The look confused her far more than pride ever had.
The carriage began to move.
Mrs. Bennet adjusted the blankets around Jane with efficient tenderness. “There now. We shall have you home directly. Cook has broth waiting, and Mrs. Hill has already aired your bed.”
Jane leaned back carefully. “Home sounds heavenly.”
“And hot tea,” Mrs. Bennet continued. “Strong enough to revive even Lydia’s good sense, should such a miracle ever be required.”
Jane giggled weakly before coughing again.
Elizabeth sat beside her, allowing Jane to rest against her shoulder once the coughing eased.
“You shall be quite spoiled for the next week,” she said.
Jane’s eyes drifted closed. “I do not think I mind.”
Mrs. Bennet nodded at them both.
The remainder of the journey passed peacefully. The repaired carriage moved smoothly now, though Elizabeth noticed her mother’s gaze drift more than once toward the opposite seat with an expression of restrained exasperation.
By the time Longbourn appeared, Jane had nearly fallen asleep completely.
Servants hurried out to meet them upon arrival, and within minutes Jane had been conveyed upstairs, settled once more inher own chambers beneath familiar blankets and attended by every comfort the house could provide.
Elizabeth remained only long enough to ensure Jane was resting comfortably before following her mother back downstairs.
Mrs. Bennet paused in the morning room doorway once they were alone.
“I believe,” she said carefully, “that your brothers were playing with the carriage.”
Elizabeth stared. “Thomas and Toby?”
“Mm.”
“Mama.”
Her mother sighed and removed her gloves.
“They deny understanding precisely what they were doing,” she said. “Whether that denial is wholly truthful remains open to interpretation.”
Elizabeth’s suspicions grew.
“They meddled with the carriage?”
“So it would appear.”
“And the axle broke because of it?”
Mrs. Bennet nodded once. “Thankfully not far from Netherfield.”
Elizabeth pressed a hand briefly against her forehead.
“What possessed them?”
“I suspect,” Mrs. Bennet replied dryly, “that they believed themselves engaged in some grand strategic endeavor.”
Elizabeth stared at her mother.
