Chapter Two: A Chill

Elizabeth woke to the sounds of her husband attempting to stoke the fire. "William, what are you doing?" she asked him as she sat up in bed.

Darcy pulled his robe up tighter around his neck. "I am attempting to get more heat into this freezing room," he told her as he poked at the embers in the fireplace. "I do not know what has come over Thomas of late," he told her, his voice filled with frustration. "The man has not come in once this past week to stoke the fire or help me prepare for the day."

Elizabeth could see he was annoyed for some reason. "That is not true, William. Mr. Thomas has come every morning without fail," she corrected him.

Darcy grew more irritated as he continued poking at the fire. "Yes, but only after I have called for him to come," he reminded her as he walked back over and climbed into bed next to her. He reached down and pulled the blanket up over himself. "He seems to have forgotten his duties," Darcy told her.

"Mr. Thomas has not forgotten his duties, William. It is you who have forgotten. Elizabeth laughed. "The only reason Mr. Thomas has not come directly every morning to attend you is because the poor man walked in to find us still in bed together the morning after we arrived home from our wedding trip," she told him. "I do not know who was more upset, you or poor Mr. Thomas,"

Darcy had forgotten about that. "Oh yes," he mumbled. "I do recall after that telling him to wait for me to call for him, before coming to attend me."

Elizabeth turned towards him. "You did more than that," she teased him. "You yelled so loud I was sure the neighbors in the next county heard you," she laughed.

Darcy raised his brow, "Now that is most certainly not true, Mrs. Darcy," he told her. "I have yet to raise my voice to any of the servants in my employ."

Elizabeth smiled mischievously, "You are right in saying that, however you speak in such a way that they know you are displeased with them," she told him, then continued, "And you do it all without raising your voice."

Darcy let out a small sigh. "I will concede that may be true," he admitted.

Elizabeth laughed again as she remembered that morning. "And poor Mr. Thomas, he was so embarrassed he turned bright red and did his best to avoid me for the entire week," she told him.

Darcy let out a heavy sigh. "Yes, I do recall that very clearly now," he told her. "I believe you were rather embarrassed as well my dear."

Elizabeth smiled. "Only because I was still in my nightdress," she said. "And still not fully awake. I was embarrassed when he first came in, but then when I realized I had the covers over me, I was less so."

Darcy reached down towards the end of the bed and pulled more covers over the top of himself. "Would it be too much trouble to ask you to call for Thomas and have another log placed on the fire," he told her as he began to shiver. "I cannot believe how cold it feels in here this morning. Perhaps I will have Mr. Jones look at these windows. There is a terrible draft coming through I am sure of it."

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed a bit. "Are you really so cold?" she asked him as she reached over to feel his forehead. He was slightly warm to the touch, but she did not detect any signs of fever.

Darcy nodded his head yes. "I am freezing," he told her as he sniffled in. "No matter what I do. I cannot seem to get warm."

Elizabeth looked at him more closely. "I think you are coming down with a chill," she told him. "You are feeling a little warm perhaps I should have Mr. Thomas call for the doctor."

"No, Elizabeth, that will not be necessary. I am not ill," he told her. "It is just colder this morning than it has been of late, and my body has not yet become accustomed to the change in seasons."

"That is possible," she said as she climbed out of bed and made her way over to the wood box. She took a moment to examine its contents then pulled out a large log for the fire. "This one should do nicely," she said as she took the poker in her hand and placed the log on the fire. Within minutes she had the fire roaring nicely.

Darcy sat up and looked over in her direction. "Whatever are you doing Elizabeth?" he asked her.

She turned back towards him. "I am making the room warmer for you," she told him. "I thought that was what you wanted."

"Yes, it was what I wanted," he told her. "But I did not expect you to get the fire going, though. Those logs can be heavy you could have hurt yourself. You should have called for Thomas."

She laughed at him. "Oh William, I am not so fragile that I cannot place a log on the fire," she told him as she finished stoking the fire. "Now that the fire is going and you are getting warmer, I am going to call for Milly, get dressed, and speak with Mr. Thomas about sending for the doctor."

Darcy shook his head as he attempted to get up out of bed. "No Elizabeth, I have already told you, I am not sick," he protested again as he began coughing. "I am fit and healthy. I do not get sick," he told her.

