Chapter Nine
Caroline had crossed the parlour so many times that morning that she had begun to recognise each loose board beneath the carpet by the sound it made under her feet.
Mr Jones had assured them that Miss Bennet’s condition was not dangerous.
She had taken a severe cold after arriving wet through and needed warmth, rest and quiet, but he had seen nothing to cause immediate alarm.
Caroline had made him repeat the assurance twice before allowing him to leave, then sent a footman after him with a request that he return that afternoon, whether Miss Bennet appeared improved or not.
None of it had eased the guilt pressing beneath her ribs.
She had invited Jane Bennet to Netherfield because Charles was already half in love with her and required only the smallest encouragement to become entirely so.
He was going to visit the officers but she had expected him home well before the Bennet sisters took their leave.
Elizabeth had been included for Mr Darcy’s benefit, though Mrs Bennet had ruined that part of the arrangement by sending Jane alone.
Caroline had not asked for rain, and she certainly had not intended for the poor woman to arrive soaked through and shivering, but that distinction had become less comforting as Jane’s skin grew hotter through the night.
Louisa sat near the fire with a book open upon her lap, though she had not turned a page for some time. "You will wear a path through the carpet if you continue."
"I am thinking."
"You may sit down and think, Caroline," said Louisa mildly.
Caroline ignored her and turned once more towards the window.
Miss Bennet had slept for perhaps an hour after the apothecary’s visit.
Martha was with her now, along with one of the housemaids, and strict instructions had been given that Caroline was to be called at the slightest change.
She had also sent the note to Longbourn herself after deciding that Jane was too weak to write.
The sound of voices in the entrance hall made her stop.
A moment later, the parlour door opened and Elizabeth Bennet was announced by a wide-eyed housemaid.
Caroline stared, unable to contain her amazement.
The lady’s gown was soaked up to the knee in mud, with smaller smears and splatters of dirt covering the rest of her person.
She held a ruined bonnet in one hand and long strands of hair were plastered to her face and neck.
For a moment the women just stared at each other before Caroline broke the silence. "Good heavens, Miss Eliza," Caroline said before she could prevent herself. "Did you walk here or wrestle your way through every ditch in Hertfordshire?"
Elizabeth’s face cooled and she straightened her spine. "I took the quickest route to see my sister."
More footsteps sounded in the hall and Mr Darcy burst into the room at a jog. It was so shocking to see the usually staid and solemn Mr Darcy dishevelled and red-faced that Louisa let out a small yelp.
"Mr Darcy," Caroline said, a small laugh escaping her. "Have you also been wrestling with the countryside?"
He ignored the question and looked at her fiercely. "Miss Elizabeth is cold. She requires dry clothes at once."
Elizabeth turned towards him with visible annoyance. "I am perfectly capable of speaking for myself."
Caroline crossed the room before he could speak again and rang the bell sharply.
"I am perfectly well," Elizabeth said sullenly.
"You are shivering upon my carpet and dripping upon the furniture. I shall decide how well you are once you are no longer dressed like a very dirty water spaniel."
Elizabeth stared at her, evidently uncertain whether she had been insulted or cared for. Caroline arranged her features into their usual cool disdain, although she was already looking towards the door for the servant.
"Do try not to take it personally, Miss Eliza. I should say the same to anyone who arrived in such a state."
Elizabeth opened her mouth but a housemaid arrived before she could form a retort.
She ordered hot water and dry towels to be taken upstairs, then asked that Martha be found and Mrs Nicholls to be consulted about a gown of Louisa’s that Elizabeth might borrow until her own clothes were fit to wear again.
"There is no need to trouble Mrs Hurst," Elizabeth said.
"Oh, it is no trouble at all," Louisa replied warmly, already recovered from the shock of having two dishevelled people appear in the parlour within moments of one another.
She gave a small, self-deprecating laugh.
"I have grown a little plump for some of my older gowns in any event.
It will be a comfort to know that one of them may still be of use. "
Caroline shook her head. Louisa certainly was a little plumper, and though she wished it was due to some happy event, she suspected it was due the quantity of cakes and sweets she consumed alongside her husband.
Mr Darcy had come farther into the room, though he still hovered near the door as if uncertain whether he had any right to remain. His eyes had not left Elizabeth since he entered, and when another shiver ran through her, his hands closed briefly at his sides.
"How is Jane?" Elizabeth asked, making no move to remove from the room.
"She is feverish and has slept very little," Caroline said. "Mr Jones does not believe there is any immediate danger, though I have asked him to return this afternoon."
"I should like to see her."
"Of course, later. Now, upstairs with you Miss Eliza, you will give Mr Hurst the fright of his life if he wanders in from his nap and sees you thus."
Elizabeth took a step towards the door, but the cold had left her unsteady and she faltered. Mr Darcy moved at once, though Caroline was nearer and caught her lightly by the arm.
"You may see her when you are dry, I promise." she said. "At present, you are more likely to alarm her than offer any comfort."
Elizabeth stiffened beneath her hand. "I have walked three miles to reach her. I mean to see my sister."
"And I have spent half the night trying to persuade her that she has not put anyone to any trouble with her illness. She asked for you before she fell asleep, and she will be relieved that you have come, but not if you arrive at her bedside shaking with cold."
For a moment Elizabeth looked as though she meant to argue. Then some of the resistance left her face. "Very well. But I shall just change and rest for a few minutes."
Martha appeared in the doorway just then and stopped when she saw Elizabeth. Her gaze travelled over the ruined gown before moving to Caroline. "Miss Caroline," she said with a quirk of an eyebrow that suggested she believed Caroline had some hand in this.
Caroline released Elizabeth’s arm and asked her maid to see that she was made comfortable before taking her to Jane.
As they left the room, Elizabeth glanced back towards Mr Darcy.
He inclined his head, recovering something of his usual formality, though he remained flushed from the cold and exertion.
"Well, that was quite an entrance, Mr Darcy," Caroline said mildly. Then, because she simply could not help herself, she added, "Though what Miss Eliza was thinking, scampering across half the countryside in such weather, I cannot imagine."
Mr Darcy’s expression hardened. "She was thinking of her sister, Miss Bingley. I should have thought that perfectly obvious."
Caroline folded herself elegantly into a chair and lifted a long-cold cup of tea to her lips to disguise her smile.