Mr and Mrs Darcy 02 Suspense & Sensibility (10 page)

"She
does not hate you, Kitty."

"She
likes Georgiana."

"She
likes Georgiana's thirty thousand pounds."

"Il
is the same thing."

Elizabeth came to Kitty's side. "Perhaps to someone as disagreeable
as Mrs. Dashwood. But not to Georgiana. Do you think she wants to be admired
only for her fortune?"

"Her fortune, her music, her painting - " She tossed her
embroidery onto the sofa. "I can't even trim a cap properly. Who wouldn't
choose Georgiana over me?"

"Mr. Dashwood."

Elizabeth retrieved the hoop from the floor and handed it back to Kitty.
"Mr. Dashwood came here last night with flowers tor
you.
He spent
most of the evening talking to
you.
And when he left here, he lingered
the longest over his farewell to
you."

"That doesn't mean he will want to marry me."

"No, it does not. But should he offer, you will know without
question that he wants to marry
you,
not your thirty thousand pounds.
That is a fortune Georgiana will never have."

Kitty turned the hoop around in her hands.
"If
he offers.
And what are the chances of his ever doing so with his mother wishing him to
tender his addresses elsewhere?"

"Let his mother court whomever she wants. He can afford to marry
where he chooses."

Elizabeth said the words in a confident tone, attempting to console
Kitty, but she could not help recalling Mrs. Dashwood's assertion about her
son's sense of family duty. To what extent would he allow filial obedience to
dictate his future happiness? Harry was young; his mother's will, strong. A
word from her might be all it took to redirect him.

Mr. Dashwood already possessed Kitty's heart. She prayed he would not
break it.

She placated Kitty with additional assurances, then suggested they take
a walk. Fresh air and fresh sights, she hoped, would divert her sister's thoughts
from this unfortunate first meeting with Mr. Dashwood's mother. Kitty yielded
to Elizabeth's persuasion and the two parted to retrieve their bonnets.

After
donning both her hat and a light wrap, Elizabeth found herself descending the
stairs to the accompaniment of Mozart. Georgiana had returned to the drawing
room, where her fingers now flew through the opening movement of a sonata.
Elizabeth approached the pianoforte and located Georgiana's place in the music,
turning the page when Georgiana reached its end. Further observation of the
performer, however, revealed that Elizabeth need not have troubled herself.
Georgiana played from memory.

When the
movement concluded, Elizabeth invited her to join the walk. Georgiana declined,
stating a desire to continue at the piano.

"I have
been thinking," she said, starting the adagio section, "that perhaps
I ought not go to Norland."

"Of
course you should go. Mr. Dashwood's invitation included everybody."

"His
mother's invitation very nearly excluded Kitty I do not wish my presence to
cause your sister any unhappiness. If I stay behind, Mrs. Dashwood might treat
Kitty with more civility."

"Mrs.
Dashwood's behavior toward Kitty has far more to do with Mrs. Dashwood than
with either you or Kitty."

"Nevertheless,
Kitty will enjoy the party more without me."

"Kitty
would feel horrid if she knew you missed the fete on her account."

She paused
on a minor chord. "Then do not tell her."

Elizabeth
studied Georgiana. Her head was bowed over the keyboard, her expression
guarded. Did she truly wish to remain behind, or was she declining the
invitation because she thought she should? Elizabeth did not want her new
sister-in-law to feel excluded from this or any other family happenings. Nor to
believe that anyone considered her own happiness secondary to Kitty's or
anybody else's.

"Georgiana,
do reconsider. This season in London was to have been a pleasurable time for
you, as well, yet it seems you have
not met any gentleman worthy of your esteem."
That Darcy protected his sister so closely had not helped, but Elizabeth
refrained from voicing that thought. "Perhaps someone at the fete will
earn your regard."

Georgiana completed an intricate passage before responding. "I did
not realize you hoped to bring about a match for me this season," she
finally said. "But of course you and my brother must feel my continuing at
Pemberley an intrusion on your privacy now that you are married."

"Oh, Georgiana! How ever could you think that? Pemberley is your
home - for the rest of your life, if you wish. I do not scheme to have its
empty rooms to myself. I thought only of you - that perhaps you yourself had
begun to long for another home, and a husband to share it."

"I cannot deny imagining such scenes from time to time, but I am in
no hurry to realize them. I - " She stumbled over a.simple grace note and
corrected herself. "I know my brother surely must have told you of my imprudence
two summers ago involving Mr. Wickham. Since that time, I do not trust my own
judgment in matters of the heart."

This marked the first Lime she had spoken of the incident, or how it had
affected her. "It is Mr. Wickham who cannot be trusted," Elizabeth declared.

"Nevertheless, I am not yet ready to form an attachment with
anybody."

"Your own judgment seems very sound on that point. You are absolutely
correct. There is no reason for haste."

Her fingers slowed as she approached the end of the adagio. "When I
am prepared to accept a suitor's attention, the right gentleman will reveal himself.
Meanwhile, let this be Kitty's season. Allow me to excuse myself from the
Norland party."

Elizabeth regarded Georgiana doubtfully. "You are certain?"

"Quite. In fact, my friend Miss Sedgewick has invited me to a
concert on the thirtieth and I had hoped to attend." She
struck the
final chords of the movement and met Elizabeth's gaze. "Please indulge me?"
Her expression was earnest.

"As you wish."

"Thank you."

She started on the allegro assai. Elizabeth listened to Geor-giana's perfect
execution, repeating their conversation in her mind. Anyone could appreciate
her sister-in-law's accomplishments and gentle spirit. But she was discovering
in Georgiana a young woman of greater depth and intelligence than was evident
upon first acquaintance, and felt privileged to be developing a more intimate
understanding of her.

