You are all awesome. I hope the upcoming meeting satisfies.

24. Prior Claim

The heavy front door opened a few inches and Mrs. Johnson peered out. "Who is it?" she asked as she turned her cloudy white eyes in our general direction. "The Darcys are not at home."

As she should know both Georgiana and I, without any difficulty, this confirmed to me that whatever slight vision Mrs. Johnson might retain was more limited than she always claimed.

"It is I, Georgiana," my ward announced and Mrs. Johnson smiled at the familiar voice even before Georgiana provided her name, opening the door to the two of us.

As Georgiana proceeded me inside, Mrs. Johnson said "Oh, Miss Darcy, welcome home; and you as well, Mrs. Annesley."

In acknowledging me by the wrong name, Mrs. Johnson proved once again the deficiency of her vision. To my knowledge Mrs. Annesley was still abed in my parents' home. I could look nothing like her, for I was a full head taller than Georgiana's companion, a man and not a woman, and certainly not wearing a bonnet and dress.

I saw Georgiana start to open her mouth to correct Mrs. Johnson, but I quelled her with a look, a shake of my head and a finger to my lips. It would not be kind to point out Mrs. Johnson's deficiencies.

Mrs. Johnson continued on, oblivious. "I am sorry, Miss Darcy for the greeting you received, but your brother said I was to say they were not at home, not even to Colonel Fitzwilliam or Mr. Bingley, but he could not have intended to exclude you or your companion from your home. You must be here to accompany your brother and his new wife to Pemberley, yes?"

As she spoke, I saw Darcy enter the foyer, a hard look on his face directed toward me. When Mrs. Johnson paused, Darcy declared "Thank you Mrs. Johnson, I should like to speak to my sister now."

"Very well, Mr. Darcy." She looked toward us and despite being dismissed added "I am so glad you both are home if only for a brief time. Miss Darcy, I hope, perhaps, I might be blessed to hear you play before you leave."

"I shall if there be time," Georgiana replied.

Mrs. Johnson nodded and then hurried away. Darcy waited, looking in the direction she had gone, and then declared "Let us talk in the family parlor."

Georgiana asked, "Is Mrs. Darcy in there? I very much wish to meet my new sister."

"No," he allowed. "She is most likely still abed." From the little gleam in Darcy's eye as he looked toward me, I believed he was signalling to me that the former Miss Bennet was fully his wife.

After we were all in the parlor, Darcy shut the doors behind us and then all pretense of friendliness to me was gone. He said, "I understand why Georgiana is here but," here his voice turned cold, "Fitzwilliam I cannot account for your presence. What are you doing here?"

Georgiana's brow wrinkled in confusion. I regretted that she would not be spared any of the ugliness which was sure to follow, but resolved to be civil to her brother for her sake.

I crossed my arms and stood as straight as I could. I would not be cowed.

I replied, "Imagine my surprise to learn this morning that you had married Miss Bennet, had married for the deepest love." I let scorn fill my words. "I had to see this about face for myself, for on Easter you warned me off offering for her, told me you would not support my suit, spoke in such degrading terms of her position in life and her family's shame, the disgrace which made any such marriage impossible, using terrible words I shall not speak of before Georgiana."

Darcy reddened to the tips of his ears.

Georgiana asked, her voice tremulous, apparently distressed by the conflict between us. "Did you truly do that, Fitz?" and then to me "Richard, you wanted to marry Miss Bennet, too? Did you declare your intentions first?"

"No, he did not!" Darcy shouted. Seeing him lose control strengthened my own.

Darcy softened as he turned toward his sister. He gently touched her shoulder and explained, "Georgiana, you must understand. I knew Elizabeth first, was already fond of her, admired her, from our joint time in Hertfordshire, used to meditate on her fine eyes, looked for opportunities to be in her presence. Perhaps I loved Elizabeth even then, but I believed when I left Netherfield for town that I could forget about her, find someone more suitable to marry."

At this point we were still all standing but apparently concluding that his explanation would be a lengthy one, Georgiana sat down and gestured for us to do the same. I sat as far away from Darcy as possible, at the far end of a sofa, with Georgiana on the other side of it and Darcy settling in his favorite arm chair at a cross angle to her seat. No sooner had we all sat down than he resumed speaking in a reasonable tone that only made me angry.

