Two Days Before Christmas

by Leenie Brown

He ignored her and walked to the window. “Your brother is truly put out?”

  “He is!” cried Louisa. “Did he not seem so to you?”

  “I have not seen him,” Darcy admitted.

  “Count yourself fortunate,” Louisa continued. “He shouted about needing to learn estate management and how it could not be managed from town. Then he started in on how he had not taken proper leave of his new acquaintances and moved into something about servants who were depending upon him for their livelihoods. And then, he grabbed his hat and coat and flew out of the house saying he would speak to you and set things right.”

  “I was indisposed when he arrived,” Darcy muttered. He had not thought Bingley would be quite so distraught about his neighbours and servants. Letters could be sent to neighbours, and servants could be kept on. It was not as if Bingley had to be there for them to go about their duties. Both Pemberley and Darcy House still employed staff even when their master was not in residence. It was not the same as employing a worker in a mill or shop who only worked when the place of business was open. “And he would not come with you today?”

  “He is rather put out,” said Louisa.

  Darcy leaned against the window frame. Hopefully, he had not lost a dear friend. That thought was just as jarring as the tears he had witnessed in his sister’s eyes a few moments ago. He shook his head. Apparently, he had made a rather large mess of things.

  “He was growing far too attached to the area,” said Caroline. “We have done him a service in separating him from it. The neighbourhood was not fit for one such as he. If we had remained, he would likely become just as repugnant as the rest.”

  Darcy tilted his head and studied Caroline. She was looking very pleased with herself. “Not everyone was distasteful. I remember you and Mrs. Hurst found Miss Bennet to be to your liking.”

  Caroline tittered. “She was the most superior lady in the area, but that does not mean she is to be our equal.”

  Darcy’s brows furrowed. Miss Bennet was a gentleman’s daughter, and as such, she was not Caroline’s equal but rather outranked her.

  “And our brother can surely do better than a penniless country nobody,” Caroline added. “No matter how prettily she smiles.”

  “I suppose you are correct,” Darcy muttered uneasily. He had disparaged Miss Bennet and her connections as readily as Caroline when he was convincing himself that removal from Netherfield was necessary, but hearing Caroline speaking now, it struck him how very arrogant it sounded. Again, he considered just what sort of muddle he had created.

  “You said just as much, did you not?” Louisa asked.

  Darcy nodded. Bingley had the wealth to attract a greater connection, that much was true. However, having spent the last two days in agony, attempting to rid his heart of its desire for a lady who did not even smile at him as Miss Bennet did Bingley, he was beginning to rethink his assessment. He rubbed that pounding place between his eyes. There was no reconciling his heart and his head while here in town. He needed peace and quiet and days of roads between him and Hertfordshire to accomplish such a task.

  “I cannot see how a gentleman’s daughter is not good enough,” said Georgiana, who had just entered the room during the last exchange.

  “Georgiana,” Darcy cautioned.

  She raised a brow and flipped her head. “Why I am only a gentleman’s daughter,” she said as she took a seat.

  “But a wealthy one,” said Louisa, “and with relations that are titled.”

  Georgiana shrugged and fixed her brother with a piercing stare. “Then I suppose I shall have to be content to be sold to the gentleman most in need of my wealth and standing no matter where my heart might lie.”

  “Georgiana,” Darcy scolded. “That is not what was said.”

  “Was it not?” She fluttered her lashes at him, gave him a small smile, and said, “Then, I do apologize,” before turning from him and, to his great annoyance, ignoring him as much as she was able for the remainder of Caroline and Louisa’s call.

  ~*~*~

  “Georgiana,” Darcy called as his sister passed the door to his study later that day.

  Georgiana took four more steps before stopping and abandoning her plan to ignore his summons. There was no need to stir his ire any further; he was likely angry enough with her for her recent behaviour. She had not seen him scowl as much as he had during Caroline and Louisa’s call in a very long time.

  “You wished to see me?” she asked from the doorway.

  “Come in and sit down.” He leaned back in his chair and waited for her to comply. “Your behavior today was quite disturbing.”

