Page 12 of Darcy's Guarded Heart
“Oh, we must say hello,” Caroline said, clapping her hands, and immediately set off into the drawing-room. Darcy followed and overtook her by a nose length to find his sister sitting by the fire, her eyes closed. She was still in her travelling outfit, her bonnet sitting on the chair beside her, but upon hearing the commotion, she opened her eyes and smiled, flying into his arms.
“William, there you are!” She embraced her brother, inhaling the sweet tones of rose that came from the perfume she always wore. She had inherited several bottles from their mother and taken to wearing them over the last couple of years.
“What are you doing here?” he asked before she could answer. Caroline and Louisa embraced her, and soon the gentlemen greeted her with practiced bows.
“Oh, I could not bear to stay at Darcy House any longer. I was so very bored, and Caroline’s letters sounded so delightful. I could not wait to come. Besides, Aunt Catherine is in London. She has monopolised all of my time, and I must say I found it rather tiresome. All she talks about is you and Anne.”
Darcy closed his eyes. Would his aunt ever give up her pursuit of making a match between him and Anne?
“You should have sent a message ahead, Georgiana. I would have stayed here and awaited you.” And avoided the unfortunate run-in with the family, he thought to himself but didn’t say it.
“I did,” she replied, a little perturbed.
Bingley nodded and held up a piece of paper. “Here it is. It seems it arrived while we were out. Well, I, for one, am very grateful for it,” he said. “The more, the better.”
“I agree,” Caroline said. “A young lady of excellent breeding at last,” she added, taking Georgiana’s arm with a pleased smile.
“Were there no ladies of distinction at the assembly tonight?” Georgiana asked. “The housekeeper told us about it when we arrived.”
“There are certainly ladies of distinction,” Darcy said. “But we do not know them well yet, so it is much preferable that we stick to our own company for now.”
“There is certainly one lady of quality,” Bingley said, and Darcy noted that his tone indicated he was upset by what had been said.
“Oh, and pray what is her name?” she asked.
“Bennet. Jane Bennet. And you will meet her, because we have been invited to a gathering at one of the local knight’s homes,” Bingley said, and Georgiana’s eyes grew wide.
“I can come? Even though I have not yet had my coming out ball?” she asked, glancing at Darcy, who felt the weight of the accusation in her gaze. He had postponed her debutante ball, not quite ready to let his little sister enter the world of courtship that would lead to him losing her. Besides, he did not trust the men in their society to treat her with as much care as she deserved.
He had already had one bad experience in that regard, after all. A year and a half ago, his father’s ward, an insufferable gentleman by the name of George Wickham, had prevailed upon Darcy to give him a loan so he could study the law. He had already spent all the money Mr Darcy had given him as part of his inheritance. Darcy, hoping to be rid of the man, had obliged, only to find out later that Mr Wickham had rather darker plans.
During his visit—much to Georgiana’s delight, as she had always been fond of Wickham for reasons Darcy could not decipher—he had planned to charm Georgiana, then barely sixteen.
If it hadn’t been for the honesty of Wickham’s would-be accomplice, Mrs Young, who once served the family as a lady’s maid, Wickham might have succeeded. As it stood, Darcy had been able to dispatch him under threat of violence if he ever came near his sister again, all without Georgiana being any the wiser.
His sister still lamented the loss of her friendship with Mr Wickham and sometimes blamed Darcy for it, but he would rather have her remain blissfully unaware of the calamity shehad managed to evade, even if it meant her being a little angry at him.
“Oh, I look forward to it. I am so glad I brought some of my best gowns with me. Miss Bingley, Miss Hurst, you will help me look my best, yes?”
“But of course,” Caroline said. “And please, if I have told you once, I have told you a hundred times—call me Caroline—and this is Louisa.”
Georgiana beamed as she sat with the ladies to discuss their looks for the gathering at Lucas Lodge.
Though Darcy had to admit, he had no wish for Georgiana to be so publicly displayed. She had already proven herself to be lovely and beautiful, but the public adored her too much, and it was difficult to know where to go next.
Chapter Seven
Elizabeth
Elizabeth stepped down from the staircase and made her way down the hall to the dining room from where Lydia’s voice spilled to her ears.
“Georgiana is her name,” Lydia said. “Mr Wickham says she just arrived in town a few days ago and she will be at Lucas Lodge tomorrow, so we shall meet her.”
Elizabeth only caught the end of the conversation and was thus confused at the mention of George Wickham. A member of the Derbyshire militia, he had caused quite a stir in their small town since his arrival a few weeks ago. He had a way about him that was utterly charming but after initially falling for his easy conversation and handsome smile, Elizabeth had discovered he was a ladies’ man and had thus kept her distance. Her younger sisters, likewise, had been warned away from him—although evidently not as effectively as she’d hoped, if Lydia had spoken to him.
“Mr Wickham?” Thomas said as Elizabeth sat down. “And where exactly did you meet this scoundrel?”
“I chanced upon him in town,” Lydia replied. “I was talking to Mr Denny, and you know he and Mr Wickham are friends. So we spoke for a time. He mentioned that Mr Darcy’s sister is in town now—Georgiana.”