"When I first learned Elizabeth was in Kent, just across the road at the parsonage, staying with the Collinses, I suggested we visit them first thing." Darcy looked over at me, appealing to me to understand, to recall. I did, but I did not want to be moved; I did not want to understand his motivations.

"I kept meeting Elizabeth on her walks. We did not talk much, but it was companionable and after one such walk I thought that I could happily walk beside her all the days of my life. Then, I suppose because I wished it to be so, I thought we were courting. But I was not entirely decided upon it, so I said nothing to anyone.

"I saw that Elizabeth also enjoyed your company, Fitzwilliam, and wondered if you were my competition. Do you recall how we both discussed her, and how it was I that told you to warn her off, to explain you had to marry well as a second son?"

I gave a slight nod to Darcy and this seemed to set him slightly more at ease, for his tensed shoulders moved downward minutely and he blew out more breath.

"I had you do that for her sake and mine also. I was glad when you declared it done, knew the path was cleared for me.

"After that, I tried to put myself forward, to be more open in my admiration. I believed as time went on she might have expectations from me, and the idea of being caught was not unpleasant. I believed she was hoping for my addresses no matter how unlikely given both of our positions in life. Then one day, I could bear it no more and asked for her hand."

"How romantic!" Georgiana exclaimed, a dreamy, distant look upon her face as if she was imagining it for herself, as she clasped her hands together over her heart.

"It may have seemed romantic to Darcy," I acknowledged Georgiana, "but I doubt Miss Bennet saw it that way."

I faced Darcy, "Have you then been engaged for a year?"

He remained silent, but pressed his lips together and grimaced.

"I thought not. She must have rejected you," I guessed, "maybe even told you she hated you, would never marry you."

Darcy did not deny it and pressed his lips together as a little crease formed between his eyebrows, leading me to believe my guess must have hit close to the truth.

A movement to my right attracted my eyes and observed Georgiana shaking her head. Her eyes were wide as she whispered, perhaps to neither of us, perhaps only to herself, "How could anyone not want to marry my brother?"

I ignored her likely rhetorical question and pressed on, determined to have my say as Darcy had already had his.

I directed my next words toward my young cousin. "Georgiana, I will let you be the neutral arbitrator. Do you not agree that your brother had no superior claim after Miss Bennet rejected him and then a year passed? Remember, he had never expressed his interest in her to me; any hint I had as to his possible feelings was formed from observation. After we left Rosings it was only ever I, who spoke about her. Too, I had not the slightest sense that if he even cared back then, that he cared for her still.

"It was I, after hearing what had befallen her family from Lady Catherine over Easter dinner, only four days ago, not having previously any notion of any calamities that had befallen them, that very evening it was I who declared my intentions to Darcy and John. It was I who talked about my plans to act as quickly as I could to help Miss Bennet and her family. But when I asked for your brother's help, rather than Darcy discussing his interest with me or any plans he might have, he instead tried his best with John to dissuade me from pursuing her based on her unsuitability, and then chose to strike first and steal her away.

"Yes, last year I did warn her off, but that was meant to be a kindness given my position, to keep from hurting her rather than to express a lack of interest. I had no prospects then but what I earned from the cavalry, could not properly support any wife on my own means.

"You and Darcy should know better than anyone, that it has only been only recently that I have gained an expectation, have the option to pursue my heart's desire rather than just be practical, but knowing what befell the Bennets I would have sought to help them regardless, even on my meager income. Do you not believe, Georgiana, that Miss Bennet should have been given a chance to choose between us or to choose no one at all (for I would have helped her the best that I could on the strength of our friendship alone)?"

Georgiana had not answered any of my questions and I did not expect her to. Her loyalties would of course lie first with her brother, which is more than understandable. Rather, I sought to have Darcy understand, to have him see things from another point of view.

"I find myself confused and vexed," Georgiana contributed, looking first at her brother and then at me. "It does seem that Fitz did not act with very much honor towards you, Richard."

I focused my attention on Darcy, who refused to meet my eyes. I hoped this action meant he felt some modicum of shame. "Do you not understand, Darcy, that Miss Bennet should have been allowed to choose her future, even if she did not choose you?"

I heard a creak behind me, knew even before I turned that the doors were opening. I assumed it might be Mrs. Johnson with some refreshments, or Darcy's man with a question, but instead it was Miss Bennet, or rather, Mrs. Darcy, who came into the parlor.

