“A sister! A sister!” she chanted. “When may I visit her?”
“Tomorrow, if you like,” he replied.
“Yes! Yes! Oh, I am so very, very glad!”
Mr. Darcy announced his engagement at the dinner table that night; he was congratulated by Mr. Bingley and the Hursts; Miss Bingley scowled into her wine glass.
“I do hope you do not mind,” he told Mr. Bingley. “But it turns out that you and I are to share our wedding day. Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth were so very happy at the idea that I agreed without first enquiring as to your own feelings on the matter.”
“I am delighted at the very idea of it!” Mr. Bingley exclaimed.
“And doubtless the Bennets will be glad not to have to bear the cost of two wedding breakfasts,” Miss Bingley added, sourly.
She was ignored.
***
The very next day, Mr. Bingley, Mrs. Hurst, Mr. Darcy and Georgiana bundled into the Bingley carriage to travelto Longbourn. Georgiana was nearly bouncing in her seat in her excitement; her brother, rather than chastising her, found himself smiling at his sister’s eagerness.
“Oh, I hope she will like me!” she exclaimed.
“Of course she will,” Mr. Darcy assured her.
This snippet of conversation was repeated several times during the brief journey, so that by the time they reached Longbourn, even Mrs. Hurst had to laugh at Miss Darcy’s excitement.
When the party reached Longbourn, all the female members of the Bennet family were in the parlour, discussing the details of the upcoming double wedding. The visitors were greeted warmly.
“Miss Darcy, you are to sit beside me at once,” Elizabeth said, laughing. “I have been positively dying to speak with you!”
“Oh! Oh! And I you, Miss Elizabeth!” Georgiana replied, fervently, taking her place beside Elizabeth.
“And you are to call me Elizabeth or Lizzy, as you prefer,” Elizabeth said.
“And I am Georgiana!”
“Very well, Georgiana; I hope you will not mind sharing your brother with me, for I am bound to take up a good deal of his attention.”
“I could not be more delighted, Elizabeth – Lizzy! I have longed for a sister for so very long!”
“Well, you are very much in luck, for if I am well-practiced in anything at all, it is in being a sister. I have four of them, you know, and will be happy indeed to have you as my fifth.”
“We must meet her as well, Lizzy; you do not get to keep her all for yourself,” Lydia complained. “For are we not to be her sisters as well?”
“I suppose you will be, yes,” Elizabeth said. “There, Georgiana; what think you of this? You will have five newsisters! The middle sister, Mary, is recently wed to our cousin, Mr. Collins, who happens to be your Aunt Catherine’s rector.”
“Oh! Five sisters! I hardly know what to do!” Indeed, Georgiana was so overwhelmed that she hid her face in her hands for a moment, causing her brother a moment of concern; but when she took her hands away, her face was alight with laughter and joy. “This is the best thing that has ever happened to me!”
“Spend some time with Kitty and Lydia as they fight over bonnets and ribbons before you make such a claim, Georgiana,” Elizabeth advised her. But she was smiling with delight; Georgiana was, quite evidently, an adorable creature, ready to love and be loved in return.
Chapter Ninety-Six
The first banns for Jane and Mr. Bingley, and Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were published on the eighteenth of January. Mr. Bingley, Mr. Darcy and Georgiana returned to Longbourn for luncheon after services.
After the meal, Mr. Darcy asked Mr. Bennet if they might have a private conversation. Mr. Bennet tried to defer, citing the Sabbath as no fit time for serious talk, but Mr. Darcy insisted. Once ensconced in Mr. Bennet’s study, where a warm fire now burned, Mr. Darcy began. “I understand that Mr. Bingley has been asked to give you three thousand pounds, Mr. Bennet.
Mr. Bennet’s eyes shut for a moment. Opening them, he poured himself a glass of brandy and offered one to his guest, which was accepted. Sitting back down, he steepled his hands and said, glumly, “I suppose it was to be expected that you would know about that.”
“It was, of course.”
