On the fifth day after arriving at Pemberley, Richard received a letter from his father urging him to marry Anne. After carefully evaluating the proposal, he concluded that he should accept it. He felt very sorry for his cousin since he was pretty fond of her. He promised himself that he would do everything possible to make Anne happy in the little time she had left to live. Therefore, Richard left for Kent the following day to see his aunt and cousin; he would then continue to London to procure a special license.
The farewell with Georgiana was very emotional, and he made her promise that she would take great care of herself.
"Remember, if you are sad, I am also sad." He hugged her tightly and said, "I know I have not been the best guardian, and regretfully, I was not with you when you needed me most, but I want you to know that I love you very much, Georgiana."
"I love you too, Richard. I will miss you."
"I want you to promise me that you will eat well, keep playing the piano, and write to me every week." He gently caressed her hair and asked, "Do you promise me?"
Georgiana nodded. "Yes, I promise..."
PPP
The next day, Lord Matlock finally arrived at Pemberley, accompanied by Lord Hertford. Darcy was surprised by the Marquess's presence, whom he knew only superficially, but he welcomed him warmly.
Following the usual greetings, Lord Matlock suggested that talking in Darcy's study behind closed doors would be more appropriate.
A few minutes later, the three gentlemen were drinking brandy, and Lord Hertford was the first to speak: "I suppose, Mr. Darcy, you are wondering why I came to visit you unannounced."
Darcy nodded slightly, and before he could speak, Lord Hertford continued, "I am going to speak without preamble and very bluntly." He took a deep breath. "All my life, I was in love with your mother, and even though she died so many years ago, I still love her."
Darcy's eyes widened, and the Marquess motioned for him not to speak. "Sadly, her parents would not let me marry her because, at that time, I was merely the third son of a Marquess and had little money." He shook his head and sighed. "About 16 years ago, your mother had a terrible fight with your father about his mistress, whom he refused to leave. He did not treat Anne well, and she travelled to London, where we became reacquainted."
He looked into his eyes and said, "The truth is that in those weeks she was in London, we had an affair. I loved her deeply; I was completely in love with her. I would have followed her to the ends of the world if she had asked me. I suggested we elope to America or wherever she wanted since my fortune or title did not matter to me, and I only wanted to be with her. My son was at Eton, and I could have left him with relatives." He took a deep breath. "Despite my pleas, I could not convince her. She told me she loved her son too much to leave him behind and that she should return to Pemberley."
Darcy watched and listened with increasing astonishment. The Marquess was indeed Georgiana's biological father.
"I am convinced Georgiana is my daughter, and although Lady Anne was not sure who the father is, I have always loved her as such." With great sadness, he added: "I had to settle for seeing Georgiana from afar and believe me, what I desire most in this world is her happiness." He paused and continued, "You may be wondering why I am telling you this now."
Darcy nodded slightly, and Lord Hertford added, "I know what happened to Wickham, and I also know that George Darcy is likely his biological father. I am convinced that it will be a relief for Georgiana to know she is not the sister of that scoundrel, and I also want her to know that she has a father who has always loved her and will always love her. George Darcy treated her with indifference and never showed her affection. You cannot imagine how many times I dreamed of claiming Georgiana as my daughter or at least being able to spend more time with her. But if I had, it would have ruined her reputation."
Until that moment, Darcy hesitated to tell Georgiana the truth about her parentage since the natural question to follow would be who her father was, and he had no answer. He had also been concerned for his sister's emotional state and did not wish to burden her further with the thought that not even her birth father loved her.
PPP
That same afternoon, Lord Hertford observed Georgiana while she was playing the piano. She was so physically similar to his beloved Anne that, at times, he felt like he had travelled thirty years back in time. When Georgiana looked up, she was surprised to see her brother with the Marquess of Hertford. Georgiana had been introduced to the Marquess several years ago; he had always been very kind to her and paid her much attention. Every time they met, he discussed music and literature with her.
She immediately greeted the guest warmly. When her brother told her they wished to speak with her privately, Georgiana never imagined what would be revealed to her that day.
"So, George Darcy is not my father," Georgiana repeated through her tears. "Now I understand why he did not love me. Poor Mr. Darcy! He had to raise me while knowing that I was not his daughter! I am not a Darcy. No wonder he did not love me."
Helplessly, Darcy and Lord Hertford watched Georgiana cry. Finally, Lord Hertford gathered his courage and did what he had wanted to do for almost sixteen years: he hugged Georgiana tightly and caressed her hair.
"Believe me, what I wish for most in this world is to remove the great suffering from your heart and soul. Unfortunately, I am one of the main causes of this sadness in your life." He kissed her forehead and said, "I know very well I should never have had an affair with your mother... But I swear to you on the most sacred level that I loved her madly and still love her memory. Forgive me, Georgiana. It is all my fault."
Through tears, Georgiana asked, "Is George Wickham my father's son? I mean Mr. Darcy's son. He is not my brother?"
"We do not know for sure if he is the son of George Darcy, and we will never know. But I am convinced he is not your brother." Frederick told her as he looked at her with love and deep sadness.
After an uncomfortable silence, she eventually uttered, "I am so glad he is not my brother... but I do not know who I am anymore."
Darcy looked her in the eye and said with conviction, "You are my sister Georgiana; whether or not you are George Darcy's daughter, you are still my sister." He sighed and added, "I should have paid much more attention to you and gone to Ramsgate instead of staying in London. I should have been a better brother. I failed you. I am so sorry, Georgiana, I am so sorry."
Georgiana shook her head and replied, "No, brother…, it was all my fault. I knew what I was doing was wrong. I am a fallen woman."
With determination, Lord Hertford said, "We must leave the past behind since it cannot be changed, and it is time to build the future." He sighed and added, "Regretfully, I know I cannot publicly claim you as my daughter, as it would destroy your reputation in society, but I would like to be part of your life in any way that will allow." He gently caressed her cheek, "I would also like you to meet my son, Sebastian."
The three of them continued talking for over an hour until an exhausted Georgiana retired to her bedchamber to rest. Her life again took an unexpected turn, and she no longer knew who she was. Time, her aunt Lady Matlock had told her, seconded by Mrs. Annesley, time was what she needed to accept her new reality. She was not Mr. Darcy's daughter, but she would be a Darcy all her life nonetheless.
That night she could not sleep; her mind was disturbed by everything that had happened in so few weeks; she remembered several anecdotes from her childhood and Mr. Darcy's indifference and lack of affection. Now everything made sense, and she understood why Mr. Darcy did not love her.
At times, she thought about asking her brother to find George Wickham and marry him, and at other times, she felt she should forget about him and what had happened between them. Her brother told her that George Wickham was not to be trusted; he was not a good man and had more than one illegitimate child he had never cared for.
She only hoped that she would forget him with time, and she prayed for no consequences for her mistake.