Again, a flash of something on Georgiana’s face that was not pleasure at the compliment, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. “I am loath to extract another compliment from you, but is there something in my character that you might flatter, rather than my looks?”
A baffling request, but Caroline was keen to keep Georgiana sweet in case she changed her mind about assisting with the Great Endeavour. “Why, of course! You are most proficient in the musical arts. And your embroidery is exquisite.” She cast about for a specific example. “That rosebush you created last year? Perfection itself.” It really had been a wonder, with every tiny rose stitched so neatly and gracefully that the flowers seemed to bloom right off the fabric. “In fact, I’d rather been hoping that you would make me one, but then you moved on to cameos.”
This did not seem to entirely satisfy, though Georgiana only nodded. “I do get bored rather easily, I’m afraid, and tend to jump from one fancy to another.”
This struck Caroline as an odd thing to say, when so many of Georgiana’s talents involved hours and hours of practice. Why, she had surely sat at the harp and the pianoforte every day for no less than three hours between the ages of ten and fifteen, and still kept up her practice with regularity. Perhaps once one reached a certain level of proficiency, it did not feel like a chore anymore and was more like unfettered joy. Her playing had certainly brought her family many hours of pleasure, as well as the guests at all the Darcys’ many parties. And yet—
She thought of the way Georgiana had looked before she’d begun playing the night before. That had certainly not been an expression of unfettered happiness.Curious, she thought.
“—and in any case,” Georgiana was saying, and Caroline blinked, aware that she’d missed a large portion of the conversation, “I think it wise that we give you a little more practice before our first outing.”
Ooh, an outing!She had almost forgotten what it was they were supposed to be doing. “What need have I of more practice?” she demanded. “Have I not proven to you this morning that I am capable of being a star pupil?”
“Your performance has been good,” Georgiana allowed, though Caroline did not miss the flicker of doubt in Miss Darcy’s eyes. “But this lesson is not about splendor. It is about appreciation.”
“Are those not one and the same thing?”
Georgiana raised an eyebrow. “You said that about compliments and flattery.”
“So I did.” Caroline turned, glancing around the room again. “Enlighten me.”
“Anyone may appreciate beauty and splendor, as you put it,” Georgiana said slowly, as if she’d never had to voice the thought before. “But those are merely superficial glamours. Beauty can be found in most things, if one cares to look a little deeper. What we appreciate, truly appreciate, ought to be more than what we see at first glance.”
“If a thing is not beautiful, shouldn’t it be made to be so? That is the easiest solution.”
“The easy solution is not always the best solution. Or the right one.”
Caroline spread her hands, gesturing at Miss Darcy’s bedchamber. “Then what am I to do? You put me in magnificent rooms”—not counting this one, she thought, and was careful not to say out loud—“surrounded by wonderful art, furniturewhich has been carved with every possible care and a considerable degree of talent, and yet, you ask me to look deeper. To what end? How much depth can there be here?”
“That is a fair point, well-made,” Georgiana said. “When one is surrounded by beauty, it is easy to be beautiful.”
“Where are we going on our outing?”
“Somewhere that your new status as star pupil, as you so confidently put it, will be tested a little harder.”
“I’m ready,” Caroline declared.
“We shall see,” was all Georgiana would say upon the subject. “Though we are going nowhere today. Now, are you ready for a spot of tea?”
