Chapter 11
Elizabeth was writing a much overdue letter to Jane after breakfast when the housekeeper interrupted her.
She informed her that her aunt’s headache from yesterday had now developed into a cold.
Deciding to exercise caution, she instructed the housekeeper to summon the apothecary as she made her way to see her aunt.
She entered her aunt’s chambers to find her restless and troubled with bouts of coughing.
There was no fever yet, but she was decidedly ill.
“My dear Aunt, I hope you will not worry about anything and rest,” Elizabeth helped her drink some warm water mixed with honey.
“Margaret will be disappointed. She had been hoping that I would help her with her sums,” Mrs. Hardwicke said between coughs.
“You should go back to sleep until the apothecary arrives. I will work with Margaret. She is a sensible girl and will not begrudge you some rest in your sickness.”
“I so worry for her, Lizzy; she was very close to her father, and is finding it difficult to deal with the loss.”
Elizabeth took her aunt’s hand and spoke to her gently, “Uncle Frederick will always be missed, and I am sure Margaret will always have a special place in her heart for her papa, but she will recover. I have seen how resilient she is, and I assure you she will soon be much improved.”
“I depend on you, Lizzy, to guide her while I am stuck with this cold. Her governess is a good woman, but she needs the company of her family to help her in her grief.”
Elizabeth assured her aunt that she would take care of her cousin as she took her leave.
She then went down and checked with the housekeeper and was informed that the apothecary would take another hour to arrive and that Margaret was in the nursery with her governess.
Asking the housekeeper to summon her once the apothecary had examined her aunt, she went to the nursery.
“I am just stupid. I do not understand anything.” Elizabeth heard a dejected Margaret tell her governess.
“I am sure that is not true. I think you are intelligent enough,” Elizabeth said from the door as she walked in.
“How would you know? You have just met me,” Margaret responded in a sullen voice.
“I did not say you are the brightest, just intelligent enough, and I think I have been here long enough to understand that,” Elizabeth replied with a teasing smile as she sat on a nearby chair.
“I have seen that you have proper table manners, and you talk in correct sentences. Also you seem to know all the perfect hiding spots in the house. All of this does require some intelligence.”
“But that does not help me in my studies,” the young girl replied with a pout.
“What is the problem; maybe I could help,” Elizabeth asked.
“These stories. I can do my sums well enough, but these stories with sums in them just confuse me.”
“Well, let us see. In our daily life, we always do arithmetic with a story. So let us say the cook has to make bread and has run out of the flour; she decides to go to the market to buy the flour. But do you think she will just go buy the flour and come back?”
“No, she will probably check if she is low on any other supplies or if there is any other work she needs to get done in the market,” Margaret thoughtfully answered.
“Correct. So she checks the supplies and realises that she has twice the quantity of sugar than she would need for the whole month, probably bought by mistake, so she decides to take one bag with her to see if she can return it.”
At this, Margaret nodded that she was following, “As she is going out, she realises that her boots have a hole and decides to get them mended,” Elizabeth continued.
“Now she reaches the market, but the shopkeeper is not ready to return the sugar at full price. Her master is strict and would not be happy to lose the money. She goes to the local inn and checks if they would take her sugar. The innkeeper agrees but instead of money, gives her ale. Now she goes to the bootmaker and he repairs the shoes and instead of the money takes the ale.” Elizabeth stopped and looked at Margaret to check if the girl was following.
“I understand this, I think. She will have to pay for the flour and rest everything is just exchange,” Margaret responded.
“Yes, dearest, but you are forgetting the strict master. She needs to return the money for the sugar to the household account. She will put it from her pocket, the same money that would have gone to the bootmaker.”
“Ohh! I get it now,” Margaret said with a smile. “Basically, in all the exchanges it was she who actually paid for the sugar just indirectly but without any loss to herself.”
“Yes, see I told you that you are intelligent enough.”
“Elizabeth, you are wonderful. Will you help me with the rest of the problems?”
Elizabeth spent the next couple of hours with her young cousin going deeper into her maths problems and discussing comparative prices of sugar, flour, and the bootmaker.
Margaret, finally understanding the nature of the problem, started enjoying it and kept bringing up new scenarios; such as what would happen when a tenant borrowed from a landlord and then paid some money in labour and so on.
It was only when luncheon arrived that they finally decided to stop for the day. Elizabeth ended up having her luncheon in the nursery before she finally excused herself. Deciding to check on the apothecary, Elizabeth went down and was met by the housekeeper in the front parlour.
“The apothecary has just arrived, Miss Bennet. Mrs. Hardwicke’s maid is with her,” she commented as soon as she saw Elizabeth.
“Good. I think I will wait here then,” Elizabeth replied. She looked into her workbasket for some diversion, and finding a half-completed embroidery, sat with it till the apothecary came down.
“Mrs. Hardwicke has developed a slight fever. The cold is also settled in her lungs. I expect the next few days to be difficult. I have given her maid instructions for all the treatments, but make sure that she is having some warm water and honey every few minutes,” the apothecary explained.
“Is she in much danger?” Elizabeth asked anxiously.
“I do not think so. But the recovery will take time. I will be back again tomorrow,” the apothecary replied, taking his leave.
Too anxious to sit still, Elizabeth went out hoping that a brisk walk would calm her down.
She kept thinking about her aunt and her cousin, and also how to write to her father that his beloved sister was now very sick.
Without paying much attention to the surroundings, she walked ahead when she was brought back to the present by the sound of her name.
Turning around, she realised that in her contemplation she had reached the dower house.
Mr. Darcy was walking towards her as he called her name again, “Miss Bennet, I saw you walking by from my study and could see that you seemed worried. I hope all is well.”
“My aunt has developed a cold and a fever. The apothecary just visited and foresees difficult days ahead,” Elizabeth replied as a single tear made its way down her cheek.
“Is there a threat to her life, should I summon a physician from town?” Darcy urgently asked.
“No, no. I am sorry, sir. But I do not think I am fit for company. It is just that the whole situation seemed so overwhelming all at once. My cousin is very young and I fear for her and then there is my father who is already injured and would be further distressed by this news,” Elizabeth replied as she tried to bring herself under control.
“Miss Bennet, I want you to understand that you are not alone. I am here with you and will gladly help you whenever you are in need. I hope that you would send for me if things get difficult, instead of trying to handle it all by yourself.”
Elizabeth looked up to the gentleman with surprise and gratitude evident on her face.
She had long reconciled herself to the fact that she had grossly underestimated Mr. Darcy’s character but such solicitousness was wholly unexpected.
She finally smiled at him fully for the first time and thanked him again as she took her leave.
Darcy stood watching as Elizabeth walked back to the house. Once she was no longer visible, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. In that moment, when he had seen the tears in her eyes, he had known that he still loved her. That he would always love her.