Mr. Darcy's Little Sister

by C. Allyn Pierson

  When the carriage pulled into the mews behind Ashbourne House they hurried into the house through the back, the darkness hiding their arrival from prying eyes. Elizabeth greeted them with relieved astonishment and enveloped Georgiana in a crushing embrace.

  “My dear girl. Thank God… thank God.”

  Georgiana disengaged herself and whispered, “Let us go upstairs.”

  Elizabeth gave a tiny, puzzled frown but said, “Of course. Durand will have a nice hot bath for you.”

  Georgiana turned to Jonathan Walker and held out her hand.

  “Thank you, Mr. Walker.”

  “You are most welcome, Miss Darcy.” He glanced at the colonel and said, “May I call tomorrow and make sure that you are quite recovered, Miss Darcy.”

  She smiled at that.

  “Please do, Mr. Walker.”

  The colonel saw him to the door while the ladies climbed the stairs.

  ***

  Later, after soaking in hot water for nearly half an hour and washing her hair repeatedly, Georgiana came downstairs to the drawing-room in a morning robe with her hair hanging damply around her face. The colonel was talking quietly with Elizabeth and Mrs. Annesley.

  “Are you ready for some tea, Georgiana, my dear?” Elizabeth asked her.

  “Yes, please.”

  She thought she had never tasted anything so refreshing, and she drank the hot tea thirstily while the colonel took up where he had left off.

  “So Walker held them at gunpoint while I broke open the door to the bedroom where they were held.” He rubbed his shoulder and made a rueful face. “Perhaps I should have taken the time to find the key. My elderly bones are not accustomed to such rigors.” His face suddenly became serious. “But I needed to make sure Georgiana was unhurt. Unfortunately, the scoundrels tried to overpower him while I was releasing the ladies, and he had to defend himself. They are both dead. I would have liked to talk to them and find out who they were working for. We have much to thank Walker for.”

  Georgiana abruptly set her cup on the tray.

  “I am afraid I do not agree with you there, Cousin.”

  Three shocked faces turned towards her.

  “Jonathan Walker was involved in our kidnapping. I think it most likely that he planned the entire affair.”

  There was a jumble of voices as her audience exclaimed, but she held up her hand.

  “At first I was taken in when he pretended to have been captured and imprisoned, but after a couple of days there were a few things which niggled at my mind. Why would our captors so obligingly allow him to share meals with us? It allowed him to play the injured hero to perfection, but what benefit would they get from it? Each time they released him from his ‘prison’ they risked his escape. Then after the first day or so, they kindly took off his leg shackles so it would be easier for him to make a credible escape. It would have been more believable if he had pretended to use my hairpin to open it just before his ‘escape,’ but he must have become impatient with the restrictions of the shackles. What finally opened my eyes, however, was when he kissed my hand upon joining us on the third morning and I could smell the perfume from the fine soap he had washed with. I assure you that we were not given soap, let alone fine French-milled soap. Also, that day he had on a different pair of boots. He must have thought I was too stupid to notice, and they were black, as the previous pair had been, but they were not the same boots and there were no marks of the shackles on the leather.”

  The three others stared at her in horror. Finally, the colonel asked, “What was his purpose, then, in kidnapping you? When he brought us in he lost all chance of obtaining the ransom. Mrs. Darcy was at St. Paul’s with the ransom all afternoon and no one ever came for it.”

  “I believe that his plan was to ingratiate himself with me and with my family with his heroism and obtain my hand with your blessings.”

  “And the ransom demand? It was just a blind to put us off the scent?” Elizabeth asked.

  Georgiana nodded. “Sans doute. He probably realised that I would not consent to marry him before my first Season, if at all, and there was the risk that I would meet someone I preferred to him over the next few months. How could I, or my family, turn him down when he had been instrumental in saving me, and, moreover, when he knew enough to ruin my reputation forever and destroy any chance of a good marriage? It was a subtle and clever plan and might have worked if his vanity or his low regard for my intellect had not caused him to put his personal comforts above the success of his plan.”

