Page 72 of Near Pemberley

The maid glanced instinctively towards Lydia before nodding rapidly.

“No, sir. Certainly not.”

Darcy held her gaze another moment.

“If silence is preserved, you will find me generous. If not, you will find me considerably otherwise.”

The implication required no explanation.

“Yes, sir,” she repeated quickly. “No word shall be spoken.”

Darcy inclined his head slightly, dismissing her.

The carriage withdrew afterwards, leaving Lydia standing uncertainly beneath the grey London sky while Fletcher carried in the modest trunk containing all that remained of her belongings.

She seemed unable to move for a moment.

Darcy understood then that she had begun fearing, during the drive perhaps, that some fresh humiliation awaited her here also.

He softened his voice deliberately. “My sister is expecting you.”

Lydia looked up quickly. “She truly knows?”

“Yes.”

“And she still wishes me to stay?”

After only the briefest pause, Darcy answered, “Yes.”

Something in the steadiness of the answer appeared to affect her deeply.

Without further words, he led her inside.

The warmth of the house met them immediately after the chill dampness outdoors. Footmen moved discreetly in the distance, carefully avoiding direct attention.

Lydia’s steps slowed almost involuntarily as they crossed the hall.

Everything around her – the quiet elegance, the polished order, the absence of vulgar noise or scrutiny – seemed awfully far removed from the misery of the past weeks.

Darcy noticed how tightly she clasped her gloves together.

She is frightened, he thought. Not merely ashamed. Frightened.

Mrs. Annesley and Georgiana waited in the smaller morning room overlooking the square.

At Darcy’s knock, Georgiana rose.

For one suspended instant, the two girls simply looked at one another.

Darcy noticed the contrast between them.

Georgiana, pale, gentle, composed despite visible nervousness.

Lydia, exhausted, ashamed, struggling not to shrink beneath observation.

Yet both terribly young.

Mrs. Annesley crossed the room first with calm kindness, entirely free from curiosity.