Elizabeth and her family had been in London for a month and Mr. Darcy’s condition was not much improved. His fever was gone, but he slept often and was rarely awake.
Two footmen had taken over his care from the maids and Elizabeth had begun sitting with him every night. This evening, she hoped he might awaken and speak with her.
Mr. Harley had taken Richard to stay with the Gardiners where he might be happier with his cousins. Elizabeth was not pleased to make such a decision, but her strength was waning due to the care she took of Mr. Darcy. Mr. Harley would stay with Richard in Cheapside and bring him home in a few days.
Mr. Darcy awakened after Elizabeth had been in his room for a half hour and she smiled warmly at him. She stood and placed her book upon her chair so she might sit on his bedside.
Before she might speak to him of all he had missed over the month they had been in London, Mr. Darcy asked for water and soup.
This request delighted Elizabeth as he had shown very little interest in either since falling ill. She sent the footman to alert Cook and poured Mr. Darcy a glass of water.
“How is Richard? I hope that soon I might sit with him in the library and read. It seems as though I have been sick for so very long.” Mr. Darcy’s voice was firm but low.
Elizabeth forced a cheerful tone. “Richard has gone to visit with Aunt and Uncle Gardiner for a few days. I hope it may help him with his loneliness during your illness.”
Mr. Darcy struggled to sit upright and when Elizabeth tried to help him, he brushed her hands away. “If I am to leave this confounded bed at some point, it will be without the help of my poor, overworked wife. Are you well, Elizabeth? You look very tired.”
A lump formed in her throat and she looked down at her hands in her lap. “I am tired, but it is only because of the babe. They require a lot from a lady even before they are born. But it only means our child is healthy and thriving, or so I’ve heard.”
Mr. Darcy lifted a hand and traced her cheek. “I have missed you so, my dear. I fear I gave you such a fright. All will be again, I can feel it in my bones.”
She hoped he was right. Having to carry on at Darcy House without him had been difficult even with the help of the servants and Georgie.
Elizabeth had not asked a thing of her newest sister, for her own sisters had kept Miss Darcy busy coming and going from Fitzwilliam House. Georgie was staying there for the evening.
“We do not need to rush your recovery, William. I only hope you are well enough to travel when the time comes. I look forward to having our child at Pemberley and seeing Georgie wed there.”
Mr. Darcy nodded. “All the more reason for me to be on my feet soon. Perhaps after my soup you might walk with me in the hallway?”
Elizabeth would love nothing more, but she worried it would be too much exertion on his part. “My dear, I see you are feeling much better than in days past and the color has returned to your cheeks, but perhaps we can wait until tomorrow for a walk.”
Mr. Darcy took her hands in his own. “My dearest Elizabeth, I am certainly able to take a short walk down the hallway tonight. Besides, you will not allow me to exhaust myself.”
Elizabeth smiled at him and leaned close to kiss his cheek. Mr. Darcy moved his head and caught her lips with his. It was a chaste kiss but Elizabeth felt the hunger in that small connection.
Mr. Darcy pulled her closer but a footman came with the tray of soup. Elizabeth took it and fed her husband carefully. When he was done, he called for fresh bread and Elizabeth’s heart lifted. If his appetite was returning, it must be that he was much better.
With the bread the footman had rushed to retrieve finished, Elizabeth held out her hands to help her husband up from his bed. He had pushed away her assistance earlier but now he allowed it. His grip was firm and he did not falter in standing. He placed an arm about her shoulders and together they went out into the hallway.
“I had not allowed myself to think how terribly I have missed you, William. To see you like this is a dream come true. I worried so each day. I thought I might lose you as I lost Richard, too soon.”
Her voice faltered and Mr. Darcy stopped and held her close. “You will never lose me, Elizabeth. I will fight with every bit of strength I have to stay by your side.”
Mr. Darcy held his wife while she cried and kissed the top of her head. In time, they returned to his walk and Elizabeth spoke of happier subjects, for she was truly happy to see her husband on his feet again.
