Mr. Darcy's Obsession (16 page)

She looked away. He could see that his answer had disappointed her. It disappointed him as well, but he recognized the necessity of it. Unless he was willing to follow Bingley's example and throw off all of society, he could not violate society's rules so far as to champion a servant girl over his cousin.

Chapter 12

Elizabeth was awakened by a pounding at the door of Mrs. Philips's house. She hurried to answer it, having a good idea what it might represent.

A disheveled Charlie stood on the other side. "Yer sister's taken to her bed."

Elizabeth pressed her hand against her chest. "Is she well?"

The boy shrugged. "Don't know. I just fetched the midwife. Mr. Browning said not to trouble you till morning."

No wonder the boy made such a valuable spy for Darcy. He knew when to disobey orders. She dressed quickly and hurried after him to Jane's bedside.

Jane's labour progressed slowly, as happened often with the first child, but she faced it with stoicism and her usual good humour. The day was broken only by the arrival of a letter from Mrs. Gardiner. Elizabeth opened it and began to read aloud, but paused when Jane whimpered softly. "Shall I wait?"

Jane clenched her jaw until the pain passed. "Please, keep reading."

Elizabeth smoothed the letter, squinting to make out the words in the dim light. "
I have good news regarding your sister. Lydia is to be married--
" Her voice rose in surprise on the last words.

"Married!" Jane exclaimed, propping herself up on her elbows. "How can that be?"

Elizabeth exchanged a look of wonder with her sister.

"To our great surprise, Lieutenant Ralston appeared on our doorstep yesterday with a bouquet of flowers in his hand and even more flowery words of apology to Lydia for his despicable behaviour, as he called it. He asked to speak to her privately, but under the circumstances, I could not agree to allow it, so in my presence he declared his violent love for her and his urgent wish that she accept his hand in marriage. He attributed his abandonment of her to the bad advice of friends. Lydia, of course, was all too ready to believe his sweet words and to ignore the past, though his easy manners troubled me somewhat. Still, he is prepared, if belatedly, to do the right thing, so I shall not complain. He has obtained a license and they will be married next week very quietly. Lydia would rather have a grand event, but given her condition, that is quite impossible. As for me, I am anxious for the event to occur as quickly as possible, before the young man changes his mind."

"Oh, Lizzy, is it not marvelous? I knew he could not be so bad as everyone said!"

"I am relieved by the news," Elizabeth said slowly, "but somewhat dubious as to his motives. Why would he change his mind now, after all this time? He has not made any secret of his disavowal of her."

"Perhaps that was only play-acting. He must love her very much, to choose to marry her with no dowry or connections."

"You are far kinder than I. It makes no sense. He has never shown any regret for his behaviour. Why would he decide to marry her now? What does he stand to gain?" The memory of Mr. Darcy's face as she spoke of Lydia's disgrace flashed before Elizabeth. She carefully folded the letter and tucked it into her pocket. "Somehow I suspect money changed hands," she said slowly. "It is the only argument Lieutenant Ralston would understand."

"Do you think so? Our poor uncle! I hope he has not strained his finances unduly."

Elizabeth was almost relieved to see Jane's hands clutching the blanket as a new pain occurred. She did not want to discuss her suspicions about the source of the money, but it touched her heart to know that she was dear enough to Mr. Darcy to undertake such a mortification and expense. It could not be but for her sake.

Elizabeth remained at Jane's bedside through the night. In the morning the midwife, who had been dozing in snatches, announced that she doubted the babe would arrive before that afternoon, and that she planned to sleep while she could.

Jane's face fell at her words. Elizabeth said, "May I give her some more laudanum? She needs to rest, too."

The midwife shook her head. "Only a sip or two. Laudanum is both a blessing and a curse in childbed; it lessens the pain, but without the suffering, the labour may drag on."

After the midwife's advice, Jane would take only the barest taste of laudanum, and it calmed the pains but little. Elizabeth did her best to tend to Jane's needs, watching her increasing exhaustion with concern, and tried to provide entertainment by reading aloud and relaying all the village gossip.

