A Constant Love: A Pride & Prejudice Continuation, page 15
Soon enough they were conversing just as they always had, although Georgiana felt a bit disconnected from the conversation. His pleasing presence only increased her turmoil, especially when he rose to take his leave and said how much he had missed her company, how happy he was to see her looking well.
The captains both arrived quite punctually for dinner, and Georgiana noticed that while Captain Ramsey still showed an obvious affection for Catherine, they both endeavoured to converse with the whole family, allowing Captain Ramsey to carry far more of the conversation than his brother officer. The family all found the captains to be some of the most enjoyable company they had dined with – well-mannered, but with an honesty and a visible cheer in simply being back in mother England. They entertained all during dinner with tales of their time together as lieutenants on the Foudroyant, including the small action they had fought against the French while on that ship.
As they spoke, Georgiana could not help but feel more of that sense she had tried to explain to Elizabeth – that these were interesting men who had done things so outside her sphere of understanding, who had been to places she had only read about in books, if that. She had never travelled outside of England, and to hear of such exotic places in such detail made her want to go abroad for the first time.
The gentlemen lingered for some time over port, during which all of the ladies assumed some manner of questioning between Mr. Darcy and their guests was taking place. When they finally returned to the drawing room, Captain Stanton asked if Miss Bennet and Miss Darcy might be willing to play something for the group, if they were not too tired from exhibiting the previous night. Mary spoke for both of them in saying they of course were not; they practised at least an hour each day, and so both she and Georgiana played a few pieces.
Captain Ramsey, sensing Catherine to feel somewhat left out during the exhibitions, begged she would show them some of the work in her sketchbook. Catherine demurred; usually outgoing, she was sensitive about her drawing, and even moreso her watercolours, upon which she had only recently embarked. Although Mr. Shaw said she progressed nicely, she had not been doing it for so long that she felt any confidence in her abilities.
She was soundly coaxed, however, and finally showed them all a few pages, which surprised even her own family. Kitty’s aesthetic sense, applied with much silliness to desiring the prettiest dresses and chasing the most attractive officers in Meryton during her younger days, was now used for much better purpose. Her work was very good already, and when they all considered she had not been doing this for much time at all, they were quite impressed, although none were quite so effusive in praise as Captain Ramsey.
The gentlemen took their leave at the appropriate hour, and the entire family – although perhaps Kitty and Georgiana more deeply – were sorry to see them go. It had been one of those easy, lively dinners that are so little valued in high society, and yet so very enjoyable to those who are fortunate enough to experience them.
Chapter 20
Elizabeth had thought that with few common acquaintances, there would be little chance of Lord Alfred and Captain Stanton meeting. She did not account for them calling at the same time, however, and this indeed was what they did the day after the captains had dined with the Darcys.
Captain Stanton arrived first, followed by Captain Ramsey, both of them speaking of their delight in the previous evening. They talked of lighter topics for a while, but having little new to speak of, they again prevailed upon Mary and Georgiana to play the pianoforte. When Georgiana completed her song, she turned back toward the group and was startled to see Lord Alfred standing in the doorway, applauding vigorously.
“Miss Darcy, you are the great proficient of the world,” he said. “I could never tire of hearing you play.”
“Lord Alfred! I did not realise you were here.”
“I arrived in the midst of your song,” he said. “I begged Mr. Miller not to announce me so that you might finish.”
He strode across the room and offered her his hand, leading her to a place where they might sit beside each other. Georgiana was not certain how much the viscountess had told Captain Stanton about Lord Alfred, but even if the viscountess had not indicated Lord Alfred was a suitor to her, Georgiana was doing quite well enough of that on her own. She felt her face flush at the attentions he gave her, which were even more particular than usual, and could hardly look up at the rest of the room.
“Miss Darcy, would you do me the honour of introducing me to your friends?” he asked, finally requiring her to raise her eyes.
“Yes, of course. These are Captain Andrew Ramsey and Captain Matthew Stanton, of the Royal Navy. Captains, this is Lord Alfred Mallory.”
“The navy! Indeed! You gentlemen must tell me of your battles,” Lord Alfred said. “There is nothing I like more than a great sea-storey.”
