Chapter 17
In the carriage back to Darcy House, Miss Darcy looked not only pensive but also sad.
“Georgiana, what is the matter? “Did you not have a pleasant visit at Northampton House?” asked her brother.
The young girl looked like a thief caught in the act, wide-eyed and startled. She bent her head and started weeping.
Mr. Darcy was alarmed. He immediately moved to her bench and pressed her hands reassuringly.
“Sweetling, if you are not ready to make friends with their ladyships, you do not need to,” said Mr. Darcy as gently as he could.
“No, no! I should not be ungrateful, and I shall not forgive myself for repaying kindness with incivility. It is… just that…” Her weeping now became sobbing.
“Sweetling, little sister, you will tell me what upsets you so much, will you not?”
Miss Darcy could not answer or even respond. Just then, the carriage stopped in front of the Darcy townhouse.
Mr. Darcy wrapped his arm around his sister’s shoulders and half-carried her into his study. If the retainers saw anything unusual, no one seemed to notice.
After seating the young girl in a chair by the fire, Mr. Darcy handed her a small glass of sweet sherry, kept in the room expressly for her.
“Drink this, love. You will feel calmer after this.”
Miss Darcy did as she was told, sitting with her head bowed. She finally began speaking. “Brother, I am sorry for being so distraught. It was just that I nearly told the ladies how I almost…”
Mr. Darcy patted her back soothingly and said, “My long-suffering Georgiana! I wish I knew how to convince you it was not your fault, and you need not suffer for it.”
The two siblings sat hugging each other, both feeling helpless.
After a long while, Miss Darcy finally said, “Brother, I do not think I should visit her ladyships any longer.”
Mr. Darcy was taken aback by this despondent declaration. “Why, my love? You have been keeping to yourself for the last six months. The Bennet…Fitzstuart ladies seem a perfect circle of friends with whom you can begin to adjust to society again.”
“I like them very much, especially Lady Elizabeth. But I fear I will expose my shame inadvertently, as I almost did this afternoon. And… and then they will despise me! I do not want to live in constant fear!” exclaimed Miss Darcy vehemently.
Then she pleaded, “I shall remain by myself the rest of my life, like a recluse, as long as you will let me stay with you.”
Mr. Darcy wanted to cry with his sister.
He, of course, had sensed the melancholy in his young sister since the terrible event at Ramsgate, where, only by the grace of God, he had arrived just in time to thwart Wickham’s dastardly plan to elope with his innocent sister.
But Georgiana’s depth of despair so long after that near disaster hit him with devastation.
He stood up and paced the room, as was his wont when deep in thought, while his sister waited with bated breath for her brother’s verdict on her fate.
After a few minutes, Mr. Darcy resumed his position by his sister and asked, “Georgiana, would it be helpful to unburden yourself to a lady outside our family?”
Georgiana looked confused. She asked tentatively, “But is Cousin Anne… Mrs. Darcy, not in the family?” Then she looked petrified. The thought of her new sister, and therefore, her fearsome aunt as well, knowing of her gross indiscretion, scared her to death.
It was Mr. Darcy’s turn to look dumbfounded. He had never thought of his new wife as within his immediate family.
He replied reassuringly, “No, no. Cousin Anne’s health is too delicate to be your confidante, even if she wished to. I mean to say… Lady Elizabeth. You mentioned that she and you have built a rapport.”
Georgiana dipped her head again. She hesitantly said, “Would she not despise me once she knows of my foolishness and my disgrace? She seems so intelligent. She can argue with you without hesitation.”
“Lady Elizabeth and I do not argue. We discuss.”
Georgiana looked contrite again. Mr. Darcy hurriedly tried to bolster his sister’s fragile confidence.
He said soothingly, “She, as you have already discerned, has exceptional wit and can spar intelligently with any gentleman. She will see readily how you fell victim to a scoundrel’s deception. Do you remember Jenny Taylor?”
“Jenny…the upstairs maid at Pemberley?” asked Miss Darcy with curiosity.
“I saw her briefly at Northampton House today. She asked to see me and tell me…. Well, she was assaulted by Wickham when she was about your age, but she fended him off. Jenny wanted me to know that she had told Lady Elizabeth about the incident. Not only did Lady Elizabeth not blame her for the near scandal, but her Ladyship also commended Jenny on her bravery and insisted on keeping Jenny as her own lady’s maid.
