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Elizabeth first checked in on Jane and found her feeling much better. She stayed with her briefly, telling her about her impressions of the two new additions to the house. Jane lamented their circumstances and wished she could have been there to comfort her.

“Not everything can be fixed with kind words and a hug,” Elizabeth told her, even though she understood where her sister was coming from.

“I know, but to lose one parent is bad enough. To lose both at the same time is… is unfair.”

As Elizabeth reached the bottom of the stairs, she stopped when her name was called. She turned to see Mr Darcy descending.

“Miss Elizabeth, if I could have a moment of your time,” he said, skipping the last steps.

“Sure, what can I do for you?”

“I wanted to know how the tea went, with Anne in particular?”

“I think it went well, considering.”

“Considering?”

“What your cousin is going through. Has she always been this quiet?”

“What little I spent with her around, she was always lively. But those were only a few times over the years.”

“Mr Darcy, I will be frank with you. She is at a point in her life when changes are taking place, and to lose her family. Especially her mother, who would help her through those changes. It has to be terribly hard on her.”

He looked disappointed. “I was hoping that she would open up to you.”

“We only just met. She might have under normal circumstances, but this is entirely different.”

“That is what worries me. Her dwelling on the accident,” he tried to explain without revealing what she had said in the carriage.

“You must give her time. I’m sure you will see an improvement once her brother arrives home. I’m sure that should make a difference.”

“Mr Darcy, there you are. I was waiting for you before calling for dinner.” Miss Bingley called out as she came out of the drawing room.

“I was just about to go up and fetch the girls.”

Elizabeth looked at him but said nothing about his word choice. Instead, she volunteered to bring them down. He hesitated, then agreed as Miss Bingley took his arm.

When the maid opened the door, she found both young ladies in the sitting room. Georgiana was trying to comfort her cousin. When she saw Elizabeth, she patted her cousin’s hand and stood.

“Miss Bennet,” Georgiana said as she came to her. “Anne changed her mind and is not feeling up for dinner.”

Elizabeth glanced at Anne, who looked back at her listlessly.

“You go to dinner. Tell Mr Da… tell your brother I will see what I can do to change her mind.”

“But you might miss dinner,” she protested.

“If I cannot change her mind, I will have something sent up.”

“Are you sure? I can stay.”

“I will be fine. Hurry now. I’m sure your brother is waiting.”

Reluctantly, she left. Elizabeth then told the maid to return in ten minutes before sitting down.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

Anne shook her head. “I do not feel like being around anyone.”

“It’s not good to be alone with only your thoughts. Unless they are thoughts of happiness.”

“But I am alone.”

Elizabeth felt her emotions welling up at the sadness and despair conveyed by the girl’s tone of voice and appearance. She wanted to hug the poor girl but did not know how she would react.

“I know what you mean, but your cousins care for you.”

“Cousin William does not want me. He is always writing letters to Whitehall asking if they have news of my brother.”

“That is not true. How could you think such a thing? I don’t think it is about getting you off his hands, but he is also worried about your brother.”

“He does not act it.”

“He is a man and does not know what to do. It is easy to prove he is not seeking to have you off his hands.”

“How?”

“Simple, he would send you to your aunts if he wanted you out of his life. I think that proof enough, even in a court of law.”

Anne looked at her with her sad eyes, pondering her words before slowly nodding.

“I have not known him long, but can you imagine him at Whitehall demanding answers? He probably scares most of those clerks out of their wits with his stern gaze.”

Anne could not help but let out a small laugh that made Elizabeth smile. Her sisters’ reasons for sadness did not compare to Anne’s tragedy, but making them laugh when they were feeling low had always started to bring them out of their melancholy.

“You have most likely heard every platitude imaginable about your loss. I heard them when my grandmother passed, with whom I was very close as she lived with us. I don’t mean to compare that to losing parents. My aunt gave me the only advice that helped. It was to remember and hold dear only those memories of her that brought me joy.”

“You don’t know.”

“Know what?”

Elizabeth could tell the girl was about to cry because her eyes were welling up with tears.

“I should have been with them,” she whispered. “I was supposed to go with them but did not feel like sitting through a long carriage ride and another boring night. I pretended to be sick. Mother wanted to stay, but I insisted she go as I knew she had been looking forward to it all week.” She managed to get it all out before bursting into tears. Elizabeth momentarily sat stunned by the revelation then hugged the girl tightly. It took her some time to think of what she should say.