He was obliged, primarily by Captain Ramsey, who was of his usual jovial humour, but could not even match Lord Alfred’s high spirits. Lord Alfred was constantly asking questions about what position the ships had been in, or what happened next, as Captain Ramsey again described their action against the French on the Foudroyant. Captain Stanton offered an occasional detail, when prompted, but mostly remained quiet, his face impassive. Georgiana had not wished to have an opportunity to compare the two gentlemen, but here it was, and there was hardly a comparison to be made. Captain Stanton was more handsome, certainly, but Lord Alfred had been everything amiable since he had arrived, and had been most gallant in his manners toward her.
They paused after the captains’s time on the Foudroyant, as refreshments came out, and Lord Alfred insisted Georgiana stay seated; he would bring her whatever she wished to have. When he had returned with her selections, and then gone back to the table for his own, he sat back down beside her and said, softly, “I hope you are in health today, Miss Darcy. You certainly look very well.”
“I am very well, thank you,” she said, feeling her cheeks burning again.
When they were all seated again, Lord Alfred applied to Captain Ramsey to hear more, and the captain shared a few tales of his own smaller skirmishes, once he had been blessed with his own command, before motioning to Captain Stanton and saying:
“I am not the one to provide the best storeys of naval action, however. This gentleman has had the good fortune to command one of the best frigates in the fleet. He has captured far more ships than I, so many that I am fairly certain he has lost count of just how many prizes he has taken.”
“Then I must apply to you for your share of the tales,” Lord Alfred said, to Captain Stanton. “One of the best frigates in the fleet! Surely you must have had your share of French frigates.”
“My command was in the West Indies and North American stations,” Captain Stanton said, stiffly. “I have not had the fortune to fight another frigate. I must beg your pardon and wait to share my storeys another time, for I need to take my leave now.”
“Well then, another time,” Lord Alfred said. “I shall look forward to it. I am very pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Likewise, sir,” Captain Stanton said, rising and bowing to the room. “Good day to you all.”
Captain Ramsey took his leave a little while later, but Lord Alfred stayed longer, and continued to pay Georgiana every attention. After he had finally taken his leave, Elizabeth leaned over to murmur in her husband’s ear: “Perhaps Lord Alfred is spreading a little more canvas.”
+++
Georgiana spent the rest of the morning thinking about the two gentlemen, and feeling a surge of affection for Lord Alfred. There was something very nice about feeling that her attention was wanted by him, of the way he had taken up her hand to lead her from the pianoforte, and she began to think that perhaps her attraction to Captain Stanton had been a fleeting thing brought on by his features and his love of music. It had been foolish to allow herself to be so overwhelmed by a handsome face; it had been a lapse into the childish judgement that had very nearly caused her to elope with George Wickham.
Still, though, he had been even more quiet today than at any other time during their acquaintance. She wondered if perhaps he was discomfited by new company, as she sometimes was, and knew her brother to be. Perhaps she should have done more, to try to draw him in to the conversation. Perhaps she could have changed the topic to music, which she had yet to see him unwilling to converse on.
These were things she would need to become better at, as a hostess, Georgiana thought. This was followed by the startling realisation that she had been thinking of herself as a hostess, as a mistress of an established household – perhaps Lord Alfred’s household.
“Does this greater attention mean he will make an offer soon?” she thought. “Does this mean I should accept?” Still, she did not have an answer.
Chapter 21
Georgiana ate her breakfast the next day with the singular thought that perhaps that morning, or the following morning, or the morning following that, Lord Alfred might call and make her an offer of marriage. The thought made her tremble, but she did not dread it as she had Mr. Davis’s proposal.
The family were only just making their way to the drawing room when Mr. Miller announced Colonel Fitzwilliam. They were all shocked that he should call so early, and at first could not tell if he was simply keeping military hours, or if he had some news to impart at this hour. Once they were all seated in the drawing room, however, it was clear he had news to impart:
“I am sorry to call so early, but I have had some intelligence which I assumed would be of the greatest import to the family: Viscount Burnley has been killed in a duel.”
Shock, amazement. For a while, none of them was able to speak.
“Edward, you are quite certain of this?” Darcy asked, finally.
“Yes, a man in my unit acted as second for the other party. They met at sunrise this morning – Viscount Burnley died on the site. Young fools duelling with pistols instead of swords.”
