Page 102 of Near Pemberley

“Now I have ruined everything.”

“No,” said Georgiana firmly.

Lydia looked unconvinced. “I have brought disgrace upon all of them. Jane. Lizzy. Kitty and Mary. Even if they forgive me, everybody else will remember.”

For a moment, no one spoke.

Darcy knew enough of society to recognise that her fear was not entirely unfounded.

“Your father wishes to see you. He will see you the day after tomorrow. One of your sisters is here. Your aunt will bring her tomorrow.”

“Who? Lizzy?”

“Yes, it is she.”

“She will be angry… but I don’t care. I have missed my sisters… I brought disgrace on all of us.”

“Miss Lydia,” he said more gently, “the difficulty is not permanent.”

Her expression suggested she was not entirely persuaded. “Then what is it?”

“A difficulty for which we have not yet found a solution.”

Lydia considered this. “And what sort of solution?”

Darcy almost smiled. The question was entirely reasonable. Unfortunately, he had no reasonable answer to offer.

“If I knew that already, I should be a much happier man than I presently am.”

To his surprise, the corner of Lydia’s mouth twitched.

Georgiana smiled openly. “I believe,” she said, “that is Brother’s way of admitting that he does not know.”

Darcy inclined his head. “It is.”

The admission seemed to reassure Lydia, nevertheless.

At length, she asked, “And Lizzy is truly coming tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

This time, the smile reached her eyes.

Darcy was struck by the transformation. Nothing he had said regarding Hertfordshire, society, or the future had visibly improved her spirits. The prospect of seeing Miss Elizabeth had accomplished it in an instant.

“Lizzy must despise me,” Lydia said.

He thought of Elizabeth’s face at Gracechurch Street and felt a curious tightening in his chest.

“No,” he said. “She was worried.”

Lydia appeared satisfied with that answer.

Georgiana, however, was studying her brother with an expression that made him slightly uneasy. There were times when his sister’s powers of observation were altogether too acute.

Fortunately, she said nothing.

“Now,” Darcy declared, “I believe both of you have spent enough time sitting upon staircases for one evening.”