Chapter Twenty – A Calamity for Caroline
When Victoria Barclay and Captain Radford arrived at Ashbourne, they were delighted, although not in the least surprised, to learn of Elizabeth's engagement to Mr Darcy, and offered their warmest congratulations and sincere best wishes.
Julia was aware that Elizabeth was desirous of a private conversation with Captain Radford, that he might be informed that there was no longer any need for him to withhold the addresses that she hoped, very much, he wished to pay.
Jane, who, along with her husband, was now aware that Georgiana was in fact the sister of Captain Radford, and not Mr Darcy, knew that Elizabeth intended also to tell him of the discovery of his long-lost sister.
As soon as the greetings and congratulations were over, Jane suggested that tea be taken in the drawing room, that they might be entertained by Julia and Victoria on the pianoforte.
Elizabeth caught Captain Radford's eye, and he understood that she wished him to remain with her in the sitting room. "I have two pieces of wonderful news for you, Captain," she said, once the reminder of the party had withdrawn.
"Two?" he asked in surprise. "The only news that I care to hear is that there is no longer any reason that I should delay paying Miss Harrison my addresses; and that I may do so forthwith."
"You may."
"This very day?"
"Yes, this very day. But for tactical reasons, there is another young lady with whom you may wish to engage in a private conversation beforehand – for it might appear odd to do so after you have just paid your addresses to different lady."
"I cannot imagine that such a lady exists, Miss Bennet; to whom do you refer."
"To your sister, Captain Radford."
"My sister?" he asked confounded. "Do you mean sister-in-law, perhaps? Does Miss Harrison have a sister of whom I am unaware?"
Elizabeth suppressed a smile, for while Julia had no sister, she most certainly had a brother of whom Captain Radford was unaware. "I refer to you own sister, sir, to the daughter of your parents."
"Good Heavens! Have you found her? Do you know her name?" he demanded urgently.
"I do; and she is presently here in this house. It is Georgiana Darcy."
"Miss Darcy?" he said, uncomprehendingly. "But, is she not the sister of Mr Darcy, and the daughter of his parents?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "She is not; although until yesterday she most certainly believed that she was. Only Mr Darcy knew otherwise. While awaiting the birth of her second child, his mother went to Hampshire, to stay with an aunt for her confinement. The baby was lost and the aunt engaged the services of an agent to find a baby girl, whom Lady Anne might raise as her own daughter. That agent went to Portsmouth, where she met with the midwife who had delivered your sister. Mr Darcy's side of the story, which he learned from documents of his late mother, fits hand-in-glove with what you told me of the midwife's deathbed confession. Mr Darcy is in possession of your sister's birth documents, and though he had previously known nothing concerning your existence, when he met you in Hertfordshire, upon recognising the name Radford, he commissioned an investigation which confirmed that you and Georgiana are brother and sister."
Captain Radford shook his head in wonder. "It is so strange that it should be her, Miss Bennet, for I have felt drawn to Georgiana, since first we met – yet my feelings have always been most brotherly, akin to my feelings for Victoria. Now I comprehend Mr Darcy's inexplicable concern at our closeness – he was evidently afraid that we might fall in love."
"Yes, precisely."
"What amazes me the most, Miss Bennet, is that were I given the opportunity of choosing my younger sister from amongst all of my acquaintance, I would pick Georgiana without hesitation."
Elizabeth smiled. "Georgiana said almost exactly those same words when I told her of your relationship, yesterday. You will appreciate, that the information comes as a far greater shock to her than it does to yourself."
"Yes, of course, it must. May I speak with her on the subject of our relationship?" he asked tentatively.
"Of course you may. She will arrive shortly, with her brother and cousin, and wishes very much to speak with you, as brother and sister. But you must speak privately, for there are those who are unaware of the relationship."
"Who knows of it besides you and I; and of course, Georgiana and Mr Darcy?"
"Only Mr and Mrs Bingley. When I discussed the subject with Georgiana yesterday, I said that it was her secret, and for her to decide who should know of it. She will, I believe, need time to get used to the truth of her birth; but I think it likely that she will wish only to tell a few intimate acquaintances, and to continue her life at Pemberley, much as before."
