29. Recovery

AN: I apologize: I promised to have this done by New Years, but my creative edge was just not there. Everything that I wrote was just... well, it wasn't what the story needed. This is essentially a bridge-chapter, filling in and setting the stage for the wedding, etc., but I hope you enjoy it anyway. The wedding is next, but the story isn't over.

I should note that this story is entirely fictional and that there is no any relation whatsoever to the Carlisle family or that distinguished line. In searching for other information, I recently came across the actual history of that noble line and regretted choosing the name in consequence. Perhaps, sometime in the future as I clean up this story, I will choose a new fictional name.

Chapter Twenty-Nine – Recovery

Elizabeth woke in a huge, plush bed, surrounded by warm bodies. She looked into the dark, allowing her eyes to focus, and recognized the two blond heads of Jane and Kitty, and then Georgiana's dark, wavy head of hair. Her newest sister... for that is what she was, even now, before any marriage, was curled into an almost fetal position against her side while the other two had bracketed them protectively.

She remembered the end of that terrible night now, with her beloved and his cousin riding out of the darkness. She remembered suddenly finding herself in Fitzwilliam's arms. Up until that moment she hadn't reacted to the night with tears or panic, but as she held him her body began to shake and the tears finally came.

She didn't remember much of the rest of the night. Somehow a magistrate was called and help was found to remove the grisly remains of their struggle. Neither she nor Georgiana had any desire to ride in that carriage, with its floor covered in blood. Another carriage was procured. The magistrate made an appointment to speak with all involved parties on the following afternoon, and they were carried away from the nightmare scene.

What she did remember was that she rode in the cab of the carriage in Fitzwilliam Darcy's arms... or in one arm, since the other was around Georgiana. Despite the supposed inappropriateness of their positions, nobody objected or cared. The Colonel sat opposite, a sleeping eight-year-old boy laying with his head on the man's leg.

Elizabeth rose now, carefully extracting herself from the protective arms of her sisters. It was still quite dark outside as she took care of necessities, but instead of returning to bed, she donned her nightgown, lit a candle, and stepped out into the hall. Her intention was to walk down the the Archer's considerable library, but her progress halted as she saw the figure stretched out uncomfortably in the chair outside of her door. It warmed her heart to realize that this great man had stationed himself outside of her door like a guard dog, ignoring discomfort to protect her and his sister.

Smiling softly, Elizabeth knelt, set the candle down, and lovingly touched the Duke of Carlisle's cheek. He remained asleep as she gazed at him and whispered, "You are the handsomest and best of men, Fitzwilliam Darcy... and I am the most blessed of women."

She jerked her hand back in shock when he opened his eyes and smiled. He captured her hand and replied, "And I am the most blessed of men, Elizabeth Bennet." His loving expression turned impish, "Now, what are you doing accosting poor, unsuspecting gentlemen in the wee morning hours, young woman? I consider myself quite compromised." His smile turned comically lecherous then, "You do realized that Carlisle is not that far from the Scottish border... and Gretna Green. If you can't behave yourself, then I can always whisk you off to my new estate... with a slight detour."

Elizabeth pulled away as she stood theatrically straight, affecting shocked outrage, "How could you suggest such a thing. My betrothed is the most upright and respectable of men. He will be waiting for me at the altar in four day's time, Sir." She grinned, "Though the thought is tempting... especially since my mother will arrive today."

Darcy stood then and looked down into Elizabeth's eyes, "Are you truly well, my love?"

"I am well, Fitzwilliam," She had the disturbing thought that she shouldn't be well, but shook it off, "I was on my way to the library in hopes of finding something to read."

Darcy reached into his pocket and extracted a book of Shakespeare's sonnets. "Perhaps this will suffice?" She took it, read the cover, and rewarded him with a smile and a nod. He got lost in her eyes for a moment, but pulled himself back before doing what he truly wanted to do. Clearing his throat, he said, "Then I am for bed. Good night, my love."

oOo

Much later in the morning, but before the Bennets were to arrive, Kitty found Elizabeth strolling alone in the Archer's rose garden. The constable and magistrate had been and gone. Darcy and his party had returned to Darcy House. Much of their day-to-day clothing and supplies had been transferred to Dover House and thus lost in the fire, so Darcy's staff would be very busy restoring the family's life, as well as their own. The Duke had promised, however, to return for the evening meal with the entire Bennet clan.

