16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

E lizabeth stayed with her sister all night, despite Mr. Bingley's insistence that he would not move from Jane's side until she recovered. He had placed a chair close to the bed and sat there, every now and then whispering to Jane.

Elizabeth dozed on and off. She would awaken with a start, hoping Jane's injury was nothing but a nightmare, but then she would see her sister's prone form on the bed and realize it was not. Every now and then she would go to her sister to check if she had a fever and to adjust her pillows and bedding in the hopes of making her more comfortable. The temperatures had tumbled, and Elizabeth shivered even in her traveling cloak. There was a damp draft in the bedchamber that seemed to smother all heat.

As daylight spread across the sky, Darcy made an appearance. He was accompanied by a woman he introduced as Mrs. Jenkinson, Anne de Bourgh's companion.

"Mrs. Jenkinson and I will stay with Jane. Go, eat something, and then get some rest."

"What happened to the Healers?"

"There is no sign of them yet."

"You should urge Bingley to do that. He has not stirred from her side."

Mrs. Jenkinson looked scandalized. "A single gentleman in a single lady's bedchamber? Lady Catherine will not stand for it."

"He has not been left alone with her," said Elizabeth, irritably. Who cared about such matters when Jane's life hung in the balance?

"Go, Elizabeth. I will deal with this matter," said Darcy.

Elizabeth hurried to her bedchamber. The maid who had showed them to their rooms had placed the three young ladies together, saying that her mistress had indicated that Mrs. Darcy was expected to chaperone the others.

Miss King was already awake, but Miss Bingley was just waking up.

"How is Miss Bennet?" asked Miss Bingley.

"Much the same." Elizabeth wished she had a different answer.

She was shivering. Seized by a longing for a hot bath, she rang for the maid, and was told all the tubs used for bathing were in use.

"Surely you have enough tubs for multiple guests," remarked Elizabeth.

"I will do my best to find one, Mrs. Darcy," said the maid, with a curtsey.

"Can I at least have some warm water to wash myself for now?" said Miss King, who had just woken up. "I have had to break a layer of ice on top of the water in the jug. And if you could send someone to help us dress."

No warm water arrived, and no maid to help them dress, either.

"Lady Catherine seems to have a problem with the servants," remarked Miss King.

Elizabeth suspected that Lady Catherine had a problem with Elizabeth. From what little she had seen of Darcy's aunt, she was vindictive. Clearly, her intention was to make things as uncomfortable as possible for the young lady who had stolen Anne's betrothed. In a way, Elizabeth did not blame her. She had imposed herself, after all, and had made Lady Catherine look ungracious. She could, perhaps, have handled the situation better, but her anxiety over Jane had taken precedence over Lady Catherine's feelings.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth had no intention of giving Lady Catherine the satisfaction of seeing that she was in the least put off by the unfriendly reception. As long as Jane was comfortable, that was all that mattered.

"Maybe she is unaccustomed to hosting unexpected guests," said Elizabeth. "We will just have to manage."

"If we had a fire, we could have put the jug next to it so it would at least warm up a little.," Miss King remarked.

Unfortunately, no one had lit a fire, despite the cold.

"I suppose, since we are unwelcome guests, Lady Catherine has left us to take care of ourselves,"

"I am used to it," said Miss King. "When I was with the Rogue mages, we often had to fend for ourselves."

Miss King had been part of Lord Muirhead's group, who had plotted to overthrow the King. However, at the last minute, she had refused to participate in the attack, and had joined the Royal Mages in resisting the Rogue group.

"How long were you with them?" asked Elizabeth, curious about why Miss King might have chosen to join the group. They had never talked about it.

"Four years," Miss King replied.

"But why did you join them?" Miss Bingley sounded disapproving.

"They knew new types of magic, and they were wiling to teach me."

The three ladies chatted to each other and helped each other dress and do up their hair.

Lady Catherine's petty behavior had accomplished one thing. By the time the three mages emerged from their bedchamber, they were much closer.

Miss King urged Elizabeth to go to get herself something to eat, and offered to watch Jane for a while.

"You need to keep up your strength, in case we need to use magic for some reason. You must eat and sleep."

