I called on Georgiana this morning, taking the bonnet with me.
‘I promised you a new one, you see, and I do not forget my promises,’ I said.
She looked doubtful and said that she could not accept it, but Belle said, ‘If Mr Wickham was a stranger you would be right to refuse, for a lady should never accept a gift from a gentleman. But as he is such a friend of the family there is no harm in it, my dear, particularly as it is not a gift at all, really; it is only to replace the bonnet you lost.’
Thus encouraged, Georgiana tried on the bonnet and smiled as she saw how becoming it was.
‘You have grown into a beauty,’ I told her, turning the full force of my charm on her. ‘The man who wins you will be lucky indeed.’
She blushed and turned away, but I saw her face in the mirror and she was looking happy and excited.
The boating outing this afternoon brought us even closer, for as she climbed into the sailing boat, she wobbled, and I had to catch hold of her and assist her bodily into the boat. I sat close to her throughout the voyage and twice she clutched at my arm when a large wave rocked the boat, and then again, when we disembarked, I had to render her my assistance.
Offering her my arm on the way back to her house, I felt her lean on me much more heavily than she had done previously, and press closer to me, and I thought that the time was soon approaching when I would be able to propose.
Belle invited me in but I declined her invitation, knowing that absence would make Georgiana’s heart grow fonder. And it did, for her eyes followed me regretfully as I left the house.
In only a few more days, or a week, perhaps, I will ask her to marry me. There is no sense in delaying. As soon as I am certain of success I will proceed. The sooner we are in Scotland the better.