Kitty took Elizabeth's arm, even though she was now five inches taller than her older sister. "How are you truly, Lizzy?"

Elizabeth used her free arm to reach over and squeeze her sister's hand, "I am well. Perhaps I shouldn't be, but I am well... though I wonder... shouldn't I feel guilty? I took a woman's life... but I feel nothing."

"I thought you might be feeling that way," Kitty said softly. When Elizabeth looked over at her curiously, she added, "You and Jane have always thought that I must not have realized what happened to Mr. Meriwether, but you were wrong. I know that I killed that man, Lizzy... I just don't feel guilty about it. He was trying to hurt Jane. He was going to kill you. I am proud of what I did."

The two sisters walked on in silence, pulling closer to each other. Finally, Kitty spoke again, "I think... no, I am confident that Lady Adele would not object if I told you a secret, Elizabeth." Elizabeth noted the sudden seriousness in her sister's voice and the fact that she was no longer "Lizzy." She looked up at her sister and prompted, "Secret, Catherine?"

"Yes... the truth about George Fitzhugh."

Elizabeth furrowed her brow and it took her a moment, but then she queried, "Lady Adele's husband?"

"I believe that everyone thinks that he was killed in a duel, Elizabeth?" Her older sister nodded, "That isn't the truth. Lady Adele told me the truth when I visited one time... you probably didn't know that I snuck over for a visit sometimes as well... usually when Mama was at her worst. Lady Adele was always to genteel and kind, and I never had to hear how you, Mary, and I were nothing to Jane and Lydia."

Elizabeth squeezed her sister's hand again, but didn't interrupt. Catherine continued, "I asked her about her nephew; whether I had killed him or not. She was honest with me... I suspect that she knew what I needed. She told me that it was probably my rock that was the greatest factor in his death, though he lingered for days after the farmer found him. I told her that I didn't feel guilty, as much to convince myself as her, I think. Then she told me a story."

They reached a bench in the garden. By mutual, silent consent, they both sat. "George Fitzhugh, she told me, was a brutal, mean, greedy man who liked hurting others. On the night he died, he came home after drinking and gambling. Not yet tired, he stomped directly up to the top floor, the servant's floor. Lady Adele told me that there was a very pretty young girl who had just begun working there and he had his eyes on her. That night he decided that he would have her."

Catherine paused and Elizabeth touched her leg, "You don't have to tell me this. I'm surprised that she would tell a girl so young such a story."

"But, you're wrong. She should tell me the story, Elizabeth. Our families keep girls ignorant of the ways of bad men, and because we are ignorant, we become their easy victims. It isn't protecting us when they keep us blind, Elizabeth. It is the opposite. Our society makes it easy for such men to move about freely, and usually without consequences for themselves.

"Now, on to my story. The girl had a locked door, so Fitzhugh was making quite a racket trying to get in with his drunken state. The other servants came out, but they were unsure of what to do. Our own laws often leave the servant class defenseless. Lady Adele, hearing the racket and ascertaining her husband's intent, took up one of his dueling pistols and loaded it. She explained that her father had taught her how as a child just for the humor of it. She took that pistol up the stairs just as George Fitzhugh kicked down the poor girl's door. Then she called his name so that he spun around to face her. She told him to go downstairs and go to sleep, but he only became angry and advanced on her... and she shot him in the chest."

Elizabeth sat back, shocked at the whole story. After a long pause, her sister continued, "Her servants bundled up his body and carried it out in the middle of the night to Hamstead Heath, where they placed him with the dueling pistol in his hand. The next morning, when the body was discovered, everyone assumed that he had been killed in a late night duel."

The sisters looked at each other and, surprisingly, smiled. "She was a remarkable woman," Elizabeth said with awe. "I doubt she would have killed him to protect herself, but when a servant girl was threatened..."

"Precisely. Her point to me was that I did what I did to protect two beloved sisters. Just as you did what you did to protect Georgie. There will always be bad people out there, evil people who believe they can do whatever they wish. They won't hesitate to harm us and those we love. Now there are now four less... well, four after the one with the broken jaw goes to trial. I'm not suggesting that you celebrate, but I also would not lose sleep over what you did. I think that Georgie is worth fifty of any one of that bad lot."

