Mary showed the disapproval on her face as she was sure Mama would approve, and Papa would do nothing to check them. She was right. Permission was granted which resulted in squeals from the two youngest Bennets. Chattering loudly about how many officers each would attract; they were soon on their way into Meryton.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Why have I been summoned to your study like an errant child?” Miss Bingley screeched at her brother.
“Do you have any idea of how your actions last night may have worsened Miss Bennet’s illness? Do you even care?” Bingley demanded as soon as the door was closed.
“She rode here to entrap you…” Miss Bingley began.
“That was not her choice, and from what I am told, your behaviour was so atrocious that as sick as she was she asked to be taken home which you refused to accommodate. I am ashamed you are my sister,” Bingley stated with asperity.
“That was all part of the act.” Miss Bingley waved her brother’s concerns away dismissively.
“When did you become so callous?” Bingley barked. “Let me warn you, if Miss Bennet does not recover fully, or worse, I will cast you out from my house and release your dowry to you. I do not know if what you did could be considered a crime if the worst happens, but you had better pray she recovers so we never have to find out.”
“Come now Charles, you are being overly dramatic. I am sure if you ask Mr Darcy…” she tried again.
“Darcy agrees with me in every way in this. He is already so appalled at your inability to care for your guests, added to your general behaviour he already abhors, he will never knowyou again. Start praying, Caroline, I promise you, you will not be happy if things do not go well.”
This was not the brother on whom she had perfected the art of manipulation. She looked at him to gauge his level of seriousness, and Caroline Bingley did not like what she saw. What she noted was a man who was firm in his resolve. The chit had better recover, or she knew not what she would do. She decided this was not the right time to complain about Miss Eliza being in the house. Without another word, she went to seek Louisa knowing her older sister would agree with her.
She could not find her sister, and when she tried to gain entry to the Hursts’ chambers, her brother-in-law ordered her out. It was all the damned Bennets’ fault.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Elizabeth was worried. Even though Jane’s fever had not gone back up to the levels of the night before, as more hours passed, the more laboured Jane’s breathing became.
She raised her eyes heavenward and prayed. She prayed as hard as she had ever prayed before, beseeching the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost not to take Janey home with them yet. She was far too young, and Elizabeth could not, would not, let go of her dearest sister and best friend in one. All she could do was hope her prayers had been acceptable to Him, and He would grant them.
As if God Himself answered her, Jane’s breathing became a little easier and within the hour her fever had subsided some. Elizabeth hoped it was a sign of an improvement.
The decrease in worry allowed her to think of what she had been told of Miss Bingley’s actions when Jane first arrived, and then not allowing her Janey to remain in bed. If and when she saw thatladyagain, Elizabeth was ready to let her know what she thought of the hospitality she doled out.
If only her older sister had had it within herself to refuse when Mama had sent her on Nellie. Elizabeth obeyed the fifthcommandment, but did that mean you had to suspend logical thought?
Sitting and watching Jane’s chest rising and falling while she slept with the aid of the draft Mr Jones had left, Elizabeth offered up thanks for the improvement, regardless of how slight it was. She knew the night would be hard again as it had been the previous night, but at least she would now be here to watch over Janey and do what she needed to do.
Chapter 7
Not that it had been unexpected, but Elizabeth’s first night tending Jane, which after midnight became the morning of the seventeenth day of October, was horrendous.
Jane’s fever had shot up once again, and she was having terrible difficulty breathing. With the aid of a maid, Elizabeth dabbed her sister with cool cloths but it made no difference. She tried everything she had learnt with Jane’s malady’s over the years, including having steaming water placed near her which in the past had had the effect of assisting with her sister’s breathing.
At just past two in the morning, Elizabeth was so concerned she sent the maid to find one of the footmen on duty so someone could ride to summon Mr Jones. Just after the maid left the chamber, Elizabeth turned to her sister, grasping Jane’s hand which was nearest to her. “Please do not leave, Janey. We all need you, me especially. Icannotimagine, I do notwantto imagine life without you. You know that you are so much more than my older sister. You are my best friend, the one I turn to in good times and bad, and at times you have been the voice of my conscience. I have begged Him not to call you to His side. Only time will tell whether my prayers have been granted. It is not my place to question His plan, but I am sure all will be well in heaven without you there at this time.” Elizabeth had not realised her tears were running down her cheeks in rivers when she spoke to Janey. It was only when some of them dripped onto her arms, she became aware of the fact she was crying.
Regardless of how much she wanted Jane to remain in the mortal world with her, Elizabeth had a foreboding driven by the fact that never had she ever seen Jane as ill as she was at this moment. She had to ask herself how much more of the raging fever Jane’s body would be able to fight. Her desire for Janey to remain with her was at war with her not wanting Jane to suffer unduly.
Less than an hour later, a harried Mr Jones entered the bedchamber. “What is it?” he asked with a sense of dread. He was well aware Miss Lizzy would not summon him on a whim at any time, never mind in the early hours of the morning.
“Her fever is higher than I have ever experienced with her, and her breathing has become more and more laboured,” Elizabeth reported.
“Will you and the maid sit Miss Bennet up so I may listen to her breathing?” Jones requested. When he placed his ear to his patient’s back, the heat radiating off her person almost burned his earlobe. He needed to listen, so he pressed his ear to her back. He heard the last thing he wanted to hear. A gurgling sound indicated liquid in her lungs. Miss Bennet had pneumonia! It would take a miracle for her to survive. “Allow her to lie back down,” he instructed.
Elizabeth saw the defeated look on Mr Jones’s countenance and she began to wail. “No! No! No! No!” she repeated as she rocked back and forth. “It cannot be!”
“We need to prepare ourselves. Miss Jane has pneumonia. Given the strength of her fever and the sounds I heard, I do not think she will survive, but there is a small chance she may do so,” Jones reported sadly.
She grasped onto the doctor’s words that there was a chance Janey would recover. That is what Elizabeth would concentrate on. She had just begun to calm when there was insistent knocking on the door leading into the sitting room. Elizabeth took some cold water and washed her face. As soonas she had dried it, she made for the sitting room.