I noticed as we all rose that Mrs. Darcy was thin, far too thin. She was dressed in a pale blue morning dress that I recognized from the year before but which seemed more threadbare and worn than I recalled. Her hair was simply dressed, her curls struggling to escape.

I next noticed that Mrs. Darcy had an intelligent look upon her face as her eyes swept the room, took us all in. She took a couple of steps forward and met my eyes directly, confidently. I knew in an instant that she was no put-upon woman, no one's victim. No, she wore her humble dress with the dignity of a queen. I understood then, that my fears of Darcy's possible mistreatment of her the night before could have no truth in reality.

She was magnificent, had such dignity, such presence, this lovely lady who would never be mine. Any future we might have once had, any possibility of it was forever foreclosed by the sapphire ring on her delicate finger, a ring I recognized as a Darcy family heirloom.

Mrs. Darcy addressed me then, "Colonel Fitzwilliam, I thank you for the compliment of your interest, your desire to give me choices, but rest assured that I chose who I wanted to marry and have married for the deepest love."

Mrs. Darcy then walked over to her husband and rested her hand upon the crook of his arm. Darcy stood a little straighter and flashed a tight and uncertain smile at her. "My dear husband," said she, "will you do me the honor of introducing me to your sister?"

He did so and Elizabeth and Georgiana chatted for a bit, while Darcy and I exchanged occasional glares. We were at an impasse, for there was much we could not say before them.

Eventually, Darcy asked "Georgiana and Elizabeth, would you be so kind as to let Fitzwilliam and I speak alone?"

"Certainly," Mrs. Darcy responded. She leaned close to Darcy, tilted her head and when he still seemed uncertain as to what to do she tapped her cheek with finger and then declared, "Do not be shy, husband. How soon you have forgotten. I need my goodbye kiss."

Darcy leaned down and kissed his wife's cheek. As he did that, she wrapped one arm about his neck and ruffled his hair with her other hand. I could not decide if this domestic act was genuine or not, for Darcy seemed quite awkward during it while his wife did not, but I reasoned he might just be uncomfortable because we all were there.

Mrs. Darcy then linked arms with Georgiana and the two of them left straight away. Darcy and I both stared at each other in silence for a couple of minutes, until faint piano music began to play from a distance. Then Darcy began "Well, Fitzwilliam, they are truly gone. Are you satisfied now that Elizabeth has made her choice?"

I shook my head. "I am not wholly convinced, but I will honor her by not questioning whether her words were genuine. Your wife has given you her loyalty, if perhaps not her heart. I hope you recognize what a precious gift that is. I can only hope that you can and will treat her well."

"I love her, Fitzwilliam," Darcy declared to me. "I know I was selfish, a cad. Can you not understand that for all that I knew I was by far the better choice for her, I was not sure Elizabeth would pick me over you? It is as John Lyly wrote: 'The rules of fair play do not apply in love and war.' I had to ensure I had the winning hand, even if it cost me your friendship, for I could not live with another man taking her to wife."

I shook my head. "What you speak of is not true love, but some sort of dangerous obsession. Love sacrifices, has no selfishness."

Darcy seemed to consider this for a few moments but then declared, "I swear to you, Fitzwilliam, that I shall do my best to make Elizabeth happy. She shall never have cause to repine. Already, I have secured the well-being of her family and she will have everything she could ever desire.

"Truly I believe I am rationally the better choice for her. Elizabeth needed a well educated man to match her mind, someone who loves her for herself, above all else, rather than simply wishing to rescue her. While I know you would have done your best to help her family, this would have been an onerous obligation for you, even when your inheritance comes through; you would have faced taking from your wife and children to care for her grasping mother, unrepentant sister and all the rest. And you are still recovering from the horror of war, and will have the additional burden of learning how to manage an estate. All these things helped me to justify my actions.

"I am sorry if what I did hurt you, but I cannot and will not apologize for marrying her, for if I had it to do over again, I would still make sure I secured her before you had a chance. I will understand if this has cost us our friendship, would not blame you a whit for making such a decision. I have sacrificed my self-respect, my dignity and even being able to have Georgiana in my home so that I might marry my love, but ultimately Elizabeth is worth sacrificing everything for, even my life itself if need be."

Darcy seemed sincere and I knew then I had a choice to make. I could turn my back on him and walk away from our friendship, or I could make peace with things as they were, be the bigger man and rise above all of this, even try to make things easier for Elizabeth and Georgiana. It did not take long for me to decide what to do.