Page 27 of The Marriage Game

The next day, the Morning Post printed this:

Sources close to the Queen say that Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy and Miss Georgiana Darcy were invited to take tea with Her Majesty yesterday. After enjoying the afternoon repast, Her Majesty then invited Miss Darcy to play the pianoforte for her.

Her Majesty was certainly impressed with the performance, as she applauded the fair performer enthusiastically and pronounced Miss Darcy “a musical prodigy!” Such praise from the Queen can only add to Miss Darcy’s allure this Season!

Georgiana was put to the blush when Mr. Darcy read it aloud, but she seemed more pleased than embarrassed.

***

That day saw a constant stream of visitors and admirers to Darcy House, all congratulating Georgiana on having so impressed Her Majesty. A good number of congratulatory bouquets arrived as well, each more elaborate than the last. Georgiana’s favourite was a simple selection sent by Master Lombardi; the enclosed card said simply, “I never doubted you.”

To each visitor, Georgiana described the tea, the treats, the room itself, the instrument, the selections she had played, again and again, until she was almost hoarse. Lord Fane came, of course, with Lady Agatha, and they were both overjoyed with her success.

“You must be so proud!” Lady Agatha enthused. “How I wish for a talent like yours!”

But Lord Fane said, “If I know Miss Darcy at all, I would guess that she is more relieved than anything.”

“Well, then, you do know me, Lord Fane, for that is exactly how I feel. I know it was a great honour, but I could not help but be nervous.”

“As would anyone,” Lord Fane said, soothingly. “But I would wager that the nerves vanished the moment you sat down at the instrument.”

Georgiana confessed that this had indeed been the case, and the two of them smiled at one another quite fondly, while Lady Agatha beamed at both of them. Lord Fane asked her to drive to the park with him on the following afternoon, and Georgiana agreed readily. Then she added, “We will be at Almack’s Wednesday night; do you ever attend?”

“We will make certain to do so that day!” the Earl responded enthusiastically.

Elizabeth was present for this interaction, and the fond look the two exchanged concerned her greatly, as did the happy smile on Lady Agatha’s face. She shook her head.

“Is something amiss, Lizzy?” Georgiana asked.

“Oh! No, certainly not.”

“I saw you shake your head.”

“Just a…momentary thought.” Elizabeth managed a smile.

Mr. Stanley visited, of course, and he and Georgiana had a lively discussion regarding her selections to play for the Queen. “Why did you pick such difficult pieces, Miss Darcy? I would imagine that simpler selections would have eased your nerves considerably.”

“Why, it never occurred to me to do so, Mr. Stanley. I wanted to show the Queen the very best that I could do, and that required me to be…well, bold, I suppose.” Georgiana reflected on this for a moment. “I have never been considered brave, you see, but I suppose that I was very brave indeed to select the most difficult pieces I knew to play for Her Majesty.”

“I think you very brave, Miss Darcy.” His admiring tone set Georgiana to the blush.

After Mr. Stanley left, there was a brief period during which Elizabeth and Georgiana were alone. “Is Mr. Stanley not a kind gentleman?” Elizabeth said. “And so interested in music!”

“Yes, he is,” Georgiana replied.

“I would think that he would make a suitable husband,” Elizabeth ventured.

Georgiana looked at her in astonishment. “This is the first time you have said such a thing about anyone, Lizzy. Do you think him the best of my suitors?”

Elizabeth backed up rapidly. “The best? I do not know, Georgiana, as there are a good many of them! Mr. Stanley, certainly, as well as Mr. Taylor, Mr. Dunfred, and did Mr. Sawyer not send a bouquet as well as visit the house today? They have been here on many occasions, paying you compliments and asking you for rides and walks.”

“I notice you did not mention Lord Fane,” Georgiana said, rather coolly.

Elizabeth tried for a careless shrug. “I do not think of him as a serious suitor,” she replied.

“Do you not? And why is that? Is he too good for me?”

“Too good? Of course not! Georgiana, you know that your brother and I think there is no one in London good enough for you. But you know that we discussed this, the duties you would have as a Countess, and you did not seem at all inclined.”

“No,” Georgiana shook her head stubbornly. “I recall that I said that I could perhaps grow accustomed to it. Lizzy, what are you not telling me?”

Elizabeth took a deep breath. “Georgiana, there are two problems here. The first is that his mother does not approve of the match.”

Georgiana’s lower lip trembled for a moment before she firmed it. “I know I did not do well with her. And the second?”

“George Wickham.”

Georgiana’s forehead creased. “I do not understand.”

Elizabeth sighed. “I have so very much not wanted to speak of this! But, dearest Georgiana, were you to make such an excellent match, there is no doubt that this particular rat would come creeping out of his rathole to make trouble. He would demand money in exchange for his silence, but the blackmailing would never end.”

