Chapter 17

Mr. Darcy offered his arm to Elizabeth and helped her walk, but she felt weak and all she could say was that she was cold. Then, Mr. Darcy decided to take her in his arms so they could get home as soon as possible.

When they finally entered the mansion, Georgiana was concerned, waiting for them. Mrs. Reynolds had ordered that they have a hot bath ready for Elizabeth.

After taking the bath, Elizabeth felt better but tired. "Dear Georgiana, do not worry anymore. I am well now," Elizabeth said. She saw her sister-in-law worried and wanted to reassure her.

"No, you are not well, and that is why my brother went looking for the doctor," Georgiana replied, unable to stop herself from crying. Seeing Elizabeth so weak caused her a lot of distress. She was always so happy and full of energy.

"Georgiana...go to your room to rest, I..." Elizabeth could not continue talking because she felt exhausted and fell asleep.

The doctor arrived an hour later and Elizabeth awoke as he examined her. For his part, Mr. Darcy was waiting anxiously outside the room to learn about his wife's condition. At that moment he had no time to think, much less reflect on everything that had happened.

"Doctor, how is my wife?" Mr. Darcy asked as soon as the doctor left Elizabeth's room.

"She is fine, although she must be exhausted. She may not feel very well in the next few days, but she is young and strong, and after a few days of rest, she will recover. Of course, she needs to stay in bed and warm. Also, she should stay inside and avoid the cold weather for a few days."

"Thank you, doctor, for coming so soon and for the information. We shall make sure she stays in bed for the next few days," said Mr. Darcy. Then, he asked the butler to accompany the doctor to his carriage.

Georgiana was in Elizabeth's room when Mr. Darcy entered. She seemed to sleep peacefully, so he preferred not to say anything and observe Elizabeth to ensure she was well.

"William, let me take care of Lizzy; I want to stay here tonight to make sure she does not need anything," Georgiana said.

"No, Georgiana, you are still weak and must not risk your health. It is my responsibility to care for my wife," Mr. Darcy said emphatically.

Georgiana realized that her brother would not change his mind. She knew he was Elizabeth's husband, and his duty was to tend to her. "I understand, but please do not hesitate to let me know if Lizzy needs me."

"Do not worry, Georgie. The doctor said that if Elizabeth rested and stayed warm, she would be well in a few more days."

"I am glad Lizzy will be well in a few days. She has been so good to me that..." Georgiana felt sad and hugged her brother.

"I know, Georgie...We both love and owe Elizabeth much," Mr. Darcy said, kissing his sister's forehead.

Georgiana went to her room, and Mr. Darcy sat in a chair near his wife's bed. He stayed there for several hours watching Elizabeth and thinking about everything that had happened a few hours ago.

P&P

Mr. Bingley had spent part of the afternoon with Jane and was surprised when she told him that Caroline and Louisa had come to visit her. Although his angel seemed content, he was unsure of his sisters' intentions. For this reason, he preferred not to have dinner with the Gardiners and go to the Hursts' to converse with his sisters.

"Louisa, I want to remind you that tomorrow we must have dinner with my parents," Mr. Hurst said without raising his head from his plate.

"Impossible, Henry, tomorrow we have a social gathering at the Hamiltons', who are very friends of Lord Spencer. Also, Lady Spencer is going to play the piano and…"

"Pardon me, Caroline, but I was talking to my wife, not you. You can do as you please, but Louisa must accompany me to my parents' house," Mr. Hurst replied firmly.

"Henry, please, do not talk to Caroline like that. Besides, we can have dinner with your parents any other day," Louisa said nervously.

"I told you a week ago that my parents were expecting us to have dinner with them tomorrow. I specifically asked you not to make other plans and I hope you keep your word," Mr. Hurst replied exasperatedly.

"Henry, please do not magnify the situation. I do not think it is so terrible that Louisa will not go with you to dine with your parents," Caroline retorted. She did not like her brother-in-law interfering in her plans.

"Caroline, I want to remind you that this beautiful mansion we live in, located in this exclusive neighborhood, belongs to my parents. They gave me this house so I could live with my wife, but whenever they see me, I am alone. So they have started to doubt that I need this big house if I practically live alone," Mr. Hurst said. He knew that after hearing that, Caroline would stop interfering.

"Well, dear, tomorrow I shall accompany you; I also want to see your parents," Louisa added nervously. She understood that her husband would not give in this time and it was better to keep everything in peace.

Caroline resigned herself that she had to go to the Hamiltons' alone but told Louisa everything she planned to do, especially how she would make sure to spend as much time as she could with Miss Spencer. She did not realize that Mr. Hurst was listening to everything because he was looking for an opportunity to get rid of his sister-in-law and try to have a normal life with his wife.

Unfortunately, Mr. Hurst could not hear their plans because Mr. Bingley entered the room at that time.

"Louisa, Caroline, I want to know why you called on Miss Bennet. I warn you that I shall not tolerate you disrespecting her or trying to keep her away from me," Mr. Bingley said. Then, he greeted his brother-in-law and waited for his sisters' response.

"Did Jane tell you that we had been rude to her?" Louisa asked, pretending that she was offended.

