by Sue Barr
“Thank you so much for your glowing approval,” Max said with a touch of cynicism.
“Tuck that sarcastic tongue back into your mouth, your Grace. Do not forget you are persona non grata within this house. You hurt a most beloved member of our family and we Fitzwilliam’s and Darcy’s have long memories.”
“I’m well aware. Georgiana did not even spare me a greeting, although that was to be expected given her concern for Mrs. Darcy.”
“The fact you were there in their time of trouble may soften the edges of their anger, Adborough. If you’re truly repentant, and I suspect you are, it will show.”
“Ashton, I never know when you’re being sincere or yanking my chain. However, I’m taking your words at face value because that’s all I have right now.”
Max stood and with a stiff bow toward the Viscount exited the room and made his way to his suite of rooms. Prior to his despicable behavior toward Georgiana, he’d always enjoyed his stays at Pemberley. This time, the bright room did not dispel his heavy spirit. While his valet, Clarkson, continued to unpack his trunks, he sat in the chair by the window and prayed.
He prayed for Elizabeth and Darcy’s baby and for Georgiana. Even if their marriage ended before it truly began, he didn’t want her to go through life bearing a deep grudge. He wanted her to be happy and was willing to let go if she demanded it of him.
The next few hours were tense. Darcy arrived hard on the heels of the midwife, followed closely by his physician. Although he knew he wasn’t entirely welcome, Max forced himself to join the family as they waited in the drawing room.
Georgiana remained cloistered with Elizabeth and her male relatives prowled restlessly around the room, tossing disdainful looks and remarks toward him. He drew deep upon the words of his father of how to face great hardship. Remain calm and hold your tongue. If you do not provide a raging fire fuel, eventually it will die out. Give your adversaries time to cool off.
After a few hours of dour looks, Mrs. Reynolds came into the room and told them Mrs. Darcy was faring well. Relief flooded through Maxwell and he quietly thanked God for answered prayers.
“Mrs. Reynolds. Please thank the footmen who brought my wife into the house.”
“It was his Grace who helped Mrs. Darcy. He carried her up to her room and made sure everything was taken care of.”
Darcy shot a look of surprise at his brother-in-law and exchanged a few quiet words with his trusted housekeeper. Shortly after Mrs. Reynolds left, he approached Max.
“Thank you,” Darcy said in a low voice.
“I was there at the right time and did what any gentleman would do given the circumstances.”
“Regardless. You made sure my wife was taken care of in a most expeditious manner.”
“Do not disregard your own sister. She kept her head about her and made sure you were summoned.”
“I’m glad we agree about my sister on something. Once again, thank you.” Darcy gave him a half bow and returned to his cousin’s side. Ashton raised a brow and his brandy glass toward Max. Richard grunted and continued to ignore him.
“Mr. Darcy.”
Carson slipped through the door and approached his employer, whispering a few words into his ear.
“Have Mrs. Reynolds prepare their rooms for them and the children.”
“Right away, sir.” Carson left the room and the door closed softly behind him.
“What is it, Darce?” Richard asked.
“Bingley and Jane have arrived. I sent an express as soon as I could. I know Lizzy will want her sister with her at this time.”
The door to the drawing room opened again and this time the nanny entered with a tousled hair toddler in her arms.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Darcy but Master Bennet refused to go to bed until he’d seen his Papa.”
Darcy held his arms wide and the nanny passed the little boy over to his father.
“What’s wrong, my boy. Have you missed your Papa?”
The child, who had the dark curls of his mother and the blue eyes of his father nodded his head before popping his thumb into his mouth.
“Where Mama?” he lisped around his finger.
“Mama is busy having a baby and tomorrow morning you will be a big brother.”
Master Bennet removed his thumb and cast a disdainful look at his father.
“I am not a bruver. I am a Darcy.”
Ash and Richard both chuckled and Max couldn’t help but smile at the determined set of Bennet’s jaw. Even at his tender age he was a replica of his sire, right down to attitude.
