She nestled closer and ran her hand along the smooth planes of his chest. “Very well, sir. I shall endeavor not to worry while you are out hunting these feral dogs, and I shall offer a prayer for all of you.”
He brushed the tip of his nose against hers before claiming her lips in a kiss. Thoughts of feral dogs and damaged fences fell away. She rested secure within his embrace, his strong body pressed close to hers, and abandoned herself to his tender embrace.
On the midwife's advice, Elizabeth walked with Mary three times each day. Their walks were brief, alternating between the rose arbors and along the banks of the brook bordering the formal gardens. Between the walking and the massages, the swelling lessened enough to bring some relief. The family approved of Miriam, the midwife, a lively and capable woman. She eventually confirmed that Mary carried twins. The pregnancy would be more complicated, for if twins are born too early, they could perish from immaturity of the lungs.
“Mrs. Collins, I recommend that you write to your husband and send for him no later than the first or second week of June. By the look of you, I doubt you shall carry the babies much longer than that.”
Mary did write to Mr. Collins, requesting that he come to her. His letter arrived promptly. He would come, though she did not anticipate his arrival with any pleasure. Still, he was the father of her children and had a right to be present when they were born.
Kitty and Georgiana became close friends, and though Kitty was older, she deferred to Georgiana, who was the more accomplished of the two. Georgiana took great pleasure in teaching Kitty simple pieces upon the pianoforte and giving lessons in deportment. Kitty spoke of growing up in a household with four sisters and confessed her sadness that her favorite sister had married and now lived in India.
“I know it is beastly of me to feel so, but Lydia has traveled halfway around the world aboard a ship with a very handsome husband while I languish in a tiny village buried in the Hertfordshire countryside. It does not seem fair. I ought to be the one having adventures, for I am two years older.”
“Do you wish to marry, Kitty?”
The older girl frowned. “I had thought so, but seeing how Mary suffers has made me reconsider. I should like to have adventures, and since a woman may not quit her father’s house unless she marries, I will not experience any adventure unless I do marry. I wish I might marry a handsome gentleman without falling with child and enduring all the suffering attending such a condition.”
Georgiana listened and wished to offer comfort, but no comfort was possible, for what Kitty desired lay beyond the realm of possibility.
“I expect Lydia shall soon write to announce she is with child, and then there will be an end to balls and parties,” Kitty said with a note of resignation.
Georgiana said solemnly, “I once heard of a lady who had been married six years and had not yet conceived. Her husband was exceedingly wealthy and often reproached her because she was barren.”
“Truly? I have never known such women. In our little village, every family has an abundance of children, though not all survive into adulthood.”
The two girls were still deep in conversation when Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth joined them. They would soon be summoned to dinner, but Darcy asked each young lady to play a piece upon the pianoforte in the interim.
“If you please, Georgiana, I shall go first, for my nerves will become too disordered if I must sit through your superior performance before my own. I shall feel too mortified to follow you.”
Georgiana encouraged her. “You are progressing very well, Kitty. Come, I shall turn the pages for you.”
Kitty performed a simple piece without mistakes, and the small company was pleased. She received praise from every member of their little circle.
Georgiana then played a selection by Bach, a haunting piece Mr. Darcy particularly favored. The piece was received with pleasure, and Mr. Darcy asked for another, one favored by their mother. When Georgiana had finished and took her seat next to Kitty, Darcy turned toward Elizabeth. “Would you sing for us, darling?”
Her lips curved upward. “Anything for you, sir.”
He waggled his brows suggestively but offered no reply. She met his look with one of her own, her eyes sparkling with mischief, but walked sedately to the instrument as though his teasing had not affected her. Elizabeth sang a favorite of her father’s and afterward took her place beside her husband. Walters entered carrying a silver tray bearing the day’s correspondence. Mr. Darcy sorted through the letters, then gravely handed one to Elizabeth. Black ink bordered the page.
“This is addressed to you, Elizabeth.”
Her hand pressed against her breast in an effort to calm the frantic beating of her heart. Could it be Papa? But he had appeared perfectly well only two months earlier. The family sat in silence while she broke the seal and ran her eyes down the letter. A sob escaped her, and she looked toward Kitty.
“Mr. Adams has written. A cholera outbreak struck the European quarter where they reside in Calcutta. Lydia contracted the illness.”
Elizabeth then began reading aloud from Mrs. Gardiner’s letter.
“I have transcribed a portion of his letter for you and your sisters, Elizabeth. I sent the original on to your parents.”
Excerpt from Mr. Adams’s letter:
“My wife fell ill, but two days after I dispatched my last letter to you. She died within twenty-four hours of contracting the disease. The physician believes that had she not been with child, she might have survived the illness. I lost them both in this terrible scourge. I contracted the disease from her, but did not succumb to it. I can hardly believe that my beautiful Lydia is gone from me.”
“Oh, poor Liddie,” Kitty whispered.
Elizabeth swallowed hard before continuing. “Mr. Adams writes that she has been buried in the South Park Street Cemetery, which serves as the principal burial ground for British residents of Calcutta.”
Kitty buried her face in her hands and fled the room in tears.
