Chapter 21: An Important Chat

"Hey."

"Hey."

Despite the monosyllabic response, Darcy did motion her to sit down, which Elizabeth considered to be a positive step. "I didn't know that you had an outdoor pool as well," she said, trying to open with something casual. After she spoke though, Elizabeth wondered if her remark sounded as silly to Darcy as it did to her own ears.

"This one was always there, for as long as I can remember. Even once it's become too cold to swim, the view of the grounds from here is incredible." He sighed. "The one inside was a bribe."

Elizabeth cocked her head to a side. "For Georgiana?"

Darcy laughed with little humour. "For me."

Elizabeth was genuinely confused. "But…"

"Once my parents – when they were alive, obviously – once they decreed that I couldn't actually be a competitive swimmer, that in the gospel of Fitzwilliam it had been written that I was to be a lawyer and nothing else and no, law being a deferred career was not an option, they thought bribing me with an indoor pool was the way to go."

Elizabeth was shocked. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realise…"

"It's fine, it was years and years ago. It may not have been my first choice, but at least I enjoy law."

Elizabeth kept to herself the thought that he may have been able to enjoy both. "And you're good at it."

"Says the person working in family law."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "We do have one class action, remember? I've done research for it, I've read some of your reported decisions. I'm not being insincere."

For the first time since the conversation started, Darcy actually smiled. "You're not really the kind for false praise. Anyway, that's the story of the two pools."

"As bribes go, perhaps not the most appropriate."

"Perhaps, but my family's mantra is to throw money at problems and hope that they go away. Conventional thinking is that the more money you throw at a problem, the higher the chances of getting rid of said problem. Such thinking is bound to result in the occasional inappropriate bribes."

"Or the occasional problem that you can't fix with money."

"Like George Wickham? There's a price – a literal price – to make that problem go away, I just haven't been willing to pay it."

"Darcy, I'm sure that you have enough money to make him go away, but I doubt that even your family has enough money to make him stay away."

Darcy rubbed his temple with his fingers. "Richard and I have a plan. We just need to find the bugger."

As much as Elizabeth wanted to know what the plan was, this wasn't the right time. "Onto more immediate problems though." She sighed, and dropped her voice involuntarily. "How's Georgiana doing?"

Darcy shook his head. "Upset. Distraught. Angry in turn at me, Richard, Wickham, herself, and then the guilt set in. She worked herself into such a state that I had to give her a Valium."

"A Valium?"

"Doctor's orders, when she's suffering from extreme anxiety, hysteria, or panic attacks. She hasn't had to use a Valium for a while…she's asleep now. I think she'll wake up for dinner, maybe watch some tv and then go to bed gain. She's spent."

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Yeah…eventually she will be."

"I was wondering – actually, Charlotte and I were wondering –" Elizabeth started.

"You must be thinking that Georgiana is –" Darcy said at the same time.

They both paused and looked at each other. Elizabeth decided it was better to respond to what Darcy had begun to say.

"Believe me, I'm hardly in a position to judge; two parents who are alive and well, and I know you saw the antics of my younger siblings at that gala. Not that my mother was any better." So distracted was she by the drama with George, that Elizabeth hadn't actually dwelt much thought on her family's atrocious conduct at the gala, and she winced now just recalling how awful they had been, not the least being her mother's yammering about Jane abandoning her career. She sighed.

"Richard is right that I spoil her. It's not Georgiana's fault."

"She's your sister, and you've been both of her parents for as long as she can remember. It's understandable." It struck Elizabeth that she and Darcy had the most in-depth and personal conversations at the oddest of times. "Your cousin on the other hand…he's quite the character."

"Richard is…Richard. He means well," Darcy said. "He's a good person," he added defensively.

"I didn't doubt that he was," Elizabeth said quickly. "Though…how are you not still mad at him? If my cousin did that, he'd be at the bottom of a river right now."

Darcy shrugged. "It's been a very long day. I'm too tired to be angry." He looked at her, expression inscrutable. "We've all had a very long day. You were asking me something before I interrupted you."

"Umm, yeah…Charlotte and I were wondering…we don't want to impose during what is clearly private matter. This is a time for Georgiana to be with her family, not random strangers who invited themselves over. But we also don't want to hurt her by leaving and making it seem that we're judging her. I thought that maybe I should just ask you and take it from there. We just want to help and do the right thing. Please, just be honest and tell me what we should do right now and if it would be better to stay or to go."

From the expression on Darcy's face, it was quite plain that he hadn't thought about this at all, which Elizabeth found to be a relief. If he hadn't thought about their presence, they hadn't yet become a burden.

"I…Georgiana would be so ashamed of herself if she woke up to find you both had left."

"Then we'll stay," Elizabeth said simply.

Darcy looked a bit surprised. "Just like that? What do you want to do?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes instinctively. "You sound like Charlotte. I want to do whatever will help. If Georgiana's going to feel bad if we leave, then I'm happy to stay."

"I'm going back to the city on Sunday. I can drive both of you back. Georgiana might come as well. That's still up in the air."

"Sounds good to me," Elizabeth said. She was certain that Charlotte wouldn't mind.

"Shall we head back inside? I should go check on Georgiana."

Elizabeth nodded, hopping off the chair. Darcy looked like he wanted to say something more, but he didn't. "You must be exhausted," she said as they walked back towards the house. Darcy nodded absently, but didn't respond. When Darcy's hand was on the door, Elizabeth spoke again. "Darcy, I'm…I wanted to also say that I was sorry. I was so bullish about fixing things for Charlotte…I didn't stop to think for one minute about how being here would affect you or your family." She gulped in air. This was an awkward but necessary apology. "I'm truly sorry for just turning up here and being the catalyst for all this drama and upsetting Georgiana." Darcy looked like he was about to say something to interrupt her, so Elizabeth rushed on before her courage failed her. "And I'm also sorry for being so rude and hurtful this morning. I just…it was uncalled for."

Darcy ran his fingers through his hair. "All of this was a long time coming. You have nothing to apologise for."

"Still. I am apologising. Just so we're clear."

Finally, there was the ghost of a smile on Darcy's face. "Okay then," he said, with some amusement.

"Could we start on a fresh slate?"