“Well, you see that we all call Elizabeth ‘Lizzy,’ and I heard the colonel call you ‘Georgie.’ Mightn’t you have shortened his name to ‘Fitz’ or something, just between the two of you?”
“Oh, that would never have suited Fitzwilliam! He was too complicated and imposing for any name but his own. It would have seemed… I do not know… irreverent.”
“He was hardly a deity,” Elizabeth’s face warmed in amusement, but her heart panged. How long since he had ceased to be anything in her mind but her lost and beloved William?
Georgiana frowned. “Of course, but you knew him a little, did you not Elizabeth? There was nothing in him to mock or belittle, so a shorter name simply would not have suited.”
“I suppose not,” was the soft answer.
“Oh, let us leave off all that dull stuff,” Lydia huffed with impatience. “Today is the first day in two weeks that it has not rained! Let us all go out for a drive, Lizzy. What do you say, Georgiana? I could do with some fresh air, you know,” she poked out her stomach significantly. “It is good for clearing out bad humours, is it not?”
Georgiana rapidly seconded the idea, but Elizabeth was holding up a hand in protest. “Perhaps tomorrow, Lydia, once other matters have been attended to.” She arched a stern brow at Georgiana, whose new burst of energy seemed to wither all at once.
Lydia put a hand behind her hip, stretching her distorted frame somewhat, and frowned. “Well, if you are going to insist on being so serious, Lizzy, I shall go back to my flower arranging. At least that is more gay and bright.”
Elizabeth had remained seated all this while, and as Lydia trod heavily out of the room, Georgiana slid unhappily to a seat opposite her. She pressed her hands into her lap and hung her head, with her shoulders hunched. “I suppose,” the girl mumbled after a moment of reflective silence, “that you think me irresponsible and undisciplined.”
“Those were not the words I would have chosen,” Elizabeth smiled.
“It is only that I do not know how I am to take his place here. He did so much… hewasso much. It terrifies me to think how short I must fall and how disappointed everyone will be in me!”
“Can you really think it possible that you could be a disappointment? No one expects you to behim. You have gifts and intelligence of your own, Georgiana, and you are well beloved. The only possible way for you to fail is that you should not try.”
Georgiana’s mouth worked, and she cast her eyes uncomfortably over Elizabeth’s shoulder, out of the window. “I have not the sort of courage that must be required to command so many matters. I could not even prevent my aunt from taking charge of the house while she was here.”
Elizabeth choked on a quiet snicker. “Well, I daresay that few would have. Your aunt is a… unique woman.”
“But even after she had gone, and we had all returned here without her, it was you who took matters in hand! I was too afraid. I saw only how enormous it all was, and I only wanted to lie down and cry. I could never be as strong as you!”
“Do you think it strength? I do not.”
Georgiana’s eyes widened. “But Elizabeth, these few weeks, it has been you who have kept things running smoothly here. Oh, I know that everyone speaks with me before anything is done, but it is because you have sent them to do so. You can see what must be done, and you are not afraid… I do not think I could ever be as you are.”
“Georgiana, did you love your brother?”
The girl’s mouth fell open in protest. “Why… why Elizabeth, you know I did! He was so much more than a brother, he was… well, he was more my father than our father was. And he was my only friend, really, apart from Richard. How could you say—”
“Do you still love him?”
Georgiana’s eyes narrowed as she sensed the trap into which Elizabeth was neatly twirling her. “Of course,” she answered slowly.
“Then you would certainly wish to honour his memory?”
The girl bowed her head suddenly, shielding her eyes with her hand. “Oh,” she sighed shakily, “I see what you—” She trailed off, then her head jerked up. She tilted her head and gazed very hard back to Elizabeth. “You said I oughtn’t try to do all as a matter of strength, but from a desire to show respect and… and love. Is that what you said?”
Elizabeth released a measured breath. “That is what I said,” she confessed.
Georgiana was blinking rapidly now, little slivers of moisture slipping down each lash. “Oh, Elizabeth!” She flicked a handkerchief from her sleeve to dab her eyes, her pretty lips quivering with the threat of coming sobs. “I should have liked you for a sister!”
“Here, here,” Elizabeth admonished, her eyes darting in alarm to the door. “That is not what I meant!”
“But I saw how he admired you, and Lydia said she thought you had suffered some great heart-break… is it true?”
Elizabeth swallowed, her eyes again lingering on the door, hoping the footman was not standing too close. “That is hardly a proper question, Georgiana, and I would not answer it even if I had liberty to do so. What is true, and what you should know, is that your brother was a good man, and I am guilty of misjudging him upon first impression. I should like to do what little I may to make amends for my foolishness, and I believe he would be pleased to see you taking your place in your home. I mean to help you in any way I can, but I fear that I have already done too much of what should have been yours.”
Georgiana’s shoulders slumped, disappointed to hear sensible prose when she had looked for tragic poetry. She stared at her slippers, her lips pressed tightly as she sighed. “Forgive me, Elizabeth. I knew what was proper, truly I did… I shall do better.”
“Dear Georgie,” Elizabeth rose to her feet and captured Georgiana’s hands, drawing her up. “It is not my intention to cast guilt upon you! Heaven knows you have suffered enough of that, as have we all. I only wish to show you that it is your time now.” Elizabeth smiled and tucked a wisp of the girl’s hair behind her ear. “You must shine as only you can do,” she whispered. “You are a Darcy, and you have more courage than you know.”
