Chapter Eleven - A Startling Discovery
Elizabeth had been standing in the drawing room between her aunt and cousins, waiting for their dinner guests who had been seen approaching, when Susan, one of the nursery attendants, signaled her from the stairs. Her aunt saw it as well, but Elizabeth laid a hand on her arm, "Let me see to this. You need to greet your guests with Uncle Edward."
Her aunt seamed ready to protest, but then nodded. Elizabeth quickly followed Susan up the stairs. In the nursery she found Matthew declaring, "I jumped higher!" while Nurse Maria tried to staunch a bleeding nose. Mark was set to argue, but one stern look from Elizabeth stopped him cold. Being careful of her dress, she then knelt down to examine Matthew's wound.
Nurse Pamela explained, "We were setting up the dinner table in the other room when we heard the crash. They were jumping from the ottoman over the chairs..." She was wringing her hands, expecting to be scolded. Elizabeth smiled at her instead. "I did not have any brothers so it fell on me to cause all of the havoc in my home as a child. I had a particular fondness for climbing trees and jumping off of embankments into ponds." With both the nurses and both of the boys now paying attention, she looked sternly at her young cousins, "But I always tried to make sure that my ramblings never go anyone else in trouble. How do you think that Nurse Pamela and Irene feel when you behave like this?"
This got the boys to hang their heads and apologize.
-ooOOoo-
Mr. Barry, the butler, led the two men, the young lady, and her older companion into the drawing room. Barry, a distinguished looking man with a full head of white hair and a dignified mien pronounced, "Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mr. Darcy, Miss Darcy, and Mrs. Younge have arrived, Sir Edward."
Colonel Fitzwilliam was of medium height, broad-shouldered and muscularly fit. Though few would name him handsome, his open, friendly demeanor was certainly attractive. It did not hurt that his officer's regimentals were of the finest material and tailored to fit him perfectly. He had sandy-blond hair and green eyes which Kitty found quite fascinating. Even Mary was not entirely immune to his presence.
His eyes found Sir Edwards immediately and they shared a moment of recognition. He also noted that the older woman, who must be Lady Gardiner, was quite attractive, though a little tired. Given what he had learned about their newest addition to the family, he was not surprised. "Sir Edward, Lady Gardiner, may I congratulate you on your new babe?"
His cousins added their congratulations. Darcy was evidently pleased to see John and his wife, yet his eyes were searching for a missing figure.
Miss Georgiana Darcy was tall and slender for a female of fourteen, was developing into a beautiful young lady with a womanly figure, but she was painfully shy. Her resolve during her walk had dissolved almost as soon as the doors of Gardiner House opened and now she was having difficulty raising her eyes to meet those of her hosts.
Mrs. Younge, a shapely, prettyish woman in her thirties who never quite smiled was about to speak to Georgiana when Kitty, recognizing the girl's shyness, stepped forward and boldly took Georgiana's hands. "Miss Darcy, I am so pleased that you came. Everyone here except Mary is either much older or much younger than me. Oh, Cousin Lizzy is only three years older but I think she was grown up when she was born. I hope that you, Mary, and I can be friends?" Mary was slower to speak and shy herself, but she followed her younger sister's lead and tried to make the timid girl welcome.
In the face of such an open, honest welcome, Georgiana's fears vanished. After the most perfunctory of greetings with Sir Edward and Lady Gardiner, she allowed Kitty and Mary to lead her over to a quiet sitting area. Lady Gardiner attempted to offer friendly conversation with Mrs. Younge, but the woman kept her answers to a minimum and quickly made her way over to where the young ladies had sequestered themselves.
Lady Gardiner watched the woman depart with an odd twinge of disquiet, but she pushed it aside to continue her duties as hostess.
Mr. Darcy, though already known to all but Sir Edward, still managed to draw the eye, since he was tall, dark, and very distinguished in his dinner apparel and perfectly arranged cravat. His eyes searched for Miss Bennet without success and appeared concerned. Sir Edward was already in conversation with the colonel, so Madeline reassured Darcy, "My sons' nurse required some assistance. Elizabeth went to see to the matter so that I could fulfill my duties here. How are you this evening, Mr. Darcy?"
Relieved that Miss Bennet was not wholly absent, he finally smiled and answered, "I am well, Lady Gardiner. When I told Georgiana that you knew our parents, she was quite excited to speak with you, though she is painfully shy. I am very thankful for the way that your younger nieces were able to draw her out."
