“Mary,” Jane admonished her sister gently.
“No, Jane, I am entitled to my rage,” Mary said, firmly.
“You certainly are,” Georgiana said, unexpectedly. “I hated myself for the longest time, thinking it was entirely my own fault. It was only when I was able to express the anger that I had kept inside that I began to recover myself.”
Mr. Darcy added, “It took ages to convince her that it was Wickham’s fault, not hers!”
“I can promise you that Lydia is unlikely to receive that same kindness from me, should I ever see her again,” Mary said grimly. “I blame Wickham, of course, but Lydia should have known better. Georgiana might have reasonably expected marriage, given her dowry; how did Lydia not understand that she had nothing to induce a man to matrimony?”
“You forget that Lydia has always been told that her beauty and her liveliness were all that she needed to get herself a husband,” Jane reminded her.
The girls fell silent, remembering how often Lydia had been praised for these qualities. Mary broke the silence, saying, “Miss Darcy – Georgiana – I have heard your abilities on the pianoforte praised. Will you not play for us?”
Georgiana agreed, happy to help give her new friends some moments of happiness, and was soon seated at the instrument, with Mary beside her.
As the music filled the room, Mr. Darcy managed to seat himself beside Elizabeth. “I am delighted to see Georgiana,” she told him.
“I hope I did not overstep by telling her about Miss Lydia,” he replied, gravely.
“No, you did exactly right. I hope she will find true sisters here at Longbourn, and the need to keep such a secret could only be a barrier to new relationships.”
“That was my thinking as well,” Mr. Darcy said. “Thank you for your generosity, Miss Elizabeth!”
“We will not always think alike, you know,” she said, teasing him. “And in such circumstances, I will expect you to immediately admit that your thinking is in error.”
He chuckled. “I will remember your expectation.”
“But not necessarily meet that expectation? Hmm, I see through you, Mr. Darcy.”
“I am certain that you always see through me, Miss Elizabeth, for you are far cleverer than I.”
She was immediately serious. “I think we both know that I do not always see through you. We have been at cross-purposes more often than not.”
“Let us agree to speak as openly as possible from here on,” Mr. Darcy said.
“I agree; and in that spirit, I must ask you something that haunts me. I think it inevitable that Lydia’s misstep will be found out eventually. How will that impact our relationship?”
“I cannot pretend that my relations will be pleased when I marry a woman whose family has fallen into some disrepute –“
“Some disrepute! A sister who eloped and then vanished? More thansome, I think!”
“And it would certainly impact Georgiana as well,” he continued, undeterred. “But I shall not be moved from my intention of making you my wife.”
“Georgiana?” she whispered, eyes wide.
“She will have her come-out in a year or two.”
“And she would suffer as a result of my reputation?! I had not considered –“ Elizabeth was white-faced.
“Elizabeth –“
“I would not want to do anything to harm that sweet girl, Mr. Darcy. I will not place my happiness before hers.”
“Elizabeth, stop. We have time yet to solve this difficulty.”
“And will we? Solve it, I mean?”
“Absolutely,” Mr. Darcy replied, firmly. He prayed, even as he spoke, that he could keep his word.
