Page 166 of Near Pemberley

“Very important observations.”

“Clearly.”

Georgiana stepped forward and embraced Elizabeth without hesitation. “I am so happy.”

The simplicity of the words affected Elizabeth; she glanced at Darcy.

Lydia looked from Elizabeth to Darcy. Then her eyes suddenly widened. “Oh…”

She pointed rather unnecessarily between them. “Does this mean…?” She looked from one to the other again. “Does this mean you are really going to be my brother?”

Darcy looked at her for a long moment before smiling. “It very much looks like it.”

For the first time since they had met, Lydia did not know what to say. Instead, she crossed the room in three quick steps and threw her arms around him.

Darcy returned the embrace with his uninjured arm before a sharp pain in his ribs made him draw a quiet breath.

Lydia stepped back instantly. “Oh! I have hurt you.”

“Only my dignity.”

She laughed through suddenly glistening eyes. “I think I rather like having a brother already.”

Darcy looked at her with quiet affection. “I believe I rather like having a new sister.”

When he looked at them all – Georgiana, Lydia, and Elizabeth – he realised that the happiness he had once believed impossible was not merely within reach.

It was already his.

Then, as though remembering himself, he cleared his throat. “However,” he added, looking at both young ladies with sudden seriousness, “it is not official yet.”

Lydia’s expression changed at once. “Oh.”

“So no word to anyone.”

She pressed a hand dramatically to her heart. “William, you wound me.”

“William, is it?”

“I can’t very well call my brother Mr. Darcy.”

“She has you there,” Elizabeth chuckled.

“So she has. Well, Lydia, can you keep the news to yourself?”

Lydia considered the question. “Of course.”

Georgiana grinned. “You mean we must keep it a secret?”

“For the present.”

Elizabeth looked at him. “And how long is the present?”

Darcy’s eyes met hers. “No longer than necessary.”

There was something in the quiet certainty of his answer that made her smile.

Lydia noticed. “Good heavens. You are both already impossible.”