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Percy immediately panicked. He didn’t say anything but took off through the crowd. He could hear Lydia calling to him but didn’t answer her. He had a terrible feeling, and he needed to know if that feeling was correct.
Percy pushed his way through the crowd of people, looking for someone in particular. He knew that Arthur had come to town with that Edmund fellow, and so when he saw him standing in the corner speaking with some important people from society, he inserted himself into the conversation.
“Might I interrupt you for a moment?” Percy shouted above the din of the music. Edmund looked surprised to see him but nodded. Percy led him over to a quieter corner of the room. “Where is your friend Arthur Middleton this evening?”
Now, Edmund looked even more confused. “I am not sure,” he informed Percy. “I arrived with him this evening, but after we got here, he disappeared somewhere.”
Percy’s hopes were quickly fading. “And what time did you arrive?” he asked, trying not to sound panicked.
Edmund thought. “Around a half-past eight?” he guessed.
That was it. Percy went into a full-on panic, as he and Lydia had disappeared together right around that time. That gave Georgiana just enough time to get together with Arthur, and who knows what they had been up to since then.
“Thank you,” Percy said curtly, and then took his leave of Edmund. He pushed back through the crowd, and as he did, the loud music, heat, and incessant chatter of the guests around him only made him feel more panicked. He started heading towards the doorway in an attempt to go looking for his sister when Lydia suddenly appeared in front of him.
And thankfully, Georgiana was with her.
“Georgiana!” Percy cried, wrapping his arms around his sister.
When he pulled away from her, Georgiana looked as confused as he thought she would. “Whatever are you doing, you fool?” his sister asked him. “You have not embraced me ... ever?”
“Where was she?” Percy asked, turning his attention to Lydia.
He noticed that Lydia and Georgiana shared a look, but there was nothing said between them. “She went for a walk with one of her friends that she saw here this evening,” Lydia answered.
“Yes,” Georgiana confirmed. “Dorothy Pattle and I took a turn about the estate, that was all, you nervous idiot!”
Percy felt immensely relieved. He was so happy that his sister wasn’t with Arthur Middleton that he truly did not care where else she had been.
Lewis then came up beside the trio, and Percy was just as happy to see him. “Good to see you too, chap!” Lewis said when Percy gave him an unexpected hug, too. “What’s this for?”
“Nothing, Lewis, no reason,” Percy informed him. “Just relieved. That’s all.”
But as Percy watched, Lewis looked to Lydia, and they shared a glance that he didn’t understand. However, at that moment, he couldn’t have cared less. He was so happy that that vile man had not ruined his sister, and so he spent the rest of the party enjoying the company of Marianne, Lydia, Lewis, and Georgiana. The five of them were quite a jolly sight.
