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The second night in a row Elizabeth did not close her eyes for a minute. Around midnight Jane´s fever spiked and Elizabeth began to lose her hope. At almost four o´clock in the morning the fever finally broke. Never in her life had Lizzy experienced such relief and cried for 20 minutes while thanking God for sparing Jane.
Last evening Mrs. Bennet left her rooms for the first time in 24 hours. She stood sobbing in the door of Jane´s room and varied between pitying looks for Jane and hard hateful looks for Lizzy. After 5 minutes of this performance she yelled for Hill, for her salts, her hard lot and that she did not deserve the hedgerows. Elizabeth could not comprehend what happened to her mother. She remembered when she was a little girl Mama hugged her and her sisters, she did not yell, she said nice things and visited them often in the nursery. About two years after Lydia´s birth something changed. At first Mama was sad and cried a lot, then she became louder and scared them by saying they would need to leave Longbourn and would not have enough food. This was also the time she started to say how beautiful Jane was and that Janie needed to marry quick to save Mama.
That summer uncle Gardiner came to Longbourn for a sennight to introduce his new wife. The day before returning back to town, aunt Gardiner sought them out in the nursery and asked if they would like to visit with them in London. Jane and Lizzy accompanied aunt and uncle Gardiner the next day in their carriage and stayed for two months in their house in town. Such visits were repeated once or twice every year since. When Mary was about 8 years old, Jane asked the Gardiners to offer her place for the next visit to Mary. It turned out Mary could not ride more than 30 minutes in a carriage without being sick. The journey to London and then two months later back to Longbourn had been torture for Mary, Lizzy and the Gardiners. Afterwards Mary refused every invitation and stayed home.
By the time Kitty was old enough, Lydia has already been spoiled by her mother and did not want to be left without her submissive sister alone in the nursery. It went without saying that Kitty was not allowed to go. Or as Mama said, it was just postponed until Lydia was old enough. Lydia realized early on, that aunt and uncle Gardiner were different from her parents, and that they would not be as compliant as her mother or indifferent as her father, and she would not be permitted to do what she wanted. Neither she nor Kitty went ever with the Gardiners.
While Hill helped Mrs. Bennet back to her chambers, an unexpected visitor appeared in the sickroom. Kitty, uncharacteristic shy and uncertain, asked about Jane. Before Elizabeth had the chance to answer, Lydia, loud and boisterous, burst in and attacked Kitty.
"What are you doing in here? Never mind. Come, I need you to do something for me."
"But Lyddie, I wanted to visit with Janie and perhaps help Lizzy caring for her."
"Do I need to tell Mama, that you are defying her orders to see to my needs?", Lydia asked with an evil glimmer in her eyes.
"No, you don´t", was the meek answer from Kitty.
With that Lydia turned around and left the room. Kitty looked at Elizabeth, whispered "I´m sorry" and followed Lydia.
Elizabeth was appalled. This brief interaction disclosed the real interrelation of her two youngest sisters. How did this happen? She knew that Mama spoiled Lydia, but such coldness, egoism and lack of compassion! What else had she not noticed? She understood, that Jane needed her now more, but as soon as Jane was out of danger, she would talk to Kitty.
Kitty and Lydia, Lydia and Kitty, they were to her, like Papa always says, just two young silly girls, always together, always giggling, sometimes a little to loud, sometimes a little embarrassing. Why did the older obey the younger? What did Lydia mean by Mama´s orders? Was she really such a bad sister not to see Kitty´s struggles or Lydia´s control over Kitty? She would ponder over it, but Jane was more important now.
The remainder of the evening was quiet. Mary bid her goodnight and told her she would pray for Jane´s soul. Mrs. Hill reported that Mr. Jones informed her father of Jane´s condition. Her father was the only one of her family she had not seen this day. She was the whole time with Jane, she ate her meals here and talked to the servants here. Only once she left the room, to walk for a few minutes in the garden and to sleep a few hours in her own bed, and this not until Mrs. Hill assured her she would wake her immediately if something changed. Her father on the other hand stayed in his beloved book room and could not be bothered.
This upsetting and dire situation seemed to have one benefit. It opened her eyes to the dynamics of her family. She, who prised herself intelligent, witty and a good judge of character was blind in regard to the people close to her. And again she promised herself to seek the truth as soon as Jane would be better. She didn´t want to think about the other outcome.
The next morning, after Jane´s fever broke, Lizzy went downstairs feeling as light as a feather.
Mr. Darcy felt like Atlas holding up the heavens as he walked down the stairs at Netherfield the next morning.