Georgiana Read online

  Darcy still could not believe it, Bingley part of some clique of college friends, controlling each other's lives with a code of rules made by common consent? He felt awful to knock on his friend's door at midnight, his wedding night, but when the door opened Bingley was still dressed and apparently waiting for them. He looked exactly the same as usual, same friendly face, same gentle manners.

  'Wickham came by earlier to tell us what had happened, and of your involvement, Manners, so I suspected I'd see you here. Come in, Jane's here, I'm not sending her away, she's the mistress of this house now, she has a right to know what is going on under her roof and in my life. You look a little dazed, Darcy, I'm sorry I never told you about my college friends, how intimate we were. I thought it'd never come up.'

  His voice was the same, he even sounded a bit contrite.

  'Never mind, Bingley, I'm just tired and incredibly angry. I want to call him out, but Manners here has convinced me I'd better leave him to your lot, save our brother-in-law a whole load of trouble.'

  Only now did Bingley show some assurance Darcy wasn't used to seeing in him, but still he sounded soft and affectionate as he replied, 'And you, my dear brother, I'm so glad to be related to you, even if it took two marriages instead of just the one my sister hoped. Letting us handle this will save hours of your time and a lot of worries, for I am very certain you would move heaven and earth to get justice done for Lizzy's maid and our brother-in-law.

  Even after what Mr Wickham did to you, Darcy, I'm glad I know now, though I don't fault you at all for keeping it a secret from your best friend.

  You must be the best man alive to be so forgiving. But I digress, and Manners wants to come to a decision so he can find his lonely bed. But hopefully not for long, my friend, we may soon see you married as happily as we are.'

  That was more than a bit embarrassing to Manners, who didn't look at all curious about the secret that Bingley mentioned. Did he know? Maybe

  Georgie told him, though that would be remarkable.

  'Bingley, you're way ahead of things, I told you the young lady made it clear she is not looking for a husband yet. And besides, her brother may be reconsidering his invitation to me now he knows I'm part of one of those college cliques.'

  Darcy had to admit to feeling surprise at Manners' delicacy, for in fact he was indeed in doubt whether he'd want his sister to become involved with such a clique. But since Bingley was, and Darcy would never voluntarily give up his friendship with Bingley, and they were now related by marriage, he obviously already was himself. And Georgiana was perfectly capable of deciding for herself. Besides, Manners was still a true gentleman, and he really liked the rest of the group, excepting Grenfell of course.

  Jane was sitting in a lazy chair, covered with a thick blanket, and she seemed worried rather than put out at having been disturbed on her wedding night.

  With her gentle voice, she addressed them affectionately.

  'I'm sorry this happened to poor Fanny under our roof, Darcy, I'm sure Bingley will settle it to her and your satisfaction and make sure it doesn't happen again. And Manners, I'm glad you were there to help out, poor Wickham sounded rather upset, he was surprised to find you in the servants'

  quarters, but nonetheless relieved to run into someone he hoped would turn out to be an ally.'

  She was right, what had Manners been doing in the servants' quarters at such a late hour?

  'I'm glad to be of use, Jane, and I'm very sorry to disturb your wedding night.

  I must admit I was very curious how the staff celebrated your wedding, and since I had another letter to put in the mail as soon as the snow cleared, I decided to bring it to Mr Darcy's valet in person, he had helped me before, using that visit as an excuse to take a peek at the merriment. And a joyous occasion it was!'

  That was a reasonable explanation of his presence, but Darcy intended to validate it with Simon anyway, for if Manners was seeing some servant girl to relieve his loneliness, the most likely reason for him to be in that part of the house, Georgiana might want to revise her opinion of him. But for now, Bingley and Manners decided they would call a meeting of their peers tomorrow and decide on a fitting penance for Grenfell. They would inform Wickham of their actions tonight, so he could sleep peacefully without obliging Darcy to talk to him. Darcy would inform Fanny and Bob.

  'If they want to know exactly what Grenfell will suffer for his misstep they can ask me in person. I'm not too important to talk to servants once in a while. Will you let Grenfell continue to court your sister, Bingley? I suppose Darcy here prefers to see him out of the house by tomorrow?'

