Darcy bristled at the frank challenge in Mr Gardiner's tone, but had to concede the reasonableness of the question. Two years ago, before Georgiana's own brush with disgrace, before he had met and been humbled by Miss Elizabeth Bennet, the old Darcy might well have turned tail at such a scandal. But that was then, and this was now. Now he knew the pain of trying to live without Elizabeth by his side. Now he knew that even the best young ladies could be deceived by Wickham's charm. Now he recognised that his own silence was as much to blame as Elizabeth's, for if she could have warned her sisters, how much more could he have done to warn the world against trusting the cad?
Now, his path was clear, and it led to Elizabeth, however difficult the twists and turns on the way.
Straightening his shoulders, he glanced first at Georgiana and then at Elizabeth before facing Mr Gardiner to say, solemnly, "I assure you, sir, that I will never cry off. My heart is irrevocably tied to that of Miss Elizabeth, and I am determined to become much more closely connected with the Bennet family than I presently am. I will do everything I can to restore happiness to Elizabeth and to her family, and as chance would have it, I am probably better placed in the current circumstances to do so than any other person. I will be of use to you and Mr Bennet, and I will not abandon my suit."
Mr Gardiner looked him coolly in the eye for a long moment before nodding sharply and reaching out to shake Darcy's hand. "Welcome to the family, then, son, though of course you will have to win our Lizzy's consent first."
Elizabeth had recovered somewhat of her composure during this exchange, although Darcy's fervent avowal of his intentions brought a fresh glow to her cheeks. She raised a tear-stained face to him and smiled shyly, but said nothing before taking Georgiana's hands in her own, pulling her gently to her feet, and enclosing her in a hug. "My dear Georgie, how difficult this must have been for you to hear. I am so sorry for telling such news before I thought of your comfort."
Spurred by the need to comfort her future sister, Georgiana found her voice: "Don't be silly, Lizzy. I am stronger than you seem to think. I am only sorry for your sister. But I must hurry home to pack, so we can be on the road as soon as possible. Will you stay with us at Darcy House? We could travel from there to Hertfordshire once everything is settled. Oh, but you will not see Dovedale as we had planned."
Smiling at her young friend's distracted jumping from one subject to another, Elizabeth answered calmly, "You must speak with your brother as to whether you will travel with us or wait at Pemberley. We will be travelling hard, I think, to reach town as soon as possible. I will stay with my family near Cheapside, to be of most help to my father and uncle, but I do thank you for the courtesy of your invitation. I hope to see Darcy House another time, under better circumstances. As for the delights of Derbyshire, I will have a lifetime to explore those with you, my dear friend. You must apologise to Dovedale for my having slighted it on this trip!"
Both young ladies managed a tremulous smile at this whimsy, and the party separated in order to pack to set off at first light the next morning, as too much of the day had already passed to make immediate departure practical.
As he accompanied Georgiana back to Pemberley, Darcy was silent, but his mind whirled: One moment he was planning how to go about finding Wickham, the next he was wondering whether it would be too late to save Miss Lydia from marriage to a man who could only make her unhappy, and then his thoughts would circle back to Elizabeth's parting words to Georgiana.
"As for the delights of Derbyshire, I will have a lifetime to explore those with you," she had said. A lifetime. Did she mean what he hoped she meant? Had she been thinking of a lifetime as Mrs Darcy? Could she have warmed towards him so quickly? It was only the day before that she had agreed to a courtship. He cursed Wickham for interrupting his chance to win her heart: a hurried trip to London, and for such a purpose, was hardly the best opportunity for courting a lady.
A new thought struck him cold: As soon as Elizabeth had spoken of her own sense of culpability, he had realised that his own silence was more at fault than hers: if only he had been more open when he had been in Hertfordshire, had lowered himself to explain his dislike for Wickham and expose something of that man's character, Lydia Bennet would have been safe from his machinations. Now he realised it may have cost more than Miss Lydia's reputation. It may have cost him his only chance of happiness as well.
Elizabeth had been in the first throes of distress over her sister's predicament when she spoke of a future in Derbyshire. She was too kind-hearted to attribute blame to another so quickly, but how long would it be before she thought to resent him for his part in her sister's downfall? Would realisation that merely by being less arrogant and more thoughtful of the feelings of others, he might have saved her beloved sister from Wickham's charms, drive her to hate him? Had he been right after all to think his happiness was a mere dream, from which he would wake to find his heart more broken than ever?
