by Greer Boyd
“Elizabeth, there is no need to inquire of my brother. Any friend or friends you wish to have visit will be most welcome,” Georgiana hastened to say, then turned to the three men. “Gentlemen, I believe that Elizabeth needs her rest now, especially if she is to meet with friends this afternoon.”
After having been gently but firmly dismissed, Uncle Edward went back to his business, and Mr. Fleming headed to Madame Claudine’s.
Once the two young women were again alone, Elizabeth spoke quietly although her voice had gained back much of its original strength. “Georgiana, you trusted me with your confidence,” she began, watching a blush spread over Georgiana’s face, “now may I trust you with mine?”
Not expecting this, Georgiana nonetheless did not hesitate and immediately sat in the chair closest to Elizabeth and leaned toward her slightly, “Of course. You do not ever need to ask.”
“Well, this is very personal and involves your family.”
“And my confession was not?”
Elizabeth slowly stretched her hand toward Georgiana, and quickly enclosed her new friend’s hand in both of her own. “First of all, I am desirous of a formal introduction to your brother. Secondly, oh Georgiana, I can neither explain why this happened nor do I know exactly how, so I will just tell you what I am feeling.”
Georgiana looked stunned for a moment, not having any idea to what she might be alluding, but replied, “Go ahead, Elizabeth. Your confidence is secure with me.”
“When I am in the presence of your brother, I find myself almost overcome with such longing and desire that it is hard to imagine, let alone bear. It feels as though I am somehow drawn to him. I believe that it was these feelings that helped to pull me back from the dark void that overwhelmed me when I was unconscious. It made me want to return from wherever I was. And now, I do not know how it happened or why, but, Georgiana, I find myself to be quite inexplicably in love with your brother.”
“And his heart is quite lost to you as well.”
“Whatever do you mean?”
“Elizabeth, it is written plainly on his face for any who choose to look there. Throughout my life, Wills and I have had a special kind of bond. We seem to be able to almost comprehend one another’s thoughts simply by exchanging glances.”
“If that is true, then I most certainly need your help,” answered Elizabeth. “And please call me Lizzy. I need to hear it directly from your brother to know for certain that he feels the same.” Looking at Georgiana and then as swiftly as possible to the foot of the bed away from the younger woman’s penetrating gaze, she continued, “That is, that he loves me as well, and I need to make sure that we will never be left alone together.”
Nonplussed, Georgiana nearly stuttered, “But why?”
“Georgiana,” responded Elizabeth with a smile and a new blush on her cheeks, “whenever your brother is in my presence, I feel such a passion that I am not sure that I could completely control myself. I feel a desire to lose myself and become. . . lost in him. Good God, this wanton behavior from a person who has always prided herself on her ability to control her actions.”
“Oh, Elizabeth,” exclaimed Georgiana with a sisterly chuckle of understanding, “if you truly feel this way about my brother, I will make sure that the two of you are properly chaperoned at all times.”
“It is not just for me but for society as a whole,” announced Elizabeth as she let the seriousness of her concern wash over her. “We are both of us in mourning, and, for me, it will be more than a year before any outward expression of true feelings could ever be made known. I do not know if your brother would be willing to wait. And, I will not break the demands of mourning for my selfish pleasure.”
Very slowly dragging her gaze from the foot of her bed to look squarely into Georgiana’s face she continued, “Anything truly good is worth waiting for. But, Georgiana, we are talking in the truly hypothetical. I do not even know for sure how your brother feels. I feel so utterly foolish.”
“Don’t! You simply sound like . . . like someone in love,” responded Georgiana as she tenderly touched Elizabeth’s cheek as she lovingly pulled a stray curl away from her face. “I need to speak with my brother. Sleep now and I will come to you again after you have rested.”
“What do you intend to say to him?” queried Elizabeth, with more than a little concern reflected in her voice.
“Not a word of anything that you have made known to me. But I may ask a question or two of you later,” Georgiana answered merrily.
Elizabeth slowly nodded her agreement, then sipped the cup of tea that Mrs. Wyatt had prepared with chamomile, peppermint and lemon, and sweetened with honey. Once the pillows were removed from behind her, she lay flat on the bed to let soothing sleep relieve her headache. Meanwhile, Georgiana went to her brother’s study and knocked on the door. When she heard his “Come,” she entered and quietly closed and locked the door behind her. She did not want any possibility of interruption as she talked with him.
“Wills?” she questioned, as she swiftly began walking toward his desk. “How do you feel about Elizabeth Mills?”
“What do you mean?” he responded, then lowered his head back to the work on his desk.
“It is a simple question. How do you feel about Elizabeth Mills?”
He stood from his desk and slowly walked to the window overlooking the flower garden behind Darcy House, “Why do you ask?”
Georgiana walked to where he stood and began to gaze through the window herself, “Enough, Wills. How do you feel . . .”
“Is this really necessary?” interrupted Darcy, as he strode back to his desk.
Unwilling to verbally spar with her brother when so much was at stake, she turned from the window to look in his direction and simply asked, “Are you in love with Elizabeth Mills?”