Madeline smiled over at the young ladies, "Sometimes all that it takes is a genuinely friendly smile. Believe it or not, Kitty and Mary are also shy. Perhaps they only needed each other to break out of their shells."
Just at that moment Elizabeth descended the stairs and Darcy was transfixed. He had not seen her in that dress before. The colors fit her perfectly and the cut of the dress insured that it moved on her figure in such a most pleasing manner as she descended the stairs...
Sir Edward cleared his throat, breaking Darcy's absorption. Darcy looked over to see that both the colonel and the baronet were watching him, the former with amusement and the latter with a fatherly warning. Then Sir Edward spoke, "Colonel, I do not believe that you have met my niece, Miss Elizabeth Bennet? Elizabeth, this is Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, of the 10th Hussars."
Elizabeth tore her eyes away from Darcy to exchange a friendly greeting with the colonel. Darcy joined them and they spoke for several minutes before Madeline touched her niece's elbow and said, "I need to introduce you to Miss Darcy and her companion as well, dear. Gentleman, please take seats and make yourselves comfortable. Dinner will be in about a quarter-hour."
Once again Elizabeth had to tear her eyes away from Mr. Darcy. She was pleased when she saw Mary and Kitty speaking animatedly with a tall, pretty, blond girl. There was an older, sour-faced woman nearby, but Elizabeth barely noticed her. She was hopeful that Kitty and Mary had found a friend. Kitty saw her aunt leading her cousin over and broke off her conversation. Mary looked up as well. The other girl noticed their distraction and looked up to see the Lady Gardiner and another young woman approach. The three girls stood, but when Miss Darcy looked at Elizabeth, her eyes first narrowed in confusion and then widened in what appeared to be shock.
Before Madeline could make introductions, Georgiana shakily said, "But you... you're... Elizabe..." and fainted. Kitty and Mary together just managed to catch the girl before she did herself an injury.
All around the trio, voices raised in alarm.
-ooOOoo-
Georgiana woke to feel a gentle hand wiping her forehead with a damp cloth. She tried to make sense of her surroundings as she opened her eyes to meet those of Catherine Bennet, who had told her to call her "Kitty." When she realized where she was, she was suddenly mortified at the idea that she had fainted. "Ohhh... you must think me such a fool!" She cried and started to curl into a fetal position, but another voice softly comforted, "You have nothing to be ashamed of, Miss Darcy. Something about my face must have startled you. I must say, I've never had that particular reaction, but you have no cause to be ashamed."
A sniff of disdain told Georgiana that Mrs. Younge was in the room with them. Georgiana had been skeptical of her new companion at first. As the week past she was less and less pleased with the woman. Miss Bennet must have felt the same, because she looked up at the woman with a warning look that a mother might use.
Her brother's voice came from the hallway, "She's awake? Please, let me in to see her." Elizabeth stepped back and she felt William's large, comforting presence. "What happened, Georgie? What made you faint?"
Georgiana looked at her brother and then looked at Elizabeth. Finally she answered, "It was Miss Bennet, Brother... she looks almost exactly like Elizabeth Darcy."
-ooOOoo-
Explanations were delayed so that everyone could take their seats. Dinner had only been set back by ten minutes, and the food had been kept warm. Still, Georgiana felt even more ashamed at causing such problems. Kitty, Mary, Elizabeth, and Lady Madeline Gardiner laughed off her concerns and reassured her that no harm had been done. The Gardiner home was so welcoming and friendly that she was soon able to relax again.
It was her brother who broached the subject again by saying, "I had not realized that you had ever even seen the painting of Elizabeth Darcy, Georgiana?"
She looked over at Elizabeth Bennet's pretty face and amazing eyes and replied, "I used to like to play in the attic, so I saw it often. It was one of the best and most realistic portraits in Pemberley and a mystery, so I liked to visit her. When I began painting and wanted to learn how to do portraiture, I asked Mrs. Reynolds to move the painting down to my rooms. She... it has been there ever since."
Darcy shook his head, the mystery of his overwhelming sense of familiarity whenever he looked at Miss Elizabeth Bennet finally explained. "It has been many years since I saw the portrait. From what I can recall, I believe that they are very similar. What an amazing coincidence?"
Georgiana looked at the curious Elizabeth again and shook her head, "No, William, it is much more than a coincidence. Miss Bennet, you are wearing the Garnet Cross!"