"I slept in the carriage on the way to Rosings."

"I must insist, Mrs. Darcy. This is no time to let your guard down. You owe it to your sister. And also to Riquer, in case he contacts you. You will need to use your Mirror magic, and who knows how much it might drain you to communicate over such a distance?"

Elizabeth was shocked to realize she had forgotten about Riquer completely. What if he had tried to communicate last night? She could not allow her agitation over her sister's condition to overtake her duty to the Kingdom.

"Thank you, Miss King. It is a timely reminder. You are quite right. I will do my best to do both, though I do not promise I will succeed."

Miss King nodded. "I will send word if anything in your sister's condition changes, I promise, so you need not worry on that score."

Elizabeth had no idea where anything was in Rosings. She had to ask one of the footmen to help her find the breakfast room. Lady Catherine had certainly meant it when she said they were not welcome.

When Elizabeth entered the breakfast room, there was only one person there. It was a hunched, thin young lady with pale skin and dark circles under her eyes. The young lady looked her up and down in a manner reminiscent of Lady Catherine. This then must be Miss Anne de Bourgh.

Elizabeth curtseyed and was about to say something when the young lady spoke first.

" So, you are the young lady who stole my fiancée away from me."

Thank heavens Darcy had forewarned her. It did not make Miss de Bourgh's words any easier, but Elizabeth at least understood the sentiment behind them.

"I am sorry you were deprived of the choice of marrying your cousin, Miss de Bourgh, but it would not have gone very well if you had married in any case. You would not have seen much of him."

"Choice? What choice? Darcy did not choose to marry you, any more than he chose to break the engagement. Sometimes the dictates of duty demand unpleasant choices." Miss de Bourgh stared at her in a disconcerting way. Her blue eyes were large and round in her pale face. "I hope you are making him happy, at least."

The question took Elizabeth by surprise. It brought back all the issues that were facing them. Happy? What was happiness in the midst of war?

Elizabeth met Miss de Bourgh's gaze steadily. "If you are asking me if I love him, then the answer is simple. Yes, I do." It was none of Miss de Bourgh's concern, really, but Elizabeth was tired, and she had no intention of shifting through her words. She'd had her fill of sorting out her emotions and worrying about stepping on people's toes. She hated being so vulnerable when Miss de Bourgh wished her nothing but pain, but at the same time, she wanted his cousin to know. Darcy was hers, and she felt it with a fierce protectiveness. She was not going to let anyone come between them, come what may.

She braced herself for an onslaught.

Miss de Bourgh gave a little smile and sighed. "Good. I might have hated you if you did not, but I cannot begrudge Darcy the affection he needs." She paused. "However, I wish you had not come here. I was resigned to imagining you as a hag, but now I know that you are tolerable."

Elizabeth was taken aback, and for once had no idea how to respond. When Darcy spoke about Miss de Bourgh, Elizabeth had received the impression that Darcy's former fiancé was timid and reserved, and completely under her mother's thumb. It was hard to reconcile that image with the forthright and direct person in front of her.

"Um." Her mind scrambled to find the right words. Clearly Miss de Bourgh was offering an olive branch. Elizabeth did not want to ruin it by saying the wrong thing. "I am glad to hear I have earned your approval, even if it is reluctantly given."

It was an absurd situation. If Mr. Bennet had witnessed it, he would have been amused. For the first time since Jane was injured, she wanted to laugh. She put out her hand.

"If we cannot be friends, let us at least not be enemies. We are cousins now, after all."

Miss de Bourgh looked at her hand quizzingly, then took it. "Who said we cannot be friends? It remains to be seen. And since we are cousins, you may call me Anne."

It was far more of a concession than Elizabeth would have expected.

Luckily, Elizabeth was spared from having to answer when Colonel Fitzwilliam entered the room and Miss de Bourgh's gaze shifted to him.

"Oh, Richard. I did not expect you! I am so glad you have come!"

"Hello, Anne!" he said, with a pleasant smile. He bowed to Elizabeth. "I came as soon as I received Darcy's letter. I believe my father is making his way here as well, though Lord Grayson and Lord Harcourt are not. How is your sister faring?"

