Mr. Darcy's Little Sister (24 page)

What, my dear Lady Disdain!

—William Shakespeare,
Much Ado About Nothing

They had no special plans during the next afternoon and spent it relaxing. Georgiana went to the music room and worked on her new Beethoven sonata, which she had not had a great deal of time to practise. After she had worn herself out with the new piece, she played another piece at double speed and then stopped, a little breathless. Elizabeth, who was sitting with her and doing some desultory work on her embroidery, smiled at her choice of composers.

“Feeling in a Beethoven mood again are you, Georgiana?” she queried.

“Yes, Mozart or Handel would simply not express my feelings properly, although perhaps the ‘Rondo Alla Turca’ would be quite good,” she said, with an abashed smile.

“You are fortunate to have a pianoforte on which to express yourself; the harp would probably not be sufficiently emphatic, but on the pianoforte you can pound without fear of alarming the servants.”

They both laughed, and Georgiana took out “Le Coucou” and played it molto vivace
before covering the keys and taking up her needlepoint.

The day dragged slowly by until Lord St. George visited in the early afternoon. Georgiana acknowledged his bow politely when he entered and then rang for tea. She sat down next to Elizabeth in a chair facing St. George and he settled on the sofa, where she had been sitting before his entrance. He began the conversation by discussing his mother’s ball that night and by again engaging Georgiana for the first pair of dances.

“Although,” he said with a charming smile, “I don’t suppose my mamma will give either of us much choice in the matter, since she will expect us to open the ball.” He smiled at her winningly and continued, “Still, I would like for it to be a matter of choice rather than merely a duty.”

Georgiana smiled slightly and nodded her acceptance of the engagement then turned the conversation to the happenings around town, about which he knew a great deal, and he was happily occupied with retailing various bits of gossip until the door of the drawing-room opened and Darcy appeared with Colonel Fitzwilliam, both looking pensive. They exerted themselves to put off their dour moods, greet the ladies and Lord St. George and join them for tea. St. George finished the story he had started before their appearance and then gracefully made his excuses and departed.

“What did my esteemed brother want today, Georgiana?” Colonel Fitzwilliam asked, looking at the door where his brother had just disappeared.

“He wanted to engage me for the first two dances tonight, although he pointed out that my aunt would force us to open the ball anyway, so I did not seem to have much choice in the matter,” she said with a spark in her eye.

“I very much doubt whether he worded his request in quite that fashion,” the colonel said, turning to her with an amused smile, “since, for all his faults, his manners in public are generally acceptable, if supercilious.”

She smiled impudently and acknowledged the truth of his statement, and they finished their tea companionably.

When the colonel made his adieux Darcy saw him out, and by the time he returned to the drawing-room Georgiana had gone upstairs. He sat down next to Elizabeth and asked her how she was feeling.

“I am well. However, I feel like a spring is wound up tight inside me, waiting to explode. I cannot but be influenced by Georgiana’s tension, although she covers it very well. Perhaps too well. She has been far too polite and genteel throughout the Season. I sometimes think that if she would scream and cry and get it over with, as some of my younger sisters would do, it would be like a storm passing, leaving fresh air in its wake—however, that is not the Darcy way.” She smiled at him, her eyes twinkling. “So she has had to resort to Beethoven, which I believe has been somewhat efficacious.”

“Yes, I could hear her battle with the pianoforte from my library this morning. Perhaps we should contact Herr Beethoven and commission a work: ‘For the Reduction of Tension in Young Ladies during Their First Season’—but possibly we could find a more romantic title.”

“Perhaps.” She paused and then ventured, “Is there something worrying you, my love? You and the colonel both looked fairly grim when you came in to tea.”

“We were just discussing some business concerning his work upon which the colonel wanted my private opinion. Nothing of importance to the rest of the family.”

“I see.” Elizabeth kissed him and tugged on the hair tumbling over his brow then went upstairs to rest until she needed to dress for the ball—while attempting to reassure herself that all would be well with Georgiana.

