Oh, Elizabeth!” Georgiana exclaimed with pleasure. “You look so beautiful in that color. Fitzwilliam will not be able to take his eyes off of you. Shall you wear it to the theatre tonight, do you think?”
“It is a beautiful gown, but I am not yet sure. I must confess to loving the burgundy best of all. What do you think, Jane?”
“I believe Miss Darcy is correct, Lizzy. The dark green one becomes you very well. Though the burgundy is very elegant and flattering, as well, I think it would be better suited for a ballroom rather than the theatre.”
They were interrupted then by Mrs. Bennet as she bustled into Elizabeth’s dressing room. “Oh, girls! If I do say so myself, that is the perfect dress for the theatre tonight! Mark my words, Lizzy, it is just the thing to keep Mr. Darcy’s eyes turned toward you all evening, for you know there will be many pretty young ladies with large fortunes and expensive gowns hoping to capture the interest of a rich gentleman. You would not want Mr. Darcy changing his mind about you before your wedding takes place. Much can happen in two days, you know, and I always say you can never be too careful.”
Jane smiled and gave her sister a knowing look; then, placing a quick kiss upon her cheek, she left them to begin her own toilette.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and suppressed a smile as she ran her hand over the exquisite deep emerald silk of her new gown. “Mama, if Mr. Darcy has not changed his mind by now, I doubt very much he will do so by Saturday.”
Georgiana, however, was genuinely troubled by their mother’s statement. “Oh, no, Mrs. Bennet, you need not worry yourself over such a thing. I assure you, my brother loves Elizabeth very much. He has been nothing but caring and attentive whenever I have seen them together. Indeed, if you had only witnessed the tenderness and intimacy that exists between them, especially on Sunday last, I am certain your mind would now be completely at ease.” Then, with a gasp, Georgiana’s hand flew to her mouth as she sent a panicked glance to Elizabeth before casting her eyes downward, clearly mortified, not only by what her well-intentioned words had certainly implied, but also by what she had alluded to.
She need not have worried, for Mrs. Bennet, lost in her own musings, merely shrugged and said, “Oh, well then, I daresay I shall rest easier knowing Lizzy will at least be able to keep him interested until after the wedding takes place.” She gave her daughter a critical look and made a minor adjustment to the ribbon on the bodice of her gown. “Hmm…” she mused, “I do believe this neckline is particularly flattering to your bosom, Lizzy, and I must agree, the color is perfect for you. Yes, you shall wear it tonight with the emerald necklace and earrings Mr. Darcy was so generous to present to you the other day. And do not be late. I hardly think it would please your future husband to be kept waiting.” Mrs. Bennet then left Elizabeth to Georgiana’s society in order to oversee Jane’s preparations for the evening.
Elizabeth leaned against the door, closed her eyes, and expelled a long, slow breath. Georgiana looked contrite as she sat, perched upon the edge of the small sofa in the sitting room, staring at her lap in misery. Elizabeth approached her, and Georgiana reluctantly raised her eyes, now swimming with unshed tears. “Oh, Elizabeth, can you ever forgive me?” she whispered. “It was very wrong of me to have said such a thing to your mother just now. I never should have mentioned any of it at all. What you and Fitzwilliam choose to do when you are alone together—oh, no,” she gasped. “I certainly did not mean to say that! Please, please forgive me. It is none of my business, any of it, and I ought not to speak of such things. Fitzwilliam would be appalled by my lack of decorum. I can only imagine what you must think of me for speaking so.”
Frowning, Elizabeth sat beside her and gathered her hands in her own. “I believe I am more concerned at the moment with your opinion of me,” she said. “I had no idea you had reached this particular conclusion about your brother and me, Georgiana, but perhaps I should not be so surprised. We have done a rather poor job of keeping our affection for each other a secret from the rest of the world. As you well know, your aunt had much to say on the subject, and indeed, I am very sorry you were forced to bear witness to my shame. I am sure it must have been distressing for you, to say nothing of the shock of seeing your brother comforting me in such a familiar way. I am afraid that, in our distress, both of us were not entirely aware of our actions or their possible repercussions. I very much hope you will tell me if you are still troubled by what you have seen, my dear. I would never wish to be the cause of any pain or discomfort to you, nor, do I believe, would your brother.”
Georgiana averted her eyes. “I am fine, Elizabeth, truly. You need not worry yourself over me.”
“Come, Georgiana. We are to be sisters. You need not feel as though you cannot speak to me as such. I promise, you have no reason to fear that I shall pass judgment on you or your feelings, even if you believe what you are feeling may occasion me pain or discomfort.”
Georgiana fussed with the trim on her shawl. “I… very well, then. I will not pretend it did not bother me when I first figured out that you and Fitzwilliam have been… intimate with each other.”
