AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have been posting several chapters at a time. I have finished a first draft of the complete story and am posting them as I proof-read them.
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Dinner was a leisurely affair, with many sumptuous courses and appropriate wines with each course. After dinner, as the ladies left, Georgiana invited the Bennet sisters to the music room where a new piano had been installed for her as a gift from her brother. She said, "Lizzy, my brother said how much he enjoyed your playing and singing. I hope you will entertain us tonight when the gentlemen rejoin us. Kitty, do you also play and sing?"
Kitty laughed, "I claim neither accomplishment. I admit I sing to myself sometimes, but I did not have the patience to learn to play."
Georgie responded, "I get such enjoyment from music that I am saddened to see anyone who has not learned to play. Will you let me try to teach you some simple music? We will have to find some songs that the three of us can sing together. That way they will not notice any single voice so they will not know who is guilty if one of us hits the wrong note."
Kitty again laughed, "All right, but I am almost afraid to touch this beautiful instrument. It is much nicer than our piano at home."
Lizzy said, "Georgie, I do not claim to be accomplished in either art, but I have heard you are an excellent pianist. If you will go first, then I will follow. I see you have a large pile of music. Let's find some suitable music before the gentlemen come in."
They found several pieces and Georgie sat down to play. She proved to be very accomplished and was still playing the first piece when Darcy and Mr. Bennet came in from their port and cigars. They sat down and Darcy motioned to a footman to fill glasses of brandy for them both. Everyone was rapt in attention to Georgiana's playing and applauded happily when she finished.
"Now, Lizzy, you promised," Georgiana said as she rose.
Lizzy sat at the piano, found her music and self-consciously began to play. She soon immersed herself in the music and began to sing the words. Her voice proved to be very sweet and light, most enjoyable to her audience. Again, everyone applauded when she finished, but before she could rise from the bench, Darcy came over, asked her to wait, went through to the pile of music, and found the piece he was seeking. He set it on the piano and asked Lizzy to play this one and sing the words. It was not a difficult piece, so she began to play and sing. Darcy stood behind her and surprised them all by joining in the song, proving to have a very melodic baritone that blended very nicely with Lizzy's light soprano. At the end of the song, everyone applauded even more energetically. Lizzy blushed at the realization of how well they sang together. She could not stop her thoughts at returning to the warm feelings she had felt when they kissed, wondering if there were even more delights that might discover together.
Georgiana was completely surprised. "Fitzwilliam, I have never heard you sing before! You have a wonderful voice. Why have you kept it hidden from me all these years? I would love to hear it again and again. Will you sing with the three of us now? Ladies, please help me convince him.
Darcy was obviously embarrassed by her enthusiasm. "I guess I never before felt that the company was so enjoyable that I felt like singing. I am glad that you enjoyed my singing but I am sorry if I have not given you this pleasure in the past. Perhaps we will sing together again, Miss Elizabeth?"
Lizzy again blushed at his words while everyone else smiled at them. "It will be pleasure, Mr. Darcy. But let's have Miss Georgiana play more. She is so accomplished I could listen to her for hours."
After Georgie played several more pieces, she said, "It has been a long day and I am quite tired. I am going up. Ladies, are you ready to go up?"
Both Lizzy and Kitty went with her to their rooms, where their lady's maids were waiting to help them get ready for bed. Lizzy's thoughts were again filled, this time with the magnificence of Pemberley and its handsome master. She knew that to be mistress of Pemberley would be a very impressive and worthwhile position, but she knew she should not get her hopes up, realizing that the large differences in their social positions and their disastrous first meeting made such ambitions very unlikely. She hoped that her unladylike act when she hurt her ankle would not affect how Mr. Darcy viewed her.