"No but…"

"Charles, we do not want to deny that Jane Bennet is not the woman we would have wanted as your wife, but you know very well that we always appreciate her. Well, now that we knew she was in town, we could not be so rude and not to call on her."

"We have always thought that Jane Bennet is a very sweet and kind girl despite her unfortunate circumstances," Louisa added.

"Well, if you went to pay her a courtesy call, I suppose there is nothing wrong with that," said Mr. Bingley. Although he wanted to believe his sisters, he preferred not to believe what they told him.

Mr. Hurst invited his brother-in-law to dinner, and they did not speak of the Bennet family again for the rest of the evening. Louisa and Caroline preferred keeping the peace so their brother would not suspect their true intentions.

P&P

Mr. Bennet was upset with his brother-in-law. He had written several letters asking for help, but he refused to aid him. He had even noticed a hostile tone in Mr. Gardiner's words, so he wanted to write a new letter to clarify that if he were unwilling to help him, he would interrupt the connection between both families until he came to his senses.

Mrs. Bennet had not been paying much attention to what was happening around her for days. Every day she became more concerned about Elizabeth's well-being. When her daughter left home, she thought she would seek refuge in London at her brother's house and that after a few weeks, she would return home and everything would be as before. But none of that had happened and the days continued to pass without anyone knowing where and how she was.

"Mr. Bennet," said Mrs. Bennet, abruptly entering her husband's study. "I want to know if you have any news about Lizzy. We have all given part of our monthly payment to contribute to the search, and you continue doing nothing."

"Precisely, Mrs. Bennet, I was trying to write to Edward so that he could take action on the matter once and for all. But if he ignores me again, I shall have no choice but to travel to London to resolve this personally."

"Then I think it is best that I travel with you. Oh my Lydia will be so happy when she knows that…" Mrs. Bennet tried to say.

"Do not make plans, Mrs. Bennet. I need peace and, above all, tranquility to resolve this matter," said Mr. Bennet forcefully.

While Mr. and Mrs. Bennet argued, their daughters were in town. With both parents preoccupied with their own problems and without the control of Jane and Elizabeth, Lydia and Kitty spent much of their time in Meryton surrounded by officers and exposed to more than one danger. Unfortunately, they were too innocent to notice that not all soldiers were honorable and well-intentioned gentlemen.

"Denny, you will not introduce us to your new friend?" Lydia said flirtatiously, looking at the young lieutenant.

"Of course. My dear ladies Lydia and Katherine, this is my new friend, Lieutenant Robert Carter."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, ladies," Robert said.

"How long have you been in Meryton, Lieutenant? I do not remember seeing you before," Kitty said. The young officer was even more handsome than Wickham and had a very kind smile.

"My brother and I arrived two nights ago. We were transferred from our post in the north to participate in the training of the new troops," Robert explained.

"And your brother is as young and handsome as you?" Lydia asked, laughing.

"He is two years older than me, and I do not know if he is more handsome; I think he is kind of ugly. But I can guarantee that he is much more dull. That is why he does not have friends," Robert replied, winking at Kitty and Lydia.

Although Robert did not enjoy the company of rather tedious and flirtatious girls, he and his brother had decided to set up a plan to help them access as much information as possible. Robert would pretend to be less rigorous and rather superficial in order to gain access to the group closest to Wickham. Hence, John would be the serious, respectful, and hardworking officer he had always been to have direct contact with Colonel Forster, the magistrate, and other important gentlemen in the area. That way, everyone would assume that the brothers were not that close and they could have different people.

John noticed that his brother was talking with Denny and some ladies on the front street and preferred to stay away. In fact, he would take the opportunity to buy a book at the town bookstore so he would have something to read at night.

Mary had bought some new sheet music so she could learn new pieces. At the end of the week, Sir William Lucas was hosting a social gathering, and she wanted to be prepared to show everyone how talented she was. But when she left the store to look for her sisters, she was distraught when she saw them behaving inappropriately again. She had never paid much attention to what Lydia and Kitty did because Elizabeth and Jane were in charge of them. But now that they were not in Hertfordshire, she needed to figure out what to do. Her younger sisters did not respect her, and Mary understood talking to her parents was a waste of time.

Mary stayed for several seconds, wondering if she should talk to her sisters, and did not realize that she dropped some of the sheet music she had bought.

"Miss, are these sheet music yours?" John asked after picking them up from the floor.

Mary turned and saw an officer she did not remember seeing before. In recent weeks, her house was almost always full of officers, and she had a good memory for faces. "Yes, thank you, sir."

"Do you play the piano, miss?" John asked to be friendly.

"Yes," Mary replied, looking at where her sisters were.

"My mother liked playing the piano and did it quite well. She even taught my father to play some pieces because she also liked to dance, and if she had to play throughout the evening, she could not dance," John said, trying to talk to the young lady. She looked quite shy and he wanted to be pleasant.

"I do not like to dance and I do not mind playing all night because... I am sorry, sir, but I have to go," Mary said.

"I am Captain John Carter; it was a pleasure talking to you, miss," John said.

"Goodbye, sir," Mary responded and went in search of her sisters.