Both ladies blushed, and Georgiana said, “Forgive me, Elizabeth. As I have said, I know very well it is none of my concern.”
Elizabeth cleared her throat and inclined her head.
They sat in companionable silence for a time before Georgiana spoke again. Though her voice was subdued, Elizabeth could sense an underlying agitation. “Elizabeth, I once knew a man who told me he loved me. He told me he wanted to marry me, but it turned out he did not. He only wanted my fortune and… and my virtue. He never wanted me. He was someone I had known and trusted my entire life, yet he used my affection for him to try to convince me to… to be with him. I did not want to, not before we were married, and he knew it, yet he continually tried to persuade me otherwise, all the while claiming to be in love with me. He said if I loved him I would… show him.” A tear ran down her cheek, and she hung her head.
Elizabeth’s eyes widened at this admission. “Georgiana, do you mean to tell me this young man has… has compromised you in some way?”
Georgiana took a shaky breath. “Yes,” she answered, “I mean no. Not entirely. It is not as bad as that.” She rose and paced the length of the room several times, reminding Elizabeth very much of Darcy. “I thought I loved him, Elizabeth! I thought I knew my own mind. I thought I knew him, but it turned out I did not. I knew nothing. I almost ruined my life and my reputation, and I brought Fitzwilliam and Richard a great deal of pain and mortification. And even though I had hurt them—even though I had disappointed them—they were both still so very kind and loving toward me, as though none of it was my fault.
“Later, my brother told me, any man who is unwilling to respect my wishes—any man who will try to talk me into an elopement, or take my virtue before we are married by the church, or make me do anything I am not comfortable with—is no gentleman. He told me a true gentleman will never demand such things from a woman he truly esteems and loves before she is ready to give them willingly, before their marriage has been sanctioned by the church. Knowing this, can you not understand why I cannot help but be troubled by Fitzwilliam’s familiarity with you?”
“Georgiana, have you spoken to your brother of your feelings?” Elizabeth asked.
Georgiana shrugged. “I have not. He did approach me the following day and on several occasions since, but I was not yet comfortable discussing my feelings about his… his indiscretions. I made up an excuse so I could leave him quickly, before he could mention it. He has since been very busy with various matters of business, and I have taken precautions so we would not be alone together. I have spent quite a bit of time wondering how my brother could ever have done this to you. I do not want you to think I believe any of the wretched things my Aunt Catherine has accused you of, not even for a moment, Elizabeth. I know you could never behave in such a disgraceful manner as she would have me believe. She is only upset that Fitzwilliam is not to marry Anne, but she was so horrible to you! You did nothing to deserve her abominable treatment. I am no longer naïve. I know very well that none of this would ever have happened, had my brother not taken advantage of your innocence and your affection for him in a moment of weakness and… and… seduced you.” Her last words were barely above a whisper.
Elizabeth inhaled sharply. “Oh, Georgiana, is that what you think?”
She nodded and looked away.
“I assure you that is not the case.” Elizabeth forced their eyes to meet and said, “This is, by no means, easy for me, but I must endeavor to correct this mistaken impression you have formed about your brother. While I will admit he may have been very…persuasive in his manner of expressing his affection for me on more than one occasion, I cannot allow you to think him capable of unscrupulously misleading me into doing something I objected to. His goodness and his moral principles would never allow such deception, such duplicity.”
Georgiana stared at her. “I know you love him, Elizabeth, and he you, but how can you say that after what he has done? What made you think you could trust him? Even though he is my brother, and the very best of men, he is still a man.”
Elizabeth smiled. “I knew enough of his character to know I could trust him. By the time we had shared our love with each other, Georgiana, your brother had long since professed his strong feelings for me many times over and had already asked me to become his wife. I would never have accepted your brother under any circumstances unless I loved him deeply.”
Georgiana lowered her eyes and said, “I do understand how easy it is, Elizabeth, to forget propriety when your feelings are so overwrought with another, but you must see how my brother has placed your reputation in jeopardy because of his unwillingness to follow his own code of honor. I can hardly believe he would consciously do such a thing—go against everything he told me—yet, I have daily proof of it before me. I feel as though he has let me down, and because of it, I will never again be able to trust another man. He has made everything worse.”
Elizabeth walked to her and said, “Do not allow one terrible experience with one wicked man to influence your judgment of others who are truly good. There are many good men in the world, Georgiana, your brother being an excellent example. I know you are feeling inclined to lay all the blame upon him for our current unhappy situation with your aunt, but that is unfair. The truth is we are both to blame, my dear. You should realize by now, he is guilty of doing nothing more than allowing the strength of his emotions for me to cloud his better judgment. My conduct, I am ashamed to say, has been no better. He has done nothing that I did not allow purely out of the love I have for him. Please do not judge him based upon this indiscretion alone. It would do neither of you any credit.”
