If he had taken nothing all day, either his stomach or his throat was at fault. Perhaps both. “Is his throat inflamed?”
“Yes, Miss Bennet.”
“Where is the tincture of myrrh?”
Mr. Harris looked confused. “The what?”
The colonel shook his head and gestured to a table cluttered with powders and tonics. Elizabeth picked up a candle and examined what was there. “It came in the basket. I mentioned it to you . . .”
“I beg your pardon, then,” the colonel said. “I had never heard of it, so Mrs. Nicholls must still have it.”
“Please send a maid for it, if you would,” she said. “It will treat the infection in his throat.”
The colonel hastened to call for a maid, and Elizabeth turned to study her patient. Mr. Darcy looked so unlike the man who had teased her when he won their chess game, who had seemed to be regaining his full health from whatever had plagued him.
A low, guttural sound came from his lips. “Elizabeth.”
Her heart clenched. His voice, weak though it was, reached her soul in a way that no grand declaration ever could.
“I am here, Mr. Darcy,” she said softly, moving to the bedside. She knelt, ignoring the discomfort of the hard floor, and took one of his fevered hands in hers. “I am here.”
“Apologise. I should have said . . .” He groaned and sank back into the pillows.
Colonel Fitzwilliam returned “He has been asking for you, though he will surely be furious with me when he recovers.”
Elizabeth turned to him, frowning. “Why should he be angry?”
“Because I sent for you,” the colonel admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “He did not want anyone to see him in this state. Especially you.” He hesitated, then added, “He was adamant that neither you nor Georgie be exposed to his illness.”
Elizabeth shook her head, her grip on Darcy’s hand tightening. “It does not matter. If he has asked for me, I will not leave him.”
The colonel smiled faintly. “I thought as much.”
Elizabeth glanced toward the door. “Is Miss Darcy being kept informed of her brother’s state?”
“Yes, but he made it clear before his fever worsened that Georgiana was to be kept away. He did not want . . .” His eyelids pinched shut for a moment before he took a deep breath and continued. “He did not want this to be her final memory of him.”
In spite of the pain this caused her, Elizabeth was grateful the colonel had trusted her with the truth. She leaned closer to Mr. Darcy, brushing damp curls away from his forehead. “No more of that,” she whispered in his ear. “Rest, swallow the medicines, and let us take care of you.”
Mr. Darcy stirred slightly, his lips moving as though trying to form words. He moaned her name.
She leaned over to speak in his ear softly. “I am here, Mr. Darcy.”
Soon a maid appeared with the tincture Elizabeth had requested, and she managed to coax Mr. Darcy into taking a dose. “There now,” she whispered to him. “This will help, but you should eat something with it.” Mr. Harris hurried to the fire and brought back a small bowl of broth. The men helped Mr. Darcy into a more upright position, and he was able to swallow three spoonfuls.
Elizabeth set the bowl aside and turned to the colonel, noting the dark crescents under his eyes, the wrinkled clothing, and the whiskers he had not bothered to shave. “Colonel, you too must rest. You will be of no use to him if you fall ill yourself.”
“I cannot leave him,” Fitzwilliam protested.
“You cannot leave him uncared for,” she corrected him. “But I am here, and Mrs. Simmons will arrive any moment, so you will go. Sleep for a few hours. I will send for you immediately if there is any change.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Fitzwilliam nodded. “Very well. I see the sense of what you say. But if he takes a turn, do not wait to summon me. Not even a moment.”
“I will do as you say,” Elizabeth assured him.
Colonel Fitzwilliam put his hand on the doorframe and glanced back over his shoulder before stepping out into the hall.
A knock at the still open door less than half an hour later announced the arrival of Old Mrs. Simmons, little Davey Simmons’s grandmother. The elderly woman stepped in, her presence immediately giving Elizabeth hope as she set about assessing the situation with practiced efficiency.
