Chapter 4

The next morning Jane went to her sister to see how she was and to help her dress. Elizabeth was still in bed and looked a bit suspicious at her, but let her help with getting dressed.
However, before they wanted to get out of the door, Lizzy suddenly started to retch violently. It happened so quickly that there was no time to fetch something to catch the substance. Jane called for a maid and then helped Lizzy back on her bed.
"Oh, poor dear. You are not yet well enough to go downstairs."
Lizzy lay panting on the bed. She was as white as a sheet, but had stopped vomiting.

"Betsy, I think Elizabeth needs a bath before anything else!" Jane said. The maid curtsied and quickly set to work.

Ten minutes later Elizabeth felt slightly better and was able to stand up from the bed. Another maid had cleaned up the mess and had taken the now dirty dress away to be washed.
Jane thought that Elizabeth looked nervous to get into the bath. As if she did not know what to do.
Patiently she helped her sister and then personally assisted her in washing. Even though at first Lizzy was very tense, gradually she started to relax.
Now all the dirt was gone, it was even more visible how thin she was.

Lizzy protested against wearing a corset and Jane let her have her own way eventually. If her sister felt uncomfortable then she must help her.

For the second time that morning they were ready to leave the room.
Jane was curious as to the chest. During her bath, Lizzy had put it on a chair next to the bath. And now she was holding it again.
"Is it not heavy?" Jane asked.
"What? No, not really."
"Will you not leave it here in your room? No one will steal it from here."
"NO! I have to keep it with me. I must not let it out of my sight!"
"But what is inside?" Jane did not know how she came to be so curious. But she truly wanted to find out how she could help Lizzy. "Do you have the key?"
"No. I cannot remember what is inside. But I do remember that whatever is inside has to do something with the person who has the key."

Lizzy startled when suddenly she saw a quick flash of a handsome sailor before her mind's eye. She tried to hold on to it, but it was gone again.
Without knowing why, she started to cry. This man was somehow very important to her, but she just could not remember who he was, or where he was.

Meanwhile Jane had led her down the stairs towards the breakfast room. Elizabeth looked around. This seemed to be a fine house. Her aunt and uncle did not seem to be very wealthy, but they led a comfortable life. Their house felt homely and welcoming.
The two sisters were greeted by not only Mr and Mrs Gardiner, but also by four little children and their nanny.

"Do you remember your cousins, Lizzy?" aunt Gardiner said.
Elizabeth shook her head. She was confused and the exuberance of the children did not help with her headache.

"What took you so long, girls?" Mr Gardiner then asked.
"Oh uncle. Lizzy was sick all of a sudden. When she felt better, she had a bath."
Mrs Gardiner looked at her niece with some pity. "Oh dear. That is not very good! Are you sure you should be eating something now?"
Lizzy nodded. "I do not feel sick anymore. And I am hungry."
Once more she ate rather a lot. Soon the children and their nanny left the room.
"That dress looks too big on you," Mrs Gardiner said. "We should change that after we have finished our breakfast."

"I will be working in my office at home today," Mr Gardiner said after breakfast. "I might go to the warehouse this afternoon. Call me if there is something." He meant: 'Let me know if Lizzy remembers something.'

When the ladies were seated in the parlour, Elizabeth asked: "What does Mr Gardiner do as his work?"
Her aunt looked up at her. "Your uncle has an import warehouse. He sells exotic goods that he imports from the Indies and the Caribbean."

Another flash went through Elizabeth's brain. She saw a white beach with a clear blue sky and crystal clear water. And the face of another man: "Welcome to the Caribbean, love."
Who was this man? Before she could focus on what he looked like, the picture faded.
It made her headache worse.

"Elizabeth?" Her aunt asked. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, no, I don't know. I thought I remembered something, but I can't place it."

"Lizzy, as you brought none of your own, would you like to do one of my embroidery projects?" Jane asked.
Elizabeth looked confused when her sister held a basket in front of her. Hesitatingly she took out a piece of cloth, on which tiny stitches formed a beautiful floral picture. She turned it around in her hands, not sure what to do with it.

"I am sorry, Jane, I do not think I can do it." She gave the embroidery back. Jane looked disappointed. "I had hoped that even if your memory was gone, your hands would still remember how to do stitching. Would you like to do something else? Read maybe?"

"That is a good idea, Jane," their aunt said. "Our book collection is not as big as your father's, Elizabeth, but I am sure there will be something there for you. Do you want me to show you where to find them?"
Elizabeth just nodded and followed her aunt.

After she had found a book and read it for some time, a visitor was announced. It was Mr Darcy.
He looked worryingly at her.
"How are you feeling this morning, Miss Elizabeth?" He asked.
"Eh, well enough, I suppose."
Elizabeth felt awkward. He sat next to her and seemed to want to talk with her. But not much of substance came out. The man seemed to be painfully shy and seemed to feel guilty about something.

"Mr Darcy. What is the matter? You seem to feel guilty about something."
He blushed and stuttered: "It… it is of no matter now, I think. Since you do not remember what happened."
"What happened? Would you tell me, sir? It might help me to get my memory back."

