Chapter 19
They arrived in London in the afternoon. Spontaneously, the servants gathered around Darcy in the hall, overjoyed to see him safely home. No irreparable harm had come of that dreadful week when they imagined they had lost their master.
Darcy wished to spend a few moments in the parlour. He needed to see them all around him again, happy to be home. He looked round with quiet curiosity, still trying to understand the world to which he had awakened.
“What is Mrs Collins doing here?” he asked.
Elizabeth leaned closer and whispered, “She left her husband.”
Stunned by such news, he lowered his voice still further. “You must come to me later and tell me everything.”
Elizabeth smiled faintly. “It is a trap, sir. You intend to use your condition to make all sorts of unreasonable demands.”
“Probably, my love, but you cannot blame me. I was close to losing you.” Then, glancing round again, he asked, “And what is young Acton doing in our house?”
Elizabeth blushed with pleasure when he spoke of the beautiful house as though it already belonged to both of them. She was so happy indeed to become its mistress.
“Mr Acton has been of the greatest assistance. He accompanied us from Netherfield to London, and the colonel asked him to remain here and receive any messages that might arrive during our absence.”
“What an obliging young man. I shall have to thank him,” Darcy murmured.
Elizabeth nodded, delighted to see that Darcy was already beginning to resemble his old self again.
“You really must come to my room this evening and tell a poor invalid everything he has missed,” he said in a voice that pretended to be weak. The look in his eyes, however, betrayed his true intentions, and Elizabeth could do nothing but scold him silently.
“And where is Bingley?” he asked at the very moment his friend entered the room.
“I have only come to collect my luggage,” Bingley said, his cheerful expression restored.
“You do not wish to remain here for a while and rest?” Darcy asked.
Mr Bennet concealed a tender smile. He knew perfectly well what Charles had in mind.
“I am sorry, I cannot stay. Now that you are out of danger,” Bingley said, “I must hurry to Longbourn…ah…I mean Netherfield,” he corrected himself, blushing at his own impatience to see Jane. “I must carry the good news to the future Mrs Bingley,” he added, looking towards Mr Bennet for approval.
“Go, go, my son,” Mr Bennet replied. “I am quite certain the ladies are waiting for you.”
He knew that one gracious young lady would be sitting by the dining-room window, watching for Charles’s arrival. They had already sent word that Darcy was safe.
Bingley departed in great haste, leaving behind his cousin, Mr Acton. The timid young gentleman proved an exceptionally capable secretary. He was asked to remain and assist Mr Darcy with the many messages that had arrived during the past few days.
“Colonel Fitzwilliam asked me to tell you that he will come in the morning, and probably your uncle as well,” Mr Acton said, pleased to be of use.
“Thank you,” Darcy answered warmly. “I am grateful for everything you have done for the ladies. We shall speak of it properly tomorrow at breakfast. For now, we all need some rest.”
Georgiana and Elizabeth led a despondent Charlotte to her room. They hoped that, in time, her grief would lessen and she would find the strength to decide what course her future should take.
“You do not have to leave your husband, Charlotte. Or at least, not yet. Time often resolves the most painful situations,” Elizabeth said. “There is hope for every man, and perhaps he will change. But in the end, only you can decide what is best for you.”
“There is no life for a lady who leaves her husband,” Charlotte murmured.
“There is no life for a woman who lives in fear of her husband. I am certain the law is on your side in such a case. And do not forget that you now have powerful friends. I certainly would not ignore the colonel, who was horrified by what happened to you.”
They persuaded her to remain in London for a few days and return to Hertfordshire with the rest of the party when Darcy was strong enough to travel.
∞∞∞
Parker helped his master to his apartment. Within the hour, a physician arrived. After examining Darcy, he prescribed a tonic, several herbal infusions, and a great deal of fresh air.
Elizabeth joined them in the private parlour as the examination concluded, wishing to know how she might best help.
“Only make certain that Mr Darcy follows my instructions,” the physician said.
“He will recover completely before long. This evening, I recommend that he dine in his room and avoid all exertion. He should remain in bed until tomorrow morning, after which he ought to take long walks in the country. I shall return tomorrow to examine him again.”
“We shall follow your instructions faithfully,” Elizabeth replied, thanking him warmly.
