The tensions are growing in the household...
Chapter thirty six: Pemberley tensions
Derbyshire, Pemberley. Thursday the third September.
"It's just not done..."
Mrs. Reynolds voice was adamant. He knew he wouldn't get her to accept his decision.
"We need to be in London as soon as possible..." tried Fitzwilliam.
"With what came down these last days every stream has ambitions of looking like a torrent. Your carriage will move like a snake. Better to await Monday. Monday the conditions will be much better."
"We could move today," said Fitzwilliam in his coldest Darcy voice.
Which did nothing to smooth Mrs. Reynolds unhappiness with his decision.
"You could, Sir. Shall I give orders?"
Elizabeth decided that it was time to place herself between the front.
"Monday would arrange everybody, dear. And even if Jane is much better, two days more to rest would be a great help for her well being."
Mrs. Reynolds shot him a victorious glance, nodded briefly and went out of the study straight and imperial.
As soon as the door was shut Elizabeth took the floor.
"You would have lost even if I wouldn't have given her that last advantage. It would just have been longer and uglier..."
"I'm the Master of Pemberley," grumbled Fitzwilliam. "One should believe my word is law!"
"And it is, dear, it is..." smiled Elizabeth. "Just take care to ascertain you that the females of the estate agree with your project..." She came nearer and smuggled herself in his arms.
"And it really is a better idea to move on Monday. We have all a great deal of things to do. Even you have not yet properly thanked all your retainers who helped you to get us out of these ruffians hands. You should organize something for tomorrow after the office. They would be very proud if we four could thank them... And they would be very relieved to see that their blunder with the fire fight has had no serious consequences. They looked as if they were feeling very guilty..."
He sighed and kissed her.
"You're right. Going too fast would be an error. We will stay till everything that needs to be done is done! If Jane wants to hurry she could go with your father. He..."
"Will go with us..." finished Elizabeth. "We all prefer to stay together, especially now that this Lebrun fellow is in London and has taken over the affairs."
Fitzwilliam nodded and hugged her.
"Yes, I forgot these last 'good' news. What said Jane about the man?"
Elizabeth and Jane had, this very morning spent two hours speaking about the last London news they have gotten for breakfast.
It seemed that general Duroc took great care to send a courier as often as needed in order to get Jane as good informed as possible.
And within today's news was a little excerpt speaking of Lebrun's taking over of British affairs while d'Arcy was not able to do his duty.
"Geoffrey doesn't like him. He's the Corsican's pawn in the French Government and has received his present assignment because he's loyal enough to never contradict his Master. He's well liked by the French people who know him and trusted by other members or the Government. He's at his place for two reasons: he is the First Consul's guarantee that never anything happens that he doesn't want to and he is one of the best specialist of public finances in France..."
Fitzwilliam sighed.
What man could accept to be another man's pawn? Not that this choice has had any bad effect for him. He was number Three in France's Government, after all. Which, since d'Arcy's annexation of England made him the Third most powerful man in Europe.
Not bad for a man whose greatest strength was his loyalty to another man who, and it spoke for both, has rewarded said loyalty with rather more than a trinket.
He knew of men who had chosen a worst fate...
"I'm worried about what is happening in London," said Fitzwilliam. "Without d'Arcy everything is possible."
Lizzie looked her husband in the eyes.
"And what would you like to do to intervene if 'everything' should happen?"
He frowned and she could see his suspicions.
"I will not be taking foolish risks, I promise. But we could perhaps speak to this man and try to influence him..."
It was Elizabeth's turn to frown.
"Influence? As in manipulate?"
Fitzwilliam looked toward the sky.
"Of course not! I'm not like my French brother. For me influence is more like convince..."
Elizabeth nodded and her eyes were sparkling.
"Of course not! And I'm quite sure that you're not like your French brother. You wouldn't have asked me to be your second wife just after having seen me for the first time..."
Fitzwilliam became white as a linen...
"He did what?"
She laughed at his shock and outrage. He was even more handsome than usually when angered.
"I was already engaged, dear! He had no chance to convince me since you had already done what was needed to secure my love!"
