Chapter 59

Damn. That is all Eric can think of when the new guests arrive.

He has just impressed Georgiana by accepting her challenge and proving to her he is a hero, not afraid of children at all, Mrs Darcy watching him playing with her cousins as well, treating the nanny with respect, everything a man ought to do.

And right at the moment he hopes to be rewarded for his bravery and chivalry, with an admiring glance from Georgiana, or a soft look, or maybe even a little touch, since Mrs Darcy leaves as soon as he is on his way, the famous Mr Manners arrives.

Rich, respected Mr Manners, damn him.

And when he comes in, the guy is incredibly handsome as well! Not very tall, but dark and exotic looking, with a perfectly groomed moustache, very well-dressed, Eric hates him on sight, though he knows Georgiana didn't tell Mr Manners she was starting to feel for him. She told Eric, quite explicitly actually.

Still, that seems more like a fantasy than a blissful truth by now, he must have dreamed she stroked his hair and kissed him, ever so softly, full on the lips.

He hangs back a little until all the others have exchanged greetings, Mrs Darcy's sister is indeed as beautiful as her reputation, she still seems to have the extra glow of her recent marriage. Her husband, Mr Darcy's best friend, is the epitome of friendliness, not just in his behaviour, but in his looks as well.

Their other friend looks like a wrestler in a priest's uniform, plain faced and simply dressed, but broadly built and friendly looking. Somehow, he inspires instant trust in Eric, thus the priestly association, for in fact his clothes are very well-cut to a fashionable pattern, it's merely the colours that look formal and uninteresting.

Eric doesn't remember the name, just that Mrs Darcy's other sister likes him very much.

It's obvious these people know each other well, and Georgiana kisses Mrs Bingley and Mr Bingley heartily. Then she shakes hands cordially with Mr Manners, not at all as a special friend, more as a passing acquaintance.

The priestly man gets a more familiar greeting, as if she knows him better than Mr Manners, but he probably inspires people to like him with that peculiar air, so very hard to name, charisma is probably the best approximation.

Right after she greets the last man, Georgiana looks around rather nervously, she's looking for him, that is obvious, for as soon as her eyes find him, she smiles and comes to fetch him from where he was waiting for the right moment to be introduced.

'Come Mr Fielding,' she says in a lively voice, she seems very glad to see this party, 'Let me introduce you to our guests.'

For some reason, she starts with the priestly man, of course Mr Darcy is talking to his friend Mr Bingley, and Mrs Bingley is stormed by a clutter of children, they sure love their cousin!, but she leaves Mr Manners waiting.

'Mr Fielding, this is my good friend Mr Manners, and Mr Manners, I'm so excited to introduce you to Mr Fielding, my piano-teacher and the best pianist in London, maybe in all England, wait until you hear him play, you'll just die!'

Wait a second! This is Mr Manners, not the handsome guy?

And Mr Manners is a good friend, and Eric may be the best pianist in England, whose performances may kill the overly sensitive? And when did Georgiana turn into a raving adolescent? Eric cannot get his head around all this information at once, and is totally stunned for a moment.

'Mr Fielding, I'm so very glad to meet you! Miss Darcy has told me so much about you and your extraordinary gift, I almost feel like I know you already. I'll gladly take the risk of attending one of your performances, if the occasion presents itself of course, I come from a very healthy family.'

He is so nice! How can Eric hate him if he's plain and incredibly friendly? It's not fair!

But Mr Manners isn't done by far.

'Miss Darcy, I thought you had to be exaggerating, such talent as you described combined with the looks of an angel, that cannot be true, I thought. But you were entirely accurate!Mr Fielding, you are extraordinarily endowed, handsome, polite, and gifted. And possessed of an excellent taste in clothing, I'm afraid I envy you.'

'Thank you, sir, for your kind compliments. Though I must admit to accepting some help from Mr Darcy's valet this morning, to make an impression on so many well-bred visitors.'

'Ah, the renowned Simon, another Adonis, Miss Darcy did warn me she was surrounded by handsome men, and still I practically begged Mr Darcy to invite me over. I'll feel plainer than ever this Christmas, but still I'm so glad he indulged me, I can't wait to get to know you, Mr Fielding, but most of all, to hear you play.'

'You'll be thoroughly fed up with music within the week, Mr Manners,' Georgiana observes happily, 'since Mr Fielding came to live with us that poor piano hasn't had a moment of rest, we both need to practise constantly, though Mr Fielding has his own piano in his own apartment, of course he composes, too.'

Well, Mr Manners certainly shows no sign of jealousy at Georgiana's enthusiastic praise of her piano-teacher, he must either be a saint, or totally self-confident, and Eric guesses it is the last.

But now it is time to be introduced to the other gentleman, the handsome man, Mr Lascelles, and he is as polite and friendly as Mr Manners, Mr Zumpe was clearly wrong about these people, they show no disdain of him at all.

