A fair trade he’d thought. “I give the fortune hunter my fortune, and I gain in turn the woman who I have become infatuated with.”
Except she had never wanted what he offered.
That must have been a shock to him.
Poor Mr. Darcy. How he must have felt during their argument. Poor, poor man.
When she’d been out for about an hour, pacing a circle through a favorite grove of hers in the hill behind the house, Georgiana came out to see her and waved.
“Are you well, Lizzy?”
Elizabeth shrugged.
Georgiana watched how she hurried back and forth. “Have you been walking that fast this whole hour? — it is cold, you should come in.” Seeing that Elizabeth did come to follow her, Georgiana added in a sing-song tone, “Mulled wine and chocolate.”
“Not yet.”
“Do you wish to speak about it?”
“What right does he have to ask me to forgive him! Hewas my father. He shouldn’t need to be forgiven.”
“Come, come.” Georgiana hurried next to Elizabeth and stuck her arm through Elizabeth’s. “Let’s walk together a little.”
Elizabeth did not pull away.
There were several minutes of silence, and then Georgiana asked, “What did your father do to make you so mad?”
“He thought I was a fortune hunter. He accused me of using… I didn’t even want to marry your brother at the time. It was all a mistake.”
“What was?”
“Everything! We were in a room — arguing about Mr. Wickham of all persons, I believe — and then… then he looked at me in a way, and we stopped speaking, and… he kissed me.”
“What?” Georgiana was rather shocked by this part of the story, clearly. There was a reason Elizabeth had not told her before now.
“He believed I wished him to… despite everything, I rather did — this may be difficult for you to hear, Georgie, but your brother is a very handsome man.”
Georgiana laughed. “No, no, no! Nothing on that subject!”
“At the time I thought I disliked him.”
“What?” Another equally screechy response of shock from her friend.
“You may recall that story of how he had said I was not pretty enough to tempt him the first time we met.”
Long pause.
A slow nod from Georgiana. “That was… you did not think of it as a joke.”
“No, and at the time Mr. Darcy kissed me, I believed a lie Mr. Wickham had told about him, and further… he is very disdainful of those he sees below him. He still is.” Elizabethfrowned, thinking of how he had refused to meet with her aunt and uncle.
“He is not!” Georgiana replied hotly.
Elizabeth waved her hand. “I… let me speak clearer. Your brother is very kind to those who are his dependents. But amongst the gentry, it was clear in Meryton that he did not like to circulate as an equal with those who are independent gentlemen and gentlewomen, but who are not in his sphere. I think I know half of it — he has always been convinced that anyone who comes to him with friendship must wish to take advantage of him and use him in some way. No wonder he was such dear friends with Mr. Bingley, since Bingley is so friendly to everyone that he could not imagine that his friendliness was from any other motive than being friendly.”
Georgiana laughed. “That is very like Bingley.” Georgiana then lapsed into thought, her lips pressed tight. “It is true! Wickham wished to take advantage of me. Many people do.”
“Why have you never thought I was a fortune hunter? I at least do not think you have.”
