Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
F itzwilliam did a fine job pretending to struggle to be polite when he was forced to be near Wickham. It meant Darcy had to spend long periods listening to his cousin complain, usually as he paced in one of their apartments.
“Every time I see him, I want to pull his limbs from his body one by one and tear his tongue from his lying mouth!” Fitzwilliam snarled one evening.
On and on he would go, and, for the most part, Darcy let him. He understood the impulse to physically harm Wickham, and it was better to let Fitzwilliam vent his frustration when they were alone.
“Have you had any luck speaking to Georgiana?” Darcy asked, once his cousin had finished his latest tirade, poured a glass of strong wine, and drank half of it.
Fitzwilliam sneered in apparent disgust. “I am doing as you suggested and not mentioning that reprobate if I happen to see her alone, which is rare. There have been one or two moments when I was sure she wanted to respond to something I said, such as when I was talking about some of the people I have lately met. She looks as though she is interested in my stories, but not a word, not even a sound, escapes her lips.”
“She is only slightly better with me, and I think she now trusts I shall say nothing of him or their?—”
“Do not say marriage,” Fitzwilliam interjected. “Whenever I recall that they are actually husband and wife, I come close to being violently ill.” He drained the remainder of his wine.
“A sentiment I understand all too well. As I was saying, it has only been since my brief trip to town that she has become slightly more willing to speak to me. I promise you, it is getting better. It is just as well you were not here three weeks ago. Wickham could not hide how smug he felt. My behaviour did not help. He knew how desperately, deeply I loathed seeing him, and he did everything possible to incite my anger. It was Elizabeth who helped me recognise I needed to approach him in a different manner.”
Fitzwilliam chuckled. “I find watching you so deeply in love and under her spell very diverting.”
“And I find it endlessly amusing to watch Catherine and Lydia fawning over you, asking when they will see you in your regimentals.”
Fitzwilliam rolled his eyes and shook his head, but also laughed.
Like Elizabeth, Fitzwilliam was a naturally cheerful person, able to find humour in most situations; Darcy envied them for it. The colonel had been very popular with Elizabeth's sisters and the other people he had met in the neighbourhood. Indeed, he appeared to be even better-liked than Wickham, which Darcy imagined annoyed him. Wickham expected to be a favourite wherever he went, especially amongst ladies, given his good looks and charming disposition. Fitzwilliam was not especially handsome, but Darcy believed people could sense that he was a better man, so they liked him more.
“You are fortunate, Darcy. I mean for having found Elizabeth. Georgiana and our entire family will be richer once you finally marry her and make her one of us.”
“We shall rejoice all the more on that day if Georgiana feels able to openly celebrate, and that will only happen if Wickham allows it.”
“Which means we had best get on with convincing him to become more honourable. I think it is more likely he will decide he is no longer having fun and will take himself off.”
“As long as he leaves my sister behind, I shall not care.”
Fitzwilliam agreed.
Returning from a ride with Fitzwilliam and Bingley the next morning, Darcy caught a glimpse of someone standing by the windows of the drawing room.
“Is it Georgiana or him?” he asked his companions.
Bingley peered towards the house and said, “I think it is your sister. I believe she is alone.”
Fitzwilliam said, “Darcy, she is more likely to listen to you than me, but you had best make haste before that thing that masquerades as a gentleman finds her.”
Darcy nodded and clapped his cousin’s arm. “I rather hope he does. I know exactly what I want to say. If you see Wickham enter the room, give me a few minutes, then come in yourselves. ”
Georgiana was still on her own when he entered the room. She had moved away from the window and sat in a bergère chair, keeping her body and chin turned to the side, making it appear like she was trying not to see him.
Nevertheless, Darcy smiled. “Good morning, dear sister. Are you well this morning?”
She made a small noise and glanced at the door. He thought it was an anxious gesture because Wickham would be displeased to see them together, and he had ensured she knew it.
“I am just returning from a ride with our cousin and Bingley. It will likely rain later, by the way. If you were thinking of going for a walk, you ought to do it soon.” He approached her and sat at the end of the sofa across from her. “I shall not stay long. I must change and do not want to risk getting too much of my dirt on the furniture. Something happened that reminded me of you.”
Her gaze was on him at once. She looked startled and wary.
“We met one of the tenants. He had an enormous dog with him that reminded me of Hermes, Father’s Great Dane. Do you have any memory of him?”
Georgiana’s expression eased into one of curiosity, and she shook her head.
“You were still very young when the dog died. You loved the brute more than anyone else did.”
The door opened, and from the way his sister’s eyes widened and darted between whoever had entered and him, Darcy knew it must be Wickham. His sister’s nervousness irritated him, but Wickham had arrived at the perfect time. Darcy watched as he walked towards Georgiana, his nonchalance too exaggerated to be believable .
“I was just telling Georgiana about a dog I saw this morning. It reminded me of my father’s dog Hermes. Do you remember him? Georgiana was only three, perhaps four years old.” Facing his sister, he continued. “Father was given Hermes when he was a puppy, and always claimed he had no notion how large Hermes would grow, and if he had, he would have refused the gift and risked offending his friend. I am convinced you thought he was a pony. You certainly thought you could ride him like one.”
He laughed and directed his next words at Wickham. “You must remember how she pestered her nurses, to say nothing of Father and us.” Affecting a high-pitched, childish voice, he continued. “‘Ride pony, ride pony!’”
“Did I?” Georgiana exclaimed. She giggled and covered her mouth with a hand.
Darcy nodded. “Fortunately, Hermes was accommodating, and we would sit you upon his back—holding you all the while, of course—and he would obediently walk about for a few minutes while you laughed and clapped your little hands together.”
His sister laughed again and asked Wickham, “Do you remember? I wish I did.”
Sounding annoyed, Wickham said, “It was a long time ago. I prefer to think of the future.”
Seeing Georgiana’s crestfallen expression, it was difficult for Darcy not to respond sharply. “I often find myself taking comfort in memories of the past, particularly of the people I have loved and who have died. I wish my mother and father could have known Elizabeth, but I do not suppose either of you would quite understand that. You both knew them, and they both knew you. I shall never have the pleasure of introducing them to Elizabeth, of seeing them learn to love each other. We have all experienced so much sorrow and disappointment in our lives, I find it helps to think of the happier times—such as giggling babies and great big dogs.”
He lightly touched her hand as he stood, wondering where Fitzwilliam was. He had an ending in mind for this interlude, one that he believed would suit his purposes well. Fortunately, just then, the door opened again, this time admitting the colonel. He scowled as he took in the scene.
“Darcy…” he said, making it sound like a warning.
Darcy quickly closed the distance between them, whispering loudly enough to be overheard by his sister and Wickham. “I told you the dog this morning reminded me of one of my father’s. I was just telling them of it and how fond Georgiana…”
They were far enough into the corridor that he saw no reason to go on.
“Well?” Fitzwilliam said softly as they approached the stairs.
“Come to my chamber, and I shall tell you. I think I managed to remind him that he once loved Georgiana and being part of our family.”