There was a long silence in the drawing room. Finally, Georgiana said, in a whisper, “I had not thought of that.”

“Georgiana, please believe me, I had no wish to speak of it –“

Georgiana rose and said, quietly, “I feel a headache coming on, Lizzy. Would you please make my excuses to any guests?”

“Georgiana!” Elizabeth rose to her feet and moved towards her sister, but Georgiana walked away very quickly and ran upstairs to her room.

Georgiana found her maid, Cathy, in her bedroom repairing a split in one of Georgiana’s gloves. “Would you please leave me, Cathy?” Georgiana asked, quietly.

“A headache, Miss?” Cathy said solicitously.

“Yes; but I do not need a tonic, I just need to rest.”

Cathy curtsied and left Georgiana alone. And just in time, as Georgiana began to weep. Tears rolled down her cheeks and soaked her pillowcase. She felt certain that she was becoming more assertive and more self-confident, and she was certain that she could win the approval of Lady Amelia eventually. But Georgiana’s dreadful mistake, the one mistake she had made in her entire sheltered life, would apparently keep her from marrying the gentleman she was coming to care for so very much. Even now, years later, George Wickham managed to ruin everything. She would never, never be free of him.

***

Elizabeth found her husband in his study. “I think I have made a terrible mistake, William,” she said at once.

“What happened?”

In a few brief sentences, she told him what had transpired between Georgiana and herself. “I should not have said anything,” she said, sadly.

“No, it was time,” Mr. Darcy assured her. “She could not be allowed to continue to indulge her feelings for Lord Fane. Very possibly we should have had this discussion with her weeks ago.”

“What if he offers for her? Do we tell him why she cannot accept?

Mr. Darcy’s sigh seemed to come from the bottom of the earth. “No; this must remain a family secret. For the Earl would tell his sister, Lady Agatha, who would then confide in her mother, and soon all of London would know of it.”

“What is Georgiana to do?”

“Discourage his interest; she must be seen to favor someone else.”

“That will be difficult for her if she has formed an attachment to Lord Fane! William, you and I know the power of love, do we not?”

Mr. Darcy scoffed. “She cannot love him, not yet.”

“Indeed? And why not?” his wife demanded, hands on her hips.

“It takes time to fall in love with someone,” he insisted.

“Does it?” she enquired, staring at him.

“Of course it does.”

“Tell me, how long did it take for Charles to fall in love with Jane?”

“Months…?”

“Let me think; they first danced on the fifteenth of October, and he was ready to offer for her at the end of November, at which point you and Caroline spirited him away. So what is that, six weeks?”

“Yes, but…”

“And Georgiana and Lord Fane have known each other since they danced together at the Stewart’s ball in early February, and this is mid-March, so very close to six weeks.”

“All the more reason that they should be separated at once,” Mr. Darcy insisted.

“As you separated Charles from Jane?” Elizabeth pressed.

“So you think me wrong?”

“I think us wrong. I attempted to dissuade Georgiana from seeing Lord Fane as a suitor, and I told her the reasons for it. I believe I was wrong to do so, and I wish my words unsaid.”

“You did the right thing.”

“I wish I could be as certain as you, William. But it is done now.”

***

About an hour before dinner, Georgiana knocked on Elizabeth’s bedroom door. Upon hearing Elizabeth’s voice bidding her to enter, she walked in.

Elizabeth, seeing Georgiana’s pale, tear-stained face, ran to her and hugged her hard. “I am so, so sorry, Georgiana,” she whispered. “I should not have said anything.”

“No, you were right to caution me,” Georgiana whispered back. “And there is another thing.”

“Another thing?”

“Yes; if I married Lord Fane, and George Wickham then told his tale to the newspapers, the Westmoreland family would be in disgrace because of me. I could not do that do him!”

“You are right, I did not think of that.”

“What am I to do, Lizzy? I do not want to hurt Lord Fane’s feelings! We have been on drives through the park many times, and I have agreed to drive out with him again tomorrow. I have danced with him at any number of balls. He has sent me heavens only knows how many bouquets. How do I now tell him that I am not interested in him?”

“Georgiana, is that really what you want to do? To discourage him?”

“No; but it is what I must do. I will send a note canceling tomorrow’s drive. That will be a start.”

“Oh, Georgiana, this is dreadful!”

“It is, yes, but it must be done.” Her tone was resolute, and her eyes were now dry, though still red and swollen. “You will tell Brother?”

Elizabeth had tears in her eyes as she nodded slowly. Georgiana left the room, and Elizabeth walked through the shared sitting room to knock on her husband’s door and then walk in.

“Elizabeth?”

“Georgiana realises that if George Wickham were to tell his tale after she married Lord Fane, her entire new family would suffer from her disgrace. She will discourage his suit.”

“She is quite right. I am proud of her, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth could only shake her head. There must be a way to put this right!