"Tell me about Mr. Darcy," Jane said, her words slowed. "You never told me what he spoke to you about."

Elizabeth's heart was in her throat. Had Jane discovered her secret? She sighed with relief. Of course Jane knew that she had seen Mr. Darcy in the shop and walked with him and was but enquiring after an old acquaintance. "He is well, I believe. He has been in London with his sister."

"Oh, yes, he has a sister, that is right. The one Miss Bingley wanted her brother to marry."

How little Jane knew of what had truly come to pass! "I met Miss Darcy in London, walking in Hyde Park. She is a sweet girl, much younger than he is. Not at all what I had expected from Mr. Wickham's description of her. He called her proud, but she is nothing of the sort."

Jane's arms tensed. Elizabeth slipped the twisted rag between her sister's teeth and watched her bite down on it, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. Poor Jane. How was she to keep her strength up if this continued much longer?

The least Elizabeth could do was to distract Jane a little. As Jane relaxed, Elizabeth wiped her forehead. "It was quite an encounter. Miss Darcy and her brother were passing by when Andrew fell into the Serpentine. Mr. Darcy was kind enough to fish him out, at the expense of his own clothes, I fear. They invited us to their townhouse so poor Andrew would not take a chill."

"You went to their house? What was it like?"

Seeing Jane's interest piqued, Elizabeth launched into a detailed description of the Darcy townhouse. She managed to make the tale last through two more contractions.

"It was kind of Mr. Darcy to take such pains. After all, it had been years since he had seen you, and even then, the acquaintance was slight."

"Did I not tell you I saw him again in Kent?" She imitated Mr. Collins's sycophantic tones. "He is the nephew of none other than Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who condescended to invite us to Rosings when he was visiting her." Her manner made Jane laugh weakly, so she continued, describing Colonel Fitzwilliam and the residents of Rosings in terms Mr. Collins might use.

Jane clutched Elizabeth's wrist hard enough to leave red marks, then, as she relaxed, said, "Why did you never tell me about him when you returned from Kent?"

"So much was happening with our father's illness, and then it slipped my mind." This was not the moment to admit that she had never mentioned it for fear of reminding Jane of Mr. Bingley's betrayal.

Jane leaned back against the bedstead, her eyes closed. "Mr. Bingley told me he saw you in London, as well."

"He did?" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Did he return to Netherfield, then? I never heard of it." Apparently Jane had been keeping her own counsel as well.

"No, he came here last summer, to see me. He wished to assure himself I was well."

Elizabeth swallowed an exclamation of surprise. She would never have expected such behaviour from Mr. Bingley. "And you spoke to him?"

"Yes. Do you know, he told me he had always loved me, and left only after being persuaded of my indifference towards him? Can you imagine? How could he have thought me indifferent?"

Elizabeth wondered more how Mr. Bingley had come to be having such a discussion with a married woman. "He should not have believed such a thing."

Jane's face tightened as a new pain began, one that seemed to last even longer that the others. At the end, she seemed to drift off into a half-sleep, hardly surprising, since she had not slept for two nights. Elizabeth kept silent to give her sister what rest she could, but it lasted only until the next pain began and Jane awoke with a scream of agony. As the pain passed, Elizabeth was surprised to see a slight smile on Jane's face.

"Do you know, Lizzy," Jane said, her eyes closed and her words slightly slurred, "I let him kiss me."

Elizabeth's astonishment knew no bounds, but she was not in a position to criticize, having allowed Mr. Darcy's kiss. "You did?"

"Yes, it was lovely." Jane's eyes opened, and she looked anxious. "I know you must disapprove, but I wanted, for one time in my life, to know what it meant to be kissed by the man I love. I have done my duty to my family. Was one kiss too much to ask?"

"No, indeed." Elizabeth stroked Jane's damp hand soothingly. "You need not fear; it will be our secret."

"You do not think me completely lacking in morals?"

"Of course not."

"I wanted you to know, before--" Jane's eyelids drifted down again.

