Three days into their journey North to Scotland, Elizabeth stood upon a rock not more than a stone's throw from the inn Mr. Darcy had said they must use the evening before.
Mr. Bennet had been most ill during the day and an early stop was in order. They had traveled through the night on their second evening since an innkeeper had recognized the portrait of Lydia that Mr. Bennet carried with him.
As she looked out across the foggy fields beyond the inn, Mr. Darcy silently joined her. He waited a moment before he spoke, lost in the frosty silence of early morning. “Will he be able to travel today?”
Elizabeth hugged herself and turned toward the man she now considered a friend. “The innkeeper’s brother is an apothecary. He will see to my father as soon as he arrives. I hope that we may continue, but I would not risk his health for my sister’s virtue since that is likely long since lost.”
Mr. Darcy marveled at her honesty. He would have said the same but for the fact she was a gentlewoman and he would not be so blunt with her in this time of great shame for her family. “I do not know that we might assume such. Wickham is a rake that is no lie. But perhaps your sister might wish to wait for a wedding before she…”
His voice trailed off and Elizabeth could see it pained him to speak of such things. “I am under no illusion that my youngest sister holds any measure of sense or propriety. You have no need to spare me the truth, Mr. Darcy. I see that speaking of such things with a lady is not your wish and so we will settle it here. My sister is likely already compromised.”
He moved towards her and raised his hand. Elizabeth held her breath and looked at him.
After a moment, he seemed to recall where they were and his hand fell back to his side. Elizabeth held his gaze and swallowed hard. The air around them seemed changed.
There was more between them than before and she allowed a smile to answer the question in his eyes. She would have welcomed his touch upon her cheek.
Elizabeth turned toward the inn and squared her shoulders. “Have you broken your fast, Mr. Darcy?”
Her question seemed to awaken him from the dream of their shared moment and he smiled at her. “I have not. I would sit with you and break bread if you wish.”
The pair walked toward the inn together in companionable silence. A rider met them as they gained the front of the inn. It was the apothecary brother of the innkeeper come to see to Mr. Bennet.
Mr. Darcy led the man upstairs to Mr. Bennet’s room and waited in the hallway with Elizabeth while he made his examination. He stood close to her offering his quiet support.
Elizabeth found herself comforted by his presence and longed to touch his arm in a display of gratitude but she kept her hands tightly clasped before her. She closed her eyes and pleaded with the Lord to give them all strength for the task before them.
The apothecary came out into the hall and Elizabeth waited expectantly as he cleaned the lens of his glasses and placed them upon his pointed nose. His eyes were gray and intelligent and he looked at her directly as he spoke.
“Your father is well this morning. The rest has done him a good turn, but I would caution that he not travel more than a day at a time. There can be no more traveling overnight as he is unable to bear such exertion. I have left a tonic he must take each night before he sleeps. It is a remedy most any apothecary would have as you continue on your journey.”
Mr. Darcy held out a hand and thanked the man. “We are most grateful for your help, sir. Shall I speak with your brother about your fee?”
The man nodded. “It is no terrible inconvenience on my part but yes, you may settle with my brother.”
He turned to Elizabeth before making his way back downstairs. “See that he has a hearty breakfast and I will tell the stable boy to place warm bricks in your carriage before you depart. Do all that you might to keep him comfortable as you go along.”
Elizabeth nodded and smiled at him with gratitude. “I shall do all that you say, sir. Thank you for coming out to see to him.”
As Mr. Darcy followed the man back downstairs, Elizabeth pushed open the door to the room where her father had spent the night.
“Papa,” she said, her voice catching in her throat. She had worried all through the night for him but this morning, he seemed in good spirits.
“Lizzy, do not fret so over me. I am well, the apothecary said I may travel on to Scotland so long as we stop every evening.” Mr. Bennet smiled to show her he was his old self.
“Be that as it may, I think we must assume Lydia is lost to us. Would it not be wiser to return home and allow Colonel Forster to deal with Lieutenant Wickham when he and Lydia come home? Surely they will. Lydia will be eager to show him off to all of us, you know.”
Mr. Bennet retrieved his glasses from the bedside table and placed them upon his nose. “We must go on, my dear. No matter the outcome for Lydia, she will answer to me for her foolishness.”
Elizabeth’s mouth formed a surprised O and Mr. Bennet laughed. “Oh, I know what you are thinking, Lizzy. I have been too easy on your younger sisters but that has all changed. If I do not show Kitty that such behavior is intolerable, she will certainly be next. No, the dereliction of care for my daughters has ended today. Now leave me and I shall join you downstairs for breakfast in only a few moments. We must be on the road soon.”
Hurrying from the room as her father made to pull the coverlet back from his lap, Elizabeth slipped into the hallway in all astonishment. Whatever had happened before, her father seemed settled on seeing his other daughters learn a lesson from their youngest sister.
She made her way downstairs with a renewed purpose. Regardless of whether Lydia was married or simply compromised, she would return to Hertfordshire and bear the consequences of her actions. Elizabeth prayed she and Mary and Kitty would not be made to bear them as well. She was surprised to find she did not wish to lose Mr. Darcy’s good opinion.