Page 36 of Gold and Good Sense

Images of his handsome face, and his dark brown eyes gazing down at her with a subtle warmth kept passing through her mind’s eye, but they were often followed by memories of him wordlessly and coldly staring at her across a room. She also recalled a few times when she directly observed him snubbing another young lady.

Eventually, just before dawn, exhaustion sent her to sleep, but her repose only lasted a few short hours before she was awakened by Anna. “Miss. You must wake up, Miss Elizabeth.”

“What is it?” asked Elizabeth as she attempted to open her eyes.

“An express come this morning, Miss,” said Anna. “Mr. Bennet is calling for all his daughters in the front drawing room. He had a frightful serious expression on his face.”

This popped Elizabeth’s eyes open wide. “Whatever could it be?” she said as she immediately sat up and began getting out of bed.

“I couldn’t say,” said Anna. She held Elizabeth’s robe open, so Elizabeth could slip into it.

“It must be serious for Papa to wake us all up like this,” she murmured.

“I hope it isn’t too terrible,” said Anna. “I must go and wake Miss Mary now.”

“Of course,” said Elizabeth as the maid hurried out of the room. She turned to her mirror and took a brief glance at her to make sure there was nothing too egregious in her appearance. Then she hurried out the door and down to the drawing room.

Jane was already there along with Papa and Lady Esther. Mary and Lydia followed soon after. Papa was clearly agitated as he paced back and forth across the entire length of the large drawing room.

Once all four sisters were assembled, Papa handed the express to Jane and said, “Please read it aloud.”

May 11, 1811

Dear Brother Bennet,

As my sister was retiring to bed this night, she must have stumbled, for she suffered a disastrous fall down the stairs. Mrs. Hill heard the noise and found Fanny unconscious at the bottom. She immediately roused the servants, sending for the apothecary, Mr. Jones, as well as a surgeon from Highwind and myself.

After examination, both Mr. Jones and the surgeon agreed. She is still alive, but she is unlikely to remain so for long. If you wish to see your wife before she passes, make all haste, and prepare yourself for the worst.

Sincerely,

John Phillips

Remarkably, Jane’s voice held steady as she read the entire letter, but she was not unaffected. As soon as she was done, she said, “We must hurry, Papa.”

“That was precisely my plan,” said Papa. “Get yourselves dressed as quickly as possible. No need to be perfect. The new barouche will be ready to leave in fifteen minutes. Lady Esther, I will leave you and Mrs. Jamison to see to closing up the house. We will not be returning.”

Lady Esther curtseyed, a courtesy not necessary given her rank. She said, “Of course, Mr. Bennet. It shall be done.”

Without another word, Papa nodded and headed for the door, his daughters close behind him.

No one spoke as all four sisters made their way upstairs. Elizabeth desperately wanted to know what the others were thinking or feeling, but there was simply no time to discuss it, so it was pointless to begin.

With Anna’s occasional assistance, Elizabeth made herself ready, wearing her brown traveling gown, covered with a sturdy but lightweight pelisse. Her hair was in a simple braid, pinned up in a bun, and the shorter pieces in front of her ears, which were usually curled, were pinned back out of sight.

All five Bennets were ready and waiting when the carriage arrived at the front door with four horses hitched to it. They hopped in. A footman climbed up behind, and another joined the driver on the box. With the carriage as full as it had ever been, they set off.

Chapter 19

Elizabeth hoped to never have to live through such an awful carriage ride again. Despite the extra horses, the weight of the passengers and the heaviness of the carriage itself slowed them down more than she would have expected. The drive, which would have taken more than four hours in her father’s old carriage, still took three and a half hours even with all possible haste.

The company inside was far from pleasant. Either everyone was silent, drowning in their own worries and sorrows, or the conversation was entirely too unpleasant to tolerate for long, with speculations as to what might or might not happen.

When Lydia expressed hope that everything might turn out well, Elizabeth felt her stomach turn, knowing such a fate was unlikely. Yet, discussing it realistically did not feel any better.

Papa and Mary were nearly silent the whole journey, only speaking when someone asked them a direct question.

Finally, the interminable, intolerable journey ended, but the ending offered no relief.