See, sweetling, she is already aware of Wickham’s licentious deeds.
She will have compassion for your suffering.
Sharing the burden with her will allow you to leave this devastating episode behind. ”
Instantly, Miss Darcy felt lighter after being informed that it was not her own insufficiency or character flaws that induced Wickham to deceive her.
Her brother and cousin, the Colonel, the only people who knew about her near elopement, had tried many times to tell her it was not her fault, but she had not believed them, convinced they simply wanted her to feel better.
Now, though, she truly believed that Mr. Wickham had been debauched long before he had appeared at Ramsgate.
“How many victims have fallen into Mr. Wickham’s trap?”
Mr. Darcy marveled at his sister’s countenance swiftly taking on a solemnity that transformed her from a child to a young lady. He decided perhaps it was time to tell her about the darker facets of life.
“I know of three others in addition to Jenny. There might have been more, but they were far enough away from Pemberley that I was not aware of them. He is a practiced deceiver, and even Lady Elizabeth appeared to have fallen under the spell of his silver tongue; she is almost four years your senior.”
Miss Darcy practically jumped when she heard the last part of her brother’s account, and a sigh of relief emanated from her, unbidden. The last remnant of self-doubt dissipated—she had been set upon intentionally by a despicable predator.
“It was not… not entirely… my fault that I agreed to elope with that bad man. I know it now. If I speak about this with Lady Elizabeth, it will be to alert her to the danger of trusting such a… serpent!” Georgiana exclaimed fervidly.
Her brother had never seen such passion in his sister, and he was glad of it.
“Dearest Georgiana, I do believe that sharing this… experience with someone you trust will further heal the wound in your heart. If Lady Elizabeth is your choice, then I wholeheartedly support your decision. I shall be visiting the Duke every day in the coming weeks to help him manage his transition. You should come with me and Aunt Charlotte and stay with the ladies of the house.”
“Brother, if you are sure the Ladies Bennet-Fitzstuart would not mind… “
Mr. Darcy recalled seeing the ladies of the ducal family hover around his shy sister that afternoon. He said with conviction, “I am convinced that you will be received with open arms.”
The following day was the Sabbath. The Bennet-Fitzstuarts were once again awestruck by the previously inconceivable privileges their new status brought them.
Because of the family’s mourning for the late Duke and the more practical problem of their not yet having attire befitting their new station, they did not venture out to their parish church for Sunday worship.
Instead, they gathered in the family chapel within their house to attend a service conducted by a visiting bishop.
After luncheon, Elizabeth and Jane walked arm-in-arm among the lush plants in the conservatory spanning the length of the long gallery.
“I am very glad we can walk around greenery on a cold, blustery day like today. Oh, look at this! What an exotic-looking plant!” Elizabeth bent to look at a small plaque identifying the plant.
The sisters looked at each other with shocked, rounded eyes and exclaimed in unison, “Pineapple!”
Elizabeth said softly in wonderment, “I was determined to be as untouched as possible by all the riches and glamor of our new station, but having our own pineapple plant rudely reminds me we are no longer the provincial Miss Bennets of Longbourn. Incidentally, did you see how mamma and Mary cowered in front of a mere bishop?”
“Having a bishop all to ourselves was not something I could imagine until today. The Lord Bishop said he came to prevent several younger clergymen from fighting for the opportunity to preach to us. Do you think it likely?” asked the ever-guileless Jane.
“If the bishop said so, even jokingly, I imagine it must be true. After all, there are five unmarried and titled heiresses in this household! Gentlemen will, of course, scramble for an introduction before the ton has got hold of us. Clergymen who manage to obtain positions at Westminster Abbey must be well-connected younger sons from notable families.”
“Mamma may not allow us to be courted by younger sons, or tradesmen,” said Jane wistfully.
“Jane, you had been determined to forget Mr. Bingley. Have you now changed your mind?”
“Oh! Why do you say that?” Jane paused, caught off-guard by her sister’s probing question. Seeing Elizabeth waiting for her response, she continued cautiously.
“I was saddened by Miss Bingley’s ill-disguised disdain when she and Mrs. Hurst returned my call at Gracechurch Street, and she informed me of her brother’s attachment to Miss Darcy.
It struck me that the prospect of living at Longbourn until the day I had to live under the protection of a brother-in-law seemed inevitable.