Elizabeth went down to the drawing room and found a maid. "Please make sure that this fire is roaring as Miss Darcy will be coming down. We need to keep her warm. I spoke to her and she says she feels much better and will come down as soon as she is dressed. Also, get some hot tea and soup for her as soon as it is ready. She needs something warm in her as soon as possible.
"Help her if she comes down while I am gone. I am going down to the kitchen to see if the others have been brought in. They will be bad shape as well."
Elizabeth went down and saw that Mr. Darcy's staff was just being led in the kitchen door; most of them needed help as they were so cold. They did not have as much snow on them as Mr. and Miss Darcy, likely as they had help getting to the house. Mrs. Greeley had obviously ordered blankets to be brought down to the kitchen and the newcomers were being covered by her staff as soon as they entered the servants' hall.
She saw that James Curtin had come in, so she called him over. "James, tell me how you found them. Are they all here? What about the carriage and horses?"
"The carriage is about a half mile out. They almost made it to the house, but the snow in the lane was too deep for the carriage. The staff had all piled into the carriage for protection from the storm, so they are not in too bad shape. They were cold but mostly managed to walk here with just a bit of help.
"We tried to get the horses to pull the carriage, but there was no way it would move; the snow is piled up all around it. We unhooked the horses and the grooms took them to the stable. They should be fine under their care.
"We helped the staff come here and we even brought several of the smaller pieces of the Darcys' baggage. There was only one woman with them, Miss Darcy's maid. The men are not in such bad shape as Mr. Darcy as they were not out in the snow like he was with no one to help him."
Lady Elizabeth was pleased to hear what they had done. James continued, "I see that Cook has hot tea and soup ready for them and for us. I am glad that she thought to get some ready. That is obviously being appreciated by all of us; it is just what we need." Lady Elizabeth just smiled to herself at the compliment to her cook, even though she had given the orders to have it ready. She did not correct him as she assumed he would learn who gave the orders.
James continued, "We can put them all up in the servants' hall with no problem for as long as needed. When the storm ends, I will get everyone out with shovels to clear a path to get the carriage into the barn. I will also send men out to get the rest of the baggage as soon as we can; I am sure that Mr. and Miss Darcy will appreciate that. I hope it is all right that we do not send anyone else out until it is safe to do so."
"Of course, I do not want to risk any of the staff out there in this storm. Now, you should go get some of that hot soup for yourself. James, thank you for your work today."
When Lady Elizabeth saw that everything seemed to be under control in the kitchen, she went back to the drawing room. When she arrived there, she saw that Miss Darcy was already sitting on the sofa and that she had a blanket draped over her. She saw that the maid had served tea to her in Elizabeth's absence and there was hot soup ready for her.
Elizabeth saw that Miss Darcy was wearing one of her warm shawls under the blanket and appeared to be recovering nicely. "Lady Elizabeth, I am so pleased to be able to meet you again as my brother told me so much about you. I am just sorry we had to meet under these circumstances. I hope we do not inconvenience you too much by our sudden arrival. How is my brother? Did the staff get to the house safely?"
"I will go find out how your brother is as soon as I have had my tea. All your staff are in the kitchen getting warm and are enjoying this hot soup. They appear to be doing all right. We will look after them. Please eat some soup; it will help warm you up.
"Do not worry about your being here. It is no inconvenience at all. I am glad of your company even if it is only due to the weather. I was hoping to meet you in town later this month, but it will be a few days before you will be able to travel. The snow is piled up in big drifts and will need to melt before the roads are passable.
"I have to explain that one of my sisters and my friend came here with me to help getting the house ready, but this morning they went to visit a neighbour before the storm started. I am sure they will be stuck there until it clears up, but I am not worried about them. The neighbour, a Mr. Carlyle, will look after them."
As soon as she finished her tea, Elizabeth said, "If you will excuse me, I will go up to see how your brother is doing." She went up to the room where she had put Darcy. She tapped on the door and was admitted by a footman. She saw that Mrs. Greeley was feeding spoons of soup to Mr. Darcy, who was in the bed, covered up to his chin in blankets. He was not looking well at all; he was so pale.
