14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

D arcy and Bingley set out on the Surrey road, back in the direction of Richmond, accompanied by a postillion who would be sent for help if needed. Elizabeth and Mr. Bennet were following some way behind. Darcy hoped they would find the young ladies before nightfall.

They had been twenty minutes on the road when a man came riding towards them. From the distance, his clothes suggested a postillion, but Darcy could not be sure. Since Mr. Bennet had mentioned it earlier, Darcy was alert to the threat of highwaymen. It was far better to err on the side of caution than to be caught unawares.

"Prepare to set up a Ward," he murmured. Bingley grunted in reply.

However, as they drew closer, the rider took off his cap and waved it at them. It was hard to tell from this distance, but he seemed familiar.

"Oh, look, sir! It's Noah." The postillion waved back enthusiastically. "Well met!"

Noah approached them quickly. "Lord Redmond sent me to look for help in the next village."

"Have the ladies been attacked?" cried Bingley.

"There's been an accident. There were branches on the road and the carriage struck a tree."

"Anyone injured?" said Darcy.

"The coachman is in some pain, but I don't know anything more. Lord Redmond sent me off before I had a chance to find out."

"Well done," said Darcy. "If you do not need a fresh horse, ride on to let Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Darcy know. They are not far behind us. Return with them."

Having received his instructions, the postillion went on his way. Darcy turned to the postillion accompanying them. "You had better ride ahead, Perry."

"Yes, sir."

"They should never have sent them in the carriage alone," said Bingley. "I told the Council it was a bad idea. I should have gone with them."

Spotting the signs of panic in Bingley's eyes, Darcy endeavored to restore calm. "You might have been the one injured. Then the ladies would have been forced to look after you ."

"You're right." Bingley brightened. "Besides, we do not know if there were injuries. The postillion did not seem to think so."

"Exactly. Redmond did not provide any details." It was impossible to know. Redmond may have lost his head. Or he may have underestimated the situation.

They soon came upon the coachman, who was sitting on the ground. He raised an arm for them to slow when they approached, but lowered it when he recognized Darcy.

"It's a blind corner. I'm trying to slow anyone wanting to pass. Thank goodness you have come. I did not think Noah would have reached the inn so quickly."

"We were already on our way." Darcy noticed the empty sleeve of the coachman's greatcoat. "Are you injured?"

"Bone is broken. Miss Bingley was kind enough to remove some of the pain, but she cannot do anything more until the bone setter has seen it." He looked miserable. "I am sorry, Mr. Darcy. I should have reacted faster. I was coming round the corner and didn't see the rubble on the road until I was almost upon it. I tried to avoid it, but I was thrown from the box, and you can see the result." He looked anxiously at Mr. Darcy, indicating his arm. "Does this mean I will never work again?"

"You need not be afraid of that," said Darcy. "I will make sure you find employment. It was not your fault. There has been a storm. We had a similar situation."

"Thank you, sir, but you had better go ahead. Miss Bennet is injured."

Bingley uttered an exclamation and spurred his horse onward. Darcy followed, dreading what he would see. As he rounded the corner, he spotted the mud-spattered carriage. It had crashed into a tree, and a branch had gone through the window. Redmond was standing next to it.

By the time Darcy dismounted, Bingley had already reached the carriage.

"Halloo!" he called. "Miss Bennet, are you there?"

There was a scrambling sound and Miss King opened the door.

"Mr. Bingley! Mr. Darcy! Oh, thank goodness you have come!!

"How is Miss Bennet?" Bingley whispered, looking at Miss King in dread. There was blood on her cheek and on her hands.

"A branch from the tree pierced her – thigh." Miss King hesitated to mention something so intimate, "Miss Bingley and I have been trying to stop the blood. We have taken it in turn to press the wound, hoping the flow will stop, but it persists."

Lord Redmond spoke up. "I offered to take my turn, but the ladies declined my help, owing to the location of the wound." He reddened.

"I insist on helping. I will not stand by while Miss Bennet—" Bingley choked back whatever he intended to say. "At least until Mrs. Darcy and Mr. Bennet arrive. They will be here any moment, and then we will find Miss Bennet a Healer."

No one tried to stop him. It was clear he would not take no for an answer.

As for finding a Healer, it was easier said than done, thought Darcy. They were in the middle of the countryside. They had not seen an inn or a village since they left the main road. Healers were few and far between.

Not only that, but he could see from this angle that bringing Jane Bennet out was going to be challenging.

Darcy did not voice his doubts, however. It was the last thing they needed.

Instead, he turned to Miss King and handed her a handkerchief for the blood. She took it and wiped her hands, barely noticing what she was doing.

"If only I had some Healing Talent," she said.

"We do not choose our gifts," said Darcy. Making sure Bingley was out of earshot, he asked in a hushed voice, "Is she in a bad condition?"

"Mercifully, she hit her head as well and was struck unconscious, which at least saved her from the pain," said Miss King.

