Assumed Engagement (4 page)

The two guests were led up the stairs and down a grand hall.
Elizabeth
felt a mixture of admiration and awe at the furnishings and decor. She turned her eyes toward every room they passed, at every picture and piece of furniture lining the hallway. She could see that someone, at some time, put much love and thought into this home. That was the feeling it suggested. Even though it was a grand estate, it was also a home, with warmth and love pouring out from its walls.

As they were shown into their room, they were pleased to find it was rather large with two beds, a beautiful mahogany armoire and table, and a dressing chamber off to the side. Several candles had been lit and a fire was burning in the fireplace, giving them much desired warmth. A plate of breads, cheese, and fruit awaited them.

"You may freshen up, have a bite to eat, and then come down to meet Miss Darcy in the drawing room, which is down the stairs and directly to the left. She will make your acquaintance there in about 20 minutes." With that, Mrs. Reynolds left.

"What do you think?" asked
Elizabeth
, wondering what thoughts were going through Jane's mind.

"Oh,
Lizzy
, is it not simply wonderful?
Netherfield
is very nice, but this is grand!" She saw the pensive look on
Elizabeth
's face and quickly added, "You are not remorseful of your decision to refuse Mr. Darcy's proposal, now that you have seen
Pemberley
, are you?"

"Oh, no, Jane," laughed
Elizabeth
. "I simply find it hard to believe that this is where he lives. In some ways it seems grander than him, in other ways he seems grander than it."

A knock at the door brought in a manservant with their luggage. A maid was right behind, offering to put away their clothes in the dressing chamber. With the maid in the next room, the sisters had to refrain from talking any more about
Pemberley
. They enjoyed some of the food that had been put out and set about getting themselves ready to meet Miss Darcy.

The time passed quickly and they soon heard a grandfather clock down the hall chime the half hour. "I believe it is time to meet our hostess!" exclaimed
Lizzy
with a nervous sense of excitement. "Shall we go?"

Just as they were to set out,
Elizabeth
walked over to the table where some of her toiletries had been placed. She pulled out the handkerchief she had embroidered in the carriage and sprayed a mist of gardenia toilet water on it. Bringing the handkerchief to her nose, she breathed in the fresh scent of it, and then tucked it into the pocket of her dress.

The two ladies walked out into the hall and proceeded down the stairs. As they came to the bottom, they walked into an open room on the left and saw a young girl sitting on a divan. As soon as she saw them, she rose and demurely walked over to them. She curtseyed politely. Her words were very carefully chosen and spoken in a very slow, deliberate manner. "I am so glad that you have come. I am Georgiana Darcy. I believe… one of you is Miss Jane
Bennet
, and one is Miss Elizabeth
Bennet
."

Elizabeth
laughed nervously. "Thank you, Miss Darcy. I am Elizabeth
Bennet
. It is good to meet you." She smiled at the young girl, who obviously was making a determined effort to be polite and gracious. She could see the strain of the past few days on her face. "This is my sister, Jane."

"It is my pleasure. I am afraid, Miss Elizabeth, that my brother has improved very little since my letter."

"I am so sorry; we were informed of that from your coachman, Mr. Winston."

"I did not know what to do. I am so glad you could come. I knew that with the two of you being just engaged, I had to inform you."

Elizabeth
's eyes widened and she tried to disguise her startled look.
She thinks we are engaged?

Miss Darcy blushed and looked down. "I know the announcements have not been made. My brother… about two weeks ago… wrote me from
Rosings
to tell me that he was going to propose. But do not worry; he told me that I must not tell anyone and I have not."

Elizabeth
glanced at Jane with a look in her eyes that told her to go along with what she was going to say. "Miss Darcy…"

"Please call me Georgiana."

"Thank you, Georgiana. Then you must call me Elizabeth. I am very grateful for you thoughtfulness in writing me and informing me of his condition. I know that with the shock of what happened, the thought to write was commendable."

"I have only done what I felt I should."

"And so you have. Pray tell, you wrote that Mr. Bingley was also coming. Has he arrived yet?"
Elizabeth
asked.

"No, he should arrive sometime tomorrow. He had some business he had to attend to in
London
that took him through today."

Elizabeth
looked over at Jane and saw her relax a bit at this news.

"Georgiana, what does the doctor say about your brother’s condition?"

Georgiana began shaking and tears filled her eyes. Her voice continued in strained sobs, "He does not know what is to be made of his condition. He says all we can do is wait… and pray." Georgiana trembled as she began to weep.

She looked up and straightened her deportment. "
Elizabeth
, you are bearing up very well. I know you will be a stronghold for me… as well as my brother."

Elizabeth
's heart went out to Georgiana as she appeared to be so fragile and timid. She appeared to have such a difficult time coming up with words to say or she was terribly afraid to say them. She had a tendency to look down at her hands as she spoke, but
Elizabeth
was glad that she made an effort to look up and meet her gaze, as if receiving strength from it.

Elizabeth
took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "I would try not to worry Georgiana. I am sure your brother will improve very soon. Jane and I were just discussing how strong he is. That must account for something!"

