by Greer Boyd
Annabel was so deep in thought that she did not hear her cousin Georgiana speaking to her. It was only when Georgiana touched her hand, causing her to jump suddenly, that she realized just how deep in thought she had been.
“Annabel. Is something troubling you?” Georgiana inquired as she looked at her young cousin with concern.
Grateful for her cousin’s sensitivity, Annabel responded eagerly, “Would you mind if I speak with you . . . before I speak with Mama?”
Georgiana, noting the look of great concern covering her young cousin’s face, suggested they move to her study. Immediately after she sat down, Annabel began to recount where her thoughts had led her. “Is it possible to become so comfortable with another person . . . especially a young man . . . that it could lead to a compromise?” she worried as she spoke.
Georgiana gathered her young cousin’s hands and rested them on her lap, straightened her shoulders to make herself feel more confident, and proceeded to speak, “Yes, indeed, it is.”
Annabel was stunned. Then, Georgiana dropped their clasped hands, and went to the bell pull. When the maid appeared, she asked the young woman to summon Aunt Eleanor and Elizabeth and to bring a tea service for four.
Somewhat discomfited, Annabel asked, as apprehension suddenly swept over her, “Why are you asking Mama and Elizabeth to come here? Have I done something wrong?”
“No, Annabel, you have not. But there are things that you should know,” answered Georgiana, as she slowly walked back to her seat and unconsciously began to clutch and release her fists.
Once the ladies were gathered and tea was served without a word being spoken, Georgiana turned her attention again to Annabel, whose discomfort seemed to be rising sharply. “Annabel, please do not feel uncomfortable. It is ‘I’ who need the advice of older and wiser counsel.”
Looking away from her young cousin to her aunt, she explained as she held the saucer and cup on her lap, “Annabel came to me today to ask a question that I was unprepared to answer fully.” Then she recounted their exchange, and concluded by saying, “Annabel’s question is a good thing and a direct result of the instruction that you have been giving to the other young ladies here at Pemberley House.”
Taking a deep but shaky breath, she continued, “She is much wiser than I, because she saw immediately a danger that I did not.” Annabel turned her head swiftly from her mother’s face to Georgiana, searching for any clue regarding what she might say next.
“You see, I have a dilemma. If she is old enough to recognize the potential danger and smart enough to ask for clarification, I feel that she should know what can happen. But . . .” a small sob interrupted and her hands began to shake as she continued. “But I do not want to lose her respect in the telling.”
It was only when Aunt Eleanor enfolded Georgiana in her arms to comfort her that she realized the older, and much wiser, woman had heard her confession to Elizabeth.
Soon, it was Aunt Eleanor’s turn to speak. “Georgiana, I have told Annabel many things about her body as she has gotten older, and I agree that if she is old enough to ask about situations of an adult nature then she is old enough for an adult response.” Releasing Georgiana from her embrace, she continued to hold her hands tightly. “I only regret that I did not do the same for you.” Then she looked at her daughter fondly and continued. “Annabel, I would not want you to feel embarrassed in any way, but I think that it would be beneficial for Georgiana to tell you her story.”
Elizabeth moved behind Georgiana’s chair and placed her hand on her shoulder in a silent show of sisterly support, while the young woman once again told the story of Ramsgate in its entirety, but this time without revealing the name of the young man. Annabel blushed brightly throughout, but gazed steadily at Georgiana’s face. When the story was ended, she leapt from her chair and hugged Georgiana so tightly that both had difficulty breathing. Only then did Georgiana name “George Wickham.”
“Oh, what an evil man,” she cried, wiping tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Annabel,” Elizabeth spoke the girl’s name softly. While Aunt Eleanor passed her pocket square to her daughter, she continued. “That is what Georgiana wanted you to know most of all about all that she has told you. George Wickham was truly an evil man who deliberately set out to try to compromise a naïve young woman. I believe that you are not so naïve as Georgiana was at that time. But, let me tell you another story that has the potential to be equally as bad.”
Looking at her mother before she slowly turned back to Elizabeth, Annabel queried, “What could ever be as bad as what happened to Georgiana?”
“Two things could be as bad or worse,” insisted Elizabeth with a tone in her voice that made it difficult for Annabel to look away. “Georgiana could have lost her virtue and then possibly have become with child. Should either of those things have happened, her place in society would have been lost, and she could only have survived by the benevolence of her family. If they were not kind to her, she could have been thrown out into the world alone.”
Then, with a rueful smile, she went on, “In my particular case, I feel myself drawn almost uncontrollably to your cousin, Mr. Darcy. I cannot explain how or why, nor do I wish to try to do so.”
Whether it was Elizabeth’s disclosure of her feeling for Darcy or the fact that adult women were talking to her as an equal, Annabel sat straighter in her chair to listen as Elizabeth continued, “But I asked for Georgiana to assist me with my weakness. To help me to not be alone with him because I do not want to create a situation that society would frown upon. I do not want to hurt him nor do I wish to hurt myself. Annabel, there is no shame in recognizing a weakness and asking for help. However, there is shame in allowing a weakness to go unchecked and, in doing so, thereby invite a compromising situation to occur.”
