Chapter Twenty-two #3
“That is not true, Lyd, you know it is not,” Kitty cried back. “We should have went away as soon as we discovered Aunt Phillips was not at home.”
“This way, Miss Lydia and Miss Kitty,” Elliot said, holding his arms wide and herding them with his bulk toward the door in spite of Lydia’s loud objections.
Mary watched him wait for Mrs. Conker to go along with her sisters down the stairs. He kept his position until they reached the main floor. Then, he returned to stand guard in the doorway. That is when the two junior officers made their retreat.
“Now, Miss Darcy, do not look so frightened of me,” Lieutenant Wickham said, drawing Mary’s focus back to him. “I mean you no harm, believe me.”
“Make him go away,” Georgiana whispered.
Mary turned around and took both her cold hands in hers. “Be strong, my dear,” she urged in a low voice. “Do not give him power over you by showing him how afraid you are. Use your anger to force him to see that you are not weak.”
To Mary’s satisfaction, Georgiana squared her shoulders and lifted her chin.
“I have no interest in speaking to you, George. What you tried to convince me to do was despicable. I was a child. For shame,” she said, finishing with a voice that throbbed with anger.
“I thought you cared for me,” Mr. Wickham claimed. “The depth of my own feelings must be my excuse.”
Mary had never been prouder of her friend when Georgiana managed to create a scoffing laugh.
“It is true,” Mr. Wickham asserted. “I loved you. I still love you.”
“You love no one,” a new, deeper voice claimed.
Mary turned around and spied Mr. Darcy standing directly behind his sister. He put his hands on Georgiana’s shoulders and squeezed them gently. Lizzy eased her way around them and came to stand next to her sister.
“So, you are Mr. Wickham,” Lizzy said, lifting her chin. “In place of my aunt, I request that you leave her home. At once, sir.”
He ignored Lizzy, his regard fixed on Mr. Darcy and Georgiana.
“I will leave, as requested. However, I wish to say that I am in earnest in my assurance that I have no intention of harming Georgiana in any way. You may not accept my assurance, but I mean everything I have said.” He bowed deeply and stalked from the drawing room, brushing past Elliot, who did not move aside to make his passage easier.
Mr. Darcy nodded at his manservant, indicating that Elliot should follow Mr. Wickham out, harrying his retreat. Lizzy swiftly pulled Mary into a loose embrace.
“Well done, Mary,” she said, pulling back and stroking her arm. “Stanley told us Lydia and Kitty are in the dining room, annoyed and acting like spoiled brats.”
“Stanley said that?” Mary asked doubtfully. Lizzy shrugged. “I thought not.” Mary glanced at her friend, who had settled into her brother’s arms. An occasional shudder passed over her.
“I stood up to him,” Georgiana told Mr. Darcy. “I did not run away and hide in a corner.”
“I saw that, my dear one,” her brother said, praise in his voice. “I am sorry I was not here.”
Georgiana pulled out of his arms. She smoothed her dress and patted her bonnet to be sure it had not gone askew. She took a long breath, visibly calming herself further. “You will not always be next to me, Fitz. I am attempting to become more self-reliant, remember?”
Mary enjoyed the softening of Mr. Darcy’s expression as he said, “I remember. I am proud of you.”
I have never missed having a brother until this moment.
“Thank you. But I could use a cup of tea, I think,” Georgiana said.
“Of course, you could,” Lizzy said. “Let us go down to the dining room and have one.”
“You will have no peace if you join Lydia and Kitty,” Mary said, shaking her head. “I will take them home.”
“How will you keep them with you?” Lizzy asked.
“If Mama and Papa knew how we had found them today, I doubt they would be permitted to attend the assembly tomorrow night,” Mary said grimly.
“We saw two other officers leaving this house as we were arriving,” Mr. Darcy said, frowning. “I think my cousin needs to write another letter to their colonel. What are their names?”
Mary told him, embraced Georgiana, and excused herself to force Lydia and Kitty to come home with her. “One of these days,” she muttered to herself as she entered the dining room where she discovered Lydia ranting against Kitty.
“We are going home,” Mary said in a voice loud enough to overpower Lydia’s rant.
“We are not,” Lydia snarled.
“If you do not stop acting like a baby, I will tell our parents that I found you sitting on the lap of Mr. Denny.” Mary’s cold, hard words caused Lydia to snap her mouth shut.
“If you wish to go to the assembly tomorrow night, and to have anything more to do with the officers, you had best do as you are told and come with me now. We…are…going…home.”
Kitty scurried over to her. “I will get our things.”
Lydia gasped. “Traitor.”
“Kitty is being sensible,” Mary told her. “Try practicing that skill yourself.”
“I hate you.”
“No doubt,” Mary said, refusing to give in.
Kitty returned with their bonnets, gloves, and shawls just as Mrs. Conker arrived with tea. The housekeeper appeared confused.
“Lizzy, Mr. Darcy, and Miss Darcy will be down directly to partake of the tea,” Mary informed her.
“It will be unnecessary for my aunt and uncle to know the extent of what has happened here today. My sisters arrived with their officer friends but left when they discovered their aunt was not at home.”
Mrs. Conker bobbed a curtsy, appearing relieved to have a story she could tell her mistress.
“However, when Lizzy arrived with her friends, she begged for some tea to refresh themselves,” Mary told her. “Which you supplied because you knew my aunt would wish for you to look after her niece.”
“Aye, miss.”
“Excellent,” Mary said. She looked her younger sisters over. Lydia’s color was too high and Kitty’s was too low. However, they looked presentable enough. “We are off. Kindly refrain from squabbling the whole way home.”
Lydia turned angrily on her heel and marched out of the dining room. Kitty trailed after her and Mary reluctantly followed.
When I am married, I will have as little to do with Lydia as I can manage. If I am blessed, she will marry a man who will take her far away from here.