Elizabeth walked over to him and pushed him back down onto the bed. "You probably caught a chill when we were out walking the other morning in the rain," she told him. "You did get wet, and the wind was rather cold."

Darcy sneezed into the hankie she gave him. He struggled to sit up in the bed, but his head was beginning to spin. He took in another long deep breath and looked into her eyes. "I cannot be ill. I do not get ill," he told her again. "Besides if either of us were going to get ill from our morning walk, it seems more likely it would be you," he told her.

Elizabeth laughed and arched her brow. "Oh really?" she asked. "And why would that be, Mr. Darcy?"

He sniffled in again. "Because you are a woman," he told her. "Your constitution is weaker than mine by nature and design."

Elizabeth fluffed the pillows up and carefully placed them behind him. "Oh, is that so?" she said as she tucked the blanket in around him.

"Yes, it is so, it has always been so," he assured her. "You may ask any doctor he will tell you it is true. Women are weaker than men."

Elizabeth looked at him, his cheeks were flush, and his nose was beginning to run. She did her best not to laugh at his protests. She smiled. "I am sorry to say, my darling, in this case, I think my years of walking in the rain have strengthened my constitution. Perhaps in this instance, I have the advantage, and that is why you are now ill, and I am not," she told him.

Darcy was just about to protest again when his head began pounding. He lay back against the pillows and let out a heavy sigh. "All right I will concede in this," he began to say. "It seems, I am in fact ill. But I have no need for the doctor. I will be well soon enough," he told her. "I am never sick for very long."

Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed next to him and gently felt his forehead again. "You do feel just a little warm, but not feverish," she told him. "I will agree that you probably do not need the doctor, but you will need some rest. I do not want you out of bed. You are much too weak to be up and about."

Darcy grabbed her hand and held it to his lips. He gently kissed the palm of her hand. "I am not so very weak, Mrs. Darcy," he said as he looked up into her eyes. "In fact, seeing you sitting there with only your nightdress on I find that I am feeling much better."

"You sir, are incorrigible," she teased him as she placed a soft kiss on his forehead. She slipped her hand free from his and stood up. "You must promise me you will behave and get some rest while I go down and have Mrs. Dawson make you some hot wine to drink. I believe that will help," she said to him. "But if it does not, there is a wonderful barley gruel that will help you to feel better."

Darcy looked up at her. "All right I will stay in bed, but please do not worry Georgiana with this. She will think it is something far more serious than it is, and I do not want her to be alarmed," he told her. "She gets very anxious when it comes to these situations."

Elizabeth hesitated for a moment. "William," she began to say, "Do you think it possible that Georgiana becomes so anxious because you have always tried to shelter her from these kinds of situations instead of allowing her to be of help?" she asked him.

Darcy coughed again then said. "Elizabeth, in this case, you must trust me," he told her. "I know my sister. I know what she is capable of dealing with," he told her. "Just tell her as little as possible, and she will be fine. Tell her that I am busy with my accounts and do not wish to be disturbed. She knows me well enough to know that when I am working, I do not like to be bothered."

Elizabeth let out a small sigh. "I will say as little as possible," she reluctantly agreed. She did not like the idea of keeping things from Georgiana. She felt very conflicted as she went into the next room to have Milly come and help her dress for the day.

Mrs. Dawson was busy in the kitchen when Elizabeth came in to see her. "Mrs. Dawson, I was wondering if you have some barley on hand and some elderberry wine?"

The older woman looked over at Elizabeth. "Yes, of course, Mrs. Darcy," she told her, then asked. "But tell me, who is it that is sick?"

Elizabeth smiled, "Mr. Darcy has come down with a slight cold," she informed her. "I was thinking he would do well to have some hot elderberry wine with lemon, and if you are not too busy some barley gruel."

Mrs. Dawson nodded. "Of course Mrs. Darcy. I will get busy making the gruel and warming the wine right away," she assured her. "And I will make a batch of my chicken soup, that always makes Mr. Darcy feel better."

Elizabeth was just about to leave when she turned back around. "Mrs. Dawson, when the wine and gruel are ready to take up to Mr. Darcy would you please let me know instead of having Mr. Thomas take it up."

"Of course, I will," she told her as she began rushing around the kitchen gathering her supplies.

"Thank you," Elizabeth told her as she headed for the dining room.

