A/N: Again thanks for reading and commenting. Kudos to ChrisM0519 for pointing out the error about Kentucky being a state and no longer a territory (not territories as in the chapter. Oklahoma was made up of two territories, but not Kentucky.) I like to send my JAFF characters to the frontier locations if they are to go to America. In my last story, Mr. Bennet's brother, Mr. Peter, went to the Kentucky Territory on a mission trip. That was in the late 1780's, before Kentucky was granted statehood in 1792. In this story, the year is 1812, and so Mr. and Mrs. Wickham have gone to the state of Kentucky. I was lazy and did not check the dates when I sent them there. My apologies. Perhaps the Wickhams had a hand in building Kentucky into the prestigious horse-racing state it is today? Ha ha...
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The first thing that Miss de Bourgh did as mistress of Rosings Estate was to give each member of her staff, from the steward to the scullery maids, a substantial bonus and generous raise. The change of loyalty from her mother to her was complete after this. Mrs. Jenkinson was given her pension, and she left happily to see her daughter.
Soon after arriving at Rosings, the Bennet sisters visited Charlotte at the parsonage. Dr. King was already examining Mr. Collins in the parlor, which had been converted into a sick room. After warm embraces, Charlotte led the sisters into the dining room.
"It seems that it was only yesterday I was here polishing these chair legs, and yet so much has changed. The small gain out of this great loss is that Lady Catherine will not be criticizing my handiwork anytime soon," quipped Charlotte without mirth. She turned to Jane to explain, "Just two weeks ago, Lady Catherine ordered these chair legs to be polished, and that was the beginning of the chain of events that has seemingly turned my world upside down."
"Oh, Charlotte!" cried Elizabeth with feeling, for once not knowing how to comfort her friend.
"Eliza, if I did not jest about it, I would surely cry, but I cannot weep any more tears," said Charlotte, still rather too calmly. She continued in the same matter-of-fact tone, "I am completely at peace with what will happen. Dr. King's diagnosis will likely not differ from Mr. Hancock's. I am not a doctor, but I can tell that Mr. Collins is growing weaker day by day, and his breathing is getting more labored. My father will be here tomorrow to help with the inevitable. Mr. Collins would be happy to meet... How is Lady Catherine?"
Elizabeth had guessed Charlotte's meaning, and answered, "Dr. King believes that she will live, but she has lost all memory of the past twenty years. So, she will certainly not be coming here to examine the chair legs." All three ladies smiled despite the grim circumstances. Elizabeth continued, "Anne… Miss de Bourgh is now the rightful mistress of Rosings. She has already given bonuses and raises to the entire staff at Rosings. She will be a benevolent mistress."
Charlotte interjected immediately, "Except that she will not be able to bestow her benevolence on me for long."
Elizabeth cried, "Oh, Charlotte, Anne wants to use her fortune for good and to confer favors unasked. She will give you all the help you need. I am certain of it."
Charlotte smiled wanly and said, "You two have become good friends, I see. A good word or two from you will help things along, no doubt." Charlotte paused, and Elizabeth could sense a little bitterness in her best friend's almost reproachful quip.
Charlotte continued but without her former ill-humor, "I am very glad to hear that Miss de Bourgh can be relied on if I require help, but it may not be necessary." She stopped, contemplated for a few moments, and decided that there was no need to keep these matters secret from her best friends. She continued, "I have the means to live independently if the worst is to happen. Mr. Collins sold the farm he inherited from his father on Lady Catherine's recommendation and invested the proceeds in the funds. Together with the small portion that I brought to our marriage, I should have over eight thousand pounds, enough for me to live on if I do not wish to seek employment. Oh, we should not be talking about what could happen at Mr. Collins's demise. He may wake up yet."
Just then, her maid came in to say that Dr. King wished to speak to the mistress. Instead of leaving her friends, she told the maid to show Dr. King to them.
When Dr. King arrived at the dining room, he was surprised to see the Miss Bennets. Charlotte thanked him for coming so soon after settling Lady Catherine at the Rosings dower house and asked him to speak plainly on Mr. Collins's condition, as her friends, who were Mr. Collins's cousins, would like to know as well.