Darcy finally leaned back in his chair and began to choose his words carefully, “Georgiana, I hardly know the woman and have never even spoken to her. I . . .”
Georgiana cut in impatiently, “Well, are you?”
Darcy leapt to his feet and exclaimed, “YES. God help me, but I am.”
“Good,” replied Georgiana, her skirts brushing the floor as she calmly walked from the window to place her hand compassionately on his shoulder.
“WHAT? Is that all? How could you ask such a question of me?”
“Because . . . because I had to know for sure. I would like to meet with you in Elizabeth’s bedchamber after she wakes from her nap. I will come for you then.”
Darcy nodded his head in agreement, and closed his eyes as Georgiana left his study. Only a few minutes later, he responded to another knock on the door, and when it opened, he saw little Thomas’ nurse with a child’s hand held in each of her own. “Mr. Darcy, with all of the excitement this morning the children could not come down from the nursery, and now Mrs. Mills sleep, so the children could not go to her. Your daughter led me down the stairs and to your study. Please forgive me. If they are an intrusion, I will take them back to the nursery,” she explained.
“No. No. Not at all,” he replied, as he held out his arms toward the two.
They promptly ran to Darcy, who had gotten down on his knee to gather them into a hug. Then standing, with one child in each arm, he carried them down the stairs, and out to the flower garden, as the nurse followed quickly behind them. He found the ball that had been abandoned days earlier and rolled it back and forth between the two. When one of the horses in the stable whinnied, he took both children by the hand and walked to the stable with them.
The groomsmen all greeted him cheerfully and smiled as he walked by with the children in tow. Coming to the stall of the pony that Georgiana had outgrown, he asked a groomsman to bring the animal out so that the children could see it. The young man quickly harnessed the pony and threw a blanket over its back. When Darcy saw the blanket, he knew that the groomsman had anticipated what he planned and thanked the young man for his foresight. As the pony lowered her head to the children, they ran th
eir small hands over her nose and smiled.
While the pony was held securely, Darcy seated Anne Elizabeth on the blanket astride the pony. Then, he picked up little Thomas and seated him directly behind her. He indicated that the groomsman should slowly walk the pony forward, standing ready to remove either one or both of the children should they become afraid. But, both children simply squealed with delight. After a few minutes, Darcy gently lifted them to the ground, and tousled their hair as he chuckled, “Well, it appears that I will need to start looking for ponies for the both of you.”
Then, having released the children back into the care of the nurse, he walked determinedly back to the stables to talk with his stable master about starting the search for the ponies. They had to be docile and well trained, just like the one he had found for Georgiana those many years ago, so he directed that the search might begin with that particular breeder.
As he continued to think about the ponies, he realized that he would need to acquire a riding habit for his daughter and thought to himself that perhaps Georgiana’s modiste would accept the commission of a tiny riding habit: something made in emerald green to match Anne Elizabeth’s eyes. Yes. He would have to talk to Georgiana about that.
Not long after he went back to his study, Mrs. Wyatt brought him a cold tray along with tea. Now, as he ate his luncheon, he caught himself looking at the clock. As time slowly ticked by, he kept thinking, “Is Elizabeth awake yet? When will Georgiana come for me?”
Suddenly, he pushed all of his work to the side of his desk, for he knew that he could not concentrate on it now. When he rose from his seat and walked to the window, he became aware of the faint fragrance of lavender coming from the bowl on the low table just in front of where he stood. He took a deep breath letting the scent settle over him. Lavender had always calmed him, just like the presence of his mother had. Lavender . . . that had been his mother’s scent and that was Elizabeth’s scent as well.
He went back to the big chair behind his desk, sat down, and, leaning his head back, placed his feet on the corner of the desk and closed his eyes. He could be patient now as he waited for Georgiana.
∞∞∞
She came to him about a quarter hour before two and led him up to Elizabeth’s bedchamber, where he found Aunt Eleanor, Cousin Anne, Aunt Lilly, and Elizabeth’s sister Mary seated in no particular arrangement yet close enough to Elizabeth to easily engage in conversation.
Darcy immediately looked to his sister with puzzlement and a bit of trepidation, but he saw on her face a pleasant half-smile and a look that spoke “Trust me” in her eyes.
Once they were both inside the room, she closed the door firmly. Looking toward Elizabeth, and with a somewhat formal tone, she announced, “Mrs. Elizabeth Mills, I would like to introduce you to my brother, Fitzwilliam Darcy.” As Darcy bowed, she turned to him and announced, “Brother, I would like to introduce you to Mrs. Elizabeth Mills. As you know she has been injured and cannot curtsy in return.” Darcy was not sure what Georgiana was up to, and he was even less sure that he was going to like it.
As she directed him to the chair closest to Elizabeth’s bedside, she spoke softly, “Brother, I have reserved a chair for you, and as soon as you are seated, we will begin.”
Darcy sat in the proffered chair, and his eyes were immediately drawn to Elizabeth’s. Still aware of how movement could send her head spinning, she had let her own eyes follow his movement across the room and now slowly turned her head to meet his gaze. He leaned his head forward slightly to address her. “Mrs. Mills, may I call you Elizabeth?”
