Page 19 of Compromise & Consequence
He had forgotten she was in the room.
“You compromised a lady and refused to marry her?” his sister asked, her voice betraying a slight tremor.
He had no answer.
“She was no lady, my dear Georgiana….”
Miss Bingley stopped talking at the glare Georgiana cast in her direction.
“Did I ask your opinion, Miss Bingley? I believe I wasspeaking with my brother.”
Never had he seen his sister in such a fury.
“Now is not the time or place—” he started to say, only for Georgiana to break in.
“I know very well what I have witnessed, Fitzwilliam. You openly mocked and gloated over the fall of a lady with your friends.”
“Georgiana, please go to your room.”
“Is this the same Miss Elizabeth you once described in glowing terms? You wrote of her wit, her willingness to debate, and especially how you enjoyed her singing and playing. Are you all speaking ofthat, Miss Elizabeth?”
“Oh, please,” Miss Bingley scoffed, “She was just another piece of muslin Mr. Wickham used to dig at your brother.”
Georgiana gasped and turned chalk white, but not from shock. Darcy could tell. No, she was absolutely livid. He silently cursed Bingley and his penchant for keeping nothing from his sister.
“Go to your room, Georgiana. Now,” he said in a quieter tone. When she continued to stare him down, he added, “Please.”
“I have always looked up to you, believing you could do no wrong. But to think that you, of all people, would not do the honorable thing… with a gentleman’s daughter, no less.” Darcy took a step toward her, and her chin tilted up in a rare show of stubbornness. “I am going, Brother. Do not come and wish me goodnight.”
She took no leave of their guests and sailed through the room; her head held high. She looked so much like their mother his heart ached. Following in her shadow was Mrs. Annesley, who dared give him a grim look as well. Not only had he lost the approbation of his much-beloved sister, but also of her respectedcompanion.
“You wrote of Eliza Bennet in glowing terms?” Caroline cried out in astonishment once Georgiana had quit the room. “I believe the world has stopped spinning on its axis.”
“Not now, Caroline,” Charles said, clearly understanding the shock Darcy felt at his sister’s rare act of defiance.
Darcy fervently wished Bingley had come alone without his family in tow. What should have been a night of strict confidences being shared had become a comedy of errors, and he now had to deal with a sister who thought him the worst of cads. Even more so than George Wickham in her eyes. He had much to explain.
“I do not think it would be remiss if I called an end to this evening.”
“Of course, Darcy. We shall leave immediately.”
“Mr. Darcy, before all of this unpleasantness, I had a lovely evening.” Miss Bingley approached, stopping too close for comfort. “Next time we are together, I can safely promise I will never bring up that impertinent chit. You and I have other more delightful topics of conversation to canvas.”
He watched in morbid fascination as she fluttered her eyelashes in an open show of coquetry. A ploy he found more offensive than appealing. As soon as the door closed behind them, Darcy made his way upstairs and knocked on Georgiana’s door. Mrs. Annesley, after some length of time, opened it slightly and informed him that his sister had retired and had no wish to speak with him. Her grave countenance hinted broadly of her disenchantment with her employer. He stepped away with the sense he had been silently chastened for behaving badly. Something which had not happened since he was in short pants. The feeling was decidedly uncomfortable.
The next morning, his valet handed him a note from Georgiana. His sister had removed herself to his uncle’s house. Her anger grieved him and he decided to pen a note telling his sister he would explain everything when next he saw her, which wouldn’t be for at least a week as he had business to take care of, and left it at that. She did not need to know the week would be spent establishing his new wife at Pemberley.
The earl begged to differ and a summons to dine at Matlock House arrived before he finished breaking his fast.
***
“Lord and Lady Matlock await you in the green drawing room, Mr. Darcy,” Matlock’s butler informed him as a footman divested him of his outerwear.
In an unconscious effort to steel his nerves for what he suspected, Darcy squared his shoulders and tugged down his waistcoat. Upon entering the drawing room, he was greeted with a bevy of unhappy faces, the most distraught being his sister, who would not even raise her gaze at him. He had disappointed her deeply, he knew. By the end of the evening, he hoped he would begin to salvage their relationship.
“Uncle Robert, Aunt Lucinda,” he said by way of greeting. “Georgiana, I am glad you made it safe to our uncle’s house.”
“Before we go to dinner,” the earl began, “I will have a word with you.”