“Oh, Mama,” exclaimed Annabel, now blushing even more furiously, “I wanted to talk with Georgiana because I realized that I feel very comfortable with Nate, and I wanted to know if that was wrong.”
“Annabel, my child.” replied Aunt Eleanor with a knowing laugh, as she put her arm around her daughter’s shoulder and drew her closer, “we are all aware of your feeling for Nathan and of his feelings for you. I truly believe there is nothing for you to worry about with Nathan but we have from the beginning taken a watchful eye with you both. Still, anytime that you need to talk about anything, please feel free to come to any one of the three of us. You will not be turned away.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than a soft knock was heard at the door. When Georgiana opened it, she started to smile. Then kneeling down on one knee, she asked, “Master Thomas. Anne Elizabeth. May I help you?”
“Mama?” asked Thomas looking over her shoulder and into the room.
“Your mother is sitting right over there,” she pointed in Elizabeth’s direction.
Then, both children ran to Elizabeth as Nurse Lauren walked slowly behind them to take a seat in the far corner of the room. Thomas handed her the book of sonnets she had been reading to them in the nursery the night before.
“Why, Thomas,” inquired Elizabeth brightly as she took the book and gently ran her fingers through his hair, “do you want me to read to you?”
“Peez,” he replied, quickly followed by, “Peez,” from Anne Elizabeth.
As everyone started laughing, Georgiana took Thomas onto her lap, while, Annabel took Anne Elizabeth onto hers. Aunt Eleanor and Elizabeth leaned back in their chairs, and Elizabeth began to read.
The lilt of the words providing a soothing background, Georgiana’s mind wandered and her eyes traveled to the window where the gentle breeze ever so slightly fluttered the drapery. She realized she would have to tell her story two more times: to Piers and to the rest of his family.
Per Georgiana’s request, the following morning Elizabeth arranged for a private meeting in the smaller sitting room, where she and Aunt Eleanor could be with Georgiana as she told her story to the D’Arcy women. She did not explain
in the detail that she had with Annabel, yet each sister had tears in her eyes as the story was complete. With no hesitation, they raced to hug her and tell her how much they loved her and how proud they were of her for not letting Wickham’s attempted seduction claim her joy for life.
When she had finally regained her composure, she told them softly, “I have one other to whom I must tell my story . . . Piers.”
Rebecca pulled her from the chair and gently held her by the shoulders as she softly told her, “Go to the flower garden behind the house. I will ask Piers to come to you there. You will have privacy for your conversation, but will still be in full view from the sitting room.”
As Georgiana departed for the flower garden, Rebecca went in search of her brother. She found him as he was exiting Darcy’s study. “Piers,” allowing a sense of urgency to colour her tone she continued, “Georgiana wishes to speak with you . . . alone. She is in the garden for privacy, but the two of you will be observed from the small sitting room.” Looking at him fully in the face as her eyes bore into his, she concluded, “Listen carefully as she speaks and open your heart to her.”
With a touch of impatience, fueled by a bit of embarrassment, he replied, “I believe you of all people know how my heart is regarding Georgiana.”
“I do, which is why I came to ask you to meet with her immediately. She has a great burden, and you must listen to all that she has to say, and I pray that you do not close your mind or your heart to her.”
Suddenly alert and almost overcome with concern for Georgiana, Piers reached for his sister’s hand, “Rebecca. What is wrong? Why are you so serious?”
“Because I know how the two of you feel about each other. This is a serious matter that she desires to discuss with you, and it may truly affect your future relationship. She is waiting.” With one final meaningful glance, she slowly turned and walked back up to the sitting room.
Piers walked out of Pemberley House into the flower garden in the small courtyard, where he found Georgiana seated on one of the marble benches. She was so deeply in thought that he was almost upon her before she noticed his approach.
“Piers,” exclaimed Georgiana peering up at him from her seat on the bench, the knuckles on both hands whitened by her grip on the seat. “Thank you for coming so promptly. If there had been a great delay, I am not sure if I would have had the courage to be able to say what I feel must be said.”
Gently patting the bench to indicate her desire for him to sit, he hesitantly asked, “For heaven’s sake, Georgiana, what is going on?”
“Piers, there is something that I must tell you, but I have to tell you of it from the beginning. Will you listen and not speak a word until I have finished?” She spoke the works calmly willing him to do as she asked.
“Of course,” he replied, sitting on the bench as she directed, but turning to fully face her.
Georgiana stood as she nervously smoothing her hands down her dress and then clasped them tightly. She slowly paced back and forth and began to tell her story, “When I was but fifteen . . .”