Georgiana smiled when she saw Elizabeth coming into the dining room. "Good morning Elizabeth."

"Good morning," Elizabeth responded as she sat down across from her. "How are you this morning?" she asked.

"I am very well," Georgiana told her. "I was thinking of going riding today, but the weather does not look like it will permit it."

"I did notice that it was rather dreary out," Elizabeth commented then said, "Perhaps it will clear by this afternoon and then you could go riding. Sometimes these storms pass rather quickly."

Georgiana smiled. "Perhaps it will, the last storm we had did not last long. Although we did get a fair amount of wind and rain from it," she told her as she ate her eggs. After a few moments longer, she asked. "Where is my brother this morning?"

Elizabeth sipped her tea. "William is otherwise engaged this morning and will not be joining us," she told her, then said. "In fact, he said he would be busy working and did not wish to be disturbed."

"Oh that is a shame, I was hoping he would accompany me this morning. We have not been riding together for quite some time," Georgiana sighed. "Do you think if you asked he might be persuaded to join me. His accounts will still be there tomorrow. If the weather should change, we could ride to the peaks and back before dinner."

Elizabeth felt terrible for lying to her. She took a bite of her bread and eggs and looked at the disappointed expression on her sister-in-law's face. "Georgie, I was not truthful with you just now," she began to say.

"Oh?" Georgiana looked over at her. "Lizzy what would you feel the need to lie to me about?"

Elizabeth knew by telling Georgiana that William was ill she was going against her husband's wishes, but deep down she just felt wrong for lying. "It is not anything bad," she told her. "It is just that William felt that I should not burden you with..."

Georgiana breathed a sigh of relief as she realized what was happening. "My brother is sick," she commented.

She nodded her head. "Yes, but I promise you it is only a slight cold. He has no fever, and I already have Mrs. Dawson making him some elderberry wine and barley gruel," she told her. "I wanted to tell you, but he insisted that I keep the truth from you. I think he was afraid that you would become anxious and fearful if you knew the truth."

Georgiana smiled. She knew why William treated her this way. "It is all right Lizzy," she assured her. "This is not the first time my brother has attempted to protect me from the truth," she explained. "William likes to believe that he never gets sick, but in truth, he has come down with colds from time to time. He goes to great lengths to keep it from me because he thinks I am too fragile to handle the truth."

"He did say as much to me, that is why I lied to you at first," Elizabeth admitted, then she asked. "Georgiana, why does William believe you are too fragile to handle the truth about him having a slight cold, do you think?"

"Probably because I did become very anxious when my father took ill," she explained. "After losing my mother while I was still so young, and then having my father taken from me, I became very fearful of many things. The first year after my father's death, William took ill with a very nasty fever, and I was beside myself. I was still very young, and I imagined that he would die too, leaving me completely alone," she explained.

"Oh, that must have been so very difficult for you," Elizabeth told her.

"It was, but Richard helped me through those times," Georgiana told her. "He came and stayed with me until William was well. He assured me no matter what happened I would not be alone. As my brother recovered I slowly realized that people do not always die when they become ill," she said as she sipped her tea. "Unfortunately, since that time William has felt it best to hide any illness he has from me. Even if it is a minor cold," she told her. "I have tried to show him that I can deal with the truth now that I am older, but I fear sometimes he still sees me as his little sister."

Elizabeth better understood the situation. "Georgiana, I have an idea," she told her. "If you do not mind helping care for William, I think we can show him that you have grown into a capable young woman who can deal with these kinds of situations in life."

Georgiana nodded her head. "Yes, of course, I can help care for him," she told her, eager to be of service. "I have offered before, but Mrs. Reynolds has always left his care to either Richard or Mr. Thomas," she explained.

"Well today will be different," she assured her, then said, "You will need to be strong and determined," Elizabeth warned her. "William is not feeling his best, so he is liable to be short tempered and may even be displeased that I told you of him being ill. But you cannot let that dissuade you in this endeavor. If William is to see that you are not so very fragile, you must see this through."

Georgiana thought about it. She knew how her brother could be if he was unhappy or upset about something. "I will not let him deter me from helping him," she promised. As she contemplated caring for her sick brother, she suddenly realized one very important fact. "Lizzy, I do want to do a good job of caring for William, but I will admit I do not know how. I have never been allowed to care for the sick or even visit with anyone who is sick. Even when my father took ill, I was only allowed to see him for a very short time to say goodbye."

