Chapter 5 Death at Longbourn
Men clamored around him, and then Mead's voice broke through.
“Sir, you have been shot.”
Darkness claimed him.
When Bennet woke again, he recognized the ceiling and drapes. He could hear Franny weeping in another room.
“Papa, can you drink a little water?” Elizabeth held a glass to his lips.
“Send an express, Lizzy, to Gardiner. He will know what to do.”
“Yes, Papa. We sent one as soon as you returned home. I expect our uncle will arrive tonight.”
“Tell Phillips to wait… as long as he can before he notifies my heir of my demise.”
“Papa, do not speak so. You will not die.”
“Listen to me. I am dying. Ask Phillips to delay.”
Elizabeth wept in silence, her head bent low to catch his whisper.
“Yes, sir. I shall ask Uncle Phillips to wait as long as he can before he notifies Mr. Collins.”
“Lizzy, Lydia is lost. That man plans to sell her to a madame… a brothel. In London.”
He fell silent. He struggled with each breath. After several moments, he spoke again.
“I shot him, tried to stop him, but the wound was not fatal.”
His eyes closed.
“Papa, do you want more water?”
He made no answer.
Elizabeth rose and paced the room. “What can be keeping Doctor Edgerton?”
Mary kept the pad of rags pressed against the wound to stem the bleeding.
After what seemed hours, the doctor entered the house. Hill brought him upstairs, and Jane left her mother's side and entered the bedchamber behind him.
Doctor Edgerton removed the pad, then unbuttoned the jacket and shirt.
He examined the wound carefully.
“Can we give him something for the pain?”
“Yes. I shall give him laudanum.”
Elizabeth watched as the physician prepared the medicine.
“Can you remove the ball?”
“No. It is lodged too deeply. Attempting to remove it would kill him.”
Jane began to weep.
“How long does he have?”
“A few hours, perhaps.”
Elizabeth closed her eyes.
Doctor Edgerton administered the laudanum.
“He should feel less pain now.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
“I am sorry, Miss Bennet.”
* * *
Hill escorted the physician out, but the three sisters remained at their father's side.
Mary asked, “What did Papa tell you, Lizzy? Did he find Lydia?”
Elizabeth sighed heavily. “Yes, he found her. Lieutenant Wickham means to sell her to a brothel somewhere in London. Papa says he shot Wickham, but the wound was not fatal.”
Mary bowed her head. “I hope he dies of the wound as Papa shall.”
Elizabeth said, “We may never know what becomes of him, or of our sister.”
The three women kept vigil beside their father's bed, weeping silently as the hours slipped away. From time to time, Elizabeth offered him water, and he drank a few sips.
At one point, he whispered, “She is lost. Lizzy, say she died when I was shot. It will spare you, girls, from ruin.”
Elizabeth said, “We will, Papa. We shall tell Mamma that Lydia, too, was shot and died where she fell.”
“Warn Mead, Lizzy. He will keep silent about her ruination.”
“Yes, Papa. I will ask Mead to keep our secret.”
He pressed Elizabeth’s hand.
“Goodbye, my girl.”
“Goodbye, Papa. I love you.” Elizabeth bent over his hand as it lay on the bed and wept.
Jane and Mary rose, bent over him, and spoke their farewells.
Elizabeth looked to Jane. “He wishes us to say Lydia died as well. But what of her body? What will people say when there is no body to bury?”
Mary said, “We can say Papa was taking Lydia to Uncle Edward's to help care for our nephew. Our uncle can then tell Mamma that Lydia was also shot, died of her injuries, and was buried in a pauper's grave. It will be the kindest thing we can do for our mother.”
* * *
Elizabeth was grateful that in the end, that particular deception proved unnecessary. The three eldest sisters remained beside their father's bed until he drew his last breath. Then, together, they went to their mother's bedchamber.
Jane spoke. “Mamma, our father has passed. Do you wish to see him?”
Frances Bennet sat upright in bed and let out a low, mournful wail.
“Thomas is dead? What is to become of us now?”
She pressed both hands to her temples and moaned.
“Jane, my head pains me.”
Elizabeth hurried to her side while Jane offered her a glass of wine.
“Mamma, drink this. It will settle your nerves.”
But Frances Bennet slumped back against the pillows and did not answer.
By the time Doctor Edgerton arrived, she too had passed.
“I will send Mr. Hill to our uncle with a note asking him to deal with the cabinetmaker. We shall need two coffins. Mary, please write a note to Doctor Edgerton and ask him to come. Send Johnny to deliver it.”
“Yes, Jane.” Mary sat down to write the note.
Lizzy wiped her eyes. “I will send another express to Uncle Edward asking him to hire a man to search for Lydia.”