Chapter 3
Georgiana had been neglecting her lessons, a fact which she wished to remedy the following day. Her companion was also facilitating an evening meeting with a boy - rather, man - she used to know well. It was perhaps the fourth of its kind, and Georgiana was well on her way to believing herself in love.
She had mentioned her male friend to Lizzy in passing, who had judged her friend's affection for the man as childhood enthusiasm mixed with the warmth of finding an old friend after a long interlude. After gaining Georgie's assurance that this gentleman was sponsored by her companion, and their meetings were properly chaperoned, she reasoned that there could be no harm in Georgie reconnecting with old friends. She did encourage her to be careful in encouraging any affections until she was sure of the man's character, but was fairly certain that her entreaty fell on unlistening ears.
For her part, Elizabeth returned that day to Ramsgate with her Aunt and small cousin, Rose. They were to tour a few shops to find some souvenirs for the family to take to their Longbourn relatives. Lizzy was excited to find a small likeness of the shoreline to present her favourite sister, Jane. Rose soon became tired of the shopping. Indeed, Lizzy was quite particular about her souvenirs. Aunt Gardiner, knowing her niece to be a sensible sort of girl, permitted her a half hour to conclude her shopping before they were to meet outside a nearby inn.
"That should be sufficient to find some small trinket for your sisters, dear Lizzy" her aunt bade her, "and insufficient to cause any real mischief."
Elizabeth huffed and rolled her eyes, but accepted her aunts entreaty nonetheless. "In that case I shall endeavour to create some false mischief, dear Aunt." Her melodic laugh could be heard at the other end of the street.
~:~
A slim man in a red coat heard the call of her beautiful laugh and, hoping it belonged to a similarly beautiful woman, followed it to the source. He reached his objective just after she had entered a small souvenir shop.
"So you are as beautiful as your sweet laughter led me to believe," a gentle tenor stated confidently in her ear. Startled by his proximity, and the content of his improper address, she swiftly stepped backwards and took stock of him.
Slightly taller than average height and lean but toned, the strange man had straw-blonde hair pulled from his face and tied with a simple ribbon. Grace had blessed him with attractive features, with a pair of soft blue eyes that challenged her, and an expression on his face that she had not seen before in polite company. His lips were raised in one corner into a lopsided smirk, which was as unsettling as it was endearing. Confused, she opted to remain silent over a witty remark. He was handsome, to be sure, but she was not certain what to make of his rakish remark.
"A quiet beauty," he continued in good humour, "will you tell me your name?"
A force of habit, she curtsied and gave him her hand, before saying "You may call me Miss Elizabeth, if you please. And what is your name, Mr Improper?" It was said with a perfect balance of jest and reproach, such that his smirk faltered, but his affability remained.
"Apologies, Miss Elizabeth, for I did not realise I was in the presence of a gentlewoman. Thank you, lofty lass, for deigning to spend time in my lowly company." She was laughing at his pretentiousness now, and he joined in with a delightful soft tenor. "Lieutenant Wickham, of His Majesty's — Division, at your service."
An officer, she thought to herself, how delightful.
"You are forgiven, Mr Wickham," she laughed, "for I dearly love to laugh, and enjoyed your diversion very much."
"Well, that is a relief," he feigned an overdramatic sigh, complete with white gloved hand to forehead. An older couple left the shop where they were standing in the threshold, which gave a perfect break in the conversation for Elizabeth to compose herself, and a reminder of their lack of effective chaperone out in the open. Elizabeth was flattered by his attentions, but not enough to forget herself. She gestured to him to enter the shop.
"Are you here indefinitely with your regiment?" Elizabeth asked, moving to peruse the trinkets inside.
"Alas, we are stationed here for the summer only," he replied. "So I must make the most of the joyful seaside air and the pleasant company whilst I can." On saying the last, he looked endearingly at her.
"In as much I sympathise with you, Mr Wickham,"she said, her tone genuine. "For there is never enough time to do or say all the things that one would wish. One must try to do as much as one can in the time that they have." She surprised herself by sounding somewhat profound.
