Page 6

H ala had been down in the kitchens with the rest of the servants, pacing nervously, worried for her mistress who had not come back home despite the sun having already set, when a note from Netherfield arrived through a young footman. The boy, for he was not yet old enough to be called a man, was soaked to the bone, and Hala startled when she saw him, for the constant noise and traffic in the kitchen had kept her from realising it had been raining.

Her anxiety for her missing mistress surged up another notch at the discovery,

“The note’s from Mr. Darcy.” The footman said, passing over the half-damp piece of parchment to one of the upstairs maids, “Miss Braxton fell into the lake earlier in the day and has gotten ill. She’s being taken care of at Netherfield at present.”

“Oh, but I must go to her!” Hala exclaimed without a thought, and indeed, had started making her way towards the backdoor before the cook stopped her,

“Not now, Hala. You go out in that rain, you will end up in a cot right next to your mistress, with your forehead burning and then who shall help nurse Miss Lizzy back to health? Nay, you shall stay right here tonight and then make your way to Netherfield first thing in the morning. Hannah, you go and give that note to Mr. Bennet. Make sure he reads it and doesn’t just set it aside with the dozen other letters on his desk.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Hala pouted. She knew the cook was right. Now that she was listening for it, she could hear the heavy shower from the open door and could feel the cold draft that was coming in. Another maid ushered Netherfield’s footman further into the kitchen and in front of the fire, draping warm towels around his shoulders and passing him a cup of leftover warm soup. Hala chewed on the nail of her thumb, common logic warring with her inherent instinct to go to Lizzy.Ever since she was ababe, she had been Hala’s responsibility— Hala’s charge.She would follow Elizabeth Braxton to the very ends of the earth. That she was here now— warm and safe at Longbourn— while her mistress suffered only three miles away was incomprehensible. That she still could not go to her despite the ridiculously manageable distance that separated them was akin to torture itself.

The cook seemed to understand her dilemma. Coming closer, she patted Hala’s shoulder in a rather familial fashion,

“Go to bed, Hala. I promise I shall wake you the moment the rain stops and dawn approaches. You may then make your way to Netherfield with all due haste.”

Jane Bennet was at supper with the rest of her family when the maid Hannah rushed into the dining room, a note in her hand and a slightly harried expression on her face,

“A missive has come from Netherfield, sir.” She said, offering the note to Mr. Bennet.

Mr. Bennet raised a sardonic brow, “In this rain?” He asked dubiously, butnonetheless,took it from her.

“Oh, Jane! It is for you! It must be!” Mrs. Bennet exclaimed happily, and Jane’s heart jumped at just the thought of it.Obviously,it would not beMr.Bingley penning a note to her. But perhaps it was Miss Bingley, writing on her brother’s behalf, wanting to know Jane better.

Just the thought made her flush.

“I am afraid not, my dear.” Mr. Bennet said, having given the note a cursory read. All traces of his usual cynical humour had left him, and he was making a stern face at the piece of notepaper he was holding in his hand, “The missive is fromMr.Darcy. It seems as though Elizabeth fell into the lake this afternoon and the gentleman rescued her from near drowning. She has taken quite ill and is currently residing in Netherfield.”Looking up at the rest of his family, helooked tohis two youngest daughtersin particularover his half-moon glasseswith a severe gaze, “He implies very heavily in the note that two of my daughters might very well know exactly how it all transpired.”

Both Lydia and Kitty squirmed in their places, but it was the latter who broke under her father’s unusually forbidding countenance,

“It was Lydia’s idea!” Kitty shouted abruptly, not paying any mind to her younger sister when she squawked in protest and tried to pinch her arm, “She thought it would be a good joke, making Lizzy play blind man’s bluff with us near the river and then leaving her when it was her turn to wear the blindfold.”

Jane’s shoulders slumped in disappointment, and then they further slumped in guilt for even feeling disappointed when her cousin was ill. Like the rest of the family, she had just assumed that Lizzy had joined Mary in having dinner withthe Lucases. It was, after all, not an uncommon occurrence considering how close all three girls were.Often,eitherCharlotte would dine with them afterhaving spentthe day together with Mary at Longbourn, and just as regularly, Mary (with Elizabeth, whenever she visited)tendedto dine with Charlotte and her family.