Part of the way through, she sat back down on the bench. A bit further along, Piers jumped to his feet and strode purposefully back and forth in front of her, but she continued with her story and he did not interrupt. Then, he sat back down beside her and took her hands in his. Finished with her story, she lowered her eyes, and with a catch in her voice, whispered, “I had to tell you about Wickham’s attempted seduction of me. But most of all, I had to tell you . . . I had to tell you of MY part in it. If . . .” Now sobbing softly, she brought her eyes up to look deeply into his, “If we are to continue as I would truly like for us to, you had to know so that you could decide whether or not you wished to be associated with me.”
“Associated with you?” he struggled not to shout. “Georgiana, I wish for us to be so much more than associated.” Impulsively, he took her in his arms, kissed her most passionately, and hugged her close. “I had wanted to talk to your brother about a courtship but, if you will have me, I would like to ask for an engagement.”
Stunned by his disclosure, Georgiana pled, “Will you still have ME after all that I have told you?”
“More than ever,” acknowledged Piers, as he held her by the shoulder with one hand and gently extracted a rose petal blown into her hair by the wind. “I want to marry you, and to protect you, and to take care of you for the rest of your life.”
“If you are sure,” Georgiana replied, her face transforming from worry to near ecstasy, “then the answer is yes, with all my heart, yes.”
“Then, I will go to your brother immediately.” “And, I shall go to your sisters.”
“No need,” offered Piers looking over her head to the French doors opening on the main floor of the house. “They are all coming through the door right now probably planning to box my ears for kissing you.” He laughed loudly, “I do hope you will defend my honor,” then he bent down and gave her a quick peck on the lips before he turned to leave her.
“Brother,” shouted Rebecca as anger spread over her face, “what is this?”
“Why not discuss that with your future sister, while I go to speak to her brother?” answered Piers with the biggest smile they had seen in many years.
Maryann rushed as she pushed past Rebecca and went to where Georgiana stood smiling almost as broadly as Piers. “Oh Georgiana, are we truly to be sisters?”
“If Brother agrees,” a broad and bright smile on her face, “it is my fondest wish.”
Aunt Eleanor took over, “Then, I shall get with Mrs. Reynolds to begin preparation for a grand engagement ball to be held two weeks from now.”
“Why two weeks, Aunt?” asked Georgiana.
“Why, to give the other young ladies time for their gentlemen to travel back to Pemberley, of course,” said Aunt Eleanor, as the wind swept away a veritable chorus of laughter, followed by exuberant hugs all around.
Meanwhile, Piers had almost reached the doorway to enter Pemberley House, when he was met by a very red-faced and very angry Darcy, who was sputtering as he tried to maintain his composure. “What is the meaning of this, Mr. D’Arcy? Compromising my sister and in plain view of my guests and servants. You had . . .”
“I had better have a very good excuse for my actions. I know. But, in the excitement of Georgiana’s agreeing to marry me, I was overcome with joy and temporarily overstepped the bounds of propriety,” interrupted Piers.
Momentarily stunned, Darcy placed his hand on Piers’ shoulder, “Shall we talk in my study?”
“Of course,” replied Piers continuing to smile broadly as he looked back at Georgiana and saw her surrounded by his sisters, cousins, and most of the other ladies at Pemberley House.
CHAPTER 14
Mary had been spending a great deal of her time with Jane and Charles and was also most often in the company of David Fitzwilliam. On this particular morning, while Elizabeth had been meeting with Georgiana and the D’Arcy ladies, she had ridden out with David, Jane, and Charles. David had shown them several of the places that he and Richard had played with Darcy and Georgiana as children, and eventually they had ended up by the small stream in the edge of the woods where Darcy’s father had died.
They dismounted and let their horses wander to the stream to drink and calmly graze on the bright green grass that lined the banks. Walking over to a large rock outcropping, they sat on the flat surface of several rocks that almost seemed to have been arranged by Nature to form a cozy sitting area. He told them of what had happened to Darcy’s father and how that had effectively changed the direction of Darcy’s life from that of a carefree first son to a serious master of a great estate at a relatively young age.
“It was brought home to me in a very real way how fragile our lives truly are,” offered David, as he ran his fingers through his hair. Looking at Charles and then back to Mary he continued, “I have always lived my life with a bit of reckless abandon and a carefree attitude, but I am not a fool. I try to treat everyone fairly
regardless of rank and have long known that matters of finance are beyond me.
Therefore, I choose to leave such matters to those who know better than I, and I made that decision after a great deal of consultation with my father, Anne, and Darcy.”
He continued: “My current investments are a good deal more than modest and allow me a very reasonable return, which is promptly reinvested. Plus, my father provides me a generous allowance. But, one day, I will be the Earl of Matlock and heir to the Estate of Matlock and the accompanying family fortune. I hope you will believe me when I say I truly hope that day is in the far distant future.”
At this point Mary’s look was questioning, verging on alarm. As Charles and Jane listened intently without interfering, he went on, “Mary, I love you very much and cannot see my future without you in it. Knowing my prospects are good, will you consent to be my wife?”