Wishing to help the young lady, Elizabeth said, “Be easy. We need not discuss anything of particular note. I am just happy to spend the time with you. Your brother mentioned you briefly, and certain parties in Netherfield spoke about you at length, but I actually know almost nothing.”
She waited half a minute for the young lady to choose a topic, ready to introduce an innocuous one if she did not. A moment later, the young lady sighed and stood straighter.
“Miss Elizabeth, we have not known each other an hour yet, and we have not much time before our relatives return. Might I… that is… well—”
Elizabeth took her hand. “Have no fear. Nothing you say is likely to rattle me or earn my censure. You may even dispense with propriety and manners altogether if it helps.”
Georgiana still stared at her shoes, so Elizabeth boldly slipped her knuckles beneath her chin and raised her head. “You need not fear me.”
The young lady’s eyes grew large, and she let out a startled exclamation. “Of course not!”
She ducked her head for a moment and spoke more calmly. “I apologise. That must have seemed rude, but IknowI need notfear you. I just wondered… would you be willing to have tea with me at my home? You would be my first guest outside the family.”
Elizabeth smiled. “There, now, that was not so difficult, was it? I would be honoured, so long as you obtain approval from your guardian. I leave for Hertfordshire in a few days, but I could call tomorrow or the next day. Should I bring Jane and Anne?”
The lady chewed her lip. “No, just you, if you do not mind. I can send a coach and maid to escort you so as to not inconvenience your uncle. As for consent, my guardian is the colonel at present. He would consent to inviting a troop of trolls to dig out our cellars for months if he thought they might find good brandy.”
Elizabeth laughed, possibly more than the jest was worth, and the young lady relaxed minutely.
“I shall be happy to call. Did you have anything in particular to discuss?”
A commotion sounded at the door. The colonel returned with Jameson, deeply engaged in their apparent favourite subject, which had expanded beyond poultry and livestock to include Oxford dons. The less she knew about that discussion, the better.
“We have little private time left. Do you wish to name the subject? If not, we can settle it later. I shall be happy to call.”
The young lady glanced around to ensure they were still alone.
“I have several things I would like to discuss with you. I imagine we should start with the basics.What in the world have you done to my brother?”
Humble Pie
Elizabeth should have at least pretended to be startled by the abrupt question about Mr Darcy, but as it was at least the third time it had been asked in nearly identical language, she had grown accustomed to it. That he had journeyed to Cheapside to apologise to Jane proved definitively that Elizabeth had changedsomethingabout him; there was little point disputing the charge.
Her new friend plainly grasped the magnitude of the impropriety and awkwardness of the question and grew nervous.
Elizabeth would not have Miss Darcy suffer for her brief bout of courage, so she intervened. “I shall be happy to discuss it; be easy; I am neither concerned nor offended; you are not the first to ask.”
With only a moment before the colonel appeared, she leaned very close and whispered,“I will not necessarily own to being responsible for any change, but can you tell me whether said change is good or bad?”
Georgiana glanced about and whispered,“Oh, good! Good! Good beyond doubt, but… confusing.”
“We shall have a proper discussion on the morrow,” Elizabeth replied, with a wink.
The young lady smiled as the colonel appeared. “I hope I do not interrupt, if you have secret affairs to discuss.”
“It is interesting that you phrase your question that particular way,” Elizabeth said with a laugh. “I am trying to settle a theory about how young men are raised. At present, I believe either the Fitzwilliam and Darcy boys share a common dictionary, perhaps it is taught at Cambridge, or you were all raised by wolves. Thatexact phrasewas used by your cousin lastautumn in Hertfordshire. What say you, Colonel? How does one account for it?”
The colonel laughed uproariously, while Georgiana remained perplexed.
“Darcy tells me you favour simple explanations for simple phenomena, no?”
“It is called Occam’s Razor.”
“Theraised by wolvestheory can explain nearly very action you have ever seen from us—or indeed, our entire sex—so who am I to argue? The leader of the pack taught us all the right words.”
He bowed so deeply he might well have fallen over, provoking laughter from her young friend, who had probably never been exposed to true silliness.
The colonel straightened with a broad grin. “Georgie, might I have a quick word with Miss Elizabeth before the curtain?”