They sat in silence, enjoying the cool December air. Finally, Elizabeth added, "I often wished that Lady Adele had been my mother."

As if on queue, the Bennet carriage rolled onto the drive of Archer House.

oOo

Darcy sat back in the chair in his office and took a sip of scotch as he regarded his best friend. Bingley gulped his own, looking bedraggled and careworn. Finally Darcy said, "You are not responsible for Caroline's actions, Charles."

When the younger man snapped his head up, ready to protest, Darcy hurried on, "There was a time when you allowed her too much freedom, but not recently. When she went too far, you put a stop to it and you sent her north to your aunt. You could not have known that she would be so lost to sense and reason as this. Besides, as I understand the circumstances, she did what she did under extreme duress.

"That does not mean that I forgive her for pointing those criminals to Dover House... or for rejoicing when she thought my Elizabeth was dead. Yet I do not believe that she would have attempted bodily harm to either Elizabeth or Georgiana. It was the assault that unhinged her. Few women... few men even, could endure such a situation without some negative results."

"And yet Miss Georgiana and Countess Longbourn emerged triumphant from their ordeal," Bingley stated morosely, hating the comparison of their actions to those of his sister. He harrumphed and stood, "Well, at this very moment she is on a ship bound for Ireland. There is a private hospital there where she can be safely housed and where, Hurst assures me, she will be well treated... under lock and key. But what am I supposed to tell your lady... or Miss Catherine?"

Darcy also stood. It was time to prepare for dinner at Archer House, "The truth, Charles. They have their own embarrassing family members... we all do. Miss Catherine is a remarkable young lady. She will understand and she will not judge you any less for it. But if you don't tell her, if you conceal it, she will eventually find out, and that would be hurtful. The Bennet sisters are amazing women, my friend. Trust them."

Georgiana was waiting for her brother at the top of the stairs, looking a little forelorn. Darcy saw her neck and felt a moment of pure rage, but he tamped it down. After all, the culprit had already been effectively dealt with. "I'm sorry that you won't be able to be there tonight, Georgiana. I know that you wanted to be."

She smiled wanly, "It is fine, Brother. My maid Jocelyn assures me that she will be able to cover any scratches on my face in time for the wedding. And Kitty has already begun work with Madame de Bousette on a dress with a lace choker to conceal the bruising on my neck. I just... I just wanted to help with all of the wedding preparations."

"I know, my dear. If it is possible, then between them the Bennet sisters will find a way. As for tonight," he grimaced, "With Mrs. Bennet and Miss Lydia there..."

Georgiana giggled, "Perhaps I am not too sad to miss that scene, Brother. Though Richard tells me that he has a plan too keep Miss Lydia in check."

"We shall see." Darcy kissed his dear sister's cheek and moved on to his chambers.

oOo

"Lizzy, you must talk with your father!" Mrs. Bennet's strident voice demanded. "My Lydia needs the most modern and stylish dresses if she is to present herself properly! He won't intervene with Kitty, though I keep telling him that she can do much better than the son of a tradesman now that you are to be a Duchess and Jane is a Countess... though mind you, I find that quite inappropriate, you pushing yourself past your older sister in such a fashion. Jane should be a Duchess, as beautiful as she is."

"Mama," Elizabeth attempted, "Jane is perfectly happy where she is. She didn't marry Stephen to become a Countess and I am not marrying Fitzwilliam to become a Duchess." Fanny Bennet had breezed in and immediately begun making demands. Even news of the fire that had endangered part of her family had little impact on her. She had come to London with an agenda and would not be gainsaid. Naturally, Elizabeth had no intention of telling her mother the entire story. The truth would only ever be known by a few.

Her mother only harrumphed, not believing a word of it, "Regardless. Kitty insists on following her own path, but I will not be satisfied until Lydia is introduced to a prince!"

Lydia, acting unexpectedly docile, intervened, "I have no interest in becoming a princess, Mama. That is against the law anyway. I would very much like to be Mrs. Major Trevor Curtis."

"Well, I do like to see a man in uniform," Fanny Bennet muttered, then raised her voice again, "Perhaps your Duke could make Major Travis a duke, or at least an earl!"

