Hello! Another Saturday and new update. I hope you will enjoy this one, we are going to see a bit of Georgiana's situation.

Jen, thank you for all your help!

Chapter Thirteen

Darcy

"Blast it!" Darcy threw his pen away in disgust. This was his fourth mistake in his accounts this morning. He could not bring himself to pay close attention to numbers when he still saw a vision of Elizabeth at the theatre from the previous evening in his mind.

He had called at the Gardiners the day after the Bennet sisters came to Town, indebted to his sister for this precious information. She took an instant liking to Elizabeth and they formed a very warm relationship through just a few letters. When Georgiana heard of Elizabeth's departure from Hertforshire, she practically demanded that her brother introduce them as soon as possible.

And now she is stealing all of Beth's attention from me, Darcy thought grimly. Until now, I never knew why siblings were jealous of each other and why they could not share.

He was thrilled, of course, to see Elizabeth and Georgiana so close and already in each other's confidence. He trusted Elizabeth to shed some light on Georgiana's recent behaviour so he could help her. They are already like sisters. On the other hand, on both occasions during the last two weeks when he met Elizabeth, Georgiana commanded her attention. She would momentarily forget all of her troubles and moping, becoming suddenly effusive and not allowing him to push her aside. If it were any other thing than spending time in Beth's company, I would be so happy for her.

He finally stood up, deciding that if he could not be with Elizabeth, he would at least seek out his sister to find out about Elizabeth's plans for the next week so he would know which ball invitations to accept. As it turned out, Mr Gardiner was a very wealthy tradesman who had recently purchased a small estate for his son, and he was generally accepted by the ton due to his connections to some peers who invested with him. Because of that, the Gardiners received quite a lot of invitations for balls and soirées during the season. Darcy was a bit disgruntled by this as he hoped for Elizabeth's sole attention when she was in Town. Now he had to share her not only with his sister but also with the whole ton. And there are so many vultures circling. Like Walker. He grimaced remembering the notorious rake eyeing Elizabeth with interest. So far, he managed to manoeuvre all their meetings so that he was not obliged to introduce them, but he was afraid that his luck would soon run out.

Darcy walked rapidly through the house, trying to locate Georgiana. He could not find her in the music room nor in the library and she did not answer her door when he knocked. Finally, he encountered Mrs. Graves, his housekeeper, who informed him that Miss Georgiana went to the modiste with the misses Bennets to choose a gown for Lady and Lord Elliot's ball.

Sulking, he retreated to his study. Georgiana was spending time with Elizabeth again, and he was abandoned at home with boring accounts and his mother's letter which he hoped to avoid.

He sighed deeply and lifted the letter from the tray resignedly. Lady Anne left immediately after Christmas to visit her dear friend Lady Augusta whose daughter was nearing the end of her third confinement. He had already heard from her three time in the last fortnight, her letters full of praise of the young lady who did her duty to her family and married such a charming man, and who produced such beautiful children and fulfilled her mother's wish. Darcy opened the latest missive and quickly started reading. It was as he expected, full of veiled allusions to the obedient daughter who bore two grandsons to her ecstatic mother and who was already expecting the third at the age of twenty. Then came several exaggerated complaints about Lady Anne's poor health and her dearest wish to hold a grandchild in her arms before she died. The whole tirade ended with the suggestion that he go to Kent early, it would certainly please Anne.

Ha. Darcy mentally scoffed. I can imagine how pleased Anne would be. No, I am waiting for Richard and we are going in February as planned.

There was a short note at the end of the letter that Lady Anne did not expect to return to Town for the Season and she instructed Georgiana to come to her at the end of January, at which time they would continue to Pemberley.

It seems that I cannot introduce Beth to mother for now. Small steps. First Georgiana, then Richard, and perhaps with these two, I will have all the support I need. Maybe I could try to convince Anne to help me too, she would be invaluable.

Elizabeth informed Darcy that she was to travel to visit her sister Mary in March while her younger sister stayed in Town with her Aunt and Uncle. It was perfect news. He thought that they would be apart for a much longer time, but now it seemed that he would only have to wait two weeks for her to join him in Kent. He immediately offered Elizabeth transportation, citing that he could delay his visit, but kind and compassionate Elizabeth refused, stating that she would not usurp his time with his relatives. Furthermore, the Gardiners wanted to visit Mary for a few days so she would travel with them. He was disappointed, but her arguments were reasonable. He planned to work on Richard and Anne in the meantime.

"Ah." He closed his eyes and stretched in his chair lazily. My Beth looked exquisite yesterday. She was a vision in rose. And her blush, it was again enticing, I wanted to grab her and kiss her sweet lips and pert nose and continue down her neck to those creamy mounds, and then tug her gown down-

His daydreaming was interrupted by a knock on the door. Darcy immediately jumped up, sitting straight and shuffling his chair closer to the table to hide evidence of his musings.

"Enter!" He finally called out when he felt he was at least a bit in a control of his faculties.

"Brother." Georgiana greeted him subdued, hovering near the door frame.

"Georgiana." He quickly sensed something was wrong. "What it is, did something happen?" He asked in panic. "Did Miss El-"

"Oh, no, no." Georgiana was quick to reassure him. "Everybody is in perfect health, I just, I-" She stopped in front of his table uncertainly.

He swiftly circled the table and led her towards the small sofa by the window. "Tell me, what made you so mournful, you were a picture of merriment just this morning."

