Chapter Nineteen #2
William would not hear of Bella walking up the stairs and swept her into his arms, cradling her head beneath his chin as he carried her.
Once they reached the room he deposited her gently on the bed.
"We are so very glad to have you returned to us, sweetheart," he said, kissing her tenderly on the forehead and paying no mind to the grime streaking her skin.
"I shall leave you to your mother's care. "
He made to exit the room, but stopped with his hand on the doorknob and turned back towards Elizabeth.
A smile of such pure, unfiltered joy lit his features that she was transported back many years, to the moment she had accepted his second proposal and the dour Mr Darcy, as she had once rather unkindly thought of him, had looked at her with such complete happiness that she knew she could never willingly be parted from him.
Elizabeth answered his smile with a soft one of her own before turning back to their daughter.
Bella said very little as, between them, Clara and Elizabeth helped her bathe, washed the dirt from her hair and settled her into a clean cotton nightgown. Apart from a large bruise blooming across one hip and several smaller marks on her arms, she was unharmed.
"Thank you, Clara," Elizabeth said when Bella was finally tucked beneath the counterpane. "You may leave us now."
"Very good, Mrs Darcy." Clara bobbed one of her unusual curtseys before looking towards Bella. "I'm right glad you be safe, Miss Darcy. I've never been as scared as I were in that alley, and I've been prayin' for you every day since."
"Thank you, Clara," Bella said with a small smile. "You are the only maid I should wish to have at my side when faced with a gang of smugglers." She gave a weak laugh, though it did not quite reach her eyes, and Clara bobbed again before leaving the room.
"Now, my darling." Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed and took Bella's hand between both of hers. "Would you like something for the pain? Some tea? A little food? I can have a tray brought up."
"A little food and tea would be very welcome, Mama," Bella said in a small voice that sounded nothing like her usual direct tones.
Elizabeth stood to pull the bell and then returned to her seat, squeezing her daughter’s fingers. "Will you not tell me about it, sweetheart?"
"It is all such a jumble." Bella looked down at their joined hands. "And it was my own fault. I never should have followed George, or left Aunt Lydia's house without telling anyone. I am so very sorry, Mama. I must be such a disappointment to you and Papa."
"You are nothing of the sort," Elizabeth said at once.
"You have made some very unwise decisions, certainly, and I would beg of you never to put yourself in that sort of danger again or cause your poor papa quite so much worry and upset.
He has been like a bear with a sore head," she added in a lighter tone designed to make Bella laugh.
Bella only cringed, and Elizabeth softened her voice.
"But we have all made foolish decisions in our lives, my love.
Some of us more spectacularly than others.
" She stroked a damp strand of hair away from Bella's face.
"There is no undoing what has happened now.
You are here and you are safe. That is what matters tonight. "
Bella nodded, her eyes filling again.
"Now," Elizabeth continued gently, "will you tell me about your captain?"
"He is not my captain, Mama." Bella's cheeks coloured despite her exhaustion.
"George was... is... He was a very good friend to me.
He protected me. He did his best to fight off several men to secure my freedom and, when he could not manage it, he looked after me tirelessly.
He taught me how to wield a plank as a weapon, and he is the reason we were successful in our escape. "
"A plank?" Elizabeth repeated, arching one eyebrow.
"It was all we had."
"My dear, I shall not press you tonight, but I assure you I shall want to hear that tale in full very soon.
" Elizabeth hesitated before continuing.
"There is one thing I must ask you, Bella.
When we found you and Captain Harwood together, had he taken any liberties with you?
Is there anything you would like to tell me? "
"No, Mama." Bella sat up so quickly and threw the counterpane from her legs. She made as if to climb from the bed.
Elizabeth caught her gently by the shoulders and settled her back against the pillows as she had done countless times when Bella was a little girl. "Please do not distress yourself, darling. I had to ask."
"He has never behaved dishonourably towards me." Bella looked down at her hands for a few seconds before raising her eyes to Elizabeth's. "I think I love him, Mama. He is such a kind man and so strong, and he has made his own way in the world. He joined the Navy when he was just fifteen."
Elizabeth examined the information quietly.
They knew little to nothing about this man and he could not have known Bella for more than a week.
"It is an unusual beginning to a courtship, certainly, and I imagine feelings might become heightened when two people are thrown together in circumstances such as yours.
I only ask that you do not make any hasty decisions tonight.
You are exhausted and have endured something frightening. Give yourself a little time."
"My feelings will not change, Mama. I love him." Bella's expression wavered. "And I think he was about to ask me something before Papa arrived."
Elizabeth said nothing. Her daughter’s eyes were filled with hope. But what type of man took such liberties before so much as a courtship? It could, of course, be that peculiar circumstances had only hastened what would have occurred naturally. She would try to reserve judgement for the time being.
Bella sank more deeply into the pillows.
"I am very tired. Would you mind if we continued this discussion tomorrow?
I feel as though I have not slept properly for days.
I suppose I have not slept properly for days.
" She glanced towards the door as footsteps approached.
"And here is my tray. I shall eat a little and then go immediately to sleep. "
"Very well, dearest." Elizabeth bent and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Rest now. Everything else can wait until tomorrow."
She left the room in search of her husband. She doubted William would view the matter of Captain Harwood with quite as much compassion as she did.