  They all sat in silence, digesting her words and fitting them into what information they had. After a few minutes, Elizabeth looked from Georgiana to the colonel.

  “What are we going to do?”

  The colonel reluctantly opened his mouth, but before he could speak Georgiana cut in, startling them both, “There is nothing we can do. This is precisely why he thought he could get away with our kidnapping. In the absolute worst circumstance he could avoid arrest and imprisonment by promising to hold his tongue. He might even be able to extort some money from my family to ensure his co-operation. At best he could succeed and marry a woman with a large fortune and live off her money. At least until it ran out. I should hate to be bound to him when the money ran out.”

  Elizabeth shuddered in horror, but the colonel just stared at Georgiana’s face, his jaw working. She smiled at him.

  “Do not worry about it, dear cousin. I am sure that he will meet a bad end which will pay him back for what he has done, which included murder as well as kidnapping” She paused and looked at her cousin, whose expression showed his shocked awareness of the significance of her statement.

  “He could not allow those men to be questioned,” he said flatly.

  “No… Colonel, I would like to allow him to call tomorrow, as he requested.”

  The colonel leapt to his feet. “Are you mad? You have just said that he is a kidnapper and murderer!”

  “I am not mad. I wish to have a few words with Mr. Walker. I do not want him to be in any doubt about my understanding of the situation.”

  The colonel stared at her in astonishment and then, finally, nodded.

  “If that is what you wish, Cousin. I will make sure I am here when he calls.”

  “Why do you not come to breakfast and then stay the afternoon? I would not want you to miss him.” She looked at him levelly and then smiled.

  The colonel appeared to be rather nonplussed at Georgiana’s calm demeanour after her terrifying experiences, but he worked to recover his self-control and then bid them goodbye and left for his parents’ house. He had sent a message when they had returned, informing them of Georgiana’s rescue, but they did not yet know all the details.

  Chapter 16

  The best-laid plans of Mice and Men

  Gang aft a-gley.

  —Robert Burns, “To a Mouse”

  Walker called as early as propriety allowed the next afternoon and looked sleek and handsome since ridding himself of his shackles. Elizabeth was the only member of the household downstairs when he arrived, but she sent a message up for Georgiana and the colonel, who were ensconced in the music-room, awaiting Walker’s arrival. They arrived simultaneously and Georgiana still wore the determined aspect with which she had stated her observations the night before. Walker jumped up and met Georgiana in two strides, leaning to kiss her hand as she bobbed a curtsey but was circumvented when she pretended not to see his outstretched hand and turned towards the colonel, “Is Mrs. Annesley down? Perhaps I should call her.”

  The colonel answered her, “She said she would be down in a moment.”

  “Well, perhaps I will go ahead and pour then. Mr. Walker?”

  She handed him a cup of tea with a steady hand and poured for the others.

  “Well, Mr. Walker, I thank you for coming so that I can express my feelings about your role in
my rescue.”

  “You do not need to thank me, Miss Darcy,” he demurred.

  “Oh, but indeed I do. I want you to understand my feelings fully in this matter. I have already informed my cousin and my sister of the truth: that you were not only involved in the kidnapping but were most likely the organiser and leader of the entire episode.”

  Walker’s mouth hung open for a moment in shock before he pulled himself together and said, “Miss Darcy, how can you say that? I was as much a prisoner as you and your companion!”

  “It is quite interesting that you were a prisoner and yet you were allowed to bathe with fine perfumed soap, and in spite of being snatched off your horse and shackled you had more than one pair of boots with you.”

  Walker glanced at Elizabeth and then the colonel. His eyes widened briefly when he saw the expression in the colonel’s eyes and the grim set of his mouth and he turned quickly back to Georgiana.

  “Miss Darcy, I am sorry if I have inadvertently offended you, but I have no idea what you are talking about. My only thought was to save you from your attackers.”

