Page 38 of Elizabeth Bennet Says Yes to Mr. Darcy

A very slender young woman stood at his arm. Her pallor and timid bearing did not conceal a delicate beauty. I recognized Georgiana Darcy before he introduced her.

“Miss Bennet,” he said to Jane, “may I present my sister? Georgiana wished to meet you.”

His voice changed when he spoke of her. All his firmness became protection.

Georgiana greeted Jane, then me. Her eyes lingered on my face with anxious curiosity. I understood that she knew. Darcy had spoken to her of our uncertain engagement, perhaps of his love, certainly of the possibility that I might become her sister.

“My brother has often spoken of you,” she murmured.

“I hope he chose his stories with prudence.”

A glimmer of a smile appeared.

“He said you had little of it.”

I turned toward Darcy.

“That is a betrayal.”

“I merely praised your courage.”

“With less flattering words.”

Georgiana laughed softly. Darcy looked at her as if that sound were a rare gift.

At dinner, I was seated near her. Her reserve might have made conversation difficult, but she spoke warmly of music and Pemberley. When I asked if she played often, she cast a glance toward her brother.

“He listens even when I make many mistakes.”

“So he has a patience he hides well.”

“Only with me,” she replied.

Darcy, sitting on the other side of the table, had heard. His eyes met mine.

Caroline Bingley noticed the exchange.

“Miss Eliza,” she said, “you will no doubt find the customs of Pemberley very different from those of Longbourn. The house requires an accomplished mistress. Old families attach great importance to a… complete education.”

Silence fell around us.

I smiled.

“Fortunately, Miss Bingley, an education can continue past the age of twenty. It would be rather sad to have reached perfection so early.”

Caroline opened her mouth, but Darcy spoke first.

“Pemberley does not require perfection. It only deserves someone who respects those who live there. Miss Bennet already has that quality.”

He had not raised his voice. His response was all the more decisive for it.

Caroline flushed. Georgiana discreetly placed her hand on mine beneath the table.

I did not know which touched me more: Darcy's defense or his sister's gesture.

After dinner, Georgiana played the pianoforte. Darcy stood near the instrument, not to be noticed, but to turn the pages for her. He anticipated her hesitations, offered silent encouragement, and looked at almost no one else.

I understood then that his reserve was not an absence of emotion. It was the shape an attachment takes when it runs too deep to be easily shown.