Chapter Seventy-Seven
As the day of the ball drew near, Elizabeth began to invite Georgiana into the drawing room when there were guests, saying, “Do allow my sisters to entertain us.” Then Georgiana and Mary would play a few duets, after which Georgiana would curtsey respectfully and leave the room.
Georgiana was always carefully dressed for these occasions, wearing frocks that were reminiscent of a girl still in the schoolroom, and her hair down her back.
Once she had left the room, there was usually a murmuring from the visiting ladies, and once or twice, Elizabeth thought she heard the word “elopement,” but more and more often the only comments were about the beauty of the music.
“Miss Darcy is prodigiously talented, is she not?” Elizabeth would say. Which, of course, led all the ladies to reply with everything polite.
Then Mary would add, “She is a lovely girl in every respect; it is a joy to play with her.”
They hoped, of course, that this demonstration of love on the part of Georgiana’s family, coupled with her innocent appearance and musical expertise, would turn the tide of public opinion.
***
It was a momentous day when the drawing room welcomed Countess de Lieven, Countess Cowper, Viscountess Castlereagh, and Countess Esterházy.
Elizabeth had been warned of the possibility of such a visit by Aunt Ellen, and she could not deny that she was quaking inside as she dropped a respectful curtsey to these ladies and welcomed them.
“You know who we are, of course,” Countess Cowper began.
“Of course,” Elizabeth replied.
“We have a good many questions,” Viscountess Castlereagh said.
And they certainly did. Most of these questions were familiar enough – family, education, accomplishments, and so on – but others were not.
She was asked about her views on society, what books she read, what she knew about being the mistress of an estate, and finally – how she intended to manage Miss Darcy.
“Manage her?” Elizabeth asked, puzzled.
“Yes, indeed,” Viscountess Castlereagh replied. “We understand that she is given to poor behaviour.”
“She most certainly is not!” Elizabeth replied, sharply.
“Did you not know?”
“Know what?”
“Why, that she almost ran off with a servant this past summer!” Countess de Lieven said, quite sharply.
“Oh, heavens! Do people still believe that?” Elizabeth forced herself to laugh.
“They certainly do,” Countess de Lieven said, staring Elizabeth full in the face.
“Then they are entirely in error.” Elizabeth spoke with great certainty.
“Our source is good, too good to be disbelieved.”
“That source being a gossip column?” Elizabeth queried. “Is that truly where the ton gets its news? How very disappointing.”
“Disappointing?” Viscountess Castlereagh said, now puzzled.
“Indeed; in the country, we thought that the higher levels of society were well-informed and educated. It is hard indeed to now learn that gossip columns are considered reliable sources of information. I know that I, for one, was taught to look more deeply before forming opinions.”
The ladies traded glances. Countess Cowper said, “Might we speak with Miss Darcy?”
Elizabeth said, “Not if it is your intent to castigate her, no. She is a shy and delicate creature, who has already suffered overmuch from society’s opinions, which I now learn are based entirely on a gossip column.” She infused the last two words with a good deal of sarcasm.
“I will be kind,” Countess Cowper promised.
Elizabeth looked around the room. “And the other ladies?”
One by one, with obvious reluctance, the ladies promised as well.
Finally satisfied, Elizabeth went to find Georgiana.
“Quickly,” she whispered. “Put on the white dress – the one with the pink roses! The Almack’s patronesses are here!”
Georgiana went white and swayed on her feet. Elizabeth shook her, gently. “No, no, Georgiana; you may have your reaction after they have gone. For now, you hold your head up, my dear girl. You have done nothing wrong!”
Georgiana insisted on having Mary with her. Hand in hand, the two girls entered the room. The difference between Mary, dressed and coiffed as a young woman, and Georgiana, dressed as a schoolgirl with her hair down, was striking.
Once everyone was seated, Countess Cowper began. “Miss Darcy, you do know that there was an article written about you some months ago, do you not?”
“I do, yes,” Georgiana managed.
“Is there truth in it?”
Elizabeth began to answer, but Georgiana overrode her. “Like most good gossip, there is a kernel of truth.”
“And what is that kernel of truth?”
All the ladies leaned forward, eager to hear the tale directly from the girl’s lips.
“I grew up at Pemberley, as you doubtless know,” she began.
“Yes?”
“My parents died when I was young; my brother spent as much time with me as his duties would allow, but he was master of Pemberley, and a good deal of his time was required to manage the estate.”
Again, the ladies nodded.
“I had a friend, though, who was the son of our steward. He spent time with me, as he had little else to do, and I trusted him. I was just a child, of course. You ladies doubtless had friends when you were girls, and likely they were other girls, were they not?”
