An Old Friend

by Jemima Selkirk

  “He will agree. I know he will.” Georgiana folded up her letter and drank the last of her coffee. “I must get ready for Mr. Walters. I have not practised as much as I might.”

  “I am sure you will do very well for him.”

  Elizabeth knew Georgiana’s music teacher was very impressed with her playing and had told Mr. Darcy that she was one of the most talented players of her age that he had met.

  Georgiana departed to her practising and Elizabeth sipped the last of her chocolate before picking up her letters. As she was about to leave the room, she saw Mr. Darcy had left the newspaper behind. As she picked it up, some letters jumped out at her. She looked more closely. It was a name, a familiar name. Dearborn. She almost tossed the paper aside, but she could not ignore it. With her heart beating hard, she took the paper along with her letters into the small drawing room where she knew she could read undisturbed.

  12

  Sitting down, Elizabeth unfolded the paper. The article was not very long, but the writer wrote of his surprise that the elegant Miss Adeline Dearborn, sister of one Arthur Dearborn, dared to show her face during the London season after her family’s fall from grace and her brother’s embezzlement of monies belonging to several very wealthy families. Embezzlement. Elizabeth was shocked. Could it be true? It must be true. She read the article again, but she learned no more from it. She tried to make sense of it. She could not understand if Miss Dearborn’s family were involved in such a scandal that her husband would want anything to do with her nor the Granthams nor the Montagues. Was this the secret that surrounded Miss Dearborn? It must be, and yet she did not understand why Mr. Darcy had refused to discuss it with her.

  She folded up the paper and sat back to think. Had Miss Dearborn and Mr. Darcy planned to marry and had their plans thwarted by the actions of her brother? Perhaps she was being fanciful, but she could think of nothing else. She was certain there was something bigger than what she was reading in the paper. Unable to think of a satisfactory answer she was about to get up when the door opened, and Mrs. Winter came in to tell her she had a visitor.

  “A visitor for me? Are you certain?” She still did not know many people in London and she was not expecting any visitors, especially at such an early hour.

  “Yes, madam. It is Miss Dearborn and she asked for you.”

  Miss Dearborn. Why would Miss Dearborn ask for her? Mrs. Winter must be mistaken.

  “Are you sure she did not ask for Mr. Darcy?”

  Mrs Winter frowned with annoyance. “Yes madam. She asked for you.”

  Elizabeth hesitated. She was tempted to say she was indisposed, but if she did Miss Dearborn would leave and she might never find out the truth. She smiled at Mrs. Winter. “Please show her in.”

  As the housekeeper went to fetch Miss Dearborn Elizabeth hastily got up, checked her appearance in the mirror over the fireplace and smoothed down her dress. Then just as the door was about to open, she saw the newspaper and quickly pushed it behind a cushion.

  She felt almost breathless as Miss Dearborn swept into the room. She fixed a smile on her face. “Miss Dearborn, this is a surprise.”

  Miss Dearborn was dressed in her customary elegant style, in a dark blue coat and a blue and green bonnet covering her blonde curls. Elizabeth saw immediately she looked tired.

  “Mrs. Darcy, forgive me. I apologise for calling without warning or invitation, but I felt I had to see you before I left London.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes widened at this announcement. She was leaving? But why? Her housekeeper was still standing by the open door.

  “That will be all, Mrs. Winter.”

  The housekeeper nodded and closed the door on them. An awkward silence descended between them. There had been no time for Elizabeth to prepare for this confrontation and she didn’t know what to say.

  “This is a nice room,” said Miss Dearborn.

  Elizabeth smiled. She was certain Miss Dearborn had not called to talk about their furniture or curtains. “Please, sit down.”

  They both sat, perching on the edge of their chairs.

  “It is kind of you to admit me. I wondered if you would,” said Miss Dearborn, smiling slightly.

  “You are an old friend of my husband’s and therefore are always welcome as a guest,” said Elizabeth quickly.

  “An old friend.” Adeline Dearborn sounded weary. “It is true, but I suspect you may have heard gossip that implies we were once much more than that.”

