Mr. Darcy's Little Sister

by C. Allyn Pierson

  ***

  The four ladies spent the next day at the seamstress’s and shopping for shoes and bonnets and other feminine details. When they arrived back at Cheapside, Mrs. Gardiner urged her nieces to dress quickly for dinner, saying, “We are going to Audley Square a little early and our shopping took longer than I anticipated, so hurry and change girls. We will need to return Georgiana home in time to dress for dinner.”

  Surprised, Elizabeth and Jane willingly hurried with their toilettes and they all arrived at Ashbourne House at four o’clock. The butler, an elderly, grey-haired man of great dignity, admitted them with a deep bow and announced them as he preceded them into the drawing-room. Georgiana could see with amusement that Burton was burning with curiosity about the Misses Bennet, although she was sure the ladies would not notice his veiled glances. After greeting the others, Georgiana hurried upstairs to change. Her brother had asked her that morning to join him and Miss Elizabeth in the library when she was dressed; he was going to show his bride the Darcy jewels.

  Chapter 4

  Let me not to the marriage of true minds

  Admit impediments.

  —William Shakespeare, Sonnet 116

  When they all reappeared in the drawing-room, they left Bingley to play host and Georgiana and Elizabeth followed Darcy into the adjoining room. A middle-aged gentleman in a sober suit of clothes was introduced to them as Mr. Bennington of the High Street Bank.

  “I had Mr. Bennington bring over the Darcy jewels,” Darcy said to Elizabeth. “Some of them have been in the family for generations and are in rather outdated settings. They have no historical significance or other importance except as family possessions and have not been worn in years; it is time that they were given new life. It has been years since Georgiana has seen them, so I thought she might join us.”

  Elizabeth smiled at her. “Of course.”

  Mr. Bennington removed the pieces one by one from the large case in which he had brought them and Darcy gave them the history of each piece or set as it appeared.

  “My grandfather gave these to my grandmother when our father was born,” he said as he picked up a sapphire and diamond demiparure. “They had waited for many years to have a child, and my grandfather was very proud to have a son to carry on the family name.”

  “They are beautiful,” Elizabeth said, touching one of the bracelets.

  He picked up a heavy ruby choker.

  “This one should be reset. The centre stone was brought back from India by a distant ancestor and the colour will look lovely on you, my dear, once they are in a better setting; this one is far too heavy for your slender neck.”

  Elizabeth nodded silently, and Georgiana saw her eyes getting larger by the moment as each piece of the jewellery appeared.

  “I do not know why I should be surprised that the Darcys have so many wonderful jewels, but I confess that I am quite overcome with astonishment,” she whispered to Georgiana, who gave her an amused smile.

  Mr. Bennington brought out a splendid necklace and bracelet that particularly caught their eyes. A simple herringbone chain of heavy gold formed the necklace. The clasp was a snarling dragon intricately carved of pale green imperial jade with delicate green flames flowing from his open mouth. The bracelet was a shorter length of gold fastened with a similar dragon clasp, but in the bracelet the dragon was sleeping, his head curled over his back.

  “I remember these!” Georgiana exclaimed. “I remember my father showing me them once, and I was fascinated by the dragons. They somehow seem to have personalities.”

  “They are lovely,” Elizabeth answered, carrying the necklace over to the light, “I have never seen anything like them.”

  The chains gleamed dully in the light, and the details of the dragons were somewhat obscured by the accretions of years of wear, but they were splendid still.

  “One of our great-great uncles was an adventurer generations ago. He left his family and travelled for two years and brought the necklace and bracelet back from China for his wife—as a peace offering I would guess,” Darcy said, glancing at them with a lifted brow as he removed the necklace from its case. “It is probably close to one hundred years old and looks as if it should have a good cleaning.”

  He nestled them back into the velvet case and picked up a beautiful diamond necklace and eardrops in a modern setting.

