Thursday, November 12, 1812 – Darcy House, London

Darcy and Georgiana were enjoying a quiet breakfast when Hodgkins brought in the post and placed it beside Darcy. "Ah! A letter from Bingley. Most unusual, I can read the address."

Opening the letter, Darcy read with interest,

Greetings Darcy,

As you can readily observe, I took your advice and now employ a secretary to handle my correspondence. I accept your thanks in advance for sparing you the obvious pain in attempting to read my letters. I hired a young fellow from Yorkshire who had attended Oxford. He has been quite valuable indeed and has proven his worth in dealing with the volume of correspondence that grows by the day.

I have settled myself here in York quite comfortably. At the present time I am living with my uncle but I have purchased a house. Some repairs and improvements are required, but should be completed by the end of the year.

I have dined out several times and my uncle has hosted two dinners on my behalf. I am quite liking society here, it reminds me very much of Hertfordshire; very lively. I attended a small ball recently and it was quite enjoyable. I find myself inclined to enjoy the dances, but less inclined to attach myself to any particular lady. My uncle suggested that I only ever dance a single set with any lady so as to limit any suggestion of partiality. I have done just that.

I must return to London to make such arrangements as are necessary to sell the house and have my furniture carted to York. I hope to have that completed early in the New Year. I will enjoy Christmas with my relatives here in York and travel to London in the New Year, arriving there around January 9. I imagine you will enjoy Christmas at Pemberley. Could I break my journey and visit you and Georgiana for a day or even two? I would hope to arrive on the evening of January 5 and depart on January 7. As well, I would like to take further advantage of your kindness and stay at your house while in London. I cannot be too sure how long I will visit but a fortnight should suffice to deal with all problems.

Sincerely,

Charles Bingley

Passing it over to Georgiana, Darcy commented, "I look forward to seeing Bingley after Christmas. I was thinking of inviting him to join us, but he seems quite pleased with being amongst his family in York."

Georgiana read the letter and looked at her brother with surprise written on her face. "Is Mr. Bingley separating himself from his sisters? I cannot altogether blame him, but I am surprised."

"It is as much a case of them separating from him, I believe. Bingley has decided to move back to York where his father built his business. His uncles remain involved in the company and Bingley has decided he needs to do likewise. His sisters, however, have a strong desire to partake of London society. If they were to behave in York as they did while in Hertfordshire, Bingley would not be served well. I do believe they will not find London society as welcoming as it was when Bingley was here. I did tell Bingley that I would not accept his sisters using my name to acquire admittance to society."

"I am looking forward to returning to Pemberley for Christmas. Will we have guests?"

"I have invited Richard and the Matlocks for the season. They will stay about a fortnight. "

Georgiana looked pensive and seemed about to speak. After several attempts she finally blurted, "Will I be expected to come 'out' next spring?"

Somewhat surprised, Darcy replied, "Your Aunt Eleanor and I discussed this recently. You will not turn seventeen until next July and we both felt that it would not hurt you to wait another year; however, we will be in London for part of the season. I plan to attend a number of balls with you although you will only be allowed to dance with family. You will also be attending some dinners. Our purpose is to let you become familiar and comfortable with such events for when you are 'out' the next year."

"Thank you, Brother, thank you. I know it is silly but I simply do not feel ready."

"I think your aunt and I realized that; and, since there is no real urgency, we decided to wait a year. Now, to change the topic, I plan for us to leave for Pemberley on Wednesday next. I will write to Mrs. Reynolds today to expect us on November 22. Any last minute shopping, like my Christmas present should be done soon." Darcy smiled as he left the room and then stuck his head back in the door, "And yours has already been bought!"

Georgiana simply smiled in response and quietly finished her meal. Her French tutor was not expected for another hour so she moved to her sitting room to read. Once settled with her book, she found that the pages held little interest. Her thoughts veered to the dinner that her brother had hosted last night. It had been an extremely unusual, albeit interesting, dinner. Her brother had invited her cousin, Lady Frances Monteith, to act as hostess. Lady Frances was the younger sister of her cousin, Richard Fitzwilliam. Her husband Viscount Henry Monteith attended, as did Richard.

It was a small party since the only others present were two couples, both in trade, that her brother had met recently. She had previously made the acquaintance of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson when they were invited to tea and had enjoyed their company. She found Mrs. Johnson to be a very amiable and sensible lady and had greatly enjoyed their discussions of Derbyshire and Yorkshire. The other couple, Mr. and Mrs. Tailor, were not previously known to her but, over the course of the evening, she found them to be enjoyable company also. They had shown an obvious knowledge and appreciation for music, particularly opera, and had discussed several operas with which she was not familiar and had encouraged her to learn the music scores.

When the gentlemen separated for their port and cigars, Lady Frances was quite comfortable directing the conversation. Georgiana knew that it was the ability of Lady Frances to mingle comfortably with people from trade that had induced her brother to ask her to be hostess for that occasion[A1] . In most circumstances he would have asked Aunt Eleanor but she tended to be less welcoming to such company. Georgiana was not insensible to the fact that the other ladies made a general, but not too overt, effort to include her in their conversation.

However, it was the behaviour her brother that truly interested her. She had said little but the changes she observed over the past few months could not be ignored. She had no difficulty in determining the cause for the change. A young lady by the name of Miss Elizabeth Bennet had forced her brother to change, and for the better in Georgiana's opinion.

