AN: Sorry for the delay. I actually went through and edited the previous chapters. I also added a scene in ch 16 as I realized that I had written over 10 days with no Sunday. So that had to happen. It is not a big scene, and if you don't want to reread, you should not miss much. That said, here is the next chapter.
Update ch. 24
That evening, Elizabeth returned to the library to read to Anne and was successful for an hour before Anne insisted she needed to rest. Instead of returning to her room, Elizabeth curled up on the sofa to read on her own. Not realizing how tired she was, she fell asleep with the book in her lap.
Therefore, when Mr. Darcy moved to the library near midnight, he found Elizabeth asleep. His heart nearly leapt from his chest. He was about to turn away when he saw her shiver slightly. Worried she might catch a chill, he turned into the room to search for a blanket. There were always a few in the basket beside the fireplace. Except this time. He lifted the lid quietly to find the basket was empty. The maids must not have returned them when they cleaned. Perhaps they completely forgot to clean this room a few times. The library had rarely ever been used by anyone, so it was likely they missed it often. At least the fireplace was still clean and stocked. He turned around and found a blanket peeking out from under Elizabeth's dress. He could not use that one!
Looking around, he found another draped over the window seat. Picking it up, he wondered if Elizabeth had been sitting in the window when she left the blanket here. He smiled at the thought of finding blankets in random locations around Pemberley. As he laid the blanket over Elizabeth, she began to stir. Knowing he was too close, he froze, hoping she would fall back asleep quickly. It might frighten her to wake up with him so close.
Pulling the blanket closer under her chin, she smiled, saying, "Thank you, Jane. I did not realize how cold I was." Her eyes never opened, but her hand reached out and took his hand. "You are so warm Jane. Sit with me a while."
How could he refuse? She pulled his hand over her shoulder as he sat beside her. He knew it was wrong, but he could not disappoint her. She was so relaxed. He had come here to read quietly and think about how he might court Elizabeth, but here he was with his arm around her as she slept. She would not appreciate their situation if she woke up before he had removed himself. The thought sobered him, and he wiggled his hand free and moved away from her.
He took one last look at her before he left the room, completely forgetting the book he had come for. In his room, he still could not sleep, but he was happier with the thoughts she had given him. He did not dare return to the library.
Elizabeth woke with the sun streaming in through the windows. With a sore neck, it did not take long to realize she had fallen asleep reading. The blanket covering her was odd. Clearly someone had given it to her, but she could not decide who it might have been. Charlotte and Maria were unlikely to have come down in the evening. The servants would all be in bed. It must have been either Mr. Darcy or Colonel Fitzwilliam. She blushed at the thought, but quickly decided not to let it bother her. Nothing happened, surely.
Quickly returning to her room, she managed to change into her gown and get another hour of sleep before her maid brought up a tray of food. She managed three bites before Maria burst into her room to announce that she needed dancing practice again. "What else is there to do with all this rain? I should hate to miss steps during the ball. My future husband might be there!"
Nodding, Elizabeth agreed to play again. With their morning plans fixed, Elizabeth called her maid to assist her. They played through three sets before Elizabeth declared herself tired. The gentlemen did not join them, much to Maria's dismay. "How will I learn to dance with a gentleman? It is so different with my sister!"
Charlotte pretended to be affronted, but it was hopeless. Maria's thoughts were on the ball and nowhere else. Charlotte managed to tend to her sewing projects while Maria continued dancing to music only she could hear. Elizabeth sat beside Charlotte and nearly fell asleep again.
"What makes you so tired, Eliza?" she asked.
Elizabeth yawned. "I fell asleep reading again." Another yawn escaped her. "I am tired of the walls in my room. So, I came here." To prevent herself from falling asleep, she moved to the window, where she could see the gentlemen returning from a muddy ride. They looked completely disheveled and extremely pleased with themselves. No doubt their valets would be less pleased.
"Books always did have a way of relaxing you. Do you feel better? Have you come to any conclusions as to your marital felicity?"
Elizabeth hushed her, not wishing to speak so in front of Maria who was terrible at keeping secrets. She took the seat beside Charlotte, but she could not bring herself to speak. She liked Mr. Darcy, and if he asked her to marry him, she would say yes. But she dared not hope that he would. All indications pointed towards him liking her but not wishing to marry her. She would not allow herself to dream of what might not be.
They sat quietly until the gentlemen entered. Mr. Darcy blushed upon entry, remembering the last time he had seen Elizabeth. Furious at his wayward heart, he took a book and sat in a far corner of the room where he could watch everyone without being solicited to speak. The colonel, however, had no such issues. He claimed the seat beside Elizabeth and swept them all into a conversation as he described the reconstruction of the parsonage.
