4
After the tea things were cleared away, the Colonel excused himself, explaining he had to return to Rosings. As Elizabeth walked him to the door, she said in a low voice, "I think you must try to get here more frequently than once a week; at least for the first month, or so." The Colonel nodded. "I will take steps to increase my visits as long as you feel it necessary. I am happy with the initial steps you have taken and feel optimistic for the first time in two years."
When Elizabeth returned to the piano and rejoined Georgiana on the bench, she remarked, I have a partiality to the Italian songs of Pergolesi and some of the other masters. Do you have some familiarity with them, by chance?"
Georgianna gave her a mischievous smile. "Si, Singnora. Io molto amo a cantare italiano." Elizabeth laughed lightly. "Scusi, Singnorita. Anch'io Singnorita. Marito non trovati, ma… ho speranza." The sound of the door opening interrupted their merriment. Elizabeth turned around. A strange man she had not seen before had stepped into the room. Elizabeth felt Georgiana shrinking beside her and she leapt to her feet. "Just a moment, Sir!" she cried in a ringing voice. "I gave instructions we were not to be interrupted. Please leave at once," she said firmly as she moved towards the door. She made a sweeping gesture with her hand, reinforcing her command. The fellow's jaw dropped at her effrontery. "I am George Wickham, the Steward…"he began to explain.
"All the more reason for you to leave at once. There are no fields of corn here and no milk cows that I have seen. Out! You interrupt our teaching session… which requires privacy." Wickham's face twisted into a scowl. "I am not only the Steward," he declared. "I am also an intimate friend of the family for many decades. I have known Miss Darcy since her birth at which I rejoiced with her father and mother, and her brother, my dearest friend."
"Then it should be more important for you not to interrupt the progress of our work to improve the situation of his sister. Again, you must leave. If you have a problem with this arrangement, I suggest you pursue it with Colonel Fitzsimmons when he returns." The scowl deepened on Wickham's face. "We shall have more words about this situation and your lack of respect, I assure you," he growled. But, he stepped back and turned to leave. Elizabeth closed the door firmly behind him, resolving to ask for a key for the door. As she closed it she caught a glimpse of the maid, Mary, out in the hall. The girl turned and followed the man down the hall. 'Curious,' Lizzy thought. 'If she had no message for me or Miss Georgiana, what was she doing outside the door?'
Returning to Georgiana, she was shocked to see the young woman was cringing, and staring at the closed door. "I shall obtain a key and lock the door so our sessions will not be interrupted in the future," she assured the younger woman. "H-h-he is n-n-no fr-fr-friend of m-m-mine," the girl stammered. 'Another thing to discuss with the Colonel,' Lizzy told herself. 'There may be a history there that has impacted the poor soul's sense of security.'
"Forget him," Lizzy said, briskly. "We have Italian to sing!" She played the opening chords of one of her favorites and Georgiana's face brightened. She began to sing the Italian and Lizzy harmonized with her lower alto voice. Without the music in front of them, Lizzy was able to continue with several other songs they both knew and could sing together. After a while, Lizzy stood up and took Georgiana's hand. "Come let us sit near the window." She drew the younger woman with her and sat them facing each other.
"You understand, Georgiana, that the Colonel desires not only that I be a companion to you with whom you can share our mutual love of music and singing. He also hopes that I can help you overcome some of the shyness and speech impediments that have prevented your full enjoyment of your life in this fine estate." The young woman frowned and started to shrink into herself again. "There is no pressure, my dear. We will proceed only as friends, mutually enjoying our love of music and our company. I would like to think of us as sisters. To begin… in that relationship… please call me Lizzy as my own dear sisters are wont to do," she added with a smile.
Georgiana blushed slightly. "I-i-in th-th-that c-c-case y-y-you m-m-must c-c-call me, G-G-Georgie, as m-m-my b-b-brother d-d-did," she murmured shyly.
"With the greatest pleasure, Georgie," Lizzy said, laughing lightly. Then she added in a more serious tone.
"I want to point something out to you that you may not have noticed, but I suspect it is most important." She took her companion's hands in her own. "When you spoke in Italian, you did not stammer, even once." The girl's eyes opened wide. "Moreover, when we sang together, you also did not stammer. Now, I am not sure what that might mean. What it does suggest to me is that when there is something very important that you want to say… you should sing it!"
Georgiana frowned. "Y-y-you m-m-mean t-t-to s-s-sing a s-s-song?" she asked in a confused tone. Lizzy smiled. "Not necessarily a melody from Pergolesi, or Mozart. Just prolong the words like a song. For example, say again what you just said to me, but this time sing each word like this. Yooou meaaan tooo sinnnng a sooong?"
Georgiana smiled. "I wiiilll tryyy tooo sinnng myyy woooords tooo yooou! "she sang, then fell over in a fit of giggling. "I-i-it i-i-is s-s-so s-s-silly," she said. "Now sing that," Lizzy told her. "Iiiiit iiiiis sooo siiiilly," Georgiana sang those words, smiling from ear to ear. Lizzy sat back. "You see? Not stammer, no stutter. I confess, I do not understand what is happening. But perhaps because in singing we draw out the words, it gives you a little more time to control your voice." Maaaybe" Georgiana sang and fell over laughing. Lizzy joined her with her own low chuckle.
"There is one more thing I would like to try," she said, thoughtfully. "If singing the words gives you more control, then perhaps there is another way to increase your control. Deliberately stammer!"
Georgiana blinked in confusion. "D-d-deliberately s-s-stammer?" she asked in confusion. "Yes, my dear. Repeat what you just said only this time deliberately say d-d-deliberately." Georgiana shrugged and said, slowly, 'd-d-deliberately'." "Again," Lizzy told her. Once more she said, slowly, 'd-d-deliberately."
"Now even slower," Lizzy said. Again the young woman spoke, separating each sound. "Now faster," Lizzy said. Obediently, her client spoke, faster. "Faster still," Lizzy said. Again Georgie spoke faster and faster again without a prompt. "Now, just say the word," Lizzy ordered her. Clearly and without a stammer, Georgiana said, 'deliberately'. She gasped and her hand flew to her mouth, covering it; her eyes wide in shock. "I said it without a stammer," she murmured. "And you just spoke those words also without a stammer," Lizzy said, smiling. The ladies spent the next few days consolidating the progress that Georgiana had made. They continued their singing and speaking in English, Italian, and French, rejoicing together as a more and more normal young woman emerged from the small cell in which she had been confined, or, really, had confined herself. She was realizing she had been a prisoner of her own making in her own house… a Prisoner in Pemberley!