  Their eyes met, but Elizabeth soon looked away. Miss Dearborn was unlike any other woman she had ever met. She had a directness about her that was unusual and unnerving.

  “I am right, am I not?”

  Elizabeth opened her mouth to say something and then she closed it again. What could she say? She did not want Miss Dearborn to think she had been gossiping about her, or even listening to gossip about her and yet she had a yearning to know more. She found herself nervously pleating the skirt of her dress with her fingers.

  “Mrs. Darcy, whatever you have heard, I have no wish to make you unhappy.”

  “I know nothing about you,” stammered Elizabeth looking up.

  Miss Dearborn broke into a smile. “Oh, dear. That is so typical of Darcy. He was never a man to explain his actions. As his wife you must know that.”

  Elizabeth bristled a little. It was not easy to hear another woman speak with such familiarity about her husband. She felt at a disadvantage. Miss Dearborn had known Fitzwilliam in the past and for longer than she had known him. It made her feel very uncomfortable. She smoothed down her skirt and stiffened her shoulders. “Mr. Darcy knows I have no interest in what happened before we met.”

  It was Miss Dearborn’s turn to look embarrassed. “And now I have upset you. It seems I am going to have to keep offering my apologies. Perhaps I can allay your fears and tell you a little about myself.”

  Elizabeth sniffed. Did she really want to hear? Could she believe anything Miss Dearborn said to her? Her manner was open and friendly, but Elizabeth wasn’t sure she trusted her.

  Her voice sounded unnaturally stilted and cold. “Miss Dearborn, I have no interest in delving into private matters which do not concern me.”

  “Unfortunately, there is little that is private anymore.” Miss Dearborn’s tone sounded rueful and Elizabeth did not understand what she meant. Miss Dearborn pointed towards the cushion beside her. Elizabeth was embarrassed to see she had not hidden the newspaper well enough.

  Her cheeks were bright red as she took it out and put in on the table in front of her. “I am sorry.”

  Miss Dearborn looked regretful rather than angry. “Don’t be. I was naïve and thought my return would go unnoticed, but it has not.”

  Elizabeth was about to speak when the door opened, and Mrs. Winter came into the room. She set down a tray with coffee and cake. Elizabeth thanked her but felt annoyed. She had not suggested they needed anything, but she offered her guest the coffee, which she took, and cake, which she declined. It was only when they had both taken a sip of sweet liquid that they resumed their conversation Elizabeth asked the question that had been bothering her since she had first looked at the paper. “Is there any truth in what was written?”

  Miss Dearborn picked it up and read it before putting it down. There were tears in her eyes. “Did my brother embezzle some funds? Yes, he did. Did some families suffer financially? Yes, they did. Some families lost their fortunes. I spent a great deal of time excusing him, saying that he was involved with some crooked businessmen, but he made his own decisions. As well as cheating other people, he gambled away much of our own money. Although I had nothing to do with his actions, I was tainted by association and we were quickly shunned by nearly all good society.”

  Elizabeth listened intently feeling sad for Miss Dearborn as her tale unfolded. She remembered how she and Jane had worried about being shunned by all good society when Lydia, their youngest sister, ran off with Mr. Wickham. Lydia was now married to him, thanks to the actions of Mr. Darcy,
but they may well have been in the same position as Miss Dearborn, shunned by their friends.

  “And you were a friend of Mr. Darcy’s?”

  “I was indeed. Our families have known each other for years. Our fathers were very good friends. Fitzwilliam was one of the few people who did not abandon us. When I described him as an old friend, I should say that he was a good friend, a very good friend. He continued to invite me to dine at Pemberley. It was very brave of him, but he did not think I should be tainted by the sins of my brother.”

  Elizabeth felt a sudden warm glow as she thought of her husband showing faith in their friendship and not simply turning away. He was kinder than any man she knew and that was one of the reasons why she loved him so much. Elizabeth took another sip of her coffee and then put her cup down. “But you eventually left?”

  Some of the signs of strain had left Miss Dearborn’s face and she sat back in the seat. “I did. Not everyone was as kind as Fitzwilliam. Eventually I decided with Fitzwilliam’s help to move to France. He was kind enough to give me enough money to make my own way, and it is there that I have resided for the past five years.”

