Chapter 2.11 #3
“We are always happy to see you, Aunt. Please join me in the drawing room, and I shall send for Elizabeth and Georgiana at once.”
“Are they not at home?”
“Yes, they are, but…please take a seat and allow me to call for some tea and refreshments. We…have a rather distressing situation here. One of the servants is very ill…Elizabeth is downstairs with Mrs Hamilton. Georgiana is resting as she did not sleep well last night.”
“Oh, please, do not disturb Georgiana. And if Elizabeth is busy, we shall leave. I should not have intruded in the first place. But what can Elizabeth do for an ill servant? Did you not fetch Dr. Harris? Surely, this is not a task for the mistress of the house.”
“Dr. Harris is with them too. But Elizabeth…she is quite affected. It is a tragic story, truly.”
“Well, if you think we should stay and keep you company, please share the story with us.”
“Is it the same woman you found in the park a month ago?” Colonel Fitzwilliam intervened.
“Yes, the same…”
Darcy started to explain, at first reluctant and uneasy about having such a conversation with his aunt then somehow relieved that he had someone to trust and to understand his concerns. When he finished, Lady Matlock appeared equally appalled and angry.
“It is easy to imagine that the silly, na?ve girl was tricked into a sordid relationship, and she now has to suffer the consequences. It was surely either the son or the master himself. I have always considered men who share a bed with one of their servants to be pathetic beyond words. In this case, it seems it was also very cruel. Such a shame.”
As they spoke, Elizabeth entered and greeted the guests while she forced a smile. Lady Matlock and the colonel glanced at each other, surprised by her pallor and the darkness around her eyes. Darcy helped his wife sit, and he poured her a cup of tea.
The visit ended very shortly afterward. Elizabeth apologised for being poor company while Lady Matlock insisted it was her fault for coming unexpectedly.
Once they were alone, Elizabeth’s eyes filled with tears. Darcy’s heart broke, and he put his arms around her, wishing he could take her distress upon himself.
“I shall accompany you to your room this very moment. You cannot go any further without resting a little while. I shall not allow you to fall ill from exhaustion.”
“I cannot rest now, William; I am so angry and sad and helpless…all this suffering…Dr. Harris fears she would not pass overnight…the child has died inside, and that caused all her pain and fever. She is almost a child herself…”
“Elizabeth, please…” There was little distance between them, and he took her hands in his, bringing them to his chest.
“My love, I beg you, let me check on her…one way or another, it will not last long…”
“Be it as you wish, my dearest; it is just that…tell me how I may help you. What can I do?”
“You have done everything by being my husband. There is nothing else I want.”
To his disbelief, Elizabeth pressed her lips to his hands with a tenderness that warmed his soul. She needed to say no more, as her feelings perfectly matched his.
Against his will, he gazed at her as she departed from him and stared at the closed door. He understood she felt she had a duty to accomplish, and nothing would deter her from it.
∞∞∞
Several hours passed, and Darcy struggled to read while Georgiana played for him in the music room. Neither of them paid attention to what they were doing, but it was a way to keep their minds occupied. Elizabeth joined them part of the time until she excused herself and went downstairs again.
An hour later, Darcy’s patience was exhausted, and he left in search of his wife.
As he walked down the stairs, he could hear alarmed voices and cries from afar.
He approached carefully, walking down the hall of the servants’ chambers.
As he got closer, the cries became stronger and more disturbing.
He observed the room where several people were crowded, including Molly and Miles who stayed in the hall a short distance from the door.
He could also spot Elizabeth standing against in the doorway, gazing inside, her hand covering her mouth.
Darcy halted in deep shock, staring at the traces of blood that could be seen on the floor, on the bed, and on the doctor’s clothes.
He could not see Maud, but he heard her screams, which pierced him like a sharp blade.
Several other servants were waiting in the hall; at seeing the master, they left in a hurry to return to their duties.
“We are almost done here; thank God, we are done. Mrs Darcy, are you unwell? You should not be here. Mrs Hamilton, send the servants away with these bloody sheets and bring clean ones. We are almost done. We need more towels and warm water!”
Dr. Harris made requests and gave orders with a determined and severe voice, and Darcy had a difficult time understanding what was truly happening.
And then again—Maud’s grieved voice.