-ooOOoo-
That evening after dinner there was no separation of the sexes, as everyone wanted to hear the story of the garnet cross and this Elizabeth's resemblance to the other Elizabeth. Elizabeth told of her grandmother's stories. Darcy told his mother's tale. It was Sir Edward who stated the obvious connection out loud. "Ladies, Gentleman, I believe that it is quite obvious." He turned to the Darcys, "Your Elizabeth Darcy is our Elizabeth's grandmother, Grandma Elizabeth Rose Bennet... nee Darcy"
Elizabeth had taken off her cross and now held it with reverence, "Grandmother often told me that the cross was handed down for many generations, but she never told me her maiden name or the person who passed it down to her. She must have been so sad to be cut off from her family and to lose a precious... Oh!" Without warning she stood up, excused herself, and hurried out of the room.
Everyone else watched her exit with varying degrees of amusement and alarm. Sir Edward simply shook his head. "I apologize, gentleman, Miss Darcy. Our Lizzy's mind races as fast as the wind at times and she can be just as difficult to catch. Whatever it is, I am certain that she will return shortly."
As promised, Elizabeth was back down the stairs as quickly as dignity and propriety would allow. To reach her room she must have ran once out of their sight. The result was that she was breathing more heavily than normal, an enticing circumstance which made Darcy have to force his eyes to look away from her person until she settled. His best intentions were made more difficult when she extended an open locket for his perusal.
"When Grandma Bennet passed, I discovered this in between a crack between the floorboards. When I saw you at St. Albans, Sir, I knew that I recognized you. Now it all makes sense. Could this be Colonel Darcy?"
Darcy, Georgiana, and the Colonel all leaned in to view the miniature. Georgiana gasped, "It is! And it looks just like you... or you look like him. Such amazing detail for a miniature!"
As the locket was passed around, Darcy recalled his morning visit. During that visit... and before at the booksellers, Miss Bennet had been wearing the locket! There, nestled down... his eyes followed his thoughts and then he jerked his eyes away. No, that is not a thought I should ponder right now or I shall embarrass myself, for heaven's sake!
But when he looked up at Elizabeth, her coloring told him that she had arrived at something of the same realization.
At one point Kitty sighed, "It is amazing that my cousin Lizzy is related to the Duke and Duchess of _."
Elizabeth laughed and squeezed Kitty's hands, "Kitty, so are you. She was our grandmother, not just mine. My father was her first son. Your father was her second son... but you should probably never mention any of this to your parents..."
Kitty shook her head and giggled, "No, mother would have the Bennet carriage harnessed up and present herself at the Duke's doorstep..." Then another thought occurred to her, "Georgie... we're cousins! Well, in a way..." Kitty looked abashed for overstepping, but Georgiana grinned, "That's true! Welcome, Cousin!" Mary looked left out for a moment until Georgiana reached over an took her hands in happy welcome. Then her grin matched that of her sister.
Many family stories were told that evening. The revelation of their relation dispelled any formality remaining among those gathered and all except for the companion spoke freely as if they had known each other for years. Georgiana, Mary, and Kitty adopted each other as sisters on the spot and had already planned the next months worth of activities. Since Darcy was more than pleased to advance their association, they gained ready approval from him.
As the evening waned and the guests rose to excuse themselves, Darcy held Elizabeth's eyes, "I shall send a post to Pemberley tomorrow morning to have the portrait sent to me. As soon as it arrives, we would be very pleased to have you all to dinner."
Elizabeth, having forgotten her earlier fears, met the tall man's eyes with pleasure, "I look forward to seeing my grandmother in her youth, Mr. Darcy. Thank you most kindly."
There seemed so much more to say between them, but it would wait."
-ooOOoo-
Mrs. Althea Younge retired to her room that night uncertain whether to scream at the heavens or dance a jig. When she and George had made their plans he had emphasized the need to keep "the little princess" isolated and lonely so that she would be open to George's advances. That was all thrown out the door now in one night at the Gardiners!
And yet... Althea had always been skeptical about taking any actions against the Darcys. Mr. Darcy was not a man to be crossed easily or incautiously. Her George was determined to hurt the Darcys, however, so he would not listen to reason. But if Miss Bennet was an heiress of considerable fortune and related to the Darcys... a relationship which Mr. Darcy seemed quite interested in expanding into something more... then...
There was also the fact that the chit was somehow connected to a Duke! How fascinating! Surely something could be done with this information?
Althea opened her writing desk and began writing a letter to George Wickham.
AN: The next chapter may take a few days, as it will have to be carefully crafted. Please be patient with me.