That evening happiness settled over Darcy’s townhouse. They were all exhausted. Each enjoyed a long, hot bath before dining quietly in their own room. Their time of sorrow had ended.
In his apartment, Mr Bennet wrote to his wife to tell her of the happy conclusion to their adventure.
At Darcy’s request, he also wrote to the Gardiners, inviting them to dinner the following evening.
Mr Bennet longed to be back at Longbourn, away from London’s noise and crowded streets.
Still, he intended to remain for as long as Elizabeth and Darcy needed him.
After all, it was not such a great sacrifice when he remembered the library awaiting him and his brother-in-law, who would be visiting the next day.
The house fell silent much earlier than usual, yet each of them felt the need to spend the evening alone. Only Elizabeth found herself unable to rest. She had too much to tell, and both her mind and her heart refused to be still.
Darcy had whispered in her ear, perhaps ten times, that he would wait for her, however tired she might be. He had spoken with all the hopeful insistence of a spoiled child, certain that Elizabeth would never refuse him.
“We have so many things to discuss,” he had whispered.
She had simply nodded, too overcome to speak.
With her hair loose about her shoulders, she slipped on her robe and quietly left her chamber. Reaching the door of Darcy’s private parlour, she knocked softly and waited.
Parker opened the door, bowed, and silently withdrew.
Elizabeth found Darcy reclining upon a large sofa, with a smile that reminded her of the proud gentleman who had once crossed the Meryton ballroom, scarcely noticing the ladies around him. This time, however, his eyes were fixed entirely upon her, and he stretched out his hand.
There had been moments during the past week when she had wondered whether she would ever see him again. Yet here he was. Handsome as ever, a little paler, somewhat thinner than usual, but looking at her with love.
“Come, my dear…come…sit here beside me.”
She hesitated. Only a few hours earlier she had held him in her arms before everyone present. Now that he was awake again, she found herself unexpectedly shy.
“Come, do not be shy. I know you took me into your arms and held me there for quite some time. My head was resting against your breast,” he said, a teasing smile in his eyes.
As the effects of the drug continued to fade, his memory was returning. His boldness made Elizabeth blush.
“You are not supposed to remember that, my dear. They told me you were in a sort of dream,” she scolded him with a severe look.
“I was…but the moment I recognised your perfume and felt you holding me, I returned to the world because I did not wish to lose the happiness of resting in your arms. Come, my lady.”
Elizabeth gently entwined her fingers with his.
For a few moments they merely played with each other’s hands, rediscovering what it meant to be together.
The touch awakened a longing that travelled through them both.
Darcy smiled, fully aware of what was happening, whilst Elizabeth was only beginning to understand.
“Come closer, my lady,” he said softly. “Be kind enough to sit beside me. I am still supposed to be an invalid.”
She blushed and smiled at the same time, a combination Darcy found irresistible. His future wife was as innocent as a lily.
“You are recovering far too quickly, my love,” she protested, though she longed to be near him. At last she yielded and sat beside him.
He slipped an arm around her and looked deeply into her eyes.
“I am not ill. I was under the effects of a strange medicine that left me unable to move. At times it was almost pleasant. My strength has not entirely returned, but believe me, I am no longer ill. Quite the contrary.”
A new smile lit his face, one Elizabeth had never seen before. Instinct alone told her what it meant.
She immediately sprang from the sofa, almost upsetting him before remembering how weak he still was.
“Mr Darcy,” she said in the tone of a mother reproving a mischievous child, “I do not intend to…be with you…now.”
The moment the words escaped her, colour flooded her cheeks. Darcy’s heart filled with love.
It was the first time either of them had spoken so plainly of what awaited them after marriage.
She wished for that future, yet she feared it as well.
Alone in her room, she had often imagined herself as his wife, but they had never before ventured into such a conversation.
She longed to know more of their wedding night, whilst fearing that learning too much would rob it of its mystery.
“Come, Elizabeth. Sit beside me and listen.”
She returned to him once more. Wrapped again in his arms, she felt his gentle caresses awaken an irresistible desire to escape, though her resolve weakened with every moment.
“I shall not let you out of my sight during these last days before our wedding. You ought to come to Netherfield and remain with me until then,” he said, half in jest, half in earnest.