  “These belonged to our mother. I remember her wearing them whenever there was a ball at Pemberley. My father gave them to her as a wedding present.” He looked up at Elizabeth and added, “He left them to Georgiana, but I thought you might like to see them.”

  “They are beautiful. They will be lovely on you, Georgiana!”

  Georgiana smiled and ducked her head. She was a little embarrassed that the diamonds would not belong to the mistress of Pemberley, but she was also relieved that Elizabeth seemed not at all put out that the jewels would not be hers.

  While Georgiana examined her mother’s jewels, Elizabeth turned to pick out another diamond necklace and eardrops and a rather ugly sapphire pendant which would be improved by a lighter, more modern look. When Mr. Bennington left to replace the remaining jewels in the bank’s vault, Darcy locked the jewellery they had selected in a wall safe, saying to Elizabeth as he did so, “Tomorrow we shall take these to Sheffield’s, and you may pick out the new settings.” He turned to his sister. “Would you, perhaps, like to rejoin the others, Georgiana?”

  She looked at him in confusion and saw his eyes flick towards the door.

  “Oh, y-yes, of course. I would like to talk to Mrs. Gardiner before we sit down to dinner,” she said weakly and then fled for the door.

  ***

  Darcy watched her until the door closed and then shook his head regretfully over his sister’s lack of poise. After a moment he shrugged off his dismay, went to the desk, and brought out a small velvet jeweller’s case from the drawer and presented it to Elizabeth, his smile a little shy as he handed it to her.

  “This is an early wedding gift. Bingley and I picked these out yesterday with Georgiana’s assistance. She felt, and I believe rightly, that a simple expression of affection would be more fitting than jewels and that it would be preferable to have something you could wear every day, not just at a ball.”

  “Your sister is a very perceptive young woman,” Elizabeth said as she opened the case and smiled. Inside was the narrow serpentine chain of gold with its tiny cross. On each side of the clasp, on the inside, were engraved the initials EB and FD; when the bracelet was fastened their initials would be joined. He removed it from the case and started to clasp it around her right wrist but paused.

  “Once I fasten this chain you cannot escape,” he said gravely.

  She blushed and answered quietly, “I’ll try not to struggle too much.”

  He fastened it around her wrist and, his eyes locked on hers, raised her palm to his lips. Elizabeth impulsively threw her arms around him and kissed him. He drew her close for another, more lingering kiss then they reluctantly separated and rejoined the others in the drawing-room, Elizabeth hoping her flushed complexion was not too apparent.

  ***

  A few minutes later, Elizabeth commented to the Gardiners and Georgiana, “I can see that a conspiracy has taken place in this house over the matter of these bracelets, but… I think Jane and I will probably try to forgive you.”

  She put her arm around Georgiana and whispered in her ear, “Thank you, my dear sister. The bracelet is perfect.”

  Georgiana searched her face. “Do you truly like it, Elizabeth?”

  “Indeed I do. You could not have chosen better.”

  Georgiana let her breath out in a sigh of relief and smiled at Elizabeth. The more she knew about her sister-in-law, the happier she was. Her brother had chosen well.

  ***

  After dinner they gathered their wraps and left for the theatre, an impo
sing building fronted with an arcade. The inside had been lavishly painted and decorated but was discoloured from the smoke of the many candles lighting the chandeliers, leaving to the elegantly dressed society gentlemen and ladies the task of providing colour and variety to the interior.

  Georgiana was looking down as they made their way to the Darcy box, trying not to step on the hem of her companions’ gowns, and it took her a moment to realise that the conversation in the foyer had dropped in volume to an intense murmur. She looked around her and noted that her brother was greeted with a slight nod by a few people, but most of those who took notice of their entrance merely stared and then turned to their neighbours to whisper excitedly in their ears.

