Chapter 27

The two days till Georgiana's departure had passed in a blur, and before Darcy knew it, the time to part with his sister had come. Anne and Richard Fitzwilliam had arrived by mid-morning and quickly their young cousin's trunks had been packed and soon, after they had taken a cup of tea together, they had set off towards Cornwall. He wished he could be as composed as his little sister, the very sister who had now grown up so quickly, but in going back into the house all alone, Darcy felt exceptionally low. There was only one way to counteract such low spirits, and he had hardly sat down behind his desk when he jumped up again to call for his coach to pay a last visit in Gracechurch Street before he himself would leave London for a week or so.

The Gardiners and their charming niece had just sat down for lunch and most cordially was he invited to join them. An invitation that was gladly accepted. Other than he was accustomed to, the children partook in the family meal instead of eating up in the nursery and consequently there was no time for gloomy thoughts, just as he had hoped.

Before Darcy knew it, he had been claimed by the older of the two young boys, sitting to his left as he tugged at the sleeve of his coat.

"Sir," he was addressed unabashedly, "can you please cut my slice of meat?"

Mrs Gardiner, who sat on the boy's other side was currently occupied in doing just that for her other son, and almost apologetically she glanced over at her unexpected visitor.

Bowing graciously, Darcy replied to the little chap's plea: "But of course, Master Gardiner."

Elizabeth smiled at him, as he patiently cut the braised slice of beef into small enough pieces for the child to put into his mouth.

"I thank you, Sir," the boy answered with a sincerity that had him smile, the first bit of meat already half-way to his mouth.

"It is my pleasure. Would you like me to cut your potatoes as well?"

"I do not like potatoes all that much," the child replied, earning a giggle from his two older sisters.

"Hm, neither do I, but I do have a suggestion..." there he had cast a quick glance at Elizabeth, who had watched the intercourse with some amusement.

Before the boy could reply, Darcy had pulled his plate closer to himself, taken up his fork and unceremoniously began mashing the but few potatoes before pouring a generous amount of gravy over them.

"Now, try," he told the startled boy with a grin on his face and he could not help thinking that in a few years, how old was the boy, three or four perhaps?, it would be his and Elizabeth's children assembled around the table at Pemberley just as unaffected as they did now.

Yes, he quite liked the idea. A meal should be a family affair.

"Now I do like them!" little Master Gardiner exclaimed, half his face smeared with sauce.

"See," Darcy replied, and with yet another glance at his betrothed and then a conspiratorial one at the child next to him, he did the unthinkable mashing his own potatoes and sauce into a brown heap.

Mr and Mrs Gardiner could hardly help to chuckle, and when Elizabeth's tinkling laugh could not be suppressed any longer, the whole room erupted in laughter. A moment of carefree and unabashed cheerfulness that had his heart swell despite all his worries.

But soon enough it was time to leave, lest it would get too late to travel the four and twenty miles to Hertfordshire, and he was once again grateful to the Gardiners for giving him a few minutes of privacy with Elizabeth.

"So, you are to leave..." she began, her eyes averted.

Gently raising her chin with his hand, he smiled at her: "But before you know it, I will be back, my dear."

"Are you feeling well enough to travel?" her concern touched him, and it was hard to resist to not pull her closer.

"Yes, Elizabeth, I feel quite well."

"And how are you faring with having said good-bye to your sister this morning?"

Swallowing hard it was now him averting his eyes, unwilling to let her see the pain in them. So many thoughts swirled in his mind. It was not only his sister's emotional well-being that worried him, but she was so young, and his mother had died in childbirth taking Georgiana's twin with her. He had never told his sister. Yet another burden he carried. But no, he would not go there! His sister would live.

'And so will the child', a small voice at the back of his mind whispered, 'Anne and Richard deserve to be parents'.

With his mind miles away, it took him a moment to feel the arms wrapped around his middle and the head leaning against his shoulder. Looking down he looked straight into Elizabeth's gentle eyes, eyes filled with compassion and... - love.

As if reading his innermost thoughts she reached up to caress his cheek before gently saying: "All will be well, Fitzwilliam. She will be well. She is young and strong."

He dearly hoped she was right, and unable to utter a word, all he did was put his own arms around her to hold her close. He could have stayed like this forever, but after a couple of blissful minutes, Mrs Gardiner came back into the room and the time had come that he had to go.

All the way, Darcy kept wondering how to best address the two issues at hand. When first he had decided to warn Mr Bennet about Mrs Younge's character, he had considered it a pretty straightforward business, but now it occurred to him, that questions might arise that were all but impossible to answer. Yet admittedly, he certainly would have them would someone come to him to doubt one of his servants good name. Especially when that servant had been carefully examined by such trustworthy a man like Mr Gardiner. How could he even have assumed that her references were anything but legitimate? And how would he be received when he asked for Elizabeth's hand in marriage? Though he had little doubt that they would be happy together, that they suited each other perfectly, were he in Mr Bennet's shoes, he would presumably doubt it as well. It was but little more than a month that they had known each other. There had been no previous connection between their families and then there was the fact that he had slighted Elizabeth upon first meeting her. Could her father look past that as easily as she had done? With a woeful smile, he once more thought of Georgiana and that he presumably would not have taken such an offence lightly. He should have behaved more gentlemanly, no matter the pain he had been in.