Darcy flew down the grand staircase, skipping steps as he descended. Darcy realized he need not have worried as he had managed to ready himself before the ladies. At the bottom of the staircase, Darcy took a deep breath and exhaled. As he waited for the ladies, Darcy paced, his pulse racing. He could hardly wait to look at her, talk to her, be near her. His head snapped up at the sound of giggling, and there was Elizabeth, her hair arranged in a becoming style that left shining curls framing her face and flowing down her back. Her burgundy dress with its fitted bodice and square neckline draped her body and was at once modest and provocative. Darcy swallowed, tugged at his trousers, took a steadying breath, and stepped forward.
“Good evening, Georgiana, you look lovely,” Darcy bowed and kissed her gloved hand.
“Good evening, Brother.” Georgiana responded, giggling.
Turning to Elizabeth, Darcy fixed her with an intense gaze, then bowed and kissed her hand. “Good evening, Miss Bennet. You look very lovely. I am glad you are to join us.”
Elizabeth curtsied and flushed, “Good evening, Mr. Darcy, and I thank you for the compliment.
Darcy offered an arm to each. “May I say I am the most fortunate man in the kingdom to have two such lovely dinner companions.”
Elizabeth smiled and arched her brow, “How shall you ever bear such good fortune, sir? Shall Georgiana and I remind you at the start of each course so that you do not squander such a blessing?”
Darcy’s lips curled into a half-smile, and he stared at her. Every other woman would have played the coquette with his blatant flirting, but here was Elizabeth, with no artifice, staring boldly and rising to the challenge.
Georgiana’s giggle shook Darcy from his trance. “I yield to your superior wisdom, Miss Bennet,” Darcy smiled.
Darcy had elected to dine in the small dining room, and the staff had placed touches throughout the room that made it sparkle with elegance. Darcy took his seat with Elizabeth to his left and Georgiana to his right. When he lowered his large frame into the chair, his knee brushed Elizabeth’s leg. He cleared his throat, suddenly very warm.
“Mr. Darcy, thank you again, sir, for allowing me to stay in your beautiful home. I continue to marvel at its elegance.”
“Thank you, Miss Bennet. But as to your stay, the pleasure is ours; I assure you.”
“Yes, Elizabeth, it has already been a pleasure to have you here. I hope you enjoy your stay,” Georgiana said.
Elizabeth smiled, “If I had not already looked forward to being in your excellent company, I daresay the library alone would have ensured my enjoyment! What a marvelous collection. I was tempted to believe that I had died and gone to a particular type of heaven for bibliophiles!”
Darcy smiled as he remembered Elizabeth standing in his library, turning slowly in a circle. “I daresay your look was heavenly,” Elizabeth’s eyes widened as she stared into his intense blue gaze, then she quickly looked at her plate.
“Might we discuss books in the dining room, Miss Bennet, since you have formerly censured their discussion in the ballroom?” Mr. Darcy said with a serious voice but a gleam in his eye, recalling their conversation at the Netherfield ball.
Elizabeth chuckled, “Indeed, Mr. Darcy, books are an appropriate discussion in the dining room among friends.” Elizabeth tilted her head and looked up, “What say you to discussing philosophy for the beef course, history for the fish, poetry for the vegetable course, and novels for dessert?”
For the first time in a very long time, Mr. Darcy laughed out loud. “Miss Bennet, your accomplishments know no bounds. I did not know that literature had a perfect culinary counterpart!” He smiled, alluring dimples and all, and looked unwaveringly at her.
Elizabeth sucked in her breath and glanced away.
“And of what shall we discuss if we serve mutton, Miss Bennet?”
Elizabeth placed her finger on her chin, “Satire!” she said, her eyes sparkling as she suddenly recalled that Mr. Darcy did not like mutton. Darcy laughed again, looking unabashedly into Elizabeth’s face. Suddenly thirsty, Elizabeth broke the contact and reached a slightly trembling hand for her wine glass.
Georgiana’s head had snapped up upon hearing her brother laugh the first time, at the sound of the second – a slow smile spread over her face.