  She was uncomfortable under their blatant scrutiny, and she could feel the colour creep up into her face. She hurried after her brother, wondering if she had behaved improperly in some way and was relieved when they reached the box. She glanced at Elizabeth and saw that she was very stiff; her brother had a thunderous look on his face. Miss Elizabeth leaned over and said something to him and he forced his expression into more pleasant lines, but Georgiana was sure that he did not notice what was on the stage for the first fifteen minutes. She slumped in her seat and tried to attend to the singing, but the strange behaviour of the crowds and her brother’s anger perplexed her.

  The first half of the entertainment was a series of arias sung by Signora Catalani, the undisputed prima donna of London opera, and the audience was entranced until the last note died. Georgiana gradually forgot the odd behaviour of the theatregoers in the foyer as she was swept up into the music. When the interval came, Elizabeth needed to touch her arm gently to bring her back to earth so they could make their way to the refreshment room of the theatre.

  The second half was to be a series of tableaux from the recent productions of the company, and the singer would be joined by her fellow cast members to present them. While they were discussing the programme, Georgiana glanced up and saw her cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, across the room; his curly, russet-brown hair was unmistakeable in the candlelight. She craned her neck and saw her aunt and uncle with him, their backs to the rest of the room.

  “Brother, there are our aunt and uncle,” she exclaimed to Darcy. “We should say hello before the second part of the programme begins.”

  She started to turn away, but her brother surreptitiously caught her arm. She looked back at him in surprise.

  “Please do not go, Georgiana,” he said very quietly.

  “Why not, Fitzwilliam?” she asked, confused, her voice lowered to match his.

  She suddenly became aware of the silence of the crowd around her and flushed a brilliant red. It seemed as if everyone in the room was staring at her, and she wanted to sink into the floor in mortification. Elizabeth affectionately put her arm around Georgiana’s shoulder and whispered in her ear:

  “Do not be embarrassed, my dear; your aunt and uncle are upset with your brother because he is marrying me; it would simply be better not to bring attention to the relationship at the moment. Everything will be fine in time, so do not be concerned.”

  Georgiana nodded silently, her head hanging.

  “I cannot believe that anyone could object to you, Elizabeth,” she whispered. “Fitzwilliam should have told me.”

  “Thank you, my dear,” Elizabeth returned with a smile. “You are right; you should have been told. You could do one thing to help me through this, if you would.”

  Georgiana’s head came up at that.

  “I will do anything that I can,” she whispered fiercely.

  “Then pretend that none of this has happened, and we will return to our seats with our heads held high and ignore the vulgar gossips.”

  Georgiana managed the ghost of a smile, put her shoulders back with a visible effort, and twined her arm through Elizabeth’s. As they turned towards the entrance to their box, Lord Whitwell’s group reached the doors to the auditorium. Just before they disappeared through the door, Colonel Fitzwilliam glanced at Darcy and his right eyelid drooped in a slow wink. The corner of Darcy’s mouth twitched and he acknowledged his cousin with a minuscule nod, but Georgiana’s smile was rigidly fixed. They returned to their seats and resolutely watched the remainder of the programme, but the joy had gone out of the evening for Georgiana and, she suspected, for Elizabeth as well. Elizabeth was sitting between Georgiana and her brother, so Georgiana could overhear some of her brother’s discussion as he bent towards his fiancée:

  “…his mother, my aunt, was very upset by Lady Catherine’s letter about our… expects that you will be a fishmonger’s daughter or some such ridiculous notion… Fitzwilliam says that he defended you as much as he could without, as he put it, ‘imperilling his financially dependent status’… St. George has remained above the fray… in Scotland… gambling debts… calmed down somewhat.”

  Elizabeth’s answer was clearer to Georgiana: “I am sorry that I am causing so much heartache in your family.” She paused for a moment and then gave a mischievous smile. “Not sorry enough to refuse to marry you again but still sorry for the trouble you must go through.”