Her thoughts drifted to Miss Elizabeth Bennet. She had not, of course, ever met the lady but her discussion about her with her brother remained fresh in her mind. She could recall that conversation at will. It had begun in her sitting room after dinner last July. Her brother had invited himself in; dismissed Mrs. Annesley, and then sat silently for several minutes clearly trying to gauge how best to open the subject. Finally, with a rather forced calmness, he began,

"Georgie, I know you have wondered as to the reason for my distress or melancholy over the past few months. I would have you know that you are in no way responsible for it. I cannot, will not, provide you with all of the particulars and you must be satisfied with what I can impart."

"While visiting Mr. Bingley at his estate in Hertfordshire last year, I met a young lady – Miss Elizabeth Bennet – to whom I was almost immediately drawn. She was the second eldest of a gentleman's family with four other sisters and no brothers. The estate was entailed away and the mother was desperate to marry off her daughters and very obvious in her endeavours. For a number of reasons, pertaining to her status compared to ours and what I perceived to be major improprieties in the behaviour of her family - apart from herself and her elder sister. I made every effort to disguise my interest since I did not want to raise expectations that I was not prepared to meet."

"I left Hertfordshire sooner than planned and a major reason was to avoid Miss Bennet's society. I found, however, that leaving Hertfordshire did not remove her from my thoughts and she became a constant and most disturbing presence in them."

Georgiana could not help but exclaim, "Brother, I have never heard you speak so of a young lady!"

"Yes, well I have not previously, or since, met her equal in our society. Anyway, this torment continued and then I travelled to Kent with Richard to visit our Aunt Catherine. She was there! She was visiting her friend who had recently married our Aunt's parson, a Mr. Collins. Richard visited the parsonage almost daily. He enjoyed Miss Bennet's society although they both realized that an attachment could not be formed – she had no dowry, you see. The party at the parsonage was invited to dine at Rosings by Aunt Catherine several times during the course of my visit. It quickly became clear to me that my feelings for Miss Bennet had not abated. I decided to court her and so joined her on several of her daily walks."

Georgiana's face showed some confusion. Rather tentatively, she asked, "I know there has been no engagement announced, and yet I know you to be the best of brothers. What …."

Darcy grimaced. "I proposed, Georgie, and simply put, it was a disaster and she refused me."

He leaned back in his chair with his head resting on the back, eyes closed and said, "It was a disaster, Georgie. A disaster! I had not only misread her affections – she had taken a rather strong dislike to me - but I also insulted her grievously in the course of my offer of marriage. She not only rejected me quite firmly but told me why she did so. Needless to say, I was quite affronted."

"Brother, I do not understand, how could she dislike you so?"

"There were a number of reasons mostly of my own making. I cannot go into the particulars but I managed to insult her, her family, her neighbours and friends by my behaviour and actions. She called me arrogant, disdainful and conceited, and, in truth, I cannot now refute those charges. That I actively separated her elder sister from a most eligible suitor through my mistaken understanding of her sister's feelings only made the situation worse. Miss Elizabeth loves her sister dearly."

"I cannot imagine any young lady rejecting you no matter the cause."

"Miss. Elizabeth rejected a man she found wanting, not Mr. Darcy, Master of Pemberley."

Darcy was pensive for several heartbeats and then added, "You would have liked her a great deal."

"What was she like, Brother?"

"She was lovely; her face came alive with laughter when she was happy. She was intelligent with a wit that was exercised on me several times and could be quite impertinent on occasion though never maliciously so. She loved to read, was never happier than when out walking – she thought nothing of walking for hours. She once walked three miles, though the roads were muddy, to nurse her elder sister." He thought a bit and mused, "She was fiercely loyal to, and protective of, family and friends, and delighted in the foibles of her neighbours. She played the piano and sang with great emotion and feelings and, even if her skills were not of the same calibre as yours, I found nothing wanting in her performance - I rarely heard anyone play who gave me greater pleasure."

"Would she have liked me?"

"I think she would have loved you very much. Everyone who knows your sweet nature could not help but love you Georgie. You are quite similar in nature to her elder sister, Miss Jane Bennet whom she loves dearly. "

"Brother, will you meet her again?"

"I hope to, but I do not know how to do so. We parted on such a hurtful basis that I fear to approach her directly. The only communication we have had since the night I made the offer, was a letter I gave her the following day, it was an attempt to explain my actions and while I can hope that it has redeemed me in her eyes, I cannot be confident that her opinions have improved. I have not given up hope but how to introduce myself to her once again is a question for which I have no answers."

Darcy had then left Georgiana with her own thoughts.

Over the course of the past months, Georgiana had conceived and discarded several plans to connect Miss Elizabeth Bennet and her brother. She had thought of writing her a letter and even gone so far as to put pen to paper but when it came time to post the letter, she realized she did not know Miss Bennet's address. For the same reason, her thoughts of visiting Miss Bennet were impossible to effect. She knew with a certainty that her brother would object strongly to any such interference, no matter how well-meaning; and the impropriety of writing to a young lady, to whom she had not been introduced, was too severe to contemplate.

"It seems like a hopeless case to me" she grumbled, "quite hopeless."

Her thoughts were disturbed by a knock on the door. Mrs. Annesley had come to remind her that her lessons were to begin shortly. Together they moved to the music room for the lesson.

[A1]G is reflecting on what passed the previous evening.