***

While Elizabeth was resting, Darcy went back to his library and picked up his book again, his thoughts reverting to the news which the colonel had brought him today. It was little enough, but had a few points of interest. Horace Blackman was now willing to give up his fellow smugglers if the government would not charge him with treason as well as smuggling, thus eliminating his risk of being hanged for his crimes, and Lord Liverpool was impatient to buy his information. As proof of his good faith he had revealed that one of his partners was a “society gent” who seemed to know his way around the gambling hells of London. Darcy wondered if any of his own acquaintance were either desperate enough or stupid enough to turn traitor. There were any number of young gentlemen of the
ton
who might consider such a venture a lark and not think of the implications of smuggling guns to their country’s enemies, or else they might assume that their family connections could rescue them from any consequences of their dangerously foolish behaviour.

It could even be someone in the prince’s circle; Darcy knew that this was what concerned Colonel Fitzwilliam. A society buck who felt slighted in some way, or who simply had no morals, and became involved with a group of men who wished to enhance their arms business by assassinating the Prince Regent could pose a serious danger to both the prince and to Darcy’s cousin Fitzwilliam. Darcy pulled himself up. It did not do to allow his imagination free rein. With any luck, Blackman would reveal his accomplices very soon, and it was likely that his associates had abandoned their assassination scheme, if it existed, after Blackman’s arrest.

He shut his unheeded book and replaced it on the shelf before he went upstairs to change into his evening clothes.

***

Elizabeth and Lambert went through the same routine they had used before the Elliots’ ball; with the older maid taking charge of Georgiana’s hair while Durand watched attentively and assisted with the details.

Since Georgiana had worn her sea-green gown to the earlier ball, Elizabeth had helped her select material for another to wear to her aunt’s ball. It was a magnificent monochrome creation of translucent gold tissue and lace with a white lining, low cut in the bodice and with puffed sleeves that ended just above her long, satiny white gloves. It would make a perfect frame for Lady Anne’s diamonds, which she wore again around her neck and on her ears, with a diamond brooch to embellish her hair. After Georgiana was ready, Elizabeth hurriedly dressed in her wedding gown and her sapphires, which were among the jewels which had been refashioned, and they were both ready by the time the carriage pulled up to the door.

They arrived at Longford House a half hour before the ball was to start so they could take their places in the reception line when the guests began arriving. Lady Whitwell informed them that she had sent a routine invitation to the Prince Regent for the ball and had been surprised when she received an acknowledgement informing her that His Majesty would pay a call during the ball.

“His Majesty will give our ball significant cachet, but we must now delegate one of the servants to watch for his carriage so we can greet him properly.” She added dryly, “I cannot imagine that our little ball would hold much interest for His Majesty, so most likely he will stay only a few minutes.” Turning to her niece, she added, “Georgiana, my dear, you look lovely. It will be a long night for you, so let us go into the library; a very small glass of wine will fortify you for the tasks ahead of you.”

After a few minutes, Lord St. George appeared from upstairs and joined Georgiana where she sat next to the decanter sipping her wine while the rest talked in the hall about the arrangements for the ball and Lady Whitwell instructed them in their roles.

“My dear cousin Georgiana,” St. George said suavely, “I am happy to be able to spend a few minutes alone with you. I have wanted to talk to you for some time.”

“Really?” she asked acerbically, her brows lifted.

He did not appear to notice her repressive tone and continued with an affectionate smile, “Yes, my dear. I have been quite overcome since seeing you again after our long separation. You are a beautiful woman, Georgiana, and I am deeply in love with you. I hope that you will consent to be my wife.”

He looked at her longingly and awaited her answer.

“I am sorry, Cousin, but I cannot,” she said quietly.

He started and stared at her. “What?”

He made a motion with his hand as if he wished to recall his exclamation.

“I said that I will not marry you,” she enunciated slowly.

“And why not, may I ask?” he said, his voice rising.

“I do not think that we are compatible, Cousin,” she said, looking at him steadily.

