Page 25

W illiam, may I speak with you a minute?” Georgiana leaned against the doorframe of his office after a tentative knock on the door.

“Of course.” He indicated a chair and laid down a fistful of papers as she sat down in front of him.

“I had no idea that being gone for a few days would put me this far behind with correspondence and other mundane tasks. When I do them a little at a time, they don’t seem like much work, but I guess things add up. ”

“You work too hard, William. It was good for you to get away and spend some time with Elizabeth.These tasks will get done in time.”

“Yes, well…” He paused and looked at her expectantly. “What is it, Gi?”

She braced herself, hands on the arms of the chair, and delicately cleared her throat. “I’ve decided to move out of the big house.”

William sat back, too surprised to utter a word.

“While you were in Nashville, Mrs. Reynolds and I went down and finished clearing out the foreman’s cottage.

It cleaned up real nice. Richard helped me find someone to install some indoor plumbing and electricity.

I’ve gotten spoiled with modern conveniences, living here again.

It just makes taking care of the girls so much easier if there’s a real bathroom and hot water. I hope you don’t mind the expense.”

“Of course I don’t mind, but—”

“I’m quite determined, so please don’t try to talk me out of it.I’ve been considering this move for a while, and now, with your marriage, it seems like a good time to carry it out. You know what Aunt Catherine says, ‘It doesn’t work to have two families living in the same house.’”

William rolled his eyes at the mention of their aunt, and Georgiana laughed.

“Yes, I know she has some odd opinions about things, but she’s right about that one.”

“Just because Elizabeth is here, it doesn’t mean you have to leave, Gi. She knows that this is your home. She’s not territorial, doesn’t seem to want to change anything around here, and I think she likes your company.”

“I like hers, too, but this is the way it should be. You’re starting your own family now.”

He opened his mouth to contradict her, but she held up her hand.

“No, I’m happy for you. It’s wonderful that you’re going on with your life. And now, I need to get on with mine.”

The silence was deafening as he steepled his fingers and rested them against his lips to hold in the first words that came to mind. He scowled at his desk. Then, with a doleful glance at his sister, he said, “What about the girls?”

“They will adapt, as they always do. Ruth will not know the difference after a week or so, and Maggie has been bribed with the possibility of getting a cousin or two out of the deal.” She smiled.

“I made no promises, though, so you can relax for now. Although I can’t guarantee she won’t ask you about it at some point so be planning what you’ll say to her. ”

“But who will read to Maggie at bedtime?” he said, almost to himself.

“I will. I am her mother, after all. And I am perfectly capable of taking care of her and Ruth.”

William looked back her, startled. “No, I didn’t mean you weren’t a good mother—”

“I know.” She let the silence sit between them for a minute, and then went on.

“You will never fully understand the depth of my gratitude for what you have done for us. Taking us in when we had no home, feeding and clothing us, helping us escape that horrible situation.” Her eyes were shiny with unshed tears.

“And what you’ve done for the girls! Especially Maggie.

Do you remember what she was like when we first came here?

She wouldn’t even speak. You cared for my daughters as if they were your own, but, William, they aren’t your own.

They are my children, my responsibility, and I want to raise them my way, in a home we can call our very own. Can you understand at all?”

“No.”

She sighed. “Well, maybe you will understand when you become a father.”

“Who put this idea in your head? Fitzwilliam? What is he about anyway—interfering with my family?”

Georgiana lifted her chin, a defiant gesture that was new to him.

“Richard did not put me up to this. Don’t take your anger out on him.

He only found someone who could do the repair work—after I asked him for help.

The work should be finished by the end of next week, and the cottage will be ready for us to move in. ”

“You know, I could freeze your trust fund. You don’t have control over the disbursement of interest until you’re twenty-five.”

“You could.” Her voice turned cool. “You would want to control me that way?”

He didn’t reply.

Her gray eyes glinted like steel.“It wouldn’t matter—I would still go. I’d get a job in town. I can still live in the cottage. You can’t make me leave Pemberley. I do own part of it.”

He exhaled, a long, dejected sigh. “No, I wouldn’t do that. The trust fund is your money. I would have let you have it all those years you were gone if I had known what kind of circumstances you were in or how to find you.”

Her demeanor grew gentle again. “Honestly, it will be all right.Think of it as an opportunity, a way of opening up possibilities. I do. There weren’t many things I liked when I lived so far away from home, but one thing I did like was running my own house—such as it was.

“When I first came home, I was physically weak from having Ruth, and emotionally weak from guilt and a broken heart, but because you took care of me, I’m strong again. And now, thanks to you, I can be the mother I should be, the kind of mother I want to be.”

There was a long pause.Finally, William spoke in a resigned voice as he stood up and crossed to look out the window.“Well, I guess you are just down the road a piece.” He turned back to face her.

With a bright smile, Georgiana came toward him and put her arms around her brother’s neck in a fierce hug. “Exactly right.”

“I’ll still want to see them, almost every day if we can arrange it.”

“You will, especially at first. You’ll continue to spoil them like you always have.

” She grinned, but the smile faded to a look of affection.

“You’re a good man, William Darcy. I hope Elizabeth realizes the treasure she’s found.

” She swallowed and looked out the window herself, squinting to hold back tears.

“Thank you—for everything.” With a quick turn, she hurried out of the room.

William sat down in his chair with a heavy thud. The dusk settled around him as he sat at his desk—not working, not even moving, just alone with his thoughts.

William sat down on the bed and reached down to remove his boots. As he unlaced them, he looked over his shoulder. “Georgiana and the girls are moving.”

Elizabeth looked up from her book.“What? Why?”

Darcy detailed the earlier conversation he had with his sister as he moved about the room, getting ready for bed.

“I can see her point, I suppose, but…” She paused, her eyes opening wide. “Wait a minute. This isn’t because of me, is it? Because I live here now? I love having her live with us—and the little ones too.”

“She says she’s been thinking about it for a while, and I believe her.” Darcy suddenly threw his boot into the corner of the room, making Elizabeth jump.She sat very still, eyeing him warily. Was this a previously unseen side of him? A temper?

“But it’s damned foolish and unnecessary, if you ask me.” He roughly yanked the quilts and crawled between the sheets. He lay on his side with his back to his wife.

Elizabeth lowered her voice to a gentle lull. “William, are you sad about Maggie and Ruth not living with you anymore?”

“No,” he replied shortly.

She leaned over and put her hand on his shoulder. “The foreman’s cottage is very close.”

He replied to her, his voice sharp.“I don’t know what Georgiana is thinking—they’re all much better off living here, but it’s what she wants.”

Elizabeth withdrew her hand.Her husband obviously didn’t want her sympathy.

Maybe he didn’t need it. Still, she felt sad for him (because even if he wouldn’t admit it to her, she knew he would miss them) and also for herself (having Georgiana in the house meant there was someone to talk to, someone to laugh with.)She’d grown quite fond of her sister-in-law.

With her and the little girls gone, there would be no one to talk to except Mrs. Reynolds and… him.

She heard the low sound of his breathing, but she could tell he wasn’t asleep. She turned out the lamp and rolled over on her side, facing away from him. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Pemberley was about to become a lot quieter and more lonely place.