She looked around the room, and saw all the ladies nod.
“Yes; but you see, I did not. Pemberley is quite isolated, and my brother was too busy learning his new responsibilities to want to go to Town, and so I had no friends who were girls. It was quite lonely, if I am honest. Quiet and lonely, except for this one friend. Yes, he was young and yes, he was the son of the steward, but what did I care for any of that? I was just a child, with no mother to teach me any better.”
Elizabeth watched the ladies as Georgiana spoke, and saw the first glimmers of understanding on their faces.
Georgiana continued. “Imagine my surprise, then, when I met him at Ramsgate! I had not seen him for many years, and did not know anything about him, other than that he had been kind to a young girl. My companion, Mrs. Younge, encouraged him to visit us, and so he did.”
“But why did she encourage this?” Viscountess Castlereagh asked. “Surely she knew this was wrong!”
A tear dripped down Georgiana cheek as she whispered, “Because they knew one another. The two of them had contrived the meeting between them.”
“How is that even possible?” Countess de Lieven asked, frowning. “How could they have known one another?”
It was Elizabeth who said, “Because my husband, Mr. Darcy, did not realise that her references were forgeries. Mrs. Younge and the man in question engineered the entire thing, from start to finish, in order to gain control of Georgiana’s dowry. Can you imagine such evil!”
“Mr. Darcy should have –“ Viscountess Castlereagh began, but Elizabeth cut her off.
“Of course he should have. And you must believe me when I tell you that this failing haunts him, night and day. There had been a fire on the estate, and there was a good deal of turmoil at the time; he could not imagine a companion supplying false references, and so did not adequately confirm them. Good people have difficulty believing that others are capable of evil,” Elizabeth finished.
Georgiana added, “And if all of this had not been dreadful enough, painful enough, then they sold a story about me to the newspaper, and – and – and everyone believed it!”
By now, tears were rolling openly down Georgiana’s cheeks; Mary was holding her and whispering comfort in her ear.
The ladies sat in silence, digesting what they had heard. Countess de Lieven was the first to speak. “I am sorry, child, that we added to your pain.”
Viscountess Castlereagh said, “I may have words to say to your brother, but it is easily seen that you were betrayed by people you should have been able to trust.”
Countess Cowper said, “Your aunt said as much to me. I told her I would have to wait and speak with you myself; now that I have done so, I am reassured as to your character.”
Countess Esterházy had been silent through most of Georgiana’s recital; now she addressed Georgiana in a low tone, “You said your companion’s name was Mrs. Younge. About thirty years of age, brown hair, brown eyes, crooked nose?”
Georgiana looked surprised. “Why, yes, Countess. How could you know that?”
The Countess dropped her head into her hands and muttered something.
“I could not understand you, Sophie,” the Countess de Lieven said. “Please repeat that?”
The Countess Esterházy raised her face and looked around the room. She whispered, “I think I may have hired her as a companion for my niece.”
Everyone in the room sat in shocked silence for a minute. Then Georgiana said, “But her references…”
“Like your brother, I did not check them adequately. There was theft in the household, and we had a good deal to…” She trailed off, her cheeks red in embarrassment.
Then she said to Georgiana, “I do not wish to accuse her without being certain. May I bring her here, Miss Darcy, so that you might identify her? Or would that be too painful for you?”
Georgiana sat up straight. “Countess, if the alternative is to risk the reputation of another young lady, then I will be as brave as I possibly can and face her directly.”
“I will be with you,” Elizabeth promised.
“As will I!” Mary vowed.
Countess Esterházy turned to Elizabeth and said, “And this is your sister?”
Mary responded, “I am the middle Bennet sister, your ladyship.”
“Middle! Heavens, how many of you are there?”
Mary laughed. “There are five of us, all girls.”
Elizabeth supplied, “Our eldest sister is now Mrs. Bingley, and the youngest two are at home, doubtless making our father’s life a misery.”
“Mrs. Bingley? Charles Bingley?” Countess Cowper asked with some asperity.
“Indeed.”
“She must be a very tolerant young woman, to countenance living with Miss Bingley!”
“Miss Bingley is much changed,” Mary remarked. “She had some sort of awakening at some point, and she has become very kind.”
Elizabeth added, “Kindness is, I think, the most valuable and important of all character traits. Who among us has not made mistakes? Who has not said things they later regretted? Who has not learned from hard experience? Let us be kind to one another, ladies, for if we are not, then we will all suffer.”
The ladies all nodded their agreement. Countess Cowper announced, “I, for one, will certainly attend your ball, Mrs. Darcy!”
The others all chimed in; it appeared that the patronesses of Almack’s had been entirely won over.