Page 3 of Obligation and Redemption

"I would not be so fastidious as you are," cried Mr. Bingley, "for a kingdom! Upon my honour, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this evening; and there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty."

"You are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room," said Mr. Darcy, looking at Elizabeth’s elder sister, Jane.

"Oh! She is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld! But there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty, and I dare say very agreeable. Do let me ask my partner to introduce you."

"Which do you mean?" and turning round he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said, "She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.

You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me. "

Mr. Bingley followed his advice. Mr. Darcy walked off, and Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings towards him.

She told the story, however, with great spirit among her friends; for she had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous, and she had at that moment begun to think him so.

Mr. Darcy, unaware of her censure, continued in like manner throughout his brief stay at Netherfield while in the company of the locals.

Elizabeth had not desired conversation with the man, and he could not distinguish her from amongst the other ladies present.

The irony of her current situation amused Elizabeth.

Here was the gentleman who would not dare to tolerate her company, and she was the one who at this moment determined his fate.

Had he known the turn of events, surely he would have been more obliging, and maybe even acknowledged her upon first being offered introduction, but such was the turn of events.

Elizabeth was not one for gloom and attempted to find the drollery in the situations presented to her; however, this diversion into levity was short-lived when she contemplated the reality of their plight.

She had knowingly, but without consideration of the consequences at the time, involved herself in a situation that could have long-term repercussions on her reputation and as a result her future and that of her family.

Elizabeth had always been independent in her ways and thoughts.

Her father educated her more like a man than a lady.

She had never felt the need for protection and certainly did not see herself so vulnerable or inattentive as to place herself at risk for a compromise.

However, here she was in a cabin with a man, not of her family, for an unknown duration.

Elizabeth surveyed this haven that could serve the purpose of either saving or indicting them.

The cabin was a single room with a fireplace in the centre of the far wall.

In the corner to her left was a bed that had a quilt pulled over the top and a blanket folded at its foot, and beside it stood a side table that had a washbasin and pitcher for cleansing.

In the opposite corner sat a table with two chairs.

There were four windows, covered with masculine yet simple window coverings, which would have let in ample light had the sky been clear, but here, nestled underneath a canopy of trees on a dismal day, the room was quite dark.

The cabin looked as if someone had left things clean and ready for use, but that was likely at least two years ago.

Elizabeth contemplated leaving him in the cabin, now that he was out of the rain, and going for help.

Surely, his friends would be able to arrive within a couple of hours.

She had decided on this course and was going to check on him one last time to tell him of her plan and make sure his bandages were secure; however, when she went to his side, Elizabeth noticed that Mr. Darcy had begun to shiver rather forcefully.

She could see he was experiencing worse effects from the cold rain than she had.

After transporting him so far, Elizabeth was quite warm, but Mr. Darcy was soaked through.

She realised that she could not leave him in the cold, if sheltered, room alone, at least not without a fire to give him some warmth.

Once her decision was made, she got to the occupation at hand.

First, she needed to get a fire going. A few pieces of wood remained by the hearth.

Additional wood rested on the porch outside and remained dry, as it had been placed underneath the cabin’s awning.

She gathered a few loads of wood and some pieces of kindling to start the fire in the cabin’s single fireplace, while lamenting the realisation that the supply could last but a few hours.

Elizabeth’s education had lacked the building of fires; nonetheless, she had watched Sarah at home plenty of times, and she felt up to the task.

Indeed, she was able to get a blaze going without too many difficulties and hoped the small fire could warm the room adequately.

Although the fire began to generate some warmth, the cabin‘s chill was difficult to overcome.

Mr. Darcy was lying on the floor before the fire and occasionally moaned and asked in succession who was with him.

Elizabeth would answer, repeating herself verbatim with each query, “Mr. Darcy, I am Miss Elizabeth Bennet; you fell off your horse, and I have brought you to safety.” She had to suppress a giggle as she considered his repetitions.

She knew his situation was serious, but Elizabeth, having learnt to handle hardship with satire, found some bit of humour – the intelligent and august Mr. Darcy with muddled faculties.

After having rested from her exertion of the past few hours, she noticed how decidedly cold was the room.

Her layers of clothing would not soon dry, and neither would Mr. Darcy’s.

He continued to shiver, as Elizabeth again contemplated going for help.

She opened the door and noticed that the rain had intensified, not diminished, and that the thunder was increasing in volume, yet again.

It was impossible that she could leave now.

If Elizabeth were to adhere to propriety in all its limitations, she considered that she would be safe from the gossips and consequences inherent in spending time alone with a young man.

He was obviously unable to compromise her person in actuality, due to his injuries, and surely this would be taken into account by anyone who might discover their location.

Unfortunately, if they were not discovered soon, the delay would compromise Mr. Darcy’s chance at recovery, if not her reputation.

As long as Mr. Darcy remained in wet clothing, no amount of heat from the small fire could provide adequate warmth.

Add to that, the temperatures had been dropping outside.

Elizabeth was afraid of his becoming fevered and felt a responsibility to keep him safe.

Although realistically, she could not have prevented his accident, she did consider that had she not been in his path, his misfortunes would have been limited to getting caught in the rain on the way back to Netherfield.

Elizabeth reviewed her options. She first considered what Mr. Darcy would want and expect of her.

She could ask him, but he lacked clarity of mind, and his thoughts were disordered, most likely not a true reflection of his veracious inclinations.

She asked anyway. “Mr. Darcy, I am afraid that your wet clothes will only serve to keep you in a miserable and perhaps dangerous chill. What would you have me do for you?”

“Cold,” he moaned as his body shivered, but Elizabeth could not make out the rest of the words.

She retrieved the coverings from the bed to place on him but then hesitated; the blankets remained the one dry option for modesty’s sake and for the warmth they could provide, but only if kept dry.

While he was soaking wet they would do little to protect him.

Elizabeth said a quick prayer for guidance and peace about her decision.

This choice, though necessary for Mr. Darcy’s wellbeing, could have lasting consequences on her life and peace.

She decided to wait a few more minutes, hoping another option would come to her, or that they would be miraculously discovered.

But as no other satisfactory alternatives presented themselves, Elizabeth determined that Mr. Darcy’s health was to be the primary consideration.

If he were to become irrevocably ill, Elizabeth could not escape her culpability, and so she responded accordingly.

Elizabeth bent down to Mr. Darcy’s side and told him her plans.

She would attempt to warm him by removing some of his wet clothing and then covering him with a dry quilt.

As he did not reject her declaration, she proceeded to take off his greatcoat by turning him from one side to the other.

Elizabeth found this whole experience rather disconcerting, yet mildly humorous.

If her sister, Jane, had told her yesterday that she would be undressing a gentleman today, they would have been excessively entertained by the notion.

Elizabeth certainly had never expected she would behave so brazenly at any point as a maiden.

Her standards for propriety exceeded that of the most exacting lady.

She appreciated the irony of her life on this day, but quickly moved on to more serious thoughts, as she conceded that she was not even particularly familiar with a man’s attire.