AN: This is Netherfield continued. Thank you for everybody who's still with me. You guys rock! I believe in updating regularly and I'm happy to know you appreciate it. I'd also really like to hear from you. Ask me questions, suggest some ideas for the story, or just talk. If you PM me, I'll answer. Love you all!
Chapter Ten
I woke up the next morning feeling a little better but according to Jane, I still had a high fever. At least, my head wasn't pounding anymore. She also told me that the storm was still raging and it would likely be another day or two before we could go home.
"So I hear that you and Charles are official," I said as she sat by me. She looked down and blushed. I smiled. "I'll take that as a yes."
"He's so amazing, Lizzie," she told me. "He took me on a tour of the house and then he kissed me. After that, he told me that he had liked me from the minute he first saw me. Then he kissed me again."
"No wonder you both looked so happy afterwards," I laughed and then groaned.
"Dad's not very happy we're here," Jane informed me. "He wants to come and get us right away but Mom won't let him."
"I wouldn't be surprised if she somehow made it rain," I said. "You never know how far she'll go to get us rich boyfriends."
"Feel up to breakfast?" Jane asked and I nodded. She helped me out of bed and I shooed her away so I could change. I always felt better after putting on clean clothes. When I exited the room, I made my way to the kitchen. Everyone was there and they greeted me with varying levels of enthusiasm: Charles and Jane did so happily, the Hursts politely, Caroline said hello, and Darcy stared.
"Hello," I said. "Thank you so much for everything you did for me. I really appreciated it."
"I'm just glad you're okay," Charles smiled. "Are you completely recovered?"
"Not quite," I replied, lips twitching. "I still have a fever but my head does feel a little better."
"That's good to know," Charles beamed and then turned his attention to Jane. I didn't feel at all rejected. In fact, I was grateful that no one was speaking to me. All I wanted was to be left alone.
"So have any of the girls caught your eye yet, Darcy?" Mrs. Hurst asked. Darcy opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by Caroline.
"I doubt any of them are up to par, Louisa," she said. "He has a very specific list on what he wants in a girl."
"A list?" Mr. Hurst repeated with a slight smile. "Please go on." Mr. Hurst and I would soon become good friends, I was sure of it.
"Well…" Caroline started.
"Caro," Darcy growled. "Drop it." She ignored him and forged on.
"She has to be able to sew, speak foreign languages, cook, clean, sing, and play the piano. She has to be athletic, funny, beautiful, and smart."
"And she has to love to read," Darcy muttered into his plate.
"That's a tall order," Mr. Hurst chuckled and I joined in. Caroline whipped her head around to glare at me.
"What's so funny?" she demanded.
"I have never seen a girl who had all of that," I told her. "I'm not sure any girl even exists outside of books. Even then, she always some deficiency."
"I've met lots of girls that are like that," she protested. I looked at my hands and tried to hide my smile. She was obviously thinking of herself.
"Lizzie?" Charles' voice broke through my thoughts. "Could you be convinced to give us a little bit of a performance?" He obviously disliked conflict, much like Jane. Ooh, they were completely perfect for each other.
"Maybe another time," I smiled. "If I sing with a sore throat, I'll lose my voice."
"I'll hold you to that promise," Charles told me. Jane was beaming as Charles held her hand.
"Charles, Caroline," Mrs. Hurst, who had insisted I call her Louisa, said, "What do you two think about having a Halloween party in the Grand Ballroom?"
"I thinks that a great idea!" Charles exclaimed.
"I think it's ridiculous," Caroline sniffed, with a side glance at Darcy. I rolled my eyes. "Who would want to dress up in a silly costume and dance in a crowded room?"
"It could be like a masquerade ball," Charles said, totally ignoring Caroline. "What do you think, Jane?"
"I think it would be really fun," Jane said quietly with a bright smile.
"The mystery would definitely make it more interesting," I said, quite intentionally cutting into the conversation. It's a fault of mine but there's something extremely entertaining about annoying people. Charles smiled in agreement to my statement and went back to talking with Jane. I smiled to myself. The rest of breakfast — at least for me — was silent. Jane seemed to notice something was up.