To all of the confusion Georgiana had been feeling of late was added this: with his elder brother dead, Lord Alfred would now be Viscount Burnley; Lord Alfred would now inherit the dukedom. She sat there, listening as Colonel Fitzwilliam related such details of the duel as he knew, quite overwhelmed with the news. It was shocking, to be sure, but the more she thought of it, the more she knew it was less shocking that Lord Alfred’s brother should die this way. Among the elder brother’s crowd, huge gambling debts, all-night drunken routs, and even duels were fairly commonplace. He had lived a life of dissipation, rather than showing any interest in the estate he was to inherit, and now his more worthy younger brother would inherit it in his place. What she could not decide was whether this made her any more likely to accept Lord Alfred’s hand in marriage, should he offer it. It could not be denied that there was a certain abstract appeal in the idea of being a duchess, and that he would inherit such a vast estate, but Georgiana could not see it as being more important than his other qualities.
Colonel Fitzwilliam sat with them awhile, and then took his leave, saying he would return if he learned any more details of the event. The family quickly determined they should stay home for the day; Lord Alfred – nay, Viscount Burnley – would certainly need to return to the family estate at a time like this, and they did not intend to be out when he came to take his leave. They waited all morning, but their next caller was merely Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who bustled in and said what they all had been considering, but did not think it appropriate to voice:
“Georgiana is to be a duchess!” she said. “Congratulations, my niece, on choosing the right son. I had intended you for the dead fool, but you saw better than I, and now you shall have your reward. Well played, Georgiana, very well played. Your mother would be so proud if she were here to see it – a duchess.”
“Aunt, you forget that Lord Alfred has not made me an offer,” Georgiana said, quite embarrassed. “Nothing is guaranteed; everything has changed. And I spent time with Lord Alfred because I enjoyed his company, not because I had any notion that something like this should occur.”
“Oh, but surely he will ask for your hand now. He wanted only fortune, and he shall now have one of the largest estates in England to offer you. Certainly there will be the period of mourning to contend with, but we should still have you installed as Viscountess Burnley by the end of the year.”
Lady Catherine’s visit continued on in this vein for much too long, until Darcy finally noted that she might better hear more intelligence that would be of use to the family if she would return to her own home and be available to callers. And so Lady Catherine left, and the family continued to wait. They waited until just before dinner, when a short letter was delivered, addressed to Mr. Darcy:
“As you and your family may be aware by now, today has been a day of great sadness for my family. My brother Stephen, Viscount Burnley, has been killed whilst duelling. I cannot account for the manner of his death, but still, it remains; he was my brother, and his death was a great shock to me, as it will be a shock to my parents.
“I had wished to take leave of your family before heading north, but I have determined it best that I escort my brother’s body to the family estate immediately. I should only arrive a day behind my express to them, so that my parents might be able to see their remaining son, and we might bury him in the family cemetery, as I know they will want.
“Please know that I would much prefer to call on you all in more normal circumstances, and remain in town enjoying the pleasant company I have found in homes such as your own, without the tragic circumstances that occurred this morning. I leave with the greatest wishes for the health and happiness of your family.
“ALFRED MALLORY”
The letter was first read silently by Darcy, who then read it aloud, and allowed it to be passed around, so that each of them might read it and determine the nuances in such a short note. It ended in Georgiana’s hands, and she found herself thinking that if she was so very important to him as she had seemed yesterday, he still could have found time to call, even just for a few minutes, before leaving for the north. Then she chastised herself for such selfish thoughts – he had just lost his brother, he must race the news to the north, his greatest longing must be to reach his parents and be ensconced in the family unit as a time such as this.
The letter had distracted them all so that it had passed the time when they usually went up to change for dinner, and upon realising this, the family all left the drawing room. Georgiana, however, found herself pulled aside by her brother as the others made their way upstairs.
“I hope you will remember our conversation, in light of this news,” Darcy said. “I do have to rescind my saying I hoped you would not marry the heir to that dukedom, but it remains that I wish to see you marry for love, Georgiana. You will feel a great deal of pressure from your aunt Catherine now to accept him, if he makes you an offer. You must not let that influence your decision.”
“I will try, Fitzwilliam. It will be impossible to think of him without thinking of how his expectations have changed, though.”
