Page 17 of Saved By Mr. Darcy
“Oh.”
“If you’ll excuse me, my dears, I believe I will take some rest.”
Lizzy watched as her aunt left the room, seeing her as if for the first time. She walked slowly, her back hunched and a sharp intake of breath with each step. How had she been so consumed with her own condition that she had been entirely neglectful to her relatives?
“She is not well,” Lizzy said softly when her aunt had left. “I did not see it until now. How has she seemed to you?”
“Quiet,” Georgiana said. “But I do not know her character. She does not eat at dinner. If she joins us at all, she eats only bread and a little broth. Your uncle is worried for her. His eyes are on her constantly.”
“I hope that Jane is on her way,” Lizzy sighed. “Then my aunt might return to London. I know that I long for home, she mustdo too. As soon as Jane is here, she may depart and return to my cousins.”
“Jane?” Georgina said. “My brother said your mother had refused to send Jane.”
“What?” Lizzy asked, her brows knitting together. “There has been no response to any letter.”
“Oh. Forgive me, perhaps I was not meant to…Oh! Oh, I shall fetch Fitzwilliam, he shall explain everything I am sure.”
“That really isn’t…”
Before her protest could be fully spoken, Miss Georgiana ran from the room at such a pace that she must have overtaken Aunt Gardiner on her way. Mr Darcy was not needed, for when her aunt caught wind of the confusion she would surely explain that Miss Darcy was mistaken. The letter had simply not arrived yet. Jane would come. She had to come.
She closed her eyes, squeezing away the fear that her sister was not coming. She needed Jane, needed her desperately. The thought of her sister was the only thing that had kept her sane these past few days, for her presence would be as comforting as any tonic. She felt alone, achingly so, without her.
She heard the sound of footsteps, and then Mr Darcy’s voice interrupted her melancholy thoughts.
“She is resting, Georgiana. I would not…”
“No, Mr Darcy. I am awake. Please, Miss Georgiana said that my sister is not coming. Tell me that is not true.”
He shook his head.
“Your mother wrote while you were still…whilst you were sleeping. She does not wish to send any member of your family lest they befall a similar accident.”
She inhaled sharply.
“Oh. Oh, I see. My aunt…she must have been mistaken. She said that no letter from my mother had come.”
“She thought it best to keep it from you.”
“I see. I…I should write. I should let them know…” she paused, her throat tightening and eyes burning with threatened tears. “Forgive me, Miss Georgiana. I fear I shall not be good company.”
“Go to your lessons, sister.”
Georgiana nodded, giving Lizzy a final look and scampering from the room.
“Please forgive her for telling you,” Mr Darcy said when they were alone. He did not move from his place in the doorway. “She meant no harm.”
Lizzy shook her head, dabbing at her eyes with the sleeve of her nightgown.
“I know she did not. She is a sweet girl who would not hurt a fly. I do not cry because she told me, I cry because I see how little my mother cares for me that she would deny me my greatest friend in this world when I need her the most.”
“What can I do?” he asked. “I would send a carriage for her, if I thought…”
“It should not surprise me that my mother has forbidden my sister to come to me,” Elizabeth said, her throat tight. “It is littlesecret that I am no favourite of hers. Jane, Jane is the precious one in our family. Heaven forbid that the same terrible fate might become her.”
She laughed bitterly, a tear escaping. She brushed it away angrily, only to find it quickly replaced with another. She tried to speak, only to find a sob bubbling up.
“Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy murmured, hurrying about his person for a handkerchief.