"Can I persuade you, at least, to join us for our walk?"
Elizabeth asked.

Georgiana started to shake her head, but then abruptly halted the music.
"Actually," she said, rising from her instrument, "I think I
shall."

Seven

"To say that he is unlike Fanny is enough.

It implies every thing amiable."

- Mrs.
Henry
Dashwood to Elinor,

Sense and Sensibility,
Chapter 3

Whatever
pressure Fanny Dashwood may have exerted on her son to bestow his addresses on
a wealthier woman, Harry Dashwood remained steadfast in his attention to Kitty.
He visited the townhouse daily, securing Kitty's affections even more firmly
and rising in Elizabeth's esteem if only for possessing the good taste to adore
her sister. Georgiana made herself scarce during his visits, not because anyone
suspected Mr. Dashwood vulnerable to fickleness, but to spare Kitty any pain
from recollecting his mother's incivility. An obligatory return call in Harley
Street had proven as enchanting as their first visit with Mrs. John Dashwood,
and everyone seemed much happier forgetting the existence of Harry's mother
altogether.

Darcy's opinion of Mr. Dashwood rose, as well, particularly when he
encountered the younger man at Angelo's fencing school and heard of his
application for membership in one of the more intellectual gentlemen's clubs.

"Mr. Dashwood seems to be genuinely striving to improve himself and
find more worthwhile ways to spend his time,"

Darcy remarked to Elizabeth one rainy afternoon. She had wandered into
the library in search of a novel, but, upon finding him there, had abandoned
her errand for the superior diversion of conversation with her husband.

"You sound surprised."

"I did not anticipate such a rapid transformation, nor one so
sincere."

"Mr. Dashwood is apparently capable of great change when he sets
his mind to something," she said. "His regard for Kitty may be his
primary inspiration, but I think your encouragement has also contributed. He respects
you."

"Perhaps he will make a suitable husband for Kitty, after all."

"Why, Darcy! I believe you are starting to like him."

He shrugged. "Perhaps I feel a sort of kinship with him. It does
not seem like very long ago that my own father died."

"You both lost your fathers at a relatively young age. He, even
earlier than you."

"Though his father's death was recent, the more I talk with Mr. Dashwood,
the more I form the impression that he has lacked paternal guidance for a long
time. John Dashwood seems to have acquiesced to his wife in most matters, and
she seems to have expended more effort in trying to dominate her son than teach
him. It is small wonder he spent so little time at Norland."

"So now you have taken the fatherless young man under your wing, offering
the direction that John Dashwood did not."

"You are too generous. I am not yet thirty myself; I have not the
wisdom to be a surrogate father to him."

"And you are too modest - a trait of which I cannot often accuse
you. Very well, then. You can be an elder brother to Mr. Dashwood. Georgiana
can vouch for your qualifications in that role."

Darcy contemplated that for a moment. "I should like to regard Mr.
Dashwood as my brother."

"I am
glad to hear it," she said. "For if he marries my sister, you will
have no choice in the connection."

It was with
light hearts that they all set out for Sussex - all except Georgiana, who
remained in London to attend the performance of a noted Italian harpist with
her friend Miss Sedgewick. She would stay with Miss Sedgewick's family while
Elizabeth and Darcy were away, an arrangement that provided both a proper
chaperone for Georgiana in her brother's absence and an opportunity for her to
spend more time with her friend.

When Kitty
and the Darcys arrived at Norland, the young master himself met their carriage.
Mr. Dashwood helped Kitty alight, studying her face the whole while for her
first impressions of his home.

"It is
beautiful, Mr. Dashwood!" she exclaimed. "The most perfect house I
ever saw."

Her delight
clearly pleased him. He regarded the house with quiet pride. "I am glad
you think so, Miss Bennet," he said softly. "Most glad."

Though
Pemberley would always remain foremost in Elizabeth's affections, Norland was
indeed a magnificent house. It was prettily situated in a wooded parkland,
surrounded by seas of daffodils still in bloom. As they neared, she saw that
equally abundant waves of tulips prepared to overtake the daffodils when their
reign was exhausted.

Their party
was the first to arrive; Fanny Dashwood and other relations were expected later
that day and the majority of guests on the morrow. Mr. Dashwood proposed taking
a walk about the grounds once they'd refreshed themselves, to which they
readily assented. While they changed out of their traveling clothes, however,
the sky darkened, and by the time they regrouped in the drawing room, a steady
rain fell.

The shower
failed to dampen Kitty's pleasure at being in
Mr. Dashwood's
home, or his eagerness to show it to her. He suggested instead a tour of the
house and led them through its rooms. He soon discovered that he made a poor
docent, as his years of absence and lack of interest had left him unfamiliar
with many of the house's characteristics. He also possessed but few memories to
share with them.

The housekeeper, however, was pressed into service as a guide. She had
been at Norland since the days of Harry's great-great-uncle and knew each panel
and newel post as if she had fashioned them herself. As she led them through
the great hall, music room, morning room, dining room, drawing rooms, and so
on, her narrative formed at once a history of the house and a history of the
Dash wood family. The original house, they learned, had been built during the
reign of Henry the Fifth, and had been altered and expanded several times. Most
of the present house had been built during the Tudor monarchy, with another
wing added during George the First's time. Care had been taken, however, to
blend the different architectural styles as well as possible, so that the
variations added interest without detracting from the structures overall
grandeur.

Under John Dashwood's tenure, the house had seen modifications both
inside and out. He had annexed surrounding land and enclosed the common; to
please Fanny, a grove of old walnut trees had given way to a greenhouse and
flower garden. Fanny, too, had selected all the china, plate, and linen in use.