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“Have you said this to your brother?”
Georgiana scrunched up her face. “How can I? What woman does not want to marry? It is unnatural! It is not sensible.”
Elizabeth smiled. “On the contrary, I think you are quite sensible indeed. I do not see how men are terribly useful.”
This provoked a startled snort of laughter. “Useful? But, of course, they are useful. They are men.”
Elizabeth shrugged. “Husbands are handy if you want children and a house. But if you do not want children and you already have a house, perhaps a man would not add materially to your happiness.”
Miss Darcy’s smile was like a sunrise. Elizabeth had given her permission to feel something she had never dared to consider. “Oh…! Could it possibly be that simple?”
“I think it can. No doubt some people will think you are a bit odd, but when you are wealthy, they usually label it ‘eccentric.’”
Georgiana laughed.
“Is there something you would prefer to do if you do not marry?” Elizabeth asked.
“Prefer?” Georgiana’s brows drew together as if she had never considered the matter before. “I…paint screens and play the pianoforte and harp. I am fond of music.”
“So, if you do not wed, you would play music?”
Miss Darcy bit her lip. “Perhaps not all the time.”
Elizabeth guessed there was something the other woman concealed. “What else would you do?”
“Astronomy.” The young woman practically whispered it. Elizabeth gestured for her to continue. Georgiana took a deep breath. “The stars are fascinating, but of course, girls do not do such things.”
“There is no reason you cannot.”
“But women are too emotional for science.”
Elizabeth nearly fell off the bench. “Why would you—? Who told you that?”
Miss Darcy shifted uneasily on the bench. “Everyone says so. Especially Mrs. Bolton.”
“Who, pray tell, is Mrs. Bolton?”
“She was the head of the finishing school I attended, Gilson Academy. When I arrived, she asked what I wished to study, and I said astronomy.” Georgiana gave a bitter laugh. “Such a foolish thing to say! I should have known better than to confide in her. I should have known you could not study science at a school for girls.”
Elizabeth’s heart ached for Georgiana. “It is not foolish. Not at all! Have you read about astronomy?”
Georgiana’s eyes shone. “Oh yes! I have only found a few books in the Pemberley library, but they were fascinating.”
“And you understood them?”
The girl looked uncertain. “I think so. Of course, the mathematics was beyond me, but the concepts are not so difficult.”
“Easy for you, perhaps. I have always found astronomy to be confounding.” Georgiana eyes widened. “My father studied astronomy; sometimes he discussed it with me, but I did not share his fascination. No doubt his books are moldering away in his old study. I should ‘borrow’ some for you to read.”
“That would be lovely!” Forgetting her earlier diffidence, the young woman clapped her hands.
“Tell me, when you read the books, did your emotions interfere with your understanding of the subject?”
“No…I do not believe so.”
“So perhaps women are not too emotional for rational thought.”
The other woman considered this for a moment. “But…the books were about very simple astronomy. Perhaps I might not understand the more complex aspects of the discipline.”
