Chapter 11

To say that the party were concerned about Mr Darcy was to put it mildly. For his part, Mr Darcy alternated between babbling somewhat, his conversation repetitive and circular, and excusing himself and promptly passing out.

In the quiet intervals where Lizzy felt the muscles in his neck relax and his voice quiet, the party in the carriage had a very intense conversation about how to act when they returned Mr Darcy to Pemberley. It was quickly agreed to send a man to fetch the doctor, and to remove Mr Darcy to his chambers. It took longer to agree upon the best approach for the rest of their stay.

"Of course, once we have called for the doctor and can be sure that he will make a full recovery, we shall leave you and your brother in privacy," Mr Gardiner stated.

"Yes, uncle, I believe that is wise," Elizabeth added, "Georgie, we do not want to impose upon you both whilst he is unwell."

Georgiana made an uncharacteristic noise that could only be described as a harrumph.

"Do not be absurd," she objected. "You are no imposition."

"Be that as it may," said Mr Gardiner, with the authority of a practised business owner. "It is not proper for us to stay under these circumstances."

"I do not care a jot for proper if it means I will be all alone in worrying about him," she pressed, with a break in her voice which emphasised her youth. Mr Gardiner felt the tugging at his heartstrings. "Mrs Annesley is due to return when you were originally scheduled to leave, so you must stay at least until then."

Mr and Mrs Gardiner exchanged a look of assent, but it was Elizabeth who replied with true affection in her tone.

"Well, from unconventional beginnings pursue improper continuings. I guess we did not meet in particularly proper circumstances, and a lot has passed that was not entirely proper since." Then, thinking for a beat, she continued, "are you sure Mr Darcy would not be mortified for us to remain and see him in this condition? I would not want him to be made uncomfortable." The last was said with a blush as she admitted her discomfort at his discomfort.

"He will not mind, or he will learn to live with it. Having been pulled from you when I was still processing the events in Ramsgate, I know that I need your help in the coming days."

She said it with such surprising conviction that it brooked no opposition. Mr Darcy chose that moment for his limp frame to fall onto Elizabeth as the footmen navigated a particularly difficult turn in the road.

"Not again," she cried in an exaggerated manner. Internally, her reflection was of the opposite kind. She did manage to prop him back up against the door of the carriage, after a second or three of enjoying his weight pressed up against her.

~.~

When they alighted at the other end, it was a concerned Elizabeth who set the party into motion. She called to the stable boy who had come for the horses to head straight into Lambton for the doctor, and when Mrs Reynolds came to greet them, she asked her to have someone make up Mr Darcy's room to prepare for his direct conveyance there.

Mr Gardiner took charge of removing a wobbly Mr Darcy from the carriage. He was still stubbornly refusing to open his eyes, which made the whole manoeuvre more complicated than it needed to be. Lizzy was busy explaining what had happened to Mrs Reynolds and so was out of the way when Mr Darcy stumbled as his feet touched the ground. Mr Gardiner righted him, but not until after Mr Darcy had called for Elizabeth. She blushed and pretended not to hear. Georgiana, who had been crying onto Mrs Gardiner's sleeve, perked up slightly at this revelation.

Mr Gardiner helped his friend up the stairs and into the family wing, under Georgiana's guidance. Elizabeth could not think of an excuse that would justify her accompanying them, much as she desired to see him safely to the horizontal. And it was probably for the best, she thought, given the number of horizontal mishaps so far today. It really would not do for one of them to occur in his bedchambers.

She instead employed her time in removing to her temporary bedchamber, soon rejoined by Georgiana, to remove her soiled dress and change into something more comfortable. Georgiana, even in her heightened state of distress, had the presence of mind to ring for her ladies' maid to draw Elizabeth a bath. She announced herself with a soft knock to Elizabeth's borrowed chamber door.

"It is only me," she called tentatively.

"Come in, Georgie," came the reply. Georgiana could not immediately see her friend, but soon she appeared with all but her outer layers of clothing on.

Georgiana blushed, and replied, "oh, I am sorry. I can return later?"

"Nonsense, Georgie, I regularly appear in front of Jane in a much greater state of undress. Now, what can I do for you? It has been quite a stressful day."

"What can you do for me?! You, who are likely the only reason that I am not married to the worst kind of scoundrel. You, who are likely the only reason that my brother is alive today?" She was shocked at her friends' kindness, and level-headedness.

"Well, you have been through another traumatic experience today, and I am here on the pretence of helping you through it. So should you need anything at all, you need only ask," came the selfless reply, deeply rooted in affection.

"I did not come for help, although your offer is much appreciated and I am sure I will be trespassing on your kindness as he recovers, rather I came to thank you for your quick actions that saved my brother from a much worse fate, and to apologise on his behalf for ruining your dress and landing on you. He will be mortified to know what he has done."

"If it will make him uneasy, then I propose we do not tell him anything about it. I should think he will be uncomfortable enough with his headache and I should not wish to add embarrassment to the list of maladies he is recovering from."

It was at that moment that Georgiana started to nurture a real hope that Elizabeth had been serendipitously put in her life to one day become her sister. She was too good for both of them to remain a feature in the Darcys' lives only as her friend.

She told Elizabeth that she had asked for a bath to be drawn, and the two passed as pleasant a half hour as could be expected under the circumstances whilst they waited for it to be filled. Georgiana had asked to be kept up to date with her brother's condition as and when there were any changes, and just as Elizabeth's bath was declared to be ready, a servant came to tell her that the doctor had arrived.

Elizabeth didn't expect that she would relax much, knowing that the Doctor was with Mr Darcy and her uncle at that moment, but she tried to enjoy the sensation of the warm water seeping into her muscles, which were tightly bound from the adrenaline of the day. She massaged her shoulder, which had felt most of the strain from Mr Darcy's weight, and thanked her lucky stars that she had been close enough to catch him.

Behind a door in the adjacent hallway, the doctor declared Mr Darcy to have no lasting injuries beyond the bump on his head, much to the relief of all members of the Pemberley party. He left Mr Gardiner in charge of administering a draught of laudanum for the pain, if it proved too much for Mr Darcy at any point. He also recommended that his patient remained bed-bound for at least two days, and to not do anything overly strenuous for at least a week. They all recognised how much Mr Darcy owed to the quick witted actions of one Miss Elizabeth Bennet, no matter how loathe she was to receive any praise for such an awful event