Page 110 of To Love And To Cherish
Lydia accepted the handkerchief and wiped her eyes. "I’m crying from relief, Lizzy. You’ve removed my greatest fear. Mamma has written for years, telling me to learn every accomplishment so she can marry me off to a rich man. She says it won’t matter if he’s old, so long as I give him an heir. I have lived in dread since her first letter."
Elizabeth held her sister close. "You need not fear her anymore. She cannot harm you. Mr. Darcy and I would like to invite you to live with us. His sister Georgiana is your age, and I think you would suit one another well. You need not decide today."
Lydia smiled. "I would love to live with you. My best friend left last month, and my next dearest is leaving soon. I have no wish to return to Longbourn into mamma’s clutches."
"Then it is settled. There is also to be a ball given by Mr. Darcy's aunt, the Countess of Matlock, in our honor. Kitty and Georgiana will attend, and you are invited too, with the same dancing restrictions as they. If you wish to come, you must be fitted for a ball gown. We will begin shopping in two days. And be warned, the four of us will continue lessons in etiquette, though you may already be well-versed in that subject."
"A ball? Yes! Please, Lizzy. I want to dance at a ball."
Elizabeth smiled. "Then I shall return for you tomorrow. Would you like to visit Aunt Gardiner with me this afternoon?"
"Oh yes!"
Lydia dashed upstairs to collect her pelisse, gloves, and bonnet.
At Gracechurch Street, Elizabeth informed her aunt of Lydia’s new living arrangements.
Madeline Gardiner hugged Lydia warmly. "It all came out well in the end, my dear. You’re safe at last."
When Uncle Gardiner entered, Lydia embraced him and shared her news. The rest of the visit passed in happy conversation and tea before Elizabeth took her sister back to the academy and returned home.
That evening, in the drawing room, Elizabeth turned to Georgiana as they waited for dinner.
"Georgiana, I wanted you to know that my sister Lydia will be moving in with us. If you ever feel the arrangement is not to your comfort, please tell me. This is your home."
Georgiana looked thoughtful. "What is she like?"
Elizabeth laughed. "Taller than I am by about three inches. Golden-haired, very like Jane. I barely know her since she has been away at school since she was eleven. We were not permitted to correspond, but we did so in secret."
Georgianna was curious but was too polite to ask about the secrecy and said instead, "We shall see what comes. If your sister is like you and Kitty, I shall be happy. I’ve missed Kitty so."
Darcy arched a brow, feigning dismay. “Is my company so dull, little sister? Must I up my efforts? I could learn to juggle or recite poetry, to liven things up a bit.”
Georgiana turned to him in dismay, then caught the glint in his eye and giggled.
Later, as Elizabeth lay in bed, Darcy drew her close. "From your tone at dinner, it seems it went well with your sister?"
"It did. She seems thoughtful, even reasonable, and is not the spoiled child I remember. The school did her a world of good. I barely recognized the polite, polished girl who greeted me."
He chuckled. "She sounds like her sister Elizabeth."
She kissed him, and he drew her into his chest, their conversation dissolving into kisses and a loving embrace.
The following day, Elizabeth and Georgiana returned to the academy to collect Lydia. The girls were introduced, and Georgiana offered to help carry Lydia’s bird, in its little cage, to the coach. Upon arriving at Darcy House, Georgiana led the quiet girl to her new chambers and helped her settle in.
Darcy emerged from his study in search of Elizabeth. Finding her in the corridor, he smiled.
"How did it go with your sister?"
"She had precious little to bring. Liddy says she grew an inch and a half in the past three months and had to give away most of her gowns as they were indecently short."
He laughed. "It seems you must outfit yet another Bennet sister."
Elizabeth leaned in, her voice low and teasing.“The wife of the formidable Fitzwilliam Darcy can afford a great many things, though none so dear as the attentions of her very masculine, very handsome husband."
He grinned and drew her into his arms. “Bewitching, teasing woman.”
His lips brushed a lingering path along the curve of her neck, descending to her shoulder, when a faint sound at thedoor stilled them both. He drew back at once, schooling his expression, just as the butler entered bearing the morning post.
