Chapter 25: Testing times
Richard had found the tree which led to the balcony. He assumed it to be a simple task to climb it and reach the upper floor. But there was a creeper on the tree with thorns and it hindered his task.
Fitz, this was an easier task when we were boys. Richard thought to himself.
He scratched his hands severely by the time he reached the top. It was not easy to jump onto the balcony, as some branches were not strong enough to hold his weight. He heard his men enter the cottage and did not want to waste time.
He jumped onto the balcony hoping that he would not fall. He landed safely and felt relieved. Just then, he heard a door slam inside and hoped that Darcy had found Elizabeth. He opened the door that led inside and came to a corridor. He saw his men fighting the thugs at the lower level. He knew that they did not need his help. Hurriedly he examined the rooms. He found nobody inside. There was no sign of Wickham or Elizabeth.
Richard was worried. Where are they? Where is Darcy?
Suddenly, he heard voices coming from the other side of the house. He ran towards the ruins. In a few minutes, he came to a corridor and spotted Wickham and Elizabeth standing on the edge of the stairs. Just as he was contemplating his move, he stepped on a rotten piece of wood and it made a creaking noise. Richard saw Wickham turn and he instinctively reached for his pistol. But to his surprise, he heard a shot fire and saw Wickham fall to the ground with a loud scream. Richard had no idea that Darcy was at the bottom of the stairs.
Once Darcy had fired his pistol; he saw Wickham fall to the ground. But what terrorized him were the ripple effects of his action. Wickham was holding his knife too close to Elizabeth and when he fell, his knife struck her on the shoulder and made a deep cut. Darcy watched in horror as Wickham's knife pierced Elizabeth. As Wickham fell backward, Elizabeth fell forward. Since her hands were bound, she lost balance and fell down the stairs.
"Elizabeth." Darcy cried in agony as he shot up the stairs.
He helplessly watched as Elizabeth fell and hit the stairs on her forehead. By the time he got to her, her forehead was bleeding with a deep cut and her shoulder was in bad shape.
"Oh, God! What have I done? Elizabeth, open your eyes?"
"Darcy, what happened? Is Miss Elizabeth hurt?" Richard yelled from the top of the stairs.
Darcy could not answer. Elizabeth was unconscious and she was badly hurt.
"Darcy, for God's sake tell me, what happened to her."
Darcy tried to gather courage. He lifted Elizabeth in his arms.
"She is hurt. We need help. I am taking her to Netherfield. You sort things here. I need to make haste."
He was running out as he spoke to Richard.
Elizabeth was still unconscious. He reached the carriage and instructed Adam to ride as fast as possible.
Adam was horrified to see Elizabeth bleeding. In a few minutes, he started the carriage towards Netherfield, speeding away through the woods.
Darcy wrapped Elizabeth in a blanket. The cut on her shoulder seemed deep and he tried to stop the bleeding by pressing on the wound. Her forehead was bleeding as well. It was unbearable for Darcy to look at the love of his life in such a state.
"Elizabeth please open your eyes. Please, say something." He dabbed her face with water. He felt her stir.
Wake up Elizabeth. Please, open your eyes.
She opened her eyes. He could immediately see the pain envelop her beautiful features.
"Elizabeth, can you hear me? Oh, God! I am so sorry."
Elizabeth struggled to speak. Her head was throbbing, and the pain in her shoulder was killing her.
"Mr Darcy. Georg...Georgiana, is she safe?"
"Yes! Yes! She is safe, Mrs Hurst is safe. You saved everyone. Why did you put yourself in danger? I thought I could save you, but I have harmed you instead. What have I done?"
"You came for me. I knew you would. You saved me."
"I cannot bear to look at you in pain. You do not deserve this. It is all my fault. I must have put away that scoundrel before."
"It is not your fault. I want to... Mr Darcy... I want…to tell you that I am sorry I misjudged your character. My feelings … I …" Her words trailed off, and Darcy saw in horror as her beautiful eyes closed.
"Oh, God! You made me a better man. I lived with conceit and pride. You made me realise my flaws. Elizabeth, open your eyes. I love you, Elizabeth. I adore you. I cannot live in a world without you. Open your eyes."
Elizabeth was silent. Darcy did not remember when he had cried last. But he felt tears rolling down his eyes. The woman who had captured his heart was hurt and bleeding. He held her closer to his chest. He had imagined the moment and dreamt about it for many days. Beautiful days at Pemberley by the lake, in the music room and the library. Holding her close to him, feeling her warmth and in many years feeling genuine happiness. It was all gone in the dust.
How am I ever to cope with this guilt? She is in this state because of me. I have failed her.
He felt her body get cold. He wrapped her in another blanket. It was getting dark.
He tapped on the roof of the carriage and asked Adam to go faster. Darcy hoped that Elizabeth would open her eyes before they reached Netherfield. But there was not a sound from her. He was able to stop her shoulder from bleeding, but her forehead still looked bad. Guilt and helplessness engulfed him.
If I had not shot Wickham, she would have been safe. I made a hasty decision. It is all my fault. What if something happens to her?
Guilt tore him apart as the carriage sped towards Netherfield.
