Page 48 of The Marriage Game
Upon hearing of Georgiana’s engagement, the Countess immediately set her mind to hosting a celebratory dinner. The Darcys must attend, of course, as must the Fanes. Richard was away, but Caroline must nonetheless be invited, which meant the Bingleys must come as well.
Elizabeth had told her of Georgiana’s surprise visit to Lord Fane in order to make her confession to him, and the Countess certainly could not approve of such rash behaviour, but it was done now. And it certainly showed some gumption, to use the Earl’s term, on Georgiana’s part. No one could say that the girl did not have what it took to be a Countess!
She was pleased to see news of the engagement printed in the Morning Post.
The Westmoreland Family is delighted to announce the betrothal of Mr. Theodore Fane, Earl of Westmoreland, to Miss Georgiana Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire.
***
Elizabeth saw the announcement and read it aloud to Georgiana, who smiled and blushed. Then again, Georgiana had not stopped smiling and blushing since she had returned to Darcy House with her future husband and mother-in-law to be.
That afternoon, a lovely bouquet of flowers arrived from Mr. Stewart. The card read:
I wish you and Lord Fane all the happiness in the world!
If there were any hard feelings on Mr. Stewart’s part, they were masked by his excellent manners.
***
Mrs. Bennet saw the announcement (courtesy of Lady Lucas) and immediately penned a letter to Elizabeth.
Lizzy,
I see that Miss Darcy has got herself an Earl! Well, good for her, I say, she is a sweet girl and deserves her good fortune. But there are two other girls here at Longbourn, one at least as pretty as Miss Darcy, who should be able to capture an earl or even a duke! Lizzy, if you do not write to me, I shall have to take action, and I will not be blamed, for you will have driven me to it!
Mama
When the letter was delivered to Darcy House, Elizabeth rolled her eyes and stuffed the letter into a drawer in her writing desk, on top of the other letters she had received from Longbourn. I must write to Mama soon, she thought, and then promptly forgot the matter.
***
The Countess’ dinner was a great success. Elizabeth congratulated both Caroline and Georgiana on winning the Marriage Game. When the Countess raised her eyebrows questioningly, Georgiana gleefully explained it.
The Countess raised her eyebrows and said, “Well, then, you both won it; but I would say that Richard and Lord Fane here have won it as well.”
Lord Fane agreed at once. “I am delighted to know that I will have a marriage of love, not of convenience! If I have to tolerate one more simpering young lady…”
Mr. Darcy found himself smiling. “I felt much the same,” he said. “I am still grateful, every day of my life, for my beautiful Elizabeth.” The two smiled at one another in that private, intimate way that had once made Caroline so uneasy.
But she no longer felt uneasy. ‘I shall have that as well,’ she thought, and she felt again how very much she missed Richard!
‘I have someone who looks at me the way Brother looks at Lizzy,’ Georgiana thought, and she hugged herself in dizzying joy.
“When shall you two wed?” the Countess asked Lord Fane.
“I am at Georgiana’s disposal, of course,” he replied, smiling fondly at the young lady at his side. “But for me, the sooner, the better!”
“Perhaps the end of June?” Georgiana asked.
“Perfect,” the Countess said. “You will have your choice of blooms. You will wed at St. George’s, of course, in Hanover Square.”
“I thought…Pemberly,” Georgiana replied.
“It is rather out of the way for the Westmoreland family,” the Countess said, brow wrinkled as she looked over at Lady Amelia.
“Not at all,” Lord Fane said at once. “We should be delighted to see Pemberley, should we not, Mother?”
“Delighted, indeed!” Lady Amelia said. “We have heard much of the beauties of the estate, and if that is what the bride wishes, then that is what she should have.”
Agatha added, “Derbyshire in June must be absolutely lovely!”
Elizabeth, seeing the woebegone expression on Caroline’s face, whispered to her husband, who raised his eyebrows and then nodded. Elizabeth said, “Caroline, should you like to be married from Pemberley as well?”
“Oh, say you will!” Georgiana cried at once. “A double wedding, Caroline! What could be better?”
Caroline stammered, “But – I would not want to presume –“
Elizabeth said, “Caroline, say yes! It would be absolutely perfect!”
What could Caroline Bingley do but to agree, with her whole heart?!
***
When the Colonel’s first message from Newcastle finally arrived at Darcy House with the morning mail, Mr. Darcy read it in silence, and then passed it to Elizabeth. Elizabeth read it and then glanced at Georgiana, whose blond head was bent over her morning pastry and then looked back at her husband with raised eyebrows. His answer was a brief shake of the head. Elizabeth gave a slight nod in agreement; Georgiana would be told what she needed to know and no more.
“Georgiana, I have news from Richard,” Mr. Darcy began, sliding the message under his plate.
“Richard? I know he is on a mission of some sort, is he not?”
“Not exactly,” Elizabeth said.
“What am I not being told?” Georgiana demanded.
“Richard went to Newcastle to convince Mr. Wickham not to take action against you.”
“But – but – then I need not have told Lord Fane about the elopement!”
“We did not know if Richard’s mission would be successful,” Mr. Darcy reminded her. “Who knows how Wickham would have reacted?”
“Would have reacted? Well, how did he react? I am very confused.”
Mr. Darcy said, gently, “Mr. Wickham cannot harm you ever again, Georgiana.”
“I do not understand.”
“I do not wish to upset you, Georgiana, but Mr. Wickham is dead.”
“Dead? George?”
“Yes; he was caught trying to desert the Army on his Colonel’s horse.”
Georgiana digested this news in silence while her brother and sister watched her anxiously. Several expressions crossed her face, and then she finally said, “I suppose I should not say so, but I am glad that I shall never have to worry about him again. And stealing his Colonel’s horse? What can he have been thinking?” But then a look of horror crossed her face. “Oh, but your poor sister, Lizzy! I am sorry for being so thoughtless!”
Elizabeth replied, equably. “I am actually quite happy to hear the news. The man was not a fit husband, particularly as he was about to desert not just the Army, but also my sister. She is better off without him. And you may now tell Lord Fane that there is no danger of any distasteful secrets being revealed.”