At that point, Miss Bingley emerged from the carriage. "I am glad you have come, Mr. Darcy. We were afraid to move Miss Bennet. I have tried doing a simple Healing spell to stem the bleeding, but I am not very adept at Healing. I cannot do much without a Healing Circle. I think it helped, but it is not enough."

Darcy wished now he had had the foresight to send Noah to the next village to ask for a Healer. Though, considering that they had not seen anything for miles, it might be better to send Perry back the way the young ladies had traveled. Perhaps there was a Healer there close-by, and a bone setter for the coachman.

But what if Noah returned with a Healer, but they had already left? He could not do anything until they had decided where they intended to stay for the night. They could not wait in the middle of the country lane for hours.

For now, there was nothing to be done until Jane's condition became clearer.

The moment Noah informed them what had happened, Elizabeth was gripped by a sense of foreboding.

"I wish I had come on horseback," remarked Mr. Bennet. "I would have been there by now."

He leaned out of the window to instruct the coachman to drive faster.

The thudding of hooves against the road filled the carriage with a sense of urgency. Mr. Bennet kept his head out of the window, looking ahead.

"There is the coachman!" he said. "We should see them in a minute."

The carriage slowed as the coachman waved his arm but continued. Elizabeth did not want a moment's delay.

She was prepared for an accident and an injury, but the sight of the broken carriage, pierced by the branch, filled her with terror.

It was even worse when Elizabeth set eyes on Jane. She had to press her hand to her mouth to stop the cry of distress. She did not know what looked worse -- the alabaster pallor of her face or the large crimson blotch on her traveling dress. The branch had gone through her clothes. How was it possible?

Miss Bingley was there, looking shaken and exhausted. She was using Healing magic to try and seal the wound, but Elizabeth could see it was not really working.

Poor Bingley was pressing a strip of linen to the area in such an agitated fashion, Elizabeth's heart contracted with fear. What would they do if they lost her? As well as being her sister, Jane was her dearest friend and confidante. They had always known some of them might be wounded or worse in battle, but for Jane to be taken away from them in a meaningless carriage accident seemed particularly unjust.

The carriage seemed suddenly airless. She had to get out. She stepped onto the road and breathed in great gulps of country air.

She could hear Mr. Bennet questioning Miss King. Elizabeth strode over to listen. Of all of them, she was the most objective. Very likely, she would have the most realistic assessment.

"I cannot say. She has lost blood and will lose more if we remove the piece of wood. But we must remove it before infection sets in. If we can stem the bleeding quickly, there is hope. We will need a proper Healer quickly."

The difficulty was determining where they could find one.

"We should retrace our steps. Take her back to Founder's Hall," said Bingley, emerging from the carriage to ask for more linen. "There are plenty of Healers there, and we know they are good. No point wasting time scouring the countryside only to find a Healer with weak abilities."

"First things first," said Darcy, appearing suddenly at Elizabeth's side. He was tearing at his shirt to give Bingley more strips. "We cannot do anything until we move the carriage and extricate Miss Bennet. That is our priority. Once we have her in the other carriage, we can decide. But I have the feeling that jolting her around to take her such a long way may make matters worse."

"I agree," said Miss King. "In any case, we need to seal the wound first. Miss Bingley has attempted to do so, but it is beyond her ability. As soon as Miss Bennet has been moved, we must form a Healing circle. Hopefully we can at least stem the bleeding."

Darcy prepared himself to start his work, trying to control his apprehension. There was a huge difference between making errors on an inanimate log and moving the carriage with Jane inside. A mistake here could send Jane tumbling and risk making the situation much worse.

And then there were the logistics of it. Extricating Jane from the carriage was an intricate business. The branch that had pierced her leg was still attached to the tree itself. Miss King had tried to use a thin line of fire to saw it off, but after a spark flew into the carriage and nearly set fire to it, she had abandoned the idea. Darcy and Mr. Bennet would have to cut away without causing any other problems. Once that was done, the carriage could be moved away from the tree so Jane could be taken out without having to pull at her too much and risk making the bleeding worse.

In the end, everything went more smoothly than anticipated. The first part was easy, once the two of them had determined the best way to do it. Darcy set up a Warding bubble around the branch to protect Jane, the carriage and the trees around them from any consequences, while Mr. Bennet used a form of Arcane magic to crumble the wood into a fine powder.

Next, they turned to the task of moving the carriage away from the tree so they could open the door. It was fortunate that he and Mr. Bennet had practiced shifting a log earlier in the day, although the downside was that their efforts had tired them. They were able to work together efficiently. Darcy tried not to pay attention to Elizabeth, who stood on the side, wringing her hands and urging them to be careful. He tried to ignore Bingley's despairing look. And most of all, he tried not to look at Jane's chalk-white face.

Utterly drained, he left the task of transporting Jane to Bingley, Redmond, the postillions and anyone else who wanted to help, and went to sit on the edge of the road next to the coachman, completely spent.

