Part 2

At Darcy House that Easter of 1816, Darcy and Georgiana were still in town as she was greatly enjoying her second season. She found that, in spite of her fears that she would be entering a marriage market where she would be inspected and judged harshly, her brother did not allow any gentleman that he deemed to be unworthy to approach her in any way. Georgiana found that she loved to dance and that Darcy did not restrict her accepting any partners as long as he approved of them first. She rarely had the chance to sit out any sets, unlike her brother who rarely danced with any lady except in exceptional circumstances. In this, his habits had not changed in many years. Darcy noticed that his sister's popularity and frequent interactions with many different new acquaintances had resulted in the loss of her shyness that had previously afflicted her. While he was still very protective of her, he had forced himself to allow her to enjoy the company of many different gentlemen on the dance floor and at other events.

It was a beautiful day, so Darcy asked Georgiana if she would like to ride in Hyde Park in their open carriage. She agreed, so they were soon enjoying their outing. As they entered the park, they saw that others had the same idea and they continually had to acknowledge acquaintances who passed them, either in their own carriages or on horseback. Georgiana especially was enjoying the day just being with her brother as it seemed that they had not spent much time together recently because of the many social events to which she had been invited with her Fitzwilliam relatives. She hoped that this outing would be the beginning of a closer relationship between them. He was still not the same as he had been before her Ramsgate misadventure, but that was nearly five years ago, so she wondered if there had been some other event that still troubled him. She knew that when the season in London came to an end, they would be heading back up to Pemberley where she would much rather be in the summer; London was too hot and smelly for her then. However, even at Pemberley, he seemed to be so busy with estate matters that they seemed to spend little time together in carefree outings such as this one.

They were slowly riding along one of the carriageways that edged the lawns when Darcy suddenly told the coachman to pull over and stop. When they had pulled over to the side of the road, Darcy just sat there with a look of shock on his face that she had never seen before. Georgiana could not understand what was happening, so she followed his gaze and saw a young lady with a group of young people who were accompanied by several other people who appeared to be the staff members. She saw that the young lady was holding a toddler who was tightly holding on to her while she soothed him. The lady's back was to them, so she could not see her face. Darcy said, almost to himself, "Is it really her? It must be; I would know her anywhere."

Georgiana looked back to Darcy and asked, "Fitzwilliam, you know those people. Who are they and how do you know them? Who is the lady?"

He did not avert his gaze and looked even more stricken at how the lady was comforting the toddler. While he was usually very reticent about his personal affairs with his sister, he was obviously affected so strongly that he opened up to her. "This is what I have worried about for so long. My worst nightmares were when I dreamt this. Oh, Georgiana, I made such a huge mistake; I was so wrong!" He looked at his sister and she saw that his eyes were full of tears, which was something she had never seen before.

"Who is she and what was the mistake that you made? Is this why you have seemed to be so unhappy for so long? Are you sure this is the same lady? Her back is to us."

"I would know her anywhere. Her name is Miss Elizabeth Bennet; at least it was. It looks as if that is no longer her name. I made a huge mistake at Hunsford and I am sure that she has still not forgiven me."

"Fitzwilliam, how long has it been since you last met her? I would guess that it was four years ago when you and Richard went to visit Aunt Catherine and you came back so distraught."

"Yes, that is the last time I saw her."

"Will you introduce me? I would like to meet her."

"Georgie, I cannot! I cannot face her. She likely still hates me and I could not bear to see that again. We should just drive on."

"No! We cannot leave without finding out for sure. If you will not go to talk to her, I will."

Meanwhile, Elizabeth was consoling Tommy who had fallen when he tried to keep up with his much older cousins. Elaine, the oldest girl, said, "Lizzy, do you know that couple in the carriage? They have been staring at us."

Elizabeth turned and looked at the carriage that was stopped on the side of the road. She saw that it was unmistakably Mr. Darcy, who was with a young lady who had her hand on his arm. Her face fell when she saw them in such a tender scene. "I used to know the gentleman. His name is Mr. Darcy, but I have not seen him for many years."

Elaine said, "Why do you look so sad? Was he your beau?"

Elizabeth did not answer as she saw the young lady get down from the carriage and walk towards them. She came up to Elizabeth, curtsied very politely, and said, "Miss Bennet? Miss Elizabeth Bennet? Please forgive me for being so forward, but I had to introduce myself to you. I am Miss Georgiana Darcy, Fitzwilliam's sister."

Elizabeth's face changed when she heard this. "His sister? Really? I thought that you would be someone else." Elizabeth looked again at Mr. Darcy, who was still staring at her. "Yes, I am Miss Elizabeth Bennet." Both Georgiana and Elaine saw the relieved look on Elizabeth's face. She even closed her eyes for a moment and breathed a huge sigh.

"Forgive me for asking, but are you still Miss Bennet? When Fitzwilliam saw you with this youngster, he thought otherwise."

"Yes, I am Miss Bennet since my older sister is married. I have never married. This sturdy young fellow is my brother."

