Page 53 of Her Whole Heart
This was met by Lady Henrietta casting her eyes to the ceiling. “I thought Georgiana might learn something about the way things work for women, something none of you understand.”
“You are right about that,” Fitz grumbled. “And if this is the way they go about things, I am grateful I do not.”
Lady Henrietta addressed Darcy. “I believed that you asking me to invite her along meant Georgiana was old enough, Cousin. I did not realise I would have to act as her nanny, and it is unfair of you to ask it of me. Mrs. Smith was there. She ought to have kept better watch.”
Milton shook his head. “Oh come now, Henrietta, we all know that Mrs. Smith is naught but your silent shadow, meant to lend you an air of propriety. Georgiana wasyourcharge.”
This was met by an exasperated sigh.
Before Darcy could speak, Fitz snapped. “She is butfifteen, you contemptible child. Still young and in need of gentle female guidance, not . . .” he broke off, his fists clenched at his side.
“If not for the swift actions of Miss Elizabeth, your cousin could have met with a serious injury, or worse.” The earl’s disappointment was writ across his face. “And you have not shown an ounce of contrition for the hand you had in it.”
Lady Henrietta stood, petulant and unrepentant, awaiting her sentencing.
“You have fallen woefully short of what is expected of a lady in the Fitzwilliam house, Henrietta. Your behaviour reflects poorly on your character and our family name.”
Fitz produced the cloak that Darcy thought had been disposed of and shook the muddied, torn garment in Lady Henrietta’s face. “Is this the proof you require of the seriousness of our claim? The near tragedy Miss Bennet narrowly averted at great risk to herself?” He held up the damaged portion for her close inspection. Lady Henrietta shrank back and looked away.
“What is that?”
“That is the proof of the danger you have so cavalierly dismissed,” Darcy informed her. “Miss Elizabeth’s cloak, sullied beyond repair by the wheel of a coach, because she flung herself into its path to preserve my sister’s life.” He took the cloak and shook it. “This is how close they came to being ground under a wheel.”
Lady Henrietta’s pallor demonstrated that at least she was not entirely unreachable. Her gaze fell upon the ruined fabric, and she reached out to draw the damaged part to her for a closer examination. For the span ofseveral heartbeats, the only sound in the room was of the men, breathing, shifting, waiting.
She tossed the cloak from her. “Had I been there, I would have done the same. Anyone would.”
Milton shook his head. “Youwerethere, sister. You simply chose not to follow your cousin when she left the room.”
“Enough.” The earl’s deep voice lanced through the oppressive atmosphere. “That youwouldhave done something means precisely nothing. Here is whatdidhappen—you were so busy attacking Miss Elizabeth, who by every right ought to be among your closest acquaintances, that Georgiana managed to stand and leave the room without you even realising it. How long did it take until you saw that she was gone? Or did you not realise it at all until you were told?”
This produced an ugly expression that surprised Darcy a little with its vitriol. “I have always known that you admire the Bennet girls, particularly the little dark one.” A mutinous light flared in Lady Henrietta’s eyes. “You fawn upon them and Georgiana with more solicitude than you have ever shown me.”
“That is unforgivably unjust,” Milton interjected.
“It is perfectly just!” Lady Henrietta’s outburst rent the air, her haughty control shattering with a shocking abruptness. “Since Mother died, you want nothing to do with me, any of you. You packed me off to that horrible school not three months after she died, and you sent me to another as soon as I was recovered from the fire. When at last I came home, you passed me off to a few masters and a tiresome companion. But Miss Elizabeth is a heroine. Miss Elizabeth’s great bravery is such a marvel! You are so greatly indebted to her that you must send her a fortune. And again, I am relegated to an embarrassing afterthought.”
The earl was utterly expressionless while Fitz and Milton exchanged wary looks, as if uncertain whether to intervene.
It was Darcy who broke the stalemate, his voice remarkably even despite the circumstances. “You speak from a sad misunderstanding, Cousin. No one present lauds Miss Elizabeth to spite you. She has earned our gratitude and admiration by her own merit.”
“She is an impertinent nobody whose brazen tongue betrays her lack of breeding and refinement.”
Fitz lifted his head. “Ah. So she does not take orders from you, then?”
Lady Henrietta’s nostrils flared, and she opened her mouth to speak before her father’s measured words cut through her planned reply.
“Hold your tongue, daughter.” He sat and leaned back in his chair, regarding her shrewdly. “Let us return to the subject of your outburst. You believe the absence of your mother left you bereft of fatherly oversight and affection?”
Lady Henrietta responded with a jerky nod.
The earl exhaled heavily. “I suppose that is partly true.” He waved off his sons’ objections. “Your mother was a wonderful woman, and she was very much looking forward to raising a daughter. When she died, she left a void I was ill-prepared to navigate. Your brothers were already well grown, and I know what it is to be a boy. But a daughter—a young girl at that—she requires feminine guidance. I would have asked my sister Anne for assistance, but she was herself dead by then, and I knew not what to do.”
Darcy closed his eyes. The loss of his parents still ached, like a hole in his chest where the wind blew through. Thanks to Fitz and Miss Elizabeth, though, he allowed himself to simply feel it.
“I will be the first to own my shortcomings in that regard.” The earl frowned. With a rueful air, he continued, “But you were never anafterthought, Henrietta. The steps I took to ensure you were prepared for life as a grown woman were misguided, perhaps, but they were all founded in an earnest desire to provide for you the best opportunities I could. School was intended to teach you the social graces and offer you the female mentorship I could not. Mrs. Buxton came highly recommended.”
The earl paused, holding Lady Henrietta’s sulky stare without flinching. “And I will admit before all of you that I am indeed profoundly indebted to Miss Elizabeth Bennet, but not for the reasons you seem to believe. I owe her everything because to lose you would have destroyed me, Henrietta.” His eyes welled with tears, and he forced them back. “I do not know if I could have survived it.”