  'My sister is a grown-up woman of independent means, dear Manners. I'm not going to tell her what to do. Besides, if he is punished, doesn't that absolve him of further guilt?

  Are you satisfied, Darcy?'

  'It still doesn't feel right, but I suppose it will have to do.'

  'Good, ten o'clock in my study, Manners? I take it you will keep an eye on our friend Grenfell until we get to talk to him? It is my wedding night after all.'

  Manners agreed, and they left the happy couple to their first night together.

  On their way back, Manners assured Darcy, 'If you'd rather not have me over for Christmas now you know what I'm involved with, I understand. And feel free to discuss this with your sister, she needs to know, too.'

  His honesty was disarming and Darcy heard himself say, 'Never mind, Manners, I've been friends with Bingley for years and I never noticed.

  Though I draw the line at having Mr Grenfell near my sister or my staff. I will tell Georgiana, and she can decide whether she wants you around for Christmas or not. Good night, Manners!'

  'Good night, my friend!'

  When Fitzwilliam returned from his grim excursion Elizabeth was as stunned as he was to find out about Bingley being involved in some college clique.

  She was in fact even more surprised, for she had never heard of such groups existing.

  'And Mr Manners, too, how strange and disturbing. But beloved, I'm glad you're not going to call out Mr Grenfell, I seriously think is it not worth the risk, with a bit of luck we need never see him again. I suppose Bingley will tell his sister and she'll steer clear of him as well. He hadn't been in contact with this group for years, had he? So Jane will probably be fine. But we may have to reconsider Mr Manners, he seems pretty nice, but for how long have we actually known him? Less than a week!'

  She was not expecting an answer from her beloved but merely arranging the facts for herself, and Fitzwilliam seemed to understand, for he merely nodded and took her in his arms.

  'If Mr Grenfell is still here tomorrow, we can always explain to Jane and

  Bingley and move back to London, taking Kitty. We'll meet next week anyway.'

  'My love, that is an excellent idea,' Fitzwilliam observed, 'and so simple.

  Bingley and Jane will forgive us, and we'll avoid any risk of further incidents.

  Thank you for solving the last problem I had. Tomorrow, we'll ask Georgie for her opinion on Mr Manners and we decide to stay or go. Let's stop talking and spend some time on each other. Imagine Bingley staying dressed on his wedding night because of a worthless old friend. I hope they're making up for it right now.'

  Since having him called to the house would undoubtedly make Bob feel very uncomfortable, Darcy decided to find Bob in the stables instead the next morning. He was busy cleaning the stalls, Daisy and the black already had a clean stall and were waiting eagerly for their morning feed, the team horses were tied up a bit further down the row of stables, as Bob stabbed with a pitchfork, removing dirty straw into a wheelbarrow. He looked up at the sound of footsteps, it was very early yet.

  'Mr Darcy, sir! You're up mighty early, most of the house staff are still sleeping off last night's party! Do you want your horse saddled?'

  Good, he hadn't seen Fanny yet.

  'No Bob, I came to see you. Can we leave the horses like this for a few moments? Something has come up, and we need to
talk.'

  That gave Bob a shock, he could hear it was something bad, and he stammered, 'Sure, master, we can talk right here, as I said, there's no-one else up yet.'

  'I'd rather we sit down for a while, Bob.'

  That would make it even worse, but this was bad, and Bob needed to know how seriously Darcy took what had happened.

  'Let me put the team back in their stables, sir, and then maybe we can sit on the box of Mrs Darcy's carriage again?'

  Minutes later, they had decided it was warmer inside and they sat on the leather seats of the beautiful little carriage. Bob was very uncomfortable, inside the beautiful carriage with the master, in his working clothes, but Darcy wanted him to feel the full power a gentleman had, so that the young man realised anything he did would only get him in trouble.

  'Bob, last night one of the gentlemen in the house tried to take advantage of Fanny.'

