When the doctor was gone, Elizabeth returned to Georgiana’s room. Her mouth was painfully ulcerated, making swallowing nearly impossible, and both the fever and coughing continued.
“Well, my dear, until your brother returns tomorrow, I am afraid you must remain here. I might be able to help you limp down the stairs, but to get you back up, you would have to ride pick-a-back.”
Her reward was a weak smile. “You carry your nephews that way?”
“At every opportunity. I also play at battledore and shuttlecock, and until they weigh too much, they all must take their turn being tossed as high as I can manage.”
Another thin smile. “Fitzwilliam used to toss me to the ceiling when I was small. I liked nothing so much, although it made my nurse cross. Is the canary still in its cage?”
This mental confusion happened more often, although whether from laudanum or from lack of nourishment or from the process of dying, Elizabeth could not say. “Your canary is not here, my dear, but it is perfectly safe, I assure you.” Likely this was a long-dead pet.
Georgiana nodded as though just remembering something fondly. “It is at home, then. You would like it, I think.” Elizabeth could not be sure if she meant her childhood home or the bird. “Fitzwilliam has nottold you yet. I think I understand why. He will take care of you when I am dead.”
For all of his thoughtless and offensive behaviour, it had never occurred to her that Mr Darcy might not. Elizabeth busied herself with rewrapping the bandages on Georgiana’s swollen ankles. “You need not worry about that. I have everything that I need.”
“He has ten thousand pounds.”
The bandage fell from her hands. That was an incredible legacy to be left to a young man.Is this truth or delirium?Perhaps his mother’s family had been wealthy to leave Mr Darcy such a sum on the late Mrs Darcy’s death? It could explain why he did not have a profession but had been educated as a gentleman and lived at the edge of gentility. Ten thousand pounds invested would make Mr Darcy’s income four hundred, just sufficient for the rank and lifestyle of a gentleman.
“I am sorry, but I have been silent from surprise merely, excessive surprise. That is an astounding sum.” Elizabeth looked up from wrapping and saw Georgiana had fallen asleep.
Darcy would not dare callNetherfield Lodgehome, but he could not deny the relief he felt when he arrived at the house. The business in town had been quick and to the point. He had his writ of capias, and now all that had to be done was for the scoundrel to be found. A thought passed through his mind that he would rather see Wickham dead, but imprisoned was the next best resolution. If it was ever accomplished, it was a small vengeance for his sister’s honour, but the hope of it fed his angry soul in a way that Darcy did not choose to investigate.
Mrs Darcy came into the vestibule to meet him. One look at her face, and he knew that Georgiana was alive but failing quickly. She talked on of how his sister was fevered, how little she could swallow, and how many drops of laudanum she was taking. She seemed to be preparing him for the changes that forty-eight hours had wrought, but what Darcy realised was that Mrs Darcy had nursed his sister with the utmost love and attention.
While he had been pursuing what justice he could for his sister, Mrs Darcy had spent hours selflessly caring for Georgiana, holding her upright while she coughed up the contents of her inflamed lungs. He felt the blush of shame on his cheeks, the consciousness of guilt in having left the way that he did.
Darcy closely looked at her as she described Georgiana’s condition. His wife looked far from well herself, more like the woman bent over from pain at Lucas Lodge than the determined woman who requested that he marry her.Mrs Darcy will make herself unwell and strain her heart if I do not do more to nurse Georgiana.
She truly had an affectionate heart, and having someone who loved Georgiana by her side was more necessary to both of them than he had previously thought possible. And he knew, however grieved he was for his sister, that Georgiana would want him to show greater kindness to her closest friend. His wife had demanded it, and he could not claim that she did not deserve it.
“I must thank you. I could not have left Georgiana in anyone else’s care.” Mrs Darcy looked astounded by his praise. Had he treated her so coldly that she could not believe it of him to notice and commend her efforts? “You have dedicated yourself to her comfort.”
“She deserves everything from me.” The unspoken “even if you do not” hung in the air. “I think if you bring her downstairs tomorrow, she would revive a little,” she explained as they approached Georgiana’s room. “I have promised a small concert of whatever she chooses to hear.”
His sister had been pretty with soft features; now she had hollow cheeks, faded eyes, and receding gums. Darcy sat by her bedside and took her hand; Mrs Darcy picked up the work basket that had been next to the chair and moved her things farther away. She must not have strayed from this seat for two days.
“I am worse, but do not distress yourself, Fitzwilliam. What a happy release will be mine.”
“You look blooming to me, my dear.”
“I am poorly. I have had a good deal of fever and cannot eat. I must not depend on being ever blooming again.”
He looked around the austere chamber, as much to distract himfrom Georgiana’s resignation as from anything else. The chimney piece was narrow, suitable for only a few embers from the main fireplace, none of the furniture was made of mahogany or rosewood, the draperies simple.
He exchanged the cloth on her forehead for one that had been soaking in cold water and lowered his voice so Mrs Darcy could not hear. “I hate to see you sunk from the comforts you were born to.”
“I have my brother, who stayed by my side when no other friend or relation would have.Thatis the only comfort I can have that matters.” Georgiana’s weak reply was scarcely audible. “You will not leave again?”
Darcy shook his head. “I would not have left except from principle of duty, and I promise that I will never leave you again.”
He was offering to read to her when he realised she had fallen asleep.
“That often happens,” Mrs Darcy whispered, “either from laudanum or weakness, I could not say. She sometimes says things that do not make sense.” Darcy nodded, still looking at Georgiana. “She will need more laudanum when she wakes up. She sleeps often, but only a little while at a time.”
She came near to exchange places with him, but he shook his head. Mrs Darcy was pale with dark circles under her eyes, which had lost their lustre. “I will stay until she wakes.”
“You just rode for three hours. Besides, nursing is a female case, and it would be absurd for you to shut yourself up for hours?—”