Jane, who had just re-entered the room after seeing to certain household duties, gently led her disgruntled mother away, "It doesn't work that way, mother. Perhaps, if the Major does marry Lydia, and then distinguishes himself on the battlefield, he may be knighted, but any more is unlikely..."

While Jane led her mother away and tried to instill some reason, Elizabeth turned to her youngest sister. "You look well, Lydia. Have you seen Major Curtis again since the ball?"

"Not yet. But it has only been a few days. He did mention at the ball that he was invited to your wedding breakfast."

Elizabeth nodded, "Yes, I believe that Fitzwilliam did invite him. He seems to be a fine man... but do you truly understand all that is involved in being an officer's wife?"

Lydia hung her head, remembering Colonel Fitzwilliam's set down. But she was more like her older sister than any realized, and she was certainly not made for melancholy, "I think that I do... and I know that I am not ready, but I don't think that Mama can prepare me."

Her older sister eyed her solemnly, "Even admitting that demonstrates that you are on the path to becoming a woman. If you are willing, Lady Matlock has offered to assist. As you know, I will be off on my wedding trip for the next month at least. Jane is still learning her own expanded duties and finally able to spend time with Stephen. In truth, all of us are on the same path... we all have much to learn. Lady Matlock is a wonderful woman and she will help you... but she will brook no foolishness. If you cooperate, she will prepare you. If you insist on your own way, then she will have you on the next carriage home to Longbourn. What say you?"

Lydia, once again surprising her older sister, was not offended, "If she will help me, then I will cooperate, Lizzy. I do not wish to be the silly, embarrassing little sister any longer. And I really like Major Curtis."

Elizabeth hugged the tall, beautiful, and hopefully maturing girl, "Then so be it, my dear sister."

oOo

Dinner proceeded as predicted, though Lydia's behavior was a pleasant surprise to the Archers, the older Bennet sisters, and Darcy. Mrs. Bennet was silly, irritating, and nonsensical, but never silent. Mr. Bennet, rather than controlling his wife's behavior, sat back and watched with amusement. The dowager countess chose to hold herself back. Her dear friend, Lady Matlock, and Jane had committed to helping to constrain the woman at any public gatherings, but for tonight the dowager let the woman be.

Charles found a moment to pull Catherine aside and request to speak with her and Elizabeth privately in the morning concerning his sister. Mrs. Bennet witnessed the tete-a-tet and scowled at the pair, but did not intervene.

All in all, it was an uncomfortable dinner, but it was eventually over. In the morning there would only be three more days to the wedding.

oOo

Although it was not entirely... or even remotely appropriate, Elizabeth didn't care as she let herself into Bosun Toliver's room, though she did leave the door open. He was not in servant quarters. Rather, Jane had put him in one of the best guest rooms on the main floor while he recovered. She and the entire family were grateful for all he had endured to protect their sister... at least that part of the family who knew the truth.

"Ya ought not t'be here, my Lady," Toliver groused morosely. He was feeling quite put out that, twice now, someone else had needed to rescue his dear charge. He coughed painfully, the smoke damage still effecting him greatly.

"You are correct, as always, my dear friend. It is entirely inappropriate." She grinned as she took a seat beside his bed. "How are you, Bosun."

The huge man actually had tears in his eyes, "I failed ya agin', Miss Elizabeth. I..." he had to stop, wracked by coughs.

"Nonsense!" She scolded, "If it hadn't been for you, then I would have had to contend with three men and that mad woman. Because of you there were only two... and that evil brute was so beat up that little Jeremy took care of him."

The pain-wracked man couldn't help but smile at that. With a roughened voice he said, "That Jem', e's a rum one."

Elizabeth touched the man's huge hand, "No more talk. You focus on getting better so that you can return to your duty. I miss my guard dog. Fitzwilliam and I talked. We have decided to go to Margate. You, Catherine, and Georgiana are going as well. The sea air will do all of us some good and help us to recover." She stood and squeezed that huge hand again, "So you focus on geting better. There will be no shirking on my ship, Bosun."

"Aye, Aye, Ma'am."

AN: Could someone tell me when the ladies of that time made their curtsy to the Queen? I can't seem to find it.

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