When at last they had walked the length of one hall at Darcy House, Elizabeth saw her husband put to bed again. The maids had changed his bed linens and aired the room while they were in the hallway and now it was dimly lit by a small fire.
Mr. Darcy sat upright with pillows all around and motioned for Elizabeth to come to him. She sat at the edge of the bed but he pulled her closer until she had climbed in bed with him.
“You would not mind if I held you for a while would you my love?” he asked.
Elizabeth laughed at his returning energy. “I would not, William. I have dreamed of us with the flames from the fireplace as our only light. I have missed you so, my love.”
Mr. Darcy’s eyes narrowed and he cupped her chin in his hand. He moved slowly as though asking permission to kiss his wife. Elizabeth closed the distance between them, her lips mere inches from his.
Mr. Darcy covered her with his body, his passion aroused by her sweet surrender. “Elizabeth, I must have you. I feel as though I might die if I do not.”
His words were the only direction Elizabeth required. The maids had cleared away his dinner tray and the footmen had gone downstairs for their own meal.
By the light of the fire, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy took their time loving one another again.
Elizabeth awoke in the night with a start. Something hot pressed against her and for a moment she did not realize the room. When Mr. Darcy mumbled her name, she rolled over and pushed against him.
His eyebrows were furrowed and his voice hoarse. He was drenched with sweat and she could feel the heat radiating from him.
Elizabeth jumped from the bed and found her dress upon the floor where it had landed earlier. She pulled it on without a care for how she looked.
Running to the door, she yelled for a footman. A maid who was sitting by the door asleep, jumped when Elizabeth flung open the bedroom door and ran into the hallway shouting.
A footman rushed to Elizabeth’s side and she instructed him that Mr. Darcy’s fever had returned and the doctor must come right away.
Never had the maid seen her mistress in such a state of distress and she worried for the babe that grew within her. It would not do to have the woman so distraught.
The footman turned and rushed downstairs on his mission while the maid attended Elizabeth.
“Mrs. Darcy,” she said as her mistress tried to enter Mr. Darcy’s room again, “if his fever has returned, you must not go to him again. Think of the child you carry, think of Master Richard. If you fall ill, he will be without the both of you for some time.”
The urgency of the maid’s words registered and Elizabeth forced herself not to cross the threshold of Mr. Darcy’s sickroom. But she would not go to her rooms. She remained on the chair in the hallway in deep regret over his relapse. His appetite might have returned, but he had not had the strength to spare for much else.
When the doctor came, he went in with Mr. Darcy without a word to Elizabeth. For what seemed an hour, she paced outside her husband’s sickroom praying and hoping the doctor might say it was only the storm before the calm.
The man finally came out once Elizabeth had sat again. She stood swiftly and her head swam. The doctor caught her as she staggered.
“Mrs. Darcy, you are to be put immediately to bed. This house is now under quarantine. No one shall enter and none shall leave. Your husband is gravely ill and I cannot say whether he might recover from this illness.”
The doctor’s orders shocked Elizabeth. Before she might consider the terrible news of her husband’s relapse, she thought of young Richard. “But my son, he is with my aunt and uncle in Cheapside. Surely he will be allowed to return home?”
The doctor shook his head. “No, Mrs. Darcy, he will not. He must stay where he is if your family is able to care for him. If not, I suggest you send for family that might keep him until your husband is well.”
Elizabeth’s maid took her arm gently. “Come, Mrs. Darcy. I will see that your small writing desk is brought to your room and that a letter explaining the situation is taken to the Gardiners as soon as you have written it.”
“I will come to your rooms to see that you are well, Mrs. Darcy. Since you were with your husband when his fever returned, we must keep a careful watch over you through the night.”
With that, the doctor turned away. He went back inside Mr. Darcy’s room and closed the door.
Elizabeth stared after him, her face still wet with tears. She went with her maid, but her mind was with her husband and she worried over Richard.