Darcy's Temptation (33 page)

Comfortably settled, Darcy turned his attention to his sister. “Everything has changed so quickly,” he began. “I feared you were distressed about what happened.”

“I am as well as can be expected under the circumstances.” Georgiana's voice remained soft and noncommittal.

Darcy leaned forward to speak more informally. “Georgiana, you must know our relationship has not changed; you will always be my Dearest One.” He called her his pet name.“I admit it is somewhat awkward—in my mind's eyes, you are but a child, barely two and ten, when, in reality, you are a young
lady who should be anticipating her coming-out parties and the new Season in London.”

Her tears began to flow as she spoke. “Fitzwilliam, once again I ruined everything,” she nearly wailed.

Darcy moved quickly, kneeling in front of Georgiana and taking her hand. “Georgiana, you ruined nothing,” he tried to assure her.“Everything will be as it was before.”

“Oh, Fitzwilliam!” Her sobs rocked her body with grief.

“Please, Dearest One,” he implored her. “Help me to understand your anxiousness.”

“If it was not for me, you would never have gone to Hull, and you would be home at Pemberley with Elizabeth anticipating the birth of your first child.” Georgiana's words came in bursts of emotions.

“Who says I shall not be anticipating the birth of my child?” Darcy tried to sound casual.

Georgiana's eyes searched his countenance. “Then you remember Elizabeth after all?”

Darcy guarded his words, not wishing to give his sister false hope. “I admit to experiencing difficulty in determining what I actually remember and what I have been told about my wife; I can only say I will do my best to make things pleasant and agreeable for all of us.”

“Pleasant and agreeable?” she challenged.“It may be the last time I get the opportunity to say this, Brother, but I do not want to see you only pleasant and agreeable with Elizabeth.You were
pleasant
and
agreeable
from the time of our mother's death, through the passing of our father, and up until you met Elizabeth Bennet.Yet, you did not live; you never showed the passion you have for our ancestral home, for me, and for life. Please, Fitzwilliam, do not just pretend to be
pleasant
and
agreeable
.”

Not accustomed to her asserting herself, Darcy leaned back away from Georgiana. “It appears my wife has a profound influence on you,” he cautioned. “I am not sure whether I
approve. Men do not prefer their women so spirited.”

“Then you will find no preference for my sister,” Georgiana asserted. “You were exposed to fine society, Fitzwilliam, your entire life. Why then did you wait until you were eight and twenty to take a wife? I saw women give deference to your every thought, but you never seriously considered any of them as marriageable material.You may need to ask yourself what it is Elizabeth has which the others did not.You fell in love with her once; allow yourself to do so again.”

“As I said before, I will try, Georgiana.” Darcy placated her disquietude with a condescending tone.“I will do what is best for you and for the estate.”

“Do what is best for
you
, Fitzwilliam, and the rest will come naturally.”

He patted her hand to calm his sister's anxiety.“Would it be too much to ask why you blame yourself for my accident?”

“When we attended Edward and Anne's engagement party, we met Captain Rutherford, who took an interest in Mr. Harrison.”

“Mr. Harrison again?” Darcy questioned. “Exactly what is his connection to our family?”

“Your horse Cerberus is from his father's estate. Mr. Harrison sought your advice when he assumed the running of Hines Park.” Georgiana shifted her eyes away from Darcy's, fearing he might recognize her regard for Chadwick Harrison in her countenance.

“Then why did the captain take an interest in Mr. Harrison? Harrison is not in debt to the man, is he?” Darcy's voice became louder.

“Mr. Harrison,” Georgiana began, with some nervousness, “carries strong beliefs regarding the emancipation of the African slaves.The captain has an opposing viewpoint.”

“Then why would I go to see Hannah More? I have not taken up the flag of the abolitionist?” Darcy found the idea amusing.

Georgiana did not know how to explain her feelings about
Mr. Harrison without upsetting Darcy further. “The captain noted our family held Mr. Harrison in some regard, and while we shared a dance set, the man questioned me extensively about Mr. Harrison. I foolishly told Mr. Harrison, and he approached you about the ‘supposed' danger in which the captain placed our family. Miss More was to share some information regarding the captain with you.”

Darcy quickly realized Georgiana omitted some pertinent details. “May I ask what else you have not told me about Mr. Harrison?”

Again, Georgiana lowered her eyes. Darcy noted a blush overspread her face. “Mr. Harrison has indicated a desire to get to know me better.” She barely whispered the words.

“He did what?” Darcy demanded. Georgiana jumped at the sound of his anger.“I will not have it, Georgiana.You have not even been presented to society!”

Georgiana fought back the tears that formed in her eyes. “Elizabeth told Mr. Harrison you would not entertain such ideas until after my next birthday; she handled it as she thought you would want it to be done, Sir.”

“Elizabeth again!” he fumed. “She takes on a great deal speaking for me in my absence.”

“You asked her to do so, Fitzwilliam,” Georgiana pleaded for his reason. “Her decisions do not come lightly; you will find my sister is very astute.”

Darcy tried to calm his racing heart.“Before I will entertain any offers for your hand, Georgiana, you will be presented to Society as a proper lady—as is your due. I will not tolerate your being whisked off into a marriage to the first man who presents himself to you.”

By now, Georgiana's own nerves frayed. Her fears of an arranged marriage to a man she could not affect resurfaced. “The first man who wished to whisk me off into a marriage was George Wickham.You thwarted that plan, Brother. Please
do not assume Mr. Harrison is of the same material. He is amiable and shows great promise.Those were your own words come back to haunt you.As far as Society and the Season, how may I go to London? Elizabeth's confinement will come about the same time.”

