Pemberley Estate: April 17, 1812
The sound of carriage wheels clattering across the courtyard cobblestones pulled Georgiana from her solitary reverie at the pianoforte. She had seated herself at the instrument more than an hour earlier, intending to practice, but had instead found herself lost in thought. Attending to the commotion outside the music room's window, she again found thoughts overpowering her, but these thoughts were of a different nature.
Ordinarily activities in the courtyard would not be audible in this room, but in the somber silence which had enveloped the estate in the preceding three days, such prosaic sounds seemed an infernal racket. Shaking herself from her previous musings, Georgiana rose and moved swiftly to the window, knowing that a view of the carriage would not be available even as she wished it might. With just as much speed, she pushed away from the glass and turned toward the door and the hallway beyond.
In a fit of anxiety, she hurried down the hallway, with as much speed as she dared risk in her position. Even in moments of trouble, a lady must appear graceful and calm. Particularly in these days. If her brother was unable to uphold the image of the Darcys, it must fall to her to complete the task.
It was her brother for whom Georgiana worried. It was the fourth day since their troubling conversation in Fitzwilliam's study, and she had yet to see her brother about his normal business on the estate. He kept exclusively to his study and chambers, not even emerging for meals. Such fits of brooding were not like him, and she knew what he must be dwelling upon. He now believed fiercely that the Bingleys had played a part in Elizabeth Bennet's disappearance the previous November, a grievous blow even without taking into consideration the history of intimacy between the two families.
Indeed, it was the Bingleys that Georgiana feared to see just then. Her brother was certainly in no state to solicit visitors, and she certainly had not requested the honor of anyone's particular company. Of the Darcys' many acquaintances, only the Bingleys would feel comfortable arriving unannounced, especially given the last winter's unfortunate events surrounding the master of the estate. Georgiana knew that the presence of the Bingleys would not be thought particularly welcome at this time, and feared to see her brother's reaction should it indeed be them.
With great trepidation, she rounded the corner leading into the entrance hall, fearful as to what she might find. What she did find, she did not expect in the slightest. There stood Fitzwilliam, in hat and overcoat, reaching for his gloves, one of the Pemberley carriages clearly visible through the doors to the courtyard.
"B-brother...?"
Ordinarily activities in the courtyard would not be audible in this room, but in the somber silence which had enveloped the estate in the preceding three days, such prosaic sounds seemed an infernal racket. Shaking herself from her previous musings, Georgiana rose and moved swiftly to the window, knowing that a view of the carriage would not be available even as she wished it might. With just as much speed, she pushed away from the glass and turned toward the door and the hallway beyond.
In a fit of anxiety, she hurried down the hallway, with as much speed as she dared risk in her position. Even in moments of trouble, a lady must appear graceful and calm. Particularly in these days. If her brother was unable to uphold the image of the Darcys, it must fall to her to complete the task.
It was her brother for whom Georgiana worried. It was the fourth day since their troubling conversation in Fitzwilliam's study, and she had yet to see her brother about his normal business on the estate. He kept exclusively to his study and chambers, not even emerging for meals. Such fits of brooding were not like him, and she knew what he must be dwelling upon. He now believed fiercely that the Bingleys had played a part in Elizabeth Bennet's disappearance the previous November, a grievous blow even without taking into consideration the history of intimacy between the two families.
Indeed, it was the Bingleys that Georgiana feared to see just then. Her brother was certainly in no state to solicit visitors, and she certainly had not requested the honor of anyone's particular company. Of the Darcys' many acquaintances, only the Bingleys would feel comfortable arriving unannounced, especially given the last winter's unfortunate events surrounding the master of the estate. Georgiana knew that the presence of the Bingleys would not be thought particularly welcome at this time, and feared to see her brother's reaction should it indeed be them.
With great trepidation, she rounded the corner leading into the entrance hall, fearful as to what she might find. What she did find, she did not expect in the slightest. There stood Fitzwilliam, in hat and overcoat, reaching for his gloves, one of the Pemberley carriages clearly visible through the doors to the courtyard.
"B-brother...?"