A short chapter.
The following morning before breakfast Mr. Darcy opened the door to the sitting room that adjoined Elizabeth's room. The footman rose from his post and bowed.
"Who is with her?" Mr. Darcy asked.
"Mrs. Annesley at present, sir." the man replied. "She offered to sit with her while Mrs. Taylor sees to the staff and prepares her medicine."
Mr. Darcy nodded. He moved to the door and knocked. A few moments later the door was unlocked and opened. Mrs. Annesley smiled and opened the door further to allow him in. She closed the door once he was inside.
"Any change?" he asked.
"No. I am sorry, sir."
"May I have a moment with her?"
"I will just be in the dressing room." Mrs. Annesley said.
Mr. Darcy nodded his thanks. Mrs. Annesley moved toward the dressing room while Mr. Darcy took a seat beside the bed.
"I am going to speak to Bingley this morning. Miss Bingley has called on your sister, as you may know. I am hopeful once I tell him Miss Bennet is in town Bingley will be able to get their address."
He paused looking over her face.
"I will find who did this to you and be sure they are punished, Elizabeth. I swear it." he said. "I will make amends for my interference with Bingley and your sister. When you wake I can only hope you can forgive me for all the terrible things I have said. I will be a better man."
He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. After placing a gentle kiss on her palm he returned it to the bed. He thanked Mrs. Annesley then departed. Mrs. Taylor returned with Elizabeth's medicine. As she was pouring the dose she heard Mrs. Annesley gasp. She turned to see what was wrong.
"Her finger moved." Mrs. Annesley said.
They watched in silence as Elizabeth finger twitched again then stilled. Mrs. Taylor shared the occurrence from the previous night and her thoughts about it.
"I did not tell Mr. Darcy as I did not want to get his hopes up." Mrs. Taylor finished.
"He is in love with her." Mrs. Annesley replied. "It will destroy him if she passes away before he can tell her."
"It will. I do have hope though. The doctor is a good one. Hopefully when he returns he can tell us she has improved."
"I pray he can."
As it happened Mr. Bingley and his sister were away from home when Mr. Darcy called. After leaving his card he was at a loss of what to do. He was disappointed that he could not complete the task he had set for himself. Knowing his cousin would be investigating the address that Elizabeth's trunk had been sent to he decided to return home hoping he would soon return with answers. Returning home he spoke briefly with Mrs. Taylor before going to his study. He buried himself in his work until the return of his cousin nearly two hours later. Colonel Fitzwilliam entered the study without knocking. Mr. Darcy looked up as the door was carefully shut and locked. The colonel turned then and came to sit before the desk.
"Have you spoken to Bingley?" he asked.
"He was not at home." Mr. Darcy replied. "I left my card and told his butler I needed to speak with him on an important business matter."
"Do you think he will send a note when he returns?"
"If he is not otherwise engaged he will likely call, no matter the hour. If not, he will send a note."
Colonel Fitzwilliam nodded.
"What did you find out?"
"The address appears to be a cheap boarding house but upon further inquiry I found out that it is in fact connected to the business in the building next door."
"Which is?"
"A brothel." Colonel Fitzwilliam replied. "It seems the same couple run both. The first floor of the buildings are connected. If a client does not want to be seen entering the brothel they can take a room at the boarding house and go next door through the first floor door or have a girl sent up to their room."
"Someone planned to send Elizabeth to such a place. It is unconscionable."
"It is. It seems many ladies arrive at the boarding house in bad shape. The lady of the house tends to seek out orphan girls. She and her husband claim a reputation for breaking spirited girls or disposing of those that are no longer of use though nothing can be proven."
"I thank God for Anne's intervention."
"As do I." his cousin said nodding.
"Did you find any connections to Rosings?"
"Nothing solid."
"But you did find something?"
"I believe one of the ladies at the brothel was once a maid at Rosings. It has been some years but it looks like the one our uncle seemed to prefer."
"I recall she disappeared when he took ill. He claimed to my father that Aunt Catherine sent her away."
"That could be or she realized Uncle Lewis could no longer protect her and fled."
"Either way it is of little help at the moment." Mr. Darcy said. His cousin nodded.
"I mentioned to a couple of close contacts that I was interested in finding out more about the woman and how she came to be there. They said they would let me know what they find out."
"What are your plans now?"
"For now I think I will impose upon your hospitality a bit and have bath and a nap. It has been a tiring morning. Once you speak to Bingley we can decide how to proceed."
"By all means do." Mr. Darcy replied. "I thank you for your help in this, Fitzwilliam."
"I am pleased to do all that I can to help."