His question brought all her grief and worry back. "Not well. Her situation is grave. We have not yet found an appropriate Healer. Maybe you can assist us in finding one quickly."

She was suddenly afraid something might have happened to her sister while she was away. "If you will excuse me, I need to take some food to Bingley, who has not left my sister's side."

Elizabeth hurried to Jane's room, and almost ran straight into Darcy as he emerged.

Her heart missed a beat. "Has anything happened?"

"No. Your sister is the same. I think we can consider that a good sign."

"We can only hope so."

"Is this for me?" he asked, grabbing a sausage from the plate.

"It is not. I brought it for Bingley. Is he still with my sister?"

Darcy nodded. "He is. Miss King is in there as well. And Mrs. Jenkinson. She claims she will not budge as long as Bingley is there. She has made her point, but he does not care in the least what Lady Catherine thinks. I have entreated him to rest, but he will not leave Jane's side."

"It is perfectly understandable."

Darcy came closer to her. "Listen, Elizabeth. I am sorry my aunt's treatment has been so shabby. I did not expect her to be quite as unyielding."

Elizabeth sighed. "I should have expected it. You told me Lady Catherine was angry, and that she has washed her hands off you. It is hardly surprising that she would behave this way."

"She had no right to deal with you that way."

"Angry people are rarely wise," said Elizabeth. "In any case, you do not have to apologize for your aunt's behavior. You are not responsible for it."

"What I failed to mention before is that she is a friend of Lady Alice Enright's, who has caused us so much distress. Who knows what that harridan may have told her?"

"Lady Alice?" Elizabeth's eyes darkened. "Well that accounts for it."

"Accounts for what?"

Elizabeth told him about the morning's events.

Darcy scowled. "I wonder why I did not receive the same treatment. Or perhaps I was supposed to, but the servants know me well, and they simply disobeyed her. I feel very privileged to have taken a hot bath and slept in a warm room." He frowned. "Though there is something I do not understand. The temperature last night was not cold enough for the water to be icy."

Now that he had pointed it out, having ice in the bedchamber made no sense. Though the weather was damp, it was still the month of September, and it was not cold enough to need a fire. She had been too worried about Jane to give it much thought. The ice must have been created with magic. Her vexation increased, particularly since Jane's room had been cold as well.

"I will have to confront her again," said Elizabeth. "She can take her revenge on me , but to take out her spleen on Jane and risk making her condition worse is too much."

"She should not be taking out her spleen on anyone other than me. Her quarrel is with me ." Darcy ground out the words. His eyes were blazing. "I will talk to her at once."

"It would be a good idea to do so. But first, I do have two pieces of good news. Thankfully, your cousin Anne is not of the same mind. She and I have spoken, and we have made our peace."

"Well, that is one good thing at least." He was only partially mollified. Elizabeth could see he was rearing to go.

"And also – your cousin Richard is here, and your uncle is on his way."

"Good. But before I talk to Richard, I need to deal with my aunt."

Elizabeth could not help admiring his fine figure as he strode off, determined to make things right.

Colonel Fitzwilliam made good use of Lady Catherine's footmen to send out in different directions to find a Healing circle. However, by noon, no one had yet made an appearance, and Jane had developed a fever.

"I could send one of my men to Founder's Hall for help, but they wouldn't arrive until tomorrow."

No one said it, but the silence that followed indicated that they were all wondering if tomorrow would be too late.

"There is nothing to be done but set up a Healing Circle ourselves," said Bingley. "What choice do we have?"

Elizabeth turned to Darcy. "I agree. I have been thinking about it, and perhaps there is a way for us to use your and Papa's skills to extract the spike. We will need more mages, though. Do you know if your aunt or cousin has any Healing ability?"

"My cousin does, but—"

"Anything is better than nothing."

A few minutes later, Anne appeared. "Darcy has said you are setting up a Circle, Elizabeth? I would be happy to help. I do have some Healing Talent, but I should warn you, I tire easily."

"Yes, Darcy has already mentioned it. I would be grateful for your help."

She had given a great deal of thought to it last night, when she was watching over Jane. Now she explained in detail what her plan was, and what each person's role was.

If everything worked out the way she envisioned it, they might well be able to save Jane's life.