Chapter 22

Darcy pushed his horse through the small grove of trees and stopped when he saw the two horses still standing in front of the cabin. Swinging out of the saddle, he tied his horse next to them, and cautiously walked in to the cabin. Looking around the small room, he found his brother still lying where he had fallen earlier that day. Walking over, Will knelt down next to his brother, and said a short prayer. Lifting his brother over his shoulder, he walked back out the cabin, and found a pretty little place behind the cabin, and laid him on the ground.

Heading back to his horse, he grabbed an old blanket and the shovel from his saddle. Strolling back to where he left his brother, Will laid the blanket over his brother, and used the shovel to start digging. It looks him another half hour to dig an adequate sized grave for his brother. Grabbing his handkerchief, he whipped the sweat from his forehead, and set the shovel beside him.

Pulling himself out of the hole, Will walked over to the body of his brother and wrapped him in the old blanket. A few minutes later, he had the body lowered in to the hole and started throwing dirt back in it. After the grave was full, he looked around for a piece of wood, and soon found one that would suit his needs. Using his knife, he carved George Darcy 1842. Pounding the stake in to the ground, Will took off his hat, and knelt on the ground. After he said a short prayer, he pushed himself back to his feet, and walked back to the front of the cabin.

Grabbing the reins of the two horses, he mounted his own gelding, and turned them towards home. Riding in to the yard, Will headed towards the barn, and dismounted. Stripping the gear from his brother's two horses, he led them each to a stall and fed them. Heading back to his own horse, he led the gelding to his stall, and threw him some hay.

Storing the gear back in the tack room, he left the barn, and walked to the house. Stepping inside, he hung his hat on the hook, and quickly washed his hands. The sound of little footsteps running through the house followed by nails clicking against the hardwood drew his attention and he turned around to find Anna and Scout running towards him.

Anna threw her arms around his leg and lifted her face to look up at him. Will reached down and ruffled her hair. "Why are you running through the house?"

"Play tag with Scout." She gave him a wide grin. He reached down and lifted her into his arms, settling her on his hip. Walking in to the kitchen, he found it deserted, and realized that Jane was probably sitting with Elizabeth. Walking to the window, he saw that the wind had picked up, and there were dark clouds moving in from west; it looked like they were in for a summer shower.

Moving away from the window, Will sat down at the kitchen table, and settled Anna on his lap. Reaching across the table, he grabbed the Bible, and opened it up to a bookmarked page. He felt the need to pray more and make sure that his wife was going to be alright.

Anna reached up and laid her hand on the page. Will looked down at her and found her looking up at him with what looked like a reassuring smile. Placing a kiss on her forehead, he started reading aloud to his little niece. A while later, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and jerked forward, before looking up to find Jane quietly looking at him.

She motioned to Anna and he noticed that she had fallen asleep in his arms. "I will take her for you. Elizabeth just woke up and would like to see you. I will make a quick supper for everyone if you are hungry."

Will handed Anna to Jane and stood. At her mention of eating something, he realized he hadn't eaten anything all day. "I would greatly appreciate the meal." He gave his sister in law a small smile and headed to the bedroom. Softy opening the door, he walked to the empty chair, and lowered him into it.

"How are you feeling?" he asked when Elizabeth turned her head to look at him.

"Better, now that you are here. Did you find your brother?" she didn't want to ask the question about whether or not he had survived the gunshot. A large hand enveloped hers and she looked up in to her husband's eyes, to see unshed tears at the corners of his eyes.

"He isn't going to hurt anyone anymore, Beth. George was the last family member I had left and now there is no one."

Elizabeth lifted his hand to her lips and brushed a kiss across his knuckles. "You still have Anna and now me and the baby." She gave him a small smile and he saw the twinkle come back to her eyes for a moment. "You also gained four more sisters and a mother and father in law."

Will chuckled softly, but sobered after a moment. "Do you miss them Beth? I know you have Jane here for a few more weeks, but what about your parents and younger sisters? You must miss them."

"I do miss them. I haven't heard a reply to my letter I sent when I found out I was expecting and I'm not sure if it made it to them or not."

"Would you like to go and visit them after the baby arrives? I don't want you traveling in your condition at the moment, but we can go after the baby is a few weeks old."

"I would like that, but there might be another reason we will have to travel Meeker." She gave him a goofy grin, as he looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"And what might that be?"

"Haven't you noticed that your friend Charles Bingley has been spending more time than he needs to here? He and Jane have been spending time together and I know how she feels about him. Do you think he will offer for her?"

"I have noticed that Charles has been spending more time here and I'm glad he is getting to know Jane. If he does have feeling for her, he probably will ask her to marry him, but there are possibly two things that will hold him back: one is his sister and the other is whether or not she will want to stay out her and be a doctor's wife."

Elizabeth tightened her hold on his hand and willed him to look at her when his attention was drawn to the window. He looked down at her and she spoke, "She would be happy to be a doctor's wife as long as it meant staying with Charles. That solves one problem, but what about his sister. Why would she be a problem?"

Will lifted his other hand and raked it through his hair. "She still wants her brother to come back East with her and be a doctor back home. She also once tried to convince me to come with them back East and marry her. Caroline thought that I would give up my life out here and become someone that I could never be."

His wife's face scrunched up and her brow furrowed. "I'm not sure I want to meet this Caroline Bingley. She doesn't sound like someone I would get along with."

He chuckled at her words and gave her a small smile. "Charles tells me that she has changed somewhat, but I will have to see that for myself. I did talk to her briefly when Charles was examining you, but I didn't feel like talking. You will get to meet her next week when they come for lunch after church. Your shoulder should be healed quite a bit by then and I might actually let you out of this bed."

Elizabeth turned her head when the sound of rain drops started hitting the window. After a few moments, she turned back to her husband. "I might want to get out of this bed before then. Is Jane making supper?" She asked when she heard her stomach rumble.

Will's eyes twinkled when he heard the noise. "She is and I will go and see if it's done." He placed a kiss to her cheek before exiting the room to find her something to eat.