Elizabeth hesitantly dabbed the last of the blood from Georgiana’s split lip. “I think we are going to need a way to explain our current state.”
“Ah.” The girl gave a shaken little laugh. “How very clumsy of you to trip on that stone while you were out walking. A pity we both tumbled down the path as a result.”
Elizabeth arched a brow. “I suppose no one will disbelieve that I might be clumsy, but it will need more than a simple story. That is what I came to tell you—Jane and I have been invited to remove to Matlock. Margaret is already packing our trunks.”
Georgiana’s eyes widened, and the first flashes of regret shone in them. “Not today, you will not. I think you and I both need a good long soak and a bit of wine.”
Elizabeth tried to smile. “Is that an invitation or a threat?”
“Both.”
Chapter 24
Pemberley
“So…thatiswhyyou married Richard?” Georgiana asked in a tremulous voice.
“That is whyheoffered to marryme. I accepted because I saw no alternatives, and my family agreed.” Elizabeth looked down at her drink and swirled the glass. “I know what you must think.”
“It does not matter what I think,” Georgiana said. “Others’ opinions will matter far more than mine.”
“Oh,” Elizabeth groaned. “Yes, the earl and the countess… and Richard’s mother. What shall I tell them? How do I even explain today?”
Georgiana’s lips puckered into a worried frown. “We do not. If they learn your secret, it will be at the expense of mine.”
“But we cannot conceal it. How shall I make my excuses when the countess asks about the bruises on my arms or your swollen lip?
“All they need know is that I requested you to stay until William returns. I will send word to the countess myself.”
Elizabeth scoffed lightly. “I hardly think a personal request for me to remain with you is a cure for suspicion. Besides, I thought she outranked you so far that such a request would be scandalous.”
A crease appeared at the edge of Georgiana’s mouth. “If I know the countess, she will simply be pleased to believe we are getting on.”
Elizabeth fingered her glass. “Are we?”
“They say there is no surer means of securing an ally than to know their secrets.” Georgiana’s eyes raised to meet Elizabeth’s.
“But neither can remain a secret. I had already resolved to tell Mr Darcy the whole of my history with his cousin, and it would be deceitful in the extreme if you concealed your own affairs from your brother and guardian. I have no interest in the sort of friendship where we extort goodwill from one another by wielding damaging information.”
“And I have no intention of allowing anyone to hold that over my head. The surest way to disarm Mr Wickham is to tell my brother everything, no matter how I dread it or how greatly it infuriates him. Speaking of that, I am terribly curious. What were you going to do about me? You never meant to stand silently by and let me do as I pleased while William was away, did you?”
“I would be no friend to your family, or to you, if I did. No, I had a private word with Mr Bingley, if you must know.”
Georgiana stiffened. “Bingley! What in blazes could that milksop do to me?”
“Track you down in London or follow you to France if need be. I told him Mr Wickham’s name and the name of the friend you intended to meet in Paris. He vowed discretion, not to mention extreme diligence. I felt that until your brother’s return, he would be the one to best secure your safety while minimising the risk of scandal or family outrage.”
The girl’s eyes narrowed, and a low chuckle sounded in her throat. “I had not imagined you had it in you—not to confront a problem with all the grace of a rampaging bull.”
“I was rather clever, wasn’t I?” Elizabeth congratulated herself. “It is only a pity I have not found such a neat answer to other troubles.”
Georgiana nodded, her gaze drifting to the fire. “I am not looking forward to William’s return.”
Darcydidnottelephonewhen he reached London. Though he had originally intended to do so, he could not think what he was to say to anyone, least of all with an operator listening in. He spent only one night in London and made for the Derby train the next morning. A note from Bingley was waiting at his townhouse, saying only that he had enjoyed Pemberley’s hospitality for nearly three weeks during Darcy’s absence, and hoped to speak to him as soon as he had returned about an important matter. Darcy tucked the note in his pocket, deciding whatever news Bingley had to share—and he had a fair idea what it was—it could wait.
A storm was gathering over Pemberley when he arrived that evening. Nearly dusk already, the clouds cast an ominous gloom over his return. Darcy paused as he stepped down from the cab he had hired in Derby, glancing up at the light glowing from the windows. The music room seemed to be where he would find everyone.
Georgiana was alone when he entered, playing something slow and meditative. Her brow creased and her head wove in tempo, her eyes half-closed as she felt the music. It was four entire measures before she happened to glance up, and that only an incidental movement of her eyes. She started and dropped her hands as if he had caught her in the act of stealing something.