"It is wet work, but it is coming along nicely. The house should be fully framed in a se'ennight and the floors will follow soon after." He finished with a flourish of his hand towards Mrs. Collins. "You shall be picking wallpapers in no time!"
"Will the wood not be damaged with all this rain?" Elizabeth asked.
"The roofing material is covering the wood that has not been nailed into place, so there is unlikely to be too much damage." The colonel said proudly. "Englishmen know their work. If they could only work on sunny days, then we would all be sleeping on the street."
Elizabeth laughed as she realized the truth of the matter. Feeling suddenly restless, she moved to the window and looked toward the parsonage. It was too wet for her to go out. She did not realize that she was only standing a few feet from Mr. Darcy, who was attempting to read while her scent overwhelmed him.
Maria had taken a seat when the gentlemen entered, but she struggled to follow the conversation as she hoped she could convince them to dance again. Alas, they did not appear like-minded, and the tea was served before Maria gathered the courage to speak. After tea, the colonel insisted they all rest so that they could remain awake late into the night.
"After all, the ball will keep us up until dawn. We must remain awake at least until three to prepare. I shall not have any of us asleep on in the supper room looking foolish."
"You mean to manage us, Colonel Fitzwilliam." Elizabeth laughed.
The colonel responded in stride, "As though anyone could manage you. I pity your husband. He would have to leave off decision making to keep you appeased, likely for the first time in his life." He glanced at Mr. Darcy, who was scowling horribly. Thankfully, Elizabeth was not looking in the same direction.
"I do not know that I would like a husband who would simply agree with me every chance he could. My husband ought to have more backbone than that."
"True, true." The colonel would have replied, but Mr. Collins entered, aghast that everyone had disobeyed Lady Catherine's orders to remain isolated.
"Lady Catherine will be most displeased! I should -" But he was cut off by Mr. Darcy.
"Collins! Lady Catherine need not know every detail of the day to day arrangements of her guests. There has been no impropriety. Lady Catherine's word is not law." Mr. Collins gasped in horror, but Mr. Darcy was not done. "Should you report to her such trivial matters, I might make it my duty to make your life miserable. My godfather is the son of the archbishop, so my word will have quite a bit of sway."
Mr. Collins' eyes widened. "I should not dream of it, sir. I have no wish to displease such a noble person as yourself. Why, you are as good and condescending as Lady Catherine, and since you are here there can be no impropriety as you say. I simply wished to have tea with my wife, and I worried when she was not in her chamber. Lady Catherine says it is important that no illness present itself in the house, so we ought to remain in bed."
"To keep a healthy person in bed is to invite illness, Mr. Collins. You would do well to think on your own from time to time." The colonel sighed, exhausted from the conversation already.
Mr. Collins declared he would do nothing but follow the edicts of Lady Catherine, amended slightly by Mr. Darcy before he rushed back to his room.
Charlotte watched him leave and sat for only a few minutes before she decided she should attend her husband. Everyone watched her leave to her fate.
The room was quiet for about a minute before the colonel spoke up, "well, this is as good a time as any for me to rest before a late night. Maria, may I walk you up to your room?"
Maria, surprised to be singled out, agreed and left without even looking back at Elizabeth and Darcy, who were now alone in the room.
"Should you wish to rest, you need not remain here." Mr. Darcy declared as he picked up his abandoned book and took a seat by the fire.
Elizabeth pondered her options for only a moment before she took her book and moved to the window seat, curling her legs under her with a quick glance at Darcy to ensure his attention was elsewhere. Opening the book, she realized she was tired and probably should have retired. She could not fall asleep with Mr. Darcy in the room. How would that look?
With an escaped laugh, Mr. Darcy's thoughts were entirely removed from his book, not that he was reading with any enthusiasm. Elizabeth was still visible out of the corner of his eye, and he simply watched her read, laugh, and yawn.
After half an hour, he noticed she was fighting to stay awake, so he put his book down, and offered to escort her to her room. She attempted to claim that she was fine, but another escaped yawn made her nod and take his hand. They walked in silence up the stairs. "I shall see you at dinner, Mr. Darcy." Elizabeth said as she turned away from him.
"Indeed, you shall. Rest and recover. Perhaps the rain will let up enough for a walk in the afternoon." Mr. Darcy blushed at his inability to articulate more than the weather, but she did not notice. She simply agreed and walked away, pretending to be as unaffected as he appeared.
AN: Well, I am back! The semester ended. Covid left the family home (Everyone was only mildly ill or asymptomatic. I never got it!). My sister in law came and went. Now I have a little over a week of vacation left with not much to do and I plan to do as much writing as I can. On that note, my beta reader is not feeling well, so she might not edit as quickly as I write (assuming I keep writing a chapter a day as I hope to). Hopefully the next chapter comes soon. It is already written.
Happy New Year! I hope you are all healthy, safe, and well.