The rain had started to fall, slowly at first, but began to pick up. Lizzie never felt like her father's land was so expansive before as she tried to squint through the rain to see. It was pouring as she came across a tree that looked familiar. But...
"Please let me not have gotten turned around." she moaned. Her hat shielded most of the rain from getting into her eyes, but soon the wind picked up, making the rain come in at a slant. Soaked to the bone, she turned around in her saddle trying to get her bearings by finding a familiar landmark. Shivering, she felt Sal move underneath her sideways.
"What's wrong, Sal?" she asked worriedly.
Her horse stopped moving and she tried nudging her horse again. They went at a slow pace so as not to accidentally injure her horse. The thunderclap nearby spooked Sal and he began to freak out. He reared up a couple times, but Elizabeth kept a grip on the reins. The second time he reared up, a streak of lightning hit the tree they were near and the sparks made Sal lurch forward. The reins were pulled out of Elizabeth's wet hands and she wasn't prepared when she was unseated from her scared mount.
Landing hard on her ankle, she let out a cry of pain as the rest of her hit the wet ground. Her hip and shoulder stung. Her vision was blurry from hitting her head, and her right ankle felt funny.
Pushing herself up with her good arm, she tried to find Sal. She wetted her lips and whistled for her horse, but it was drowned out by the rain and thunder.
Shivering, Elizabeth looked around for some shelter from the rain. It wasn't safe under the tree. It had just been struck by the lightning.
Her eyes felt heavy and her head throbbed. She just wanted to close her eyes and rest.
Collapsing back onto the ground, she laid there in a heap, not sure where she was, or how far help would be.
Darcy was sure he was having a bad day. How else would you explain being caught in the rain on the way back into town?
A thought reminded him that Bingley was still back at Netherfield property. The man was no tracker and would need help getting back into town himself.
So he turned his horse around and rode back.
His clothes were soaked through when he reached Charles, who was no better off.
"Need help?" called Darcy through the rain.
"I thought you were mad at me?" the younger man called back as he rode closer to William.
"I can be upset later. No need for us to be getting sick out here for no reason."
The two turned their mounts towards town again and were riding when Charles pulled his horse to a stop.
"What's the matter?" asked Darcy, tired and in need of a warm dry bed right about now.
"Can we make a stop on the way? I want to make sure they made it back safely. It's pretty hard to see out here, and can be dangerous with lightning and no visibility."
"Fine," Darcy grunted, adjusting their direction to ride where he had seen the Bennet borderline. He didn't want to confess to Charles, but he too was worried if the boy, young man, got home safely. He was sure he'd seen lightning touch a tree not ten minutes ago.
Jane paced the porch outside, a thicker jacket wrapped tightly around her. She watched for any signs of her sister. So far, there was nothing. Jane knew that Elizabeth was out for a chance to be away from their mother, but she had hoped when she saw the darkening clouds, that she'd return.
Nothing.
"Come on, Lizzie. Where are you?" Jane bit her bottom lip nervously.
If Elizabeth wasn't back in five more minutes she was going to have her father go out and look for her. That or the Hill boys.
A sound of horses' hooves made her sigh in relief and she stood as close as she dared to the edge of the porch without getting wet.
She frowned in the storm, hoping that one of the two figures coming up was her sister.
To her surprise, it was Carles and a man dressed in all black. She wondered if this was Lizzie's man who had insulted and threatened her.
Jane decided to keep her attention focused on Charles.
"Charles, I wasn't expecting you to come out today. Is my father expecting you? Did you need shelter from the storm?"
Charles wished he could indeed stay, but he had an agenda. He climbed off his horse while the other man stayed on his.
"Actually Jane, I was hoping Lizzie made it back alright. She left us about twenty minutes or so ago. I just wanted to make sure she's alright." he said in a low enough voice so his friend could not hear him over the storm.
Jane's worry showed again as she wrapped her arms around her stomach. She shook her head, "No, she hasn't returned. I was hoping she would before the storm. She's usually good about getting in before they hit."
"It was our fault for holding her up with our conversation." Charles looked at Darcy and shook his head to the other man's unvoiced question. The man stiffened in his saddle. Bingley looked back to Jane, "Don't worry, we will go out and look for her. I promise we'll bring her back. She may need a doctor when we do find her."
"I'll have someone go to the doctor in town." Jane nodded.
Charles didn't stall her, but walked back into the rain and climbed back into his saddle. He didn't like the wet feeling soaking the seat of his pants, but he didn't care right now.
"They haven't made it back yet. I'm going to go and see if I can find them."
"I'm the better tracker. I'll come. Between us, we should be able to find him." Darcy said, pulling his horse to turn around and the two rode off.
Elizabeth felt herself wake up, the feeling of cold water running down her back made her shiver and the action aggravated her sore body. Groaning, she slowly lifted her head. Her fingers dug into the wet grass and mud, trying to pull herself up.
If she stayed out here, she'd probably die from overexposure. She may not have a weaker constitution as Jane, but she wasn't insusceptible either. Getting to her hands and knees, an action that was making her want to throw up, she tried to move, get up and wave her hands frantically to anyone who might be out looking for her. Anything but just lying around where no one could probably see her.
For a brief second, she felt as if she blacked out for a second because her head was now touching the ground again, her body leaning forward.
