He nodded. “I understand. All I want is for my family to be both happy and well looked after.” He sighed. “It seemed as though it was impossible to do both.” After another pause he said, “Well, I will not force the issue. If that is your decision, sobe it. I am curious to see what happens next.” A familiar twinkle of humor glinted in his eyes.
Elizabeth was glad he could still see the humor in a situation where she saw nothing but discomfort, but she did wonder what exactly he thought was funny.
“Well, my dear, you run along,” said Papa. “I will help your mother.”
Elizabeth glanced at her mother who was still sobbing into her hands. She had apparently not heard the last part of the conversation. “Thank you, Papa,” said Elizabeth. Then, she left the room.
As she was closing the door behind her, she heard her mother say, “Oh, Mr. Bennet, how could you? You promised.”
“I know, my dear,” Papa said. “The situation has changed.”
Elizabeth heard no more, since she closed the door on the conversation, but she did wonder why her father would have promised her mother to force Elizabeth into an unwanted wedding. Even more, she wondered why he would have changed his mind so suddenly.
For a brief moment, the image of Mr. Darcy exiting the bookroom earlier surfaced in her mind, and she wondered if that conversation had anything to do with why Papa had said the situation had changed. She almost immediately tossed the idea away. There was no way that Mr. Darcy could possibly have anything to do with it.
Chapter 5
Georgiana Darcy sat in the window seat of her aunt’s townhome, ostensibly working on some embroidery in her lap. In actuality, she was watching the people and carriages that occasionally passed by. Mrs. Annesley was sitting nearby to keep her company, but Georgiana wasn’t in the mood to chat about nothing.
She and Aunt Matlock had arrived in London two days ago, and yesterday had been quite fun, doing all the shopping that couldn’t normally be done in Derbyshire. But now, everything was the same as it ever was. Her aunt was out visiting friends, and Georgiana was stuck at home with only her hired companion.
It wasn’t that she had anything against Mrs. Annesley. The middle-aged lady was nice enough, but Georgiana simply couldn’t bring herself to trust her completely. She had trusted her first companion implicitly, and that had ended in disaster. She would rather wait and see how trustworthy Mrs. Annesley truly was.
As Georgiana watched the ladies and gentlemen pass by outside, she fervently wished she was as free as they were, that she could go where she wished, that she could make friends with whoever she liked. But it was impossible. She must remain inside for safety unless she was with her aunt. She must only make suitable friends of a similar station to herself. Nevermind the fact that it was impossible to meet such young ladies, because they were all sequestered at home the same way she was.
After nearly an hour spent in this way, a familiar and very welcome face appeared and shortly afterward came through the door.
“Cousin Richard,” she greeted him with a smile.
“Good morning, Georgiana,” he said. “Or rather I suppose it’s good afternoon. I am afraid I awoke only a couple hours ago, so it feels like morning to me.”
“Were you at a ball? Is that why you slept so late?” Georgiana asked.
Richard shook his head. “Nothing so grand. Just a night of cards with my fellow officers.”
“I hope you didn’t lose too much,” said Georgiana. She was always a little alarmed whenever her cousin mentioned gambling. She had known of others who had lost a great deal of money by giving into that particular vice.
“Not to worry,” said Richard. “We didn’t play particularly high. Besides, I ended the night with more money than I began, so all’s well that ends well.”
“If you say so,” said Georgiana, though she was still a little in doubt.
“Is Mother home?” asked Richard.
“She is out visiting friends,” said Georgiana. “Did you need her for something?”
“Nothing in particular,” he answered. “I realized when I woke this morning that I hadn’t stopped by since you all arrived here in town. I just wanted to do my duty. That’s all. Do you know when she will return?”
“She left about an hour ago,” said Georgiana, “but she had a long list of friends to visit. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was gone another hour or two”
“Oh well,” said Richard. “I suppose that is what I get for arriving during her primary calling hours. Even if she had been here, she likely would have had guests, and she would probably have shooed me away. I’ll just go tell the housekeeper that I will stay for dinner, and then I’ll be right back. You can tell me all about how you’ve been.”
Georgiana fidgeted as she waited for her cousin to return. Richard was a colonel in the army, and though he had never served on the continent, he had enough friends who had that he always had interesting stories. At the very least, talking to him would help pass the time.
On the other hand, she didn’t wish to discuss her own life. It was full of piano practice and needlework…and not much else. She loved playing piano, and her practice time was always her favorite part of the day, but even so, every day was the same.
When Richard returned, they chatted easily for an hour or more. He told her stories, and she told him of her piano practice and embroidery projects. When he asked after her brother, Fitzwilliam, she told him that he was still in the country with a friend but that he would be back in a couple of weeks.
Not long after she said this, Fitzwilliam surprised them both by entering the room.
