Miss Darcy walked over to her older sibling and gently placed a hand on his arm. “I am so very sorry, Fitzwilliam. Yet I can scarcely believe Elizabeth would willingly enter into such an engagement. I was positive her affections were directed elsewhere. Oh dear, shall it be painful for you to face her at the ball?”
“Do not be concerned about me, Georgie. I will don my usual stiff upper lip and flinty mask, be a perfect gentleman, and ask the dear lady to accept my best wishes for her health and happiness. That said, I know I shall never experience felicity without her in my life. Excuse me now, please. I wish to be alone for a while.” Darcy fetched his coat and shoes and staggered out of the library, forgetting he had also discarded his cravat, which had fallen beneath the chesterfield.
Georgiana was sorely disappointed and more than a little annoyed. How could Elizabeth possibly be so confoundedly blind? She and Fitzwilliam are absolutely perfect for one another. I simply will not believe she agreed to become that officer’s wife until I hear it directly from her. I must do what I can to repair my brother’s broken heart and re-pair him with Elizabeth. Miss Darcy also left the room; however, she rang for a carriage, donned a bonnet and spencer, collected Pug-Nacious and Dust Bunny, and exited the townhouse. She was on a mission to the Bennet home and totally forgot her previous undertaking, which had been to locate Barb Thorne, the hedgehog. From beneath the sofa, a white linen cravat stealthily made its way across the floor of the library and crept into the hallway.
Charlotte Lucas had already taken her leave and members of the Bennet family separately pursued a variety of activities. Jane arranged dried flowers while she compared Mr. Bingley to Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mrs. Bennet visited the Gardiners, Mr. Bennet efficiently took care of a pile of correspondence in his study, Mary was at school, Kitty and Lydia were on an outing with their governess, and Robert napped in the nursery. Alone in the sitting room, Elizabeth put the finishing touches on a watercolour painting that had been a work in progress for several weeks. She stood back, appraised the canvas with a critical eye, and was surprised when a footman announced her visitor. “Georgiana! What a pleasant surprise.” She quickly turned the easel toward the wall so her friend would not notice the likeness of a certain young man in clinging clothing.
“Good afternoon, Elizabeth. It is nice to see you again, but I do not have much time before I am due to return home for dinner. May I urgently request a few moments of your time for a private conversation? The puppies are in the carriage, so perhaps you could join me while I take them for a short walk in the adjacent park.”
Lizzy was puzzled by her friend’s cool demeanour as they set off briskly with a footman trailing behind. Dust Bunny and Pug-Nacious sniffed the many interesting scents along the way. Due to the late afternoon hour, the ladies encountered few others on the paths of the small public garden not far from the Bennet townhouse.
“I am so glad to have this opportunity to speak with you, Georgiana.” It is very important you tell your gorgeous brother I am not betrothed. “I have something of great import to impart.”
“You need not bother, Elizabeth.” How could you accept that insufferable, carrot-topped, red-coated blowhard? “I am already well aware of your shocking news.”
Lizzy was taken aback and wondered how word had reached her friend. No matter … as long as Mr. Darcy knows the truth. “Oh. Well, good.”
Georgiana continued, “I must admit I was surprised at the result of Lieutenant-Colonel Dun’s proposal.” You and Fitzwilliam were perfect together. How could you accept another? “I wonder why you made such an ill-advised decision.”
Elizabeth gasped and felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach. Do you think I should have accepted Dun’s offer? Does your brother not care for me as I do him? “You do not approve of my response to his proposal?”
“To be perfectly honest, my friend, no.” Simpleton. You would have been so much happier with my brother. “In fact, I believe you have made a colossal mistake regarding your future happiness.”
“Georgiana, was I wrong to presume that your bro … ”
Her friend interrupted, “Oh, how could you disappoint him in such a cruel way, Elizabeth?” Fitzwilliam loved you … loves you. He is inconsolable. “The poor man is absolutely desolate and heart-achingly heartbroken.”
“How could you possibly know his feelings?” You met Lieutenant-Colonel Dun at our dinner and glared at him throughout the meal. How and why are you suddenly privy to his sentiments?
“He told me himself; and if I recall correctly, his exact words were, ‘I know I shall never experience happiness without her in my life.’” That’s how I know his feelings, you selfish, heartless girl.
“Under what circumstances were you in his presence? Why would he even express sentiments to you he never even mentioned to me?” This is insane. Why was John spilling his soul to you? “When and where did you encounter the man?”
“I left him just now to come here to see you, Elizabeth.” My brother could hardly express his love to you when Dun beat him to it. Why is it so difficult for you to understand his hurt and his need to confide in me? “He apparently spent the afternoon drinking to drown his sorrow over losing you and was sleeping in the library when I happened upon him.”
“He was sleeping in the library?” Has the world gone mad? I cannot make sense of any of this. “Which library?”
“The one at our house, of course.” You are such a bacon-brained goose, Elizabeth Bennet.
“What on earth was he doing at your home?” Argh! Why was John Dun at your house, of all places in England?
“I just told you.” Perhaps this is all for the best. You are certainly addlepated, so my brother is better off without you. “He was sleeping after having consumed too many alcoholic beverages.”
Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief. If Lieutenant-Colonel Dun is intoxicated and sleeping it off at Mr. Darcy’s house, then I am surely Queen Elizabeth. “In your home?”
“No, I believe he said he was drinking at his club. Be that as it may, the where is unimportant, Elizabeth. What is important is that … ”
“Excuse me. I beg to differ, Georgiana. I cannot begin to comprehend why, of all places in the entire world, Lieutenant-Colonel John Dun is, or was, sleeping in your library.”
“He was not! I am speaking of my brother. Fiend seize it, Elizabeth, why would your foul fiancé be at my home?”
“That is what I have been asking you! Wait, wait, wait … your brother? My … fiancé?”
“If you had a speck of sense at all, my brother would be your fiancé!”
The two ladies stood, arms akimbo, in the middle of the path, glared at one another, and tried to unravel their tangled conversation. Elizabeth sorted through the strands, finally realized the misunderstanding, and arched an eyebrow at her friend. “Georgiana, let me be rightly understood. I do not presently have, nor have I ever had, a fiancé. Lieutenant-Colonel Dun did make me an offer; however, I declined and … ”
“You declined? You declined!” Miss Darcy clapped her hands and then gave her friend a hearty hug. “Oh, Elizabeth! Of course, you declined; and it is wonderful news, indeed. I beg your pardon, but I must return home on business that cannot be delayed. I have not an instant to lose. There is a rather dejected, heartbroken young man there who desperately needs cheering; and I now have exactly the information with which to do the job. Thank you.”