Free Mr. Darcy's Secret by Jane Odiwe Page A

wrong after all, she decided. Mr Butler must have enough friends of his own without wishing to add her to the list.

Chapter 7
    Georgiana knew that Tom Butler had arrived, for she had been watching for him after breakfast from the safety of her sitting room, which afforded a splendid view of the drive and the little bridge crossing the stream, over which all visitors must come. She was thinking about how she might start another drawing on a completely new subject and considering how unnecessary it was to go and introduce herself to Mr Butler again. After all, he was here to do some work for her brother and he would be completely taken up with that. Georgiana positioned two vases of varying heights with a Chinese bowl into a suitable arrangement and was just sharpening her pencil with the knife she used specially for the purpose when there came a rapid knock upon her door.
    It was Lizzy looking most harried. "Oh, Georgiana, I am in a panic. Will you help me? I had completely forgotten that I promised Mrs Gardiner that I would take her to see the market and shops in Matlock whilst she is here. It is market day today and there will not be an opportunity to go again before the Christmas festivities begin. She was so looking forward to going with the idea of looking for small gifts for the children."
    "Oh, Lizzy, I know what you are about to say. Please do not ask me!"
    "Please, Georgiana, you have only to take Mr Butler to the upper slopes where we walked and then you may leave him. I beg you; no one else will do. I feel it looks bad enough that I am not going to be here to do the honours, but at least with you, the other mistress of the house, I shall not feel quite as if I have neglected my duties so much. Please say you will help me."
    Mrs Darcy's expression was such that it was quite beyond Georgiana's power to refuse her; indeed, she felt she could never refuse anything Elizabeth asked of her. Lizzy was so kind, always behaving like the sister she had never had. How could she decline such an appeal to be of assistance?
    "Very well, Lizzy, I do it because I love you, my dearest sister, but I have to tell you that every inclination in my body is against it."
    "Thank you, my dearest girl," said Lizzy, not stopping to assuage Georgiana's feelings further with any more platitudes. "Come, make haste, there is not a moment to lose. I've left the poor man in the library looking at a stack of your sketches. I told him I would be back in seconds."
    "Oh, Lizzy, how could you show him my poor sketches?" cried Georgiana.
    "Listen, not only are they remarkable drawings, but also you will have something to talk about, so you need not feel so shy," added Lizzy, taking her sister's hand and almost pulling her out of the room.
    Mrs Darcy left Georgiana at the library door, running away before the latter had a chance to change her mind. With her heart hammering, Georgiana observed Mr Butler through the open door. He was sitting at a table by the window and so engrossed with the drawings before him that he was unconscious of her presence. Dressed very smartly in a dark blue coat, and with his hair falling in fair tendrils against his collar, he made a pleasing picture. His long fingers seemed almost to caress the paper, so gently did he turn the pages. Georgiana watched his hands and noted not only his movements, but also his quiet strength. "He does have an expression of kindness," she thought, "but I am so afraid to go in. It is such a curious feeling, so alarming that I do not know what to feel; though if I must describe it to myself, it is somewhere between fright and excitement. If only I could run back to my room at this moment, I would!"
    At last she found the courage to step forward, remembering that she did not want to let Elizabeth down. "Good morning, Mr Butler," she said, trying to meet his eyes which stared into her own with a clarity she found unsettling. "I am so sorry that Mrs Darcy has a previous engagement, but I hope you will