Chapter Seventy-Three
To explain Georgiana’s continuing stay at Longbourn, Mr. Darcy told Mrs. Hammond that Georgiana had become ill, and was being nursed by the Bennet ladies and Mrs. Hill.
Mrs. Hammond shook her head in sorrow, but said that Miss Jane Bennet was noted for her herbal knowledge, and that Georgiana could not be in better hands.
A large bag of clothing was packed for her and sent over to Longbourn.
Georgiana was never left alone. Mary played the piano for her every day.
She begged Georgiana to play with her, but Georgiana demurred, saying that she did not think she could manage the keys just yet.
Elizabeth entertained her by reading aloud from a French novel.
Kitty and Lydia spent an hour every day with her, ripping apart old bonnets and re-trimming them.
Upon learning that she had a cousin fighting on the continent, Mr. Bennet pulled out maps and showed her exactly where the current battles were being fought.
Georgiana still suffered nightmares, but there was always a Bennet daughter lying beside her to stroke her hair and assure her that all was well.
Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley visited every day; Mr. Bingley came to visit Jane, and it could no longer be denied that Mr. Darcy came to visit Elizabeth, as well as his sister.
Wedding plans were being made for Mr. Bingley and Jane, though no date had yet been set.
There was a sense of waiting; unspoken, the couple understood that they were waiting for whatever might occur between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth.
His interest in her was clear, though her feelings were far harder to read.
Of course, everyone understood that until Georgiana was well, her brother could think of nothing else.
This, as it happened, was not quite the case.
Mr. Darcy thought about Elizabeth day and night; particularly at night, when he and Mr. Bingley were no longer discussing estate matters, when his correspondence was finished, when there was naught else to occupy his mind.
He thought that if all went well, he and Bingley could marry their chosen Bennet sisters on the same day.
***
The bruises faded and the nightmares came less frequently, and Mrs. Bennet finally deemed Georgiana well enough to return to Netherfield. “I really do not want to go,” Georgiana told her hostess. “I think I have never been so well cared for in all my life.”
“Ah, you miss your mother, poor Georgiana,” Mrs. Bennet said. “I am so sorry.”
“I do, yes.” Georgiana walked straight into Mrs. Bennet’s arms. “I cannot thank you enough,” she whispered.
“You are always welcome here, child,” Mrs. Bennet whispered back, tears in her eyes.
Georgiana then went to thank Mr. Bennet. “You have been so very kind to me, Mr. Bennet,” she said. “I fear I am not a well-behaved girl and so do not deserve it, but I am grateful nonetheless.”
Mr. Bennet peered at her over his glasses. “You do know that Lydia is my daughter,” he said dryly.
Georgiana laughed. “Lydia may not be as well-behaved as you would wish, but she has so much courage that we would not want her to be anyone other than who she is.”
“And we would not want you to be anyone other than who you are,” Mr. Bennet assured her.
Georgiana blushed and thanked him.
The Bennet girls all came and hugged Georgiana. “You must come every day,” Elizabeth told her. “We will miss you most dreadfully!”
Mary stepped forward and whispered in her ear, “No; I will come to you at Netherfield, as the instrument there is far superior!” Georgiana laughed and agreed that it was.
Kitty presented Georgiana with a bonnet that she had trimmed for her in secret. “It is lovely!” Georgiana said. “Oh, Kitty, thank you for helping save me!”
When it came to Lydia, nothing would do but for Georgiana to wrap Lydia in her arms and hold her tight. “I owe you my life,” she whispered. “If you ever need anything, anything that is in my power to give, it is yours for the asking.”
Lydia felt tears starting in her own eyes. But she immediately sniffed them back and whispered, “Well, I do admire that gown you wore to the assembly…”
Georgiana burst out laughing and Lydia laughed with her.
Mr. Darcy thanked the Bennet family with the utmost sincerity and helped his sister into the carriage, to return to Netherfield. There, they were met at the door by Mr. Bingley, who was so overcome with joy that she was well again, that he actually had tears in his eyes when he saw her!