It was a long, silent trip to Pemberley. Mr. Bennet did not seem to notice that Kitty was refusing to speak to him, which took some of the vindictive pleasure out of the exercise, but she maintained her silence the rest of the way there, even at the inns and turnpikes. She did not need to talk to him to show him that he was wrong.
They arrived at last, however, and pulled into the drive in reasonably good time. The staff were lined up outside to receive them, and Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were waiting as well. She smiled a little bit. At least Elizabeth looked happy to see her.
Mr. Bennet took his time putting away his book and finding his walking stick, and Kitty was nearly bouncing in her seat with excitement, but she managed to stay put. She did not want to try to brush past him and find out that he was completely enraged by her knocking his book off the seat or something stupid like that. She was going to start this visit out on the right foot.
He climbed out of the carriage and turned to help Kitty out as well, but she was not going to allow him that satisfaction any more than she was going to give him the satisfaction of speaking to him. She grabbed the sides of the carriage and stepped out.
As her foot hit the rail, though, she lost her grip on the side of the carriage and fell, tumbling inelegantly to the ground, except for her foot, which had somehow gotten tangled in the step. It was a few seconds before she realized how much it hurt, and she bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut as the tears leaked out.
"Kitty!" Elizabeth cried, and ran over and knelt beside her. "Are you all right?"
Kitty couldn't quite find the words to respond to her sister's question. She opened her eyes and glanced at her ankle. She was reasonably certain that it was not normally that size.
"Lizzy," she said, without any thought of what she was saying. She had to squeeze her eyes shut again. "Ouch!"
Mr. Darcy was there, too, kneeling at her other side. "See if you can get her foot free, Elizabeth," he said quietly. "I will have to carry her into the house." He turned back to someone behind him; a servant, Kitty assumed. "Is her chamber ready now?"
Kitty did not hear the response, as Elizabeth had grabbed her foot and pulled it free of the carriage step, and Kitty gasped as the pain shot up her whole frame.
"Good. I will take her there. Send someone for the surgeon."
"Yes, Sir."
"All right, Kitty," he said, and put his hand on her shoulder. "I am going to lift you up, and carry you to a place where you can lie down. I am going to do my best to be careful, but it might hurt a bit."
She bit her lip and nodded.
"Can you put your arms about my neck?"
Opening one eye, she did as she was asked. He put his arms around her gingerly and lifted her up. It did not hurt as much as she was afraid it would, but she could not allow herself to open her eyes again or think very hard about what was happening. It was everything she could do to keep from feeling too much of the pain. If she thought about it at all, she was sure she would faint.
The walk to her chamber seemed to take weeks, and the only thing that kept her confident that she was not losing her mind altogether was Lizzy's constant stream of apologies to her, and directions to the staff. But Mr. Darcy did eventually stop moving.
"All right, I am going to set you on the bed, now. I recommend holding your leg up so it does not hit the bed."
She did as he suggested and he lowered her down to the bed. Kitty slowly opened her eyes. Mr. Darcy turned to his wife and murmured something in her ear. She nodded, and he patted her shoulder and left. Lizzy sat down on the edge of the bed.
"The surgeon is on his way here, Kitty. Let me help you get your shoes off and get as comfortable as you can, so we can be ready for him when he arrives, all right?"
Kitty wanted to nod, but she couldn't quite move her head. The thought of trying to move the shoe was terrifying, even though she could feel her ankle swelling against it painfully. "Do we have to?" she managed to whisper.
"I am afraid so," Lizzy said with an apologetic smile. "You do not have to do anything if you do not want to, though. I will take care of it if you want to lie back for a moment, and then we can worry about your coat and your bonnet."
This plan did not much appeal to Kitty, and suddenly she began to wonder whether she would be happier if she took off the boot herself. But Lizzy was already unlacing it, and Kitty leaned back against the headboard and squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation of the pain that was coming.
Every touch Lizzy made to it was agony, and she twisted her hands up in the comforter on and focused everything she could on not crying out. If Lizzy would just leave it alone, she could survive the dull ache, but this—this had to be the sort of pain that killed people.
"Almost there," Lizzy said soothingly. "Your foot has swelled up so much that it will be difficult to get off, but I think we can do it without having to cut the shoe." Kitty could only nod.
When Lizzy started to pull on the shoe, Kitty couldn't stop herself from screaming. It felt like her whole leg was being pulled off, and as gentle as Lizzy was trying to be, it did not seem to be helping at all. "Stop, stop!" Kitty cried. "Let me do it!"
"Are you sure?" Lizzy looked at her doubtfully.
"Yes! It can't possibly be any worse than you doing it," Kitty snapped.
"All right." Lizzy stood up and took a step back to give Kitty room to work.
With an angry groan, Kitty forced herself to sit up the rest of the way and take stock of the situation. Her boot was partway off, but not far enough to be able to get it any further off without hurting herself. She wondered for a moment whether it would really be better to cut it off after all. But she really did like those boots. She took a deep breath. If she kept thinking about it, she would never be able to do it. She took a tight grasp, determined what was likely to be the most efficient way to remove it, and closed her eyes. Then she yanked.
For a second she felt nauseous and lightheaded and wondered whether she was going to faint—it was probably a good thing that she was already on a bed. But she managed to keep conscious. She flung the boot weakly to the floor and nearly collapsed back onto the bed.
