Part IV. Darcy Talks To Georgiana.

fter Fitzwilliam left him, Darcy spent an hour alone in his study. Eventually, the sound of the pianoforte drew him into the music room. There, Georgiana was playing while Mrs. Annesley sat by the window with some needlework. Georgiana smiled at her brother as he entered.

"Where is Fitzwilliam?" he inquired of her.

"He went out for a ride, I think," Georgiana answered as she continued to play.

"Mrs. Annesley, would you be so kind as to leave my sister and me alone for a while. I need to talk with her."

"Yes, of course, sir," she replied as she gathered her things together and went out.

Darcy took a seat at the instrument beside his sister.

"You play very well, my dear," he said, as she finished the piece. "I hope you know how proud I am of you. And you were very charming the other night--everyone said so."

Georgiana smiled, and bowed her head in embarrassment. He took her hand and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Fitzwilliam keeps reminding me that you are no longer a child. I am sorry, my dear, if I sometimes think of you as one, but when I look at you, I can not help but remember you playing with your dolls, and that was not so very long ago. I am sorry if I do not tell you as much as I ought. I know that by not confiding in you more, I have, perhaps, caused you pain. Fitzwilliam told me that you were very worried about me. I am sorry, my dear, I hope you can forgive me."

"Of course I can, William, if you assure me that there is nothing wrong."

"I am quite well, Georgiana. I can assure you of that. There is nothing wrong that a little time will not heal."

"Then you are not still angry with me for what I did last year?"

"Oh, no my dear, of course I am not angry with you! Is that what you thought? No, no, my dear," he said as he took her in his arms and held her close to him. "That was forgotten long ago. Please do not think that this has anything to do with you; it does not.

"I will tell you something about it, for I believe you may benefit from hearing it. Come, my dear," he said as he moved her to one of the sofas. "I have acted very badly, Georgiana, and I will tell you about it, because I do not want you to make the same mistakes I made. When we look around us, you and I, it is easy from our position in society to see everyone looking up at us, and that can give one an undue sense of pride--and arrogance. That is what happened to me, my dear, and I want to make sure it does not happen to you.

"For a very long time I have thought myself superior to all those around me, and cared little for those outside my family circle. I have gone through life thinking meanly of all those who were in any way beneath me. I must have offended so many people, Georgiana, that I shudder to think of it. I do not know how it happened, certainly my mother and father never taught me to be selfish, but somewhere along the line it did happen. It is so easy to go on seeing oneself, not as we really are, but as we think we are, until something happens which shows us the truth." Darcy became lost in thought for several minutes. Georgiana sat quietly watching her brother, not wanting to wake him from his reverie.

Remembering himself he continued, "Fitzwilliam said that you had a good idea of what happened to me. You know then, perhaps, that I have fallen in love?"

"I thought that might be the case, but you seemed so very sad, that I could not be certain."

"Yes, I have been sad, have I not. That, my dear, is because the woman I love does not love me. While I was falling in love with her, it seems she was learning to hate me."

"Oh, no, William. I can not believe that. No one could ever hate you. You are the kindest and gentlest of men. You must be mistaken, brother. You must be!"

Darcy kissed her hand and said, "My dear, your love and good opinion of me I do cherish, but I gave her every reason to dislike me, and I do not blame her for doing so. I could only be surprised, if she did not hate me. No, my dear, my behavior towards her and those around her fully justified her feelings. As I said, I have offended many people in my life, and she was one of them. I acted so badly, Georgiana; I was insulting to her and to her family, and I have paid a very high price for my arrogance--it has cost me the woman I love. I am in her debt, my dear. She showed me how wrongly I had acted, and gave me a chance to correct my behavior, and to make certain that you do not make the same mistakes.

"I want you to learn from this, Georgiana. I want you to learn to be more generous than I have been, to understand that we are not above the rest of society, that there are good people everywhere in this world, people worth knowing. I hope you will remember this, and take a lesson from my mistakes, my dear.

"I am sorry that I have not been myself lately. I will try to raise my spirits, I promise. I shall conquer this, my dear, I shall. Now, will you play me something. I do love to hear you play."

"Of course, I shall," she said, and before returning to the pianoforte she leaned over and gave her brother a kiss on his forehead. "And I will think about what you have said, brother." He pressed her hand before letting her go.

The End.