One exhausting day at a time, Georgiana Darcy inched towards the surface.
Elizabeth wept the first time that their eyes met. Oh, it had been agonising to do it, and Georgiana could only focus for a second, but shedidit! Hot triumph bubbled inside her. She had tried for so long that she thought Elizabeth would leave before she managed it.
After that, her new sister waited patiently for Georgiana to make that tiny connection. She kissed her warmly each time she managed her staggering feat. Elizabethsawthe battle. She sawGeorgianareaching out and knew how desperately she was fighting.
Georgiana loved her sister with all of her heart.
Love. It was the second emotion to shimmer through the water, and it was staggeringly beautiful. The grey, murky water became clear and prismatic, illuminating the shining castle that had been hidden on the ocean floor. It beckoned to other emotions, letting them soar effortlessly through towards her.
Georgiana learned happiness like an infant learning how to speak. She felt it every time Elizabeth walked into the room. After happiness camediscontent.
She had not cared, before, if she was hot or cold, in darkness or in light… but now that she knew the colours of happiness, Georgiana realised that it would never find herhere.
Her hand clenched by instinct. Hours of relentless practice had not summoned so much as a finger twitch, but she gripped hersister’s hand like a lifeline. She could not let go, not even when Elizabeth begged, until her strength gave out. Then the impulse was gone, and her body was still once more.
But not Georgiana. She was there, and she was all motion and light. She wasalive.
Happiness returned in daylight and in warmth. It caressed her in her sister’s gentle words and the soft song of a distant harp. It came in forgiveness, when she heard her brother’s heartfelt apologies to herself and to the angel. It came slowly, and it brought healing in its wake.
Georgiana healed because of others.
But she taughtherselfhow to smile.
Now, it was easy.
Chapter 36
Elizabeth sighed. Perhaps she had been rather premature in her estimation of her husband. Notably, she had dared to think himpredictable.
She was sitting in a carriage, alone, with various people trying to distract her from the bangs on the roof. This had been going on for a quite a while. Lizzie had dressed in her fashionable new coat as Darcy had asked… but it did not seem likely that she would need it. It was clear that she was supposed to grow old here, in the comfortably dull carriage. She would, perhaps, be revived for the purpose of compromisation… but only if her husband remembered she existed. It seemed that he had forgotten.
There were more clunks on the carriage roof, and a hushed conversation between the coachman and another servant. Mrs. Reynolds had ordered them to be silent, but once she left the servants relaxed.
Ah, Mrs. Reynolds. She had blocked the window to ask about some small matter which could have waited formonths.Suddenly, it was urgent! Only Elizabeth could solve the problem… from inside the carriage. It was imperative that shenot move. Mrs. Reynolds had, at least, the goodness to look mischievous when she recited her obviously false lines.
Elizabeth stubbornly refused to speculate. Let them have their secrets! She passed the time thinking of the half-hour she had spent with Georgiana before getting changed. Her dear little sister had just started moving her hands. They were barely noticeable spasms, but her eyes were wide and joyous after each one, and Elizabeth loved every attempt. Georgiana had a beautiful smile, and when she was truly proud of herself it beamed like the sun.
Had Elizabeth imagined it, this morning, or had there been a knowing glint inhereyes, too?
Darcy finally climbed into the carriage, did not bother with either an apology or an explanation for his tardiness, and knocked on the roof for it to depart. Lizzie, sitting opposite him, sighed loudly and folded her arms mannishly in front of her chest.
“You are going to tell me.” she pointed out flatly, “You are so proud of this secret… whatever it is. Kindly enlighten me now, sir, before I give into the urge to hit you with a cushion.”
“Who told you that there was a secret?” he refused to budge.
“Nobody, sir! But I am no fool.”
He smiled, “No, you certainly are not. What do you think is happening?”
“There is luggage on the roof. Mrs. Reynolds attempted to disguise that fact from me, but she clearly arranged it. This morning, Georgiana knew of some scheme too. I must conclude, sir, that you told her about it. She would not be privy to a walk through Lambton or an intimate discussion in the library, so I suspect your plan is something which will affect her. So: we aregoing away for at least a night, possibly more, and undoubtedly not into town. How did I do, sir?”
Darcy laughed uproariously. “It serves me right for trying to be duplicitous. I told you I have no talent for it. We are going into town, in fact - but not to Lambton. We are going to spend a few days in Chesterfield.”
“Chesterfield!”
“There is a ball there which I thought would amuse you. We have never danced together.”
Elizabeth considered this with some amazement. It had not even occurred to her that one could be married to a man without having danced with him! It was most peculiar to discover that she and Mr. Darcy had somehow overlooked the first step into intimacies, since they had stumbled so effectively into the last.
