“Have we?” She turned innocent eyes up to his.
“Do we not?” he countered. “Do you think it an accident that we should meet here, dear Georgiana?” He used her first name easily.
“Why – what else could it be?”
“Fate! Kind, kind fate, that has given me the opportunity to speak to you as I have so long wished to!”
Georgiana was too confused to speak.
“You are too modest, my dear one! Can you truly not know that I have loved you – yes, loved you, and not as a brother! – for the entirety of your life?”
Georgiana started, stared, and then stammered, “But – you scarce know me, George!”
“Scarce know you! How can you say so? I have known you since the day you were born! I have known, always known, that your lovely face, your sweet temperament, your gentle ways were everything perfect, everything wonderful! I have met so many young ladies, hoping to find your equal, only to be disappointed at every turn. And now, miraculously, by the hand of a kind and merciful God, here you are before me, every dream come true, every hope come alive!”
There might be a young lady in England who could resist such words, but Georgiana Darcy was not that young lady. “Can you truly mean it, George?” she whispered.
“Every word!” he vowed. “I know I am not good enough for you, Georgiana; indeed, who could be good enough? No mortal man, that is certain! I beg you to put me out of my misery and promise to be my bride!” With that, he dropped to one knee and gazed up at her, his heart in his eyes.
“Oh, yes! Yes! I will!” cried starry-eyed Georgiana. “I will write to Brother at once!”
Mr. Wickham rose to his feet in one lithe movement. “No, that will never serve. He can only disapprove. For who am I, compared with Miss Darcy? I am no one at all, only the man wholoves you more than his life! No, the only way for us is to elope to Gretna Green!”
“To – to Scotland?” stammered Georgiana. “But Brother will be –“
“Furious, of course, but the deed will be done, and he will have to accept it. Please, dearest Georgiana, it is the only way we can be together.”
“Very well, if you are certain, George!” Georgiana was entirely swept away by the romance of the scene.
“I am very, very certain,” he assured her. “Let us tell Mrs. Younge our news!”
“Mrs. Younge! Oh, she will disapprove, I am certain!” Georgiana wrung her hands.
***
But she was quite wrong; Mrs. Younge was everything delighted. How romantic! How wonderful! To be married at just fifteen years of age – was Miss Darcy not the luckiest girl alive! And yes, they must be off the very next morning at dawn, for Scotland was a long way away!
“May I have some time alone with my fiancée, Mrs. Younge?” George asked.
“Of course, Mr. Wickham,” she replied. “Miss Darcy, remember that he is your betrothed now, and certain…liberties…may be permitted.”
“Liberties?” Georgiana asked, confused.
“Just trust George,” Mrs. Younge said, mysteriously. Then she left the drawing room, closing the door behind her.
George immediately advanced upon Georgiana, suddenly looking dangerous. She drew back, heart suddenly pounding,and his demeanor changed at once. “Are you afraid of me, dearest one? You must know, surely you know, that I would not hurt you for the entire world!”
Reassured, Georgiana relaxed and sat on the sofa. “No, of course you would not.”
He sat beside her and gently put an arm around her. “There, is this not nice?”
“Oh, very nice!”
“Lean your head – yes, like that.” After a moment, he said, “Now tilt your head up, so that I might kiss your forehead. Ah! Ah! How soft your skin! Now tilt your face up so that I might taste your lips.”
He pressed his lips to hers, and then suddenly his tongue thrust its way into her mouth, and at the same time, his hand pulled up her skirt and he put his hand – “What are you doing! George!” She tried to pull away from him, but he held her fast.
The door to the drawing room flew open.
