight for him against any rival, even against his own reservations if necessary. She wanted to make him understand and show him at the same time that her feelings had grown into that marvellous sentiment called love.
Chapter 25
“Mrs Gardiner and her nieces are going to pay us a visit,” Georgiana said, perfectly composed, her eyes resting on her brother as he arranged papers upon his desk. And although he raised his gaze to meet hers, she could not discern whether he was pleased or displeased, for his rather severe expression revealed nothing.
“How so?” he asked with the same lack of nuance in his voice. With a self-control she had not known herself capable of, Georgiana replied cheerfully, “I invited her when we met at the theatre.”
“You invited her to Pemberley, as I recall, which is quite far from here,” Darcy replied, faintly smiling. He meant to tease her, but even that lightness between them seemed forced that day—more a veil over deeper feelings than a genuine jest.
“If they are planning to visit us in Derbyshire, it is perfectly natural foryourfriends to call here too,” Georgiana continued, gathering her courage, hoping to draw her brother out of the silence he had carried since returning from Kent.
As Darcy gave no answer, Georgiana, suddenly uneasy, asked in haste, “Did I do wrong? Are you upset?”
“No,” he replied curtly—too curtly for her to discern what he truly felt.
She was still uncertain about this new kind of closeness with him. Before last summer, she had seen him as a father figure—she the obedient child. But all had shifted at Ramsgate, when Wickham’s presence had forced her to become suddenly aware of her womanhood, while the words he had spoken to her with had felt like love. For a moment, she had believed him. Yet the world that man had offered her—one without her beloved brother—had made no sense. She had escaped from a grave mistake, yet the happiness of her childhood could not be reclaimed. In its place, she found herself to be Fitzwilliam’s sister—not in name only, as she had previously been, but in a way she had never truly felt until now.
“I do not wish you to be angry with me,” she murmured, suddenly uncertain.
“Enough, Georgiana. I am not angry, and you may invite whomever you wish. This is your home as much as mine.”
“I do not understand you, and you make me feel as though I have done something wrong,” she said with quiet boldness. “I liked the Miss Bennets and would enjoy seeing them again.”
“I agree that Miss Elizabeth is an accomplished young woman, and a friendship with her could be a benefit to you.”
“And Miss Bennet?”
“I do not know her well enough to form an opinion.”
He stopped abruptly, glanced at the clock, kissed Georgiana’s brow lightly, and departed—leaving her puzzled yet strangely relieved. If Fitzwilliam objected to the visit, he had said nothing of it, nor seemed to see it as any danger to her. His reserve must have had another cause.
Miss Elizabeth’s visit mattered greatly to Georgiana. She had agreed to take part in her cousins’ quiet efforts to draw the two together again, but she wished to be sure that she was doing what was right and that Miss Elizabeth was, indeed, a suitable match for her brother while he had strong feelings for her.
But in truth, she felt she had taken upon herself a task beyond her strength. No matter how much she wished to feel mature and self-assured, she had too little experience of life, and her timidity served her poorly. She had resolved to trust in Lady Oakham and the colonel, yet from the very first moment she had seen Miss Elizabeth, she had felt a kindred connection—something rare for her, as her life had been a rather secluded one, where few strangers ever crossed the threshold of her quiet world.
∞∞∞
“Miss Elizabeth and her family are coming to visit Georgiana,” Darcy told the colonel when they met at their club.
“I am glad. Georgiana has too few friends, and Miss Elizabeth is the sort of person I am pleased to see around our ward. Or do you feel otherwise?”
