Georgiana considered this. “Facing your fears seems the key to conquering them?”
“Miss Bennet is right,” Mrs Annesley said. “Milo would be a good example. It cannot have been pleasant to carry a calf day after day until it grew into a bull, and we may laugh at him when he finally put it down; but in the end, his ability to carry the bull may have been the difference between success and failure. The strong man can put the bull down any time. The weak man cannot move the bull at all, and if he encounters one, he will likely be trampled.”
“Do we not all sound like a pack of hoydens with our masculine analogies?”
Neither companion seemed distressed, though Mrs Annesley looked as though she probably should be, just to maintain the forms.
Elizabeth sat back. “So, Georgie—what do you think?”
Georgiana closed her eyes, her brow furrowed in furious thought. Both companions jumped when she opened them, sprang from the sofa, and started pacing in a surprisingly accurate imitation of her brother.
Elizabeth refrained from laughing… just barely.
“The solution is so obvious,” Georgiana said. “I have no idea why it took me so long to work it out. Lizzy, I shall not trouble you to visit Longbourn.”
“I see! What will you do instead?”
“I will find someone to march me 20 miles while yelling and cursing at me.I will go to Rosingsand stay there until I amno longer afraid of Lady Catherine. I may even impose on her to bring me out into society, since she will do it for your friend anyway, and she could use another project.”
Elizabeth stared.What had brought on the transformation?
Mrs Annesley said, “Miss Darcy, might I offer you two pieces of advice I got from my late husband? I am not certain where he got them.”
“Of course!”
“The first is an old blacksmith’s saying:‘Strike while the iron is hot.’Your courage rises to the occasion. Let us not waste it. I suggest we leave first thing in the morning.”
“But I must write to Fitzwilliam for consent, and I have no idea where he is.”
“That brings me to the other old saying. It may be Chinese or Arabic, for all I know:‘It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.’”
Georgiana stared.
Elizabeth laughed and shook her finger at the wise companion. “I like you, Mrs Annesley. I truly do.”
“It is settled. You write to your brother tonight, informing him of yourdecision—by regular post?”
“Of course! This is exactly what I need, and I need not impinge on Lizzy’s freedom.”
“I think this is the best plan I ever heard,” Elizabeth said. “It is perfect, and it is not as if you will lack Bennet company. My eminently sensible sister Mary is but a lane away.”
“Your face tells me you leave a point out.”
Elizabeth sighed. “You used to be easier to fool.”
“What is it?”
“I finally worked outwhyI did not want you in Hertfordshire. It all centres on a certain Mr Wickham.”
Georgiana, startled, sat straight again. “I am not afraid of Lady Catherine… or at least, I will not be in half a year, so I need not fear him.”
Elizabeth winced. “I admit my first thought was to protect you, but withthatproblem solved, another remains.”
“Which is?”
Elizabeth could not meet her eye. “When I return, I plan to deal with that rogue. I have no idea what form the remedy will take, but it will be… ah… unpleasant. I do not want you there because I want room to manoeuvre.”
“Pray tell me you do not plan anythingdangerous!Live ammunition metaphors and conversations with my aunt are one thing, but—”
