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“Good morning, Mrs. R,” he said as he walked into the kitchen.
“Good morning, William. Would you like another cup of coffee?”
“I'd love one, thank you. How was your day with Georgie? Please tell me you gave her some cooking lessons.”
She laughed and handed him a cup of black coffee. “We tackled some of the basics. Between you and me, she has a long way to go. How have you two managed to stay fed these past few months? You cannot live on take-out. It's time you began eating properly again. I'll see to it.”
“I have no doubt you will.”
Alice Reynolds had been working for the Darcy family for years—since Will was a boy—but mostly stayed in Boston now. She enjoyed being near her remaining family, who lived in the city, but he’d asked her to come and visit over the holiday weekend.
He grew serious. “Really, Mrs. R…how does Georgie seem to you?”
He needed another person's opinion of his sister's progress or lack thereof, and Mrs. Reynolds knew Georgiana as well as he did. She knew what Georgiana had been through, and other than Charles, she was the only person whose opinion Will could trust.
“She’s livelier, like her old self. I think the combination of therapy and ocean air has done her good. She needed to be away from the city. You've done a wonderful job taking care of her, William.”
He shrugged. “I just want the old Georgie back. I miss her.”
“She's coming around. You just keep doing what you're doing, and she'll be fine.”
Georgiana strolled into the kitchen then, yawning widely. “Good morning.”
Will grinned. “Good morning. I was wondering if you were ever going to get up.”
“I'm surprised you didn't sleep later. I heard what time you came in last night.”
“It wasn't late. I was having a good time.”
Georgiana poured herself a cup of coffee. “I'm glad. And like I told you yesterday, I expect a full report. You behaved?”
“I behaved like a Darcy. Very gentlemanly.” He grinned and leaned against the counter.
Mrs. Reynolds appeared amused by the conversation, but politely excused herself, claiming she needed to perform an extensive inventory of the pantry.
The siblings ventured outside to the deck, and Will narrated the events of the night, telling her about the dancing, the food, and the guests. He mentioned he’d spoken with Elizabeth quite a bit, and Georgiana pushed him for more details.
He eventually told her they’d gone for a walk, that he’d apologized, and that she’d apologized as well. He talked about their dance in the water—making Georgiana’s mouth drop open—and their dance later in the evening, and that they’d made tentative plans to see each other again, possibly this week.
She fastened a look on him, so gleeful it made him squirm.
“What? What is that look for?”
“If you could have onlyseenthe look on your face while you talked about her.”
His cheeks warmed. “What are you talking about? What look?”
“I think you might have a crush. Youdancedin thewaterwith her? You, Mr. Privacy?” She snickered. “Oh, this is too much.”
“It was just an–an impulsive thing. I don’t…I wasn’t…” He grew flustered and fell silent.
“I'm sorry, I shouldn’t laugh.” She turned serious. “It's just so unlike you. She must have made quite an impression.”
“She did. And you know what it was? She was just herself. We talked, we had real conversation. She wasn't saying things to try and impress me, and she certainly isn't very easily impressed. Not by me, anyway. She's smart, and confident, but so...unpretentious and unassuming.” He paused. “She didn’twantanything from me, except conversation. It was a refreshing change.”
She smiled. “It sounds like you enjoyed yourself.”
“I did, Georgie. I really did.”
