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“You do not think he will banish his sister?”

“I just do not know. Getting the cut will force her to drop out of society. Will he banish her to Scarborough where the family originates? He will have to, but I do not know if he will cut ties with her. There my thoughts are confused as I would never do that with Georgiana.”

“Family versus social position, even when the family has behaved disgracefully. They have no standing, no legacy to protect.”

Darcy nodded at his aunt’s summation.

“When?”

“They are both to attend the tournament, although at some distance from our own seats. I would prefer that it not overshadow the event itself. Mayhap you can start to spread the word there in preparation?”

“Solid thinking Darcy. Someone as insignificant as Caroline Bingley should not interfere with one of the social events of the season. Let me tell you of the all the latest news and rumours.”

Lady Susan rolled her eyes and left the two men to gossip about the upcoming tournament. She had a friend to visit, and news to share.

--

“As I am sure you are aware, the real reason for the cut is not going to be generally known. I doubt I will share the real reason with more than two or three of my closest friends. The Earl is not going to say anything. I would like your help in circulating the ostensible reason; inappropriate and unsupported friendship with any of the three young gentlemen. Absolutely no hint of compromise, just falsely claiming closeness to the family. It does not matter which of my sons, or nephew, is mentioned. This will distract attention away from Georgiana, who she has only met twice.”

Lady Maria Leonard sat back and nodded as her friend outlined the truth and then the rumours that were to be encouraged.

“It was foolish of her to put anything down in writing. If she had resorted to initials she might have escaped this.”

“Given her endless social climbing, I think that it was only a matter of time. Darcy described her as Icarus.”

“Let me know when this is planned and I will follow suit immediately.”

“The latter half of next week. I have two maids and two footman keeping track of her movements. She is a regular visitor to New Bond Street so I hope to gain some insight over the weekend. The holy days and then the tournament are disrupting routines.”

“Will she be at the tournament?”

“Yes, but far from our seats. I do not wish to encounter her there. It will detract from the event.”

Lady Maria smiled.

“How is the Colonel feeling? Confident?”

“No. He is realistic. He expects to do well but there are just too many unknown officers. A quarter of the draw is reserved for the Navy, so two of the final eight will be Naval officers. They will be a complete unknown to everyone. He will be disappointed if he does not make the final eight but he is sanguine about it. There is a very persistent rumour about one young officer in one of the Scottish regiments. The Earl accuses me of gossiping at times, but I left him regaling Darcy with all the latest news and rumours.”

They both chuckled. The tournament had captivated whole tranches of the Ton. At church on Sunday there would be many prayers for two days of dry weather. Lady Susan changed the subject.

“Does Miss Bennet know that she has transformed Georgiana?”

Lady Maria smirked at her close friend.

“One of Elizabeth’s defining traits is humility. Miss Darcy has visited, all but skipping into the room, just a joy to have as a visitor. When I suggested to Elizabeth that this was her doing she laughed and told me I was wrong. Let me get the words right.”

Lady Susan could see Lady Maria mumbling under her breath.

“I think this is it. ‘Georgiana was always this person, I just helped her come out of her shell. The sun does not get praised for the flower blooming.’ I did not know what to say to that.”

Lady Susan could only shake her head.

“How was she with Darcy out of town?”

“She kept herself very busy, even more than normal. She accompanied her aunt to Bryanston Square to look at the Gardiner’s new townhouse. At Elizabeth’s suggestion they took a young artist with them. She had seen his work at one of the galleries. Her idea was that he could look at the rooms and the views and describe them in more detail for her uncle. Between the three of them her uncle was able to ‘see’ them in his own mind.

“She has also been reading even more than usual. At the last ball she attended Elizabeth spent the entire supper talking about the war. She dined with a Major who had been injured at Cuidad Rodrigo and they discussed the next moves. By the time the dancing had resumed the man looked in need of a drink.”