Georgiana looked at the four other children who were now surrounding them. "Will you introduce me to your companions?"

"These are my Gardiner cousins who live here in town." She pointed them out in turn, "Miss Elaine Gardiner, Master James Gardiner, Master Henry Gardiner, and Miss Susan Gardiner. Cousins, this is Miss Georgiana Darcy." As she named each, they made their best curtsies or bows. Georgiana made a curtsy to each in turn and smiled at them.

"An what is this young fellow's name?"

"My brother, Master Thomas Bennet, who we call Tommy. He is actually going to be the Master of Longbourn, our estate in Hertfordshire. I have been taking care of him ever since his birth."

"Fitzwilliam will be so relieved to hear that this is your brother. I could see from how upset he was when he saw you holding him that he thought that he must be your son. Miss Bennet, I do not know what happened between you two, but I hope that you will forgive him for whatever he did. He would not tell me what happened; he just said that he made a huge mistake at Hunsford. He really is a good man; the best gentleman I know. He was too distraught to come to you, but will you please come with me to say hello to him? Please bring Tommy as he will want to know who he is."

Elizabeth was not sure if she wanted to talk to him as she was still embarrassed about the harsh words she had said to him when they had parted in Hunsford. However, her curiosity got the better of her and she agreed to go to the carriage. She continued to carry Tommy and her cousins followed her.

When Darcy saw that his sister was bringing Miss Elizabeth to him, he jumped down and waited. He bowed very politely to her and said only, "Miss Elizabeth." Then he blushed in case he had called her by her former name. He had almost just said 'Elizabeth,' as this is how he had long thought of her in his dreams.

Elizabeth curtsied and courteously returned his greeting. Miss Darcy saw that they needed help, so she turned to her and said, "Miss Bennet, will you introduce your companions to my brother?"

Elizabeth named each of her cousins and they greeted Darcy very respectfully. The last one she introduced with a twinkle in her eye. "This handsome young fellow is my brother, Master Thomas Bennet, who will be the Master of Longbourn. Tommy, say 'hello' to the gentleman." Tommy was too shy to say anything, so he just hid his face on his sister's shoulder.

"Your brother! I had thought…" Darcy turned pale, then red. He could not finish his thoughts out loud.

"Yes, my brother. He was born in May, 1813, so you would not have known anything about him. The last time I saw you was in 1812."

"Yes, April 10, 1812. Four years ago." Both his sister and Elizabeth noted that he knew the exact date when he had last seen her.

"Mr. Darcy, I have long wanted to apologize for the words I said to you then. You were right and I was wrong about many things."

"No, Miss Elizabeth, I was wrong, so wrong, in what I said. I owe you the apology."

They were both became quiet, so Georgiana saw that once again she needed to help them along. "Please do not argue about who owes the greater apology. You two obviously have a lot to talk about, but this is not the place. Miss Bennet, may we call on you? Do you still live on your estate? How long are you in town?"

Elizabeth was surprised at her questions until she thought how Miss Darcy had initiated the contact with her just a few moments ago. "We will be returning to Hertfordshire in just a couple of days. We are staying at my Aunt and Uncle Gardiners. I would be pleased to have you call. We will be at home in the morning. Now, I should get back to what I am supposed to be doing, which is to make sure that my cousins and Tommy run off some of their energy." She gave the directions to the Gardiners' house, then curtsied to them. Each of her cousins made their own polite good-byes, which were returned by both Darcys.

As Elizabeth led her brood away, she put Tommy down do he could run. "Tommy, you are getting so heavy. Soon I will not be able to pick you up, much less carry you."

Elaine said, "Cousin Lizzy, Mr. Darcy is very handsome. Are you in love with him? Was he your beau?"

"Elaine! Those are not polite questions to ask. I have not seen him in four years. I will only say that we knew each other fairly well, but that was long ago."

Then James, the oldest Gardiner boy, who was just beginning to appreciate girls, said, "Miss Darcy is beautiful! I hope that one day I will find someone as pretty as she is to marry me."

"Elaine! James! What has gotten into you? Just because we meet an attractive couple in the park, you have to go on about them? They are just acquaintances."

When they arrived back home, Elaine said, "Mama, cousin Lizzy met a very handsome gentleman in the park that she says she used to know. I think he is sweet on her. James thought that his sister was 'beautiful' as he said this several times."

James piped up, "I only said it once; and she was beautiful!"

Mrs. Gardiner looked at Elaine, then James, but mostly at Elizabeth, who turned pink at her upraised, questioning eyebrows. "Well, Lizzy, it sounds as if your walk in the park was quite interesting."

"Mr. Darcy is someone I met years ago. I have not seen him for four years. However, his sister asked if they might call on us in the morning. I hope you had nothing planned for then?"

Her aunt looked at her carefully, noticing her slight blush. She wondered just what might have happened between them as it was obvious that theirs was not just a passing acquaintance. She also recognized the name 'Darcy,' as that was the name of the family that owned Pemberley, the magnificent estate near the village of Lambton in Derbyshire where she had been raised.