Darcy cast an apologetic look at his cousins and began walking toward the door. Evidently, he planned on escorting his own child to the nursery and settle him down for the night. Max had a sudden vision of carrying his own child through the halls of Adborough Hall. If he hadn’t bungled his own marriage, he and Georgiana could have been expecting their own child at this very moment.
He remembered how Elizabeth’s light body had tightened in his arms with each contraction. Never before had he realized how much a woman went through to bring forth children and he set a mental reminder to thank his mother most profusely the next time he saw her. That was, if he saw her again. Unless he made amends with Georgiana, his family could well disown him for life. His future looked exceedingly bleak and he experienced a sudden, keen sense of loss.
“Are you well, Adborough?” Viscount Ashton took a step toward him. “You’ve gone quite pale.”
“I’m fine.” Max fumbled for his pocket watch. “I have had a long day and believe I’ll retire for the night.”
He exited the room and before the door closed completely, he heard the two brothers speaking.
“Come now Richard. He’s trying to make amends.”
All Max heard in response was a low grumble from the Colonel.
“When you’ve lived a completely honest and virtuous life, then and only then can you sit in judgement of another. Cast not the first stone, brother.”
Max couldn’t stop the smile that lifted the corner of his lip at Ash’s defence of his character, but what made him almost laugh was Richard’s response, which resonated through the closing door.
“Have you been reading your Bible?”
Chapter Seventeen
“Jane, I am so glad you’ve come.”
Georgiana rushed toward her sister-in-law and gave her a hard hug. The past few hours had been fraught with tension, starting with Lizzy’s fall, sending her into premature labor and ending with the knowledge that her husband could very well be stalking the halls, waiting for her to exit her sister’s suite of rooms.
“Fortunately, we had decided to come early in case of bad roads and were already packed to leave on the morrow. Although it’s only thirty miles, I don’t travel well when I need to make frequent stops.”
“How are you faring?”
Jane and Charles were expecting their second child early in the new year.
“Other than the fact I can no longer see my toes and rely on my maid for matching shoes, I am hale and hearty.” She shrugged off her shawl and accepted a work apron from Anna. “Is Lizzy in the other room?”
“Yes. The midwife and physician are with her.”
Jane started toward the connecting door before she paused and faced Georgiana, taking her hands in hers.
“How have you been faring? This is a new and terrifying experience, I’m sure.” Jane’s soothing voice acted like a balm on her soul.
“I’m holding up remarkable well, seeing as I am not the one trying to bring a babe into the world.” She gave Jane’s fingers a squeeze before releasing them. “Thank you for asking.”
“You are stronger than you know.” Her blue eyes caught and held Georgiana’s. “When you finally have a conversation with him, try to remember he is a man who made a mistake. I cannot believe the Duke, who has such a caring heart, would behave in such a manner without good cause. Not that you gave him good cause,” she quickly added at Georgiana’s gasp. “I meant
in the manner that he believed he had good cause.”
“I heard your sister once said to you that she could forgive my brother’s pride if he hadn’t injured hers.”
“Yes, she did.” Jane laughed softly at the memory.
“Max didn’t just injure my pride. He believed me capable of a most heinous deceit. He tore out my heart.”
“Oh, Georgiana.” Jane gathered her into another tight hug. “Men in love do the most ridiculous things. And he does love you. Of that I have no doubt. Before you and the Duke married, he could not keep his gaze off you. Trust me when I say that you are his heart and I’m sure he regrets his past actions.” She released Georgiana and stepped back. “I must attend Lizzy, but know that you are in my prayers.”
“I’m sorry for keeping you from your sister.”
“Do not apologize. I’m sure Lizzy will not mind I spared you a few minutes. You know she would say the same thing.”
A short, hard laugh erupted from Georgiana.
“I don’t think my sister-by-love is as kind as you. She would expect me to make him grovel.”
