Page 38 of Wickham Likes 'Em Young
Darcy was looking at Elizabeth with as much longing as affection, and she knew that he needed her attention almost as much as Georgiana; so she looped an arm through each of the Darcys’ arms and swept them away on a rather silly tour.
“We must break the ice of formality, you see,” Elizabeth said. “So you have already seen our esteemed Longbourn hall—and, see, it has as many walls as are required. It may not be quite as large as the entrance hall of Pemberley—” She smiled and winked at Georgiana before turning to Darcy and asking him with a serious face, “Or, perhaps, it is?”
“Minx,” he said with a smile that crinkled his eyes. She laughed, and he said, “I have missed that sound.”
Georgiana giggled, which pleased Elizabeth no end. Darcy turned towards her and said, “And I have missed that sound, as well.”
“Now, that,” Elizabeth went on, nodding towards the door to the bookroom, “is the most sacred space in all of Longbourn. Not only does my beloved father spend most of his waking hours there, but it is the room in which the dearest treasures of the estate are kept. And when I speak oftreasures, of course I mean…books.”
Georgiana giggled again. “You sound like my brother.”
“We share a love of reading. Now, onward: you have seen my parlour and have met Lydia and Kitty, Mary and Jane, plus my mother, but did you know that I had longed to have one more sister? I am thrilled to have that wish granted. Come this way, the tour waits for no person.”
At the next doorway, Elizabeth paused and said, “Now you shall see the grandest pianoforte that has ever graced Longbourn House…at least in my lifetime.” She opened the door with aflourish and led them into the small music room, where a very old Broadwood upright reigned.
It looked a bit worse for the wear, but when Georgiana stroked the keys, the sound was quite good. “You keep it in tune; it sounds lovely,” she said. She indicated the stacks of sheet music nearby. “May I take a peek?”
“Of course you may,” Elizabeth said. She sat down and softly played a few bars of a Haydn sonata while Georgiana pored over the musical choices.
“How is it that I have never heard you play?” Darcy asked her. “I did not even realise that you do so.”
She smiled up at him. “There is much you do not know about me, sir.”
“Should I be frightened?” he teased.
“If you are not frightened of my skill in forcing attackers into ravines, I certainly think that my many other accomplishments will not give you cause for fear.”
Georgiana’s head shot up. “You were attacked and had to force someone into a ravine?” she asked.
“Pardon my wayward tongue.” Elizabeth’s eyes widened, and she aimed an apologetic grimace at Darcy.
He took both of his sister’s hands and said in a low voice, “You remember that Elizabeth asked you to tell me that the man I saved her and Miss Bennet from had come to Meryton?”
“Mr Wickham,” she whispered. “And so you rode back to help her.”
“Yes, she had been warned, and she was able to warn others, but still he managed to trick her into leaving the house, and then he attempted to carry her off somewhere.”
“But you saved her?” Georgiana looked very pale. “Like you saved me?”
Elizabeth knew, with those words, that the near-loss of Georgiana that Darcy had confided so long agowas, as she had suspected, something to do with Mr Wickham.
“Actually, I did not manage to save Elizabeth, though I should have dearly loved to. She saved herself before I could reach her.”
Georgiana looked at Elizabeth, wide-eyed, forgetting to be shy as she asked, “You saved yourself?”
“Well, yes, I suppose I did. I knew the area better thanthat man, because it was Longbourn land, and I had walked every inch of it thousands of times. I was able to edge him backwards enough that he lost his footing and fell.”
“—Into a ravine! Oh, Elizabeth, you seem to be perfect! I am so glad my brother met you.”
“I am far from perfect, Georgiana. But I am so glad your brother met me, as well.” She smiled at both of the Darcys and said, “Should I resume the tour of this enormous manor?”
Everyone laughed, chuckled, or giggled, as they saw fit, and Elizabeth took them to the still room, the back parlour, the dining room, and the kitchen. Finally she knocked on the bookroom door and allowed Darcy to introduce his sister to her father.
It was time for tea, and Elizabeth endeavoured to draw Georgiana into conversations with Mary, Lydia, and Kitty. She was proud that her mother exuded maternal care rather than mortifying gushing over Darcy’s wealth; that morning, she had reminded her mother that Georgiana was an orphan who had barely known her mother and that she was very shy. The evidence of her timidity prompted Mrs Bennet to speak more softly and smile more gently, and the afternoon passed much more pleasantly than Elizabeth could have imagined.
Of course, the Bennets invited the Darcys to extend their visit to dinner, as well, but Darcy explained that they hadnot yet greeted their hosts, and they were expected there for dinner. “We sent our luggage and Georgie’s companion on to Netherfield,” he said, “so Bingley knows we are here, just too busy to greet him.” He smiled and continued, “I suppose that I owe him, as he has taken it upon himself to throw a ball in our honour, Elizabeth.”
“Yes; I am certain that you owe him a great deal, as we all know how much you love a ball,” she teased.
