Disclaimer: I do not own Jane Austen.

Explanations - at last

Kitty brushed a tear from her eye as she watched on the sidelines. Finally, Mr. Bennet pulled away, pushing his second daughter back so he could have a look at her. Lizzy smiled tearfully.

"Hello, Papa." She said, her voice sounding harsh and cracked under the strain of tears. She turned to Mrs. Bennet. "Hello Mama." Mrs. Bennet spluttered, then regained her composure.

"Lizzy, you look... dreadful! Where on earth have you been?"

Lizzy laughed.

"Oh, Mama.." She reached out and hugged her mother, then leaned over and embraced each of her sisters in turn. Still, Mr. Bennet had not said a word. Lizzy turned back to him.

"Oh, do say something, Papa!" Lizzy begged. Mr. Bennet laughed, a short unpracticed sound.

"Say you tell us exactly where you've bee -" He broke off as Lizzy's expression grew dim.

"Lizzy!" Mrs. Bennet gasped, running to her daughter's side. "Mary! Kitty! What are you waiting for? Help Lizzy onto the sofa at once!"

Lizzy frowned, and shook her head as her sisters began to 'help her' onto the sofa.

"I'm fine, Mother... just a little weary..."

"Perhaps you can tell us your story tomorrow?" Mary suggested helpfully, eying her sister with concern.

"No!" Lizzy snapped. "You deserve to know now." Her eyes travelled over the watchers: Mary... Kitty... Mrs. Bennet... Mr. Bennet... Edward... Annabelle... Everyone could see when she had noticed the absence of a certain individual. Her eyes clouded over in confusion and her eyebrows knitted together. Kitty winced. Mary looked away. Annabelle looked at Edward and vice versa. Mr. Bennet looked at his feet. Only Mrs. Bennet remained oblivious to the obvious tension in the room.

"Why are you looking like that, Lizzy? Do you need my smelling salts? You look like you're about to faint!"

"No, Mama, I'm fine." Lizzy answered through obviously (obvious to anyone but Mrs. Bennet) gritted teeth. "I was merely wondering..." She really was very good at feigning casualness, Kitty noted. "... where Darcy was."

All cringed in unison.

"Ah... Darcy..." Even to her own ears, Kitty's voice sounded like she had a frog in her throat.

"Oh, dear Darcy!" For once, Mrs. Bennet's intevention was welcome. "He was in a dreadful hurry - he didn't even come in for tea! In fact, he barely did the required introductions for my dear, dear grandson!"

Lizzy caught Edward's eye and smiled reassuringly, though her heart was obviously not into it.

"So... where exactly did he go, Mama?" She asked pointedly.

"Oh, he went looking for you!" Mrs. Bennet exclaimed, beaming. "The dear soul was intent on riding to the Bingleys' because he thought that you would be there! Poor Annabelle here begged to accompany him, but the cold-hearted man refused!" She pouted, looking quite upset.

"He went to... the Bingleys'?" Lizzy asked, sounding quite horrified. "On horseback?"

Mrs. Bennet nodded beaming, her countenance of five minutes ago quite forgotten.

"Indeed. He was quite determined to get you!"

Lizzy frowned.

"But I'm here." She disagreed. Then she shook her head. "Will he... arrive soon?"

"Perhaps." Mary answered. "We're not entirely sure where he is."

"Oh..." Lizzy's face fell.

"Lizzy, are you going to tell us where you were or not?" Kitty interjected, with an abrupt (and welcome) return to her brash self of so many years ago. Mary shot Kitty a grateful look.

"Oh, yes." Lizzy nodded, settling herself down on the sofa. "Well..." She started. All around the room, her family settled down in seats, looks of eager expectation on their faces, readyfor a good story. Lizzy closed her eyes reflectively for a moment, as though reliving her experience. Then, she started to speak, her voice hoarse and crackly, with pauses for hacking coughs.

"You all were aware of my departure to Venice. I had been ill for a while - you were all aware of that as well. Not all of you approved of my departure.." - here she gave a slight glance towards her father - ".. but nevertheless, it did save my life." She coughed, then regained her composure. "I recovered... slowly, but surely. My recovery took over two years. Within that time I had Edward." Lizzy shot her youngest child a fond look. "He has been a great comfort."

Edward smiled back at his mother, but his eyes were concerned; he wa obviously taking in her wrenching coughs. Lizzy shook her head and continued.

"When Edward was two,my doctors deemed itpossible for me to go out. I had an escort, but as I wandered the streets of Venice with Edward and Signore Hartlieb, Signore Hartlieb realised that he had forgotten an item that was essential to him. So he bade me wait for him as he ran back. Unfortuantely," Lizzy blushed, the rosy tinge of her cheeks remaining only for a moment before her complexion sank back into its original pallour. "unfortunately, I decided to walk over to a store to purchase a cake for little Edward... who was making quite a fuss."

Here Kitty had the satisfaction of seeing that a male could blush as well as any female. Lizzy smiled indulgently at her son, as though experiencing the moment right then.

"The cake shop was not a long distance away, and I believed I could reach it without any assistance, so at Edward's insistance, we began the trek over to it. Edward was getting rather impatient at that time, and so, he grasped my arm and ran forward. I must not have been as well recovered as I had originally thought, and at the persistance dragging, I lost my balance and fell, striking my head on the cobbled stones that lined the street."

Edward looked down at his feet.

"The passerbys must have been extremely swift in fetching a doctor, as Signore Getz found no sign of me once he had returned. A man walking nearby informed him there had been an accident, and that the parties involved had drowned in Venice's canals. He was no doubt extremely misinformed."

Here another bout of coughs ensued.

"Signore Getz returned and informed the other doctors of my mysterious disappearance. They no doubt wrote a letter to Darcy, which, I assume... didn't go down very well. The details during my period of disappearance however, are still rather hazy, so I shall attempt to fill you in." She heaved a sigh, in a voice that was noticeably hoarse. Taking a deep breath, she continued.

"When I woke up I was in a hospital of a sort. I had been unconcious for three weeks and they were rather concerned. Fortunately, they had looked after my little boy, and for that I was very grateful. I thought myself extremely fortunate, except for the fact that I was paralysed and couldn't speak. All my thoughts were in control, I merely couldn't move... or talk. I do not know how long I remained in this state. Sometimes it felt like weeks; sometimes days. What I did not imagine - could not imagine - was that it was years!"

Her voice rose hysterically, then cut off, as she placed a hand over her heart, calming herself down.

"They didn't expect me to survive, much less regain full control of my speech and limbs." She looked down. "Well, perhaps not full control." Lizzy said with a wry grin that seemed, in some respects, rather bitter. Standing up, she walked to the window.

Kitty watched her usually agile sister, and observed for the first time, the look of bitter concentration on her face as she dragged her feet towards the window. One hand made its way slowly to her mouth and a tear dripped onto her dress. She looked up and saw Mary standing above her. Kitty wondered dimly whether it had been her tear or Mary's tear. Their gazes met and complete and utter understanding was exchanged between the two.