The hope building in my throat threatened to choke me, and Kitty’s grip on my hand was degrees away from crushing bones. I squeezed back just as tightly. The contact kept me tethered as Darcy continued to talk.
“I regret that I cannot make life easier for you, but there are, of course, certain things I have no power over. I cannot change the law, nor do I have any sway over what constitutes customary practise in wider society. But within Pemberley’s walls, you need not ever know fear. It is your home, Georgiana. That has not and will not change.”
“And Kitty?” I asked, my heart threatening to beat out of my chest.
Darcy turned his attention to her, and I felt her recoil against my side, but there was no animosity in his eyes. Instead he seemed wary, looking at her like he was sizing up her worth. For all my instincts to stand in front of Kitty, it wasexactly how Darcy would have assessed a potential suitor. Silently, I dared him to say anything about how she had no money of her own and no prospects to come into any. He had married her sister and could not claim he was anything other than perfectly happy with that arrangement.
“Miss Bennet is welcome at Pemberley whenever she likes, so long as you are happy to receive her. You may, of course, also visit her in Meryton. If the two of you are still…” He appeared to struggle for the right phrasing, but quickly clutched at something. “Committed to each other in a year or so, we can consider a more permanent arrangement. You are still young, Georgiana, even if you are not the child you once were. I just want you to come home.”
I let go of Kitty’s hand to surge forwards and throw my arms around my brother, resisting the urge to cry into his shirt. He startled for a second but reached up to pat my back.
“I was so worried about you,” he muttered, so low I likely wasn’t even meant to hear it. Then, a little louder: “I apologise for sending you to Rosings. I truly believed it was the safest place for you, in light of the predicament with Wickham. It was a decision made in panic, and I knew Lady Catherine would never have allowed him near you. I was trying to buy some time. It was never meant to be a punishment, but Elizabeth has talked some sense into me, and I can see that it may have come across as one. It was my mistake.”
I hugged him tighter, turning my head to offer Elizabeth my thanks for her support. When I saw she was preoccupied, brushing away Kitty’s tears and sharing her smile, I foughtback my own grin. I knew how much it meant to Kitty to have her family’s approval, even if she pretended it didn’t. As soon as she stepped away, I gave Elizabeth a hug of my own.
“I’m sorry I could not stop you ending up there in the first place,” she whispered.
I shook my head, unwilling to accept an apology that wasn’t necessary. “You have done so much. Thank you.”
While Elizabeth and I embraced, Darcy and Kitty stood awkwardly. I stepped away and retook my place at Kitty’s side.
“Would you be all right with settling at Pemberley?” I asked her. “I know you want to see the world.”
“I do want to travel,” she admitted, “but I am more than happy to have somewhere to call home, too. And I know you love it there. It is hard to travel with a piano.”
I laughed, tears in my eyes, and just had to kiss her cheek. Had we been without audience, it would have been her lips. She would still get to see the world, I would make sure of it, but we would be travelling rather than running.
Trying hard not to watch us, Elizabeth gripped Darcy’s arm tightly enough to relay a clear message. He cleared his throat and straightened his spine.
“It is good to see you safe, Miss Bennet,” he said formally with a single, curt nod.
It was the kind of acknowledgement a man would give his sister’s suitor, even if it could have been delivered with significantly more warmth. He was trying, and I loved him for it.
Kitty’s response was carefully considered, taking a few moments longer than an instinctive reply. She lifted her ownchin so her posture was just as formal, and held out her hand. It was a bold gesture, one usually only shared between men of the same standing, and my brother would have had every right to refuse. Instead he took her hand, almost successful in masking his amusement.
“Thank you, Mr. Darcy.” Kitty shook his hand with a little bob of a curtsey she had learnt too thoroughly to omit.
“I hope you will treat my sister with the courtesy and respect she deserves,” Darcy said. “She means a great deal to me.”
“And to me,” Kitty said boldly, squaring her jaw and tilting up her chin even higher. “I trusted you with my sister, Mr. Darcy. Perhaps you could trust me with yours.”
Elizabeth was hiding her grin about as well as I was, biting down hard on her lower lip. My brother raised an eyebrow, no doubt surprised by Kitty’s audacity, but I caught the slightest quirk at the corner of his mouth.
“Duly noted,” he said, inclining his head to her before turning his attention back to include me. “The two of you should also know that you have nothing to fear from George Wickham.”
For a moment, my veins ran cold and my eyes went wide. He said it with such certainty that I had to look to Elizabeth for confirmation that there was no blood on my brother’s hands. That she was still willing to hold one in her own eased my fears a little, as did her small smile and shake of the head.
“How so?” I asked, still tentative.
“I have reached an agreement with him. It was whatdelayed me writing to you to call you back to Pemberley. I wanted to be sure I could offer you true safety. For every year he makes no attempt to see you, speak to you, or speak of you, I will pay him a small sum, granted only at the close of that year. A fee for good behaviour, to ensure upon it, rather than a bribe he can run away with,” Darcy explained.
It was not a settlement I could really argue with, but neither was it one I particularly liked.
“You should not have to pay him!” Kitty protested, echoing my own thoughts. “We have not done anything wrong.”
“No,” Darcy agreed. “You have not. But no cost is too great to buy your safety, and if this is the price for him to truly leave you both alone, then I will gladly pay it without complaint. I make no promises regarding my actions if he fails to keep his word, however.”
His voice was dark, and I shuddered at the implication. I hoped it would never come to that but, while I truly hated the idea of violence on my behalf, I was encouraged by the notion that my brother still wished to protect me.
