Page 110 of Shields and Roses

"Betrothed?" interrupted Bingley, "Since when?"

"Since this morning. I think you are the only one who can imagine how hard it was for me not to tell anyone. So far, only her father and Sir Phillip are in on the secret, although I am certain all her sisters have at least guessed at it. I did not even tell my uncle or my sister."

"I am honored, and a little jealous, but why would you think I would object?"

"Not to the betrothal. I know you and Miss Mary are waiting for her arrival on Thursday before you publicly announce your courtship. I wondered if you would object to our betrothal being announced at the same time. I know our news might overshadow yours, particularly with Mrs. Bennet, and neither Miss Elizabeth nor I want you to feel we are stealing the attention that is rightfully yours."

Bingley laughed. "I am certain there will be enough of Mrs. Bennet's joy to go around. And I am equally sure that we will all be more comfortable if we share the attention instead of leaving her to focus on just one or two of us."

"I hoped you would feel that way," Darcy said. "Miss Elizabeth and her father both thought Miss Mary would agree as well."

"If you are anything like me, I assume it is hard to keep your secret. I want to shout it to the world," Bingley said.

"According to Sir Phillip and Bennet, we are shouting it to the world without ever saying a word when the two of us are together," Darcy said, with a grin that told the whole story to his friend.

"Well, I suppose it is a good thing your cousin will be arriving tomorrow. If Miss Elizabeth is as happy as you appear to be, you will need some distractions to prevent Mrs. Bennet from noticing."

"Exactly. I plan to head over tomorrow morning even though Anne and Martin are not expected until later. It sounded like the rest of your guests would be doing the same."

"Well, they were looking at arriving around midday," Bingley said.

Darcy shook his head, still grinning. "Too late for me. My betrothed and I can walk in the garden or hide in her father's study until the rest arrive."

"Oh, you have it bad, my friend," Bingley said. "Of course, if Miss Mary were there, I would be right with you. Well, leave as early as you like, then. We will follow when the rest are ready."

~o~

Despite his intentions, Darcy did not get away as much ahead of the others as he had wished. First off, he woke later than usual. That meant he went down to breakfast at the same time as most of the rest of the party. During breakfast he became involved in a drawn-out discussion of Derbyshire events and politics that carried on for some time after the meal ended. He felt torn, just as he had teased Bingley about being the night before.

Eventually, though, the conversation reached a point where he felt he could excuse himself without appearing rude. He sent to have Wickham's horse, which he now considered his own, saddled and took himself off to Longbourn even as the others were preparing to head the same way by carriage.

When he arrived, Lizzy was out in the part of the garden near the front of the house walking with Georgiana as both watched for him. He waved and told them he would join them in a minute before he took the horse off to the stable. Leaving it to the care of a groom, he made his way back around to the two most important women in his life as quickly as he could.

Had Georgiana not been there with Lizzy, he might have tried to steal a kiss from his betrothed. As it was, he had to be satisfied with her smile and the way she immediately took his arm when he offered to join them on their walk.

"How have you been settling in, Georgiana?" he asked as they started to stroll slowly around the greenery.

"Oh, everyone has made me very welcome, Will," she told him happily. "It is nothing like being at school with all those girls who thought they were better than I. Everyone seems to want me here."

"We truly do, Georgiana," Lizzy assured her. "Everyone has looked forward to your visit."

"And now Anne is going to be joining us as well," Georgiana said. "The last time I saw her I was so young I really do not remember what she is like. I have wanted to get to know her, but with Aunt Catherine being the way she is, I just never had the opportunity. What is she like, brother?"

Darcy had to admit he did not know nearly as much about their cousin as he would have liked. "Richard is the one who knows Anne best. It was through him that I learned Anne was not the quiet, docile girl Aunt Catherine believed her to be. Our cousin has been as lonely as you have, Georgiana. I think you will see that she wants to be your friend as much as you want to be hers."

They spent some time discussing what he knew of Anne and the subterfuge she had used to prevent her mother from finding out her true nature. As they talked, Darcy was surprised to hear his sister tell him small things about herself he had never known or suspected before. Something about Lizzy's presence left them both more open to sharing the little tidbits of memory and feeling they had kept to themselves for so long.

Eventually, they heard carriages arriving and Darcy knew their walk was nearly over. Georgiana wanted to freshen up before meeting all of Bingley's guests, so she entered the house ahead of them, leaving the betrothed couple briefly on their own.

As soon as his sister was out of earshot, Lizzy said quietly. "I came out early to sit on the bench with my coffee. I kept expecting you to join me. Even though I knew you were not here, I still looked around at every sound and hoped." She leaned closer against my arm.

"I missed you as well," he said. "Throughout dinner I kept waiting for you to make some witty comments on the subject under discussion. After dinner, well, Miss Bingley and Miss Cathcart may both be fine performers, but I wanted to hear you playing on the pianoforte. At least thoughts of you sweetened my dreams all last night."

They walked a few steps slowly in comfortable silence before Darcy added, "I spoke with Bingley last night and he does not mind having our good news announced at the same time as his."

"That is good," she said, "and Mama's joy will be boundless."

Darcy chuckled, "Bingley did say he thought there would be enough of your mother's joy for all to share."