If anything, Mr Bingley is even nicer than the others, he obviously has known Georgiana for years, and he observes, 'Mr Fielding, I've been eager to meet you, just to let you know I'm stunned to hear the progress Miss Darcy has made since she started her lessons with you. She played on our wedding, with an orchestra, and I felt as if my house had changed into a concert-hall. I saw people cry with emotion over her performance.'

'Thank you so much, sir, it's very heartening to hear my work has success, though Miss Darcy's talent and application made my job easy.'

'I've heard the story of how you came to live here, Mr Fielding, and I'm very sorry you've been treated so badly. But I assure you, Darcy will do right by you, he's the best man that ever lived, I'm so proud to be his friend.

Though I simply cannot not believe your playing puts Miss Darcy's in the shadow, as he said. It can't be, she's perfect!'

'You better believe it, Mr Bingley,' Georgiana comments happily, 'for it's true. I can play the piano quite decently, but when Mr Fielding hits his first chords, I instantly realise how much I have yet to learn. Which is why I am very glad to have him living with us, of course.'

And Mrs Bingley is as nice, such a sweet lady, it's difficult to imagine the spirited Mrs Darcy being her younger sister, but they obviously are siblings indeed, there is so much love between them. Though fortunately they do not make Georgiana feel excluded, in fact, Mrs Darcy seems very aware of her sister-in-law, keeping a very close eye on her, more so than usual, maybe because she is surrounded by Mrs Darcy's family and might feel left out.

But she need not fear that, Georgiana is constantly attended by Mr Manners, so much so that Eric starts to feel a little superfluous. Well, he cannot expect her to neglect her visitors to benefit him, it would make a really bad impression.

And besides, Mr Darcy must want her to marry Mr Manners, who is obviously interested in her, and seems a perfect match despite his plainness. Somehow it doesn't matter in him, his gentle manners and that certain presence he has, make up for lack of personal beauty entirely.

Just before Eric starts to feel totally forlorn, Mrs Darcy comes to his rescue, taking him along to talk to her uncle and aunt, very nice people who know how to keep up an interesting conversation.

And then the rest of the party arrives, Mr Bennet, Mrs Bennet, and their two daughters Kitty and Mary.

Mr Bennet receives Eric heartily, and introduces him to his wife and younger children. Kitty joins Georgiana and Mr Manners with Mr Lascelles, and then Eric can see where Georgiana learned her adolescent ways, they must have spent the entire wedding this way, there truly is no place beside her for Eric until this party has broken up.

The prospect of losing Georgiana to her noble visitor saddens him, but in fact he could have known it would happen, Mr Manners is her equal, and there is nothing for Eric to do than be glad he is obviously an admirable man who will treat her well.

It's time to put in some practise, rubbing shoulders with the gentry is not going to make him independent, Mr Darcy was so right to have his piano fetched immediately. No-one sees him leave, not even Georgiana, and when he pulls the door shut behind him he really has to swallow hard to control his disappointment.

But still Mr Zumpe wasn't right, they do accept him, he just doesn't know what to say to them.

'Mr Fielding! Eric!'

It's Simon, and he's running to catch up.

'Are you all right, Eric? You seem downhearted. They weren't unkind to you, were they?'

'No, they were perfectly friendly, even the two unrelated gentlemen. I just need to put in some practise, can't sit around and chat all day.'

The handsome valet is checking him out carefully, his lack of deference is still refreshing, and Eric feels free to treat him as an equal. For now, Simon is giving Eric more useful information on being a gentleman than any real gentleman he's met, excepting Mr Darcy of course, who mostly provides an excellent example.

'It's not just that, you are sad, I think I know why, but there is not much I can do beside sympathise. I know how you feel, I've been there. Still are, frankly.

We take the morsels of kindness that are offered, and use them to keep our hearts alive. I envy you for being able to use your feelings to create beautiful music. Mine just go to waste.'

He doesn't sound truly miserable, fortunately, but somehow Eric has a feeling Simon does understand, and he feels a bit better for it.

'Thank you, Simon, I hope you're not suffering yourself. I'll take your words as advice and put my feelings into music, as usual when this mood strikes me. And thank you for your help dressing, it felt good, secure.'

'It was my pleasure, Eric. When they ask you to play for them, I'll be listening at the door.'

Some things in this world, Eric will never understand, and one of them is the strict separation between classes in this house. Mr Zumpe may be an obstinate ass, but he does not expect his staff to act so humble towards him. Though he did expect Eric to obey him in everything, but then, he never paid Eric for his work.

In the safety of his room, Eric allows his feelings a little bit more space, but since he sits in front of his piano and actually practises for an hour, they do not get much chance to overwhelm him, his practise is so intense it takes over completely.