“Please do not throw my child away…please bury him…in the Lord’s name…please,” Maud cried, her words barely audible.
Darcy leant against the wall then clenched his jaws and fists in a helpless gesture.
“Do not worry. I promise we will take care of him. I shall speak to the master. Do not cry… ” Mrs Hamilton tearfully replied.
“We will take care of him,” Elizabeth repeated, her voice weak with tears.
Darcy almost lost his balance when he stepped further and had a full view of the most disturbing picture: a woman at the edge between life and death. His eyes were captured by a white sheet covering a form like a doll.
Only then did the others notice him, including Maud, who threw him a glance that burned him inside.
“We shall take care of everything,” he managed to whisper then stepped back as in a nightmare. His mind blurred, but he managed to reach the kitchen and take a seat, trying to breathe regularly. A sense of fury and a compelling need to make someone suffer as much as Maud did overcame his reason.
He felt Elizabeth’s gentle touch on his shoulder, and he turned, meeting her tearful eyes.
“I will take care of everything,” he repeated in a weak and unsuccessful attempt to bring her a little comfort.
“I know you will. The doctor said we should leave now…he will come to tell us more when he is done…”
“Yes. Where is Miles? He must go to the church. I will write a note for the vicar…”
Suddenly, Darcy seemed more troubled and insecure than Elizabeth; he rose and looked around then glanced at his wife again. She took his arm.
“William, let us go to Georgiana now. She must be frightened. There is nothing we can do for Maud now.”
“Is she…Maud I mean…will she too…?
“No, no…the doctor gave her two spoons of laudanum, because she needs to rest…to sleep. Now we can only wait. It was…oh, William…come, let us go. The doctor will come later.”
“Forgive me for being so weak. I do not know what to do…there is nothing one can do against death. I hoped I could keep it away from this house for many years, but this shows me once again how insignificant and helpless we are.”
She took his cold hands in hers, her heart aching for the sadness on his face.
“We can pray…and keep hope alive. There will always be problems you cannot solve, but you are not weak. And we are together now.”
He lifted her hand to his lips briefly and absentmindedly, barely hearing her encouragement.
They walked arm in arm, hesitantly as if their feet might not support them. Darcy then put one arm around her shoulders, and he kissed the top of her head then her hands several times until they entered the main hall of the house and met a pale and trembling Georgiana.
Together they retired to the library, and Darcy closed the door behind him, a deep, painful silence surrounding them.
“Elizabeth, please tell me what happened. How is Maud? I know something tragic is happening. I can sense it.”
“My dear, with the Lord’s mercy, there is a chance that Maud will recover. The child had passed away as we feared. Now we must pray for her…it is all that we can do now.”
Georgiana dared not ask for more details.
Elizabeth tried to calm her younger sister and to convince her to stay in her room, far from the tragic events happening elsewhere in the house.
Reluctantly, Georgiana agreed, knowing that her brother and sister only wished to protect her sensibilities.
She would like to have stayed and been more involved, but she admitted to herself that she did not feel strong enough. She was not Elizabeth.
Alone again, Elizabeth and Darcy moved to the settee, comforting each other with tender and chaste caresses, silent and deep in their own thoughts, which neither dared to share with the other.
Around dinnertime, Dr. Harris finally appeared. Darcy quickly offered him a glass of brandy, which the doctor immediately emptied, and a second one was filled.
“Doctor, what is your report?”
Two pairs of eyes watched him with obvious distress while the doctor spoke calmly.
“Fortunately—and quite unexpectedly—nature followed its course. The child was born…as I anticipated, he was not alive…he had not been for several weeks, I suspect. It was a boy…he must have been about six months when the tragedy occurred. It is a shame…the poor girl wants him to be buried. I have seen so many situations like this, and yet I am still deeply troubled each time. Oh well…we cannot defeat fate, I suppose.”
“We will take care of the child. Mr Darcy will take care of everything. And Maud? Will she live?”
“She is young; now that her body is free of its burden, she might recover. I have seen it before, so we can expect either possibility. However, I must repeat myself: if not for Mrs Darcy’s generosity, the girl would not be alive today…she would not have had any chance.”
“Dr. Harris, we thank you for your dedication to this poor young woman.”