Page 38 of Mr. Darcy Comes to Town

Georgiana and her cousin entered. Mr. Bingley immediately stood and bowed slightly.

“Good morning, Miss Darcy,” he said, beaming. “I thought you might sleep later.” He turned to his sister, who sat at the opposite side of the intimate table. Basile waited impatiently beside her chair. “Did you not, Caroline?”

His sister smiled. “I did.” She gestured at the sideboard. “Pray, serve yourselves.” Speaking to the cat, she said, “Yes, yes, Basile, sweety. Chef made us some steamed tench today. Here is some for you, my dear boy.” Georgiana watched Miss Darcy put a saucer of flaked fish onto the floor. “Is Chef not a favorite of yours?”

Basile settled himself onto his stomach and addressed his meal with delicate relish. Georgiana approached the sideboard with her cousin. Brewster stood next to it and handed them plates. After thanking him, she immediately took some of the tench. She adored fish and spooned creamy lemon and parsley sauce over the white flesh.

“Do you wish an egg?” her cousin asked, holding out a spoon with a poached egg on it. “I expect the sauce will be nice with it.”

“Yes, please,” she said, accepting an egg. She spooned more sauce over it. Afterward, she took a slice of pound cake and a dish of orange supreme segments. Georgiana moved toward the table, choosing to sit on the right of Mr. Bingley.

“Would you care to assist me in preparing for the party we are hosting this afternoon?” Miss Bingley asked her.

Georgiana ducked her head and said, “I would be delighted to be of assistance.”

“Excellent,” Miss Bingley said, nodding sharply.

Picking up her fork, Georgiana began to eat, thinking that if only Miss Bingley’s demeanor matched Mr. Bingley’s, she might be less anxious to be here without her brother at hand.

I pray Fitz will not marry her. She behaves in an overbearing, desperate sort of manner that is most off-putting. Four seasons without finding a husband is surely the source of her desperation. If Miss Bingley means to wait until Fitz proposes, I desperately hope she will be disappointed. I think he must be looking for quite a different sort of lady or he would have asked Miss Bingley already. Not Cousin Anne, though. I doubt she means to marry at all.

“How is dear Lady Orillia?” Miss Bingley asked, signaling for Brewster to bring her some more coffee.

Georgiana looked at her cousin in mute appeal. He nodded once and answered the question.

“My mother enjoys excellent health, and is looking forward to the Little Season,” Cousin Douglas said pleasantly. “My youngest sister is being presented in the spring.”

“Are you to be presented this coming spring, Georgiana?” Mr. Bingley asked.

“I do not believe so, sir,” Georgiana said, quelling at the idea of being thrust into the society of gentlemen who might trick her the same way Wickham had done. “I will be scarcely seven and ten in the spring. Eight and ten is soon enough for my liking. I think Fitz supports my preference.”

“Oh, that is a shame,” Miss Bingley moaned. “I so hoped to be of use to you this year.”

Cousin Douglas rescued Georgiana, saying, “How kind you are, Miss Bingley. I expect to be stationed in London this coming Season. Perhaps you will do me the honor of standing up with me at Almack’s?”

Miss Bingley stared wide-eyed at him and murmured, “Delighted.”

“Thank you.”

And now, no more talk of the Season, if you please. Georgiana inwardly sighed. Fitz, please come soon. He would change the subject. He is not here, so I must.

“Mr. Bingley, have your neighbors been welcoming?” she asked with deliberate cheerfulness.

*

Darcy climbed out of his carriage the moment it rolled in front of Netherfield. He had made excellent time, leaving soon after dawn. He tugged out his pocket watch, noting the time as being only half-ten. The front door opened, and his sister flew down the steps. He caught her in his arms and held her close.

“You must have been on the watch for me,” he said, chuckling softly and putting her away.

“I was assisting Miss Bingley with preparations for her party,” Georgiana told him, smiling and clearly relieved to have him near once more. “We are working in the room she has chosen for her office, which is just off the entrance hall at the front of the house. So, you see, I heard the carriage arrive, looked out the window, saw that it was you, and hurried out to greet you.”

“I see,” Darcy said, touching her cheek with one finger. “Where is Douglas?”

“He went riding with Mr. Bingley,” Georgiana revealed. She glanced toward the front door. “Here is Miss Bingley waiting to greet you.”

In a quiet voice, he asked, “Is she being kind to you?”

“Oh, yes,” his sister said just as softly. “The Bingley’s have been most hospitable.”