It galled him that he could not do anything more, but it was the price he had to pay for using Elemental magic.

As soon as Jane was taken to the second carriage, Elizabeth gathered all the mages together.

"Miss King, if you could be kind enough to keep an eye out for any trouble while we are occupied with the Healing."

"Of course."

"Miss Bingley, do you think you could lead the Healing Circle? Do you think you are strong enough after all the effort you exerted."

"Yes, of course," she said, with her usual arrogance.

"I would like to help," said Mr. Bennet.

Elizabeth shook her head. Obviously, he wanted to do what he could to save his daughter, but Elizabeth had never tried to Link with him in any way. This was no time to experiment.

"You have already pushed yourself to the limit moving the carriage, Papa. Mr. Darcy as well."

Darcy was looking crestfallen. She gave him a warm smile. "You have already done a lot. Though perhaps it would be good to set up Concealment Wards around us, just in case."

She was impatient to start. "There is no time to be lost. Although five would be ideal, there are four of us: Bingley, Redmond, Miss Bingley and myself. We have all practiced joining together before, so this should be familiar. I will start by forming the Circle, then Miss Bingley will guide us in the Healing."

Elizabeth's hands were shaking, and it took a while to push away her terror and calm her mind before she reached out to everyone. Very carefully, she reached out with the threads of her magic to link with theirs.

She started with Redmond. It was hard to resist the temptation to Bond, but a Healing was very different, and in any case, Bonding was too risky. Then she connected with Bingley. She knew his magical signature well, and they usually Linked easily, but today he was withdrawn, his magic held tight to him like a shield.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Bingley?" she asked.

"Of course," he said, unknowingly echoing his sister.

And finally, Elizabeth reached for Miss Bingley's magic signature and weaved it into a protective unit surrounding Jane.

"Miss Bingley – your turn," she murmured.

Miss Bingley drew on the link and began to braid the threads of magic together into a circular rope. She tied the ends together and the circle enclosed them and started to shimmer.

Tentatively, Miss Bingley gathered the magic threads from all of them and turned them into a single thread. She pulled the thread towards Jane and began to stitch the edges of her wound together. Elizabeth could feel the wrongness of the wooden barb inside her sister. It repelled Miss Bingley's attempts. The Healing thread tore more than once, but Miss Bingley persisted, wielding the thread over and over, like a young lady embroidering a complex pattern, the stitches forming close together, then overlapping. It was painstaking work, but Miss Bingley kept working patiently, never pausing.

"The wound is beginning to seal," said Darcy.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth was struggling. It was becoming physically painful to hold the Link. Her head was pounding so hard she could hardly see in front of her. Healing magic was not her Talent and it required too much magic. Regardless, Elizabeth gritted her teeth and held onto the Link, knowing her sister's life was at stake.

Then just as Elizabeth's head felt as if it was going to explode, Miss Bingley slumped to the ground, and the braids of magic unraveled. Gray shadows gathered around her. She vaguely felt Darcy's arm holding her up, and she fell into nothingness.

Elizabeth awoke to the swaying of a carriage. She felt intensely confused as she tried to get her bearings.

"Ah, at last!" Miss King sounded relieved.

"Jane?" Elizabeth managed to croak.

"We managed to stop the bleeding."

Elizabeth found herself squeezed in between Miss King and Miss Bingley, who was fast asleep.

Jane was in the opposite seat, propped up by pillows and covered by a blanket. Mr. Bingley was crammed into the space between the two seats on the floor, hugging his knees, watching over her.

"Jane has not woken up?"

"No." It was Mr. Bingley who answered.

It was a silly question. The answer was perfectly obvious, born from a desperate desire for good news. Elizabeth was disoriented and hungry, after expanding so much energy, but her throat was so dry, she was not sure she would be capable of swallowing anything.

"Where is Papa?"

"He and the other gentlemen are riding."

Except for Bingley, clearly. He must have seen Elizabeth looking at him, because he spoke up. "I hope I am not intruding," said Bingley. "But I could not possibly stay away."

"I understand." Her gaze went to her sister. Was this how Darcy felt when she was injured during the attack on Founder's Hall? Only now did she appreciate how much he must have suffered.

She would have to ask him about it.

"It might be better not to mention this to the Council." She indicated his position on the floor, laughing weakly at the irony of it. So much time spent trying to stop a single gentleman from accompanying the young ladies, yet here he was, squeezed in between them all.

"I suppose not," He gave a listless smile.

Elizabeth looked out of the window. She had no idea where they were. It was pitch dark outside, with no village lights in sight.

"So did you determine where we are going?"

"Yes," said Miss King. "Mr. Darcy managed to convince us that Rosings is our best option. It is reasonably close, comfortable, and his aunt will have access to some excellent Healers."

So, they were going to Rosings after all! Elizabeth had wanted to meet Darcy's aunt, and now she had her wish, but under the worst possible conditions.