Steeling herself, she sucked in a deep breath.
"I'M HERE! HELP!" her head fell back down with exhaustion, "Please."
Sleep pulled her back under again and she collapsed once more.
Darcy pulled his horse to stop and looked around.
Charles stopped alongside him, "What? What is it?"
"I think I heard something."
"Do you know which direction?"
"Possibly," Darcy murmured. He slipped off of his horse and began to walk on foot. He studied the ground, looking for indentations from hoof prints, possibly human.
When he picked up a trail of a horse, he moved quickly with Charles leading Darcy's horse while still on top of his own.
Darcy found the black horse, restless and without a rider. Patting the horse's side, he took the reins and pulled the horse along as he retraced its steps.
The pace was annoyingly slow to himself, but the rain made it difficult to see and he'd have to crotch to the ground to find the tracks again.
Eventually, he saw them, or rather he came upon them a few yards out when Charles said he saw them.
Darcy barely registered his friend leading his horse and Dacy's towards the figure lying face down on the ground. He ran over to assist.
Charles was kneeling on the ground with the young boy on his lap.
Darcy knelt in front of his friend and felt for a pulse in the neck.
"He's alive." he murmured as he moved to feel their head, "Pretty cold though."
"But they'll be alright, right?"
Darcy continued to scan the boy over, looking for anything off. He carefully checked the arms and then legs. When he touched the right ankle, there was a slight moan from the boy.
"He injured his ankle. The boot will keep the swelling down, but we need to get him inside before he freezes."
Before Charles could even attempt it, Darcy took the boy from his arms and carried him towards his own horse.
Maxine, was not skittish when it came to storms, so she wouldn't throw either of them off.
The boy was light in his arms, their hips seemingly wider than he'd thought previously before. A tired head rested on his shoulder, their face concealed under the hat.
Putting the boy on his horse took some time but he managed it and then climbed on behind them.
Charles took the other horse's reins while keeping an eye on the pair on Darcy's.
The storm picked up and even Darcy had to admit he was getting turned around a bit before he found the house again.
He dismounted and pulled the boy off his horse. Carrying them to the front door, Charles led the way.
Jane threw open the door as soon as she heard the horses. She directed them to the back of the house and to the fireplace. The sofa had been moved to sit right in front of it. Darcy deposited the boy on the sofa, not ready to leave yet.
Charles was talking to Jane in a whisper while other voices in the house could be heard, but none heading their way.
Darcy knelt in front of the boy and looked at the sleeping figure's face. They looked so young and innocent. He found himself reaching up and caress the little face with his big hand. Their skin was soft and cold to the touch. They would need to be relieved of the clothes they were wearing and wrapped in warm blankets.
Without thinking, his hands moved to unbutton the jacket. He had shed the jacket off and was getting to the third button of the shirt when Charles's voice broke his concentration from his task.
Charles looked alarmed and a bit...hostile?
"Darcy!" Charles hissed, "What the hell are you doing?"
"The wet clothes have to be removed and he needs to be dried-"
"Get away from them!" Charles snapped, ready to remove his friend if he didn't listen.
Darcy heard an intake of breath from below him and the boy began to stir. Brown eyes looked up at him and at first, they were confused and then they registered the hands on their clothes and their eyes widen in fear.
Darcy pulled his hands quickly away, them still up in the air as he stood up and then backed away.
The brown eyes followed his movements, still wary.
Charles came up to reassure them.
"It's alright, we brought you home. Mr. Darcy isn't trying to hurt you, and I wouldn't have let him do anything to you," Bingley leveled a glare towards Darcy which surprised the other man that he could actually make such an expression. "Darcy, a word."
They moved out of the room. Jane and Mrs. Hill taking their place before closing the door.
"What was that all about?" asked Darcy, wanting some answers for a change for his friend's odd behavior.
"I should ask you the same thing. Why were you taking their clothes off? You hardly care about them."
Darcy ran a hand through his hair which was slightly damp.
"I don't know. I just saw the kid and just wanted to help. Seeing them lying helpless, it was almost like seeing Georgiana..." He dares not mention more about what happened to his sister.
"And yet you still astonish me how you haven't made any connections yet. Here I was boasting that my friend had excellent observational skills, yet he can't see what's right in front of him."
"I do have excellent observational skills. Better than yours. At one glance of a pretty woman you'd forget everything else."
"I guess that's why I saw it and you did not."
Darcy was exasperated at this point and threw his hands up in annoyance, "What? What am I supposed to see? That you're so bent on me figuring out and hinting at."
"It's right in your face, every time, Darcy. I'm trying not to insult you by just telling you the punchline."
"Just tell me already," Darcy growled.
Just then, Mr. Bennet walked up, looking tired and a little wet.
"The doctor is here and is coming in shortly. How is she? How is my Lizzie?"
"She?" Darcy frowned and looked at Charles quickly before looking back to Mr. Bennet, "No sir, we brought your son home who was out in the rain."
Mr. Bennet sighed and looked at Charles who just shook his head sadly. Mr. Bennet looked to Darcy, a firm frown fixed across his face.
"Sir, I have no sons, I was blessed with only daughters. The child you just brought in is my Lizzie. The same one you've mistaken as a stable boy in town."
Darcy's eyes widen and he looked to Charles for confirmation. His friend only sighed and shrugged.
He was a girl?!