Chapter 24 Just married

Sarah carefully washed and dressed Fanny, which unfortunately taxed her greatly so she had to rest a while when ready.
Henry had been getting ready as well and had breakfast before he reappeared.

He looked at her. "Is this too much? I can see you are in a lot of pain at the moment."
She just nodded and then closed her eyes. Henry calmed the sharp pains on her face by wiping it with some ice water. After some more of the special tea Fanny thought she was ready.

It was a strange wedding where the groom carried the bride into the chapel and laid her carefully on the prepared bed. Fanny felt safe in his arms, yet the movement was such that she needed about ten minutes of rest before the ceremony could start.

Her family was present, as was Henry's from the parsonage. This was the first time that Maria and Julia saw their cousin after the incident, as it was for Lady Bertram. The three ladies gasped at her battered face and looked at her with pity.

Sir Thomas took his niece's hand and lay it into Henry's hand.
Dr Grant had been instructed to not make the ceremony too long. Soon the vows were said, the register signed – with which Fanny needed help as she was too weak; and her engagement ring went from one hand to the other to serve as a temporary wedding ring.

Despite her injuries, the bride looked truly happy and the groom beamed with pride to have wed the love of his life.

After they were congratulated by everyone present, Henry carried his new wife to their temporary rooms, which had been prepared that morning. The rooms had more comfort than the chamber Fanny had occupied in the past two days.
She was made comfortable on the bed and, being thoroughly exhausted, fell immediately asleep.

Henry stayed at her side for most of the day. His happiness about finally being married to her soon went to the background as he saw how much the moving around had taxed her. She slept restlessly and when awake was in great pain. During the day she developed a fever and Henry was, once more, busy with damp cloths to bring her temperature down.

Fanny barely noticed. The fever brought on a delirium which had her relive not only the attack of her aunt, but also confrontations with Mr Rushworth.

In her fevered dream she was in the gardens of Sotherton again. The sun was hot and Fanny tried to find some shade and a place to sit. But when she found a place and recovered a little, Mr Rushworth appeared from around the corner. "Miss Price, I have been looking for you. And I am glad I finally found you." He sat down so very near her that she could feel his heat.
"Leave me alone, Mr Rushworth," she said, but he ignored it. His hands roamed over her body and he took her in an embrace so forceful that it hurt. "Let go of me!" she tried to shout. "Henry will come and make sure you will be imprisoned for what you did."
Mr Rushworth laugh sounded evil. "Ah, Miss Price. You really think that Henry would come and save you? Henry is dead. And there's only me now."
"No, leave me! You are lying!"
His hold on her only got tighter and Fanny found it hard to breathe.

A soft voice near her ear called her back: "Shh, my love. It is just a dream. You're safe." A cool cloth on her forehead calmed her down and she opened her eyes. She had difficulty focusing, but then she saw Henry.
A deep sigh escaped her. "You are here," was all she said.

He looked very worried at her and she wondered what was the matter.
"You have a high fever," he told her when she asked. "I have sent for the doctor."
She nodded and then dozed off again.

Henry felt desperate and powerless. He couldn't get her fever down and it was painful to hear the exclamations of her dreams.

The doctor came and examined her again. Her bleeding had all but stopped. The bruises all over her body looked horrible, but should over time fade. He told Henry that the fever likely came from all that her body had to endure in the past days. He left other herbs to be used for tea which would help to get her temperature down. He gave her some Laudanum, but warned against too much.

Before he left he told Henry to look after himself as well. "You will get ill too if you're not careful and then you will not be able to care for your wife. Try to rest when she is resting and eat well. I understand that you will not want to leave her side while she has this fever, but once it has broken, take yourself outside for some fresh air. I believe you will benefit from it.
Let me know if anything changes."

Because of the Laudanum, Fanny now had calmed down. Henry followed the doctor's advice and lay down next to her. With her hand in his, he fell asleep and only woke up when she stirred.

Her fever was still high and Henry, with the help of Sarah, washed her with cold water to cool down her body. Whenever she woke up, they would give her some of the tea to drink.

After an evening of near-despair and fervent prayers sent up to heaven, Fanny's fever finally broke near midnight.

Henry was relieved and then they both slept through their wedding night.

In the morning they had breakfast there, Henry feeding Fanny some broth and helping her drink the tea. After that she fell asleep again and Henry left her in the care of Sarah and went downstairs himself. After a short visit with the family in the drawing room, who all wanted to know how the new Mrs Crawford was doing, he went for an equally short ride with Edmund. Fortunately, the latter understood that Henry was in no mood for talking so silence reigned for most of their ride.
Back at the house, Henry excused himself and went straight to Fanny. Sarah told him she had woken up a few times and had eaten some food.

During the day, whenever she was awake, he would read to her. She was too weak to talk much. When she was asleep he would attend to his correspondence. He wrote to his uncle and to some of his friends about his marriage. He wrote the same news to the steward at Everingham. He told that he was not sure how long it would be until Mrs Crawford would be able to travel with him to her new home, but asked for the house to be readied anyway to receive its new mistress.

Edmund and Sir Thomas visited them for a while in the afternoon when Fanny was awake. The newly-married couple heard that Mrs Norris' state was still the same. Her own maid had come from the white house to nurse her. The majority of the Mansfield Park staff did not want anything to do with her after what she had done.