  “Actually,” Darcy returned in a conversational tone, “I am rather enjoying the unusual sensation of being the family black sheep after years of stolid attention to the business of running an estate. Perhaps my taking over this role will be of material assistance to my scapegrace cousin St. George by drawing attention from his misdeeds to my own.”

  Georgiana barely prevented herself from a very unladylike snort at this commentary on her cousin Lord St. George, but her training prevailed and she turned her attention back to the stage. So, Miss Elizabeth had refused her brother’s hand before finally accepting it! She was astonished, but her speculation over the story of their courtship carried her through the second half of the programme and she was able to ignore the ill-mannered crowd staring at them.

  When they arrived at Ashbourne House later that evening, Darcy caught Georgiana before she went upstairs.

  “My dear sister, it just occurred to me—after a reminder by Miss Elizabeth, I confess—that you should have a new gown for the wedding also. I have been remiss in not having you order one while we are here.”

  “Dear brother,” she said with affection, “I am not in the wedding party, but am just a guest. I have plenty of lovely gowns.”

  “Maybe, but I would still like to mark the occasion with a new gown for you, too.” He paused for a moment, thinking. “Perhaps we should leave you and Mrs. Annesley here for a day or two. You could have the gown fitted and then return to Hertfordshire not long after us.”

  “Well, I guess that would be acceptable, although I hate to make the carriage come back for me.”

  He put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her on the top of her head.

  “You leave that to me, little one.”

  That night she wrote in her diary,

  1 October: Went to an evening of opera music—Signora Catalani is stupendous, but the audience seemed more interested in gaping at my brother and his fiancée—the jealous cats! My aunt and uncle Whitwell were there with the colonel, but they did not acknowledge our presence. The colonel winked at my brother—he seemed amused at the awkward situation—but I think he could have done more than he has to help my brother, who is his best friend as well as his cousin. I have no doubt that if my aunt and uncle were to embrace Elizabeth into the family there would be no difficulties with the rest of society. I am going to ask my brother if I may stay at Ashbourne House while they are gone on their honeymoon. I do not wish to stay with my aunt and uncle while they are snubbing my brother.

  ***

  The next day the lovers returned to Hertfordshire, leaving Georgiana and Mrs. Annesley behind. Deep down, Georgiana felt relieved to be alone with her companion again; the Bennet sisters were lovely, but trying to make a good impression and converse like an adult was causing her great strain. S
he hoped that someday she would be able to join in a conversation easily and naturally without needing to plan each comment like a general deploying his army. The small delay before returning to Netherfield would be salutary and allow her to overcome the headache which had been nagging her since she witnessed the ill-mannered snubbing of her brother and his fiancée at the opera.

  With Mrs. Annesley’s assistance, she chose the pattern and fabric for her dress, but she was not really enthused about it. Her gowns all had a high neck on the bodice, which was suitable for a girl not yet out, but her upcoming presentation and Season would mark a time when she could have more mature styles which flattered her figure, and she felt that she was wasting her time on a dress which she would only wear a few times. An idea occurred to her: perhaps she could have some of her favourite gowns remade with lower bodices before she came out. With this cheerful thought, she finished her dress order and they were back in Hertfordshire within three days.

  The next fortnight passed quickly, punctuated by only one minor incident. A week or so before the wedding, the Netherfield residents were dining with the Bennets and the invitation had included Mr. and Mrs. Collins. Mr. Collins was Mr. Bennet’s cousin, and his wife was Elizabeth’s childhood friend Charlotte; they were visiting his in-laws at Lucas Lodge. The Collinses had been brought together with the Netherfield inhabitants several times since their return from London, and Georgiana had quickly realised that Mr. Collins was a fool. How could her aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh tolerate his grovelling and scraping? Georgiana had always been terrified of her aunt, and her brother tried to spare her sensibilities by not taking her to Rosings Park when he made his yearly duty visit, but she had always thought her aunt an astute and clever woman (too astute and observant of the failings of others!). Her aunt’s support of Mr. Collins, however, did not speak well of her judgement.