Truth about Mr. Darcy

affection for him to try to convince me to… to be with him. I did not want to, not before we were married, and he knew it, yet he continually tried to persuade me otherwise, all the while claiming to be in love with me. He said if I loved him I would… show him.” A tear ran down her cheek, and she hung her head.

Elizabeth’s eyes widened at this admission. “Georgiana, do you mean to tell me this young man has… has compromised you in some way?”

Georgiana took a shaky breath. “Yes,” she answered, “I mean no. Not entirely. It is not as bad as that.” She rose and paced the length of the room several times, reminding Elizabeth very much of Darcy. “I thought I loved him, Elizabeth! I thought I knew my own mind. I thought I knew him, but it turned out I did not. I knew nothing. I almost ruined my life and my reputation, and I brought Fitzwilliam and Richard a great deal of pain and mortification. And even though I had hurt them—even though I had disappointed them—they were both still so very kind and loving toward me, as though none of it was my fault.

“Later, my brother told me, any man who is unwilling to respect my wishes—any man who will try to talk me into an elopement, or take my virtue before we are married by the church, or make me do anything I am not comfortable with—is no gentleman. He told me a true gentleman will never demand such things from a woman he truly esteems and loves before she is ready to give them willingly, before their marriage has been sanctioned by the church. Knowing this, can you not understand why I cannot help but be troubled by Fitzwilliam’s familiarity with you?”

“Georgiana, have you spoken to your brother of your feelings?” Elizabeth asked.

Georgiana shrugged. “I have not. He did approach me the following day and on several occasions since, but I was not yet comfortable discussing my feelings about his… his indiscretions. I made up an excuse so I could leave him quickly, before he could mention it. He has since been very busy with various matters of business, and I have taken precautions so we would not be alone together. I have spent quite a bit of time wondering how my brother could ever have done this to you. I do not want you to think I believe any of the wretched things my Aunt Catherine has accused you of, not even for a moment, Elizabeth. I know you could never behave in such a disgraceful manner as she would have me believe. She is only upset that Fitzwilliam is not to marry Anne, but she was so horrible to you! You did nothing to deserve her abominable treatment. I am no longer naive. I know very well that none of this would ever have happened, had my brother not taken advantage of your innocence and your affection for him in a moment of weakness and… and… seduced you.” Her last words were barely above a whisper.

Elizabeth inhaled sharply. “Oh, Georgiana, is that what you think?”

She nodded and looked away.

“I assure you that is not the case.” Elizabeth forced their eyes to meet and said, “This is, by no means, easy for me, but I must endeavor to correct this mistaken impression you have formed about your brother. While I will admit he may have been very…persuasive in his manner of expressing his affection for me on more than one occasion, I cannot allow you to think him capable of unscrupulously misleading me into doing something I objected to. His goodness and his moral principles would never allow such deception, such duplicity.”

Georgiana stared at her. “I know you love him, Elizabeth, and he you, but how can you say that after what he has done? What made you think you could trust him? Even though he is my brother, and the very best of men, he is still a man.”

Elizabeth smiled. “I knew enough of his character to know I could trust him. By the time we had shared our love with each other, Georgiana, your brother had long since professed his strong feelings for me many times over and had already asked me to become his wife. I would never have accepted your brother under any circumstances unless I loved him deeply.”

Georgiana lowered her eyes and said, “I do understand how easy it is, Elizabeth, to forget propriety when your feelings are so overwrought with another, but you must see how my brother has placed your reputation in jeopardy because of his unwillingness to follow his own code of honor. I can hardly believe he would consciously do such a thing—go against everything he told me—yet, I have daily proof of it before me. I feel as though he has let me down, and because of it, I will never again be able to trust another man. He has made everything worse.”

Elizabeth walked to her and said, “Do not allow one terrible experience with one wicked man to influence your judgment of others who are truly good. There are many good men in the world, Georgiana, your brother being an excellent example. I know you are feeling inclined to lay all the blame upon him for our current unhappy situation with your aunt, but that is unfair. The truth is we are both to blame, my dear. You should realize by now, he is guilty of doing nothing more than allowing the strength of his emotions for me to cloud his better judgment. My conduct, I am ashamed to say, has been no better. He has done nothing that I did not allow purely out of the love I have for him. Please do not judge him based upon this indiscretion alone. It would do neither of you any credit.”

Georgiana was silent for a long while as she considered Elizabeth’s words. “I suppose Fitzwilliam has always been very different from George. Even when they were children, they did not always see eye to eye.” She sighed. “I know you are correct, Elizabeth. George’s motives with me have always been selfish and self-serving, while Fitzwilliam’s are born solely out of his strong love and admiration for you.” She gave Elizabeth a small smile. “Thank you for finally making me see the difference.”

“George?” Elizabeth inquired with a frown. “Is that the name of the young man you knew?”

“Yes,” she said, blushing, “George Wickham. He was the son of my father’s steward. He and Fitzwilliam were always very close when they were younger. They attended Cambridge together but did not continue their acquaintance after that. I now suspect it was because of George’s nefarious habits.”

Elizabeth paled and felt as though she would be sick. “George Wickham!” she gasped. No wonder Fitzwilliam was so affected by his presence in Hertfordshire! It is a wonder he did not kill him that day in Meryton!

Georgiana hesitated. “Do you know of him, Elizabeth?”

Elizabeth slowly nodded, too horrified to speak.

“I was at Ramsgate for the summer with my companion, Mrs. Younge, in whose character my brother and I were both deceived,” Georgiana explained. “Fitzwilliam surprised me the day before I was to leave for Gretna Green with George. He was furious and demanded I end my engagement. I could not grieve him, Elizabeth. Fitzwilliam has raised me alone since I was a little girl. It was not long until George’s true nature revealed itself to me in any case. I am truly ashamed.”

“No. You have no reason to feel ashamed, Georgiana. You were very young at the time. Mr. Wickham preyed upon your innocence and your trusting nature. You cannot be held accountable for what he tried to do. Believe me, I am well acquainted with Mr. Wickham and his… expectations of young ladies.” Georgiana was startled by the bitterness in her voice.

They spent the next half hour in earnest conversation about Mr. Wickham until it was time for them to part and dress for their evening at the theatre, each lady feeling a little easier for having confided in the other and feeling a genuine bond of sisterly friendship that would only continue to grow deeper with time.

*   *   *

Colonel Fitzwilliam peered into the drawing room, praying he would find his cousin alone, and slipped into the room.

Darcy, who was standing by the window, turned at the sound of the door clicking shut. He could not help but laugh at the picture his cousin presented. He found it diverting to see Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, one of the bravest men in Her Majesty’s Army, reduced to a state of senseless fright every time he entered Darcy House. “Fear not, Fitzwilliam. The two youngest Miss Bennets have removed to Gracechurch Street for the evening. You are safe, for tonight anyway.”

“Thank God!” he exclaimed as he threw himself into a nearby chair. “How on earth did you happen to manage that feat?”

“Actually, you have Mr. Bennet to thank. It seems he has decided to take pity on you.” Darcy handed him a glass of wine as they waited for Jane, Elizabeth, and Georgiana to join them. Bingley would be meeting them at the theatre.

“Well then, I shall do so when next I see him.” They sipped their wine in companionable silence. “I understand my parents paid you a visit earlier in the week.” Darcy nodded. “I would like to offer my support to you and Miss Bennet, as well. From what I have seen of her, she is an excellent woman. I believe, Cousin, that had I