Over the next days, Fanny's health slowly improved. She was still very sore but required less sleep. She managed to sit up for little periods of time. Henry hardly left her side. They talked, he read to her, they even played some card games. On Fanny's insistence he went out parts of the day to ride his horse or to visit his sisters. Henry had always been an active person and Fanny knew he needed exercise even though he did not really wish to leave her side.

A week after the attack Fanny was surprised to receive a visit from Lady Bertram. She hadn't seen her since the wedding day. She knew her aunt was not a very motherly person and did not cope well with ill people, so it was a nice surprise to see her.
"I really miss you downstairs," the lady said. "With you here and my sister also indisposed I feel lonely sometimes. My daughters are too active to keep me company during the day. I am glad Mrs Grant has come over twice and spent the day with me."
Fanny nodded, for her new sister-in-law had visited for a little while with her on those days.

"But I hear you are improving Fanny?"
"I think I am, aunt," Fanny answered. "I do not feel so weak as before, but I am still in pain. I miss being able to do needlework, but I hope I can soon do that again. I am very happy that Henry keeps me occupied when I am awake."

Her aunt smiled: "Your Mr Crawford is a remarkable young man. I am glad you married him."
Fanny of course could not agree more. As strange as this past week had been, she loved him more each day and was grateful for his unwavering devotion to her.

After a few weeks, Fanny was able to leave the room for a short period of time. She only went to an upstairs sitting room near their own chambers, as taking the stairs was still too much. Her cousins visited her there with their friend. Fanny was happy to hear them talk about their rides and the other things they had been doing.
They also told her that Mr Yates and Maria's beau would soon come to visit, together with Tom who had been in London all this time.
Fanny had hardly thought about her cousin in the past months, occupied as she had been with Henry, and later with her own recovery.
The bruises had slowly started to disappear, although her nose was sore for a much longer time, as were her stomach and her ribs.

The weather was fine this spring and Fanny longed to go outside. While resting in their room, the windows would be open and she could hear the birds and smell the spring air.

When she asked her husband if it was possible that she could go outside, his reaction was joyful.
"Of course! I am glad to hear this. I will carry you down the stairs, for if you were to walk them yourself, you would be too fatigued to continue out of doors."
She smiled and when ready he took her in his arms to carry her downstairs.

She snuggled up on his chest. He laughed at what she did. "Enjoying yourself, love?" He said light-heartedly." She blushed. "Well, husband, because of the nature of my injuries I haven't been in your arms except when you were carrying me."
He came to a halt. "I have so wished to take you in my arms in our bed, but I was afraid to hurt you."
She looked up at him. "Why did you not ask? I know you would be gentle and would never hurt me intentionally."
He now smiled. "Thank you, dear wife. This makes me very happy indeed."

They had now reached the bottom of the stairs and Henry reluctantly set Fanny on her own feet. Then he took her arm and they walked through the hall.
"Do you want to greet your aunt in the drawing room?" he asked.
She nodded. "But not very long, as I really want to go outside."

They were announced and then entered the drawing room where not only lady Bertram was seated, but also Sir Thomas and the three girls.
They all looked pleasantly surprised at the appearance of Mr and Mrs Crawford.
"Fanny, how good to see you downstairs!" Sir Thomas said.
"How are you today?" Lady Bertram asked.
Fanny smiled. "I am well today. The weather is so lovely outside that I really wished to go outdoors. So we are on our way to the gardens."

"Would you like to drink tea with us after you have been outside?" Sir Thomas asked.
"That would be lovely," Fanny answered.
They then left the drawing room and slowly made their way outside.

It was strange to be in the gardens again after so many weeks. They slowly walked around and talked, every now and then stopping when Fanny wished to smell a flower. She breathed in the spring air deeply, even though breathing deeply still hurt her ribs. She loved spring and was very happy to be able to enjoy it. They sat on a bench for a while, Fanny leaning into Henry's embrace. She sighed of happiness. He looked fondly at her. "I see you are enjoying yourself, love." She nodded. "Yes. This has always been my favourite time of the year. Besides, it is good to see something else than the walls of our room for once." He laughed. "I can imagine that." Then he said: "If today would prove not too overtiring to you, would you wish to visit the stables tomorrow? I am sure there are at least two horses who would love to see you again."
She smiled. "Yes that would be lovely."

After a little longer they made their way back indoors and to the drawing room. They were welcomed back with good cheer and then sat down for some tea. Fanny enjoyed the chatter around her but did not add much to it. They were told that Tom and the two gentlemen would arrive the next day, so it was clear why the girls were excited.

Soon Fanny started to feel a little fatigued and when her tea was finished, Henry helped her up and supported her.
He excused them and then carried her back to their rooms.
Here she slept for a while until they took their dinner in the little sitting room.

That evening they snuggled up close in bed. Henry was a little hesitant at first, but Fanny assured him that she would tell if it hurt too much, but so far she enjoyed his warmth and closeness. They talked and kissed for some time. Fanny felt safe and loved. And something else she had felt a few times before. His presence gave her butterflies in her stomach and something stronger. She looked at him and saw the same emotion reflected in his eyes. She blushed and he smiled at her.

"No one has told me what married life exactly involves, especially regarding physical intimacies, but I feel that there is much more than just… this." She blushed again.

Henry kissed her. "Yes, there is. But it might be best if we do not talk about it yet. At least not now when we are in this position. You are not recovered enough yet, for other… things. And if I think about them too much, well, it would make it a bit uncomfortable." She saw his own red cheeks and wondered what exactly he meant, but decided she would trust his decision and leave that conversation for another day. She fell soon asleep and her dreams were pleasant and mostly featured her beloved husband.