Chapter 19: August - September 1815
Richard woke from his night's sleep, feeling much refreshed. When the valet assigned to him had finished helping him dress and departed, he looked about him and saw that his bed commanded a view of the window, which looked out over the front lawn, with the rolling hills and valleys stretching away in the distance. His eye fell on the two occupants of the scene, two ladies, one of whom he was sure was Georgiana. He wondered if the other were Lizzy—but surely Lizzy was not taller than Georgiana, as this woman or girl was. A moment later all doubts of this nature vanished as Elizabeth herself came gaily in.
"And how is my patient?" she asked cheerfully, as she crossed the room and opened the window wide.
"Pretty well this morning, thank you Elizabeth."
The open window let in a rush of cool morning air and also the laughter of the girls outside.
"My sister, Kitty, and your cousin," said Lizzy before he had time to enquire. "Kitty is staying here for the summer at least. She and Georgiana have become fast friends."
"I think Georgiana is benefiting greatly from having more females in the house," Richard observed. "Darcy did what he could for her, but he could not replace her mother."
"I think she is the better for it, and so is Kitty," replied Lizzy as she began fluffing his pillows. "Doctor Reeves will be here shortly to see that your wound suffered no harm from the journey."
Richard acknowledged her words with a slight nod of his head.
"I have brought you a few books to look at, while you must lie here, but I plan to have you up very soon. I know I should not be able to bear being still for so long. It was hard enough when William was born."
He looked up at her, surprised that she would mention such a forbidden subject so freely. But then, Elizabeth was full of surprises.
She continued, "I shall bring him down after the doctor's visit, to see his favorite uncle. He is with his father now, or I should have brought him directly."
Richard smiled. "Darcy spoke of the little man frequently when we were in Town. I think he likes being a father very much."
"Yes," she said brightly. "He is the best of fathers."
"And the best of husbands?"
She did not even bat an eyelash as she replied, "Yes. Which brings us to the subject of what kind of husband you would be to Anne Farley."
He stared at her in astonishment. "I see secrets are no longer safe with Darcy," he said, almost angrily.
"No indeed. A good husband has no secrets from his wife."
"And what about secrets that belong to others?"
"He said nothing about its being so secret or I am sure I should not have mentioned it." The twinkle in her eye said quite the opposite and he smiled in spite of himself.
"That's better," she said, causing him to snort derisively. "Now, I want to give you some advice about women. Seeing as I am one myself, I think you ought to listen."
"I am all ears," he said sarcastically.
"You are determined to ask Anne to marry you because you feel that she needs a way to escape from Lady Catherine and you have dashed her chances. Am I correctly informed?"
"Yes." Grudgingly.
"Well, that is all very well and good. But I think that I would be loathed to accept a man who wanted to marry me only for the sake of dispelling his own guilt."
He looked at her, at a loss for an answer. "You and Anne are very different," he said hesitantly.
"Not so different that we do not want to be loved for who we are, not to be simply taken pity on."
"What would you recommend, since my intended line of action is so abhorrent to the fair sex?"
"If you are determined to ask her, you must ascertain her feelings first. See if she cares for you and if you could live with her happily. Trust me, she would not be happy unless you were."
"I have no real desire to court her."
"You see? It's all about you and what you want rather than about what she wants." She spoke earnestly now, and Richard looked at her in amazement.
She continued, "Go and see her by all means. Do the honorable thing. But don't do anything that would insult her or ruin her self-respect, that is, if she has any left after living with her mother for so long."
"You agree that life with her mother must be insufferable," he said quickly.
"Yes, but marriage without love is substantially more so."
"Many couples have such unions. It cannot be so bad as that."
"At least right now she has the hope of escape. Once married, only disgrace or death could release her."
Death. He winced, and Lizzy felt that she had spoken to soon. It had been her intention to wait before having this conversation, but the topic had presented itself so easily, and he did look roused from his lethargy.
"I only want what is best for both of you," she said more gently.
He was in deep thought and did not seem to hear her. Suddenly, he looked up and said, "But you think I should go to see her."
"It can do no harm so long as you say nothing of your real purpose until you know her feelings."
"You would have me deceive her?"
"No, I would only have you prove that you care for her, and not only her husband's memory. If you find you cannot do that, leave before you entangle yourself. No lie would be told if you were to explain your visit as a chance to offer your condolences."
He looked up at her. She was so earnest, and he knew in his heart that she wanted his happiness. "Thank you, Elizabeth," he said quietly. "Your advice has been most appreciated."
There was a knock on the door and a maid peered around and said, "Beggin' your pardon Ma'am. The doctor is here."
"Goodness!" said Lizzy. "Please ask him to step into the parlor, Molly. I shall be right there to escort him in myself." The maid bobbed a curse and departed. Lizzy turned to Richard. "I shouldn't be here alone you know," she said in a conspirator's tone. "But Fitzwilliam doesn't mind, and all the servants are trustworthy. But I don't quite know what the doctor would make of our little tête a tête."
He smiled and gave her a good-natured wink as she departed.