“It is natural that you would think of that, and, indeed, if the fact that you would be a duchess and mistress of that great estate makes him more favourable to you, then you are making your choice for the right reasons. Just do not allow yourself to think that you must oblige your family and marry him.”
“Thank you, I will keep what you say in mind,” Georgiana said, feeling relieved. She knew there were some families where, in the same situation, she would have been required to marry Lord Alfred if he offered for her, and she was very glad hers was not one of them.
+++
Georgiana retired early that evening, and the rest of the family followed soon after her – they were all still quite startled by the news, and yet there was only so long they could sit and discuss it in the drawing room. Darcy was reading when Elizabeth went into his bedchamber, but he put the book down when she got into bed, and she took this as an invitation to speak on the news of the day, as they had not yet had an opportunity to discuss it in private.
“I still cannot believe it – what a horrible waste of life,” she said.
“The waste came far earlier than his death,” Darcy said. “That young man had everything he could ask for in life, and absolutely no sense of duty. I hate to say it, but it is better for their estate that he died. It is not just the family – all of the servants and the tenants, all that depend on who will succeed the duke as master, will be much better off now that Lord Alfred is the heir.”
Elizabeth was not so blatant as Lady Catherine; she did not wish to point out that Georgiana might also be among those better off, now that Lord Alfred was to inherit the estate and the title, although she expected Darcy was thinking the same thing as she.
“Have you ever been out, Darcy?” she asked, both to fill the silence and because she was truly curious.
“I have not. I seconded Edward once, when we were in school – he always did have a more martial side to him. They fought with swords, at least, and to first blood – they went for about a quarter-hour, Edward got in a good cut, and it was over. Thank God, for I would have had to answer to Lady Ellen if anything happened to him.”
“My mother was terrified my father would fight Wickham, when he and Lydia ran off together. I could never see him doing it – it would be so far from his nature.”
“I wanted to call Wickham out, after Ramsgate, although it would have given him far more consequence than he deserved,” Darcy said, anger passing over his countenance for a moment. “Edward convinced me not to. If it had got out that we had been fighting, people would have been curious as to why. And he thought Wickham would go for pistols, and attempt to kill me. I could not do that to Georgiana – not after everything else she had been through.”
“You could not do that to me, either.”
“I did not even know you then.”
“No, and you never would have, and that is the most horrible thing I can imagine.”
The captains both arrived quite punctually for dinner, and Georgiana noticed that while Captain Ramsey still showed an obvious affection for Catherine, they both endeavoured to converse with the whole family, allowing Captain Ramsey to carry far more of the conversation than his brother officer. The family all found the captains to be some of the most enjoyable company they had dined with – well-mannered, but with an honesty and a visible cheer in simply being back in mother England. They entertained all during dinner with tales of their time together as lieutenants on the Foudroyant, including the small action they had fought against the French while on that ship.
As they spoke, Georgiana could not help but feel more of that sense she had tried to explain to Elizabeth – that these were interesting men who had done things so outside her sphere of understanding, who had been to places she had only read about in books, if that. She had never travelled outside of England, and to hear of such exotic places in such detail made her want to go abroad for the first time.
The gentlemen lingered for some time over port, during which all of the ladies assumed some manner of questioning between Mr. Darcy and their guests was taking place. When they finally returned to the drawing room, Captain Stanton asked if Miss Bennet and Miss Darcy might be willing to play something for the group, if they were not too tired from exhibiting the previous night. Mary spoke for both of them in saying they of course were not; they practised at least an hour each day, and so both she and Georgiana played a few pieces.
Captain Ramsey, sensing Catherine to feel somewhat left out during the exhibitions, begged she would show them some of the work in her sketchbook. Catherine demurred; usually outgoing, she was sensitive about her drawing, and even moreso her watercolours, upon which she had only recently embarked. Although Mr. Shaw said she progressed nicely, she had not been doing it for so long that she felt any confidence in her abilities.
She was soundly coaxed, however, and finally showed them all a few pages, which surprised even her own family. Kitty’s aesthetic sense, applied with much silliness to desiring the prettiest dresses and chasing the most attractive officers in Meryton during her younger days, was now used for much better purpose. Her work was very good already, and when they all considered she had not been doing this for much time at all, they were quite impressed, although none were quite so effusive in praise as Captain Ramsey.