  Elizabeth stared at the older woman in admiration. She could not imagine what it would be like to live in another country. She had found it daunting to move to another county. “And what made you come back?” she asked curiously.

  Adeline Dearborn sighed. “I was restless. I missed England so very much and I thought by now people would have forgotten. It was foolish of me.”

  Elizabeth found herself warming to her unexpected visitor. “I am sorry. I had no idea.”

  “I had thought I could slip back unnoticed. There are a few people who were kind enough to admit me, but now I have disgraced myself and embarrassed them by pouring wine over the Earl of Villiers.”

  Elizabeth noticed Miss Dearborn’s lips were quivering. Was she about to cry?

  Miss Dearborn shocked her once again by roaring with laughter. “Did you see all their shocked faces? I must say, I did rather enjoy it.”

  Elizabeth could not help smiling at her mirth. “I think he deserved it, though I have to admit, I was one of those that was shocked.”

  Miss Dearborn finished her coffee. “He did. I have never been anyone’s whore.”

  Elizabeth believed her. “He is not a gentleman.”

  “No… but I’m afraid there are people who believe him.” She looked sad once more. “I do not care for myself, but I feel for Darcy. He does not deserve this and nor do you. I hope you will believe me when I say I never returned to cause you trouble.”

  Elizabeth was touched at her concern. “Mr. Darcy stood by you and that was the right thing to do. Our friends will stand by us.”

  “I hope you are right, I really do. My family have caused enough unhappiness.”

  Elizabeth was almost sorry the older woman was leaving. It did not see fair that she should continue to suffer for her brother’s actions.

  Miss Dearborn stood up. “I’m glad that we have had this time to talk. I did not want to leave without seeing you.”

  Elizabeth did not move. She was glad that she now knew the whole story, but she felt something was missing. “Why did you come?”

  Miss Dearborn sat down again, holding her purse and gloves in her lap. She stared unflinchingly at Elizabeth. “I thought you might have a question only I can answer. You do, don’t you?”

  Elizabeth nodded. Adeline Dearborn was a remarkable woman. She had never met anyone who spoke so frankly. Mr. Darcy had often been appalled at her own outspokenness, but she had never dared to speak as Miss Dearborn did.

  Her voice shook as she spoke. “Mr. Darcy would be angry if he knew I had asked…”

  Miss Dearborn put her gloves and purse on the table and getting up from her chair sat down beside Elizabeth. Elizabeth could smell the flowery perfume that wafted about her, and see the heavy layer of powder on her cheeks.

  “Darcy is not here. And what you want to know is if I hoped to marry him.”

  Elizabeth wondered if Miss Dearborn could read her mind. “Did you?”

  Miss Dearborn’s clear blue eyes did not flinch or look away and her voice was sanguine “I think I did once,” she said slowly. “He is a handsome devil.”

  Elizabeth’s hand covered her mouth as she stifled a laugh. Only Miss Dearborn would make such an outrageous remark. “That’s rather forward of you. In case you have forgotten, you are talking about my husband.”

  Miss Dearborn laughed unrepentantly, “It is isn’t it, but I can promise you that Darcy never wanted to marry me. He is the kindest of men who helped an old friend when she had no one else to turn to. I should have told him I was hoping to return and no doubt he would have counselled me against such action, but I was always impetuous. After last night I doubt there will be many more invitations to balls or dinners.”

  Elizabeth felt sorry for her. She was sure that beneath the laughter it must hurt to be rejected in such a manner. “But where will you go?”

  Miss Dearborn looked quite composed. “I am going back to France. There is someone there, a good man who cares nothing of my past and has offered me marriage, and I shall accept.”

  “Is that really what you want?”

  Miss Dearborn sighed and pulled on her gloves. “He is a decent man who will take good care of me.”

  “I hope you will be happy,” said Elizabeth quietly.

  “I will be.” Miss Dearborn stood up. “Now I must really go. Will you say goodbye to Darcy for me?”

  Elizabeth hastily stood up. “You don’t have to leave. He said he was going out, but I think he may still be at home.”

