Page 45 of The Marriage Game

Mr. Stewart continued to pay Georgiana every attention; she did her best to discourage him, but she was too tender-hearted to be truly cold to a man she liked. She did not love him, but she liked him. She debated with herself constantly whether she liked him enough to marry him, but Mrs. Annesley’s words – repeated to her by Caroline – about the unfairness of marrying one man when one’s heart belonged to another kept her from committing to Mr. Stewart.

Her nights were restless. Lord Fane loved her, she loved him. Was it right to let George Wickham ruin her life – again? Was it right to let him ruin Lord Fane’s life? No, no, Lord Fane’s life would not be ruined; he would find someone else to love, someone better, someone who had not made such a very stupid mistake. But oh, how it would hurt to see him with someone else!

She grew pale, paler than ever, and she could only pick at her food. Her friends asked if she was ill, and she denied it, shaking her head and doing her best to smile.

Lord Fane came to Darcy House a few times with Agatha, and Georgiana did her best to ignore him, taking refuge in girlish chatter with Agatha and whoever else was present.

Finally, Georgiana could bear it no longer.

“I am going for a walk, Lizzy.”

“Shall I join you? It is a lovely day.”

“If you do not mind, Lizzy, I would – well, I should like to be alone for a time.”

“You cannot go alone, Georgiana!”

“I know that; I will take Mrs. Annesley.”

“Very well; but be careful!”

“I shall.”

But when the time came, Georgiana slipped out without her companion, no one any the wiser. Wearing a cape with a hood so that she would not be recognised, she walked to the end of the square and hailed a hackney, her heart pounding. The cabby stared at her for a long moment before asking, “All alone, missy?”

“I am meeting someone,” she replied, drawing her dignity around her like a cloak. She gave him the address of Westmoreland house and then sat far back, so that she could not be seen.

When they arrived, the cabby said, “Want me to wait for you?”

“No,” she said, firmly, and gave him the fare.

Mounting the steps to the front door, she realised that she had no idea – at all! – if Lord Fane was present. What if all this subterfuge was for naught?

The butler recognised her at once; he bowed and ushered her into the drawing room. If he was surprised to see her alone, he was too well-trained to show it. “I will see if Lady Agatha is available,” he said.

Georgiana nodded and sat in a chair by the fire.

Lady Agatha appeared almost at once. “Georgiana? But where is Mrs. Darcy? Or Mrs. Annesley?”

“Agatha, I am here by myself, and it is your brother I must speak with.” Her voice was shaky but determined. “Please, please tell me that he is home! It was not easy for me to leave Darcy House on my own, as you may imagine.”

Ah, at last! Agatha thought. Perhaps now the mystery will be solved. “Georgiana, wait right here.”

She vanished, and Georgiana waited. It seemed her friend was gone forever; more than once, her heart failed her and she wished nothing more than to leap up and run away, but each time, she recalled her many sleepless nights and resolved that one way or another, this must come to an end.

Finally, Lord Fane walked in. “Miss Darcy! Are you really here?”

“I am, yes.”

“For a moment, I thought I must be dreaming this.”

“Can we close the doors? I must speak with you on a matter that is – well, the utmost discretion – “ And her voice failed her, and she buried her face in her hands.

Lord Fane thought rapidly. He could not be alone with her in a closed room. “Wait here, Miss Darcy.”

He left for only a minute, and returned with Agatha. In a loud and cheerful voice, Agatha said, “Come, Georgiana, the gardens are beginning to bloom most beautifully! I have longed for you to see the flowers.” She led an unprotesting Georgiana from the drawing room and into the back garden. Further back, behind the roses, Lord Fane waited. Without another word, Agatha gave her friend’s arm a squeeze and walked away.

“Sit, Miss Darcy. Just behind you.”

Georgiana turned and saw a small stone bench. She sat.

“Have you come to tell me why you have turned away from me?” Lord Fane asked, gently.

“Yes.”

“I am listening.”

Georgiana took several deep breaths and then began. “When I was fifteen years old, I did something very, very stupid, and in so doing I have put myself into the power of someone who could ruin your family.”

Lord Fane stared at her. “That sounds downright Gothic. Can this really be true?”

Bit by bit, Georgiana told him the tale of a scoundrel who traded on her childhood friendship to convince her to elope with him, and how she had been saved, by sheer happenstance, by the unexpected arrival of her brother.

“Where is the man now?”

“Oddly enough, he is married to Mrs. Darcy’s youngest sister; they live in Newcastle, where he serves in the militia.”