The gentlemen took their leave at the appropriate hour, and the entire family – although perhaps Kitty and Georgiana more deeply – were sorry to see them go. It had been one of those easy, lively dinners that are so little valued in high society, and yet so very enjoyable to those who are fortunate enough to experience them.
Chapter 20
Elizabeth had thought that with few common acquaintances, there would be little chance of Lord Alfred and Captain Stanton meeting. She did not account for them calling at the same time, however, and this indeed was what they did the day after the captains had dined with the Darcys.
Captain Stanton arrived first, followed by Captain Ramsey, both of them speaking of their delight in the previous evening. They talked of lighter topics for a while, but having little new to speak of, they again prevailed upon Mary and Georgiana to play the pianoforte. When Georgiana completed her song, she turned back toward the group and was startled to see Lord Alfred standing in the doorway, applauding vigorously.
“Miss Darcy, you are the great proficient of the world,” he said. “I could never tire of hearing you play.”
“Lord Alfred! I did not realise you were here.”
“I arrived in the midst of your song,” he said. “I begged Mr. Miller not to announce me so that you might finish.”
He strode across the room and offered her his hand, leading her to a place where they might sit beside each other. Georgiana was not certain how much the viscountess had told Captain Stanton about Lord Alfred, but even if the viscountess had not indicated Lord Alfred was a suitor to her, Georgiana was doing quite well enough of that on her own. She felt her face flush at the attentions he gave her, which were even more particular than usual, and could hardly look up at the rest of the room.
“Miss Darcy, would you do me the honour of introducing me to your friends?” he asked, finally requiring her to raise her eyes.
“Yes, of course. These are Captain Andrew Ramsey and Captain Matthew Stanton, of the Royal Navy. Captains, this is Lord Alfred Mallory.”
“The navy! Indeed! You gentlemen must tell me of your battles,” Lord Alfred said. “There is nothing I like more than a great sea-storey.”
He was obliged, primarily by Captain Ramsey, who was of his usual jovial humour, but could not even match Lord Alfred’s high spirits. Lord Alfred was constantly asking questions about what position the ships had been in, or what happened next, as Captain Ramsey again described their action against the French on the Foudroyant. Captain Stanton offered an occasional detail, when prompted, but mostly remained quiet, his face impassive. Georgiana had not wished to have an opportunity to compare the two gentlemen, but here it was, and there was hardly a comparison to be made. Captain Stanton was more handsome, certainly, but Lord Alfred had been everything amiable since he had arrived, and had been most gallant in his manners toward her.
They paused after the captains’s time on the Foudroyant, as refreshments came out, and Lord Alfred insisted Georgiana stay seated; he would bring her whatever she wished to have. When he had returned with her selections, and then gone back to the table for his own, he sat back down beside her and said, softly, “I hope you are in health today, Miss Darcy. You certainly look very well.”
“I am very well, thank you,” she said, feeling her cheeks burning again.
When they were all seated again, Lord Alfred applied to Captain Ramsey to hear more, and the captain shared a few tales of his own smaller skirmishes, once he had been blessed with his own command, before motioning to Captain Stanton and saying:
“I am not the one to provide the best storeys of naval action, however. This gentleman has had the good fortune to command one of the best frigates in the fleet. He has captured far more ships than I, so many that I am fairly certain he has lost count of just how many prizes he has taken.”
“Then I must apply to you for your share of the tales,” Lord Alfred said, to Captain Stanton. “One of the best frigates in the fleet! Surely you must have had your share of French frigates.”
“My command was in the West Indies and North American stations,” Captain Stanton said, stiffly. “I have not had the fortune to fight another frigate. I must beg your pardon and wait to share my storeys another time, for I need to take my leave now.”
“Well then, another time,” Lord Alfred said. “I shall look forward to it. I am very pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Likewise, sir,” Captain Stanton said, rising and bowing to the room. “Good day to you all.”
Captain Ramsey took his leave a little while later, but Lord Alfred stayed longer, and continued to pay Georgiana every attention. After he had finally taken his leave, Elizabeth leaned over to murmur in her husband’s ear: “Perhaps Lord Alfred is spreading a little more canvas.”
