Lady Anne paused in the doorway and glanced back at her daughter. “Georgiana—”
“I do not mind the company,” Elizabeth said quickly. “Especially as I appear to be in a place I have never seen before.”
Lady Anne considered this, then inclined her head. “Very well. Georgiana may remain until the doctor arrives.”
With that she disappeared into the corridor after the men.
The door closed softly behind them.
For a moment the room grew quiet.
Georgiana turned back to Elizabeth, her face bright with relief. “How are you feeling?”
Elizabeth shifted slightly against the pillows. “Like someone who has been asleep for an entire age.”
Georgiana giggled at that—then immediately looked worried again.
Elizabeth smiled faintly. “Perhaps,” she said, “you could tell me what has happened during my… nap.”
Georgiana laughed again despite herself. Then the laughter faded as the memory of the night returned. “Oh, Elizabeth,” she said softly. “You have missed quite a great deal.”
∞∞∞
Darcy carried Lady Catherine carefully down the corridor, mindful of her height and the rather formidable arrangement of her skirts, which seemed determined to slide from his arms.
Even unconscious, his aunt possessed a remarkable capacity for making herself difficult.
He nudged open the door to her bedchamber with his shoulder and crossed to the bed.
Richard moved ahead of him and pulled back the coverlet while Lady Anne followed quietly behind.
Darcy lowered Lady Catherine gently onto the mattress.
For a moment the three of them simply stood there.
Lady Catherine remained entirely still, her formidable presence somewhat diminished by the rather inelegant position in which she had been laid.
Darcy straightened slowly and turned toward his stepmother.
Lady Anne’s expression was unusually grave.
“Do you know what that was about?” he asked quietly. “How she knows Elizabeth’s family?”
Lady Anne shook her head. “No,” she said slowly. “I do not.”
She moved toward the small writing desk near the window, resting one hand lightly against the back of the chair as she spoke.
“I was only sixteen when Catherine married,” she continued, “but even before that, we were never close. Our mother died when I was born, and our father had very little use for us girls.We were sent away to finishing school when we were each ten years of age. By the time I arrived, she was with the older girls preparing for their debut.”
Darcy frowned slightly. “You rarely saw her?”
“Very rarely.” Lady Anne gave a faint, thoughtful smile that did not quite reach her eyes. “Catherine always had a forceful personality—even as a girl. She kept very much to herself, and she did not often invite company she did not require… and a sister four years her junior whom she had not seen since I was six was not her first choice in companion.”
Richard leaned one shoulder against the bedpost, listening.
“I imagine my grandmother’s elopement did little to improve your father’s opinions of females and their behavior,” Darcy remarked.
“He certainly was very strict with me,” she replied quietly. “Catherine was strong enough to insist on what she wanted, but in the end, it did her little good.”