The housekeeper began to stand up when she saw that it was her mistress.
"Do not get up. How is our patient?"
Darcy managed to croak, "My Lady, I cannot believe how the cold hit me so severely. I thought I was in decent condition but I have never felt so cold in my life. How is my sister? And my staff?"
Elizabeth went to the housekeeper and took the spoon from her. "I will do that as I would like to talk to Mr. Darcy." Mrs. Greeley went to stand by the door.
She began to feed him just as Mrs. Greeley had been doing. "Your sister is doing very well. Her youth must be on her side. As a matter of fact, she is downstairs having tea and soup in front of a roaring fire. She is a charming girl.
"All your staff are now in the house and are being looked after by my people. We have room for them so they will be no problem. They could not get your carriage out of the snow, but your horses are now in my stable. They will be fine until the storm dies down."
Darcy indicated that he had had enough soup, so Mrs. Greeley took the spoon and soup bowl from her.
Elizabeth reached out and took Darcy's hand. She rubbed it as it felt cold to her. She smiled at him and said, quietly so only he could hear her words, "Mr. Darcy, when I saw that it was you at the door, my heart went out to you. I had no idea that the sight of you in such trouble would affect me so much. We will have to talk when you are feeling better."
She kissed his hand and tucked it back under the blankets. "Now you should sleep. I hope you will be able to get up in the morning, but please do not hesitate to stay in bed if you need more rest. Right now you need to stay warm." She almost thought that she would like to hold him in her arms to help him warm up, but she knew that such thoughts were forbidden to a lady.
She got up and went out with the housekeeper. "I hope he sleeps. Please station a footman here by the door in case he needs anything. Mrs. Greeley, you have done well in this emergency. I thank you."
"Thank you, My Lady. May I say that your actions today were certainly appreciated by all the staff. As so many of us came from Pemberley, they were naturally worried about both Darcys. We know the staff who were with them and are pleased to see that they are safe."
"Everyone responded just as I hoped they would. I will go down to the kitchen with you to see how Mr. Darcy's staff is recovering. Then I must see to our other guest, but I am sure she is being well looked after."
They went down and found that everything was under control in the kitchen under James's guidance. Lady Elizabeth saw that things were getting back to normal when everyone politely rose to their feet as soon as they saw their mistress. She thought that she should say something to them.
"Everyone! We welcome you to Hinckston Abbey, even if your visit was quite unexpected. From the looks of the storm, you will be here for some days, so I hope you will be comfortable. Just let Mrs. Greeley or James know if there is anything you need."
She went back to the drawing room to find that her guest was leaning back on the sofa and was almost asleep. "Miss Darcy, would you like to sleep? If you would like, I will help you up to your room. Otherwise, just lie back and relax." She saw that the soup bowl was empty.
"I will just rest here for a while; I am so nice and warm. I never want to be so cold ever again." Elizabeth remembered Miss Bingley saying what a fine musician Miss Darcy was, so she was pleased that her piano had been tuned while they were back in Hertfordshire as she was sure that it would soon be in use. She did not want to interrupt her slumber, so she did not mention anything about it just yet.
Miss Darcy was well enough to have dinner with Lady Elizabeth in the evening and they began to get to know each other with just the two of them at the table. She missed Mary and Charlotte, but was sure they would be fine with Mr. Carlyle. She wondered if Charlotte would take advantage of being in his house overnight. She hoped that Mary would not hinder this fine opportunity for Charlotte.
The next morning, Elizabeth woke to the continuing sound of the wind. When she looked out of the window, she thought that it was not quite as strong as it had been the previous day and there was less snow falling. She hoped that the storm would die out that day. She had no idea how long they lasted in this part of the country.
When she went down to the breakfast room, she was surprised to find Mr. Darcy was already there. "Mr. Darcy! What are you doing up? I thought you would need at least another day of rest. How are you feeling?"
"Good morning, My Lady. As you can see, I am feeling quite a bit better, just a bit tired. I promise I will be a good patient and will go up to rest whenever I feel the need. I was pleased that my valet came through with no serious problems. He even managed to bring one of my small trunks with him when they left the carriage. You can see I am wearing my own clothes that he dried overnight. He said that Alice, Georgiana's maid, is also all right. She will look after my sister.
