Page 9 of The Blackmail of Mr. Darcy
“But you are too young to know the difference,” Miss Bingley was saying to Georgiana. “I have noticed that you have been taught correct principles, but you are easily led astray. Obviously, I cannot allow that to happen again and again.”
There was a pause during which Elizabeth supposed Georgiana was answering in such a low voice, or perhaps a whisper, that she could not hear what she said.
Miss Bingley said, “It does not signify, my dear girl. You must follow the rules of society, or you will harm your brother’s chances of marrying well.”
Elizabeth could not help wondering what on earth Miss Bingley was accusing Georgiana of doing. It seemed unlikely to Elizabeth that the young woman, as shy and yet intelligent as she clearly was, would be breaking society’s rules willy-nilly. Also, it seemed absurd that Georgiana could make it difficult for Mr. Darcy to marry “well,” which she supposed meant marrying someone from the same first circles that he and Miss Darcy inhabited.
Elizabeth felt fairly certain that Mr. Darcy would be hard pressed to find a woman anywhere in England who would turn down a proposal of marriage from him…given his intelligence, his handsome appearance, and his reputed wealth. Perhaps a duke’s or marquess’s daughter might reject him as being too lowborn—for, although Miss Bingley had not long ago gloated about the Darcys being grandchildren of an earl, Mr. Darcy himself was not titled. However, she knew that many nobles had managed to fritter away their money; many would not want to turn to marriage alliances with wealthy tradesmen to fill their depleted coffers. They would prefer a wealthy gentleman, like Mr. Darcy. By this reasoning, Elizabeth thought that very fewwomen would be out of his reach, no matter how his shy sister behaved.
The very woman who seemed to be lecturing Georgiana about her brother’s chances to marry well had only a week ago told Elizabeth and the other Bennet sisters that Mr. Darcy wasthemost sought-after bachelor in Britain.
Elizabeth was quickly gaining on the pair, already, and she was determined to rescue Georgiana if the girl indicated such efforts were necessary. “How do you do, ladies?” she said.
Miss Bingley whipped around and shot a venomous look at Elizabeth, but Georgiana said, “Good morning, Elizabeth!” She sounded both upset and relieved, and that likely meant that a manoeuvre of separation and removal was, in fact, necessary.
“How are you this chilly morning, Miss Bingley? And Georgiana?”
“I—I need to speak to you about something, actually, Elizabeth,” Georgiana said, gasping a bit.
Elizabeth could see that Miss Bingley still had a determined clasp on Georgiana’s arm. It reminded her of how the same woman clutched at Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth deliberately stepped a bit ahead of Georgiana and then stopped, and the young girl stopped, too, even though Miss Bingley’s attempt to keep going caused Georgiana to gasp in pain as her arm jerked.
“What do you need to talk to me about, Georgiana?” Elizabeth asked. She offered her own arm, and Georgiana finally was able to pull away from Miss Bingley, take Elizabeth’s arm, and start walking in the opposite direction.
They did not say anything for quite a while, and when Georgiana finally said something, all she got out was, “Thank you,” before she broke down in tears.
Elizabeth’s walk would have to wait. She led Georgiana upstairs and asked, “Can we go into your room and lock the door so we will not be interrupted?”
Georgiana nodded. They went into the sitting room that was attached to her bedroom, and they locked both doors before sitting on the little sofa together.
Elizabeth waited until Georgiana had stopped crying, and then she asked gently, “I accidentally heard Miss Bingley’s voice as I approached you, although I could not actually hear you. It sounded like Miss Bingley was accusing you of something, but your behaviour always seems so much better than hers, so I cannot imagine what she could have been referring to. Do you want to tell me what she said? Do you wish to tell me anything at all?”
“Miss Bingley said that I should not be friends with you…. And that I should not let you call me Georgiana—but that is so ironic, because I gave you permission to do so, but I never gaveherpermission to call me by my Christian name, and she has done so for years!”
Elizabeth was surprised to learn that she herself was the subject of Miss Bingley’s scold. She asked, “Did Miss Bingley give a reason why you should not be friends with me?”
Georgiana fluttered her hand. “She just insulted you and your family in every possible way. She looks down on everyone, except me and my brother, but I think she just pretends to look down on everyone because she is ashamed of her own family’s ties to trade.”
Elizabeth commended the girl on her wisdom. She reminded her, “Miss Bingley has no power over you, Georgiana. You must remember that, especially those times when she is trying to work on you to do something you do not wish to do. Try to take a deep breath, tell yourself, ‘I am Miss Darcy,’ which is a very great name, is it not? Try to speak firmly, hold your head up high, because you have yourself and your family name to be proud of.”
There was a long pause. Elizabeth saw Georgiana close her eyes, then finally open them again as she looked at her withno little amount of shame. “Of course, I should do that, Miss Elizabeth, but I am not…. I have made mistakes…. My actions have brought shame to the Darcy name. I do not deserve the name. I do not even deserve your friendship!”
Shocked by her young friend’s words, she was not sure how to respond. She tried to be like Jane and kept her face placid and her voice calm. “You deserve love and protection and everything good, Georgiana, no matter what you have done. You are young, and you are human. You have heard, ‘To err is human,’ right? That just means that all humans make mistakes, especially when they are young.”
Georgiana gulped a sob back and said, “Well, I made a really terrible and horrible mistake! A perfectly colossal error. If you knew, you would not want to be my friend!”
And she collapsed into more sobs.
Chapter 6
Darcy
Fitzwilliam Darcy decided to check on Miss Bennet’s health. He told himself that he did so out of simple human kindness, with no ulterior motives of, for example, getting a glimpse of Miss Bennet’s sister.
He knocked quietly at the door, and a maid opened it. “How is Miss Bennet doing?” he asked.
“Well, she woke up feeling a bit more poorly,” the maid said, “and I was hoping that Miss Elizabeth would come back from her walk soon. I guess I should ring for someone to fetch her.”
Darcy was a bit surprised that Elizabeth was not with her sister, because she had been in almost constant attendance, but he well understood the need for exercise. He told the maid that he would take care of finding the patient’s sister. “In the meantime, I assume that Mr. Jones will be coming again this morning?”