Dr. King acquiesced, and in the gentle tone that he always employed when talking to the family of an afflicted patient, told the ladies that the possibility of Mr. Collins's waking was dwindling hourly. Barring a miracle, the patient would expire within days.
Of the three ladies, only Jane's eyes became misty. Dr. King was moved by her compassion and suggested to Jane that if she was interested in learning about local plants with medicinal uses, he would be pleased to show her, as they would both be residing at Rosings for a while. His family – the two children at home and his sister – would be moving to Rosings while he attended to Lady Catherine's rehabilitation.
He turned to Charlotte and said, "Mrs. Collins, I wish I could have better news. It is unfortunate that our understanding of injuries of the head and spine is yet woefully limited, and physicians simply do not have the instruments to look inside the head. His vital signs indicate that he is getting exceedingly weak. It seems that Mr. Hancock has prepared you for the worst. Should you need anything from me, please just say the word. I shall be visiting Mr. Collins daily to monitor his state of health."
He then took his leave to return to Rosings as his family would be arriving shortly and asked whether he could escort the sisters back. Elizabeth wished to stay a while longer, but Jane said she was tired from the journey and would return the next day for a longer visit with Charlotte.
After Dr. King and Jane left, Charlotte looked at Elizabeth with curiosity and asked, "Eliza, I was not aware of Jane's interest in medicinal plants. Is it something new?"
Elizabeth explained that Jane had begun this hobby while in London perusing her uncle's library and had discussed the topic with Dr. King at a dinner. "You do remember how Jane loves her still room. That interest has been extended to plants with healing properties, and she has become quite a serious student of the subject over the past months. Dr. King was very kind, and Jane needed something to take her mind off Mr. Bingley."
Charlotte said simply, "I see." And then she ordered tea and asked Elizabeth about her adventures with Miss de Bourgh since leaving Kent directly after Mr. Collins's accident.
Elizabeth complied, but she had a peculiar feeling that perhaps Charlotte felt a rivalry with Jane over the doctor? She immediately scolded herself for such indecorous thoughts as Charlotte was still married and Jane had been pining for Mr. Bingley until very recently. Besides, she had promised herself not to make rash judgements based on first impressions.
Meanwhile, Mr. Darcy accompanied his aunt and Dr. King to the Rosings' dower house. He urged the doctor to go take care of his other patient, Mr. Collins, and assured the doctor that he himself would supervise the staff in settling Lady Catherine in her quarters. By the time he returned to the manor house, he found that all the ladies were either away or resting. He saw the happy faces of the staff and was glad that the reception of his cousin as the new mistress was so joyous. When he spoke with Mr. Wright, the steward, who also wore a large grin, he discovered that the fellow had received one hundred pounds as bonus and an additional thirty pounds increase in his annual wage. Mr. Darcy thought that perhaps Miss Elizabeth's warning about his cousin's penchant to give away her fortune should be attended to. As it was, the wages of the Rosings staff were raised to above the average. Mr. Darcy bade Mr. Wright to help his new mistress increase Rosings' income now that his wages were the envy of his profession. Mr. Wright happily agreed, as the major difficulty to improvement – the former mistress's uninformed interference – had now been removed.
He then knocked on his sister's door to see how she was settling in. When the door opened, he saw that his sister was reading a book.
"Dearest, how fare you after the journey? I saw that you have improved your acquaintance with the three other ladies of the party," inquired Mr. Darcy.
"Brother, I am well. I am very glad that you urged me to join the Miss Bennets and Cousin Anne in their carriage. They were most kind, and talked of very interesting things," answered Miss Darcy almost airily.
Mr. Darcy was somewhat surprised at this answer. After Ramsgate, his sister never said more than ten words at one time in a conversation with him and was always solemn.
"Would you share with me some of the interesting topics you discussed? Or were they secrets not to be leaked to the unprivileged?" joked Mr. Darcy.
