Page 58 of Georgiana
Georgiana took her time getting dressed before heading downstairs to join her family, and Max, for dinner. As she descended the staircase, she envisioned Max dressed as a common laborer. It was something Lizzy told her to do when she became flustered and needed to regain her equilibrium. However, upon entering the drawing room all thoughts of Maxwell dressed as a laborer fled from her mind as soon as she laid eyes on him.
Even though they were not dressed formally as dinner was a light repast being served in the family dining room, Max was still so handsome in his every day clothing he stole her breath away. She forced herself to give him only a cursory glance and focused instead on the other occupants within the room. Charles Bingley broke the ice by surging forward and giving her a brotherly hug.
“Georgiana, it is so good to see you again. Did you get a chance to speak with Jane before she attended Elizabeth?”
“I did.” She took Bingley’s proffered arm and glided toward her brother and cousins. When her fingers trembled ever so slightly, he covered them with his own warm hand. “Lizzy will be so glad she has arrived. There are times when you need family close at hand.”
“Can I get you something to drink, Georgiana?” Fitz asked when she reached his side.
“Not at this time.” She needed to keep her head clear in order to deal with Max.
“Georgiana.”
She gave a start at the sound of Max’s voice and turned to find him standing only a few feet away. He gave her a polite half bow.
“May I have a few words with you before we partake in dinner?”
She hesitated briefly, loathe to leave the comparative safety of her sibling and glaring cousins. Or rather her glaring cousin. Singular. Richard wore a dark look, Ashton seemed pleased.
“You may,” she replied with a slight nod.
He offered his arm, but she ignored the gesture and moved past him toward a grouping of chairs on the other side of the room. She settled in a comfortable chair and waited as he took the seat opposite her.
“I must first apologize for treating you in such a repulsive manner. I have no excuse except a deep-seated jealousy and a bitter reminder of an incident from my past, which drove me to believe the absolute worst. Not once did you, in any way, behave in a manner that justified my actions.”
“The polite thing would be to thank you for your apology, which I do. However, your actions showed me, in no uncertain terms, that you have absolutely no regard for my feelings. I wonder if you ever did. I even wonder if you truly loved me.”
“I do love you, and have done so for a very long time.”
“Really? Pray tell me how? What drew your attention to me? I am not yet twenty.”
Max sighed heavily and rubbed his fingers over his brow. Finally, he glanced up and held her gaze.
“I once told Nathan I was drawn to you because you did not see the world through rose colored glass. Instinctively, I knew you had experienced deep sorrow and grown from it and when you finally fell in love, it would be deep and abiding. I desperately wanted to be the man who received your affection.”
“You did have my affection, and my love. You were also my everything and I had loved you for almost as long as you say you’ve loved me, but that does not excuse your behavior.” His heart and hope sank at the reference to her love in the past tense. “I cannot trust you to betray me again if things don’t go the way you plan. My heart cannot take another blow. I’d rather be alone for the rest of my life and forego my own children than take the risk.” She stood and Max rushed to his feet as well. “Our discussion is finished, your Grace.”
She gathered her skirts and joined Fitz and her cousins. When Carson announced dinner was ready, Fitz held out his arm to her and escorted her into the informal dining room.
~~~~~
In spite of his hurt and frustration, Maxwell couldn’t help but be proud of the way Georgiana comported herself. Beneath all that velvety softness lay a core of tempered steel. He should have seen that before. His wife was no wilting flower, only a shy one. She was a Darcy, through and through.
He shook his head and followed everyone into the breakfast room. His rank should have given him precedence leading into the meal, but after everything which had transpired over the past few months, he was grateful to be allowed at the table. Among these people he was not the Duke of Adborough, but the man who broke Georgiana’s heart. A humbling experience, indeed.
Darcy seated Georgiana to his right and Ashton quickly took the remaining seat beside her and Bingley next to Ash. Richard took the chair to Darcy’s left, which forced Max to either sit at the end of the table by himself or beside the prickly Colonel. He decided to engage the bear and slid in beside Richard, although he kept a wary eye on the man’s flatware, in case he decided to spear him with a butter knife.
The first few minutes, spent with gathering food and footmen bustling about filling water pitchers and pouring tea, gave way to a heavy silence which fell over the room like a funeral pall. The scrape of cutlery on fine china began to grate on his nerves and he debated whether he should try and start a conversation, if only to keep from hearing himself chew food. Finally, Darcy broke the silence by addressing Bingley.
“How did Jane fare on the trip here. She is so close to her own confinement I wondered if she’d come at all.”
“Jane was splendid, as always. It was Henry who chafed at being confined in the carriage. Mrs. Preston had her hands full keeping him occupied.”
“How old is the little chap?” Ashton asked.
“He celebrates his first birthday on Christmas Eve.”
The door creaked open and Darcy’s heap whipped ‘round to see who entered, hope and worry evident on his face. Carson came and whispered in his ear.
