Mr Darcy's Legacy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Florence Gold

Author:Florence Gold [Gold, Florence]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Florence Gold
Published: 2025-03-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

The presence of the two portraits was too intimate to be ignored for long. It was as if they were watching a couple in their most private moments, a continuous revelation of their love. They silently left Lady Anne’s apartment and descended to the parlour on the ground floor.

They expected Darcy to be the first to touch the objects from the secret drawer. It was still his decision to open the letters and reveal the contents of the box.

“Dear Mama,” Georgiana spoke with tears in her eyes, “she liked boxes; she had a great collection, and each box was full of precious objects.”

This box had exquisite woodwork with gold and mother-of-pearl incrustations. When Darcy took it into his hands, they saw the blazon on one side. Instinctively, Darcy gave the box to Lady Edwina.

“I am sure it is the Blandford coat of arms. My goodness, this box was a commitment. No one would give a box with the blazon unless he had a serious intention. Come, Darcy, open it!”

Her tone was anxious; it seemed impossible to discover new elements in a story she was sure to know.

The box had a golden handle in the form of a snake; like the box itself, it was a masterpiece of craftsmanship. A delicate key was tied with a ribbon to the handle. Georgiana laughed again at memories of her mother’s boxes and keys and the mysteries a small child wanted to know. Her wish came true as she was about to discover her mother’s most intimate secrets that, it seemed, not even Edwina knew.

Lady Edwina stood and moved close to Darcy as he opened the box. It held a ring—nothing but a ring in its intricate velvet support. They looked in disbelief at the ring in the shape of the griffon; they had already seen it on the blazon from the box, covered in precious stones the same colours as the coat of arms. The ring had an elaborate gold mounting for a young woman’s slender hand. The duke did not give her one of his rings but made one, especially for her.

“It was more than she let me know!” Edwina was equally astonished and saddened to find her beloved friend had kept such secrets from her. She tried to remember every circumstance of the thirty-year-old story. Still, nothing was said between them to induce Lady Edwina to conclude there were more than some chaperoned meetings, dances, and hand-holding walks.

“It was not a simple love story between two young people, as she let me believe.” Lady Edwina’s voice held a trace of reproach. “He gave her a ring. It was a promise. Perhaps he even proposed to her.”

“You were not aware that he asked her to marry him?” Darcy could hardly take his eyes off the ring he handed Georgiana, who instinctively put it on her finger. It fitted perfectly. She hurried to remove it, but Darcy tenderly told her to keep it. There was a new bond and understanding growing between the siblings now that they were together in such extraordinary circumstances.

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