Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
D arcy woke the next morning to find a steady rain falling. Since taking exercise outside would be impossible, he decided to keep to his chamber until breakfast and tend to his correspondence. He wrote a much overdue letter to Lady Romsley, assuring her of Georgiana's continued health. None of his relations expected Wickham to be a good husband to his sister; their hopes centred on him not being a cruel one.
I suppose he is cruel, in his own way. Making her believe he loves her is far from kind, and neither is attempting to make her despise those of us who do love her. Yet, Darcy accepted that they were fortunate that Wickham still showed no desire to take Georgiana away and refuse to allow her family to see her.
“Please, do not let that change,” he murmured into the empty chamber. “Do not let him grow so frustrated or angry at my behaviour and unwillingness to give him money that he finds some dark corner of the country to hide her in. ”
It was a risk, one he did not think Elizabeth had considered, but Darcy was keeping a close watch on his former friend and would be prepared to act as necessary.
When it was almost time for the morning meal, Darcy went downstairs. He was delighted to find his sister alone in the parlour. It happened so rarely that he found himself looking about, expecting Wickham was merely out of sight, possibly hiding, hoping Darcy would speak disparagingly of him.
Mindful of this danger, which he knew was most likely irrational, Darcy smiled broadly and took a seat near her.
“Good morning, my dear. Did you have a restful night?”
Georgiana’s eyes took in every inch of the room, never quite meeting his. “I-I did.”
“I am glad to hear it. Did you enjoy the party at Longbourn?” She nodded, and he continued. “I did, but I suppose that is not a surprise. Any occasion where I can be with Elizabeth is naturally going to meet my approval. Yesterday was even better than usual, however.”
“Oh?” Her voice was small, but she glanced at him and seemed interested.
“Elizabeth and I have been speaking of our wedding. We have done so many times, of course, but set aside our discussions for a while. Since my recent trip to London, which, as I told you, was so that I could visit my solicitor, we have taken the subject up again. Last night, she said that she would talk to her mother so that we could finally choose a date. What do you think of a Christmas wedding?”
She met his gaze, her eyes brighter than he had seen them for weeks. “Christmas? How romantic!”
He chuckled. “It is exactly what your soon-to-be sister said. I am worried it might be too soon, given we have done little to make arrangements, and I know Mrs Bennet will wish to make it more elaborate than Elizabeth or I require. But I am sure you understand how anxious we are to finally be husband and wife.”
He heard a noise from the direction of the door, and, glancing over his shoulder, he was not surprised to see Wickham. Smiling politely, Darcy continued. “You must understand me. Even an additional week or two seems like an eternity at this point.”
“I have no notion of what you speak,” Wickham said as he walked towards Georgiana. His strident tone gave lie to his words.
She regarded him shyly. “My brother was telling me that he and Elizabeth might be married at Christmas. Is that not wonderful news?”
Wickham sounded sceptical when he said, “So you think you will be married by the end of the year?”
“I would like to be, but I admit there might not be enough time between now and then to arrange it. Elizabeth and I want it to be special. Not elaborate, but with everything just as we want. Especially her. She tells me all girls dream of their wedding day, and I would be a very poor sort of man if I insisted she make concessions to accommodate my haste.”
It was a piece of good luck that he had managed to say so much. It was all true, which made it easy for him to keep his tone light, but it also made a rather pointed distinction from how they chose to arrange their wedding compared to Georgiana and Wickham; his sister had not had the opportunity to make the day what she might have once dreamt it could be. Yet another reason to despise the scoundrel!
“If it is too soon, I suppose the wedding will be by mid-January. I am hoping that the winter weather will not make it too difficult or unwise to travel. I want to take her to Pemberley right away. After we spend a day or two in London with just the two of us, I should say. We assume you will travel to Derbyshire with us.” He looked between them. “You both know how difficult the journey can be at that time of year. Yet, I do not want to wait until the spring. What do you think?”
Georgiana turned to Wickham, biting her lower lip, and waiting for him to reply for them. Wickham stared at Darcy, his expression blank. None of them broke the silence that seemed to last minutes.
Darcy then heard a noise in the corridor and glanced at the door before turning back to the pair. “Well, I am not sure how far along Elizabeth and I shall get with planning the wedding before Fitzwilliam arrives. I am looking forward to seeing him.” He stood and said good morning to Bingley, who had just entered the room, giving him a satisfied smile their companions could not see.