  He stood and the others rose.

  Georgiana smiled blandly and said, “I just want to make sure that I am rightly understood, sir. You will never see a penny of Darcy money so you need not waste your time feigning bonhomie and affection. Good day, sir.”

  She turned towards the door with Elizabeth, and Walker made to follow and escape with his air of offended dignity intact, but the colonel said quietly, “A moment, Mr. Walker?”

  Walker paused in indecision, but the door closed behind Georgiana before he could escape. The colonel began speaking as soon as the others were gone, his eyes examining the empty teacup he still held in his hand.

  “My cousin wished to express her feelings and I indulged her because I thought that she deserved to have her say, but I would also like to say a few words. I know as well as you that we cannot call down the force of the law upon you because of the risk to my cousin’s reputation should you make the affair public, as I have no doubt you would do to get your petty revenge. However, I should like you to consider a point or two.” He lifted his eyes to Walker’s and the younger man flinched. Fitzwilliam continued in an offhand, even disinterested, tone. “If I hear the slightest rumour impugning my cousin’s honour, even the smallest vague hint that she is not the innocent that we both know she is, then I will kill you. I do not care who actually starts the rumour; you are the one who will pay with his life. Also consider that I have friends in power and no known connection with you. Who would suspect me if you should suddenly disappear? Do you understand?” He raised his eyes and stared directly into Walker’s.

  Walker stared at him for a moment and then nodded slowly.

  “Yes, I understand. If I keep silent then I am safe?”

  “Only as long as Georgiana’s reputation is safe. Not quite the same thing.”

  “Agreed.”

  Walker offered his hand, but Fitzwilliam looked at it with distaste and Walker flushed, seeming more embarrassed by the snub than by the enumeration of his crimes. He started to turn towards the door, but the colonel spoke again, “One more thing, Walker.”

  “Yes?”

  “Lord and Lady Whitwell are expected at any moment so I would suggest that you depart forthwith. My father tends to have old-fashioned notions about men who victimise young women, and his temper is not as well controlled as mine.”

  Walker left without another word.

  ***

  Lord and Lady Whitwell arrived a half hour after Walker’s departure and were shown into the drawing-room, where the colonel awaited them. As soon as Burton closed the door, Lady Whitwell demanded, “How is Georgiana? Is she hurt? Is Mrs. Annesley injured? Where is she?”

  Fitzwilliam held up his hand to stop the flow of words:

  “Peace, Mother. Georgiana and Mrs. Annesley are quite unharmed. I will send upstairs for her if you will give me a moment.” He looked at his father. “I told you last night what Georgiana had noticed about Walker during their captivity.”

  Lord Whitwell nodded.

  “He called a short while ago, as he had said he would, and Georgiana stood up and threw his perfidy in his face.” A smile flickered briefly over his face. “You should have seen her, Mother. She was magnificent! After she swept out with Mrs. Darcy I had a few more words with Walker about the consequences should he impugn Georgiana’s reputation in any way.”

  His father raised his brows. “And the consequences were?”

  Fitzwilliam’s lips thinned. “Perhaps it is best that you not know.”

  “I see.”

  His mother broke in:

  “Could I see Georgiana now? I must see her with my own eyes and make sure she is safe.”

  Fitzwilliam smiled genially at her. “Yes, Mother.” He rang for a footman and sent word upstairs to Georgiana and Mrs. Darcy that Lord and Lady Whitwell had arrived.

  ***

  After she was embraced and examined and Lady Whitwell had shed a few natural tears over her ordeal, Georgiana comforted and calmed both her aunt and uncle enough that they could turn to other subjects. The first to speak was the colonel, who reluctantly stood and said, “I am sorry to abandon this reunion, but I have several items which I must resolve after my absence from the palace the past few days.” He turned to Georgiana. “I am more pleased than I can say to see you safe at home, little cousin. I am also glad that I will not need to tell your brother when he returns that I lost his precious little sister but can mention it as a past event.”

