Chapter Three

E lizabeth did not know if she was angrier with Mama for sending Jane out in the rain, or with Papa for not putting a stop to such obvious folly. Or perhaps with Miss Bingley for issuing the dinner invitation to Jane when the skies looked so threatening. Or maybe even with herself for not tying Jane to a chair rather than allowing her to venture out into a storm on horseback!

Papa had protested her leaving, as he had hoped to spend a few hours with her on their pet project, translating Canterbury Tales from Middle English, but Elizabeth was determined. She strode through the fields, boots and skirts mud-drenched, set on one thing – bringing her sister home where she could be properly tended. Doubtless this Bingley woman had simply abandoned Jane to the mercies of whatever maid was handiest. Jane belonged home at Longbourn, where she would be very tenderly nursed by Mama and by Elizabeth herself. Elizabeth would have to beg for the use of Mr. Bingley's carriage, as Mama was still insisting that the horses were needed on the farm, and Papa had not dared to contradict her.

There was no one to greet Elizabeth at Netherfield's front door, which was not a surprise. Netherfield was a leased estate with only a skeleton staff, and local gossip said that the current tenants had not yet hired additional servants. The door was not locked, so Elizabeth walked into the front entrance and stopped. "Mr. Bingley?" she called out.

Silence.

"Miss Bingley?" she tried again.

Elizabeth heard a rapid patter of slippered feet, and Miss Bingley appeared. "Miss Eliza?" she said, surprised.

"It is Miss Elizabeth, but yes."

"Whatever are you doing here?" The woman's tone was one of horrified disbelief, as if a troll had entered her home.

"I have come to see my sister, of course." Elizabeth could not keep the note of tartness from her voice.

"The apothecary was here and assured us that it is just a cold, Miss Elizabeth ," Miss Bingley replied, accenting ‘Elizabeth' heavily. "No need for anyone to get worked up. And surely no need for frolicking about the countryside in the mud," she added, staring pointedly at Elizabeth's gown and boots.

Elizabeth considered several responses, but elected to simply repeat, "I have come to see my sister."

Miss Bingley walked into the drawing room, leaving Elizabeth standing in the entry way, and tugged on a bell cord. A maid promptly appeared; seeing Elizabeth, she said, "Oh, Miss Elizabeth! Come to see Miss Bennet, I imagine; I will take you up."

Miss Bingley interrupted. "You know the maid , Miss Elizabeth?" She sounded incredulous.

Elizabeth replied, "Of course; Martha is Mrs. Hill's daughter."

"And Mrs. Hill is…?"

"Longbourn's housekeeper."

Miss Bingley shook her head, and then turned and marched away.

As they walked up the staircase, Elizabeth whispered, "Heavy going, is it?"

Martha whispered back, "A right cow, that one is. None of us like her."

"How is Jane, Martha?"

"She will live, no thanks to anyone here," Martha replied, disapprovingly.

Martha stopped at the door to the first bedroom to the left of the landing. Elizabeth's eyes narrowed. "I know this room; the fireplace is too small to heat the room properly and so it is always cold."

Martha said, "There are six more bedrooms, every one of them warmer than this one. Though the best bedroom is being used for some friend of theirs, a Mr. Darcy. Some sort of god, he is, according to her highness downstairs." She turned to leave, adding, "You ring if you need something for Miss Bennet, and I will come right up."

Thanking her, Elizabeth opened the door and walked in. Jane was lying on her back, head propped up with two pillows. Her eyes opened and, after a moment, focused on Elizabeth. Jane opened her mouth and croaked out, "Lizzy…?"

"Oh, Jane." Elizabeth knelt at her sister's bedside and took Jane's hands in her own. "I have come to ask Mr. Bingley to let us use his carriage to take you home, but I fear you are too ill to be moved."

"I want to go home, Lizzy. It is so very cold here." It was practically a whimper. Jane almost never complained, bearing her trials with endless patience. She must be deeply uncomfortable to voice even as mild a criticism as this.

"It is cold indeed," Elizabeth agreed. And that is the first thing I will fix, she thought.

She pulled the bell cord and Martha was there in three minutes. "Martha, where is Mr. Bingley?"

"I am not certain; shall I find him?"

"Yes, please; tell him I must speak with him."

Ten minutes later, Mr. Bingley knocked on Jane's door. Elizabeth opened it.

"Miss Elizabeth! You have come to nurse your sister, have you? How does she, poor Miss Bennet?"

"First, Mr. Bingley, I must thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing Jane to stay here, as she clearly cannot be moved just yet."

Mr. Bingley pinked with pleasure. "The apothecary says she absolutely must not be moved. But, of course, it is a pleasure to have her here! Not a pleasure to have her sick; it would be far better if she were not sick. But if she must be sick somewhere, it is good that she is sick here." He began to look rather confused.

"I am very grateful that you sent for Mr. Jones. The thing is, Mr. Bingley… well, of course, I hate to be a bother at all…"

"Oh, no! No bother! Anything I can do!"

This was the open-handed offer Elizabeth had been hoping for. She immediately said, "Oh, you are so good! Mr. Bingley, I am quite familiar with Netherfield, as my dear friends, the Donaldsons, lived here for many years, and I know the room my sister is in to be inadequately heated. It is quite the coldest bedroom in the house. If you would step inside for just a moment…yes, yes, I know, but I am here to chaperone."

Mr. Bingley stepped inside the room, trying desperately not to glance over at Jane on the bed. His eyes widened. "Why – it is freezing cold! No one could get well in such a place. I wonder at Caroline putting her here!"

"Might we not move her?" Elizabeth asked. "Two doors down there is a bedroom that is quite a bit warmer."

"Yes. I will have this done directly."

"Mr. Bingley, if you would wait just a moment." Elizabeth knew better than to allow time for Mr. Bingley to confer with his younger sister on the matter. She pulled the bell cord and Martha appeared almost immediately. "Perhaps you might instruct Martha here to help me move Miss Bennet to a different room, as you quite rightly suggested?" It had not, of course, been Mr. Bingley's suggestion, but after watching Mama interact with Papa for twenty years, Elizabeth well knew how to get things done.

"Yes, yes, immediately! Martha, we must move Miss Bennet to the – to the –?" And he looked at Elizabeth enquiringly.

"To the Blue Room, two doors down," Elizabeth supplied.

"Yes, to the Blue Room! And make up a fire directly; Miss Bennet must be kept warm at all costs."

"Yes, sir, right away."

Mr. Bingley bowed and left, smiling, flushed with his success at having protected Miss Bennet from the cold. Martha ran out to have a fire lit in the Blue Room, and Elizabeth prepared Jane for the move. It took some time, as Jane could scarcely keep her eyes open and had to be helped every step of the way, but she was eventually settled in a larger, warmer room.