Elizabeth's chest tightened, but she would not give way to tears that might worry Jane. "Nonsense. You are exhausted, Jane, nothing more. Once the babe is born, this will all be a fading memory, and we will laugh at it."

Jane turned her face away. "It does not matter. There is nothing for me here."

Elizabeth sought desperately for anything that might catch Jane's interest in living. "I have a confession of my own. Once I let Mr. Darcy kiss me."

Jane's eyes flew open. "Mr. Darcy? You didn't!"

She had to keep Jane alert. "I did. In London. For a time, he came to see me almost every day, when I walked in Moorsfield." Seeing Jane's interest, she continued to recount the tale of their walks, making it as amusing as possible, praying that there was no one outside the room who might overhear. "So after that day, I thought I would never see him again, and that I had spoilt all my chances, but then he found me in Hyde Park."

"And came to see you here. He must love you very much." Jane sounded wistful.

"Yes, well, that was before Lydia's disgrace," Elizabeth said briskly.

"It is a pity you told him of it, now that Lydia is to marry."

"I suspect it is the other way around. I told Mr. Darcy of her situation, and then Lieutenant Ralston proposed to her. I would be surprised if Mr. Darcy had no hand in it." She wondered how he had discovered the lieutenant's identity.

"He is a good man." Jane's breath caught as she struggled once more. When she could speak again, she said, "Wake Mrs. Stevenson. I need to push."

Elizabeth had rarely been so glad to hear anything in her life. She ran out of the room to fetch the midwife.

Mrs. Stevenson seemed pleased with Jane's progress, even as her agony increased with pushing. "'Tis normal, Miss Lizzy. It will take time, as she is so weakened already."

It seemed to go on forever, though afterwards, Elizabeth realized it could not have been more than an hour. During that timeless period, she could think of nothing but whispering encouragement to Jane, urging her not to give up. Once, between pains, Jane said, "Fear not, Lizzy. I plan to live to see you wed."

If it gave Jane reason to live, it was well worth having betrayed her secret love for Mr. Darcy. "I shall count on it." She wiped Jane's brow with a damp cloth.

"It is crowning!" Mrs. Stevenson exclaimed. "It will not be long now."

Indeed, Elizabeth could glimpse the top of a head covered with matted baby hair. The rest of the head took many pushes to emerge, but then the baby slipped out quickly into Mrs. Stevenson's waiting hands and duly began to howl. As the midwife tied off the cord, she said, "Miss Lizzy, run and tell Mr. Browning he has a lusty son."

A ghost of a smile curved Jane's exhausted lips.

***

Simms rapped lightly on the door of Darcy's study before opening it. "Mr. Bingley to see you, sir."

Darcy barely took a moment to replace his pen in its holder before striding across the room to greet his friend. "Bingley, what a happy surprise! I did not know you were back among us." He shook his hand firmly.

Bingley grinned broadly. "Not for long. I am only in town for business, some problems with our suppliers. But I decided that giving up old habits was no reason I must give up my old friends as well."

"Indeed not! I am glad to see you." Darcy crossed to the sideboard and filled two glasses with the brandy Bingley had always favoured. "Here, make yourself comfortable. You do still indulge, do you not?"

Bingley accepted the glass and held it in both hands. "I am not such a Puritan as that, old man. In Scarborough, one needs spirits to stay warm at night."

So Bingley still had not found a woman. Darcy had hoped that the distance and time would have allowed him to forget Jane Bennet. "How long will you be in London? Have you opened your townhouse again?"

"It is not worth the trouble. I plan to stay at the Clarendon." Bingley swirled the brandy and sniffed appreciatively.

"A hotel? Nonsense. You must stay here and tell me of all your adventures," Darcy said briskly. Bingley's presence would serve as a distraction from his worry over what might be happening in Meryton.

"Well, if you insist and it will be no imposition, I will accept your invitation." Bingley raised his glass to Darcy. "To old friends."

"To old friends," Darcy echoed. It was good to have Bingley back again.