Page 47 of Twice Chosen

When she finally sat, he remained beside her.

"Would you like to leave London?" he asked.

She looked up. "Where?"

"Hertfordshire."

Her expression changed. "With you?"

"Yes."

"Is Miss Bingley there?"

Darcy almost laughed. "Unfortunately."

Georgiana smiled faintly. "Would I be a burden?"

The question hurt more than he expected.

"No."

"Truly?"

"Georgiana, if you ever ask me that again, I shall blame myself."

She studied him. "You are different."

"So everyone informs me."

"What happened?"

Darcy thought of dying beside Elizabeth, of waking young, of finding her beneath an oak. "I realized I had wasted time."

Georgiana nodded slowly. "I would like to come."

So she did.

Elizabeth met Georgiana at Netherfield.

The meeting nearly broke her.

Young Georgiana. Shy. Beautiful. Looking at the floor. Elizabeth remembered the confident woman she would become: the aunt who taught Margaret pianoforte, the grandmother who cheated outrageously at cards, the woman who laughed so loudly at one of Richard's stories that Lady Catherine once left a room in disgust.

Elizabeth wanted to embrace her.

Instead she curtseyed. "Miss Darcy."

Georgiana looked up. "Miss Elizabeth. My brother has mentioned you."

Darcy coughed.

Elizabeth looked at him. "Has he?"

Georgiana's smile grew. "Frequently."

"Georgiana."

"What?"