A few moments later she returned, very properly, with the doctor, and left Richard to his ministrations while she went to find her husband and son.
A week passed, and Richard's leg was beginning to look less gruesome. Lizzy removed the bandage herself on the day the doctor had prescribed, and only gasped slightly at the neat stitches, which were far from being in a straight line; the leg having been torn in multiple places.
Darcy visited often, and Georgiana came once to see her cousin and offer her sympathy. Although Richard was gratified by her concern, he realized that he preferred the company of Elizabeth, who steadfastly refused to pity him.
Lizzy also frequently brought William, with the laughing excuse that he would be their chaperone. She would place the little boy on the bed beside Richard and sit nearby with a book or other handwork. William was crawling now, and it gave Richard ample occupation to keep the little boy from tumbling off the bed. Lizzy always seemed to know when her son was too close to the edge for comfort, no matter how engrossed in her work she had seemed but a moment before.
The baby could also say a few words now, and Richard felt more emotion than he considered appropriate in a soldier when the little lad cried out for, "Wicher!" as his mother was carrying him off one day. Needless, to say, his wish to stay was instantly granted as reward for this amazing achievement, and soon "Wicher!" fell from his rosy lips nearly as often as did Mama and Papa.
Towards the end of his fourth week at Pemberley, the Colonel began to grow restless, despite his frequent visitors. Lizzy had shaken him out of his listlessness and he longed to be doing something. The lady of the house was prepared for this development and was ready.
Richard was surprised one afternoon when two strong footmen entered with Lizzy and proceeded to assist him to the parlor, which, although he had seen it often before, looked brand new to his eyes, so used to one set of walls and one view.
"There we are," Lizzy said triumphantly as Richard lowered himself into a chair with a slight groan. "Now you can take part in the day's activities, instead of being shut up all day in your room."
"Thank you, Elizabeth," he said sincerely, with a grateful smile.
The sitting room was cheerful, with the windows open to the summer sun and flowers from the gardens adorning every table.
Georgina and Kitty were at the pianoforte and both looked up and smiled at the Colonel. Richard nodded to them and earnestly begged them not to stop. Kitty, who was still shy about her playing despite having made marked progress, immediately relinquished the piano entirely to Georgiana and her more skillful performance.
Kitty stood a little uncertainly, then, spying her workbasket on the table beside the Colonel's chair, went to retrieve it. She had not seen the Colonel since William's christening, as propriety would not allow her to visit his chamber, and, as she drew near, she was startled by his gaunt face. As she lifted the basket, Richard motioned to the chair opposite.
"Won't you sit down there and talk to me Miss Bennet? I need a little friendly conversation from someone new."
Kitty looked alarmed, not feeling equal to talking with a well-educated gentleman without Lizzy or Georgiana to assist her.
"I am sure you must be glad to be up again," she said, sitting down stiffly and unable to think of anything else to say.
"Quite!" he returned emphatically. "But your sister is an excellent nurse."
"Lizzy is wonderful," agreed Kitty. "Do you have any sisters?"
"No, only one brother."
"I don't have any brothers, although, of course, you must know that by now," Kitty stammered, a little uncertain.
"I thought you had now," he said with a smile.
"Well, yes I suppose I do," she admitted, smiling too. "Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley are very kind I am sure, but I still can't think of them quite as brothers. Cousins maybe. It is ever so much easier to think that Georgiana is my sister, perhaps because I am used to having sisters already."
"You are on a first name basis, I see, and live in the same household. I should think it would be hard to regard each other as anything else."
She looked at him quickly, remembering her quest to discover his feelings for his cousin. His eyes were directed towards Georgiana, who was playing a spirited Concerto with great skill.
"She is such a dear," Kitty said, watching him for a reaction. He looked back at her and she dropped her eyes, not wanting to be caught staring.
"Yes, she is," Richard said absentmindedly. He was not thinking of Georgiana at all for he was suddenly struck by the resemblance of the girl before him to the girl of his fevered dreams. His eyes roved over the dimples in Kitty's cheeks, the gentle blue of her downcast eyes and the sheen of her smooth brown hair. She glanced up again and Richard jerked his gaze away and back to Georgiana's absorbed face.
Georgina reached the end of her page and paused, and Kitty, wanting her friend to appear to the best advantage, jumped up to turn her music for her.
Free to watch the two young women unobserved, Richard thought of what a pretty picture they made—the light-haired girl at the instrument, and the darker-haired girl standing beside her, both bathed in a flood of summer sunlight.
He was very fond of his young cousin, but he had known her too long and been to intimately concerned in her affairs to feel like anything but a brother to her.
His gaze rested on Kitty thoughtfully. She was perhaps not quite as pretty as Elizabeth, but Richard recognized the beauty in the sweet innocence of her face as she turned her friend's music with an attentive expression and carefully followed the lines of music with those soft blue eyes.
Richard closed his own eyes and the battlefield rose up before his mind's eye. Farley's corpse. Anne's face. He had a duty that he must not forget. Dreams were only dreams and until he had seen Anne, he could not think of anyone else.