Darcy hated sleeping in coaches, mostly because he was very bad at it. His cousin, with a decade in uniform, boasted he could sleep on a charging stallion if the mood struck him; and Darcy thought it was not much of an exaggeration. That said, he had managed to sleep an hour or so on the way to London, and despite the fraught conversations with Miss Bennet and his sister, and the absolute confusion of his thoughts and plans, he forced himself to doze for a while.

He left Rosings the previous evening around nine, just after full dark, to arrive at his London home not long after eleven, the Gardiners at two and back on the road before three. That allowed a brief stop in an inn five miles from Hunsford to refresh themselves, sleep two hours in actual beds, and put on clean clothes (though still no bath).

When he handed the ladies down outside the parsonage gates an hour after sunrise, it was to a relieved Mrs Collins and pensive Mr Collins.

Darcy was not certain if the couple had a new dynamic or Mr Collins was simply subdued by the shellacking his aunt no-doubt gave the poor man the previous day; but either way, Mrs Collins did the talking, and he vastly appreciated that she did not mess about.

"Jane, I am so happy to see you, so allow me to get straight to it. The colonel stopped by just after sunrise. He reports that Lizzy survived the night, and they are more optimistic than they were. Her leg is splinted, and she has two good medical men and a nurse caring for her. They have stitched up several gashes and splinted her leg. Her fever is worrying, but not panic-inducing thus far. They think the danger of infection or gangrene are the biggest concerns, but it will take a week before they know. There is no talk of amputation at this point, though they cannot yet rule it out, nor speculate on whether she might walk again."

Mrs Collins delivered the news with a flat and practical voice while Mr Collins looked slightly greenish but held his countenance. The young Miss Lucas was thankfully absent, and Darcy suspected she would likely remain so, if she even remained in Hunsford.

"Thank you, Charlotte," Jane replied with a slight smile, having prepared herself for just about anything, though vastly relieved there was progress.

Darcy stepped up, "May I introduce my sister, Miss Darcy, and her companion, Mrs Annesley."

The usual greetings were exchanged, and Jane said, "I do not wish to be impolite, but I must see Lizzy now!"

"I fear you may need to walk, Miss Bennet," Mr Collins said in a surprisingly matter of fact voice. "My gig can travel that road, but the colonel will not allow horses or carts until the magistrate and coroner inspect the scene."

"That is sensible, cousin, and we appreciate the offer" Jane said politely. "Mr Darcy has prepared us for the route, and we need to stretch our legs anyway."

Mrs Annesley asked politely if she might wait in the parsonage, and Mrs Collins replied they expected her to stay in Elizabeth's guest room for as long as she pleased.

Darcy wondered if Georgiana's newfound bravery and volubility in the coach would survive general company but was not overly concerned. Once it was shown she could overcome the Darcy curse once, he had no doubt she could do so again. Neither would ever match Bingley or Fitzwilliam in company, but there was no reason Georgiana could not at least match him in society. Of course, that thought immediately made him want to bite his tongue when remembering the Meryton assembly. Matching his manners in society was entirely too low of a bar.

Naturally, he almost laughed when it occurred to him that Georgiana was about to enter a camp full of men. That should be interesting.

He thought about just leaving her at the parsonage, but he wanted her close, and besides that, he strongly suspected she would ignore him and appear ten minutes later, or more likely beat him.

With all appropriate thanks and a thankfully brief farewell from the Collins family, they set off on foot.

The evening before, Mrs Collins had written a note to his London housekeeper about appropriate footwear for Miss Bennet and included one of Miss Elizabeth's shoes for size. His sister had assured him she was appropriately shod after their last stop, so they set off at a good clip for the camp.

Darcy wondered if Miss Bennet was, as Miss Bingley had so snidely remarked, an excellent walker. He knew Miss Elizabeth had walked three miles to Netherfield after breakfast intending to return before dinner and thought nothing of it. The day he stumbled on Wickham in Meryton, the elder sister was still recovering from her cold, but had no issue walking the mile from Longbourn to Meryton and back. He supposed time would tell.


Things were going quite well—right up to the moment Miss Bennet looked over the edge of the ravine, sucked in a huge and noisy breath, and looked like she might either scream or join her sister in tumbling down the hill. It was so unexpected Darcy was a few feet away, but fortunately Georgiana was close and took hold of the lady around the waist to steady her.