Lizzy was back at her side at an instant. "Oh Kitty," she said, shaking her head. "Would you like me to do the rest?"
Kitty did not open her eyes; she only nodded. Lizzy set about taking off the rest of her outer things.
"All right. Would you like to get under the blankets until the surgeon gets here and can take a look at it?"
Kitty shook her head.
"We should probably put some pillows under your ankle; it will help keep the swelling in check. Let me get it for you."
Kitty did not respond to that, but she was steeling herself for the pain that was sure to come. Her ankle was reduced to a dull throbbing now, but she could sense that moving it would be agony.
"Are you ready?"
"No, but go ahead," Kitty said. She lifted her leg a little way to ease the transition and regretted it immediately, and even more so when Lizzy picked it up at the knee and guided it onto the stack of pillows she had made. Kitty winced and sucked her breath in through her teeth, but did not trust herself to say anything. Thankfully, it was over quickly.
Lizzy sat back down at the edge of the bed. "Now, we only need to wait for the surgeon. Would you like me to stay with you?"
"Yes, please."
The shadow of a smile flitted across Lizzy's face. "Very well. Shall I tell you about the others who are staying with us at Pemberley?"
"Others?" Kitty had rather forgotten about Miss Darcy's friend, or whoever it was that Lizzy's letter had mentioned.
"Yes, three. Mr. Darcy's cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam; the colonel's friend, Mr. Knott, and a friend of Georgiana's, Miss Pratt."
Two gentlemen! Kitty could hardly believe her ill luck. She would not be able to dance with any of them with her ankle like this. How unfair!
"What are the gentlemen like? Are the unmarried?"
Lizzy shook her head, but she was still smiling. "They are both very good gentlemen, as far as I know, but I should warn you that neither of them is here to search for a wife, and they are not very likely to be interested in you. I did not invite you here to introduce you to them. Besides, the Colonel has no fortune, and neither has Mr. Knott, to speak of; he is a clergyman and has come here in search of a situation. They will neither of them be able to afford to marry without some regard to money, and you have none to offer."
"And the lady?"
"I do not know her at all, but she and Miss Darcy were good friends when they were younger, and they have not seen each other in a very long time. She is only recently arrived home from school, I understand."
She did not know what she could say to that, so she only shrugged and looked around the room. It was a bright, cheerful apartment, much bigger than Kitty's room at home, and if she had come to it under less painful circumstances she would probably have been enchanted by it.
"Do you like the room?" Elizabeth asked, following her gaze.
"Yes, it is very pretty."
"I thought it was most suited to your tastes. Miss Darcy's chambers are not too far from here; I hope you and she will become friends. I think she is a delightful person."
Kitty was less certain that she would find Miss Darcy so appealing, but she agreed to appease her sister. She did not know whether or not she would be able to find a way to keep herself occupied without someone to distract her, anyway, since it was clear that she would not be walking for a while. It was a relief when the surgeon came.
He was a friendly man and quite gentle with Kitty, but that did not mean that his ministrations hurt less; and, he insisted on leeching her ankle, which was a practice she found disgusting no matter how necessary it was. But the leeches did manage to get the swelling down, and by the time he left she was feeling a bit more comfortable. She was grateful when Elizabeth left her alone to rest, and she had no trouble falling asleep.
She awoke to her throbbing ankle, and noted with distaste that the swelling had increased a little as she slept, and she had somehow managed to knock it off its pillow tower. It appeared to be later in the day, and as she pulled the bell-cord by her bed to call for someone to help her, she couldn't help wondering what she was going to do. Her plan had been to go into the nearby village of Lambton and see what there was to be seen, but if she couldn't walk, that was no good. She could hardly bear the though of spending a quiet evening in company with the Darcys and her father, and even if those other young men were there, she would not be able to impress them very easily when she couldn't even stand under her own power. And two young ladies who were already friends with each other weren't likely to want much to do with her.
Instead of a servant, the first person through the door was Elizabeth. "Did you sleep well, dear?" she asked.
"As well as I could, given the circumstances," Kitty said. "Where is everyone?"
"Papa has retreated to the library, and I believe Mr. Darcy is with him. I shouldn't be surprised if we do not see either of them until dinner this evening." She smiled and shook her head fondly. "Miss Darcy, Miss Pratt, and Mr. Knott were with me in the music room. Should you like to join us?"
"I suppose so." Kitty's heart sank a little. Miss Darcy and Miss Pratt were already showing off their superior skills to the gentlemen, no doubt, and they hadn't even had a chance to meet her. She was not so confident in her own charms as to believe that any of them would care for her over the celebrated Miss Darcy, or anyone she chose as a friend.
"I will have my girl help you dress; she is the most gentle thing, and she will be very careful of you. When you are done, she will have someone come to carry you down to us. Mr. Darcy believes he might have a cane somewhere for you, if you prefer, but I think this evening you will be happier if you do not attempt to walk on your ankle at all."
"Thank you, Lizzy." Elizabeth left Kitty in the hands of her maid, who was every bit as gentle as she'd promised. It wasn't long at all before Kitty was in a fresh dress and feeling much more refreshed than she had thought she would be. By the time the footman came to carry her down, she felt as though she might be equal to keep from entirely embarrassing herself in company.