He blushed even more and stuttered even more. After a few false starts, he managed to tell: "I… we had a… conversation before you left that didn't go very well. I fear that it is because of this conversation that you decided to leave for London straight away. I… now feel… that it is my fault that something happened to you. I am so very sorry."

He truly looked guilt stricken.
"Well, I do not remember anything about it, but I think you take too much upon yourself. Whatever it was, I forgive you."

Darcy looked at her. She forgave him! He wanted to feel happy about it, but he couldn't. He dared not speak with her about the proposal. If she knew about it, he was sure she would withdraw her forgiveness.

"Mr Darcy?" Jane asked. "Yesterday we did not talk about it, but were you going to send a note to Charlotte to tell Lizzy is here? Or would you like me to do it? I could have done it, but I was not sure as to what you had agreed on with Mrs Collins."
Darcy slapped his forehead. "I entirely forgot! I will write a note now, if you have some paper and a pen for me. If you would like to include a letter as well, then that is not a problem."
Jane retrieved pen and paper for him, and she herself started to write a note as well. "Do you want to write a few lines as well, Lizzy?" Jane asked.
"I suppose. I cannot remember who this Charlotte is, but if you say she is my friend I will write something."

Jane gave her the letter and Elizabeth put the pen to the paper, but then paused.
What do you write to someone you can't remember? She decided to keep it simple.

I am very sorry that I cannot remember anything, but Jane and Mr Darcy tell me I did stay with you for some weeks. I am sure it must have been a lovely time. I thank you for your hospitality. I want to let you know that I am safely at the house of Mr and Mrs Gardiner now. Yours, Elizabeth.

As soon as the letters were ready, they were sent off to Kent.
Shortly after, Mr Darcy took his leave.

Mr Gardiner came out of his office and they all had a light meal. Then he said: "I am shortly going to the warehouse. Lizzy, do you feel well enough to come with me? On previous visits you always loved to come and see all the exotic articles and feel the fabrics."
She slowly nodded. "Are Jane and aunt Gardiner coming too?"
Mr Gardiner laughed. "No, I am afraid they are not as fond of being there as you are."

They took the carriage to the warehouse, which was only a few blocks away. Elizabeth looked out of the windows with big eyes. She could not remember ever having seen so many people in one place!
Except… Another memory popped up. A dark and smelly city, built on stakes above water. Wooden houses, strange looking people. And suddenly explosions!
She ducked her head in a reflex. And then the memory was gone again.

"Are you alright Lizzy?" her uncle asked.
"I think so. A memory flashed through my mind."
He looked expectant. "That is good! Does it help?"
She shook her head. "It is too vague. Just as a quick picture and then it disappears again."

"Do you want to tell me about it?"
She hesitated and then shrugged her shoulders. Maybe Mr Gardiner would know where to place the picture. If he knew her, he might be able to tell.

She searched for words. "I saw a city with wooden houses, built on stakes in water. It was very noisy and smelly. And there were explosions. That is all."

Her uncle looked very surprised.
"I am sorry. I cannot imagine where that memory might come from. Is it maybe from a dream?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so."

They arrived at the warehouse and Mr Gardiner showed her around and then left her alone.

With the chest under her arm, she explored the halls and the shelves in them. So many different things! So many different colours in fabrics, silks and other items. Some of the patterns tickled her memory but she did not know why. There were also various ornaments, made of wood and stone and ivory. There were elephants, monkeys, tigers. Lizzy was fascinated by the variety of things. There was also a small amount of exotic fruits. They were behind lock and key. A clerk, walking past, told her the fruit was so expensive that they had to be careful that it would not be stolen.

Lizzy saw pineapples, coconuts and bananas. There were also mangos and papayas. Suddenly she remembered that last fruit was her favourite. She could nearly taste it on her tongue. She closed her eyes and could almost feel the hot sun on her back and the fresh sea breeze blowing her hair this way and that.

When she opened her eyes, her uncle was standing next to her.

"Are you admiring our tropical fruit? This will be sold only to very rich people. We always have only a few at the time for they often go off during the voyage."
She nodded. Then she said: "Papaya is my favourite! I wish I could taste one now!"
She did not notice the strange look on her uncle's face. But he only said: "I am afraid they are too expensive to take one home, my dear."

She continued her exploration and then saw vats with spices. The smell of them was also familiar to her, while she did not know why.
And further on there was a whole area with barrels and bottles. "You sell rum too?"
Mr Gardiner nodded and Lizzy suddenly had to laugh, for suddenly in her mind she could see a man with a very disappointed look on his face. "Why is the rum always gone?"
Upon her uncle's questioning look, she said: "It reminded me of someone I knew who always complained that there was not enough rum."

After another half hour, Lizzy started to feel very tired again. Her head started to ache as well. Mr Gardiner sent her home in the carriage.
Upon her arrival she excused herself, went to her room and soon fell asleep on the bed.

This time her dreams were very vivid as well as rather pleasant. The handsome sailor was there. He was kissing her on a deserted beach. Then he disappeared into the sea. His words echoed through her mind as she woke up: "Keep a weather eye on the horizon."

When she opened her eyes, she found she was lying with her head against the little chest. Something inside was making a rhythmic noise. She did not know what it was, but the sound made her feel peaceful.

I guess things are becoming a little more clear, don't you think? ;-)