After dinner, back in her chambers, Elizabeth sat brushing her hair. Dinner had been surprisingly agreeable; Mr. Darcy had been charming. Elizabeth had not one opportunity to punish him with her wit for his arrogance. A knock on an interior door caused Elizabeth to swivel sharply toward the sound. “Enter,” she called quickly and then frowned as she realized she did not know to what the door adjoined or who sought entry. Stepping rapidly toward the door, Elizabeth relaxed and smiled when she saw Georgiana peek hesitantly through it.
“Georgiana! Come in! I did not know that your room adjoined with mine!”
Georgiana beamed in response to Elizabeth’s welcome. “It does not exactly. This room adjoins the sitting room that is attached to both rooms. Come see.”
Elizabeth joined Georgiana in the doorway and peered into another large, elegant, and warmly appointed room, with multiple seating arrangements, a fireplace, and bookshelves.
“What a lovely room!”
“My room is just through that door,” Georgiana pointed to a door on the opposite wall. “My brother arranged it for my particular use. This room was once another bedchamber, but Brother had the doors placed so that the rooms connect.”
“How kind.”
“Yes, he is the kindest brother.” Georgiana frowned and turned away. “Although I do not deserve it,” Georgiana muttered.
“Whatever do you mean?”
Georgiana sighed, “I once had a particular friend. After my father died, I, I, I did not make friends easily.” Georgiana looked down and wrung her hands. “I should not trouble you with it,” she peeked at Elizabeth, then down again.
“You should not speak if you would rather not, but if it is something you want to share, I will gladly listen.”
Georgiana searched Elizabeth’s face then sighed and spoke, “No, I want to, you know, to have courage.” Elizabeth nodded. “Two summers past, a family with two daughters leased an estate near Pemberley. I met them at a picnic. The youngest, Cecily was my age, and we became the best of friends. Cecily’s family returned to town when we did, and when brother saw how happy I was, Cecily was invited here – and then she was here all the time. We laughed and planned our coming out and took our lessons together. I could not recall a time when I was happier, except for when my father was alive.” Georgiana blinked away tears and breathed deeply. “Brother was thrilled that I was so happy. I think he always felt guilty that I only had him, but I was always so concerned that somehow, I would lose him, too. Anyway,” Georgiana shook her head, “Brother combined the rooms so that when Cecily stayed, we could go from room to room using the interior doors. She was more than a friend; it was what I imagined it would have been like if I had had a sister,” Georgiana sighed and closed her eyes.
Elizabeth followed Georgiana into the sitting room and watched as she plopped on a plush couch. Elizabeth sat slowly next to her and waited. “On one visit her older sister came – uninvited. It was most disconcerting, but Fitzwilliam was away for the day, and I did not have the heart to deny her.” Georgiana paused, her face twisted, “Oh, Elizabeth!” she blurted, “it was simply awful.”
Elizabeth laid a hand on Georgiana’s shoulder, “What happened?”
Georgiana turned – crying now. “When Fitzwilliam returned, it was already dark and too late to return the eldest home.” Georgiana paused, wringing her hands and biting her lip, “I should not say.”
“Georgiana, you need not speak if it causes you distress,” Elizabeth said as she patted Georgiana’s shoulder.
Georgiana looked at Elizabeth for a while, then suddenly her shoulders relaxed, and she breathed deeply. “No,” she said, her voice stronger now, “I want t
o continue; I must tell someone, even if you think me foolish when I am done. That is courage, is it not?”
“Georgiana, it is not courage if you feel forced, so please do not think you must share to be or to prove that you are courageous. I already know you are. And whatever you choose, I will not think badly of you. Whatever happened, you were so young.”
Georgiana nodded, “I understand, and I do not feel forced, quite the opposite; I want to speak.” Georgiana exhaled. “Because Fitzwilliam wanted Cecily and me to be close, the room you now share is, of course, in the family wing. Fitzwilliam’s rooms are down the hall. Emily, Cecily’s sister, started asking questions about brother, his habits, when he broke his fast, when he rode out, even when he liked to retire,” Georgiana looked up at Elizabeth. “She, she even asked me to allow her to peek into his room. She said it would be diverting, like when we were children and spied upon our parents – all children do it, she said. Emily wanted us to be like sisters, and since Fitzwilliam is my guardian, it would almost be like spying on a parent.” Georgiana shrugged, “I have never had a sibling other than brother, and he is almost like a father to me, and Emily was so persuasive, and it felt good just not being alone,” Georgiana sighed. “I should have known better. I, I, thought it a bit strange and rather annoying but nothing else, I promise,” Georgiana stated wide-eyed.