He could only shook his head.
"The gut of this man... I hope your sister never hears of his scandalous behavior..."
Lizzie laughed out loudly.
"She was just beside me when he proposed, and she was not even shocked."
She loved it when he frowned at her like that.
"She knew he was joking?"
She shook her head.
"She knew I was in love with you and that was enough to convince her that she had not to fear my accepting his offer."
His frown increased.
"Had you not loved me, would you have accepted?"
She shrugged.
"We will never know dear since I was, when he asked, madly in love with my own Darcy." She winked at him. "But I must admit that, since his words came just after I tried to beat the crap out of him, his proposition was the best compliment a man had thrown my way in my whole life..."
His eyes became very dark as usual when jealousy clouded his judgment.
"Your whole life?"
She nodded while hugging him.
"In words it surely was. But then words are only that: words. I got much better in another much surer currency: I got facts! So I can pretend that the only greater compliment I ever got was when a rather haughty and shy young man overcame his prejudices, his fears and his rightful ire for the woman who had harshly refused his first proposition, to ask me to become his wife for the second time. That was the height of my life!"
His eyes returned to their normal color and he hugged her back.
"What would have become of me without you?"
Her whole face became a picture of mirth and mischief.
"Lady Catherine's son in law?"
He kissed her to hide a shiver.
Because she was probably right.
"Do you have any idea where they went?"
Mrs. Bennet looked at her husband with a frown.
Since Jane was recovered her husband was more than strange.
"What is it, Edward? Why are you so freaked out?"
He shook his head way too vehemently.
"I'm not freaked out, I'm worried..."
Mrs. Bennet stood up and went to her pacing husband.
"Worried about what, dear? She's recovered, healed, cured! She no longer shows any symptom of having ever have been ill. Why would you be worried after we got her back?"
He sat on their bed and invited her to sit next to him. He looked he in the eyes.
"Promise me not to think that I'm crazy..."
"What in Heav..."
"Just promise, dear. It's important."
She shook her head and made a face but promised nevertheless.
"Well," said Mr. Bennet. "Jane should be dead by now..."
Mrs. Bennet found herself speechless. The only thing she thought about was the only thing she couldn't say since she just promised not to.
Her husband went on.
"You must understand that I've seen quite a lot soldiers with head wounds in my former life as an officer of His Majesty. And I have seen quite a few with exactly the same symptoms as our Jane. And only a few survived. And only after a long and difficult period of healing. Never before have I seen one recovering within a few days..."
Mrs. Bennet shrugged.
"So you were wrong? I'm quite satisfied that you were, dear! Jane was just lightly injured and she came out of it! No surprise if I say that I'm very very glad that it was not as dangerous as we first thought..."
"But it was, it was!" shouted Mr. Bennet. "It was already a minor miracle that she came back to conscience but her headaches were very bad omens..."
Mrs. Bennet took her husband's hands in her.
"She got her skull crashed by a bullet, Mr. Bennet. If that's not reason enough for you to have the right to suffer a headache, then I'm asking you: 'what is?' Just accept the fact that you were wrong in your diagnosis and that our daughter got out of that ordeal better than you thought. If really she was dying what do you believe was done by Lizzie to save her?"
Mr. Bennet shook his head showing more uncertainty than confidence.
"I don't know, dear, I don't know. The only thing I know is that she should no longer be alive..."
Mrs. Bennet exhaled heavily and stood up while taking her husband's hand. She pulled him up and dragged him to the door.
"Let's ask our daughters, they will show you that your worries are unfounded."
Jane looked at her father's worried mien and made a face.
What could she do? Lie? Say the truth? What would be more unbelievable? Probably the truth... But then it had never been her habit to lie to her parents.
Sometimes she remained silent when a confession would have been the honorable thing to do, yes! But one thing was sure she had never lied to them...
She took a deep and long breath and passed her tongue on her lips.
"I'd like Lizzie to be present, Papa..." said she finally. "There's a part only she can tell because only she and Fitzwilliam have lived it through."
Mr. Bennet's frown deepened.
"Why is it so? Where were you?"
