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Suddenly Georgiana rushed into the foyer, followed by Mrs. Annesley, who stopped at the door to listen. “Richard! I thought I heard your voice!”
After embracing him, she pulled back to look into his eyes. Richard noted that her own eyes were red rimmed from crying. Suddenly a plethora of questions rained down upon him without pauses for answers. “How is Miss Bennet? Is she any better? May I see her? Will Brother return anytime soon? I have so much to ask him.”
Resisting the urge to tease his cousin about not acknowledging him first, just as he had Barnes, Richard grew serious. “I fear I must say that Miss Bennet is still insensible. She has not yet awakened; therefore, Mr. Graham moved her to one of the bedrooms on the ground floor of his clinic; she will remain there at least until she wakes.”
“May I visit her now that she is in a different room?”
“I am afraid that Graham does not wish her to have any visitors until she wakes. Since you understand your brother so well, you must know that he is beside himself with worry; however, he was sensible enough to send me to apologise for not keeping you informed of the situation.”
“I-I do not blame Brother for not keeping me informed. He must be devastated, as am I … as are we all.”
“I will not lie. I have never seen Darcy so completely shattered.”
“I pray constantly for Miss Bennet’s recovery but cannot truthfully say that I have gained any peace about it. I feel that I am too close to the matter to pray with any faith.”
“I understand. Still, we must try to have faith that God hears and answers prayers, else we will lose all hope.”
“I know this, but it is still so hard.”
Suddenly, Mrs. Annesley came forward to address her charge. “Georgiana, the colonel looks exhausted. I believe it would best if you allow him to rest whilst we resume our prayers in the drawing room.”
“Forgive me for not considering how weary you are, Cousin; do you wish to have a tray with refreshments and a pot of tea sent up, or would you rather rest first?”
“Have you ever known me to turn down food?” he teased. “A sandwich and some tea would be wonderful. Moreover, since I have been up most of the night, to be allowed to sleep until this evening would be a luxury.”
Georgiana addressed Mr. Barnes. “Please see that a tray with sandwiches and tea is sent to my cousin’s usual rooms and see that he is not disturbed until I say so.”
“Yes, Miss Darcy,” the butler replied as he hurried away.
Richard took hold of Georgiana’s hands and looked into her eyes. “If anything should occur that I need to know about, Poppet, just wake me. Otherwise, I will return to Mr. Graham’s office later for an update on Miss Bennet.”
Georgiana leaned forward to place a kiss on Richard’s cheek. “Thank you for thinking of me. I love you.”
“You are welcome, and I love you, too.”
Mr. Graham’s office
That evening
Three times that day William had helped Mrs. Cummings lift Elizabeth so that she might drink water from a soup spoon. Each time all they had succeeded in doing was pouring water over Elizabeth’s lips. In any case, the assistant was wise enough to place a towel under her chin to catch the water that escaped their endeavours. After each try, Mrs. Cummings had soaked a washcloth in water and placed it upon Elizabeth’s lips in the hope that she could take some water in that manner. As far as William could tell, that had also failed.
Faced with the fact that Elizabeth could not survive much longer without any water, William struggled not to break down when their last attempt failed, even though he had tried a slightly different approach. He had sat closer to Elizabeth, slid one hand behind her back and moved it up until he could clasp the back of her head; then, he had lifted her entire body until she was straight enough to drink without choking. Still, it had not worked.
Whilst Mrs. Cummings admitted defeat and made to leave the room, William did not move. Instead, he asked Mrs. Cummings to leave him alone with Elizabeth, and she did as he asked.
With all hopes dashed, once alone with the woman he loved beyond measure, William could no longer suppress his feelings. Embracing her as hard as he dared, he murmured, “My darling Elizabeth, now that we have found each other again, I have no idea how to go on without you. Please come back to me.”
Placing a soft kiss on her cold lips, a sob escaped and he dropped his head to her uninjured shoulder and wept. Suddenly, a barely audible whisper broke through the haze of his agony.
“I … I love ...”
Instantly alert, William pulled back to stare at Elizabeth. His heart leapt to see her eyes were open and fixed on him. Placing kisses all over her face, he cried, “Thank you, God, for giving Elizabeth back to me!”
Spying the bell that had been placed on the bedside table to call for assistance, he stretched until he managed to reach it. Soon the sound of the bell ringing filled the building, and Mrs. Cummings rushed back into the room whilst simultaneously wiping wet hands on her apron.
Upon seeing the miracle before her, she shouted more than once, “Thank God!”
Her cries were so loud that Mr. Graham heard them in his office and rushed into the room soon after. Observing that William was speaking to a responsive Elizabeth, Graham headed straight to his patient, where he picked up her wrist and counted the pace of her heartbeats. Then, calling for Mrs. Cummings to bring a cup of water, he subsequently presented that to Elizabeth. This time she took several sips before collapsing upon her pillow and shaking her head to refuse more.