“That is where you are wrong.” Jane shook her head slowly. “Lizzy has decided opinions to be sure, but when it comes to the heart, she’s as much a romantic as me. Even when she was livid with Fitzwilliam, she always despaired over his inherent goodness. She didn’t want to reconcile the dichotomy of his character, yet we are all glad that she did.”
“You’ve given me much to think on, but all of this is conjecture until I actually speak with his Grace.”
“I would have that conversation sooner rather than later.” Jane moved toward the door and paused, her fingers on the door handle. “As evidenced by today’s emergency, none of us know what tomorrow holds.”
She pushed down on the handle and entered the room.
“Jane, you are here!”
~~~~~
Georgiana took her time getting dressed before heading downstairs to join her family, and Max, for dinner. As she descended the staircase, she envisioned Max dressed as a common laborer. It was something Lizzy told her to do when she became flustered and needed to regain her equilibrium. However, upon entering the drawing room all thoughts of Maxwell dressed as a laborer fled from her mind as soon as she laid eyes on him.
Even though they were not dressed formally as dinner was a light repast being served in the family dining room, Max was still so handsome in his every day clothing he stole her breath away. She forced herself to give him only a cursory glance and focused instead on the other occupants within the room. Charles Bingley broke the ice by surging forward and giving her a brotherly hug.
“Georgiana, it is so good to see you again. Did you get a chance to speak with Jane before she attended Elizabeth?”
“I did.” She took Bingley’s proffered arm and glided toward her brother and cousins. When her fingers trembled ever so slightly, he covered them with his own warm hand. “Lizzy will be so glad she has arrived. There are times when you need family close at hand.”
“Can I get you something to drink, Georgiana?” Fitz asked when she reached his side.
“Not at this time.” She needed to keep her head clear in order to deal with Max.
“Georgiana.”
She gave a start at the sound of Max’s voice and turned to find him standing only a few feet away. He gave her a polite half bow.
“May I have a few words with you before we partake in dinner?”
She hesitated briefly, loathe to leave the comparative safety of her sibling and glaring cousins. Or rather her glaring cousin. Singular. Richard wore a dark look, Ashton seemed pleased.
“You may,” she replied with a slight nod.
He offered his arm, but she ignored the gesture and moved past him toward a grouping of chairs on the other side of the room. She settled in a comfortable chair and waited as he took the seat opposite her.
“I must first apologize for treating you in such a repulsive manner. I have no excuse except a deep-seated jealousy and a bitter reminder of an incident from my past, which drove me to believe the absolute worst. Not once did you, in any way, behave in a manner that justified my actions.”
“The polite thing would be to thank you for your apology, which I do. However, your actions showed me, in no uncertain terms, that you have absolutely no regard for my feelings. I wonder if you ever did. I even wonder if you truly loved me.”
“I do love you, and have done so for a very long time.”
“Really? Pray tell me how? What drew your attention to me? I am not yet twenty.”
Max sighed heavily and rubbed his fingers over his brow. Finally, he glanced up and held her gaze.
“I once told Nathan I was drawn to you because you did not see the world through rose colored glass. Instinctively, I knew you had experienced deep sorrow and grown from it and when you finally fell in love, it would be deep and abiding. I desperately wanted to be the man who received your affection.”
“You did have my affection, and my love. You were also my everything and I had loved you for almost as long as you say you’ve loved me, but that does not excuse your behavior.” His heart and hope sank at the reference to her love in the past tense. “I cannot trust you to betray me again if things don’t go the way you plan. My heart cannot take another blow. I’d rather be alone for the rest of my life and forego my own children than take the risk.” She stood and Max rushed to his feet as well. “Our discussion is finished, your Grace.”
She gathered her skirts and joined Fitz and her cousins. When Carson announced dinner was ready, Fitz held out his arm to her and escorted her into the informal dining room.