Miss Darcy smiled quite genuinely, which was another rarity. She sobered and said, "They talked about many things, such as Aunt Catherine's condition, their impressions of London, and the Miss Bennets' family. Toward the end of the journey, they discussed novels, particularly this one, 'Cecilia: Or Memoirs of an Heiress.'" Miss Darcy showed her brother the cover of the novel she was just starting to read.
Mr. Darcy looked pleased as he knew his sister to be indifferent to reading and observed, "Ah, I gave you this novel a while back. What makes you pick it up again?"
Miss Darcy immediately looked contrite, "Oh, I attempted to read it before, but did not find it interesting enough to finish. This copy belongs to Cousin Anne. She insisted that I should borrow it from her."
Mr. Darcy smiled and said, "Do you now find it interesting enough when it is recommended to you by your newly vivacious cousin instead of your dull brother?"
Miss Darcy blushed deeply, making Mr. Darcy regret that he should tease his sister, who was unused to such teasing and especially from him.
However, instead of turning mute as was her wont, Miss Darcy replied, though diffidently, "Brother, I was selfish. I did only what I liked, which was to play the pianoforte. I did not know that novels could be so instructive. Cousin Anne learned how to fend off Miss Bingley, and…and that bad man because she recognized their…unbecoming behaviors from villains in the novels. And Miss Elizabeth Bennet was the one who pointed out to me, well…she did not know that she was pointing it out to me, that I was still young, and I could yet learn to tell bad people from good. Cousin Anne said that I should start by reading this particular novel as she had read it twenty times and could call up at will many characters from this novel to match the people she meets in real life. She was like me, very sheltered, and without friends her age, and yet she learned so much from reading. Now that she has new friends, she is a completely new person!"
Mr. Darcy was heartened to hear his extraordinarily taciturn sister expounding on several topics seemingly after much introspection. He smiled another hearty smile and said, "Sweetling, Cousin Anne is more than ten years your senior. If you find yourself not so proficient as she when faced with deciphering the character of someone you have just met, you must not be too hard on yourself. As for new friends, the Miss Bennets are not so many years older than you. In fact, Miss Elizabeth is closer to your age than to Cousin Anne's. Perhaps you would make them your friends as well."
"Oh Brother, I would love to. However, if they somehow discover my… dissolute conduct, they will not think me worthy to befriend them."
Mr. Darcy's heart squeezed when he heard the young girl's heartrending self-reproach. In the past, he had felt powerless to guide his dear sister out of these depressing thoughts. Now, however, with the presence of the other ladies, especially Elizabeth, he felt far more hopeful. He asked tentatively, "Did Miss Elizabeth tell you about her youngest sister, who is your age?"
"Brother, you know about that? I did not know whether I should tell you since it did not seem my story to tell, for it must have been considered a disgrace for the family. In fact, Miss Elizabeth herself had also been… charmed by Mr. Wickham's false amiability."
Mr. Darcy winced involuntarily on hearing that Elizabeth admitted freely to his sister that the scoundrel succeeded where he himself failed so miserably, but her openness with his sister made him glad the next moment. He continued with composure, "Dearest, you see, even Miss Elizabeth, a sensible lady four or five years older than yourself, could not escape the power of a practiced deceiver. Both you and Miss Lydia, the youngest Miss Bennet, will grow to be sagacious and poised ladies like Cousin Anne and the Miss Bennets with these ladies' guidance."
Miss Darcy clasped her hands together as if in supplication and exclaimed softly, "I fervently hope so!"
Mr. Darcy was extremely comforted by this gesture of his sister's wanting to actively better herself, for in the past nine months, she seemed lethargic, languid, and was silent unless spoken to, having no interest in anything except for playing exceedingly plaintive tunes on the pianoforte.
"Now should I leave you to your new edifying hobby, or would you take pity on your lonesome brother and take a turn in the garden with him?" teased Mr. Darcy, going back to their easy manner from when she was but a wee girl.
Miss Darcy also remembered the same playful style before all the heartaches began and was determined to be cheerful. She rejoined, "My most esteemed brother, of course I shall accompany you. Edification can wait."
Brother and sister went out to the garden just when Dr. King and Miss Bennet were walking toward the manor in deep conversation.