"A gentlewoman indeed," Wickham remarked, "and a well-read one at that. I believe that belongs to the pen of Sir Walter Scott, if I am not mistaken." *
"And now, I guess you suppose me as a woman who is incapable of individual or critical thought," she feigned indignance. "Wise words to live by are worth memorising, I find. They can aid in a pinch."
Mr Wickham was greatly enjoying their witty repartee, as was evidenced in his wide grin, aimed at his sparring partner. It was not often as a redcoat that he was able to find a woman who spoke so frankly and engagingly with him about topics outside of ribbons, or how dashing he looked in his regimentals.
"I mentioned I sympathise, Mr Wickham, because my time in Ramsgate is also only in passing," she said solemnly. It surprised her that she was disappointed at this fact, reasoning that she would be sad to leave the diversion, and her new friend behind. But her inexperience with men was also showing. He, the first man to openly admire her, save for her ridiculous cousin, had left an impression on their first acquaintance. She had read of love at first sight in her romance novels, but believed further study of this man, and her reactions to him, would be needed to ascertain what exactly it was that he arose in her.
"One must indeed make the most of the time that they have," Wickham parroted her earlier words back to her. "So, pray, do not let me distract you from your souvenir shopping. I'd be the shame of the regiment if it became widely known that I prohibited a beautiful young woman from finding suitable trinkets to return home with." He paused, mischievously miming his mouth closed, with a flourish of a false ribbon tie to emphasise the point. Still he stood watching her, seemingly too enchanted by her to willingly remove his person from her environs.
She permitted his presence for the first minute of looking at beautiful shells and beach-themed mosaics. And then asked, impertinently;
"Are you certain this is the purpose for which His Majesty is intending your rigorous training to be put to use?" she teased.
"What I employ my break-time to achieve is, in all politeness, not for His Majesty to concern himself over," Wickham retorted. His silence broken, he pressed, "and who is to receive these delightful gifts?"
She gave him an arch look, "if the gentleman really should care to know, they are for my dear angel of a sister, Jane, my Papa, and two of my close friends."
"To be conveyed upon return to your home, and indeed where is that?" he asked, rather impertinently.
"Now that is a rather personal question, Mr Wickham," she toyed with him. "A lady must be allowed her privacy." And here she left a pregnant pause.
"So you may be left, somewhat dissatisfied, with a riddle. Until our paths may cross again" she said, moving towards the shopkeeper with a few items in her grasp. "I hail from a green haven not far from London, about level with here as the sun sets."
"It is a shame I am not a Captain. For my cartography skills are woefully lacking, and I passed my early years rather further from London, in Derbyshire. So I shall have to think on your little riddle" he said. "But it seems this delightful interlude has reached its natural conclusion, so I shall leave you to your things. It has been a real pleasure, Elizabeth. I do hope our paths may cross again in the little time we are both in Ramsgate."
She did not miss his lapse in propriety in dropping the 'Miss' from her appellation. He was gone before she could correct him, a dash of red disappearing into the crowds along the street outside.
Unsettled by the ease with which she had spoken with a complete stranger - and a male one at that - she purchased the gifts for her friends and family with great satisfaction, and tried to put the morning's excitement behind her. To bury it sufficiently at least that her aunt would not notice it and upbraid her. It was rather exciting to have a gentleman interested in her person, who she was not repulsed by. The contrast between Mr Wickham and her silly, slimy cousin was noteable in the extreme.
~:~
Elizabeth was uncharacteristically unforthcoming with the details of her encounter with Mr Wickham when she spoke to Georgiana that afternoon. The girls were once again at Anne Cottage, and the sumptuous tea and cakes did once again feature. But they were not admiring paintings this afternoon, rather enjoying each others company for a whimsical afternoon of music. Mrs Gardiner and two of her small children had deposited her with her friend, before continuing up the hill to play on the green.
After the general kerfuffle of herding two small children away from their beloved cousin, Georgiana and Elizabeth had gained the quiet of the parlour, where Georgie enquired about Lizzy's morning, and the latter mentioned that she had made a successful trip to the souvenir shop. She proceeded to present her friend with a small mosaic made of shell pieces which depicted the coastline near to the very cottage they were staying in.