  Georgiana bit her lower lip and lowered her gaze to her hands.

  “It is completely unacceptable for you to speak as you did — and in front of guests!” He rose and came to stand before her. “It was disrespectful. I expect so much more from you. Where have I erred?”

  Georgiana peeked up at him. He was propped against his desk with his arms folded across his chest, looking down at her with such a sad expression that it nearly destroyed her determination to press her point. However, if she truly wished to see that heartbroken look in his eyes removed forever, she must not waiver. Therefore, looking down once again at her hands, which were nervously twisting in her lap, she answered. “Our parents, as well as you yourself, have taught me that a Darcy’s word is to be steadfast. I am to consider promises carefully before I make them because a promise should not be broken save for the noblest of reasons.”

  “This is true,” Darcy muttered.

  Georgiana lifted her eyes to his. “That is where you have erred. You promised Mr. Bingley that if he leased Netherfield, you would spend the autumn and most of the winter seeing that he had things well-in-hand before Easter, yet you have come home and refuse to return to Netherfield for who knows what reason.” She lifted a brow. “I truly do not believe it is to save him from a lady who is beneath him.”

  “None of that explains your behaviour.”

  “No, it does not,” Georgiana agreed. “But it is my answer to your question. You have not erred with me. I know my behavior was wanting and drastically so. However, it seemed the best way to capture your attention and get you to listen to me.” She stood and placed her hands on his folded arms. “You are my brother, and I love you with all my heart and hold you in the highest regard. You have cared well for me. You have even saved me from certain ruin. I wish to repay your kindness if only I knew how.”

  He pulled his arms out from under her grasp and opened them wide to her in invitation. Gladly, she stepped into his embrace.

  “Let me love you,” she whispered. “Allow me to care for you and point out your errors when I see them. I am not the foolish girl I once was.” She lay her head against his broad chest and listened to him pull in a deep breath and expel it in a whoosh.

  “We are all fools at times,” he murmured as he squeezed her tight. “If there was a way for you to assist me with my current dilemma, I would gladly seek your help, but I fear there is not.”

  “You will not keep your promise to Bingley?” she asked quietly.

  He sighed. “Your point was valid. I shall consider it.”

  “Are you still leaving?”

  His grip on her tightened. “I do not know. I long to leave, to be far away from…” his voice trailed off and the room was silent for half a minute. “I will consider staying, but I cannot promise beyond that.”

  “I am sorry,” she said.

  “You are forgiven,” he replied.

  She shook her head as he released her. “Not just for my behaviour.”

  “Then what?” he asked as she moved toward the door.

  “That I could not save your heart from breaking.” She smiled a sad, knowing smile at him as she said the words that he had repeated to her over and over again after her ordeal with Wickham. He stood quietly, looking at her as if he was uncertain if he should acknowledge that what she had said was true or false. “It is in your eyes, Fitzwilliam. Your
heartache is in your eyes,” she whispered and took her leave.

  Chapter 3

  “Are you ready?” Mrs. Annesley poked her head into Georgiana’s room.

  Georgiana giggled at the unmistakable note of excitement in her companion’s voice. “As you can see,” she replied, checking her reflection one more time in the mirror. She always wished to look her best, but today, she felt particularly nervous about her appearance. It was not often you presented yourself without an invitation to a person you did not know in hopes of gaining her assistance.

  “You are the picture of propriety and elegance,” Mrs. Annesley said as she stood in the open doorway to Georgiana’s room. “Your green wrap sets off your hair quite nicely, and that hairstyle is very becoming.” She waggled her eyebrows and tipped her head toward the stairs.

  Georgiana giggled once again. Mrs. Annesley had been surprisingly animated ever since they had laid their plan to see Fitzwilliam happy. Schemes, Mrs. Annesley had assured her charge, were her speciality when she was a girl. Often, she managed to conduct them without getting into trouble, but not always, which, she said was part of the thrill of it all. Of course, after such a confession, she had to remind Georgiana that schemes were really not the thing for a proper young lady who wished to keep her reputation spotless and her brother from scolding. However, it was allowable this once because the cause was a benevolent one, and apparently, it also helped the permissibility of a scheme to include one’s companion instead of undertaking it on one’s own. It had been rather entertaining listening to Mrs. Annesley go around in circles about their plan — lauding it one moment and cautioning the next.