Georgiana watched her brother sink into a gloom that was only too familiar to her. She knew he had been hurt by her near-elopement with Wickham, and now Wickham had succeeded with one of his future sisters what he had so narrowly failed to achieve with Georgiana. She was determined to help him face this new challenge, and if at all possible, to help this Miss Lydia, who would soon enough be her own sister. Who else could possibly understand as well as Georgiana the pain of realising that George Wickham had exploited their innocent affection for his own selfish ends?
But they would never get anywhere if William sank back into the state of unhappy silence in which he had lived the past few months. At the least, she could force him to speak. She would not let him carry this burden alone.
"Which carriage will we take, brother? I suppose the smaller one would be easier on the horses and enable us to travel faster. Will you be sending horses ahead tonight, or take a second team in train?"
Her brother looked startled to be addressed, but quickly gathered his wits, and began to deny her the journey: "Miss Elizabeth was right to say we will be travelling hard, Georgie. I think it best if you wait here …" but she interrupted angrily: "I will not be left behind. I will not sit at Pemberley worrying myself sick and waiting for letters to find out what is happening. This affects me as well, and I will be coming with you. Who else is going to convince Miss Lydia that Wickham is a scoundrel? Do you think she will believe you? She might listen to Elizabeth, I suppose, but she might not, either. Wickham will already have tried to poison her against her family."
Darcy was astounded. His little sister – the very Georgiana who had retreated into her shell after her encounter with George Wickham – was volunteering to help rescue another young maiden from his clutches. He was torn between pride in her generosity and bravery, and fear for her well being in such an endeavour. Considering the determined look in her eye, he decided to let her come to London. He could more easily keep her from doing anything foolish if she were under his eye, and it would give him a few more days to encourage her to caution before there was any prospect of finding Wickham and Lydia.
"Very well, then. You may accompany us to London. But this does not mean you have my permission to meet with either Wickham or Miss Lydia. If you are to come, you must agree to follow my instructions when the time comes. In return, I will promise to listen to any suggestions you make about how we should act. Are we agreed?"
This was more than Georgiana had expected, and she readily consented to his conditions.
"Besides," he added, "by the time we reach London, even assuming we can locate them quickly, Miss Lydia will have been alone with Wickham for several days. She may have no option but to marry him. If that be the case, would it be a kindness to open her eyes to his true character, or would she be happier still believing his lies?"
"You are still thinking of her as the child she no doubt was a week ago, brother. Whatever else happens as a result of her elopement, she has left her childhood behind her. She is a woman now, and must take responsibility for what she has done. It is no kindness to let her pretend a lie. We know what he is. He has already betrayed her trust by luring her into an elopement. Even if he holds her in some affection, as soon as the money gets tight, he will betray her trust again. She has the right to know the truth. She has to have the opportunity to prepare for his betrayal."
They fell into an uneasy silence, both contemplating the truth of Georgiana's assessment. It was a sombre pair who alighted from their coach at the door to Pemberley. The staff who had watched their master leave that morning in the height of good humour were dismayed to see him return apparently under the same cloud that had dogged him for months. They were not given time to wonder at this transformation, however, as he set them to work immediately, preparing for he and his sister to leave for London early on the morrow.
Elizabeth had watched from the inn window as their coach pulled away. She did not know what to think. Her poor sister was lost, and in the hands of the worst man she had ever had the misfortune to meet. The knowledge that she might have prevented the catastrophe if she had disclosed some part of what Darcy had told her about Wickham tormented her. She worried for Jane and her father and mother. She even worried for Mary and Kitty, whose sheltered lives had never exposed them to the humiliation which must now be their lot if they ventured into Meryton.
But overshadowing all these worries was the look on Mr Darcy's face when he had heard the news. Oh, he had been every inch the gentleman. He had stood by his offer of courtship, had resolved to help in finding Lydia, had spoken so warmly of his intention to connect himself more closely with her family. But she had seen his initial shock. He had paced the room in silence, clearly shaken by the impropriety of her sister's action. Once he had time to consider – to think about what such a connection must mean for himself and for Georgiana – surely her power would sink; everything must sink under such a proof of family weakness, such an assurance of the deepest disgrace. She could neither wonder nor condemn, but the knowledge that she must lose his affections was exactly calculated to make her understand her own wishes; and never had she so honestly felt that she loved him as now, when all love must be vain.
It was with bitter regret for lost opportunities, combined with the deepest anxiety for her youngest sister, that Elizabeth mechanically ensured everything was ready for a quick departure the next day, and retired to her bed, where she eventually succumbed to a restless sleep, disturbed by dreams of what might have been.
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