“Oh, but this is marvellous!”Mrs.Bennet exclaimed abruptlyamidthe tense atmosphere. Mr. Bennet turned his glare on her, but it had little effect. Already, Mrs. Bennet was far too engrossed in her scheming to pay any attention to her peeved husband, “Oh, that dear Lizzy! I knew she would be good for something!”

“Mrs. Bennet, what in the heavens are you blathering on about now?” Mr. Bennet asked, at the end of his patience. Despite having little to no interest in hisowndaughters, he carried a special affection in his heart for his niece. Not only was she a piece of his dearly departed brother, she was also, in both comportment and disposition, the most similar to himself.

“Oh, but do you not see, Mr. Bennet?! It is as if providence itself is shining on us! Elizabeth is ill at Netherfield and shan’t be moved lest her affliction get worse.Naturally our Jane, as her cousin and the closestto herin age, must go to Netherfield and take care of her sister!After all, you cannot expect servants and strangers to look after someone as well as a loving family member might.And if Mr. Bingleyjusthappens to see what a kind, generous and beautiful nursemaid my Jane is and falls in love with her, well then, it is all the better!”

Mr. Bennet looked at his wife as if she had lost her mind. How she had heard about her ill niece and from it, devised a scheme to marry off one of her daughters, he would never understand. Jane, however, did not find her mother’s thought process nearly as unreasonable. After all, what gentleman would not like a caring, tender-hearted wife? She would diligently nurse Lizzy during the day when the men were too busy with theirownoccupations,and then spend the evenings with the rest of the party, taking the opportunity to further her friendship with Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley and doing her best to appear to her advantage in front of Mr. Bingley.

Coyly, she said to her parents, “I shall visit Netherfield to ask after Lizzy first thing after breakfast tomorrow morning.”

If Mr. Bennet sighed at the underhandedness of his daughter and his wife, it went unheard over the latter’s triumphant crowing. Finding his appetite lost, he quietly left the table and moved back to his study to spend the rest of his night amongst his beloved books. Nobody missed him.

Darcy had been on his way for his morning ride, his valet following him a step behind as they discussed the day’s itinerary.There were letters he had received from his sister and his solicitor in London thatneededa responseand alsoa couple of missives from his men of business and his steward in Derbyshire which Alfred could handle very well by himself.After completing hisowntasks, he also needed to guide Bingley throughhis,and tutor him in the basics of drainage and irrigation. Southern England was a lot more forgiving compared to the North when it came to agriculture, and Netherfield especially, appeared well-maintained. It should not take too long for Darcy to prepare his friend for his first planting. The prospect of being able to leave for London early had been enticing before he met Miss Braxton. Darcy found himself much more reluctant to depart from Meryton now.

He and Alfred had just reached the stables at the back of the house as they discussed other important, masculine matters when they noticed an unfamiliar woman making her way towards them,

She was young, with a dusky complexion and exoticfeatures, and was dressed inthatstarcheddress uniformthat upstairs servants of some wealthy families often wore.She paused when she spotted them, then hurried over quickly and curtsied, aheavy-lookingbasket held in both of her hands,

“I have come for my mistress, sir.”

Darcy blinked, confused for just a moment before he realised,

“You are Miss Braxton’s abigail.”

“Yes sir.” The woman nodded, “I heard she had taken ill last night. I came as soon as I could.”

And Darcy could well believe that. Dawn was still breaking over the sky. Considering that the woman had already covered three miles on foot on what was sure to be a muddy terrain after last night’s rain, she must have started her journey while it was still dark. It spoke well of Miss Braxton, that her employee cared for her so, and Darcy nodded to his valet immediately,

“Alfred will show you to Miss Braxton’s room. The rest of the family is still asleep, of course, but I think the cook and the downstairs servants have awoken should you require anything.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Quickly, Hala followed the man named Alfred as he led her through the kitchen door to the servant’s corridors. He was a fair-coloured man in his mid-thirties or so with a posture as straight as a plank and a soft and low voice with just a hint of a dialect she could not quite place. Hala gave him only a perfunctory look, too worried about her mistress to think too muchabouthim until she had reached the guest chamber where her chargelay, sleeping in an uncomfortablystiff-lookingdress.