The piece he is studying is very difficult, he has chosen it on purpose, to be able to get through the holidays if they turn out the wrong way.

And it works, he really cannot think of Georgiana during practise, except when he warms up his hands and fingers, and remembers her touch as she explained the exercise. And when he takes a little breather after an hour, mentally and physically drained, he feels her hand on his hair, and her lips on his, and most of all, remembers her blessed confession that she has this weird new feeling stirring inside her, urging her to touch him.

But even if Georgiana does love him, her life is not her own to live, Mr Darcy will decide whom she must marry, and with Mr Manners clearly eager to secure her, Eric doesn't stand a chance.

There is nothing left for him but to put his feelings into music, heart-rending tones of a purity he has not managed before. But he does not write them down, not yet, he is certain to play them again and again the coming days, weeks, months, until he knows them by heart.

Georgiana does see him leave, but what can she do? She cannot run after him straight away, she promised to behave as if nothing is going on.

Mr Manners does have a certain right to her attention, he is a guest, and she was at the piano all morning with Eric. This is not at all going as she hoped, and a lot as she feared, he'll be feeling miserable, over her. Or maybe he just felt like practising? He puts in even more hours at the piano than Georgiana herself, and this morning they were mostly enjoying themselves, not hard at work.

She has to know, she cannot bear this. If she steps into the hall, she can hear him play, if he is sad or disappointed she'll hear immediately and she'll not hesitate to step into his room and tell him the truth. No, she cannot, she'll kiss him again if he is sad, and this time he may not be able to control himself if she does. Oh, how and when will this situation resolve itself?

Excusing herself to her little group of friends, she steps out into the hall, but she cannot hear any music. She needs to get closer to his room, and she goes up the stairs until she can hear him play.

Her knees turn to butter, for he is playing the piece he is currently studying, not laden with emotion, but with plenty of feeling, and above all so incredibly virtuous and difficult, for a moment she is just totally overcome with admiration and a desperate wish to be part of this, to be part of his life, to be allowed to watch him practise music like this, to hold those magical hands in hers, to snuggle and kiss the person who can dedicate his life to this.

But it is practise, and to really excel he needs to work this seriously for at least three hours each day. He cannot spend his entire afternoon socialising, and Georgiana understands that. She will not disturb him, she will prove to him she can live with an ambitious musician, leave him in peace when he is working, and play with him when he has time to spend on her. He must not think she is one of those girls who think the world revolves around them.

She turns around resolutely, and nearly runs into Simon, instantly feeling caught.

'Simon!'

'Is he all right? He seemed put out, Miss Darcy, I thought I'd check on him, I suppose he felt left out. Maybe a little more than that?'

Simon will never know his place, but somehow their household needs him for just that reason.

'He was put out after all? I hoped he was merely practising, this is his new project.'

'Believe me, Miss Darcy, he was not happy when I talked to him just now. Maybe you can put a little heart back into him?'

'I can't go in now, Simon, he's working, it's very bad manners to disturb a pianist this deeply in concentration. Besides, I can't anyway, when he's feeling bad. It affects me, so much so, I'll do something foolish.

What can I do, Simon? I promised Fitzwilliam to act normal while we have guests, after that I have permission to follow my feelings.'

Simon is staggered.

'He gave you permission to follow your heart? With Eric?

Miss Darcy, have you any idea how rare that is? How? Why?

I'm sorry, Miss Darcy, I'm overstepping myself. Again.'

He makes ready to leave, but Georgiana needs help, now!

'It was Elizabeth, she got angry at him. I told her I had come to love Eric, and he somehow knew without telling.

But what do I do, Simon? I don't want Eric to be unhappy, but I promised my brother to act normal to Mr Manners. I told him I didn't love anyone yet, but this just happened, I felt it happen, love came into being inside me just like that. I'm so confused.'

'Oh you poor thing! Don't worry, Miss, true love can stand a week's adversity. You spend some time on Eric tonight, he'll have to come to dinner, maybe you can include him in your little group, he's your age after all. Let him know you like him, they'll ask him to play, and he'll want to play your sonata together. Say something nice, something small, you don't want him to faint on you.

Will you remember? Include him in your group, join him in playing, say something nice, not too big, just to keep his hope up without making him simper.

Everything will be fine, I'm sure.

This is just so romantic, I'm going to dream very sweetly tonight. I like him very much, Miss Darcy, and you'll be so happy together.'

'Don't tell anyone, Simon! I promised my brother!'

'Don't worry, Miss Darcy, I can keep my mouth shut like no-one else but Fanny, she may be slightly better than me, considering her age and experience. That reminds me, will you please send for her tomorrow? She's a bit lost for not having maid's duties, and tomorrow is a party after all.'

'I will, and thank you, Simon. You did a great job on Eric. I better go, I will be missed.'

But she does feel a little better, she knows what to do, and Simon never even doubted Eric's love for her.