Chapter 23
Charles awoke and blinked several times. Something was amiss. He glanced down where Georgiana preferred to sleep, tucked against his side with her cheek pressed against his chest, but she was not there. As he looked about the bedchamber, he dragged himself up to sit. Three days had passed since the fever had broken, and he was still weaker than he would have preferred.
With a frown, he turned so his legs fell over the side of the bed. A small amount of light filtered through the door to his dressing room. Had someone lit a candle?
On shaky legs, he stood and made his way to the connecting door. When he stepped inside, he paused, leaning against the doorframe, at the sight of Georgiana casting up her accounts into the chamber pot.
The brief respite allowed him to make his way to her and kneel at her side. “ What has made you sick ?” he asked aloud.
She shook her head while she gagged. “I have been so for an hour now. I cannot stop.”
He forced himself to his feet and pulled the bell. He poured a small amount of water into the basin in the corner and removed it from the stand to set it at Georgie’s side. Thankfully, some remained. It had cooled, but the chill on her cheeks and neck would be beneficial to her current condition.
As soon as he dampened a cloth, he pressed it against the back of Georgie’s neck before sitting on the floor beside her. “ Breathe .”
When the retching slowed, he bathed her cheeks and forehead. “Come. Lean against me.” She had just settled into his embrace when Ambrose bustled in with a tray.
“The poor dear is sick again, is she not?” She signed before the maid poured a cup of tea and brought it over. “’Tis ginger,” she said after he took it. “I also brought dry toast when she is ready to try.”
His wife was almost limp as he held the cup to her lips. Once she swallowed, she shook her head. “I should be caring for you.”
“ I am much improved. Besides, you are in no condition to be caring for me tonight .” He tipped the tea into her mouth again. “ You must tell me when you wish for the toast .”
She winced. “Not yet.”
Ambrose swapped the chamber pot for a clean one. “I shall take care of this. The windows are open to help air out the room.”
“Thank you,” he signed.
The maid departed, and he tipped up Georgie’s chin. “Your maid knows how to remedy your sickness. How long has this been happening?”
She swallowed the last sip of ginger tea. “It has come on gradually over the last fortnight. This is the worst it has been thus far.”
Charles kissed her temple while he closed his eyes and breathed. “ Georgie, could you be with child ?” He had continued to speak aloud since her maid was not present.
“Lizzy believes I am. My courses have not come, I have been nauseous or sick in the mornings or when my stomach is empty, and my breasts are sore.”
His fingers trailed circles over her abdomen. Thank God they had wed. Even though Henry was likely furious with him, his brother had ensured Georgie was protected in the event the worst came to pass. Charles could only be grateful. His child would have legitimacy and a legacy as a result.
“Are you upset?”
He covered her hands with one of his and turned her to face him. “ Why would I be upset ?”
She bit her cheek and shrugged. “You said nothing, so—”
“ I was thinking how fortunate I am to have Henry for a brother. He suspected what had happened at the inn, and whether we had crossed that line or not, you were protected as was the child. My only regret is that you were forced to wed me while I was feverish and bedridden .” He was certainly no dashing and besotted groom.
“I cared little for how the ceremony occurred. My brother, Lizzy, and Richard were present, as were your brother and Jane. Those are the most important people as far as we are concerned. If we had waited, the only guests I would have added were Lord and Lady Montford, Nicholas and Fiona, and Amelia and Sir Anthony. As it is, I am certain they will be pleased we are wed. After all, Nicholas and his wife are returning in a month or two from Ireland. I am not unhappy.”
“ You are content matters happened as they did .”
“Yes, though I would be ecstatic if this child would stop making me ill. He must take after you for stubbornness.”
Charles grinned. “ And I shall be even more stubborn now that I know you carry my child. Drink your tea and eat your toast for you must sleep. ”
“Me? You are the one recovering from almost drowning.” Her forehead furrowed. “Did you walk in here unaccompanied?”
“ How else would you have had me help you?”
“Charles! You are still too weak to make such a walk without Jennings or myself! What if you had fallen?”
He laughed, which made him bend over with a heavy cough. The racking, painful coughs had subsided some, but at times, his body seemed intent on purging whatever water remained in his lungs. “ I would have simply gotten back up ,” he said when the cough subsided. “ Drink your tea .”
When the cup was empty, he brought her more. “ If you are feeling better, we could sit on the sofa in your bedchamber. ”
“Must I? The floor is not the most comfortable, but I am so tired.”
“ I could carry you .”
“No,” she said as she rose. “I shall walk. You are not strong enough to carry me as yet.”
He followed her into the bedchamber while he carried the plate with the toast. She sank into the corner closest to the open windows and tilted her face up a little to catch the breeze.
His heart was not content until he was seated beside her. He placed the plate onto her lap. “ I can only assume your maid brought you toast so it would make you feel better. You should eat it. ”
She chewed slowly and thoroughly until naught remained but a few crumbs. At least she would have something in her stomach after she had purged her dinner. Regardless of his attempt to keep a distance from her, he would not see her come to harm—he would do what he could to keep her healthy. After all, he would never survive without her. Her heart was too entangled with his own for that.
“I want to go back to sleep,” she said. “I cannot keep my eyes open another second.”
He made to lift her into his arms, but she swatted his hands away. “You will do yourself harm by trying to pick me up.”
As soon as they were both under the covers, he tugged her back to his chest and rested his hand over her belly. Not long after, her breathing evened, but he could not find sleep. A babe. They were to be parents. Without a doubt, the child was conceived that night at the inn. If Georgie had not fought for him, she would have been alone. He would have abandoned her in the cruellest of ways. Only she had not given up—surrendered to his cowardice as he had—she had forced him to see reason, and his brother had arranged the rest.