"It is delightful," Georgie exclaimed. And then, softer; "I do not believe I have ever received a gift from a friend of my own before."
"You are most welcome, dear Georgie," Lizzy said. Her heart surged to her throat at the quiet loneliness that her young friend lived in. For she had received small gifts from her friend Charlotte on multiple occasions. "It is only a small token, but I hope it will remind you of our time together when I return to Hertfordshire with my Aunt and Uncle."
"Do not speak of it, Lizzy. I would much rather pretend that we are to stay here indefinitely. That we would have all of the time in the world."
Lizzy coloured at the remembrance of her conversation of Sir Walter Scott with a certain red-coated gentleman earlier that day. Instead of divulging her rather improper meeting with her impressionable friend, she replied "Oh Georgie, would that not be a dream?"
"We will simply have to contrive a reason for myself to visit you in Derbyshire, or for you to have reason to join me in Hertfordshire. Or perhaps we could coincidentally find ourselves in London. The possibilities are rather endless."
Georgiana's spirits rebounded at the thought of future adventures with her friend.
"We have not yet exchanged postal addresses, Lizzy," she stated. Walking to her writing desk, she procured a small slip of elegant paper, with the address "Pemberley House —" in fine script across them. Elizabeth was effusive in her thanks and promised to write often when they were separated. "But enough sad tidings for the moment," she pressed, "for I was promised music, and music I shall have."
The pair spent a warm hour together practising duets. Georgiana was awestruck by the feeling in her friend's playing and singing. Much like her energy when talking, Elizabeth had a certain magical quality to her music which made it very difficult to look away. Elizabeth was unsurprised to find her friend a great talent at the pianoforte, as well as her many other accomplishments for one so young. She made her sentiments known, and Georgiana blushed at the praise.
It was as Elizabeth was leaving that the topic of Georgiana's beau returned to their conversation. Georgiana mentioned that she would be forgoing her friend's company the following day to meet with her suitor for a walk along the beach.
"Dear Lizzy, I fear I am half in love with him already," Georgiana gushed. Her friend's concerned reply came quickly.
"Does your brother share the feeling, Georgie." she reproached. "You mentioned your suitor is an old friend, perhaps of the family?"
"My brother and George were very good friends when I was younger," she said hesitantly. Lizzy felt an undercurrent of something, and pressed.
"Have you told your brother of your meeting with this Mr George more frequently?" she asked.
"Not in so many words," came the reply. Georgiana became flustered, and her friend could tell she was feeling defensive. "But my brother does not own my heart, Lizzy."
"Perhaps," the conversation spiralled. "But I do feel that a third party should sense whether his intentions are pure, or whether they are mercenary, or even worse."
A look of hurt crossed Georgie's face, followed by a flash of anger. "Lizzy, if you cannot trust my judgement on this, I fear you should hasten with your bonnet to rejoin with your aunt."
"I am sorry, Georgie," Elizabeth replied sadly. "My intentions are kind, I simply do not want to see you come to any harm. You are much too dear to me."
"Yes, well." Georgie replied curtly. "I shall see you two days hence."
"I do hope you have a pleasant time with Mr George tomorrow," Lizzy replied warmly, and made a beeline for the green where she could seek the advice of her aunt.
~:~
Five minutes later, she was sitting under a great horse chestnut tree with her aunt, trying to reason a solution to the problem of her dear friend and her concerning suitor. Lizzy could not well write a missive to the elder brother who she had yet to meet. Nor could she interfere with Georgiana's companion - who had interviewed reasonably well with her uncle.
There was little to be done, other than to hope the prior connection with the gentleman was sufficient inducement for him to behave in an appropriate manner regardless of his intentions towards her friend.
She resolved to try to distract herself the following day. Perhaps a windy walk along the coast would settle her creeping disquiet towards the precarious situation of her friend entertaining a suitor in the absence of proper guardianship.