“She is well, but I think still a little shaken by the event.”
“I should imagine so. Did she know him to be a fortune hunter?”
“Yes, and she tried to discourage his attentions.”
“Thereby prompting this reaction. Dreadful man! But doubtless she has other suitors, despite her unfortunate hair colour.”
“Unfortunate?” Richard could not stop himself. “Why, there are five different shades in it; it is like a flame!”
Got you, his mother thought gleefully. “Indeed? I had not noticed. But what of those green eyes? Rather like having a cat glaring at you, is it not?”
“Cat? Not at all,” her son protested. “They look like jade, and they have the most intriguing gold flecks…” He stopped, realising how he had betrayed himself.
The Countess laughed at him. “Are you now ready to admit that you are interested in her?”
“She is a tradesman’s daughter, and I am the son of an Earl.”
“Oh, heavens, Richard,” the Countess said, impatiently. “Do you hear yourself? You sound like Fitzwilliam Darcy, trying to talk himself out of courting Elizabeth Bennet.”
“Elizabeth is a gentleman’s daughter,” the Colonel protested. “And you refused to allow an introduction to Miss Bingley, or have you forgotten that?”
“I refused an introduction based on her behaviour, not her birth. And her behaviour is now perfectly satisfactory.”
“You would accept her as a daughter?” the Colonel asked, his disbelief plain in his voice.
“If she got you out of the Army, I would welcome her with open arms.”
“And what would I do with my time, were I to leave the Army?” the Colonel expostulated. “Become a Town gentleman, join a club, and squire my wife about to social events? Bah!” The Colonel folded his arms, glared at his mother for a moment, and then marched from the room.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Elizabeth spoke again to her husband. “Our sister is making a dreadful mistake,” she declared. “She is in love with Lord Fane.”
“She will learn to forget him, just as she learnt to forget Wickham.”
“And just as you learnt to forget me after Rosings Park?” she demanded, hands on her hips. When he did not reply, she pressed him. “After I turned you away, you could have had any number of young ladies to wife, could you not?”
“Once I loved you, I could love no other,” he replied, quietly.
“And you doubt Georgiana’s capacity to love as deeply?”
He closed his eyes, briefly. Then, opening them, he said, “No, I do not. But I know not how to help the situation.”
***
Georgiana’s friends came to Darcy House in a state of high excitement. No sooner had the teacups been passed around then the reason for that excitement became clear.
“I am betrothed!” Miss Beatrice Dunfred declared, her voice rising to a high squeak. She pulled her glove off, revealing a large sapphire set in a gold band.
The other girls oohed and aahed over the ring, and the room was then filled with talk of weddings and suitors and new gowns. Georgiana did her very best to set her own troubles aside and participate in the gaiety – Miss Dunfred had succeeded in the Marriage Game! – but Elizabeth could see the unhappiness behind Georgiana’s smiles.
***
Mrs. Annesley had also seen the change in Miss Darcy, and she shared her concerns with Elizabeth. “Mrs. Darcy, I believe Miss Darcy is pining for Lord Fane.”
“I know it, Mrs. Annesley. But you know her history and you know our concerns. Mr. Darcy and I have not been able to think of any way to clear the path for them.”
“Is there no way to speak to this Mr. Wickham and persuade him to remain silent?”
