“Your chambers are ready, and there is something to wash away the road dirt.” Darcy shook Charles’s hand.“Would you be so kind as to escort Mrs.Annesley into the house?”
“Gladly, Darcy.”
Darcy then turned to help his sister from the coach. He literally lifted her from the coach’s steps and set her down several feet away.
“Fitzwilliam,” she giggled, “you are certainly in a good mood. What brings such a smile to your face?”
“Is it that apparent?”
“You have a secret.This is just what you used to do when I was a child. Oh, please tell me now.”
“You will just have to wait until we are in the house,” he feigned innocence.
“Come then,” she pulled on his hand in anticipation, her laughter contagious.
Once inside, he said,“I actually have more than one surprise.”
“Brother, please stop teasing me. I can wait no longer,” she pleaded.
“If you will look in the music room, something may take your notice.”
Georgiana grasped the lapels of his jacket, pulled him toward her, and kissed his cheek. Then she nearly skipped through the hallway to the music room. She came quickly to a halt, and he heard her gasp as he strode into the room behind her. “Well, what do you think of your first surprise, Dearest One?” he asked as if he expected her to object.
“Fitzwilliam,” her voice was breathy,“it is magnificent.” She ran her fingers lightly along the keys of the new pianoforte.“When . . . I mean, I do not deserve this.”
He came forward to embrace her; tears misted her eyes. “Do you not know it gives me pleasure to see you happy?” he whisperedas he stroked her face. “Now you know why I left you in Charles’s care yesterday.”
“I should rebuke you, Sir, for deserting me, but I believe you are absolved of guilt,” she picked up on his mirth. “But you said there were two surprises.”
“You are a greedy girl, are you not?” he tapped her on the chin with his finger. Georgiana laughed as he pulled her to the settee. He took her hands in his, looked into her face in earnest, and took a slow, deep breath. “The second surprise,” he began, “is actually one for both of us.” Georgiana giggled as she watched his apprehension. “How would you like to meet Miss Elizabeth Bennet?”
“Oh, yes . . .” she started and then checked her enthusiasm. “I always wanted to make Miss Bennet’s acquaintance but not if it hurts you, Fitzwilliam.”
“I appreciate your concern, my Dearest One,” he continued the smile, “but even if there was no hope for my regard, I would still wish you to meet Miss Elizabeth. She is the kind of person you should have as a friend.” He thoughtsisterrather thanfriend,but he would not voice such hopes.
“How may I meet Miss Elizabeth? Do we travel to Hertfordshire?”
“She is here,” he blurted out. “Actually, Miss Elizabeth is in Lambton at the Royal Crown.”
“How?” she tried to comprehend the incoherency of his explanation.
“Let me start at the beginning,” he unraveled the details. “Miss Elizabeth travels through Derbyshire with her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. When I returned to Pemberley yesterday, they were here visiting the estate.”
“Oh, Fitzwilliam,” she consoled him. “How awkward for both of you!”
“There were moments of disbelief for both of us,” he recalled. “I stumbled through inquiries, often repeating myself, trying to engage her in conversation. She blushed often, but she was civil, and there was none of the disdain from before. I was a mess, covered in road dirt, so I left her on the lawn.”
“Is that all you said to her? Please, Brother, tell me there is more.”
“There is more,” he reassured her.“I sent servants scattering as I hastened to make myself presentable. Then I went to find her on the park’s pathway.We spoke again, and I was more composed. Her aunt is from Lambton; her aunt and uncle, I found, were people of taste and fashion. I, finally, got enough nerve to ask her permission to present you to her.”
“What did Miss Elizabeth say?” Georgiana doubted her own worth.
“Miss Bennet is looking forward to forming an acquaintance.” His sister squeezed his hand with joy.
“When shall we meet?”
“I hoped,” he began more slowly, “you would agree to go as soon as you freshen your clothes.”