John could not help but smile. Apparently, the young lady was not only shy but also quite serious. He stared at Mary because he was curious about where she was going. She approached the girls chatting with his brother and Denny, and after trying to whisper something in one of the girls' ears, she walked away from them while the other two girls laughed and yelled some pretty unkind things at her. John saw that the young lady walked away as fast as she could and headed towards the bridge leading to the town's north side.

'It seems like there are a lot of pretty strange people in this town,' John thought and entered the bookstore.

P&P

Two days after that terrible fight with Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth felt a little better. She had spent much of the time sleeping and resting and only awoke to eat. Every time Elizabeth opened her eyes, Georgiana or her husband was next to her. Her sister-in-law spoke affectionately, but her husband remained silent and only limited himself to asking her if she felt well or needed anything.

That morning, Elizabeth had a little more spirit and could thank Georgiana for caring for her. "Thank you, my dear, for your diligent care and concern."

"You do not know how scared I was, my dear Lizzy. You are not only my sister, you are also the best friend I have ever had," Georgiana said, and she hugged Elizabeth.

"Dear Georgiana, I love you very much, too," Elizabeth replied excitedly.

"My brother is so worried, Lizzy. I think I saw him crying, and I do not remember ever seeing him cry. I do not think he even cried when our father died." Georgiana did not know that Mr. Darcy had cried when George Darcy died, but he had always made sure no one saw him.

"Well, I am well now, dear. Mr. Darcy does not have to be concerned about me anymore." Elizabeth did not wish to speak about him.

"Lizzy, my brother is the best man in the world, but sometimes he can be severe or seem difficult. Many people have always tried to take advantage of him, which is why he is so harsh in front of others, but when he is with you, he is always happy and smiles. You know, I knew he was falling in love with you when he wrote about you. He always told me the things you said to Miss Bingley."

"I understand," Elizabeth replied. She was so confused, her head hurt, and she thought Georgiana did not know the true Mr. Darcy.

"Someday I would like to meet a good man who would love me as much as William loves you. Although I think no man will be able to love me if he discovers what George did to me."

"George? Is that the man who abused you?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, George Wickham was my father's godson. He deceived me, telling me my brother had denied him the inheritance our father left him in his will. But that was all a lie, my brother…" Georgiana could not stop talking and told Elizabeth her whole story with George Wickham. Georgiana sensed that things were not well between her brother and his wife. She wanted Elizabeth to understand how exemplary William was and how fortunate she was to have him as a husband.

Elizabeth could not believe what she heard. She had taken the word of that miserable scoundrel who had done so much harm to an innocent girl like Georgiana. She felt silly and guilty at the same time, but her headache was so bad that she did not notice it when she fell asleep.

Two hours later, it was already dark and Elizabeth was very cold despite having a high fever. Finding out that she had trusted the word of that evil man made her feel terrible. She felt so much anguish that it seemed that her cold was getting worse.

"William, please, let me come with you," Georgiana said.

"Please do not insist, Georgie. You are still healing and the night is freezing. I shall take care of my wife; please go to sleep. Elizabeth is a strong woman; she will be much better tomorrow."

"Alright, but promise me you will let me know if…"

"Do not worry, everything will be well."

Georgiana kissed Elizabeth's cheek and bade her goodnight. But she could barely respond because she was so confused and she awoke for a few minutes only to fall back asleep.

Mr. Darcy stayed at his wife's bedside and was responsible for applying cold water compresses to keep her fever under control. "My dear Elizabeth, I know that you will recover, that tomorrow you will be well, and you will smile again."

"William, I like that name… William," Elizabeth said. The fever made her unable to control what she said or thought.

Mr. Darcy had had two terrible days worrying about Elizabeth's health and her feelings. He knew that she would recover in a few more days but that her agony would not end with the fever. Knowing that she was living next to an insensitive husband who cared about nothing but himself would indeed cause her a lot of emotional distress. He did not want to hurt her anymore, and he was willing to sacrifice whatever was necessary so that she could live in peace.

"Elizabeth, I want you to know that I am leaving Pemberley, that this is your home now. I promise you that you will never feel alone and helpless again… This is your home and it always will be," said Mr. Darcy, kissing his wife's forehead. "I love you, Elizabeth Darcy."

Two days later, Elizabeth felt like she was waking from a long sleep. When she tried to sit, she realized that it was daylight. She looked around her and saw no one, but since she was very thirsty, she tried to get up. However, she had to take a deep breath because her head hurt a little. Then, she realized it was better to call a maid to help her. When she went to grab the bell on the nightstand, she saw a letter addressed to her. Even though she was a little weak, she did not want to wait to open it to read it.

Dear Mrs. Darcy,

I have decided to write you this letter to inform you that...

P&P

Thanks to everyone who follows the story with enthusiasm and leaves supportive comments.

I will update periodically; if you like the story, check the site every other day. Once I finish writing it, I will leave it for a couple of days; after that, it will no longer be available to read. If you do not check regularly, you might not have the opportunity to read the story's final.

In the next chapter, Elizabeth will make an important decision, while Jane will meet her brother-in-law.

See you soon!

Saludos,

Yo