A Wife for Mr. Darcy

issue.
    “I keep a carriage—not in town, of course, as the costs are prohibitive, but it only takes two days to make arrangements to have it brought in. If your concern is for your sister’s safety while traveling, I have a manservant who spent some of his youth on the boxing circuit. He is a handy fellow to have about when I go down to the docks.”
    “It appears that all there is left to do is to work out the details,” Mr. Darcy said, all the while looking at his sister.

When Mr. Bingley took the seat opposite to her in the carriage, Georgiana was relieved because it forced Will to sit next to her, and in that way, her brother would not be able to stare her down. But the ride was merely a brief respite. As soon as they arrived at Netherfield, Darcy said good night to Mr. Bingley, explaining that he needed to discuss some of the details for their early departure with his sister.
    As soon as she went into the study, Georgiana poured a glass of port for her brother. After handing it to him, he gestured for her to sit down, but said nothing. In Will’s case, silence was not a good sign.
    Darcy rarely raised his voice as he considered it to be a sign of weakness. If one could not present an argument without shouting the other fellow down, then his case had no merit, and it would be a sorry day if he ever raised his voice to a woman. But he was unhappy with the latest turn of events, and he was trying to cool his anger.
    “Georgiana, what do you think you are playing at?” Will asked in an even but stern tone. “And do not look at me like that. You know exactly what I am talking about.”
    “Since the Gardiners already had plans to go to Derbyshire, it seemed the right thing to do. I really like them, and I am already quite fond of Miss Elizabeth.”
    “This is about Elizabeth, isn’t it?”
    Georgiana nodded. “I think you like her very much.”
    “Well, this explains some things,” he said, standing up, and he started to pace. “Up until yesterday, Miss Montford could do no wrong, but now everything has changed. She cannot sing, speaks a language which is of little benefit to anyone, and has a nose which points to the left.”
    “To the right,” and Will looked at her with a blank expression. “Her nose points to the right. Whenever she visits us, she always sits in the blue chair, and her nose points toward the street.”
    An exasperated Darcy sat back down on the sofa and started to rub his forehead. He was getting another headache. As soon as he had departed the Bennets’ house, he had decided he must leave Hertfordshire immediately because he could easily have asked himself the same question: What did he think he was playing at? Despite having to leave for London in two days’ time, he had flirted with Elizabeth. It could not be construed in any other way.
    “Will, you do not love Miss Montford,” Georgiana said, while moving to the sofa and putting her hand on his.
    “No. I do not. But marriages between members of the upper class have very little to do with love. They are alliances made for financial considerations or dynastic or political reasons. Love may follow, but it is not the overriding reason for a man and woman to marry. You have been out in society long enough to know that.”
    Georgiana was ready for this argument, as she had spent the previous night in her bedchamber thinking of little else.
    “You have told me that the investments you made through Mr. Bingley’s financial advisor have provided you with handsome returns, so money is not the issue here. Nor is it politics, as you are a Whig and Sir John is a Tory. That leaves dynastic considerations. I understand you are the last male Darcy. If you do not produce an heir, I must leave Pemberley as David Ashton will inherit. Because of that, you have decided you must avoid doing anything that may affect my prospects in the event such a thing should happen. What we are discussing here is a matter of precedence—where my place at the table would be—below the salt as it were.”
    Darcy nodded, saying nothing, as he was afraid his voice would crack. He had a little sister no longer. She was an adult with full powers of reasoning and persuasion, which had lain hidden because of the playfulness of her manners.
    “If I were not a consideration, would you marry Elizabeth Bennet?” Georgiana asked.
    “No, I cannot,” he said, shaking his head. “You must understand that there was no mistaking my particular attention to Miss