"Oh, Fitzwilliam." She threw her arms around his neck and burst into tears.

He awkwardly patted her back, still hugging her. He never knew how to behave with crying women. He was used to avoiding all young women who were not his relatives, only keeping in contact with Georgiana and Anne. And Anne certainly never needed comforting. What would Beth do? He hugged his sister closer, murmuring into her hair that everything would be all right, he would fix everything.

Finally, Georgiana drew back, her eyes red but fortunately not crying. "We took a turn in a park after our visit to the shops. Kitty went ahead with Mrs Gardiner and I stayed with Elizabeth." She took a shaky breath. "I confided in her about what happened last spring." She bit her lip, trying very hard not to start crying again.

Oh, thank the Lord, finally. She finally let it out, I was afraid she would silently agonize over it forever.

"When I told her everything, she replied that it seemed like a very big misunderstanding. However, I know it is all true, I saw it with my own eyes." A lone tear ran down her cheek. "Notwithstanding, Elizabeth convinced me to impart my news to you, she is absolutely sure you would know the truth." She sniffed and started looking for her handkerchief. Darcy offered her his. He did not say a word for fear she would change her mind and flee.

She abruptly stood up and started pacing. If Darcy was not so anxious for his sister, he would find it humorous that they both shared this trait of walking while distressed.

"Oh." She lamented. "How can I tell you anything? It is so improper."

"Dearest." He gently stopped her mid-stride. "You are my sister, you can reveal anything to me and I would not think less of you."

She nodded silently, resuming her pacing. "Last spring, a rumour of a most alarming nature reached me. At first, I completely dismissed it because I found it ridiculous."

Georgiana stopped and ran into Darcy's arms settling on his lap just like she used to when she was a little girl and he was reading to her. She tucked her head under his chin and continued her story. "It was a report that Mr Fit- he seduced a young girl who had borne him a child just a few days before."

Darcy could not stop himself. "But-but this is completely- Fitzpatrick would never-"

"Oh, brother. That was my initial reaction to the news, too. I laughed at it. My Dav- was, is a proper gentleman, not a seducer of the innocent." She looked up at Darcy. "Fitzwilliam, it got worse. I heard he was installing her as his mistress on one of his estates in Scotland. I laughed again. That was just not David." She closed her eyes in pain of finally mentioning his name after nearly a year of desperately wishing to forget him.

"I went to visit old vicar Johnson to alert him to this gossip of his family, and then I saw him leaving the parsonage, leading young Catherine with the small babe to the carriage. He disappeared on a mysterious trip with her, and then he came back a fortnight later asking for my hand as if nothing happened. The babe was a newborn. We had been courting for more than a year yet he was unfaithful to me, and obviously planned to continue on with her. " Finally free of her burden, she started weeping again.

"Oh, my Georgiana, why did you not tell me earlier? What a mess." Darcy hugged her as tightly as he dared. "Elizabeth was right, this is one colossal misunderstanding." He did not even realize he forgot the miss.

"What?" She snapped. "How could you expect me to believe that it could have been a misunderstanding? There is nothing to misunderstood, it was all pretty clear. I know you are friends-"

"No, no." He quickly reassured her. "He may be my friend but you are my sister, I would do everything in the world to protect you. If he had hurt you, nowhere in the world would be a safe place for him."

Georgiana was placated for the moment and nodded hesitantly.

"However, this is a misunderstanding, and I have to clear his name in your eyes. Fitzpatrick was never unfaithful to you."

"But-" Georgiana started protesting again but he shushed her by laying his finger on her lips.

"Just listen to me, please." He looked at her imploringly. "Fitzpatrick was helping me-"

"No!" She interrupted again. "You would never do anything so dishonest! And moreover, everybody said that the babe was blonde with large blue eyes, just like his father.

"Georgiana." Darcy almost groaned. "Please let me explain the situation to you without delay. Do you remember old Wickham's son, George?" When she nodded, he continued. "You certainly recall that he is also a blonde charming man with large blue eyes, as you previously mentioned. Some compromising papers about our family came into his hands and he was threatening to publish them unless I took care of the mess he created with Johnson's family. Catherine's brother called him out, but he took the coward's way out and blackmailed me into helping him. Fortunately, I have a very loyal friend in Fitzpatrick who suggested a solution as he knew a man in want of a wife in Scotland." The last sentence blurted out, as he was very anxious for his sister to learn the truth as soon as possible.

"Oh." She covered her mouth in shock. "Oh." To his consternation, her tears appeared again. "Oh, no! What have I done!" With that, she bolted out of the room.

Darcy just sat there, staring after his sister helplessly. What now? Should I go to her? It would probably be for the best to let her process everything. Beth would know what to do.

He got up with a sigh and walked towards his desk. It was high time to reply to Fitzpatrick's latest letter. He perused it quickly, a small smile tugging on his lips when he noticed at least three overly nonchalant questions about his family's health. Although Fitzpatrick was fond of Lady Anne, Darcy was quite sure he was not asking about his mother.

He decided to make a quick call on Gardiners with the intention of taking the ladies and children to the frozen pond for skating the next day. He would ask Elizabeth how to proceed. Let us play matchmakers then.

That's all for today. What do you think of Georgiana's situation? And what about our matchmakers, will this bring them closer together? Please, review.

The next update is going to be up in three weeks, I am finishing school in six weeks and I don't want my writing suffer because I was rushing it so I could go back to studying. ;)