Page 77

“Will you take Miss Gardiner to tea, Georgie?” asked Darcy. “I am sure she is parched after her reading.”

Georgie smiled uncertainly at Miss Gardiner, but after receiving a warm smile in return, she got up gladly enough and led the reader out of the room with Clara trailing behind them. Mick, who was sitting on the campaign stool writing in a diary, quickly disposed of his pencil into his pocket and followed the others down the stairs. They had barely made it as far as the first landing when Elizabeth decided to break the ice.

“I expect you are surprised to find a female reading to your brother, Miss Darcy?”

“Well, yes and no,” replied Georgie honestly. “I knew they were having trouble finding someone with the skills brother needed. If I am surprised, it is merely by the knowledge that a female has all those skills. You must be quite a bluestocking!”

Then, afraid she might have caused offence, Georgie added, “I am all admiration. I only wish I could be a better companion to my brother, but I know nothing of Latin, Greek or mathematics.”

“I must admit that my mathematics extends only to settling the estate’s accounts,” said Elizabeth, seeing an opportunity to extract herself from the Darcy household. “I am afraid I imposed on your cousin earlier today when I heard he was looking for someone with Latin and Greek. I thought I might fit the bill. But I can see now that your brother is very erudite and my deficiencies in the area of mathematics render me ineligible.”

“Oh! You are not thinking of leaving us already?” asked Georgie in some trepidation. “I must admit I was actually pleased to find another female in the house—my companion recently had to leave me due to family commitments. I believe I have spoken more to my brother in the last two weeks than I had in the previous year. I was afraid once his secretary arrived, they would retreat into their own little world, and I would lose him again. But tell me, did my brother ask you to read Latin or Greek?”

“Well, not in so many words,” explained Elizabeth archly. “I did read from some Latin and Greek books that were handy, but it transpired that your brother knew the texts so well he was able to recite them back to me. It was very lucky you left Cecilia, otherwise we might have been quite at a stand!”

Georgie grinned. “I am so glad he enjoyed it! I knew he would if he just gave it a chance!”

Elizabeth thought this a fairly optimistic view of Mr Darcy’s reaction to the book. She merely smiled in return.

“I do not know many women who can speak Latin or Greek,” Georgie continued.

“Unfortunately, too true. The classic languages are generally considered to be the province of male accomplishment. The female mind is generally only asked to stretch itself to the modern languages.”

“Yes, I studied French and Italian, but my Italian is not conversational. It only tended to the rote learning of various Italian airs.”

“And do you use your French much?”

“Not really. I have tried to keep it up by talking to Aunt Fitzwilliam. She speaks French fluently, having spent some time at the French court before the revolution. But I cannot understand half the things she says, and she finds my accent execrable. Her French puts mine sadly in the shade, but now that Hildie has arrived, I am coming on in leaps and bounds!”

“Hildie?”

“Princess Brunhilda. She is betrothed to my cousin Robert. Fitzwilliam has just escorted her back from Vienna. That was where he fell ill.”

Having reached the ground floor, the cavalcade dispersed, with Clara retreating to the kitchens and Mick to his former spot in the vestibule. After the ladies entered the saloon, Elizabeth found the timing opportune to enquire about Mr Darcy’s illness.

“Oh! I had assumed that your brother had merely taken a toss from his horse?”

“Oh, no! At least, I believe he did so when he visited Hertfordshire, but it was not serious. No, he fell ill with a brain fever when in Vienna and almost died. Now he has lost his sight, and it is possible he will never walk again.”

Elizabeth had not realised the gravity of Mr Darcy’s illness and felt suddenly guilty about her plan to abandon him in such a state. But before she could enquire any further, Farley entered with the tea tray, and they were forced to abandon the topic.

“I brought some orgeat for you also, Miss Gardiner,” said the footman. “Please forgive me for not thinking to do so earlier. We are rather short-handed today; the second footman being confined to his bed with a sick-cold.”

“Thank you, Farley. It is much appreciated.”

Georgiana immediately saw by the way Miss Gardiner delivered this graceful reply that she was used to being waited on. Remembering her comment about the estate’s account books and perceiving her lavender gown, she thought it likely that Miss Gardiner had only recently sought employment after a bereavement. Georgie was very curious to know her history but was too polite to ask directly.

“And how, may I ask, did you come to be proficient in Latin and Greek? Is your father perhaps a professor in the classics?”

Elizabeth related a little of her background and family to Georgie, omitting some essential details, such as the location of the former Bennet estate in Hertfordshire, and instead dwelling on her dear departed father. Georgie, in turn, described her own life, lived mostly on the Darcy estate in Derbyshire. Her own father, who had died when she was only ten, she imbued with every aspect of a superhuman being: profoundly wise, incredibly strong and inherently virtuous. The ladies were so enjoying their conversation over tea and apple cake that they were quite oblivious of the time until a knock at the door caused Georgie to glance at the mantel clock. She was quite shocked to see that a whole hour had passed away. Upon her summons, the door opened and her cousin, the colonel, stepped into the room.

“Hello, Georgie! Ah! Miss Gardiner, you are still here. I had hoped I would catch you. Forgive me for racing off earlier. How did things go with Darcy?”

“Well enough, sir. But as I was saying to Miss Georgie, I fear I am perhaps not suitable for the position after all.”

A slight frown creased the colonel’s brow. “I do hope that Darcy was not impolite to you. He usually is the best of fellows, but his illness has put him sadly out of frame.”

“I assure you I took no offence, sir. He is no grumpier than my own father and I was quite capable of handling him, I assure you. I must admit that after looking for employment for the past two weeks I was so anxious to get a position that I imposed upon you when perhaps I should not have. Mr Jukes seemed to think my skills in mathematics were inadequate. I must defer to his greater experience and release you from all obligation.”