Lizzie's eyes widened as her foot slipped and she toppled forward.
Gasping in fear as the sharp edges of the marble staircase suddenly loomed in razor-sharp detail.
She hadn't meant to fall.
It'd been an accident.
She'd just been in such a hurry that she hadn't paid attention to where she was putting her feet.
She'd lost track of time while reading in the library again. Pemberley's library was magnificent and she had spent almost all of her free time reading rare and interesting books. Which was amazing. Papa would have been beside himself with envy. The only downside of this was that she was often late to appointments. Fitzwilliam wouldn't mind that she was late for lunch but she felt guilty to always keep him waiting.
And that was the thing wasn't it?
She'd only been married to Fitzwilliam for a few months and she still wasn't used to how big Pemberley was. At Longbourn a trip from the library to the dining room only took a couple of minutes. Here, it took her nearly ten minutes.
The library was on the top floor and the dining room on the ground floor. Of course, that one was only used for special occasions. They typically dined in the dining room in the west wing, near the garden. It was smaller and better suited for just the two of them. But even that was still eight minutes away. Five if she hurried.
And now here she was.
Falling down the staircase because she'd tripped over the stupid hem of her stupid long dress which made the smooth as glass sole of her stupid shoe slip.
Lizzie smashed into one of the top stairs with a loud cry, her shrieks abruptly cutting off as she felt her head strike the hard edge of the step. Body going limp from the impact as it knocked her insensate. She was hardly aware of the world turning into a dizzying blur as she slid down the last few steps
Coming to rest at the base of the stairs.
Her upper body was still on the steps, arms flung out as though to futilely catch herself while her legs splayed on the landing. She laid there breathing shallowly as everything faded in and out of focus like the shifting of the sea. It made her nauseous and she moaned, closing her eyes. Which helped a little. Her ears rang. All she could hear was a low ringing; it hurt her ears and she moaned again. Her forehead felt wet.
"Mrs. Darcy! Mrs. Darcy! Oh, Heavens! Geralt run and get-"
Lizzie didn't hear the rest of the sentence. She managed one last thought before everything faded out.
She was never going to live this down.
XX
When Lizzie came to sometime later, she was in considerably less pain and she sighed in relief.
With her eyes closed, she took stock of herself. She moved her fingers and her toes, shifted her arms and legs. Everything seemed to work just as it had before. She breathed another sigh of relief. She was laid on something soft, covered with a thin blanket. Her forehead felt stiff and when she touched it, she found a bandage under her fingertips. One hand didn't move and when she blinked open her eyes, she found it was because someone was holding her hand captive in theirs.
It was a man and when he saw that she was awake his face lit up.
"Elizabeth! Thank goodness! Mrs. Reynolds told me that you took a spill down the stairs! We called for Dr. Andrews. He examined you and said that you should be right as rain, soon. You have a scratch and a good-sized goose egg but time will heal those. He left some willow bark in case you have a headache. Do you need it? Does your head hurt terribly?"
Lizzie was taken aback by the sudden barrage of information and questions and she blinked rapidly.
"No. I feel much improved."
"That is wonderful news! If your condition does worsen do not hesitate to call for me or a servant. Your wish is my command."
"Thank you but," Lizzie hesitated, startled and confused, "Who are you?"
CW: amnesia, memory loss
Don't hate us! We wanted it to be as whumpy as possible! We're finished with this idea but if anyone would like to write a sequel to this with a happy ending or an even angstier ending feel free! Once again, thank you for reading! Come yell at us in the comments!