Monday, 3 January 1814
My dearest Timothy,
This winter has been very harsh on all; I am very glad you have missed it because I fear that if that fever had not taken you when it did, you would have been suffering as young Miss Bennet does now. She has hardly woken in the month that she has been ill - when she has, it had been for mere minutes and only long enough for her to take a bit of broth. Our dear brother has worried himself sick over Miss Bennet's state and begs us to allow him into Miss Bennet's bedchamber, but of course, propriety forbids it. A part of me wishes to allow him in knowing that, if she is to recover, he will marry her immediately, but the roof over my head is not mine.
I am thinking of asking our brother to go and check on the estates and on Mother and Father to see how they are doing since the passing of dear Lucy. Dear Mother was so heartbroken and I am unsure of how Father was upon hearing the news. Both have lost two children within such a short period of time and I do worry that, if Miss Bennet does not recover and Richard does not accept it or distract himself, they will lose three. Richard is the heir to the Matlock title and if he is to go, the title will pass to our cousin and Father's brother's son, Smithson Fitzwilliam. Dear Smithson is a kind young man with a beautiful family, but I fear that he would not do well as a count.
I check on dear Miss Bennet as often as I can and stay up with her during the night on most nights, as our cousin wishes to keep his wife in her current condition away from Miss Bennet's illness. It is I and Georgiana that tend to her, mostly, while an occasional servant will sit with her through the night. When she is not asleep, she coughs violently, which has led the physician to believe she may be suffering from the consumption. If that be the case, she will never survive. Mrs. Darcy wishes to have her moved to her home in Hertfordshire so that, if she is to die, she may die at home in the place she knows the best. Perhaps Hertfordshire air will be good for her? She is in no condition to be moved now, but perhaps before the month is over, she will go. I have missed her company very much, as we have grown as close as the sisters we are destined to be. I do hope that dear Miss Bennet recovers soon.
Your loving wife,
Madge Fitzwilliam