Chapter 22 Nursing Mr. Bennet #3
Elizabeth only nodded, unable to deny it. “It will be a great relief to be free from her machinations. I think that in a few days we shall begin to understand what we have lost in losing our mother. But just now, I feel relief and guilt for not feeling pain.”
“So do I, Lizzy.”
Mrs. Hill entered the darkened room. “Miss Lizzy, I have been looking everywhere for you. May I prepare your mother’s body for burial yet?”
Elizabeth rose. “Yes, please do. Mamma always said she was saving her wedding gown for when the time came. Do you know where it is? Would she even fit into it after all these years?”
Mrs. Hill’s expression softened. “Oh yes, my girl. It hangs in her dressing room, and she most certainly will fit into it. Even at forty, she was still a comely, attractive woman.”
She added gently, “It is a beautiful sapphire blue, and it matched her eyes exactly.”
“Then please do what must be done,” Elizabeth said quietly. “I am going to write a note to Dr. Edgerton. Perhaps he will allow our neighbors to pay their respects if we lay her in the front parlor and leave the doors and windows open.”
Mrs. Hill nodded. “I have already stopped all the clocks in the main rooms, and I have covered the mirrors with crepe, except the large one. Mr. Hill and the stable boy took that one down and turned it toward the wall.”
She lifted her arm, and the sisters saw the black crepe wreath she held. “I am going to hang this upon one of the pillars at the main entrance. Miss Lizzy, shall I send for three black dresses and veils for you girls?”
“Yes, Hill. I have seen mourning gowns at the haberdashery, though I never expected to wear one until I was much older. Purchase a black armband for my father as well. He is too weak to attend the funeral, but later, when he recovers, he will have need of it.”
“Yes, my girl. I will see to it.”
“And I must see to the preparations.” Elizabeth excused herself, then went directly to a little writing desk in the back parlor and wrote out all her notes of instruction, ending at last with the letter to her uncle.
Elizabeth’s Note to Uncle Gardiner
April 7, 1811
Dear Uncle Edward,
We have suffered a terrible loss. Mamma fell ill with influenza, and last night she passed in her sleep. We will have a viewing and burial the day after tomorrow.
Papa remains in his bed, but both he and the rector are recovering slowly.
If you are able, please bring Jane and Lydia to see their mother one last time.
They must purchase black mourning dresses in town, for we do not have any on hand.
You must not plan to spend the night, as the house remains under quarantine.
With love,
Lizzy
Elizabeth carefully blackened the edges of the letter to indicate death have visited their home and fifteen minutes later, Elizabeth stood at the door of Uncle Phillips’s office and knocked. When the clerk answered, she asked to speak to her uncle if he was available.
A few minutes later, Mr. Phillips appeared.
“Lizzy, you look upset, my dear. Is it your father?”
“No, sir,” Elizabeth replied. “It is my mother. She passed last night in her sleep. She fell ill with the influenza seven days ago, and now she is gone.”
His face altered at once.
“Please,” Elizabeth continued, “Aunt Phillips will need to be told. I am not permitted to enter any house, but I am delivering this note to Dr. Edgerton. It is our hope he will allow Mamma’s friends and neighbors to attend a viewing, and if not, perhaps he will allow my aunt a few minutes with her.
I have written instructions for the cabinetmaker and a note for the rector. Will you see to those?”
Mr. Phillips softened. “Yes, I will, Lizzy. And how are you, my girl? And your father?”
“I am well, sir, though numb, and not quite myself. As for Papa, he has benefited from Dr. Edgerton’s treatments and is improving, but now, with Mamma’s passing, I fear for him. I must attend him closely, lest we lose him too.”
After they spent some minutes discussing the preparations for the burial, Elizabeth left him and walked directly to Dr. Edgerton’s home. As she waited at the door, he drove up in his gig and reined in beside her.
“Elizabeth,” he said at once, “is your father worsening?”
“No, sir. My father has benefited from the treatments you prescribed. I remain hopeful for him.”
Her voice faltered.
“I have come on behalf of my mother. She passed last night in her sleep. She fell ill several days ago and refused all care, and now she is gone.”
Dr. Edgerton’s face grew grave.
“Sir, since Mr. Collins is recovered and Papa is improving, is it possible to have a viewing for my mother?”
He considered. “No one else in the house has fallen ill?”
“Kitty is also ill, but is recovering.”
“If you lay her out in a front parlor, leave all the windows open, and only you and Mary are present, I will allow it. Your father, Kitty, and Mr. Collins must not attend. The fewer people in the room at any one time, the better.”
He studied her closely. “You have all been exposed, but I should have expected you to fall ill by now, and you have not. You may host a viewing, Elizabeth.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Elizabeth excused herself and, after arranging for the express to be sent, returned home.