A Continued Affection

Part 37

"I do not see why you needed to speak to him at all."

The breakfast table at the Darcys' London house was not large, fitting perfectly in the well-appointed room, but Georgiana could not help but feel lost, longing for some more guests or even a little extra furniture to act as a buffer between herself and her brother.

"I merely wished to say my piece."

"And what was that?"

"To say goodbye," Georgiana amended. "And to see for myself whether he had truly changed."

Darcy harrumphed as if he still did not credit Wickham possible of change. Laying down his fork on one side of his plate, he turned towards his sister, contrite in the face of her possible upset.

"And how do you fare, Georgie, after seeing him again?"

Georgiana let out a breath, before smiling, a little painfully, at her brother.

"I am pleased, at last, to put it all behind me." She reached across the table to Darcy, brushing the back of his hand with her fingertips. "To put it behind all of us." Her eyes grew merry. "Now, if you have finished berating me over being caught in conversation in a public place with George Wickham, may I have my say?"

"I was not caught in conversation with George Wickham..." Darcy grumbled, before catching her eye and sinking into a smile. It was the same smile that had scarcely been off his face since his return home from the assembly last evening and confirmed Georgiana's suspicions even before she had cause to name them.

"You are quite incapable of hiding things from me, Brother. Tell me truly, is everything at last agreed between you and Elizabeth?"

"It is," Darcy said, returning pointedly to his breakfast. "But I argue that I am quite capable of keeping things from you if I choose."

"That is true." Georgiana sighed. "I had no notion of your attachment at first, years ago." She frowned. "How long have you nursed that heartache? You might have shared it, let me help you, as you help me, always."

"There was nothing to be done," Darcy protested. "Nothing you could have done. I have none to blame for any heartache I felt but myself." He paused. "Well, myself and George Wickham."

One glare from Georgiana soon ended this line of debate, and Darcy shot her a contrite smile that lingered a moment too long on his lips to be a mere response. A suspicion floated through Georgiana's mind and she seized it, grabbing hold of her brother's arm so tightly that he yelped and wrenched himself free.

"What was that for?"

"You spoke to Elizabeth!"

"Yes," Darcy said, massaging a spot he was sure would bruise. "Of course I spoke to her. I danced with her, did I not? You saw me speak to her." He kept his gaze averted from her deliberately, or so it seemed to Georgiana, but even so, he could not quite keep his cheeks from colouring.

"Tell me everything!" Georgiana cried.

"Thank you, no. There is nothing much to tell." Darcy returned to his plate, resuming his meal with a calmness that infuriated his sister.

"You might tell me something!" she pouted. "After all, it is all thanks to Richard and I that you were pressed to speak to her at all!"

Darcy looked up from his breakfast, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"I'll have Richard to thank, too, for meddling in my affairs, in that case."

"And Mr Egerton," Georgiana piped up. "And Mary."

Darcy groaned, setting down his fork for the final time and pushing his plate away from him.

"I see. Everybody has been discussing Lizzy and I behind our backs, assuming us incapable of managing our own business."

Georgiana said nothing, merely beamed at her brother for the affectionate nickname that had escaped his lips.

"And you can stop looking at me like that," he said, taking a sip of his coffee. "Or I shall not allow you to have any part in planning our wedding."

His eyes danced merrily and Georgiana threw caution and propriety to the wind, leaping up from her seat and throwing her arms around her brother, deaf to his protests or the fate of his coffee cup, which came very close to being upended over them both.

"Georgiana! Take care!" he said, at last managing to free himself from her grip. He could not quite rid his face of the smile he still wore, however, and Georgiana smoothed down the hair that had been ruffled by her affectionate assault.

"I am so very happy for you, brother."

"I confess I am a little happy for me too," he murmured, looking younger than he had in years, and less careworn that she had seen him in months. "Do you mind it, truly?"

"How could I mind it?" Georgiana exclaimed. "All I want is to see you happy, and I do not think you could have chosen a better person than Elizabeth to make you so." She paused, letting out a long, low sigh. "Although I bitterly regret you could not have managed to do so years ago when first you had her almost within your grasp. Just think how different things might have been!"

Neither one of them would mention Wickham again, not now, but a tender hour passed between brother and sister as they nursed the last of their breakfast and dreamed, happily, of the future to come, and the happy home Pemberley would become with its new mistress in place.