  Georgiana smiled at him with no trace of irony and said, “I thank you for rescuing me, Cousin. I am much obliged.”

  “Only doing my duty, Miss Darcy. There is no particular merit in that.”

  A week ago she might have bristled at his patronising tone, but she was far too pleased with him to take umbrage.

  When he had departed, Georgiana turned to her aunt and said, “How many days until my presentation? I have rather lost count.”

  “Nine days only, my dear. As soon as you are recovered I am afraid we must go back to our practises.”

  “I am quite recovered now, my dear aunt. Shall we start again tomorrow?”

  Lady Whitwell looked at her dubiously, but she saw that her niece’s colour was high and she seemed in good spirits.

  “If you are sure, my dear. Come to Longford House tomorrow morning and we will finish the fittings. Mrs. Darcy’s and Miss Bennet’s gowns are finished—we told the seamstress that you were ill, so she worked on theirs first.”

  “Oh!” Elizabeth exclaimed, “I almost forgot. Your friend Catherine Freemont has called twice. We told her you were too ill for visitors, so you should let her know that you are well. She was quite concerned.”

  “Dear Catherine! I will send her a note immediately and invite her to tea.”

  Lady Whitwell spoke up, “Georgiana, there is a ball two nights from now, on Monday; it is the first of the debutante balls and is being put on by my friend, Lady Morton. Will you be up to attending, my dear?”

  “Oh yes. I hope the seamstress can finish one of my ballgowns in time! I do not want to wear my little girl clothes to the first ball.”

  “I will hurry her on. If we work very hard in our remaining time you should be quite ready on your presentation day.”

  “I am sure I will be.”

  They all looked at her in astonishment at this surprising comment, and she laughed at their expressions.

  “Do not look so surprised, all of you! After what I have been through this week, I cannot find it in my heart to be nervous about something as insignificant as a presentation at court. Or a ball, for that matter.”

  ***

  The next day they were all involved in the bustle of readying Georgiana for the ball and the continued practises in courtly graces, but Georgiana did not forget her brothe
r. That evening, when Colonel Fitzwilliam arrived to dine with them at Longford House, she drew him aside and asked him, “Cousin, when is my brother to return? I am worried about Elizabeth; she is looking very ill and I am sure it is over her unease regarding him. She was not looking well even before my abduction.”

  Fitzwilliam glanced over at his cousin’s wife and answered quietly, “Yes, she does look ill; I noticed it before. I am sorry, Georgiana, I do not know exactly when he will return. I am sure, however, that even if his business is unfinished he will return for your presentation.”

  “I hope so,” she said, watching Elizabeth. “I do not believe she is sleeping at all, and the terrible worry over me certainly did not do her any good.

  ***

  Elizabeth was, indeed, very worried about Darcy. When the exquisite relief of Georgiana’s recovery had faded, she was more distrait than ever over her husband’s absence. She exerted herself mightily during the day to keep Georgiana’s renewed spirits up, but she was unable to dissemble to herself when she was alone in her room, and sleep seemed further away each night. When she could not avoid a glass, she could see that her face was still strained and white—an appearance that she hoped would be attributed by those outside the family to the stress of Georgiana’s presentation. When she finally fell asleep at night, it was to be visited by fantastic dreams filled with unseen perils and vague fears, which left her more exhausted when she awoke than she had been before retiring.

  She found herself a little irritated that the colonel continued to treat Georgiana as he would a child, even after her queenly performance when she faced down Walker, but she suppressed her feelings, knowing that her prickly mood was a reflection of her worries and not the colonel’s fault. Georgiana, she was pleased to see, appeared quite collected, listening to her uncle and her cousin courteously and occasionally speaking herself. Elizabeth was quite sure that, with her keen perception, her sister felt all of the tensions in the room, and her composure encouraged Elizabeth to make a greater effort to take part in the conversation and keep it flowing smoothly.