“You cannot possibly be blamed for this, Georgi – Miss Darcy. You were only a child!”

“Nonetheless, if he learns that I have made a good match – which he will, as it will be in all the papers – he will come to London, and he will tell all the newspapers –“ Georgiana could not finish; instead, she began to tremble.

“But – Georgiana, no, this is madness! No one would believe a word of it!” He could not bring himself to call her Miss Darcy.

“They would, he would make them believe it!” she said, passionately.

He sat beside her on the cold stone bench; there was scarce room for two, but neither minded it. “Georgiana, if such a thing were to be printed, we would simply deny it. Rumours about the aristocracy are published every day, and we ignore it all, because to do anything else is to give the story credence.”

“But your family name –“

He interrupted her. “I do not care what the newspapers say, nor what anyone else thinks. I only care about us! Oh, Georgiana, do not let this ancient incident ruin our lives!”

“Incident? Incident! Is that what you think this is? Did you not hear me? I almost eloped –“

And here he stopped her in the only way he could think of. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. Her lashes fluttered closed and the kiss went on and on.

“Oh,” she breathed at last.

“Oh,” he echoed, and he held her close. “Yes, just an incident and nothing more. I do not care what the papers print.”

The two sprang apart upon hearing a throat being cleared. Georgiana’s heart almost stopped beating when she saw Agatha, arm in arm with Lady Amelia.

“I think it is time to plan the wedding,” Lady Amelia said, smiling.

***

It took some time before Elizabeth realised that Georgiana had not, in fact, taken Mrs. Annesley with her, nor Cathy.

“Where could she be?” Elizabeth asked Mrs. Annesley, and even as she spoke, she knew the answer. “Of course; Westmoreland House.”

Mrs. Annesley nodded. “She doubtless went to tell him why they could not be together.”

“But in so doing, she herself tells the tale that she wishes forgotten!”

Mrs. Annesley laughed. “I am glad of this, Mrs. Darcy.”

“What? Glad of it! How is that possible?”

“I think he will have no difficulty at all in accepting this part of her past. He loves her, you know, as much as she loves him, and an elopement that never occurred, and three years past at that, is not much of an obstacle in such a case.”

“But Lady Amelia?”

“Well, we shall have to wait and see.”

“Wait and see?! I must go and retrieve her at once, Mrs. Annesley! If Mr. Darcy should learn about this –“

“About what?” Mr. Darcy stood in the door way of the family drawing room.

Elizabeth could not lie to her husband. “Georgiana has gone to Westmoreland House to talk with Lord Fane.”

He frowned mightily. “And no one has gone to recover her?”

“I am advising against it, Mr. Darcy,” Mrs. Annesley said, firmly.

“But why?”

“She will be here soon enough, if I am not mistaken, and if you go to fetch her, you are simply showing her that you do not trust her.”

Elizabeth went to her husband and took his arm. “Our faith in Mrs. Annesley has never yet been misplaced; let us take her advice.”

“Elizabeth, I cannot like the idea of Georgiana out in London on her own.”

“Nor do I, but I think we must show that we trust her, as Mrs. Annesley says.”

Mr. Darcy drew out his pocket watch. “I shall wait precisely one-half an hour, and then I will go and get her. I trust her, of course I do, but how does it look for her to be on her own? What if she is seen?”

It did not take half an hour; indeed, it was merely a quarter of an hour before Taggart announced the arrival of Lady Amelia and Lord Fane, accompanied by Miss Darcy.

Lord Fane immediately requested a private audience with Mr. Darcy; remembering what Bennet had put him through, Mr. Darcy merely listened to the passionate young man declare his love, then heard the plans he had for Georgiana’s well-being in terms of pocket money and so on, and then promptly gave his consent. Lord Fane told him that Georgiana had confessed her almost-elopement, prompting Mr. Darcy to tell him of Colonel Fitzwilliam’s mission to Newcastle.

“So it might never come to light at all, if the Colonel is successful! So much fuss and worry for nothing,” Lord Fane said.

“I have heard nothing from the Colonel, but I will let you know as soon as I do,” Mr. Darcy promised.

***

In bed that night, Elizabeth whispered, “Mrs. Annesley was so right! Georgiana dealt with the situation on her own, and we showed that we trusted her by not going after her.”

“It is very, very good of the Fanes to be willing to risk Wickham’s revenge, though I still hope that Richard’s mission will be successful.”

“I hope that he kills the man,” Elizabeth said under her breath.