~~~~~
In spite of his hurt and frustration, Maxwell couldn’t help but be proud of the way Georgiana comported herself. Beneath all that velvety softness lay a core of tempered steel. He should have seen that before. His wife was no wilting flower, only a shy one. She was a Darcy, through and through.
He shook his head and followed everyone into the breakfast room. His rank should have given him precedence leading into the meal, but after everything which had transpired over the past few months, he was grateful to be allowed at the table. Among these people he was not the Duke of Adborough, but the man who broke Georgiana’s heart. A humbling experience, indeed.
Darcy seated Georgiana to his right and Ashton quickly took the remaining seat beside her and Bingley next to Ash. Richard took the chair to Darcy’s left, which forced Max to either sit at the end of the table by himself or beside the prickly Colonel. He decided to engage the bear and slid in beside Richard, although he kept a wary eye on the man’s flatware, in case he decided to spear him with a butter knife.
The first few minutes, spent with gathering food and footmen bustling about filling water pitchers and pouring tea, gave way to a heavy silence which fell over the room like a funeral pall. The scrape of cutlery on fine china began to grate on his nerves and he debated whether he should try and start a conversation, if only to keep from hearing himself chew food. Finally, Darcy broke the silence by addressing Bingley.
“How did Jane fare on the trip here. She is so close to her own confinement I wondered if she’d come at all.”
“Jane was splendid, as always. It was Henry who chafed at being confined in the carriage. Mrs. Preston had her hands full keeping him occupied.”
“How old is the little chap?” Ashton asked.
“He celebrates his first birthday on Christmas Eve.”
The door creaked open and Darcy’s heap whipped ‘round to see who entered, hope and worry evident on his face. Carson came and whispered in his ear.
“Thank you, Carson.” Darcy dropped his napkin onto his plate and surged to his feet. “Excuse me, but I must go and attend my new son.”
“Oh, brother! That is good news,” Georgiana cried out. “And how is Lizzy?”
Darcy turned at the door and grinned so wide Max almost didn’t believe this was the same stoic man he’d attended University with. “She is wel
l. Very well indeed.”
Immediately following Darcy’s exit, Georgiana briefly touched her mouth with her own napkin before standing. Immediately, all the men stood with her.
“Excuse me, but I must attend my sister as well.”
Before Max could utter a word, or offer to escort her upstairs, she’d exited the room, leaving him with the Fitzwilliam brothers.
“Isn’t that marvelous,” Bingley mused to no one in particular. “Darcy will be proud as a peacock, I dare say.”
“How is Caroline and the baby, Bingley?” Max carefully broached the subject of his brother’s wife, unsure of how much Bingley knew of why there was such an undercurrent of hostility.
Although he arched an eyebrow toward Max, he answered affably, “She and Margaret are thriving. Louisa came and stayed with her during the confinement and delivery and Jane and I spent a few days with them after. Lord Nathan is well pleased with his family.” Bingley flushed slightly and fumbled in his speech. “His immediate family…. That is his family at Moreland Manor.”
“Bingley.” Max bit back a sigh. “There’s no need to dance around the fact my brother is not speaking with me.”
“Nathan has cut you off?” Richard exclaimed.
“All my family has, as you well know.”
“I didn’t know, but it warms the cockles of my heart to hear that.” Richard slapped his thigh and barked out a hard laugh. “How does it feel to be on the outs? No one to have conversation with. Not that anyone cares. You must have countless hours on your hands to spend in self examination, ruminating on what a prat you are.”
“Trust me, I have examined my actions. They were deplorable.”
“Right you are there, your Grace,” Richard sneered, leaning into him at the table. “Tell me, because Darcy is as tight-lipped as a monastic monk, what set you off about Georgiana? What did that poor girl do to deserve your derision?”
“I don’t think this is the place to discuss my reasons.” Max shot a worried look toward Bingley. He had no idea if he, or Ashton knew of Georgiana’s experience with Slade and Wickham.
“We’re amongst family. There are no secrets here, right gentleman?” Richard cast a glance around the table.