“Of course, dearest,” Elizabeth patted her hand.
Georgiana exhaled, “With brother still away, I did not think it could be too much harm just to peek. So, we giggled all the way to his door, and I opened it just enough for a quick look when Emily pushed the door open and walked in! I begged her to leave because his valet could come at any moment. Instead, she stood in the center and turned in a slow circle. It was as if she could not hear my pleading. Finally, she just walked out without a word.”
Elizabeth tensed, and her heart thumped wildly.
“When brother returned the next day, there was a terrible storm, and the sisters stayed another night. All day, Emily watched brother, intruded in his conversations, and tried to sit near him.” Georgiana swallowed, and her voice became soft. “That night, I heard a commotion in the hall and peeked out my door and Emily stood outside my brother’s room in the sheerest gown I had ever seen! My brother’s valet stood in the door of Fitzwilliam’s chamber, and Mrs. Pennington was leading a pouting Emily away.”
“Elizabeth, she tried to compromise Fitzwilliam! It seems that she spotted a place to hide when she was there earlier.”
“How awful!” Elizabeth exclaimed.
“Samuels, my brother’s valet, had been in the dressing room earlier and heard us in brother’s room. Fitzwilliam slept in another room that night, and Samuels stayed in brother’s dressing room while Mrs. Pennington waited in a room across the hall. Elizabeth, she had only pretended to be my friend. She used me to try and compromise my brother. And the worst part,” Georgiana inhaled, “I did not even know it.” She shook her head, “She never liked me. I should not be surprised; I have ever been shy and dull.”
“Georgiana, do not speak so! That is untrue! You are delightful and kind, and Emily used you ill. Peeking into your brother’s chambers would have been a rather harmless prank if not for Emily’s deception. You are not dull for wanting to please a friend. Why, my sister, Kitty is often roped into the antics of my youngest sister, just to be accepted. No dearest, you are not dull, just in need of a true friend, like all of us.”
“But how will I know?” Georgiana furrowed her brow. “How will I know when someone wants to be my friend or if they just want to be near my brother or the Darcy wealth?”
“Well,” Elizabeth’s brow creased, “I am no expert, but I can tell you how I choose a friend.” Georgiana glanced up. “First, they will not want anything from you except to know you. They will be interested in your thoughts and respect your feelings. They will accept you as you are, even when you do other than what they want. Um, let us see. Yes! You will be peaceful around them, not as if you must change yourself to please them. Those are some of the things I look for in a friend.”
Georgiana was silent for a long while; finally, she nodded and smiled, “Thank you, Elizabeth. I am glad you are here.” She rose. “Good night...friend.”
As Elizabeth lay back in her bed, she reflected upon Georgiana’s story, and her heart broke for the young, orphaned girl, so in need of a friend. She would be that if she could. Elizabeth also thought about Emily’s behavior and was appalled. If Emily had succeeded, Mr. Darcy’s life would have been altered, without his consent, forever. Elizabeth marveled at how one’s life could collide with someone of similar circumstances, but with a nefarious purpose, and how that collision could detrimentally change one’s life forever. For some reason, she felt a sense of foreboding.
Chapter Twelve
The first rays of sunlight filtered through the cracks in the curtain of Francesca Waters’ chambers illuminating her still sleeping form. Francesca’s eyes fluttered as her troubled sleep was forced away by the heat of the sun’s rays. She sat up quickly and looked about, clutching her heaving chest; then, she exhaled loudly as she recognized her chambers in the leased townhouse. Her relief was short lived though, for she recognized her chambers in the leased townhouse. She sighed and flopped back onto the bed, covering her face with a pillow. Darcy had not yet come – and Hayden would be hateful. She curled onto her side; how had her life come to this? She groaned as unpleasant memories escaped their confines.
