“It is very good of you to call again,” she said, waiting for her guests to be seated before sinking heavily onto a sofa.
When the tea was brought in, Phillip gestured for Mrs. Gardiner to remain seated and he poured the tea for her. “How is Miss Bennet? Has Doctor Post come again today? I suppose Miss Elizabeth must be with her – has she no fear of contagion?”
“Elizabeth will not leave Jane’s side, but the footmen moved a large sofa into the room and I have insisted that Lizzy rest herself, for she was up all night. Jane is much worse than yesterday, and the doctor fears she is in danger if her fever does not break.”
Georgiana and Lady Matilda exclaimed their shock and sympathy, while Phillip gently took the teacup from Mrs. Gardiner as it clattered in the saucer. Darcy glanced toward the corridor beyond the open parlor doors, and the stairs that led to Elizabeth, desperately wishing he could go to her. Instead, he asked, “Where is Mrs. Jennings?”
“She is taking Lucy Steele home to Longstaple, if her uncle will have her back. I suppose you have heard….”
Phillip merely nodded, though the countess agreed more emphatically. Darcy scowled and shook his head. “Mrs. Jennings has abandoned you at such a time? For the sake of a young lady who disgraced herself?”
Mrs. Gardiner smiled tightly. “She did not disgraceherself, Mr. Darcy.”
Lady Matilda harrumphed in agreement. “Her uncle ought to call Robert Ferrars out! And I suppose Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley turned their backs on their new friend?”
“They were never her friends; they only wished to remind Jane how little they cared forher.”Elizabeth stepped into the parlor, and Darcy stared as if he had conjured her merely by thinking of how desperately he wished to see her.
But he could take no pleasure in the sight of her, for it was evident that she was quite unfit for company. She wore the same gown as he had seen her in yesterday, and it was wrinkled and rumpled, as if she had slumbered in it. Her thick, dark hair was pulled back in a simple braid down her back, a halo of frizz and small tendrils of hair escaping and curling outward. Her face was red from weeping, and Darcy longed to take her in his arms and offer what comfort he could.
Mrs. Gardiner merely leveled a stern grimace at her niece, looking too tired to do more than this. “Lizzy, dear….”
Georgiana extended a hand, beckoning to Elizabeth, who took a seat beside her; she clutched Georgiana’s hand with a sad smile while the viscount poured her a cup of tea. “Thank you. You are very good to call again,” Elizabeth said, her eyes shifting from Phillip to Darcy. She made a strange expression, as if in physical pain; Darcy was confused, until Mrs. Gardiner gently chastised her niece.
“Lizzy, you are too exhausted to even smile properly – you ought to go back upstairs, dearest.”
“I heard you all and thought it would be pleasing to see my friends. Forgive me for expressing it so poorly,” Elizabeth said with just a trace of her usual mirth. “Besides, if anybody is besmirchingcertain persons, I shall always….”
The rest of her quip was lost as she yawned, loudly indecorously, her body tilting to one side. Georgiana tookElizabeth’s teacup and set it aside as the countess discreetly gave Elizabeth’s arm a tug to pull her upright. Elizabeth gave a little shake of her head and blinked rapidly, offering Darcy another strange smile as she met his eye. “Anyhow, it is a comfort to see you, at such an awful time.”
“Then our purpose in calling has been achieved,” Phillip said, resting a hand on his heart. He stood and bowed to the ladies and then gestured to his relations. “Darcy, Tilly, Gigi – we ought not trespass any longer.”
Darcy rose from his seat and took a few steps closer to Elizabeth, whose unfocused gaze was still fixed on him. She had not worked herself into such a state when her sister fell ill at Netherfield, and Darcy worried this must signify that Miss Bennet was in grave danger. “If there is anything, anything at all that can be done for your comfort and aid, I beg you would ask it of us.”
“Indeed; we are at your service, at any hour,” Phillip agreed. His hand briefly extended toward the ladies before he tucked it behind his back and gave another slight bow.
Mrs. Gardiner looked skeptically at Elizabeth. “Colonel Brandon called this morning and offered to fetch Jane’s mother, but….”
“Oh, please, no….” Elizabeth yawned again and gave another rapid shake of her head to rouse herself. “It is perhaps a blessing that the Palmers would do nothing for Lucy, and Mrs. Jennings was obliged to go….”
“Lizzy!” Mrs. Gardiner screwed up her face and then gave a rueful laugh before murmuring her apologies to her guests. “She is very tired – I think she only means to say she desires some quiet and rest.”
Elizabeth grumbled, then nodded. “But you will come again tomorrow? Your concern is so very… handsome….” She yawned a third time and slumped into her aunt’s embrace.
Darcy quelled a laugh in his throat and nodded, and he briefly clasped her hand in his own. “We shall, Miss Elizabeth, but only if you promise to rest yourself. I am certain she would ask it of you if she could.”
Her fingers curled around his for a moment as she attempted a sleepy smile. “I should promise you anything,” she murmured. Nobody else appeared to hear this but her aunt, whose eyes widened as she looked over at Darcy.
“And you must turn us away, if we are an incumbrance tomorrow, dear Mrs. Gardiner,” Phillip drawled. Darcy glowered at his cousin, while Georgiana and Lady Matilda effusively assured Mrs. Gardiner there was no need to apologize for Elizabeth’s drowsy display, though the good lady continued to do so.
Lady Matilda and Georgiana continued their tender assurances and promises of fervent prayers until Darcy and the viscount led them from the house, and the plight of Mrs. Gardiner remained a topic of worried conversation at Matlock House for much of the day. Scarcely a single waking hour passed that Darcy did not think of Elizabeth and whisper a prayer for the recovery of her sister.
All the while, he tormented himself for the folly of attempting to repress his feelings in Hertfordshire. He had not known then that Elizabeth Bennet was destined to beguile his every waking thought, to better him as man, and to belong already to his beloved family. Had he only realizedthenthe inevitability of her hold on his heart, he might now have the right to offer her every comfort of a husband to a wife at a time ofcrisis. Instead, he could only pass a restless night dreaming of such privileges as these.
Chapter Twenty-One
London
Elizabeth was reclined on the sofa she had scarcely left in the last two days and nights. It was pushed up against Jane’s bed in such a way that on the rare occasion Elizabeth did leave her sister’s side, she was obliged to scramble indecorously over the arm or back of the sofa. At present, however, Elizabeth was comfortable amongst the plush pillows and blankets that she had made a sort of nest of, grinning drowsily at the sight of her sister.