“That does not mean we should postpone your Coming Out,” Darcy protested.

“It most certainly does,” she countered.“You cannot desert your wife during her lying in!”

“Then we will consider a shortened season.You are my first responsibility, Georgiana. Our father charged me to take care of your future.”

Georgiana looked at him in disbelief. She knew from the past she was not likely to change her brother's mind.Their relationship progressed so much this year. Darcy accepted her—valued her. How could she return to the submissive being she was in those years following her parents' passing? “My future is secure as long as I am with you and Elizabeth at Pemberley. Please do not send me away, Fitzwilliam. I have no desire to return to London. Everything I need to be happy is tied to my life at Pemberley.” Georgiana's voice came out small.

“I would not be sending you away, Dearest One, if we present you to Society,” Darcy reasoned. “We would both be doing our duty to our name—to our family.”

“Name and family do not guarantee the merit of a person's life,” she mumbled under her breath. Georgiana knew her chance of finding happiness with Mr. Harrison suddenly decreased with her brother's return to Pemberley.
How shall I survive without the chance of one day being Mr. Harrison's wife? What may I do to change Fitzwilliam's mind?
Georgiana offered her brother a faint smile of affirmation, but the chaos of her mind continued well after he departed. It robbed her of much of the sleep she needed to face the quagmire awaiting them at Pemberley.

Jane Austen,
Emma
, 1815

When the coach pulled up in front of the house, Elizabeth, Kitty, Jane Bingley, and Anne de Bourgh awaited the travelers. Evidently, Elizabeth ordered the servants to relay the first sightings of the coach.The colonel alighted first and helped Georgiana to debark. Mr. Bingley followed her closely.There were a few brief seconds of absolute stillness before Darcy stepped from the livery. Elizabeth gasped and immediately rushed to him, encircling his waist with her arms while sobbing into the collar of his waistcoat. Burying her face into his chest, she mumbled, “Thank God—Fitzwilliam—thank God, you are all right.”

Darcy knew instinctively who the woman who held him so closely must be, but from the coach's window, he realized this woman's countenance was not one he readily recognized, although subconsciously he knew her to be the one from his dreams. He nodded to the colonel to take the others into the house before he took Elizabeth forcibly by the arms and removed her grip on his being. “Mrs. Darcy,” he stammered. “May we not go into the house? We are making quite a scene. I do not wish to be the talk of the servant quarters this evening.” His voice held a coldness Elizabeth did not recognize.

“A scene?” Elizabeth questioned while looking around sheepishly.

“Yes, Madam,” Darcy addressed her formally. “If you have no objection, I will freshen my clothes and then meet you in the study.” Then he strode away from her toward the open door. Elizabeth stood bewitched by the abruptness of her husband's exit as a single teardrop slid down her face. Slowly and methodically, she, too, turned toward the house.

Georgiana came back to wait for Elizabeth once she noted how Darcy purposely left his wife in the carriageway. When Elizabeth reached the top step leading to the entrance, Georgiana rushed forward to take the woman, whom she felt knew her better than anyone, into her arms. Elizabeth swayed as the adrenaline rush left her, and Georgiana supported her until they seated themselves in the drawing room.

Miraculously, all the travelers, and even Kitty, disappeared into their chambers.“Fitzwilliam is not well, Elizabeth,” Georgiana tried to explain. “He was attacked along the road and apparently is having some trouble remembering all the details of his life.”

The girl's words dug deep into Elizabeth's subconscious. Her eyes enlarged as she softly responded,“Do you mean Fitzwilliam knows me not?”

Georgiana dropped her eyes. She instinctively moved closer to support Elizabeth's sagging body, and Elizabeth rested her head on the girl's shoulder. “My brother,” she began quietly, “remembers little after our father's death. He no longer knows Mr. Bingley, your family, his life the last six years, or you. Edward and I tried to explain things, and Fitzwilliam knows what happened; yet, he possesses no actual recollection of the events.”

The finality of her words hurt Elizabeth with an indescribable pain.
How could Darcy not remember her—they were like kindred souls crying out to each other in the night.
“It cannot be, Georgiana,” Elizabeth whispered.“Fitzwilliam and I are mysteriously united by some association of the spirit—you have seen it, have you not? We only know each other.”

Georgiana took Elizabeth's hand.“You will find each other again—of that fact, I have no doubt. You must be patient; Fitzwilliam six years ago was so frightened, believing he could not handle Pemberley and be my guardian. It was daunting—an experience he must now relive, along with the knowledge he now has you and your unborn child as additional responsibilities. This has to be exasperating for him, and I can honestly say he was not always the easiest person with whom to live in those days.We must remember the Fitzwilliam we loved of late is part of that scared young man of three and twenty.”

Elizabeth gasped,“I do not know what to do, Georgiana.”

“I am sure neither does Fitzwilliam,” Georgiana reasoned.

“Tell me.” Elizabeth searched Georgiana's countenance for the truth. “Tell me what you remember of him in those days.” Elizabeth stifled her sobs.“I must know what to expect when I speak to him again.”

“My brother has—had an idolized opinion of our parents. They married for love, but they were a product of their time. They taught my brother duty first—above all other things.You know of my parents'
duty
to our tenants. Fitzwilliam was brought up in opulence, and often he came off as proud and leaden, but we know he is a different man; he is a man who desperately needs to be loved. Do not stop loving my brother,” Georgiana pleaded.

“I will always love your brother, Georgiana.” Elizabeth's voice trembled from fear of what would happen next; yet, the unspoken truth led her to realize loving Darcy and living with him were two different things.