Part II. Fitzwilliam To the Rescue.

itzwilliam read the letter from his young cousin with interest. He and Darcy had often discussed Georgiana's shyness and what course they should take to wean her of it. When discussing whether she should come out this year, Darcy was leaning towards waiting another year, fearing his sister was not at all ready and far too shy to be able to handle being thrown into a wider society than she had previously known, but Fitzwilliam argued strongly that she would never break out of her shyness until she had come out, and therefore suggested that it be done sooner rather than later. Fitzwilliam teased Darcy a great deal about the latter's inability to recognize that Georgiana had obviously grown up into a very fine young lady and was no longer the child that Darcy had in mind. Fitzwilliam also felt that Darcy had become overprotective of his sister in the last year, and though he understood the reasons for it, Fitzwilliam felt that it was not helpful to Georgiana. After arguing for some time, Darcy finally relented and agreed that they would bring his sister out this winter.

As for the matter of her brother, Fitzwilliam had not been oblivious to the change in Darcy and had a very good idea of what was wrong. He was fairly certain that Darcy had asked Miss Elizabeth Bennet to marry him and, to Fitzwilliam's and perhaps Darcy's surprise as well, that he had been rejected, but when Fitzwilliam thought of the times that he had seen Darcy in company with Miss Bennet, he doubted his conclusion. Darcy did not seem to distinguish Miss Bennet with his attentions and had not acted, to Fitzwilliam's opinion, like a man in love. He talked to her only rarely, and never for very long, and sometimes in a manner bordering on the uncivil. Darcy had been in fact much quieter than Fitzwilliam had ever known him to be, which after further reflection Fitzwilliam took to be a possible sign of Darcy's affections, having never remembered seeing his cousin in love before, he realized he did not known how Darcy would react to such an emotion.

Having had no idea of any such attachment between Darcy and Miss Bennet while they were all together in Kent, Fitzwilliam was forced to look back over his cousin's behavior to try to see the signs of it. Sometimes during these reflections Fitzwilliam would be convinced that Darcy could not possibly have been in love, while at other times he would be equally convinced that his cousin had been deeply in love. What had led Fitzwilliam's mind finally to conclude that the source of Darcy's apparent distress was unrequited love, was his cousin's behavior since leaving Lady Catherine's home--and in particular, his behavior during the carriage ride back to London, when Fitzwilliam had a good opportunity to watch his friend. Darcy was normally very happy and talkative when leaving Rosings--as was Fitzwilliam--but that day Darcy stared resolutely out the window without saying a single word, and once, when he chanced a glance at his cousin, Fitzwilliam fancied that he saw the track of a tear on Darcy's cheek. Though at the time he believed himself to have been mistaken, later he began to believe his eyes. It seemed to him that Darcy had been both terribly sad and very angry during that ride, and his behavior had been much the same ever since.

At first Fitzwilliam was unable to account for his cousin's mood, but thinking backwards a little bit further, Fitzwilliam soon came to believe that Darcy's changed behavior had its beginning the night just two days before he and Darcy had left Kent. On that night Miss Bennet had stayed behind alone at Hunsford with a headache. Darcy had completely disappeared for a time that evening, and while Fitzwilliam first assumed that Darcy had only gone for a walk to avoid the double discomfort of Lady Catherine and the abominably silly Mr. Collins, and had envied Darcy his ability to escape, Fitzwilliam later came to the conclusion that, if Darcy went for a walk at all, it was only a short one to Hunsford Parsonage. From his cousin's behavior following that night, Fitzwilliam was led to believe that his friend had received a very great shock and that the source of that shock must be Miss Bennet.

Fitzwilliam had assumed that Darcy would overcome whatever heartbreak he may have suffered and become his old self soon enough, but after three months Fitzwilliam was growing concerned that instead of pulling himself out of his melancholy, Darcy was falling further into it. Fitzwilliam was certain that Darcy had too much sense to allow himself to continue to pine away for a woman who had refused him, and therefore suspected that there was far more to the business than he could possibly know--but he was determined to find out. He would begin by taking up Georgiana's invitation to join them and seeing for himself the present state of Darcy's mind.

Fitzwilliam arrived at the house where Darcy and Georgiana were staying early in the morning, hoping that Darcy would not be in, and that he might be able to speak with Georgiana and perhaps Mrs. Annesley before Darcy returned. He was in luck; Darcy was out, and Georgiana was delighted to see him. Fitzwilliam was again struck by how beautiful and elegant his young cousin had become. They talked together for some time, talking a great deal about the dinner held three evenings before, and which Fitzwilliam was not at all surprised to hear went off very well, but mostly they discussed her brother. It seemed to be just as Fitzwilliam had feared. Darcy was indeed acting like a man with a broken heart.

Georgiana proved herself to be far more observant and astute than either Darcy or Fitzwilliam had ever given her credit for, when she said, "Cousin, do you think it is possible that my brother is in love? I know people can act very strangely when they are in love, and not at all like themselves, so that would explain his behavior--at least in part. But if that is the case, I do not understand why he should seem either so angry or so sad. Surely, if he was in love he would be very happy about it, would he not?"

"I do not know, my dear, and you should not be speculating about it. Your brother would be very angry with you if he knew you were doing so. I will talk to him and try to find out what is wrong, and I promise you that I will do what I can to help him. I can give you this assurance, I know you are concerned that your brother is still angry with you for what happened last summer, but I know that is not so. You know, of course, my dear, that he and I discuss you very often and at great length in our letters. If he were still upset, I would certainly know it, so you may rest easy on that score at least.

"Now, my dear, do you happen to remember what piece of music it was that your brother did not want to hear?"

"Yes, I have it right here."

"Would you be so kind as to play a little bit of it for me. Not too much of it though, I would not want your brother to come in while you were playing it."

Georgiana played a few minutes of the piece, enough for Fitzwilliam to confirm his suspicions. The song was the first one that Miss Bennet had played for them at Rosings; at the time she told him that it was her favorite and that Darcy had heard her play it once before in Hertfordshire. Fitzwilliam was now as sure as he could be that love for Miss Bennet had caused all of his cousin's problems. The music was strong evidence; after hearing the woman he loved play the piece, and knowing, perhaps, that it was her favorite song, Darcy could not bear to hear it played by anyone else.

Fitzwilliam then spoke for a time alone with Mrs. Annesley, mostly about Georgiana, but he also inquired after Mr. Darcy. Though Mrs. Annesley was naturally reluctant to discuss her employer, Fitzwilliam learned enough to have Georgiana's observations confirmed. He then sat and awaited his friend's return while trying to decide how he should deal with him once he arrived.

Continued In Part III