Georgiana stared at her. “I know you love him, Elizabeth, and he you, but how can you say that after what he has done? What made you think you could trust him? Even though he is my brother, and the very best of men, he is still a man.”
Elizabeth smiled. “I knew enough of his character to know I could trust him. By the time we had shared our love with each other, Georgiana, your brother had long since professed his strong feelings for me many times over and had already asked me to become his wife. I would never have accepted your brother under any circumstances unless I loved him deeply.”
Georgiana lowered her eyes and said, “I do understand how easy it is, Elizabeth, to forget propriety when your feelings are so overwrought with another, but you must see how my brother has placed your reputation in jeopardy because of his unwillingness to follow his own code of honor. I can hardly believe he would consciously do such a thing—go against everything he told me—yet, I have daily proof of it before me. I feel as though he has let me down, and because of it, I will never again be able to trust another man. He has made everything worse.”
Elizabeth walked to her and said, “Do not allow one terrible experience with one wicked man to influence your judgment of others who are truly good. There are many good men in the world, Georgiana, your brother being an excellent example. I know you are feeling inclined to lay all the blame upon him for our current unhappy situation with your aunt, but that is unfair. The truth is we are both to blame, my dear. You should realize by now, he is guilty of doing nothing more than allowing the strength of his emotions for me to cloud his better judgment. My conduct, I am ashamed to say, has been no better. He has done nothing that I did not allow purely out of the love I have for him. Please do not judge him based upon this indiscretion alone. It would do neither of you any credit.”
Georgiana was silent for a long while as she considered Elizabeth’s words. “I suppose Fitzwilliam has always been very different from George. Even when they were children, they did not always see eye to eye.” She sighed. “I know you are correct, Elizabeth. George’s motives with me have always been selfish and self-serving, while Fitzwilliam’s are born solely out of his strong love and admiration for you.” She gave Elizabeth a small smile. “Thank you for finally making me see the difference.”
“George?” Elizabeth inquired with a frown. “Is that the name of the young man you knew?”
“Yes,” she said, blushing, “George Wickham. He was the son of my father’s steward. He and Fitzwilliam were always very close when they were younger. They attended Cambridge together but did not continue their acquaintance after that. I now suspect it was because of George’s nefarious habits.”
Elizabeth paled and felt as though she would be sick. “George Wickham!” she gasped. No wonder Fitzwilliam was so affected by his presence in Hertfordshire! It is a wonder he did not kill him that day in Meryton!
Georgiana hesitated. “Do you know of him, Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth slowly nodded, too horrified to speak.
“I was at Ramsgate for the summer with my companion, Mrs. Younge, in whose character my brother and I were both deceived,” Georgiana explained. “Fitzwilliam surprised me the day before I was to leave for Gretna Green with George. He was furious and demanded I end my engagement. I could not grieve him, Elizabeth. Fitzwilliam has raised me alone since I was a little girl. It was not long until George’s true nature revealed itself to me in any case. I am truly ashamed.”
“No. You have no reason to feel ashamed, Georgiana. You were very young at the time. Mr. Wickham preyed upon your innocence and your trusting nature. You cannot be held accountable for what he tried to do. Believe me, I am well acquainted with Mr. Wickham and his… expectations of young ladies.” Georgiana was startled by the bitterness in her voice.
They spent the next half hour in earnest conversation about Mr. Wickham until it was time for them to part and dress for their evening at the theatre, each lady feeling a little easier for having confided in the other and feeling a genuine bond of sisterly friendship that would only continue to grow deeper with time.
Colonel Fitzwilliam peered into the drawing room, praying he would find his cousin alone, and slipped into the room.
Darcy, who was standing by the window, turned at the sound of the door clicking shut. He could not help but laugh at the picture his cousin presented. He found it diverting to see Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, one of the bravest men in Her Majesty’s Army, reduced to a state of senseless fright every time he entered Darcy House. “Fear not, Fitzwilliam. The two youngest Miss Bennets have removed to Gracechurch Street for the evening. You are safe, for tonight anyway.”
“Thank God!” he exclaimed as he threw himself into a nearby chair. “How on earth did you happen to manage that feat?”
“Actually, you have Mr. Bennet to thank. It seems he has decided to take pity on you.” Darcy handed him a glass of wine as they waited for Jane, Elizabeth, and Georgiana to join them. Bingley would be meeting them at the theatre.
“Well then, I shall do so when next I see him.” They sipped their wine in companionable silence. “I understand my parents paid you a visit earlier in the week.” Darcy nodded. “I would like to offer my support to you and Miss Bennet, as well. From what I have seen of her, she is an excellent woman. I believe, Cousin, that had I met her first, second son or not, I would have been quite unwilling to relinquish such a treasure to any man, to say nothing of the likes of you.”
Darcy smiled. “Believe me, Fitzwilliam, when I say there is no other woman like Elizabeth. You can have no idea what she is to me, no idea at all. I have been completely at her mercy from nearly the very first moment of our acquaintance, yet I was too proud to acknowledge it for far too many weeks. She had absolutely no idea of my regard, which, I will admit, when I finally realized it, pained me considerably. When I now think of what I would have missed had I not declared myself and continued to stubbornly resist her beauty and her wit, it frightens me to no end. I am determined to spend every moment of my life leaving her in no doubt of my affection.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam laughed. “Yes, I noticed as much the other afternoon. I do hope you realize we are not blind, Darcy. Your affection for Miss Bennet is quite transparent to all who have had the pleasure of seeing you together. No one could ever doubt your deep attachment to her, but I assume you also realize it could very easily be misconstrued by gossips and naysayers. I hope you will restrain your eagerness for her society when we are out in company tonight. As your marriage has yet to be sanctioned by the church, I doubt very much you will wish to call attention to Miss Bennet and yourself in any way that may assist in lending credibility to Aunt Catherine’s slander. Be very careful with her, Cousin. There is far more at stake here than just Miss Bennet’s reputation.”
Chapter 18
With a scowl, Darcy promised his cousin he would be on his best behavior for the evening, but his word proved difficult to keep once he saw Elizabeth wearing her new emerald gown. He had found himself paying the modiste and her staff a personal visit earlier in the week, and it was far from sociable. Indeed, Mrs. Duval had been so apologetic and so regretful of the treatment Elizabeth had received that she had promised the completion by Thursday of at least three of the gowns Elizabeth had ordered, including the one she would wear for her wedding. They had all arrived earlier in the day with Mrs. Duval’s compliments, accompanied by two of her most trusted assistants to see to any necessary adjustments that might have had to be made. Elizabeth had spent the bulk of the afternoon closeted in her rooms with Jane and Georgiana, trying them on.