Elizabeth did not realize just how sheltered her sister-in-law's life had been before now. "Well if you like, there are some things I can teach you," she offered. "Jane and I use to visit some of the families that are tenants to my father, and from time to time we have given aid when needed," she explained. "Hill is my mother's cook and housekeeper," she continued telling her. "She taught both Jane and me how to dry herbs and how to keep a medicine chest. There are several recipes that can be prepared to help those who suffer from slight illnesses, for times when the doctor does not need to be called. There is also a book we can purchase if you do not have it here already. It is called "The Compleat Housewife" or "Accomplish'd Gentlewoman's Companion," Elizabeth said. "It is an excellent book filled with all sorts of recipes. I have always found it very helpful in dealing with illness."

Georgiana thought for a moment before she continued speaking. "I would like very much to learn more about these things. I know that it is true that I have little understanding of how to care for the sick, but with your help, Lizzy, I could learn. I would very much like to be able to help my brother when he might have need of me, instead of someone he must always care for."

"Of course you can, Georgie, and we can begin today," Elizabeth told her as they finished eating their breakfast and headed back towards the library in search of the book.

Darcy was frustrated by his current condition. He hated the fact that he was vulnerable to these late Autumn colds. He knew no matter how much he protested he would probably be confined to his bed for the rest of the day and maybe even the next several days to come. His throat was already feeling raw, and the urge to cough could not be ignored. He sniffled in again as his nose began running. The fire was beginning to wane, and he could feel the chill returning to the room. He was just about to crawl out of bed and ring for Thomas, but much to his relief Elizabeth had sent the older gentleman in to help make Darcy comfortable. "I have brought in fresh water sir and more blankets in case you should need them. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Thomas asked.

"Yes," Darcy told him. "Please place another log on the fire and open the drapes just a little. It is so dark in here, it makes me feel even colder than I am already," he told him.

Thomas nodded his head. "Yes sir," he said as he walked over and took a medium sized log from the box and carefully placed it on the fire. Once he had the flames going again, he turned and walked over to the drapes. He pulled them back and allowed what little sunlight there was, to come into the room.

Darcy looked over toward the window. "That did not help much, did it Thomas?" he commented taking note of the dark cloudy skies.

"I am afraid not sir," the older man told him. "I believe we may be in for another storm."

"It does look like it, judging by those clouds," Darcy told him. "Thank you, Thomas, that will be all for now," he said.

"Very good, sir," he said before heading over to the door.

Darcy laid his head back and closed his eyes. He was just beginning to drift off to sleep when the door to his room opened. He was expecting to see Elizabeth but was surprised when his sister came through the door instead. "Georgiana," he said her name surprised at seeing her there.

Georgiana poked her head into the room. She saw her brother lying in bed covered up with blankets and still in his bedrobe. "Hello William," she said as she came into the room. "I am here with warm elderberry wine and some barley gruel," she told him as she came near the bed carrying a tray.

Darcy was not happy that Elizabeth broke his trust. "Georgiana, you should not be here," he told her as he sat up in bed and began coughing uncontrollably. "I thought Elizabeth or Thomas would bring in the tray."

"Elizabeth asked if I could bring in your tray, and I said that I would very much like to help care for you while you are sick," she told him.

Darcy began to protest. "I am not ill," he told her as he sniffled in. "I am fine, in fact, I will be getting up as soon as you leave."

Georgiana sighed. "William," she began to say. "I know you are only sick with a very slight cold. I know you will be better very soon and I promise you I can be of help," she told him as she placed the serving tray over his lap on the bed. "Now Mrs. Dawson took the liberty of also preparing you a very lovely ginger tea infusion in case you do not care for the warm wine," she told him as she walked around the bed and brought over more pillows to help prop him up.

Darcy did his best to keep his voice even. He did not want his sister to know how unhappy he was that Elizabeth broke her word to him. "Where is Elizabeth?" he asked her. "Why are you bringing these things up to me and not her?" he demanded to know.

Georgiana walked over and pulled one of the chairs from the fireplace closer to the bed. "Because I asked if I could bring them to you instead," she told him. "William, I know from time to time you take ill just like everyone else..." she said to him.