  Miss Dearborn glanced at her appearance in the mirror, tucking in a stray curl before turning back to Elizabeth. “I must go. I have arrangements to make. I leave early tomorrow.”

  Elizabeth escorted her to the front door. “It was kind of you to call.”

  Just as Miss Dearborn was about to leave, Mr. Darcy appeared from the study. He seemed startled to see them together.

  “Miss Dearborn. What are you doing here?”

  Adeline Dearborn cut across him. “Darcy, do not be alarmed. I only wanted to talk to Elizabeth. Goodbye.”

  She had done it again. Elizabeth had never given her permission for Miss Dearborn to address her by her first name. Yet again she had broken the convention of acceptable social behaviour. She supposed she had to be grateful Miss Dearborn had not tried to kiss Mr. Darcy.

  “Goodbye, Miss Dearborn.”

  He sounded strangely formal, but Miss Dearborn did not appear to be upset. “Goodbye, Mrs. Darcy.” She winked at Elizabeth and with that final defiant gesture she was gone, hurrying out to a waiting carriage.

  Elizabeth watched until the carriage and pulled away and disappeared from sight. She closed the door and turned to speak to her husband, but he had already gone back to the study. She was about to follow when Georgiana came down the stairs, asking her to come and listen to the music she was going to play that evening when the Gardiners came to dinner. Elizabeth wanted to say ‘later’ but she was mindful of her promise to Georgiana that there was nothing amiss between herself and Mr. Darcy. She followed Georgiana to the drawing room.

  13

  Elizabeth was eager to talk to Mr. Darcy, but when she went downstairs again, he had left the house, so she turned her thoughts to their evening with the Gardiners and she summoned both Mrs Winter and Cook to go over the arrangements. She knew Cook was eager to get back to her kitchen, but she would not let her go until she had been assured that everything would be perfect. She also questioned Mrs. Winter who insisted she had everything in hand and her relatives would find nothing wanting. Elizabeth hid a smile at the resentment in her voice. She only cared that everything was in place to ensure the success of the evening.

  She also spent some time choosing which gown to wear and then laughing at herself as her protestations to Mrs. Gardiner that she had no interest in dresses or fashion quickly turned out to be untrue. She wanted M
r. Darcy to be proud of her.

  “Lizzy, I have never seen you look more beautiful,” declared Mrs. Gardiner on her arrival, kissing her warmly. “Mr. Darcy, I hope you are proud of her.”

  “I am Mrs. Gardiner. There is no woman more beautiful than her.”

  Elizabeth laughed. It was nice for Mr. Darcy to flatter her, but she found it embarrassing and the laughter in his voice suggested he was teasing her. She was glad when the gong sounded to summon them to dinner. Mr. Gardiner offered her his arm and took her to the dining room, holding out her chair for her, before sitting down to the left of her.

  Cook had surpassed herself preparing a meal of sumptuous dishes and laughter rang out as they enjoyed the food and each other’s company. With Miss Dearborn gone, Elizabeth felt more relaxed than she had since their arrival in London. Several times in the evening she felt Mr. Darcy’s eyes upon her, but when their eyes met she had no idea what he was thinking.

  After the meal, Mr. Darcy and Mr. Gardiner enjoyed some fine claret before joining the rest of the party in the drawing room. Soon afterwards Georgiana sat down at the piano and played the piece she had chosen for the occasion and they all sat entranced as her fingers moved over the keys. When she had finished everyone clapped and Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were so full of praise that Georgiana played a second piece.

  When she had finished Mrs. Gardiner turned to Elizabeth. “That was quite beautiful. Lizzy it is sometime since we have heard you play. Are you going to entertain us?”

  “Not on this occasion. I would not want to spoil the pleasure you have had listening to Georgiana.”

  “That is nonsense. You play very well,” said Georgiana loyally.

  Elizabeth smiled. She knew she would never reach the heights of Georgiana. She liked to play for her own pleasure but was never really at easy playing for others. Just as she was going to suggest they had more drinks a thought suddenly struck her. “Mr. Darcy, perhaps Georgiana could play for us, while we sing.” She glanced at her husband wondering whether he would accept the challenge.