“What are you waiting for, a duke?” he said with a curl of his lip. “I cannot imagine why else you would reject my suit.”

“No, I do not imagine that you can, and that is part of the problem with your proposal,” she said coldly.

“Well I hope you are not waiting for a duke to ask you, because, my dear
cousin, you are neither rich enough nor beautiful enough to capture one,” he hissed.

Georgiana looked at him with a steely eye that caused him to momentarily quail then she said, very quietly, “I fear, Cousin, that you have forgotten how you treated me when I was a child; however, I have
not
forgotten any of the times that you pushed me, or pulled my hair, or maliciously broke my toys. I also suspect that you now find my company acceptable only because my husband will be the recipient of £30,000 when I marry. I, on the other hand, have no desire to marry a spoilt child who will throw away his patrimony and my dowry on gambling and dissipation.”

Lord St. George glared at her speechlessly for a moment then attempted to gather the shreds of his dignity and said distantly, “Well, I would not want to pressure you into a marriage that was distasteful to you, Cousin.”

“Excellent,” she said and immediately set down her half-filled wineglass and left the library.

***

When the first carriage pulled up, Georgiana had rejoined her family in the hall and appeared to be ready to greet their guests, but Elizabeth was surprised to see that her colour was high and her eyes glittered darkly. She did not have time to talk to her before the first couple appeared, but she watched her covertly during the long reception line. Whatever had upset Georgiana, she did her part correctly, if not with perfect ease, introducing Elizabeth to those guests who had not met her previously. Elizabeth turned from making conversation with an arriving family she had met at an earlier party and realised that the colonel had also arrived and appeared to have been there for some while. She was diverted to see that he had taken a place at one side of Georgiana, while Lord St. George stood stiffly at her other side.

As the first rush of guests passed, Lady Whitwell signalled the orchestra to start the dancing. Lord St. George claimed the first dance with Georgiana, bowing very formally to her. After a preliminary short number while the dancers sorted themselves into lines, with Lord St. George and Georgiana at the head, they struck up a lively dance. Elizabeth and Darcy had been placed within sight of the refreshment table where they could inform Lady Whitwell if it needed attention, and Elizabeth watched Georgiana with veiled apprehension. Her eyes were again glittering above her thin smile, while her partner’s face was an unreadable mask, his feelings betrayed only by the equally narrow line of his mouth.

“I think Georgiana and Lord St. George must have quarrelled,” Elizabeth whispered to Darcy.

He turned his attention to the dancers and, after watching them for a few moments, nodded. “I think you must be right. What do you suppose they are quarrelling about?”

“I do not know,” she said vaguely as she stared at them and then added under her breath, “but I could make an educated guess.”

The first dances finished. Lord St. George bowed stiffly again to Georgiana after leading her from the floor, while she returned the bare minimum of a curtsey. Colonel Fitzwilliam came to claim the two dances for which he had engaged her, and she turned to him with a slow smile, which continued to play about her lips all during their dances. She again lifted her eyes to his each time they faced each other in the figure. The colonel seemed pleased enough with his partner but glanced frequently at his brother, a slight frown between his brows. Lord St. George was partnering Miss Bingley and she, at any rate, seemed very happy with the attention and her face was wreathed in smiles during the dances.

Georgiana tried not to let the quarrel ruin her evening, and she managed to avoid meeting Lord St. George off the dance floor. St. George and the colonel did their duties as the sons of the house and made sure that every young woman had her share of partners, but she was greatly relieved when the colonel asked her for a second pair of dances before supper. As soon as their dances finished, Georgiana gathered her courage and said, “Shall we go out on the terrace for a few minutes? It is quite crowded in here and the night is beautiful.”

He bowed and offered her his arm and they made their way around the dance floor to where several French doors opened onto the terrace, which was flooded with light from the ballroom. Georgiana saw Lord St. George coming towards them with a determined expression and she flung a pleading look across the room to Elizabeth, who caught her eye and immediately assessed the situation and intercepted St. George.