"Yes, of course, I agree that would be best; and Hartington is not so far from Pemberley, and we are, all of us, good friends. We shall see each other often; and when I am married, Georgiana will, I hope, allow me to share her secret with my wife, whom I hope she will visit often."
"I hear a carriage," said Elizabeth. "You shall very soon have the opportunity of expressing those hopes in person."
When the party from Pemberley entered, Captain Radford and Georgiana exchanged the warmest of smiles, and when he congratulated Mr Darcy on his engagement to Elizabeth, the two gentlemen exchanged a glance and smile of acknowledgement of their peculiar relationship – although Captain Radford was unaware that it was soon to become more complicated, yet, when he married Mr Darcy's sister, Julia.
Elizabeth led Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam to the drawing room to join the others, leaving Georgiana and Captain Radford alone in the sitting room to greet each other as brother and sister. When they later joined the rest of the party for tea, their joy was evident.
After tea, Jane proposed a walk in the gardens, and Captain Radford wasted little time in detaching Julia from the remainder of the party, and they were soon out of sight. For Elizabeth, it was delightful to be able, at last, to stroll arm in arm with her betrothed – who was aglow with happiness. Elizabeth spoke of her most satisfactory conversation with Captain Radford, concerning both Julia and Georgiana.
"You know, of course," he said, "of the ball at Pemberley in honour of my sister, in a few weeks?"
"I do, darling, but to save confusion, it may be best, if in future, you specify of which sister you are speaking."
"Yes, I must remember," he said. "Georgiana's ball will be the perfect opportunity to announce our engagement to the local society."
"Indeed it will – and that of your other sister, Julia, also."
"Yes, of course. It will provide the perfect excuse for me to dance the second set with her; while you dance them with Captain Radford."
Elizabeth laughed. "I can remember a time when you were not nearly so eager to have me stand up with Captain Radford, darling. But with whom am I to dance the first? I do not believe that I am yet engaged for those two dances."
"My dearest Elizabeth, I hereby ask you for the pleasure of the first two dances – at Georgiana's ball – and at every other ball that we shall attend, for as long as we may live."
"It shall be my fondest pleasure. Obviously, I was mistaken in my earlier belief, when you first came into Hertfordshire, that you were not fond of dancing."
"That was only because I had not yet had the pleasure of dancing with you."
When the party, which had split into three, reassembled at the house, the last to join them were Julia and Captain Radford, whose faces were glowing with such delight, that it was hardly necessary for the Captain to announce their betrothal.
In the joy and excitement, with much embracing and congratulations that ensued, Georgiana whispered to Elizabeth, "Will you please tell Julia of my relationship to Captain Radford; for I should like her to know of it – now I shall have the two most delightful sisters in the world!"
Before they left, Victoria said, "Jane, you may recall that I was obliged to regretfully inform you that Captain Radford and I had a previous engagement which prevented us from accepting your invitation to dine tomorrow?"
"Yes," replied Jane, "and you requested that I give your most sincere apologies to Miss Bingley and the Hursts; and tell them how much you would regret being denied their society. Allow me to assure you, Victoria, that if, perchance, you should discover that your previous engagement is not to go ahead, after all, I shall be delighted to have you join the party."
"I think I can answer for Captain Radford when I tell you that we are most happy to discover that the previous engagement has been cancelled, and that we shall be delighted to join you tomorrow."
After their visitors had departed, Julia gave full expression to her ecstasy, and when she was alone with Elizabeth, she embraced her warmly. "How can I thank you enough, Lizzy? But for you, I should still be in Suffolk, where I would very likely have spent all my life – lonely and without society. I feel as if I have somehow fallen into a fairy tale – and you are my fairy godmother!"
"It shall be enough for me to be your sister, dear Julia," said Elizabeth affectionately, "even though it must remain the secret of our intimate acquaintances. And I have been charged with informing you that you have yet another sister."