Jane sighed. It would not be now she began to lie to them. She looked at her feet.
"I was unconscious..." whispered she.
Mr. Bennet shot a victorious glance toward his wife and pointed to the door.
"I really would like to hear the story told directly by Lizzie, then, let's go find her..."
What had always been Jane weakness was her inability to lie without sending a loud signal to everyone attending. And to look so awfully guilty when she was pushed into doing it...
And now her face was exactly as those few days in her life where she was pushed into bending the truth.
Lizzie was immediately at her side and her frown was very accusing.
"Don't use that look on us, Lizzie," warned Mrs. Bennet. "We did nothing, we just asked a few questions..."
"You bullied her," countered Lizzie. "Just as you did in old days when nobody else would say the truth! She just survived an awful ordeal and you find nothing to do than torment her to get her to answer your questions..."
"Stop that immediately, Elizabeth Darcy! We didn't 'torment' our daughter and we didn't bully her. Your father was worried about a miraculous healing he believed having been witness to and I convinced him to ask those who knew everything about it."
That shut Elizabeth rather abruptly up.
So much for what she and Jane had hoped to keep a secret.
She looked around them and pointed toward the garden.
"It's not raining, I believe we should make use of the opportunity and go out and have a little walk."
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet looked at each other. Indeed if Elizabeth, who never ever had had scruples to speak before the domesticity choose to run out before speaking there was really something.
"Alright," said Mr. Bennet. "Let's go..."
"I had a dream last night..." began Lizzie when she was sure nobody could overhear her. "I saw myself finding Jane's dead body in the morning when I would go to look after her... I awoke and I ran to her room and I found her unconscious. Still alive but unconscious." Some tears appeared in her eyes. "I was desperate and I cried for help and I immediately got an answer. I knew what to do to save her! I just knew!" She looked at her father with iron in her eyes. "And I did it and believe it or not, it involves no sorcery!" Her face became a mask of unadulterated will. "I won't say a word more about what happened that night... It's a Pemberley secret I'm not allowed to disclose. But it saved Jane's life that's for sure."
Mr. Bennet exhaled lengthily and walked to his daughters and took them into his arms.
"I'm sorry if I pushed you but I had to know. I couldn't have lived with a doubt in my heart." His jaws clenched and his eyes became the same iron Lizzie used a few minutes ago. "There will be no other witch in my family!"
Lizzie hugged his father and whispered in his hears.
"You know what I think of all that crap. She was no witch, Papa. She was just a victim of jealous neighbors."
Her father sighed.
"But she could do things... She could..." whispered he back. "I saw her do them..."
"She had knowledge, that's all," said Jane. "So do I in midwifery and that's reason enough for some to call me a witch." She looked at her father who had shown no surprise.
"So you knew as I suspected."
"Indeed I knew. It's even me who asked the midwife to take you under her wing. I wanted you to have something important to occupy that fine mind of yours. You wouldn't believe it but you –a lot– and Lydia –a little less– look like very much like my mom. And you were so smart playing the dumb little beauty in front of strangers. And all this just to save the family from my incompetence..."
He stopped her before she could protest.
"That's exactly what you were doing, dear, don't dare to deny it... So I had to find you something more interesting to do to hone that fine little intellect you were so skilled hiding."
The tears in his eyes were finally released.
"And then you came back with that head wound I knew would take you away from us..." He shook his head while hugged by his daughters and his wife. "And I was shattered and desperate. I could not stop to think about your coming death and it was driving me crazy. Crazy to the point that I began to ask myself what she –as a witch– could probably have done to save you..."
He pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his cheeks.
"And then you mother told me that she saw you coming back, both alive, from outside and both more than scarcely dressed. I could not not think about her... And I began to fear that, perhaps, I had fed the snake while watching over the turtledove."
Lizzie and Jane looked each other in the eyes. Never had they witnessed their father's tears before. And in some twisted way it was like deliverance for them. Now they knew that he trusted them enough to show himself as he really was.
"I'm no witch!" hammered Lizzie. "And I'm very upset to hear you call me a snake..."
He smiled at her attempt at humor.
"Sorry dear, I didn't..."