"I hope that we do not have to impose on your hospitality for too long. I know you will not have been prepared for guests."
"Do not worry about anything. Stay as long as you like. Cook said we have enough food in the house for everyone for a day or two, so we will not starve. As soon as the weather clears, she will send people to Hinckley for more supplies. Just let any of my people know if there is anything you need."
"How is Georgiana? I have not seen her."
"She came downstairs yesterday and was not in such bad shape as you were. I know that you had to carry her to the house, but she rallied very quickly as soon as she was warm. I wonder if that is because she is young and healthy. She is a delightful lady. I am pleased to have met her again even under these unfortunate circumstances. She even played for me last night after dinner and did not even complain about the old instrument that was left here. I am glad that it was tuned while I was back in Hertfordshire."
Just then, Miss Darcy came in and greeted her with a curtsy. She then went to her brother and gave him a big hug. "Fitzwilliam! I am so pleased to see you here; I thought that you would still be in bed after yesterday. Lady Elizabeth told me you ended up carrying me to the house. I admit that I have never been so cold in my life. My legs just gave out on me.
"However, My Lady, I am pleased to have been able to meet you again. Fitzwilliam, in spite of everything, we had a wonderful evening together. I feel as if I have known her for years, rather than for just a few hours. Did she tell you that one of her sisters and her friend, Miss Lucas, are here but went to a neighbour's yesterday before the blizzard? They must be snowed in there just as we are here."
Lady Elizabeth interjected here, "I should not tell you this, but that neighbour, Mr. Carlyle, was quite impressed with my friend Charlotte Lucas. Mr. Darcy, you met him before. I hope you have not heard anything bad about him. After all, he has my sister and our friend in his care."
"No, nothing bad at all. From what I know of him, he is a decent gentleman. I do not know him well as we only met casually in town several times. From what I know of him and Miss Lucas, they should do well together if it comes to that." Both Darcy and Lady Elizabeth wondered if Charlotte's being stranded there might have helped their acquaintance. After all, there is nothing like a crisis to bring people together.
As soon as they had all finished eating, Elizabeth said, "Miss Darcy, please feel free to use the piano whenever you would like. My library is also at your disposal, although I have not yet been able to stock it as I would like.
"As long as your brother is here, I will impose on him and see if he can help me with several problems I have encountered." She smiled at them both.
"Of course, My Lady. I will certainly help you however I can."
They spent that day agreeably, even as the storm continued to rage outside. After dinner, Miss Darcy entertained them with music and even convinced Lady Elizabeth to play. She mentioned how her brother had praised her playing as he had heard her in Hertfordshire.
The next day, the storm had almost ended. There was still some snow falling but the wind was lighter and it was not so cold as it had been. Several staff members were able to go to Darcy's carriage to retrieve the luggage, but found that the snow was too high in the lane for it to be brought to the barn. They all hoped that another day would be all that would be needed for them to resume some of their normal activities.
All that day, Lady Elizabeth thought about having a serious talk with Darcy about whether they might have a future together. She was sure that she now knew him quite well and was convinced that they would make a good couple. At the back of her mind, she worried about being pursued in town by men who were attracted to her only for her title and estate. They would not care what she was like personally; the fact that her son would be a baron was a great inducement to all untitled gentlemen. She had always thought that her miniscule dowry would make her uninteresting to impoverished dandies and spendthrifts, but now things were completely the opposite.
However, she and Jane had always said they wanted to marry only for the deepest love. She did not know if it was love that she felt for Mr. Darcy, but she did like him and admired him. She was quite sure that her feelings could easily grow into something much deeper. After all, when she found him almost frozen, the depth of her upset at his condition surprised her. She thought that his feelings for her were quite similar to hers for him. He did seem to watch her very often, and it was not with a frown, but she had not seen any definite signs of love on his part.
As she was not sure if it should be up to her to initiate such a serious conversation with him about their future, she decided not to say anything just yet.