This story is based on Rhyme XLI by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (The Rhyme is in Spanish, and this is the translation)
You were the hurricane and I was the high
tower which defies its power:
you had to crash or to throw me down!
That could not be!
You were the ocean and I was the erect
rock which firmly awaits for its swing:
you had to break or to root me out!
That could not be!
Beautiful you, haughty me: used
the one to trample down, the other to not giving up:
narrow the path, unavoidable the impact...
That could not be!
Prologue
Over the last five years, Elizabeth Bennet's life has seen a succession of misfortunes, and despite everything, she has not become an embittered woman. Perhaps the one who gave her the strength to get ahead in the saddest moments of her life was her dear sister Jane, and then little Rose...
April 1812
It had been a week since she had returned to Longbourn and in the eyes of her family, her life had returned to normal. No one knew she had turned down another marriage proposal, and in this case from one of the richest men in the Kingdom, and it was better that no one knew.
Fortunately, Jane was leaving behind the disappointment of Mr. Bingley's abandonment, and Elizabeth hoped that with a little more time both Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy would only be a distant memory.
Despite her pleas, her father agreed to let Lydia go to Brighton with Colonel Forester's regiment. She was leaving next week and she just hoped Lydia wouldn't do anything stupid.
Unfortunately, on the fateful night of Tuesday, April 14th 1812, everything changed...
As every night after dinner, Mr. Bennet went to his study to have a brandy and read for a couple of hours before going to bed. The rest of the family went to sleep; Jane and Elizabeth shared a room as did Kitty and Lydia.
Thomas Bennett was busy reading the Iliad; on his desk, there was a chandelier with four lighted candles, several papers scattered, a bottle of brandy and a glass of brandy in his hand when he felt a sharp pain in his chest and in that instant his head and half of his body fell on the desk. Unfortunately, the chandeliers also fell, the window was open, the liquor spilled on the papers and in a few minutes the curtains caught fire, then the rugs, the firewood that was still piled on the side of the stove, and the books. In less than an hour, the house was filled with smoke and the fire spread to Mrs. Bennet's room and the rest of the house...
Of all her sisters, Elizabeth was the lightest sleeper, and between dreams, she heard a scream and began to feel very hot. Half asleep, she realized something strange was happening, she was having a hard time breathing and it was too hot. She barely managed to light a candle and was horrified to see that the room was filling with smoke. Desperate, she called Jane who was fast asleep, but she wouldn't wake up, she began to shake her and yell at her until she finally managed to wake her up.
The two sisters ran out of the room, Lizzy went to Lydia and Kitty's bedroom, but unfortunately, it was locked and she couldn't open the door. Desperate she ran to look for Hill who had a copy of all the keys. Meanwhile, Jane went to her mother's room but realized she was already dead, she ran to Mary's bedroom who was still alive. She managed to wake her up, but they were both dizzy from the smoke.
Unfortunately, the night was very dark, practically nothing could be seen, and they groped their way until they reached the stairs. Jane tripped and fell with Mary down the stairs. Mary hit her head hard and died instantly, Jane broke her ankle and was unable to get up. She tried to crawl on the floor, but she had no strength, she tried to scream, but the scream was muffled. She was having a hard time breathing, and at that moment she thought of her family and especially Lizzy and she fainted.
Fortunately, due to the maid's scream that woke up Lizzy, the rest of the servants also woke up and were able to get out of the house in time. Seeing that Elizabeth was agitated, Mrs. Hill insisted that she leave the house immediately, and asked Mr. Hill to fetch Kitty and Lydia from their shared bedroom.
Lizzy realized Mrs. Hill was right; she couldn't go to her sisters' room, she was dizzy, she staggered when she walked, she had a hard time breathing, and she felt like she was going to faint at any moment. With Mrs. Hill's help, she got out of the house. A few minutes later she saw Mr. Hill walk out with an unconscious Jane in his arms… Lizzy fainted.