+++
Georgiana spent the rest of the morning thinking about the two gentlemen, and feeling a surge of affection for Lord Alfred. There was something very nice about feeling that her attention was wanted by him, of the way he had taken up her hand to lead her from the pianoforte, and she began to think that perhaps her attraction to Captain Stanton had been a fleeting thing brought on by his features and his love of music. It had been foolish to allow herself to be so overwhelmed by a handsome face; it had been a lapse into the childish judgement that had very nearly caused her to elope with George Wickham.
Still, though, he had been even more quiet today than at any other time during their acquaintance. She wondered if perhaps he was discomfited by new company, as she sometimes was, and knew her brother to be. Perhaps she should have done more, to try to draw him in to the conversation. Perhaps she could have changed the topic to music, which she had yet to see him unwilling to converse on.
These were things she would need to become better at, as a hostess, Georgiana thought. This was followed by the startling realisation that she had been thinking of herself as a hostess, as a mistress of an established household – perhaps Lord Alfred’s household.
“Does this greater attention mean he will make an offer soon?” she thought. “Does this mean I should accept?” Still, she did not have an answer.
Chapter 21
Georgiana ate her breakfast the next day with the singular thought that perhaps that morning, or the following morning, or the morning following that, Lord Alfred might call and make her an offer of marriage. The thought made her tremble, but she did not dread it as she had Mr. Davis’s proposal.
The family were only just making their way to the drawing room when Mr. Miller announced Colonel Fitzwilliam. They were all shocked that he should call so early, and at first could not tell if he was simply keeping military hours, or if he had some news to impart at this hour. Once they were all seated in the drawing room, however, it was clear he had news to impart:
“I am sorry to call so early, but I have had some intelligence which I assumed would be of the greatest import to the family: Viscount Burnley has been killed in a duel.”
Shock, amazement. For a while, none of them was able to speak.
“Edward, you are quite certain of this?” Darcy asked, finally.
“Yes, a man in my unit acted as second for the other party. They met at sunrise this morning – Viscount Burnley died on the site. Young fools duelling with pistols instead of swords.”
To all of the confusion Georgiana had been feeling of late was added this: with his elder brother dead, Lord Alfred would now be Viscount Burnley; Lord Alfred would now inherit the dukedom. She sat there, listening as Colonel Fitzwilliam related such details of the duel as he knew, quite overwhelmed with the news. It was shocking, to be sure, but the more she thought of it, the more she knew it was less shocking that Lord Alfred’s brother should die this way. Among the elder brother’s crowd, huge gambling debts, all-night drunken routs, and even duels were fairly commonplace. He had lived a life of dissipation, rather than showing any interest in the estate he was to inherit, and now his more worthy younger brother would inherit it in his place. What she could not decide was whether this made her any more likely to accept Lord Alfred’s hand in marriage, should he offer it. It could not be denied that there was a certain abstract appeal in the idea of being a duchess, and that he would inherit such a vast estate, but Georgiana could not see it as being more important than his other qualities.
Colonel Fitzwilliam sat with them awhile, and then took his leave, saying he would return if he learned any more details of the event. The family quickly determined they should stay home for the day; Lord Alfred – nay, Viscount Burnley – would certainly need to return to the family estate at a time like this, and they did not intend to be out when he came to take his leave. They waited all morning, but their next caller was merely Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who bustled in and said what they all had been considering, but did not think it appropriate to voice:
“Georgiana is to be a duchess!” she said. “Congratulations, my niece, on choosing the right son. I had intended you for the dead fool, but you saw better than I, and now you shall have your reward. Well played, Georgiana, very well played. Your mother would be so proud if she were here to see it – a duchess.”
“Aunt, you forget that Lord Alfred has not made me an offer,” Georgiana said, quite embarrassed. “Nothing is guaranteed; everything has changed. And I spent time with Lord Alfred because I enjoyed his company, not because I had any notion that something like this should occur.”
“Oh, but surely he will ask for your hand now. He wanted only fortune, and he shall now have one of the largest estates in England to offer you. Certainly there will be the period of mourning to contend with, but we should still have you installed as Viscountess Burnley by the end of the year.”