Georgiana was silent for a long while as she considered Elizabeth’s words. “I suppose Fitzwilliam has always been very different from George. Even when they were children, they did not always see eye to eye.” She sighed. “I know you are correct, Elizabeth. George’s motives with me have always been selfish and self-serving, while Fitzwilliam’s are born solely out of his strong love and admiration for you.” She gave Elizabeth a small smile. “Thank you for finally making me see the difference.”
“George?” Elizabeth inquired with a frown. “Is that the name of the young man you knew?”
“Yes,” she said, blushing, “George Wickham. He was the son of my father’s steward. He and Fitzwilliam were always very close when they were younger. They attended Cambridge together but did not continue their acquaintance after that. I now suspect it was because of George’s nefarious habits.”
Elizabeth paled and felt as though she would be sick. “George Wickham!” she gasped. No wonder Fitzwilliam was so affected by his presence in Hertfordshire! It is a wonder he did not kill him that day in Meryton!
Georgiana hesitated. “Do you know of him, Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth slowly nodded, too horrified to speak.
“I was at Ramsgate for the summer with my companion, Mrs. Younge, in whose character my brother and I were both deceived,” Georgiana explained. “Fitzwilliam surprised me the day before I was to leave for Gretna Green with George. He was furious and demanded I end my engagement. I could not grieve him, Elizabeth. Fitzwilliam has raised me alone since I was a little girl. It was not long until George’s true nature revealed itself to me in any case. I am truly ashamed.”
“No. You have no reason to feel ashamed, Georgiana. You were very young at the time. Mr. Wickham preyed upon your innocence and your trusting nature. You cannot be held accountable for what he tried to do. Believe me, I am well acquainted with Mr. Wickham and his… expectations of young ladies.” Georgiana was startled by the bitterness in her voice.
They spent the next half hour in earnest conversation about Mr. Wickham until it was time for them to part and dress for their evening at the theatre, each lady feeling a little easier for having confided in the other and feeling a genuine bond of sisterly friendship that would only continue to grow deeper with time.
Colonel Fitzwilliam peered into the drawing room, praying he would find his cousin alone, and slipped into the room.
Darcy, who was standing by the window, turned at the sound of the door clicking shut. He could not help but laugh at the picture his cousin presented. He found it diverting to see Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, one of the bravest men in Her Majesty’s Army, reduced to a state of senseless fright every time he entered Darcy House. “Fear not, Fitzwilliam. The two youngest Miss Bennets have removed to Gracechurch Street for the evening. You are safe, for tonight anyway.”
“Thank God!” he exclaimed as he threw himself into a nearby chair. “How on earth did you happen to manage that feat?”
“Actually, you have Mr. Bennet to thank. It seems he has decided to take pity on you.” Darcy handed him a glass of wine as they waited for Jane, Elizabeth, and Georgiana to join them. Bingley would be meeting them at the theatre.
“Well then, I shall do so when next I see him.” They sipped their wine in companionable silence. “I understand my parents paid you a visit earlier in the week.” Darcy nodded. “I would like to offer my support to you and Miss Bennet, as well. From what I have seen of her, she is an excellent woman. I believe, Cousin, that had I met her first, second son or not, I would have been quite unwilling to relinquish such a treasure to any man, to say nothing of the likes of you.”
Darcy smiled. “Believe me, Fitzwilliam, when I say there is no other woman like Elizabeth. You can have no idea what she is to me, no idea at all. I have been completely at her mercy from nearly the very first moment of our acquaintance, yet I was too proud to acknowledge it for far too many weeks. She had absolutely no idea of my regard, which, I will admit, when I finally realized it, pained me considerably. When I now think of what I would have missed had I not declared myself and continued to stubbornly resist her beauty and her wit, it frightens me to no end. I am determined to spend every moment of my life leaving her in no doubt of my affection.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam laughed. “Yes, I noticed as much the other afternoon. I do hope you realize we are not blind, Darcy. Your affection for Miss Bennet is quite transparent to all who have had the pleasure of seeing you together. No one could ever doubt your deep attachment to her, but I assume you also realize it could very easily be misconstrued by gossips and naysayers. I hope you will restrain your eagerness for her society when we are out in company tonight. As your marriage has yet to be sanctioned by the church, I doubt very much you will wish to call attention to Miss Bennet and yourself in any way that may assist in lending credibility to Aunt Catherine’s slander. Be very careful with her, Cousin. There is far more at stake here than just Miss Bennet’s reputation.”