| |
Two days later, Lizzy invited Georgiana for tea. She’d realized her silence might make the girl think she did not wish to continue a friendship, and that was far from the truth. Georgiana had the unfortunate luck to be related to Fitzwilliam Darcy, but Lizzy could hardly hold that against her, since she had the similar burden of being related to her mother and younger sisters.
She’d hoped Georgiana would arrive alone, and she was glad that she had when the girl turned up a short time later, bringing only her companion. Mrs. Annesley excused herself to visit with Mrs. Hill, so it was just the two of them. Lizzy certainly hadn’t expected Darcy to insert himself into the invitation, but she’d wondered if Caroline or Louisa would decide to come along, perhaps at Darcy’s behest. She was relieved they hadn’t.
“It is good to see you again, Georgiana.” Lizzy grasped her hands as they entered the sitting room. “I must apologize for my display the other day. Your brother’s words were unkind and cutting, but it would have been far more ladylike of me to ignore them.”
Georgiana lips twitched. “It would not have been nearly as much fun, Lizzy.” She giggled. “The look of consternation on my brother’s face when you confronted him I shall not soon forget, I assure you.”
Lizzy found herself laughing a little too. It was still a touchy subject, so she had difficulty finding amusement in it, but she was glad she hadn’t left a negative impression on Georgiana. “It was frightfully rude of me, nonetheless. As a guest in your home, or Mr. Bingley’s as the case may be, it was incumbent upon me to ignore the insults.”
“It would have been quite difficult to do so at the decibel my brother was delivering them.” Georgiana sighed. “I hope you shall not be too hard on him, Lizzy. He can be rigid in his thinking, but he must genuinely believe Miss Jane does not have enough affection for Mr. Bingley.” She put up a hand hastily. “I assure you, I do not share that opinion. I have not seen them interact for more than a few minutes the day you came for tea, but she seemed quite enamored with him and vice versa. My brother looks at more practical matters though, and that is the nature of him.”
“I can hardly fault a man for having a practical, centered approach, but if it leads him to be prejudicial and make up his mind about something before he has a chance to truly formulate an unbiased opinion, I can object to that, surely?” Lizzy poured them both a cup of tea before passing one to Georgiana.
“Of course, you should not try to change your opinion of him. I am simply trying to explain. He believes he is acting at Mr. Bingley’s best interest, so he can be frightfully stubborn about the situation. He has a tendency to entrench himself once convinced he is on the correct course.”
Lizzy squirmed a little in her seat, recognizing that description might apply to her as well. She murmured an agreement as she sipped tea before adding, “I understand that, but I cannot forgive or condone him disparaging my sister and trying to deny her happiness when she loves Mr. Bingley.”
Georgiana nodded. “I suppose we are protective of our siblings. That is the way of things, is it not?”
It was as close as they could come to agreeing to disagree, Lizzy realized, so she made no effort to keep the topic alive. When Georgiana started discussing preparations for the ball at Netherfield, Lizzy was mentally rehearsing an excuse. She had already decided not to attend, not wanting to run into Mr. Darcy again, but she was forced to capitulate when Georgiana asked, “You will certainly be coming, will you not, Lizzy? I would most appreciate your company, especially considering my other options for companions.” She grimaced, clearly referring to Louisa and Caroline.
Lizzy wanted to refuse, but seeing the pleading in the younger girl’s gaze, how could she? “Of course, I shall be coming. I am loo...looking forward to it.” She only stuttered a little as she uttered the lie, proud of herself for sounding so convincing. She had been anticipating attending before the ugly scene with Mr. Darcy, and she struggled to find some of her previous enthusiasm, though most of it was feigned as she threw herself into discussion with Georgiana about the forthcoming ball, and the merits of lavender lemonade versus plain for the guests who would not drink alcoholic punch.