Lady Catherine’s visit continued on in this vein for much too long, until Darcy finally noted that she might better hear more intelligence that would be of use to the family if she would return to her own home and be available to callers. And so Lady Catherine left, and the family continued to wait. They waited until just before dinner, when a short letter was delivered, addressed to Mr. Darcy:
“As you and your family may be aware by now, today has been a day of great sadness for my family. My brother Stephen, Viscount Burnley, has been killed whilst duelling. I cannot account for the manner of his death, but still, it remains; he was my brother, and his death was a great shock to me, as it will be a shock to my parents.
“I had wished to take leave of your family before heading north, but I have determined it best that I escort my brother’s body to the family estate immediately. I should only arrive a day behind my express to them, so that my parents might be able to see their remaining son, and we might bury him in the family cemetery, as I know they will want.
“Please know that I would much prefer to call on you all in more normal circumstances, and remain in town enjoying the pleasant company I have found in homes such as your own, without the tragic circumstances that occurred this morning. I leave with the greatest wishes for the health and happiness of your family.
“ALFRED MALLORY”
The letter was first read silently by Darcy, who then read it aloud, and allowed it to be passed around, so that each of them might read it and determine the nuances in such a short note. It ended in Georgiana’s hands, and she found herself thinking that if she was so very important to him as she had seemed yesterday, he still could have found time to call, even just for a few minutes, before leaving for the north. Then she chastised herself for such selfish thoughts – he had just lost his brother, he must race the news to the north, his greatest longing must be to reach his parents and be ensconced in the family unit as a time such as this.
The letter had distracted them all so that it had passed the time when they usually went up to change for dinner, and upon realising this, the family all left the drawing room. Georgiana, however, found herself pulled aside by her brother as the others made their way upstairs.
“I hope you will remember our conversation, in light of this news,” Darcy said. “I do have to rescind my saying I hoped you would not marry the heir to that dukedom, but it remains that I wish to see you marry for love, Georgiana. You will feel a great deal of pressure from your aunt Catherine now to accept him, if he makes you an offer. You must not let that influence your decision.”
“I will try, Fitzwilliam. It will be impossible to think of him without thinking of how his expectations have changed, though.”
“It is natural that you would think of that, and, indeed, if the fact that you would be a duchess and mistress of that great estate makes him more favourable to you, then you are making your choice for the right reasons. Just do not allow yourself to think that you must oblige your family and marry him.”
“Thank you, I will keep what you say in mind,” Georgiana said, feeling relieved. She knew there were some families where, in the same situation, she would have been required to marry Lord Alfred if he offered for her, and she was very glad hers was not one of them.
+++
Georgiana retired early that evening, and the rest of the family followed soon after her – they were all still quite startled by the news, and yet there was only so long they could sit and discuss it in the drawing room. Darcy was reading when Elizabeth went into his bedchamber, but he put the book down when she got into bed, and she took this as an invitation to speak on the news of the day, as they had not yet had an opportunity to discuss it in private.
“I still cannot believe it – what a horrible waste of life,” she said.
“The waste came far earlier than his death,” Darcy said. “That young man had everything he could ask for in life, and absolutely no sense of duty. I hate to say it, but it is better for their estate that he died. It is not just the family – all of the servants and the tenants, all that depend on who will succeed the duke as master, will be much better off now that Lord Alfred is the heir.”
Elizabeth was not so blatant as Lady Catherine; she did not wish to point out that Georgiana might also be among those better off, now that Lord Alfred was to inherit the estate and the title, although she expected Darcy was thinking the same thing as she.
“Have you ever been out, Darcy?” she asked, both to fill the silence and because she was truly curious.
“I have not. I seconded Edward once, when we were in school – he always did have a more martial side to him. They fought with swords, at least, and to first blood – they went for about a quarter-hour, Edward got in a good cut, and it was over. Thank God, for I would have had to answer to Lady Ellen if anything happened to him.”
“My mother was terrified my father would fight Wickham, when he and Lydia ran off together. I could never see him doing it – it would be so far from his nature.”
“I wanted to call Wickham out, after Ramsgate, although it would have given him far more consequence than he deserved,” Darcy said, anger passing over his countenance for a moment. “Edward convinced me not to. If it had got out that we had been fighting, people would have been curious as to why. And he thought Wickham would go for pistols, and attempt to kill me. I could not do that to Georgiana – not after everything else she had been through.”
“You could not do that to me, either.”
“I did not even know you then.”
“No, and you never would have, and that is the most horrible thing I can imagine.”