  “You look very respectable yourself,” Georgiana said as she joined her companion in the hall. “The blue of your pelisse is just the perfect shade to declare you serious and austere, while the red trim on your bonnet adds a hint of dashing style that proclaims you are not retiring and should not be overlooked.”

  Mrs. Annesley chuckled softly. “One should not flatter,” she said. “Unless it is to hurry your charge away from her mirror.”

  The two ladies descended the stairs quickly and slipped out the front door without having to stop and explain their outing. That would be tricky enough to do later when they returned, but to start a mission having to fudge and prevaricate without being outright dishonest would have removed a great deal of the fun of an undertaking such as they were beginning.

  “You’ll not say a word?” Mrs. Annesley questioned their driver a second time before entering the carriage.

  “Not a word, ma’am.” He tipped his hat to Georgiana. “I think it’s a right fine thing you are attempting if I do say so myself. The master smiles far too little on a sunny day. He doesn’t need any clouds of my creation.”

  “Thank you, Harris,” Georgiana said before climbing into the carriage ahead of her companion.

  “Are you ready?” Mrs. Annesley said as she settled herself into the carriage.

  Georgiana nodded enthusiastically. “Let the games begin.”

  They travelled to a shop and purchased some perfume and cream as well as a new pair of gloves as a present for Fitzwilliam. Georgiana had noticed the sad state of his gloves yesterday when they had gone to church and had decided a new pair would be just the thing to surprise him with on Christmas morning. Having made their purchases, the two ladies settled in as comfortably as two anxious and excited schemers could for the remainder of their ride to the address on Gracechurch Street that Bingley had given them as they were leaving church yesterday morning.

  Mrs. Annesley peeked out the window as the carriage began to slow. “It is a fine looking home,” she said as Georgiana joined her at the window. The Gardiner’s townhouse was not grand nor was it small, but it was well-kept, and the knocker on the front door reflected the light of the midday sun.

  “This is a very good sign, is it not?” Georgiana asked.

  “Indeed it is,” her companion agreed. “They are quite likely very respectable people and, I suspect, of substantial means.”

  Georgiana’s heart raced. “I have never spoken to anyone about him,” she whispered as she and Mrs. Annesley stood before the door to the Gardiner’s home.

  “You do not have to say anything if you do not feel it is right,” Mrs. Annesley cautioned. “Only share as you feel comfortable.”

  Georgiana nodded and took a deep fortifying breath as the door opened and Mrs. Annesley requested to speak with Mrs. Gardiner. They waited in a narrow corridor while the housekeeper inquired if her mistress would receive them. There was a scurrying of feet above them and a calling from one child to another followed by a hearty and delighted giggle that caused Georgiana to smile. She could see a maid, sweeping ashes from the hearth in the room next to them, and once the noise from above subsided, Georgiana could hear her humming a tune as she worked. This seemed to be a happy home. That along with the tidiness and smart decor spoke well of the people who lived here.

  “This way, ma’am,” the housekeeper said, leading them into a cozy family sitting room rather than the more formal one across the corridor from it.

  It felt odd to Georgiana to be welcomed by a complete stranger into the heart of where a family spent their time. Even in her friend’s homes, she was entertained in the formal sitting room during calling hours.

  “Please, be seated,” a lady dressed in a modern and stylish blue morning dress and white cap greeted them. “It is such a pleasure to have a full sitting room.”

  “We appreciate your receiving my companion and myself,” Georgiana said as she took a seat and glanced curiously at the other two ladies in the room.

  “Miss Darcy, Miss Annesley, may I present my nieces, Miss Jane Bennet and Miss Elizabeth Bennet,” Mrs. Gardiner said by way of introduction.

