Darcy’s eyes darted to his sister, who had frozen with her teacup halfway to her mouth. He watched all colour drain from her face.
Good Lord! He should have anticipated that rascal’s name might come up.
“George?” Georgiana whispered. Her voice became stronger when she met Elizabeth’s gaze. “George Wickham?”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened at Georgiana’s panicked tone. She nodded. “He is a lieutenant in the militia stationed near Meryton.”
“Please…” Georgiana took a deep breath. “You must warn Miss King away from him!” Tears welled in her eyes. “George Wickham is a bad man… and since Miss King has a fortune, he will do anything to encourage her to marry him. If there is a chance her uncle will not approve the marriage, Wickham will persuade her to elope with him.” She sobbed. “He is very convincing. Please help her?”
Georgiana began trembling so violently, tea splashed from the teacup onto her hand. The tea had recently been poured—surely it was burning Georgiana’s tender skin. She did not seem to notice.
Darcy rose quickly. Aunt Adelaide, who was sitting next to Georgiana, reached over and took the cup and saucer from her hand.
The only sound in the room was the clank the cup and saucer made when his aunt awkwardly placed them onto the side table. He had never known the countess to be heavy-handed before.
Georgiana looked up at him accusingly. “After all that happened to me, Fitzwilliam, how could you not caution our friends about Wickham’s evil nature?”
Darcy opened his mouth to speak but faltered.
His aunt gestured to her maid, who scurried from the room, gathering the other servants with her as she went.
Elizabeth rose from her seat, knelt before Georgiana, and dabbed at his sister’s hand with a napkin. “Your brother did warn me—or at least he tried.” She glanced up at him. “But it was such a confusing message, I am sorry to say, I ignored it. If I had been a better sister and neighbour, perhaps I would have forewarned others.”
“I apologize, Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy forced out. “It was a delicate subject; it was not… proper to discuss the details of this circumstance with such a new acquaintance.”
From the corner of his eye, he could see Bingley was nodding. Bingley, at least, had been cautioned so he would keep a close watch on his own sister, since she had a fortune of ten thousand, in case they were ever forced into company with Wickham.
“Of course. It is quite understandable.” Elizabeth shook her head. “And to be fair, none of us native to the neighbourhood had enough of a dowry to tempt a fortune hunter—or it was true whilst your brother was in the area.”
Georgiana, who was doing her best to restrain her tears, looked up at him again. “Please, Brother. Miss King’s uncle must be told enough to protect her.”
Elizabeth furrowed her brow and met his gaze. “Jane and I shall write to my father. We shall say something vague, but enough to convince him to speak to Mr. King so he will shield Miss King. We will not name the lady involved.”
Which was exactly what he should have done the instant he saw Wickham in the neighbourhood, but he had been too angry—and if he were honest with himself, too fearful that if cornered, the scoundrel would spread falsehoods that would destroy his sister’s reputation.
Elizabeth truly was the better person. She offered to protect Georgiana, even without knowing all the particulars of the circumstances. What an amazing lady! However, he should explain to Elizabeth the situation more thoroughly, so she did not jump to any false conclusions about how far his sister had fallen.
Fallen. Such a word! He did his best to suppress the shudder passing down his spine.
“Thank you, Liz—Miss Elizabeth,” Georgiana whispered and looked across at Elizabeth’s sister. “And you, Miss Bennet.”
Elizabeth raised her eyebrows. “Have we returned to formalities?”
A new surge of tears fell from Georgiana’s eyes. “After hearing what happened, what I almost did, I did not think you would wish to…” Her voice caught.
“It sounds as though we were all fooled by the man’s deceitful charm, Georgie.” Elizabeth smiled sweetly. “I, for one, could never blame you.”
Georgiana closed her eyes and nodded.
Had Elizabeth developed feelings for the scoundrel, as he had feared when she defended him the night of the ball at Netherfield?
Darcy stared at his aunt.
The countess had been able to recognize his feelings for Elizabeth before he understood them himself. Could Wickham also have done so, targeting Elizabeth’s gentle heart on purpose to take revenge upon him, as he had with Georgiana?
A wave of nausea passed through him.
“Miss King will be safe; of that you can be certain.” Elizabeth stood and turned to him. “Mr. Darcy, is there somewhere Jane and I can compose a letter? We should send an express to my father at once.” She hesitated. “And if you do not mind, we would like to seek your advice on what we might say.”
What a generous soul—to ease his sister’s mind, she would allow him to confer with them so he could be certain his sister’s reputation would not be tarnished.
He nodded and escorted the two ladies from the room, leaving his sister well cared for by their aunt and Mrs. Ainsley. Behind him, he heard Bingley excuse himself. After exchanging a look with Miss Bennet, his friend moved off towards the rear of the house, probably to the billiards room, entrusting the females to deal with any emotional outbursts that might occur.
Darcy gestured, directing the ladies forward.
Chapter 14
“How lovely,” Elizabeth found herself saying softly.
Mr. Darcy had brought Elizabeth and Jane to a small, but truly exquisite chamber. An elegant mahogany desk was the focal point of the room. The piece was feminine, judging by the paintings in the porcelain inlaid around the circumference of the desk. An impressive French door was centered in the outer wall, the light from which illuminated the entire desktop. The door opened onto a balcony with a staircase that led down to the townhouse’s gardens. It was no surprise in Mayfair the courtyards would be much larger than the one her aunt and uncle kept behind their home.
“This was my mother’s study. Though Georgiana prefers to pen her correspondence in her private sitting room, I am told the staff keeps it fully stocked in case she does decide to use it,” Mr. Darcy stated.
He seemed a bit off, but she could not blame him after what had occurred.
Besides, she had already deduced he had been especially close to his mother. Perhaps his sewing lessons had taken place in this very room, and memories were assaulting him, as well?
Elizabeth did not realize she was looking at him until he met her gaze, his expression full of reminiscence. He blinked hard and it was gone. Mr. Darcy took hold of a chair from along the wall and placed it next to Elizabeth’s, then held it whilst Jane situated herself upon it.
Purposely diverting her attention from him, she searched for the supplies she needed and wrote:
Dearest Papa,
All is as well as it can be at the Gardiners’. Eddie’s condition is improved slightly, as expected, so please do not be alarmed by my sending this letter by express. However, there is a serious matter concerning what Kitty has communicated to us about Miss Emily King’s situation, of which her uncle must be made aware directly.
Whilst in Town, Jane and I have learned that Mr. Wickham is a scoundrel of the worst sort and should not be trusted, especially when it comes to a lady who has just come into an inheritance. We have it on good authority Mr. Wickham has attempted to convince at least one young lady of fortune to elope with him in the past when her family did not approve the match. Please believe me when I say, in all seriousness, this is not idle gossip. We both trust the source of this information completely.