“Oh!—so far away.” Her smile faded, but she quickly recovered it. “But a part of the world you know well. And an important commission.”
“It is, indeed—and a profitable one. I will receive a captain’s share of whatever treasure we bring from there. Meanwhile, the Lords Commissioners have approved and released to me a reward of fifteen thousand pounds from contraband already seized, for my service in bringing the smugglers to justice.”
Though St. Clair addressed Georgiana, his gaze shifted to meet Darcy’s. As their eyes met, Darcy could see that this information was directed equally to him. And he knew why.
Fifteen thousand pounds, combined with Georgiana’s marriage settlement—not to mention whatever prize resulted from St. Clair’s retrieval of the remaining treasure—would provide a more than ample income upon which to wed.
“This is all very good news, Captain,” Darcy said. “In fact, I am sure Mrs. Darcy will want to hear it directly. If you will excuse me, I shall go find her.”
“Of course.”
“I believe she is in the nursery,” he added deliberately. “It may take me a while to disengage her from Lily- Anne.”
Andrew St. Clair, like any clever captain, knew how to employ an opportunity to advantage. There was one commission that he coveted even more than the post to which the Admiralty had just appointed him, and he now made his application with all the determination and hope for success of an officer initiating the most important engagement of his life.
In little more than a minute, Georgiana’s hand was in his.
In the next, it was his forever.
By the third, she was in his arms, and this time, with no other eyes upon them, he could hold her as tightly and for as long as they both wished. He did, then kissed her.
And laughed.
She pulled away just enough to look up at his face. “What amuses you?”
“The last time I had the privilege of holding you close, you were coughing up seawater on me. This is far preferable.”
He kissed her again and reluctantly released her, but she did not go far. She smoothed the lapels of his coat, her fingertips lingering on the gold lace.
“When do you leave for the West Indies?”
“As soon as I can raise a crew, which should not take much time. I have served on enough ships that I know many dependable men now seeking work, and officers I can rely upon. We shall have a fine complement.”
“How long will you be away?”
“Only as long as I must. Even so, it will be a journey of at least three or four months. Perhaps longer.”
Though a faint shadow passed across her face, she allowed it to stay only a moment before forcing away the evidence of her disappointment. “I suppose that is not too long to wait to become Mrs. St. Clair.”
“I had rather hoped Mrs. St. Clair would accompany me.” He again took her hands in his. “Though you will have every comfort in my power to provide, a captain’s cabin is a long way from Pemberley, and life aboard ship is not easy. But if you come with me, you will see such wonders as I hope will make the inconveniences worthwhile. And I dare hope my companionship will offer some attraction.”
He drew her closer. “What say you, Georgiana? Do you want to see the New World with me?”
“I do.” Her expression reflected such happiness that it could be matched only by his own.
Nevertheless, he searched her face for signs of doubt. “Are you certain that you want to board a ship again —this ship in particular—after the accident at Lyme?”
“I am certain,” she said without hesitation. Then she smiled. “How else will I ever have an opportunity to see a bo’sun standing on the fo’c’sle?”
He laughed. “Pronounced like a true sailor—you have learned well. Next I shall teach you to swim.”
“I shall master that, too.”
“I have no doubt.”
“Nor do I—about any part of your proposal.” Her countenance became solemn. “Though I am not as traveled as you, I have seen enough of the world to know that life is not all clear sailing. Whether we are on a ship or on the shore, there will be storms to weather. But whatever comes—” She pressed his hands, still holding hers, and regarded him with perfect surety.
“So long as you are with me, Captain, I know I have a sheet anchor.”
Epilogue
Who can be in doubt of what followed? When any two young people take it into their heads to marry, they are pretty sure by perseverance to carry their point.
While Captain St. Clair oversaw the hiring of his crew and the refitting of his ship, Georgiana attended to the inviting of their wedding guests and the fitting of her trousseau. High on the list of invitees—after all their relations—were Admiral and Mrs. Croft, with whom Georgiana formed a fast and firm friendship, and St. Clair’s strengthened. In preparing for life aboard a frigate, Georgiana benefited tremendously from the experience of Mrs. Croft, who, inseparable from the admiral, had spent most of her marriage on warships. Her advice was practical and comprehensive, and her nostalgia for the sea and foreign ports made Georgiana all the more eager to embark on her new life.
Pemberley being too distant from any royal dockyard where Captain St. Clair could supervise the nautical preparations, the couple were married in London, in a ceremony attended by the bride’s family, friends of both parties, and the full complement of St. Clair siblings and other relations. Georgiana found her new family to be everything she could have hoped, and was so warmly embraced by them as to make her look forward to more fully knowing them in time. Following the celebration, the Darcys removed to the home of Elizabeth’s aunt and uncle Gardiner so that the newlyweds could enjoy a few days’ solitude in the vacated town house before setting off on their Jamaican honeymoon cruise in the company of two hundred fifty sailors.
Georgiana and her captain were not the only individuals navigating a new course: Mrs. Smith soon left the hospitality of the Wentworths. Though they accepted Mrs. Clay’s death as an accident and Anne Wentworth did in fact find a note from Mrs. Smith when they returned home from the Cobb following Alfred’s disappearance—a note that apparently drifted onto the floor under the front hall settee in the bustle of the sedan chair’s arrival—both Captain and Mrs. Wentworth were left with an unsettled feeling about their houseguest that they were unable to entirely overcome. Mrs. Smith’s mobility and income restored, she and her hosts mutually decided that her removal to a dwelling of her own, with faithful Nurse Rooke as her companion, was a desirable domestic arrangement. The separation marked a return to independence for her and a return to privacy for the newlyweds-turned-new parents. She moved back to Bath, where with winter approaching, she could continue her recovery by availing herself of the greater number of hot baths and legitimate medical practitioners in the city.
Sir Walter and Miss Elliot also quit Lyme for Bath, but for entirely different motives than Mrs. Smith’s. Though the baronet, too, had come to Lyme for health reasons, he and his daughter found the society of the small village too restricted, its diversions too limited, its shops inadequate, and the sea the very enemy to one’s complexion and youthful appearance that Sir Walter had always believed it to be. They retreated to the elegance of Bath, where they lived in supercilious bliss, oblivious to the fact that the greater consequence of their neighbors reduced their own, and that the superior charms of other, younger ladies cast in sharp relief the inferiority of Miss Elliot’s.
Walter Alfred Henry Arthur Elliot was much in his father’s speech, if not in his presence. Until Alfred reached a more interesting age—defined by Sir Walter as being old enough to read the entire
