A Continued Affection

Part 3

"I do not believe I have ever appreciated how wide these corridors are!"

Fitzwilliam Darcy's lips quirked into a smile he barely succeeded in concealing and he did his best to disguise his amusement at Caroline Bingley's attempts to outdo her own previous observations. She was effusive in her compliments, as always, and his London house, whilst elegant, was surely not worthy of the praises she sought to lavish upon it.

"They are no wider than any other in London," he replied, when at last he thought himself able to do so sensibly. "I trust your own house is just as well-apportioned."

Caroline's eyes flashed as if she detected some hint of criticism and Darcy forced a painful smile onto his face. "I fear I am taking up too much of your time, Miss Bingley." He turned to her brother, a step or two behind them on the tour of Darcy's London house that Caroline had somehow persuaded them to embark upon. "And you, Charles. Surely you have tasks of your own to attend to."

"And what could be more agreeable than calling on dear friends?" Caroline put in, eagerly drawing the attention of both gentlemen back to herself. She came to a stop before a painting and paused to admire it.

"My mother," Darcy offered, in answer to the question she had not yet asked. "Come, let us return to the parlour. I am sure, should you wish to walk, you might find more enjoyable places to do it than the corridors of an oft-empty house!"

Caroline frowned, and Darcy read some fleeting annoyance in her features, but not with him. She was irritated with herself, he guessed, that she had not been quick enough to summon a compliment of either this portrait or its subject that might press him to speak more.

"Yes, do let's sit down!" Charles said, stifling a yawn. "We have already walked several laps of St James' Park this morning until you decreed there was nobody there worth speaking to and insisted upon us calling here..."

Bingley's words trailed off when his sister shot him a murderous glance and again Darcy was forced to conceal his amusement behind a veiled cough.

"I am pleased to hear you are enjoying the diversions London has to offer, Charles," Darcy said, pushing open the door to the parlour and ushering Caroline across the threshold. "Although, for walking, I suppose Hertfordshire cannot be outdone."

"I must prefer a park to the wildness of the countryside," Caroline declared, with an arch tilt of her head.

Darcy's eyebrows lifted at the notion of Hertfordshire being thought in any way wild, and he had spoken again almost without meaning to.

"Then you must never come to Derbyshire, Miss Bingley."

Caroline, by some miracle, kept her smile fixed, although Darcy was certain the effort pained her. He looked away, summoning a tray of refreshments with the wave of one hand, and allowed her a moment to collect herself again. Caroline Bingley was transparent in her quest for his affections and whilst he did not seek to encourage her by any degree, he was in a good mood that afternoon and so afforded her a little more grace than he otherwise might.

As comfortable as Netherfield Park was and as generous a host as his friend had been, Darcy could not help but be grateful to be in his own home once again, surrounded by his own belongings, his own people. He might socialise as he saw fit - which was rarely - and with those he chose to see - who were few. His throat tightened. He had not yet made any effort to seek out two other parties from Hertfordshire, although he did not doubt that, before long, he would find his way to Egerton's house and renew the acquaintance that had begun so ignominiously in the countryside. Despite their rocky beginning, he liked Sidney Egerton, and all the more for his perseverance in the face of trial, of which he had surely faced a great deal in his relatively young life. Beyond that, Darcy felt a strange responsibility for the man's fate, knowing now that George Wickham had had a hand to play in the blindness that had curtailed an otherwise energetic, ambitious young man. Will I forever hold myself responsible for Wickham's misdeeds? It was a rhetorical question: he knew the answer even before he had voiced it. Wickham had, and always would be, Darcy's problem to manage. The man knew it and rejoiced in it. He could only hope that, being in London, he might at least succeed in buying himself a little time before he was forced to intervene on Wickham's behalf again. His thoughts shifted, and he realised, with a start, that Caroline had begun to speak once more, waxing lyrical about certain other delights of London society. He shifted in his seat, forcing a smile onto his features and turned to listen all the more attentively to her words, to make up for the way his attention had wandered, to begin with.

"..I am eager to dance again - really dance, I mean. You know one can hardly consider those country assemblies in light of all that London has to offer."

"I rather enjoyed them," Charles put in, ignoring the flash of irritation in his sister's eyes. His smile grew. "Why, without the Meryton Assembly, we might never have met the Bennets!"

"My point entirely!" Caroline muttered, tossing her head as if to illustrate the way she would dearly wish to throw off the yoke of The Bennets upon her life and her brother's.

"Have you heard of their arrival, yet, Darcy?" Bingley addressed his friend, and Darcy turned sharply towards him.

"I? Why should I hear of their arrival? If anyone ought to receive correspondence from them, I dare say it should be you!" He had denied the matter too swiftly and sharply, he realised it too late, as both Bingley and his sister fixed him with looks of surprise. Darcy cleared his throat and began again, straining to keep his voice neutral and deny any agitation Bingley's suggestion brought.

"I have heard nothing, but then I have little cause to go as far as Cheapside at present."

Caroline sniffed, opening her mouth to say that she thought it likely he had little cause to go as far as Cheapside ever at all, but Darcy circumvented the comment.

"I have neglected to call on the Egerton's, though, and that is a concern I plan on remedying this very afternoon." He brightened, persuaded of his action. "I left a card there the other day and will call there later. I am sure you would be quite as welcome as I, should you wish to accompany -"

Darcy's words trailed off, as the sound of footsteps caught his attention. It had succeeded in surprising his friends, too, as all three heads turned towards the parlour door even before it opened, admitting a surprisingly ruffled servant.

"Miss Georgiana has arrived, sir. I shall make up her room and add to the tray, for I dare say she will want to take refreshments with you after her journey."

Darcy's throat was dry, so his response, when it came, was little more than a croak.

Georgiana, here? He frowned, reaching up to massage the creases from his forehead and trying to make sense of his sister's sudden and surprising reappearance. The letter! He swallowed the urge to curse aloud at his foolishness. He had penned a letter in jest, almost, at least one he had never intended on sending, designed to pacify Caroline Bingley and end in the fire. It had, of course, been sent, and his own corrective must have followed too late to keep Georgiana from acting on it. His frown darkened. How came she to know, then, that he was in London? His falsehood had summoned her to Hertfordshire....

"Brother!"

He had not time to puzzle the matter out, for here was his sister, flying across the threshold of their familiar parlour and into his arms for a welcome embrace.

"Georgiana!" His expression could not help but soften when he turned it upon her, but he recalled himself to the presence of his guests almost immediately and turned her to greet them. "You recall Mr Bingley and his sister?"

"I should say so!" Georgiana smiled prettily, greeting them both with a curtsey. "What providence you should be here also." Their tray arrived, and her eyes lit up. "Oh, is that tea? Thank goodness, for I am parched." She laid a hand on Darcy's arm, and he led her towards a chair beside the fire. "I sent Miss Bates upstairs to rest a while. Tiring seems to have taken its toll on my poor companion..."

She chattered happily, conjuring hopes and plans for the coming days as easily as if this had been in her mind for months, not moments.

Caroline brightened, for she was as fond of Georgiana as it was possible to be, above and beyond her apparent play for Darcy's affections. Charles, too, treated her with all the affection of a second brother and their small group soon fell to planning for an enjoyable stay in town. Darcy spoke little but watched his sister's face carefully, trying to glean, from the shadows that played there, what had conspired to bring her to London and whether she was aware of Wickham's presence but a few miles away in Hertfordshire.