"Who can you mean? Surely not Georgiana, for I already know she is my sister, although regrettably, I can never acknowledge it to her," said Julia sadly.
Elizabeth shook her head – this was all so complicated! "Indeed, I do mean Georgiana, but to learn how it is that she is your sister, you must first lose her."
"I do not understand you," said Julia, mystified.
Elizabeth explained that Georgiana was not, in fact born to Mr Darcy and Lady Anne; as she, herself, had only learned the previous day.
"Oh," said Julia, sighing sadly, "I had begun to love her as my younger sister, for she is so very charming and amiable. But, did you not say that she is my sister?"
"Did Captain Radford, perchance, ever recount to you the story of the sister he never knew?"
"Yes, he told me of it when we visited Hartington a few days ago. He seemed so sad, never to have known her."
"Until today; when he learned the name of his sister – which is Georgiana Darcy."
"Georgiana?" exclaimed Julia, excitedly. "How can it be?"
Elizabeth told Julia the abridged account of how Lady Anne came to take Georgiana as her own daughter.
"How very, very, strange!" said Julia, shaking her head in wonder.
"And fortuitous for you. For although she does not wish for it to be generally known that she was not, in fact, born to Mr Darcy and Lady Anne of Pemberley, she wishes her intimate friends to know it; and as soon as she learned of your engagement to her brother, Captain Radford, she charged me with the office of enlightening you."
"How wonderful, for now we can acknowledge our relationship and love each other properly as sisters."
"And you may speak quite openly upon that subject here at Ashbourne, for Jane and Mr Bingley, who is, as you know, Captain Radford's cousin, are also aware of Georgiana's secret."
"Lizzy, I know that I must keep the details of my own birth a secret, for my brother's sake, for he promised it to our father – but now that we are betrothed, I do so wish to tell the Captain. Though I know he would never press me for the information, it does not seem right to keep such a secret from one's own husband; and I would be unhappy to do so – yet I would be equally unhappy to go against my brother's wishes in the matter."
"Let me speak with your brother, Julia, for while I understand your sense of obligation, I think that an exception can be made in the case of your own husband. You should be able to tell him who is your father; and your mother also. I am certain your mother must wish to meet him."
"Oh yes, of course she will. I have written to her, telling her all about him and what a fine gentleman he is, and she will be overjoyed to learn that we are betrothed – I must write to her immediately. But she could never come to Hartington, could she, Lizzy – for she might be recognised?"
Elizabeth contemplated the question for some time, before answering. "Hartington is at some distance from both Lambton and Kympton, where your mother grew up. It is twenty-five years since she lived there. My aunt recognised your mother at Freston only because she had already guessed her identity, from her recollection of past events in Derbyshire, conjoined with present circumstances at Freston. I imagine that had my aunt been introduced to your mother with an unfamiliar name in the sitting room of an acquaintance, she would never have recognised her. I can think of no reason why your mother could not visit Hartington, or eventually even live there. But let us leave the matter for now, Julia, for there is no immediate urgency. After we are both married, we shall speak with your brother upon the subject. I am hopeful that he might be persuaded to give way before the both of us."
Jane had deliberately invited the party from Macclesfield to arrive for her dinner party a little after the other guests, that they might greet each other at their ease. When they arrived at Ashbourne, Caroline Bingley was delighted to see that the Pemberley party had also been invited, for it provided her with the society of a second prospective suitor; although it was immediately evident that Mr Darcy was not her primary object today. As soon as the greetings had been exchanged, and before they had even seated themselves, or any other subject could be aired, Caroline straight away embarked upon what was clearly a well-rehearsed address to Captain Radford.
"My dear cousin," she said, "it is so delightful to see you at long last; for you must be aware that we would not have come all this way to the north of England had it not been for our great desire to deepen our acquaintance with you; is it not so, Louisa?"
