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Lydia whipped her head around to look at Georgiana to see if she was serious, which she was. “Why did you mention that?” Lydia asked, trying to sound innocent.
“We could dance around this all night,” Georgiana said finally, “but I know that you like my brother, and I have it on quite good authority that he likes you, so I see no reason why he shouldn’t be courting you this very minute.”
Lydia just stared at Georgiana. She surveyed every minute movement on Georgiana’s face to see if there was any hint of mockery, but there was none. She wanted to ask Georgiana how she could be so certain of that and try to get anything more out of her about Percy’s feelings towards her, but she knew better than that. She did not dare give away any more of her feelings, and so she simply stayed silent.
When Georgiana had grown tired of waiting for her to reply, she filled in the silence herself. “It has been nice seeing him have someone who brings him so much happiness,” she commented. “I know that he spends most of the rest of his time worrying about me, so I’m glad he has a reprieve. I sometimes feel bad about the stress and worry that I cause him simply by having fun for myself. But this is the first time in my life that I’ve been allowed to go out and actually meet people in society. Why can’t I have a little fun if everyone else is allowed to?”
Georgiana had a good point. Lydia, however, knew exactly what to say in return. “I understand you perfectly,” she replied. “When I was first allowed to attend balls and parties, I went a little wild myself, if you can believe that. And while it was a great deal of fun, I very quickly learned how much one needs to watch oneself at these gatherings. They may seem like all fun and games, but there are so many eyes on you all the time. And there are some men in attendance at every party who one does not want to get involved with, even though our hearts sometimes tell us the opposite.”
Lydia hoped that she was coming off as understanding without revealing too much of what Percy had revealed to her about Georgiana’s goings on. As she studied Georgiana’s face once more, she discovered that she had toed the line just perfectly.
“It is funny you should mention that,” Georgiana said casually, “for the thing I believe my brother worries the most about is my association with unsavoury men. But what Percy doesn’t know,” she said, leaning in close to Lydia and beckoning her closer with her finger, “is that I have quite a good eye when it comes to problematic men, and I know exactly how to deal with them.”
Something in Georgiana’s smile told Lydia that there was much more to what she was saying, and she was quite obviously alluding to something that was transpiring either presently or was just about to. However, right when Lydia was about to engage her more in conversation on that topic, Percy reappeared in the chair beside his sister.
“I cannot believe,” he said as he was seated again, “that neither of you looked over to me once to see if I needed rescuing from that conversation. I was counting on you to be my escape if I needed you!”
Georgiana rolled her eyes, but Lydia was offended. “I did look over to you!” she defended herself. “But you were not looking at me, and so I returned my attention to your charming sister here, as I should have been doing.”
Percy looked from Lydia to Georgiana and back again, and then dropped the topic. “What were the two of you speaking of?” he asked them.
It was Lydia and Georgiana’s turn to share a look, and then Georgiana jumped in to respond. “Bonnets,” she said hastily, “I was telling Lydia all about the new bonnet that you picked up for me at the haberdashery the other day.”
While this was a lie, it made Lydia realize something. The hat that Percy had been in to pick up the other day had not been for some woman that he was courting – it was for his sister. A little relief washed over Lydia, and she was very relieved to hear that there was not some mystery woman also vying for Percy’s attention.
“Ah yes,” Percy responded, sounding as though he didn’t believe a word of what his sister was saying. “Because you can talk about hats for all that time, and bonnets certainly elicit the gales of laughter that I heard coming from over here.”
Percy raised an eyebrow and gave the girls a hard look, but neither of them cracked. Lydia was about to respond when out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mabel leaving the room. She assumed that she was seeking out a place to relieve herself, and Lydia knew that if she wanted to talk to Percy alone and not have Mabel find them for at least a few minutes, she had to move now.
It seemed that fortune was smiling on her this evening, as one of Georgiana’s trusted friends suddenly appeared, and the two young women scurried off together, discussing some drama or another. Percy and Lydia watched her dash away, both pleasantly amused by her sudden disappearance.
But when Percy looked back at Lydia, he had a very intense expression on his face. “Would you like to …” he started to say, but Lydia interrupted him.
“Yes,” she said hastily, rising from her chair and keeping an eye on the door to see if Mabel was returning at any moment. “Whatever it is, absolutely yes, but we must move quickly.”
Percy looked and saw that Mabel was gone and immediately understood what she meant. “Come with me,” he said quietly and dashed in the direction of the doors at the back of the room. Lydia scampered behind him, her heart pounding with excitement.