  Quickly, he added, 'He failed, thanks to another gentleman's alertness and

  fearlessness. But Ensign Wickham took a big risk, he used violence on a gentleman with connections, he could have lost his position as an army officer because of his bravery. Fanny is fine, I checked on her before I came here and she had slept well and was altogether very brave and strong.'

  Bob didn't seem angry so much as concerned.

  'Why didn't she wake me? I would have been there for her, I would have comforted her. Now she suffered alone.'

  'Mrs Darcy offered to have you fetched, but for some reason Fanny was very afraid you'd fly in a rage and do something rash, she preferred to not see you until she had calmed down and was over the worst shock. She is now and she wants to see you really badly, but I urged her to let me talk to you first. What I want to tell you is this: I have contemplated calling out the gentleman in question, but Mr Manners, whom I respect greatly, has advised against that.

  He says it would damage Mr Wickham, while not helping Fanny or any other servant girls this man has assaulted. Instead, Mr Manners offered to arrange a suitable punishment himself, with the help of his college friends. They are very close, and have corrected one of their own before, with punishments they decide on without court or law, among themselves. Realising the law is probably not going to help Fanny and only bring Mr Wickham, her saviour, into deep trouble with the gentleman's family, I have decided to let Mr Manners and Mr Bingley handle this matter. My question for you is, can you accept that? Can you believe his friends will punish him more effectively than you or I can? Can you let them handle this and spend your energy on comforting Fanny and showing her you don't blame her for what happened?'

  Still Bob didn't show any aggression or rage.

  'I know these things happen, master, and I've always congratulated myself they didn't happen in your household. I am shocked and upset to hear that Fanny has been attacked, but I'm also thankful she wasn't actually ravaged. I promise you I will not seek revenge against whoever did it, I don't even want to know his name or what he looks like. I will just do my job and be there for my lovely girl, and trust you to keep us safe. Is that all right with you? When I've done the stalls and fed all four, can I take a few hours off to be with her, please master? And thank you for reminding me she might blame herself, it didn't even occur to me, but I'll make sure to tell her I don't think she brought it on herself. She cannot help being young and beautiful and she never flirts, not even with me when we're in company. Well, except at home, Cook allows us to hold hands and kiss sometimes. May I thank her saviour when I see

  him? We owe him a great debt for saving Fanny.'

  'You may, Mr Wickham is someone who will actually appreciate that. I feel much better knowing you're not aggressive over this, Bob. If the perpetrator does not get sent away, we will leave for London this afternoon, if the weather allows, Fanny will not run the risk of being waylaid again. I'm not going to keep you from your work any longer, you do your duties and go see her. Simon can chaperone if you feel you need one, he supported Fanny throughout. If you should feel rage later, tell Simon, and he'll fetch me to support you. I know a few tricks to keep it down, believe me I'm using them now. Good day, Bob.'

  'Thank you, sir, for caring about a mere maid and a lowly driver.'

  And with that, he opened the door and nearly ran back to the stable to finish his jobs and see his girl.

  Fanny was actually doing rather well. She was with her mistress, very early in the morning, but Elizabeth didn't feel like staying in bed with her beloved gone. Somehow, the girl found solace in brushing her mistress' hair, and since Elizabeth didn't object at all, her dark tresses were getting softer and softer by the minute.

  'Did you sleep at all, Fanny?' she asked the girl, who looked rested and didn't have red-rimmed eyes or any other sign of crying or fretting.

  'I slept like a baby, ma'am, I never dream or lie awake, and I'd had a little punch yesterday before it happened. And Simon was so good to me, like the older brother I always wanted. I do worry about Bob now, but I'm sure the master will convince him to let it go and trust to Mr Bingley and Mr Manners. I would hate to see Mr Wickham lose his position over me. Nothing happened, thanks to him, he should get a medal, not be punished.'

  'Do you fear running into Mr Grenfell again?'

  'Yes, ma'am, that I do. I'm afraid I could not treat him with the proper respect, ma'am, I'd be tempted to throw him nasty looks and call him names, I used to be out on the streets a lot with my cousins, and they taught me how to sass the other kids. Of course that wouldn't be proper, and get me fired or back to being a common maid, which would be such a shame, for I like being your maid very much and I was looking forward to seeing Pemberley and meeting Mrs Reynolds, and Peter, and his missus. Bob told me so much about everything and everyone, I'd hate to miss it.'