"Lizzie, you need to go back to bed," she said.
"No, I'm fine," I protested. I tried to stand up and I immediately felt dizzy. When she saw me wobble slightly, she grasped my arm and led me back to the room where I had spent the night.
"Now get in bed and go to sleep," she ordered. I sighed and did as she said.
"Whose room is this anyway?" I asked. I wanted to know exactly whose bed I was stealing.
"I'd assume it was Darcy's because I stayed in Charles room last night," Jane said. "Not like that!" she said, seeing my eyes widen. "He and Darcy slept on the couches."
"So you mean to tell me, I'm sleeping in Darcy's bed?" I asked. "Oh dear goodness." I moaned and flung myself back onto the pillows. Not the best idea.
"Just don't think about it," Jane advised. "It's a lot easier."
"No one ever hears about this. Agreed?"
"Agreed," Charles said from the doorway. "What are we agreeing on?"
"Nothing," I said quickly. "Just sister stuff."
"Uh huh," Charles smirked. "Anyway, I was just coming to tell Jane that we need another person for our candle light card game."
"I don't know if I should leave Lizzie," Jane said hesitantly.
"Jane go and have fun," I ordered. "I'm just going back to sleep anyway."
"If you're sure," Jane said.
"Go," I urged and soon I was all alone. In Fitzwilliam freaking Darcy's room! Just don't think about it? How do I do that? I glanced around the room. It was bare posters or anything personal. The soccer ball in the corner and a picture of a little girl with golden ringlets were the only clues into the mind of Darcy. Finally, I was just so exhausted that I fell into a dreamless sleep. A few hours later, I woke up to rustling sounds. I sat up too quickly and winced.
"Are you okay?" Darcy's voice asked.
"I'm fine," I said. "What are you doing?"
"This is my room," he said. "I just needed a change of clothes." Please be fully clothed; please be fully clothed, I chanted in my mind. I couldn't even really tell in the darkness anyway.
"Oh," I said, unable to say anything more intelligent.
"The storm still hasn't let up," he informed me. What wouldn't he just leave? "Jane started feeling sick today. I think she caught whatever you did."
"Thank you for the information," I said, trying not to sound rude. "I think I'll go visit Jane. Will you show me where she is?"
"Okay," he said. I got out of the bed and carefully made my way to the door.
"What time is it?" I asked.
"Just after ten p.m."
I groaned. "I slept almost twelve hours. I hate doing that."
"Why?" I rolled my eyes, knowing he couldn't see me.
"I always feel so lazy," I said.
"I see," Darcy said. "I thought that more sleep would make you feel more refreshed."
"But too much sleep is as bad as too little sleep."
"Hmm," he said. That was all. No "I agree" or "That's stupid." Just "hmm." Why does he have to be infuriating? Sometimes I feel like he enjoys annoying me and making me hate him. Eventually, we got to where Jane was sleeping. She muttered in her sleep—something she only did when she was really sick—and I rushed to her side.
"Jane?" I asked. "Janie, what can I do to help you?"
"Lizzie, are you feeling better?" she murmured.
I laughed. "Only you, Jane, would ask if I was okay when you're obviously suffering. Yes, I feel much better. I think even my fever is gone."
"That's good," she muttered and went back to sleep.
"You can have your bed back, Darcy," I said. "I'll stay with Jane tonight."
"Do you want to get sick again?" Darcy said. "You should really go back to my room. I insist."
"And I insist that you let me take care of my sister," I snapped. "I won't be able to sleep anyway, so I'll be happier in here." He huffed slightly and turned on his heel to leave to room. I sighed in relief. For the rest of the night, I stayed by Jane's side. Her fever only got worse and I was starting to get worried. Where was that Tylenol Jane gave me? After making sure that Jane was truly asleep, I went to look for it. I was still in my pajamas but I didn't really care at the moment. Charles, Caroline, Darcy and the Hursts were all gathered at the table where a candle sat, doing various activities. Charles was the first one to notice me.