Mrs Hurst eagerly corroborated the assertion, and Caroline continued, "We were both of us, most distressed to learn that certain persons," and here she cast an accusing eye in Elizabeth's direction, "have mischievously misrepresented the fond feelings and high regard, in which we have always held you. You will, of course, appreciate that when first we were informed that we had a cousin of whom our family had never made mention, we thought it prudent to make enquiries; for obviously, anyone could make such a claim. If our behaviour was, for a time, somewhat reserved, it was not because we were not utterly charmed at your fine person and distinguished manners, my dear cousin; it was simply that we were awaiting confirmation of your bona fides. As an unmarried lady, one cannot be too careful – as I believe certain families may, to their own great regret, attest," she said, looking snidely in Elizabeth's direction.
"It is such a pity, Miss Bingley," said Elizabeth, "that it should have taken you a full nine months to establish your cousin's bona fides. For you might have established them far sooner had you been willing to speak upon the subject with him, rather than refusing all intercourse; or you might have directed your enquiries to a suitable office – such as Captain Radford's banker, for instance, whom I am quite certain could have given you immediate satisfaction. However, you may take some comfort in knowing that though it has taken you nine months to discover that Captain Radford is, indeed, your cousin, you have at least made the discovery in time to offer him your congratulations on his recent betrothal."
"Betrothal?" shrieked Miss Bingley, in shock and dismay. "To whom? Surely you are not betrothed, Miss Bennet?" she demanded, incredulously.
"Yes, Miss Bingley, I am – although not to Captain Radford."
At this point, Darcy, who stood beside Elizabeth, took her hand in his, and said, "You may congratulate me, Miss Bingley, for Miss Bennet has accepted my addresses, and made me the happiest of men."
Captain Radford smiled, and taking Julia's hand he said, "Mr Darcy, is, I fear, mistaken. He may only claim to be the second happiest of men – for I am quite certain that none could be happier than I – for to my great delight, Miss Harrison has agreed to be my wife."
"Miss Harrison?" exclaimed Miss Bingley in genuine surprise. That Miss Bennet had succeeded in ensnaring Mr Darcy, while greatly to be regretted, was not entirely unforeseen; but that her wealthy cousin, whom she considered hers by right, should be usurped by Miss Bennet's artful friend was too much to be borne! Nevertheless, she and the Hursts made a tolerable attempt at expressing their sincere delight, and were barely heard from thereafter. Most regrettably, Miss Bingley developed such a terrible headache that they were obliged to depart very soon after the meal, without having availed themselves of the opportunity of viewing their brother's delightful estate. Fortunately, the loss of their society in no way diminished the pleasure of the remainder of the party – on the contrary, it greatly enhanced it.
The very evident joy of the two newly-engaged couples seemed to cast an air of romance upon the whole company, and Colonel Fitzwilliam and Victoria Barclay, whom Jane had seated together at the table, became less reserved in displaying their evident preference for one another. When the gentlemen rejoined the ladies in the drawing room, the Colonel eagerly sought Victoria out.
Jane requested Julia to open the instrument, and Elizabeth was seated beside Darcy on a sofa, listening with delight to her superb playing, when the butler entered and quietly informed Darcy that an express had just now arrived for him, and that the rider had been instructed to hand it to him personally. Darcy immediately left the room. No one but Elizabeth had heard what was said, and Julia continued playing without interruption.
When Darcy returned a minute or two later, he looked most serious, and approaching Bingley, whispered something to his friend who looked at him with surprise, but nevertheless nodded his agreement to his request. When he came towards her, Elizabeth expected that he was about to excuse himself on account of some urgent business, but to her great surprise, he said, "Elizabeth, I am called away by most surprising circumstances, and would be most grateful if you would accompany me."
Elizabeth immediately rose and quietly left the room with him, for evidently it was a matter of some urgency, and he did not wish to wait to formally take leave of the others – nor, perhaps, to explain why he was obliged to make so unexpected a departure.
When they arrived at the entrance, Darcy's carriage awaited them; they immediately entered and drove off in haste. "I have asked Bingley to give our apologies to the rest of the party and to make his own carriage available to conduct Georgiana and Colonel Fitzwilliam back to Pemberley."
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