  Georgiana’s mouth dropped open. “Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth?” she repeated, looking from one Bennet sister to the other.

  “Yes, that is who we are,” said Elizabeth.

  Taking note of how Miss Elizabeth’s eyes danced with humor and her lips curled ever so slightly upwards, Georgiana gave her head a little shake of amazement. “You are just as he described,” she muttered.

  “I beg your pardon?” Elizabeth asked.

  Georgiana started and, recollecting herself from her shock at seeing the very person about whom she wished to speak to Mrs. Gardiner sitting before her, flushed with embarrassment. “I do apologize, but my brother has written me so much about you.”

  “Mr. Darcy has told you about me?” Elizabeth asked in surprise.

  “Yes, in each of his letters.”

  Elizabeth’s brows furrowed.

  “Oh, do not worry, he wrote only lovely things,” Georgiana said in an effort to assuage Miss Elizabeth’s concern, but instead of having a relaxing effect, her comment seemed to deepen Miss Elizabeth’s confusion.

  “Mr. Darcy?” Elizabeth’s tone was one of complete and utter disbelief.

  “Yes,” Georgiana replied.

  “Huh,” was the only reply Elizabeth made as if she was at a loss for how best to respond to such news.

  Georgiana looked at her companion, silently begging her to supply some direction in which to proceed.

  “We must apologize for intruding on you when you have family visiting,” Mrs. Annesley said to Mrs. Gardiner.

  “Yes,” Georgiana said with a small smile of gratitude. “It is perhaps a bit forward to call without any previous acquaintance, but I assure you we came today with a noble purpose in mind.” Her heart began fluttering again as she considered the topic she was about to broach. As always happened when her heart began to flutter as it was, her hands followed suit and began to twist in her lap.

  “Have you just arrived in town?” Mrs. Annesley placed a hand on Georgiana’s while she asked the question of Miss Bennet.

  “We arrived on Saturday,” Jane replied.

  “And was it a pleasant trip?” Mrs. Annesley asked.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “Will you be stayin
g in town for long?” Mrs. Annesley gave Georgiana’s hand one last pat.

  “My nieces will be with us until we travel to Longbourn for Christmas,” Mrs. Gardiner said as a loud thud was heard overhead. “I will be grateful for the assistance with the children as we travel,” she added with a laugh. “We are expected in Hertfordshire two days before Christmas.”

  “Three weeks complete then. A very nice length of stay, is it not Miss Darcy?” Mrs. Annesley said with a delighted smile.

  “Oh, indeed it is,” Georgiana replied.

  “We always enjoy our time in town with our aunt and uncle,” Jane assured them as tea, and a plate of sweets was set on a small round table near Mrs. Gardiner. “Will you and your brother remain in town for Christmas?”

  “Our plans are not yet formed,” Georgiana replied. She thanked Mrs. Gardiner for the cup of tea, and then added, “I had hoped to convince him to take me to Netherfield with him so that I might meet you.”

  “Indeed?” Jane said in surprise. “I had heard he was not planning to return.”

  Georgiana’s lips pursed slightly with displeasure. “Yes, I have heard that as well.” She tipped her head. “Did he tell you he was not returning?”

  “No,” Elizabeth replied, “Miss Bingley informed us that she, Mr. Bingley, Mr. and Mrs. Hurst, and Mr. Darcy would not be returning.”

  Georgiana smiled. “Well, that does sound like something Miss Bingley would do. She is very good at arranging things to suit her desires. However, I know on at least one count that she is wrong.” She gasped. “Oh, dear. This is not good.” She turned to Mrs. Annesley. “When did Mr. Bingley say he was leaving town? It was today, was it not?”

  “Oh, my, yes. He is likely halfway to Netherfield by now,” her companion replied.

  “He was returning?”

  Mrs. Annesley smiled at Jane. “Yes, my dear, he had a particular reason for returning, but I imagine since you are in town, he will not remain at Netherfield long.” She placed her cup of tea on its saucer and balanced it on her knees.

  “He was returning to Netherfield for me?”