Hala turned toMr.Alfred to thank him for his assistance in a whisper, carefulto notdisturb her lady, but the man shook his head,

“Should you need any assistance, I shall be only three doors down, in my master’s dressing room.Miss Braxton was alsolooked afterperiodicallythrough the nightby one of the maids, but MissBingley felt Netherfieldto be toounderstaffed and none could be spared to spend theentirety of thenight with her.She will need all your attention, I reckon.”

Mala sniffed, straightening her shoulders, “Of course. Miss Braxton is my responsibility. There is nobody in this world who can care for her better than I.”

Alfred’s lips twitched up in a smile for a moment, but hedid not say another word, and after bowing his head,simplywalked away to his own master’s room, getting ready to start on hisownduties for the day.

Hala slowly stepped up to Lizzy’s bed, only to find the woman sleeping with uncomfortable expression on her face. Gently placing a hand on her forehead, Hala frowned when shefoundher mistress's temperature too high for her liking.Looking around, she spotted a basin filled with water next to the bedside tableand taking outoneof the strips of cloth she had brought with her from Longbourn, she placed the damp, cold compress over her brows.

Elizabeth groaned softly when the cold cloth touched her hot skin, then slowly opened her eyes as she awoke only to find Hala hovering over herworriedly.She blinkedagain,and then sighed as the events of last afternoon and evening came back to her.

Her chest feltlikeitwasbeing weighed down by a trunk full of old tomes.Even lifting a hand was an exertion, and as she opened her mouth to address her abigail, she found it difficult to talk, her throat hurting painfully every time she tried to swallow.

“You’ll be okay, Miss Lizzy.” Hala murmuredsoftly, pulling out a large glass bottle of pale-yellow coloured water and a mug, pouring it out and handing it over after helping Elizabeth sit up, “‘Tis only warm honeyed water. It will help with the throat.”

Elizabeth drank it gratefully, not realising how very parched she had been till the warm water went down her throat. Hala brushed her damp hair out of her face, patting her head like she did when Lizzy was a child, “My poor miss. They have neglected you dreadfully here. Not a single maid could be spared to look after you for one night? I can hardly believe it!”

Elizabeth’s lips twitched up in a small smile as she looked up at Hala. She said in a strained, hoarse voice, “I do not think Miss Bingley liked having to host another single woman under her roof when she has so desperately set her cap onMr.Darcy. Though, how she expects me to seduce him when I sound like a gargoyle and, I expect, look much worse, is beyond me.”

Hala scoffed, “Even with your nose red, your face pale, and your hair a rat’s nest, I have no doubt you are ten times prettier than that dreadful, selfish woman!”

“Hala! You have not even seen Miss Bingley! She is indeed a very fashionable, very stylish lady.” Elizabethprotested,though the immediate defence from her staunchest supporter made her smile a little wider,

“She could have Queen Charlotte’s wardrobe for all I care, and Aphrodite's beauty, but meanness like that cannot be hidden from a person’s countenance, no matter how much rouge they wear.” Taking the empty cup from hermistress’shands, Hala began to help Elizabeth out of bed, “Come, I have brought with me one of your night rails. It shall be lighter and more comfortable than this gown they have stuffed you in. And then, you shall go to sleep once again. I shall have Alfred talk to Mr. Darcy about calling the apothecary.”

“Alfred?” Elizabeth asked,

“Aye. He’s Mr. Darcy’s valet. A very kind man, from what I could tell.”

Lizzy raised a brow. Back in herownclothes and with Hala beside her, she could feel some of her spirit returningto her. Enough that she teased, “Do you like him, Hala?”

Hala scoffed, turning around to fold the discarded dress and place it on a spare divan next to the window, “I do not care for any person at the moment who is not you, Miss Lizzy. Indeed, I am determined to be very cross with all of the world until you are better.”

Abruptly, Hala came to a stop as she felt two slender arms come around her. The familiar scent of Elizabeth’s sweet, powdery fragrance oil enveloped her and Hala relaxed,

“I do not know what I would do without you,Hala.” Elizabeth mumbled against her shoulder.

Hala smiled, then turned to press an almost matronly kiss on her head, “You shall never have to find out, Miss Lizzy. I promise you that.”