  That girl really had spunk, if she was afraid of sassing Mr Grenfell instead of

  being assaulted again.

  'But aren't you afraid he'd try again?'

  'No ma'am, I trust Mr Darcy and the other gentlemen. If they say he will get his due I trust he will, and I will not be afraid to be threatened again. I think the gentleman will be afraid of Mr Darcy, I certainly was seeing him that angry. It's such a romantic idea, if someone were to threaten you, ma'am, he'd challenge the rogue to a duel, and they'd meet on a misty morning, with their seconds and a set of beautifully crafted handguns. They'd load them standing back to back, then walk twenty paces, turn around and shoot. I'm sure Mr Darcy would wound his opponent, but not kill him, and that one would have to apologise on his knees, not to the master, but to you.'

  And they thought a head stuffed full of romantic nonsense was a privilege of young ladies of their own class! Apparently low-born city girls were pretty good at spinning sugar-coated fantasies, too, and Elizabeth was a bit sorry to ruin Fanny's.

  'But what if the perpetrator was the better marksman, Fanny, or a superb fencer? The master would get shot, maybe killed, or seriously injured. I think I prefer to solve problems with talk, not violence, though I'm glad Mr Wickham dared apply it in your case.'

  Even the image of her master getting shot didn't spoil Fanny's fantasy, though.

  'You'd nurse him back to health, I'm sure. But I suppose you're right, ma'am, if the opposing gentleman won, he'd feel encouraged to do it again and again.

  Better have him punished by his friends straight away.'

  Chapter 3

  During breakfast, all the gentlemen of Mr Manners' circle were absent, but still a sizeable party was gathered at the table in the breakfast-parlour.

  Though she knew everyone present, Elizabeth found the atmosphere different from other days, of course Bingley was missing, but that was not the point.

  The most obvious change was in Jane. As beautiful as ever, her marriage and wedding night had transformed her, she still exuded calmness and dignity but also a certain authority, she was now truly the mistress of Netherfield and it showed. It didn't matter one bit to Jane that Bingley was not by her side, if anything it made her more aware she was now their hostess
and responsible for all her guests having a good time.

  Without seeming self-important or bustling, she arranged the seating so everyone would be placed to appear to their best advantage, Mrs Bennet and her favourite daughter and son-in-law sitting together, with Mr Wickham next to Jane and the four adolescent girls on their other side, Mary included though she was not really part of the little group.

  Georgiana sat furthest away from Wickham, next to Mr Gardiner, besides whom Mrs Gardiner could give Miss Bingley the benefit of her excellent manners. Mrs Hurst sat next to her sister, and on her other side Mr Hurst was pleased to spend breakfast talking to Mrs Darcy, whose husband had Mr Bennet on his other side.

  Elizabeth was starting to appreciate Mr Hurst, though she feared he might get hungry again soon after breakfast, talking so much and eating so little. From the corner of her eye she could see Jane spending time on Wickham, no doubt enlightening him on what was happening even now to ensure he would not suffer for his noble deed the night before.

  Georgiana was truly enjoying herself in the little clique of girls, trying to include Mary in their midst but not neglecting Mr Gardiner on her other side either. All in all, Jane was keeping them from wondering why the other gentlemen were missing quite adequately, and after breakfast the mood didn't change, they all moved to the drawing-room to mingle again and discuss the

  weather and the wedding last night.

  Elizabeth of course hoped to hear how Jane's night had been, despite the interruption, though her sister's obvious happiness said enough. But Jane wanted to talk, too, and soon they were sitting together in a little corner.

  'Oh, Lizzy, I'm so happy! I'm glad you told me what to expect for now I was much better able to enjoy it, I wasn't nervous at all. You know this whole business with Mr Grenfell and your maid showed me a totally different side of dear Bingley, he was positively compelling when we were finally alone. I was totally overcome. Lizzy, I knew about Mr Manners' and Bingley's time at college, he told me all about it some time ago. Do you mind very much?'