Lydia and Kitty had been ordered to their room with strict instructions to speak to no one. Mary and Elizabeth had trained their gazes steadfastly upon their largely empty plates, eating little and speaking less. Jane had returned only very lately from Netherfield, providing Elizabeth, at least, with an excuse to see her sister upstairs.
Mrs Bennet had appeared the only family member whose spirits remained unflagging. She, of course, had heard the shocking reports of “that poor Darcy girl and that dreadful colonel!”
“Iknewhim to be a dangerous sort, and so I told the girls!” she stated emphatically. Her endless chatter she had couched in her anxious concerns for that “sweet Darcy girl, poor little fool,” but “such a shocking lack of guardianship from her brother,” she declared she should never understand. A rational mind, upon believing such vagaries, would naturally leap to wonder how a poor guardian of a sister could hope to prove a worthy husband, but it seemed Mrs Bennet was not capable of such a conclusion.
Mary had left the room in disgust soon after Elizabeth’s silent retreat, abandoning the Gardiners to face the matron’s ramblings alone. When her talk had turned to wedding lace and the various calls she was expected to make, the visiting in-laws had quite bluntly recommended they all withdraw to retire early for the evening.
Edward Gardiner heaved a long sigh of fatigue. His journey had been a hasty and uncomfortable one, undertaken with expedience as his primary motivation. Rather than the distressed and mournful family he had expected to find, he had stumbled upon a hopeless tangle of scandal and romantic conundra. “My dear?” he queried again. “You have not yet made any answer.”
“I was trying to decide which to answer first. You, no doubt, are most concerned for Lizzy, but I do not feel equal to addressing that scenario before laying out what I know of other matters.”
“By all means.” He rubbed his tired eyes, waiting.
“Thomas is showing steady improvement. This evening while Lizzy was sitting with him, he squeezed her hand in answer to her voice. Mrs Cooper says that is a very good sign, indeed.”
“Forgive me, my love, but how is it again that the nurse came?”
“Mr Darcy sent for her—immediately upon hearing of the accident, it seems.”
“Why would he do such a thing? I wonder if the man can be quite sensible.”
Mrs Gardiner laughed lightly. “Tell me a man violently in love who is?”
“You really think his feelings are so strong? He seemed rather distracted when I spoke with him.”
“So, you would be as well, I imagine. Miss Darcy’s behaviour rather puzzled him.”
“He is not the only one!” he interjected. “But go on.”
“I was only going to add that perhaps he was also somewhat preoccupied by his private walk with Lizzy.” A knowing little smile curved her lips as she tilted her face up to her husband’s.
Gardiner narrowed his eyes at his wife’s playfulness. “Is that what you call it? Pray tell, how did an unchaperoned walk come about? Where was everyone else?”
“Oh, dear!” Madeline described the morning’s events and the couple’s endeavours with estate business. “I really did not think it would come to the point so quickly,” she flushed guiltily. “My concerns were more for the younger girls’ impropriety. I had hoped to wear Lydia out on the pianoforte, but it was quite the reverse! As for Lizzy, perhaps a chaperone should have been found, but here on the estate, practically within sight of the house, none could have thought….”
Gardiner gave a short wry huff. “You were not privy to the little scene I witnessed! It seems, my dear, that our Lizzy either blows hot or cold. The young lady I observed seemed to have no reservations whatsoever about the gentleman.”
Madeline sighed. “I suppose that is just as well—she has little enough choice in the matter, and I am glad to see she has turned her sentiments in his favour. I do think him a fine young man, Edward. There is something very pleasing about his manner. He may appear proud at first, but that impression wears off quickly. I believe him quite taken with Lizzy.”
“What is to be done about that sister of his? Gossip and tittle-tattle, I care nothing about, but if she is as ill-tempered as my first impression….”
“Oh, no, my dear! I do not believe she is. It seems that Elizabeth held some details of Miss Darcy’s past in trust, and when these tidings were aired, she feared herself betrayed. The poor girl! I do hope Mr Darcy can patch things up for her!”
“Well,” he declared with decision, “our family will do nothing to further such slander. I will not have the girls abroad at all, save perhaps Jane. I trustherdiscretion at least, unless she should desire to walk alone with her own young man,” he shot his wife a wink. “Fanny, we shall have to detain as well. I cannot as easily order my sister to remain within her own doors, but we must preoccupy her somehow. I am afraid, my dear, that we are set for a few trying days ahead.”
Mrs Gardiner let go a long sigh of resignation. “Such a fate!” she moaned dramatically.
“I have every confidence in your fortitude and ingenuity, my dear,” he answered her dryly.
“Georgiana?”Darcytappedhisfingers hesitantly upon his sister’s bedroom door. He could not decide whether it would be safer to let her rest, or to present himself with the contrition he felt was her due. He stood in silent attendance, straining for any creak of the furniture within which would declare his sister’s wakefulness.
After a few moments, he moved to step away, only to have the door opened to him. Georgiana had never changed for bed, but her rumpled clothing attested to the restless few hours she had spent. She crossed her arms sullenly and looked up to him with swollen eyes.
Compassion tugged at his heart. “Oh, Georgie,” he sighed, opening his arms to her. With a trembling shudder, she came willingly to him and buried her face in his chest. Somewhat awkwardly, he waltzed her back into her bedroom so he could close the door, then held her for long minutes.
Her tears had begun anew. “William,” she blubbered at length, “what is to become of me now?”
He gritted his teeth, wishing he could supply her with a confident answer that all would be well. “I do not know,” he admitted finally. “The rumours have no doubt taken on a life of their own by now. Still,” he drew back enough to force her to look at him, “this is a small town, and one fantastic story will quickly be supplanted by another.”