She responded with a dazzling smile, “Only if I may call you William.”
“Elizabeth, are you familiar with ‘Sonnet 57’ by Shakespeare?”
“I am,” she countered. “And William, are you familiar with Donne’s ‘The Dreame’?”
“I am,” he responded with a smile of his own every bit as bright as the one she had trained on him.
The others in the room thought that Darcy and Elizabeth must have been speaking is some sort of code, but Georgiana instantly recalled both pieces of literature, smiled and cleared her throat softly to draw their attention.
“Brother, I need to ask you something very important, and I hope that you will answer honestly,” she inquired as he looked at her. Somehow, he knew exactly what she was going to ask, and before she spoke, he turned back to look into Elizabeth’s face.
“Brother, are you in love with Mrs. Elizabeth Mills?”
The other four women in the room gave a collective gasp of disbelief, as Aunt Eleanor remonstrated in her most serious manner, “Georgiana, what is this?”
“A moment, please, Aunt,” Georgiana elaborated, “I have yet to hear Wills answer.”
“I am,” he replied never taking his eyes away from Elizabeth’s.
“Good,” stated Georgiana succinctly. “Now, Elizabeth, are you in love with my brother, Fitzwilliam Darcy?”
Without hesitation and with a broad smile, she replied, “I am,” never once taking her eyes away from Darcy’s.
“Good,” replied Georgiana again as she continued her questioning in a manner that would have done Mr. Grove proud. “William, are you willing to wait for more than a year for her? Until both your mourning period and hers are complete?”
“Georgiana, I have waited a lifetime for her. One more year is only a trifle,” he proclaimed, as he watched a tear trace its path down Elizabeth’s cheek.
As the four “witnesses” sat stunned, Darcy slowly reached over and used his thumb to wipe away the glistening trail, murmuring, “Please, do not cry.”
“But they are tears of happiness,” she sobbed as she reached up to grasp his hand in hers, “for I have waited a lifetime for you as well.”
Georgiana turned to the four women and, with her own eyes full of unshed tears and a slight quiver in her voice, addressed them, “Aunt Eleanor, Cousin Anne, my soon Aunt Lilly, and my soon sister Mary, we have a great challenge before us.”
They stared at her with varying degrees of bewilderment as she explained, “We are going to be involved in a more than yearlong ‘secret’ courtship.
“The rules of mourning are very stringent, and I, for one, would not want any hint of impropriety to be associated with either my brother or Elizabeth. It is going to be necessary for someone to be with them each and every time that they are in the company of one another . . . whether in the privacy of their homes or in public. Fortunately, with balls and dances forbidden, it will be a bit easier. But there will be dinners and soirees, some with family members and friends, some with business associates, and others with members of the “ton,” so you see the dilemma at hand.”
Aunt Eleanor was the first to respond, her head held high and chin set, “Georgiana, you can count on your uncle and me, and I will volunteer my two sons, David and Richard, when they are available.”
Anne looked toward Darcy and Elizabeth and almost giggled with happiness, “I will do my part when I am in town or should they visit Rosings Park, and I will volunteer Charlotte if she is agreeable.”
Aunt Lilly was so happy she could not speak at first. When she did, happiness caused her voice to quiver, “You know that Mr. Gardiner, ‘your soon to be’ Uncle Edward, and I will ‘chaperone’ whenever we can. And, I know that Mr. Fleming and Gabby, and her sisters would be willing. I can guarantee that their discretion is impeccable.”
As Mary’s emotions became obvious, Georgiana threw her arms around her and hugged her close. Quietly, but with great enthusiasm, Mary answered, “I can only offer myself, but I am quite sure that Charles and Jane will be more than willing to assist as well once she is feeling better.”
“Then it is settled,” declared Georgiana, eyes shining. “Wills. Lizzy. We are all so very happy. But be forewarned, the two of you may grow weary of us, for until both of you complete your period of mourning, you will never, ever be alone.”
As Darcy turned back to face Elizabeth, Georgiana caught her eye and winked. Eli
zabeth simply smiled, but forgot and moved too quickly as she turned back to look at Darcy. This time it was he who grasped the basin, lovingly held her hair away from her face, and then very gently wiped her mouth with a damp cloth. When she finally leaned back on the pillows, he confided, “Well, I neither anticipated the nature of Georgiana’s meeting nor that the outcome would be so favourable. So, I will have to admit to a bit of maneuvering on my part.”
Georgiana gazed at him with a troubled look, until he explained himself, “This morning, I took the children to the stable and showed them Georgiana’s pony.” Looking sheepishly toward Elizabeth, he continued, “I even allowed them to ride her while a groomsman led the pony and I walked beside. They both enjoyed it so much that I have sent out a request for two ponies. I want to teach them to ride and then the four of us,” as he raised his arm to encompass everyone present, he continued, “and company can ride in the park or at Netherfield or at Rosings or at Pemberley. You ride, do you not Elizabeth?”