He could only be grateful.
The problem with pushing away the one person he loved most was the future was a dismal prospect. Years and years on end of living in not only silence, but also isolation. Yes, he would have had servants around him and sometimes his brother and his family, but no family of his own. He would have never braved another London Season. What would have been the purpose? No lady would have had him—other than the one in his arms, and she would not have returned.
“ I am not unaware how fortunate I am to have earned your devotion, and I shall endeavour to make you happy—to make up for my recalcitrance .”
She did not stir, so he had not said it loud enough to awaken her, which was what he had wanted. He had no idea how long she had been up and sick before he had found her. Her condition demanded rest, and he would not disturb her for the world.
With care, he hugged her a bit closer to him, closed his eyes, and let the dreams of a future with Georgie and whatever children came lull him to sleep.
17 th August 1815
Dinner was a happy affair with Henry, Jane, Richard, and the Darcys. Tomorrow, his brother’s family as well as that of the Darcys would depart Bathwick and make their way to Clitheroe and Pemberley. Henry had been away from his estate for far too long, but he was fortunate to have a skilled steward in place who required little from his brother while he was at Bathwick.
Darcy had not spoken much to Charles since his arrival and the wedding—not that he had said much at the wedding either. No doubt existed in Charles’s mind that Henry had told whatever suspicions he held about Georgie to her elder brother. Darcy was once friendly towards Charles. Now that they were family, he could only pray his brother-in-law would forgive him. The last thing he wished was for Georgie’s relationship with her brother to be affected by the distance between the two men in her life.
As soon as dinner concluded, Georgie stood. “Perhaps we should leave the gentlemen to their brandy and conversation.” The sexes had not separated since he had returned to the dining room, but since it was the last night, Georgie had expressed her desire for him to extend an olive branch to Darcy.
The ladies departed, Georgie glancing back at him over her shoulder, and Charles waved forward the butler with the tray of spirits.
Once each of them held a glass, Henry held up his hands, then signed, “To the Earl and Countess of Bath. May they have many happy years together.” Henry lifted his glass, but Darcy said nothing but brought his own up to touch theirs.
Charles waved off the butler, who quit the room. “ Before you return to Pemberley on the morrow, I must beg your forgiveness, Darcy. ”
Darcy merely lifted his eyebrows. He had not heard Charles speak since he lost his hearing. But Georgie’s brother deserved the respect of hearing the avowal of all Charles felt.
“ When I first understood the matchmaking plot that was afoot, I resented the situation. I had no desire to be matched with anyone, much less Georgie, who I thought of fondly. The loss of my hearing made me believe I should never fall in love or marry, but after I apologised to your sister for my initial anger at the position in which we both found ourselves, we became friends. I lied to myself and believed the intimacy —”
“Intimacy?”
He shook his head. “ The closeness that grew between us was nothing more than friendship. Then I decided maybe I could love her and all would be well. The night at the inn made me believe otherwise. I remember standing with my pistol aimed at the door and trying to keep Georgie behind me. Of course, naught of what was happening could be heard, so Georgie resisted my efforts of protection and exerted herself to the benefit of us both.
“ All I could think of after was that if someone had breached the door, she would have been in harm’s way before me. I could not live with myself if my lack of hearing brought her harm, so I withdrew. No excuse exists that can make up for the pain I caused her. She has forgiven me, which is more than I deserve. I just want you to know that I love her more than anything, and I will endeavour, for the rest of my life, to deserve her .”
Darcy pressed his lips together for a moment and exhaled as he set down his drink. “I shall not pretend to like the circumstances of how your marriage finally came to be. If you had died, Georgiana would have been ruined. Thankfully, the two of you are wed and Georgiana is safe—as is the child from what I understand.”
One side of Charles’s lips curved. He could not help it. As much as he had tried to deny his longing for a family, he would have not only a wife, but also a child. He had penned a letter to the physician who had treated him for his hearing. According to that man’s knowledge, the affliction that caused his deafness could not be passed to his child. A relief indeed!
“Yes, it does appear I am to be a father.” His gaze met Henry’s.
His brother, who had stood to pour another drink, clapped him on the shoulder. “Let us know when the babe is expected to be born. I am certain the entire family will come to be of aid to you and to your wife.”
“She needs to feel the quickening first.”
“But all the signs are there, are they not?” asked Henry.
“Yes, they are, but we still have almost three months, from what Mrs. Darcy told Georgie, before we can know for certain.”
Darcy shrugged. “Well, if she is not, then one day, a child will come. I would not fret over it. For what it is worth, Elizabeth believes Georgiana with child.”
“To the heir of the Bathwick Earldom,” said Henry.
Charles chuckled and shook his head. Nothing was set in stone, yet Henry was willing to toast to the possibility of the pregnancy being true and a boy at that. His brother was positively giddy. He narrowed his eyes. “Henry, what has caused this positively jovial mood?”
“Jane may be with child again.” Henry stretched out his arms and grinned after his pronouncement. Darcy stood and slapped Henry on the back before Charles embraced him. He would have wanted Henry by his side while Georgie gave birth, but if the two ladies were expecting at almost the same time, it would be understandable Henry might not be available. His priority was his own wife as Charles’s was Georgie.
Regardless, he could not bemoan a new life and a new niece or nephew to spoil. He was wed to the lady who suited him best and they would have their own child—likely in April. Life would go on, and he would not hide from any of it.