"Like your good aunt says, BREATHE, Jane… Breathe… Breathe… Breathe."

Nobody felt bad about the use of her given name since it would have happened within hours anyway, and the familiarity seemed to break through the lady's panic.

Darcy was right behind her by that time and saw her eyes were big as saucers.

She took about half a minute to calm down to where she was only shaking before Jane spoke in a shaken voice.

"I had no idea… I never imagined… I never…" before quite running out of things to say.

"Be easy, Miss Bennet. This is my fault. I apologize for not warning you of the slope and size of the hill. May I suggest you turn around."

Georgiana had already been guiding her in that direction anyway, so a moment later found her with the hill out of sight, and her breathing returning closer to normal.

"I apologize, Mr Darcy. I had no idea I would react so strongly. Lizzy would go up and down that ravine at a run, but I never imagined a mountain like that. Oakham Mount has the steepest hill I have ever seen."

"There is no shame," he said gently. "Do not be alarmed. We can get you down."

"How?" she asked desperately.

"I can offer two choices. Georgiana can guide you down this hill safely if you are brave enough, or there is a longer route that follows the stream. I do not know how clear it is, as I have not walked it for years, but it is three miles and inaccessible to any sort of cart. I have no idea if you could go on horseback, but we could have you there safely in a couple of hours."

"I cannot wait that long. I should run mad."

"Let us proceed then," Darcy said reasonably.

He looked to Georgiana. "You are prepared?"

"Always," she said with what would sound like bravado in another lady but was simply a statement of fact.

Darcy signalled the other men, and with a toss of his head, instructed them to make themselves scarce.

He told Georgiana, "I will precede you."

"Five yards, brother."

He was happy to see he need not explain what was required. His experience told him the best way to get over fear was to get on with it, and he thought an explanation was more likely to frighten Miss Bennet than enlighten her.

He stepped back since his job was to ensure the ladies were safe in case someone slipped or the path was not clear, took up the rope, gave it a good yank to ensure it was solid, and stepped over the edge backwards, holding the rope tight.

Georgiana continued whispering to Miss Bennet, and then somewhat to his amusement, she looked around to ensure all the men were absent save her brother, lifted both skirts to their knees, and tied them off with a belt. He presumed that was his housekeeper's doing, and he had to laugh at what he saw. Both ladies were wearing something like his trousers, though they were thick, white, and made of an unfamiliar material.

Georgiana had her good Derbyshire walking boots, which she took to London every year for reasons he could not fathom, and Miss Bennet was wearing what he was nearly certain were his mother's boots from the attics—either that or his London housekeeper bought something at eleven at night, which he might not put past her.

With Georgiana patiently explaining every step of the way, and without allowing Miss Bennet to turn around, she cautioned the lady to look only in front of her or at her feet.

Both ladies were wearing thick work gloves that he strongly suspected were his from a decade earlier, or possibly his father's from the attics. Georgiana kept one arm around Miss Bennet's waist as that lady slowly and carefully followed her step by step down the side of the ravine. His sister took small, careful steps, and told her companion to simply follow her feet without looking anywhere else.

Darcy kept a few yards below them so he could catch anyone who slipped and looked back down to see his cousin had cleared the other men to ensure the ladies' modesty.

It took an agonizingly long time to get down, but nobody pushed Miss Bennet to move faster. Though it was nerve-wracking, a quarter-hour saw them at the bottom, with the ladies' dresses back to their original location, and the colonel being introduced just as he might have in a ballroom.

Darcy watched both Fitzwilliam and Miss Bennet for reactions, but to nobody's surprise, neither gave anything away.

Once she was on solid ground, Fitzwilliam offered his arm, and led her down the path to meet her sister.

Both ladies were introduced to the two medical men, who were presently sharing a cup of coffee and pie. They indicated Mrs Buxton was with the patient.

After a brief report indicating things were about the same as Mrs Collins had reported, Miss Bennet gave them a look indicating their presence was not required.

Then with a rather incongruous curtsy given their location and company, she took Georgiana's hand, and raised smiles on both men's faces as she dragged her away.

"Come, Georgie! Time to meet Lizzy."