Family (a Pride and Prejudice fanfiction)

Dinner for Nine

It was a relief when they were summoned into the dining room and seated. Charles being an informal sort, and considering this a family occasion, he had waived any attempt at the usual order of precedence. He took the head of the table, with Jane at his right and Mary at his left, and gave Mrs. Bennet the foot of the table, with Kitty at her left and Mr. Bennet at her right. Lizzie and Fitzwilliam sat between Mary and Mr. Bennet, which left Georgiana between Jane and Kitty. Jane's attention was captured immediately by her fiance, and the two of them bent their heads toward each other and whispered and smiled throughout most of the meal. Georgiana thought it lovely that they should be so captivated by one another's company, even if it did rather force her into conversation with Kitty, and by extension with Mrs. Bennet.

"Mama was just telling me such a story about my sister Lydia's doings at Bath," Kitty said with enthusiasm. "Did you know she eloped to be married from there? So romantic." She sighed with pleasure.

Georgiana busied herself arranging her napkin in her lap, nodding politely in response to Kitty's comments. This was clearly something she would have to get used to, Mrs. Bennet and Kitty's constant mention of the youngest sister's elopement and marriage to Mr. Wickham. Part of her wanted to tell Kitty what had happened between herself and Mr. Wickham, but she was wise enough to know that nothing good could come of that. Kitty would be titillated by the story, would no doubt share it with her mother, or, worse, with her sister Mrs. Wickham, and Georgiana would be embarrassed and ashamed. But then, if she did not speak, would she eventually be brought face to face with Mr. Wickham and have the whole story come out then? He had little to lose in the eyes of his new family, not after the way his marriage had been brought about, and might well find it worth while to reveal her past mistake.

Kitty was looking at her strangely, and she realized she had been lost in thought for longer than politeness allowed. Straightening her shoulders and smiling at Kitty, she decided that there was no knowing how she might be placed farther in the future. With the Wickhams stationed so far away, perhaps by the time she was forced to see them in company and court the danger of having her youthful foolishness disclosed, she would have met someone herself. She might even be married by that point. Best, she decided, to pretend to know little of Mr. Wickham for now and to accustom herself to hear his name spoken in terms of approbation by Lizzie's mother and sister. She regretted not being placed next to Mary, although a glance at that young lady's unsmiling face and bowed head made her think that might not have been an improvement. It was odd to think of Lizzie, with her ready smile and her wit, or Jane, so quiet and serene, having grown up in the same house as the younger two sisters.

"Miss Georgie," Mrs. Bennet called, and Georgiana winced. To have the pet name she had saved for a sister presumed upon by this woman she scarcely knew was quite painful. But she rallied, and summoned a smile for Lizzie's mother.

"Yes, Mrs. Bennet?"

"Do tell us about Pemberley! Oh, how I long to visit and meet all the neighbors! Do you dine with many families?"

Startled by the question, Georgiana didn't answer for a moment, and Fitzwilliam jumped in. "We used to dine with a number of other families, while my parents were living, but I'm afraid in recent years we have kept a much quieter establishment." He smiled at Lizzie. "Perhaps that will have to change shortly."

"Well, I should say so! Charles, you know how to keep a good house. Do tell Fitzwilliam how it's done. I would hate for Lizzie's establishment to fall short of the mark." Mrs. Bennet tittered, clearly having meant the remark as a witticism.

"Mama," Lizzie said sharply, then softened her tone with what appeared to Georgiana to be an obvious effort. "We must take you to Pemberley, I think, so that you can see how impossible it would be to fall short of the mark while such an estate is in one's hands. It is all that is grand and beautiful." She looked at Fitzwilliam, a warm smile shining in her eyes. It was easy to tell she meant much more than Pemberley by her words.

There was a brief silence over the table; Lizzie's emotion had touched them all. Mrs. Bennet, when she spoke again, did so in a far quieter tone. "No doubt it is, my dear, and I look forward to seeing it. Perhaps Miss Georgie will show me all her favourite spots."

"I would be happy to," Georgiana said.

"You would be welcome to come to us for a little, after the wedding," Mrs. Bennet went on, with a wink in Fitzwilliam's direction. Georgiana saw her brother wince and Lizzie roll her eyes, and she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. "The sad truth about having one's daughters all marry at once is that it will leave the house so very quiet, with only Mary and Kitty at home." There was a sorrow in the older woman's face and a sincerity in her voice that had not been displayed previously that evening, and Georgiana couldn't help thinking about what that must be like, to have a happy, noisy family all around and then to have so many of them so far away. Of course, Jane would be close, just at Netherfield, but Lizzie and Lydia would both require long-distance trips to see ... and it would never be quite the same. It must be somewhat like what Georgiana had felt once her mother's funeral had been completed, when all the guests had returned home and Fitzwilliam had gone to London and she was all alone in Pemberley but for the servants.

She looked shyly at Lizzie's mother. "I think that might be nice, if you wouldn't mind the extra company." Catching Fitzwilliam's eye across the table, she surprised on his face an expression of surprise, respect, and a tinge of relief. Georgiana had not considered that perhaps her brother would like to start married life with his new wife without his little sister about. She pressed her lips together to stop the sudden trembling in them—it hadn't occurred to her that of course there would be an alteration in their relationship with one another once he married. She understood it, but she would miss being the object of his sole affection.

Mrs. Bennet waved her fork, breaking into the thoughts that threatened to ruin the rest of Georgiana's night. "Mind? Why should we mind? My dear, you must consider yourself one of our daughters henceforth!"

"In this area, I heartily concur with my wife," Mr. Bennet added.

"And then you must come here and visit with Charles and myself," Jane said, smiling warmly. "Between us all, you will have no shortage of places you may call home and family to smother you."

Kitty giggled. "Having had only a brother for so long, you must try sisters now and see which you like best!"

"I would be most ungrateful if I didn't consider Fitzwilliam to have been the best sibling I could have asked for ... but I look forward to a widening of our family connections, indeed."

"Pemberley will always be your home," he hastened to assure her, his expression serious. "You are not to think that because I will be getting married anything will change."

Of course it would, but not in the way that he meant, in the deep affection they bore for one another and all the memories they shared. Georgiana nodded, seeing the smiles all around. It was odd that Kitty's giggles, and Mrs. Bennet's constant talking, and Mr. Bennet's slurping of his soup, and Mary's awkward stares, suddenly seemed so familiar and comfortable, as though she had lived with them all her life. Truly, she felt that instead of losing a brother, she was gaining an entire family.