Everyone at Netherfield was distressed. Every passing second Jane was agonized.
"Mr Bingley I am worried. Maybe I should tell my father."
"I understand your concern. I am worried as well. Let us wait for some more time. Maybe I can go along with some men and find them. Miss Bennet, we need to trust Darcy. He would not have made this plan unless he was confident. It pains me to see you worry. Your sister will be back soon."
Just as he said this, they saw Darcy's carriage enter Netherfield.
All of them except Miss Bingley had been waiting anxiously for Elizabeth.
Jane ran outside the house; she saw Darcy carry Elizabeth in his arms. She was alarmed.
Mr Bingley was right beside her.
"Lizzy, what happened to you? Oh no! Mr Darcy, she is hurt, isn't she?"
"She is hurt. She needs help. I am so sorry."
Jane began to sob.
"Darcy, let us get inside. Dr. James is here now. He came to attend Louisa, and I asked him to stay back."
Darcy rushed in along with the others. He carried her to her room upstairs. Mrs Hurst and Georgiana started to weep, once they saw Elizabeth's condition.
Darcy laid Elizabeth on the bed and reluctantly stepped aside as he watched the maids enter to change her. Jane thought he would leave, but Darcy stood frozen to the spot.
Jane looked at Mr Bingley. He immediately tried to pull Darcy out of the room.
"Darcy you must leave now, Dr James will tend to her."
There was not a word from him. Bingley forcibly dragged Darcy out of the room.
The doctor was waiting outside. He wanted to know the exact nature of the injuries.
"Tell us what happened. How did she get injured?" Mr Bingley asked.
Darcy tried to tell him what had happened. But words failed him. The moment he let go of Elizabeth, he had felt his heart rip away from him. He tried his best to relate the events at the cottage.
"You say she has been unconscious for a while sir?" Asked the doctor.
"Yes, yes. For the past half an hour. She has not said a word. I tried to stop the bleeding. Please help her. Please."
"I will do my best."
Darcy watched white-faced as the doctor entered Elizabeth's room.
"Darcy you do not look very well. You better eat something?"
"What is wrong with you Bingley. How do you expect me to eat? I need to know how she is."
Georgiana tried to comfort him.
"William, Lizzy will be well. Nothing will happen to her."
"I promised you I would bring her back safely. I could not. I no longer trust myself in anything."
Georgiana saw that her brother was distressed beyond measure. She realised that her brother was deeply in love with Elizabeth.
She was certain that he would be devastated if something happened to her.
The doctor examined Elizabeth's wounds.
"Miss Jane, the cuts are not very deep. But she must have fallen hard on her forehead. She may be unconscious for some more hours. We must keep her warm. Once she wakes up, she may be delusional. But she will be all right. Give her some broth. I will be back in the morning to see her."
"But sir, she looks so white. I am worried."
"She is stronger than you think. She will be all right. Do not worry."
When the doctor came out of the room, Darcy rushed to him.
"Is she awake? How is she?"
"She is not conscious yet. But I was able to tend to her wounds. They are not as deep as they seem. But due to the fall, she may be unconscious for some time."
"Some time is how long?" Darcy asked bluntly.
"Maybe for a few hours. She may be scared and confused when she wakes up. The only thing I am worried about is her memory."
"What are you saying?"
"I am not certain, but she may suffer from memory loss. In some cases, it lasts for a few days."
The mere thought of Elizabeth having a loss of memory devastated Darcy.
"I need to see her. I need to see her now." Darcy headed towards Elizabeth's room.
"Darcy please compose yourself. You cannot see her now. Miss Bennet will take care. What happened to the colonel?" Bingley asked.
"Richard should be on his way. If I see Wickham again, I will kill him with my bare hands." Darcy said with rage.
"Mr Darcy I do not mean to intrude into your private affairs. But Thomas Bennet is my good friend. I understand you have kept him in the dark about everything. If you do not plan to inform him, I shall be headed to Longbourn now."
"Sir, I know that it is not right to keep her father uninformed. I will do it myself once Miss Elizabeth wakes up. I did everything to safeguard her reputation. I wanted to bring her back unharmed, I will take the responsibility for what has happened."
"Mr Bingley, Miss Elizabeth, and her sister are under your care in Netherfield. Mr Bennet will not be happy about this."
"I understand sir. But Darcy has a point. It would not be advisable to make the family go through this at this hour. Let us wait till Miss Elizabeth gets better."
Bingley was troubled to face the wrath of Elizabeth's father. He had planned to propose to Jane during the picnic. Now everything had gone wrong. Darcy was sorry to have put Bingley in such a situation.
"I will personally go and inform Mr Bennet in the morning. There are some details I need to explain to him in privacy about Wickham. I take responsibility for my decisions." He said.
Dr. James was not convinced. But he realised that it would not be a good idea to disturb the Bennet family in the night with such distressing news. He left Netherfield hoping for the best.
As the doctor left, Darcy was troubled with what he had said about Elizabeth's memory. He was agitated.
What if she loses her memory? What if she never wakes up? Oh, God! Elizabeth please wake up and say something.
Darcy never realised that she would indeed wake up and the first word she would say was his name. Yes! Never.