"How's Jane?" he asked immediately. I smiled slightly.
"She has a high fever and isn't very comfortable," I answered. "Do you know where the Tylenol is? I think that will help."
"Of course," Charles said. He helped me find it and as way of thanks, I smiled gratefully at him.
"Elizabeth," Mrs. Hurst called, "you clothes are dry if you want to change."
"Thank you," I said and rushed back to Jane. After giving her the medicine, I did change into my clothes.
"Lizzie, what are you still doing here?" Jane asked at around noon. "Go mingle."
"But I like your company so much better," I told her with a small smile.
"I'm fine," she said. "I'm actually feeling really tired. Please go and socialize with everyone. I don't want you to be bored. Please."
"Fine," I sighed, "but only because you said please. By the way, it stopped raining but all roads are closed until further notice." I wasn't very happy about that, but I wasn't in charge of Mother Nature. I kissed Jane on the forehead and left the room. Did I really want to socialize right now? No. Was I going to do so anyway, to make Jane happy? You betcha.
"What secret are you keeping over there, Darcy?" Caroline asked just as I came into the room. Darcy was in the corner, typing on a laptop. Thank goodness the power was back up, even if the roads were closed.
"It's not a secret," Darcy said. "I'm emailing Georgie."
"I just adore her," Caroline gushed. "She is the sweetest little girl." I scoffed quietly and went over to the bookshelf. Hmm. To Kill a Mockingbirdor Twilight? Such a hard decision. I settled myself down on the couch and opened the book. It was a little hard to focus with all the conversations going on, but I managed.
"She's not really little anymore, Caro," Charles laughed. "She's fifteen." Caroline ignored him and continued to talk to Darcy.
"Tell her that I can't wait to see her this December," she said. "Has she grown any since last year?"
"She's about Elizabeth's height now," he answered with a glance at me.
"Speaking of Elizabeth," she smiled falsely, "would you like to walk around the room with me?"
"Um, why?" I asked, looking up briefly.
"It's a good way to stretch your muscles," Caroline said. "Come on." Then she hauled me up off the couch and put her arm through mine. We began a pointless stroll around the room and I tried not the laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
"Isn't this nice?" Caroline said. "Come and join us, Darcy."
"Thank you but no," he said. "There are only two reasons for your walking and I'd get in the way of either."
"What do you mean?" Caroline said. "What does he mean, Elizabeth?"
"He obviously wants to criticize us, so the best way to disappoint him is to ignore the comment." The idea of disappointing Darcy was abhorrent to Caroline and she immediately demanded for Darcy to explain himself.
"You two are either gossiping away," he said, "or you know that by walking, your bodies are at the greatest advantage. If you're gossiping, I'd get in the way. And if it's the other reason, my view is much better from here." Charles and the Hursts laughed at this.
"Shocking," Caroline gasped. "You deserve some penalty for that. So Elizabeth, how will we punish him?"
"That is the easy part," I smiled. "You know him well enough, that you could probably tell me the best things to tease him about."
"Darcy never does anything that's worthy of jokes," Caroline said.
"Really?" I asked. "So Mr. Darcy has no faults then?"
"I try to avoid ridiculous behavior," Darcy said.
"What about pride and arrogance?" I inquired. "Those are what I call faults."
"Arrogance is a fault," he agreed, "but pride is a good thing in moderation, if there's something to be proud of."
"So what faults do you have, Darcy?"
"I'm not perfect," he said. Obviously. "My resentment is permanent and can never be undone."
"So you hate everybody?" I asked cheerfully.
"And you deliberately misunderstand them."
"Elizabeth, shouldn't you check on Jane?" Caroline asked. I doubted she actually cared about my sister. She probably just wanted to get rid of me.
"Yes, I should," I said. "Thank you for the walk, Caroline. It was…interesting." With that, I went back to Jane's room.