“Repeat!” Giles Waters slammed the table with the stick causing the teacup to clatter and slosh liquid. Francesca jumped, her heart pounding in her chest. “You must hold your head higher and your back straighter!” Her husband’s face twisted in fury as he yelled. “You must look and walk like a well-bred lady since you are not one.” Trembling like a fragile leaf in an autumn storm, newly married Francesca squared her shoulders, lifted her head, and walked shakily across the floor while her husband of four weeks swept his gaze over the length of her body.
As she turned and walked back toward him, he rose, his gnarled hand gripped her arm, and he brought his once handsome, but now severely weathered face, close to her, “We will do this until you can represent me as I deserve. I will not have your lack of breeding sully my good name.” Giles dropped her arm and turned and looked at himself in the mirror. He straightened his perfect cravat, smoothed his flawless hair, and brushed imaginary lint from his impeccable coat. “Now, do it again.” Giles sat slowly, crossed his legs, and watched.
Francesca turned now onto her side and pulled the covers tight around her.
Back at Darcy house, the first rays of the sun filtered through the cracks in the curtain of Fitzwilliam Darcy’s chamber illuminating his still sleeping form. Darcy’s eyes fluttered as his peaceful slumber was teased awake by the warming rays of the sun. He stretched his long arms, a satisfied smiled gracing his face, his body not quite ready to relinquish the comforts of sleep. “Hmm,” Darcy murmured and wondered at the delicious sensation of peace that made his body feel as languid as a slow-moving stream. I have not slept so well since… Darcy struggled to remember when, and more importantly, why. His nights had been plagued by restlessness of late, why now? His brain, still being held lightly in the arms of slumber, struggled to answer.
Then Darcy sat straight up. Elizabeth is here! Elizabeth! Darcy’s face was lit with a grin that could rival Bingley’s. Beaming, Darcy leaned back upon the headboard and cupped his arms behind his head to re-live every moment with her, from the carriage ride, to the dinner, to the drawing room afterward.
“Really, Mr. Darcy? After so perfect a night, and after your sister has just played so brilliantly, you would taint it with my poor piano exhibit?”
She had looked at him with that bright smile and that impish twinkle, and he had wanted to carry her away to somewhere with just him and her and her smile and this maddening love. Instead, he had taken a breath and held her gaze, “Come, Miss Bennet, quit your teasing and delight us.�
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“Very well, but you cannot say I did not warn you.”
Darcy closed his eyes and moaned. She had played for him, well, that is the way it had felt to him. She had played for him and sang, her playing so passionate, her voice so clear and sweet. He had felt every sublime note in his soul and in his body. How he wanted her. Darcy pushed those thoughts from his mind and kicked the counterpane from him. A punishing ride through Rotten Row was just what he needed. He rang for his valet and hoped that he could manage a bit of alone time with Elizabeth.
The first rays of the sun filtered through the cracks in the curtain of Elizabeth Bennet’s guest chambers illuminating her still sleeping form. Elizabeth’s eyes fluttered as peaceful slumber was teased awake by the sun’s warming rays. She yawned and stretched as slowly as Longbourn’s barn cat receiving a fur rub. She sat up quickly and looked around; then, she smiled as she recognized her luxurious chambers in the Darcy townhome. Elizabeth flung the covers from her and skipped to the window and looked out at the beautiful lawn. She sighed and spun around. The foreboding from the night before swallowed up by the Spring sun and bright colors of the garden and her memories from last night’s time with Darcy and Georgiana.
“Superb, Georgiana!” Elizabeth exclaimed. Georgiana’s fingers had coaxed from the instrument the most sublime sounds.
“Indeed, excellently done, Sister” Darcy had joined in. Georgiana walked back to the sofa shyly but reveling in the praise. Then Darcy had turned to Elizabeth.
“Miss Bennet,” his deep baritone had caused her stomach to quiver, “will you play for us next?” He was gazing at her again with that incredibly beautiful gaze, and with that incredibly captivating half-smile, and Elizabeth had swallowed and spouted off some dribble about her playing ruining a perfect night. He had called her on her teasing and offered her his hand. His touch had both calmed and excited her, and she had poured all her sensations into her performance. When she was finished, she heard the applause, but it sounded far away as she looked into Mr. Darcy’s mesmerizing eyes.
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