“None of this is your fault, and I hope, I pray you don’t feel this way. None of this is your fault,” she said as the girl sobbed. There was a knock on the servant’s door, and the maid poked her head through. Elizabeth motioned her over and whispered instructions. While she hoped she could get the distraught girl to eat, she had doubts. Before their dinner arrived, a servant appeared with a pencil and paper. Elizabeth jotted down a quick note, ensuring it was understood to be delivered immediately. By the time their meal arrived, Anne had settled down, and the two were talking quietly.

Darcy read the note as all the other occupants around the table watched him except for Mr Hurst, who was too enthralled with his plate of food to even notice the delivery.

“Anne and Miss Elizabeth will not be joining us,” he said, putting it into his vest pocket.

“Perhaps I should go back up,” Georgiana said, looking at her brother.

“Enjoy your dinner. If Anne feels up to it, they will join us after dinner,” he replied.

“I hope she is not unwell.” Miss Bingley said casually as if she really did not care.

“Should we send for Mr Jones again?” Bingley asked.

“If Lady Anne is unwell, we should send for a physician from town, not a country apothecary,” Miss Bingley replied condescendingly to her brother.

“He has done well for Miss Bennet as she is on the mend.”

“She does not need to be seen by anyone, as she is not ill,” Darcy assured them. Looking around the table, he realized that all but Mr Hurst had lost their parents. “Time and her brother coming home is what she needs.” He winked at his sister, which surprised her, and then began eating. She followed his example with a smile. It had been a long time since her brother had given her a playful wink.

After dinner, Georgiana went upstairs while the others went to the parlour to play cards. When Elizabeth came into the parlour. Darcy, who was about to deal, passed the deck to Bingley and excused himself for this round. Miss Bingley watched in irritation as he went to speak with her rival.

“How is Anne?”

“She is better. She needed to get her emotions out and have an intimate conversation.”

“She could talk to me.”

“Young women are not in the habit of discussing their feelings with their fathers, much less older male cousins, whom they barely know.”

Darcy looked down into her eyes. She gazed back at him as her scent filled his senses and stirred him in a way that no other woman he had known had done.

“I suppose you cannot tell me what you discussed.” He focused on her lips as they parted to reply.

She shook her head slightly under his intense scrutiny. “No, but if there was anything I thought of real concern, I would tell you immediately.”

Miss Bingley intently watched the interaction and did not like what she saw. She glanced at her sister who gave her a look of concern.

“Are we going to continue to play cards, Mr Darcy?” Miss Bingley called out

“Thank you for taking the time to stay with her. Would you care to join us for cards?”

“No, thank you. I will read for a while, then go sit with Jane.”

They were barely into the second game of cards when the butler entered and strode directly to Mr Darcy.

“Sir, this arrived during dinner,” the butler said, holding a letter out for Mr Darcy.

“Why was it not brought to me straight away?” His tone bordered between anger and irritation, although his expression did not show it.

“I do not know. I just now discovered it. I will find out.”

“Never mind. It is of no consequence now, but please see that it does not happen again.”

“Yes sir. Will that be all?”

When Darcy did not respond because he was too engrossed in opening the letter, Bingley waved his butler away.

When the letter unfolded, another smaller, well-abused one fell out. His heart jumped, hoping it was from Richard, and snatched it up. He was disappointed when he saw it was not in his cousin’s handwriting. He put it down and began to read the letter from Whitehall. Everyone sat waiting in silence for what news it had to offer. Elizabeth saw his shoulders sag ever so slightly. She could not say if it was from released tension or disappointment, but his face remained unchanged, and she believed it had to be the latter.

“They say they have been unable to locate him because of the nature of the campaign. Once his regiment was located, they discovered through delayed correspondence that he was temporarily attached to a Portuguese column on verbal orders, and his commander could not recall the unit nor the commander.”

“Sounds like sheer incompetence,” Hurst said gruffly, examining his cards as if he expected them to change from when the game was interrupted.

“It is preposterous that they cannot locate an earl,” Miss Bingley said disgustedly.

“They did not know he was an earl when they lost him,” Bingley replied.

“At least they are one step closer, and this letter,” Darcy said, ignoring the comments. “According to this,” he said, shaking the first letter before dropping it and opening the second. “This is dated two months ago. It arrived at Whitehall last week and was somehow overlooked.”

He read through it quickly and told them it was basically a repeat of the other and that inquiries were being made to locate the errant officer.

“It is a wonder we are winning the war at all if that is how they handle something as simple as the mail,” Mrs Hurst declared. “Can we get back to the game now?”