"I can only hope so. I trust that your presence here will facilitate that. Would you like to see him now?" she asked.

Elizabeth
drew in a deep breath, looked at Jane, and then replied as her eyes turned back to the young girl. "Yes, I do believe now would be as good a time as ever. Would you be so kind as to take us to him?"

"Please follow me. We have him in the infirmary, which is back here to the right."

Elizabeth and Jane followed her and made their way toward the rear of the house. As they came to a closed door, Georgiana lightly knocked and it was opened by a nurse. When
Elizabeth
walked in, she first noticed a strong medicinal smell, along with a smell of cleansing fluid. She saw the bed on the left and a tumbled head of dark, curly hair resting on the pillow.

Elizabeth
walked closer and gasped at what she saw. Here lay Mr. Darcy, very pale and still, dark circles around his eyes. Curls from his hair were matted down against his forehead, probably brought about by the slight fever from which he had been suffering since being brought home. As she came closer, that same fear she experienced earlier returned and gripped her. He looked as if he truly had died, but she quickly looked at his chest and was reassured when she saw it rising and falling very slowly.

Elizabeth
looked back at Jane and saw that she had barely walked in the room. Jane's hand went over her mouth and
Elizabeth
noticed her face grow pale.

"
Lizzy
, do you mind if I do not come in? I really cannot…" With that she ran from the room.

Elizabeth
looked at Georgiana. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. I suppose I have become accustomed to how he looks. But, how are you?"

"I must admit it is a shock. He looks so unlike himself."

"Yes. I wish so much for him to waken so I can see his warm smile and inviting eyes. You can imagine what an excellent brother he is." Georgiana paused and took in some deep breaths. "He is usually the one who is so generous and takes prodigiously good care of me. I cannot imagine what I would do without him." The tears came again to Georgiana and
Elizabeth
wrapped her arms around her.

Elizabeth
found it hard to believe that Georgiana’s words were about the man that the whole society of Hertfordshire found proud and arrogant, aloof and uncaring. Could this really be the same man? She had to remind herself, though, that in his society he was most likely all ease and friendliness. It was the likes of her society that caused him to behave so abhorrently.

"If you will excuse me, I will leave you to spend some time alone with him. The nurse will be outside the door if you need her. Please talk to him, Elizabeth. Let him know you are here, by his side. The doctor says we really do not know whether he can hear us… but we can always hope that he can." The words from Georgiana, spoken through her tears, were passionate, imploring
Elizabeth
to try to get through to him.

"Yes, Georgiana, we can hope."

Miss Darcy left and the nurse stepped outside the door.
Elizabeth
looked compassionately at Mr. Darcy. How different was his countenance now. In his features there was no more pride and no arrogance. She felt utterly helpless seeing how frail he looked. She came around to the side of the bed and sat down upon a chair that had been placed next to the bed, most likely for Georgiana.

She wrung her hands, wondering what to do; what to say. She could not imagine he would want to hear her voice -- not the voice of the woman who had so harshly lashed out at him and so vehemently refused him. But she felt she had to say something.

"Mr. Darcy, I do not know whether you can hear me. It is…
Elizabeth
. Elizabeth
Bennet
." She paused, wondering what more to say. "You are probably wondering what I am doing here. Your sister is apparently under the mistaken impression that we are engaged." She laughed nervously. "She wrote to me telling me of your accident and asking for me to come. So here I am."

Her eyes were drawn to the matted curls against his forehead. Her thoughts went to the day he had come and proposed. These same unruly curls had fallen across his face. How silly that she suddenly thought of that. Finally she drew her hand toward him and with much uneasiness she lifted the curls and pulled them away from his face one by one. The last one, a longer curl stayed within her fingers and she held on to it, rubbing her fingers around it. Her heart pounded as she contemplated this man laying here. She suddenly let go of his lock of hair and pulled back, angry for letting herself be drawn to him in such a way.

"This is a fine state you find yourself in, Sir. Your sister is beside herself with worry; you are all she has. She looks up to you so dearly. If you are in there… somewhere…" She suddenly felt herself at a loss for words.

There was no response from him, his breathing remained constant, no flutter from his eyes. Georgiana had said that maybe he could hear voices. She could not believe he could hear her. She sat there quietly for a moment and finally decided the only thing she could do was pray.

She picked up his hand in hers, covering it with her other hand. "Almighty God, if you hear my prayer, please answer, according to Your perfect will. I pray that you might heal Mr. Darcy. I pray that there would be no lasting ill effects of his injuries, and that he would be up and around soon. Amen."

She found herself staring at his sturdy hand; now limp in hers. She thought of his hand as it had taken hers during their dance at
Netherfield
. It had been strong and firm. At the time she only associated its strength with his arrogance. Now she felt it was indicative of his very secure character. There on the dance floor she had tried to make out his character. How errant she had been in so many things. She had to admit when he asked her to dance, she ought to have recognized that as a sign of his regard for her. But she had been too adamant in her feelings against him to have even considered it. As her mind was engaged with these thoughts, he moaned and stirred. This caused her to start. She looked at him, but it was followed by silence and stillness.