Chapter 10

Mr. Bennet waited until Hill hung the coats up before asking Elizabeth where her sisters were. Lizzy grinned and said she left Mary at the bookstore shopping for music, Lydia at the haberdashery, and Jane was waiting for the butcher to do a cut of meat that mama wanted. Then it occurred to her that she had abandoned her sisters and went off alone with Mr. Darcy- right after her father expressly forbade her doing just so.

Mr. Darcy did his best to defuse the impending eruption of Mr. Bennet. For a guy who despised most forms of deception he did an excellent job of explaining why Elizabeth was with him and not her sisters. "Sir, if I might be allowed to explain? Also, may I have a cup of tea. I am feeling decidedly unsteady. I assume it has to do with the wound on my brow."

Mr. Bennet looked at Darcy with the intention to examine him critically. "I did notice that both of you have puffy chapped lips, Lizzy has whisker burns on her cheeks and neck again and both of you have love bites. You must excuse me for not noticing your wound." He shook his head in frustration and glared at his errant daughter before motioning for her to go fetch the tea.

As he watched Darcy he saw that the younger man really was slightly unsteady. "Come, Son. Let's get you settled in a chair in my bookroom. You can rest by the fire and nap while I send a note to Dr. Jones. I am not sure you are faking the unsteady gait."

Darcy spent the rest of the day lounging in an overstuffed chair in the book room and dozing when the book he was attempting to read failed to hold his interest. Bennet sent a note to Dr. Jones explaining Darcy's new symptoms and was reassured later when Jones stopped by to check on him that head wounds often times left the patient sleepy and disoriented. The best cure was rest, but it was preferable for the patient to remain awake if at all possible.

Lizzy was sent off to the still room to help Jane once the other girls came home. Mrs. Bennet bestirred herself to call all five girls into the front parlor before the chores were divvied up, sat them down, and began to talk to them about what was happening. All five girls did their best not to die of embarrassment when Mrs. Hill waltzed into the room with the two very pretty new maids and bade them sit also. "Okay, I am not talking to you to embarrass you. What I want to do is educate you on what happens when you and a man become intimate. We are going to start by talking about why society judges a lady so critically."

Mary sat at the table and listened to the discussion around her. She was awed by the fact that Mrs. Hill was helping them to prepare for real life. Her mind flittered back to when Elizabeth had been deathly ill with flu and she could not resist reaching her hand out and capturing one of Lizzy's. She was sure that this whole production was to give Lizzy the information she needed for when she and Mr. Darcy became intimate. She had to ask, "Are there any methods available to prevent pregnancy? Even when people marry they might not want very many children." Then before Mrs. Hill could answer she asked another question. "Is it even safe for Lizzy to marry Mr. Darcy?"

Lizzy looked at Mary in confusion. "What do you mean, Mary?"

Mary gave her a tight smile before turning back to Mrs. Hill. What I mean is Lizzy is tiny compared to Mr. Darcy. What determines the size of the baby? What even happens when a woman goes into labor?"

Mrs. Hill smiled serenely at the girls as they began asking questions that pertained to real life.

Mrs. Hill was surprisingly well educated regarding sex and its repercussions. The girls learned that her father had been a Natural Science professor at Oxford. He had taught his girl children along with the sons sent to Oxford to be educated. Her lecture had Lydia and Kitty retiring to the nursery where they barricaded the door and demanded the services of their governess for at least the next two years because they were not going anywhere near men until they were full grown women. They might dance at the assemblies in Meryton, but they refused to come out until they reached the brilliant age of eighteen.

Mary glared at them and insisted that she was going to return to the school room also. There was no hurry for her to marry and move away when Mama might need help with the four young ones.

When the younger girls did not show up for dinner Mr. Bennet made a point of asking what happened to scare them so badly. He went away feeling rather green in the gills when Jane rolled out the dough Mrs. Hill had left on the table to simulate a vagina and a penis and proceeded to show him how an immature female body could be damaged by a male member too large to be inserted comfortably if she was not fully prepared to receive him. It also gave him food for thought regarding the production of five daughters where very little fun had featured in the process.

Darcy's condition deteriorated throughout the day and by dinnertime he was too ill to eat dinner. He was helped upstairs by Hill where he was ensconced in the good guestroom and made as comfortable as possible. A footman was sent to Dr. Jones for the second time to let him know the bad news. The intrepid footman also delivered a message to the Inn informing Darcy's entrouge that he would be at Longbourne for the night and his valet was needed.

Heath showed up prepared to tear into Darcy for wasting his time. Seeing him lying there sleeping deflated his anger. He ran his hand over Darcy's forehead and felt the heat. Next he checked his throat and felt unreasonably warm there also. He hesitated to pull the blanket down and check his stomach, so Mr. Hill alleviated his hesitation. "I already did the heat test on his stomach. He is running a fever."

Heath shook his head and focused on the bruise on Darcy's forehead. "He did not treat the wound seriously when it first happened. I do hope there is no infection due to him neglecting himself."

Hill handed him a cup with willow bark tea in it. "If he wakes up give him a few sips of this. It should help with the headache and any other soreness." Heath took the cup and set it down on the side table while Hill picked up a small cotton cloth and poured a bit of gin alcohol on it before pressing it to the wound. "I do hope that whatever cut his forehead open did not hit him hard enough to fracture his skull. I do not fancy his chances if his brain starts swelling."

Darcy's fever continued to climb throughout the night and into the early morning. Heath did his best to keep him calm, but he began to have feverish dreams and call for Elizabeth. Not knowing what else to do, Heath asked Mr. Hill to sit with Darcy while he went downstairs to speak to Mr. Bennet.

Heath's interview with Mr. Bennet set two things in motion. First, he asked that Mr. Bennet send a footman to the Meryton Inn with a note from him. He wished Colonel Fitzwilliam and Viscount Hindley to attend Darcy's sickbed. The second item of business was for Mr. Bennet to allow Elizabeth to also attend Darcy's sickbed. He felt that Darcy might calm down if he felt the presence of his beloved.