"I am not ill," he insisted again. He shook his head in frustration, "But if I were ill, you should not be the one bringing me my wine or my tea."

Georgiana was hurt by his response. "William, why will you not allow me to help in your time of need?"

Darcy let out a small sigh. He could see she was only trying to help. "I did not want to worry you," he told her honestly. "After father died and then I took ill with the fever you were so upset. Richard had to stay with you. You cried all the time, and nothing that was said would ease your fears," he reminded her. "I did not want you to worry or be anxious. I only wanted to keep you from becoming upset," he told her. "I will recover from this cold. It is not something for you to concern yourself with."

Georgiana thought about how to best respond to him. She began by saying. "William, you are my brother..." she told him. "Of course I need to concern myself with how you are doing. I want to be of help to you as you always are to me, but you have to let me," she said. She could see he was not convinced, "William, I was very young when mother and father died," she told him. "And it is true I was very anxious when you took ill so soon after our father died. But I have grown since that time, and I believe…" she stopped and thought about exactly what she wanted to say. "No, I know that I can be of help to you in this time of need if you will only let me."

Darcy could see she was sincere in her desire to help him and how important this was to her. "Georgie if it is important to you, then I will allow you to sit with me for a while," he told her, but quickly added. "If you should begin to feel worried or the least bit anxious, then you must tell me, and I will understand."

She smiled, as she got up and handed him the cup of warm wine. "Lizzy said you should drink this," she offered it to him.

Darcy took the cup and sipped the wine. "I suppose if Elizabeth said I should, I had better," he told her.

Georgiana walked over to the dressing table and retrieved a fresh hankie for him. "Lizzy also said not to let you get out of eating your gruel," she told him as she brought the hankie back over to him. "She said it tastes far better than it looks and it will keep you strong."

Darcy looked down at the bowl of piping hot gruel. "I think I will save that for later. I am not very hungry at the moment," he told her as he finished sipping his warm wine.

Georgiana retrieved one of the books she had chosen from the library to read to him. "If you like, I will read to you for a while." she offered.

Darcy nodded his head as he sniffled in again. "I would like that very much," he told her. He finished his wine and then ate his gruel. He listened to his younger sister as she read passages from one of his favorite books. He laid his head back against the pillow to rest. As he lay there, he could not help, but be very proud of his little sister. She was growing up and proving just how very capable she truly was. He thought of Elizabeth, he would still need to speak with her about telling Georgiana, but in the end, he knew he had her to thank for this very special moment the two siblings shared.

Elizabeth went in shortly before dinner and whispered to Georgiana. "I will take over now."

Georgiana got up and walked with Elizabeth over towards the door. "Thank you, Lizzy, for letting me do this today. I feel as though William will see me differently in the future," she told her, then added. "At least in this situation he now knows I am someone on which he can rely, instead of needing to shelter."

Elizabeth hugged her tight. "I am so glad our little plan worked," she told her.

Georgiana looked over to her brother who was still sleeping soundly. She hesitated for a moment before she continued. "I do hope William will not be too upset with you, though," she said thinking about his initial reaction to seeing her come into the room.

Elizabeth smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Do not worry yourself about that. I am sure I can smooth things over," she told her, then said. "You should go and get some dinner and then get some rest. I will see you in the morning."

Georgiana smiled, "Good night Lizzy," she said as she let herself out of the room.

Elizabeth walked over and sat down on the chair next to the bed. She watched as Darcy slept, he looked so peaceful to her. His breathing had already improved, and his color was a little better as well. She turned to go and ring the bell for Thomas when she felt his hand take hold of hers. She turned back around to see his eyes open and him looking up at her. "I did not mean to wake you my darling," she told him as she sat back down. "You need your sleep."

He pulled himself up a little. "I have been sleeping for much of the day," he told her.

"Well that is good for you," she told him.

Darcy took in a deep breath and coughed just a little. "I should be upset with you," he told her. "We agreed before you left me this morning that you would not say anything to Georgiana about my being ill." he reminded her.

Elizabeth arched her brow. "Did we agree to that? I do not recall agreeing to anything of the sort." she attempted to tease him.

Darcy's eyes narrowed just a bit. "I am being serious Elizabeth," he told her. "I trusted you to do as I asked," he said.

Elizabeth could see she would not be able to charm her way out of this situation. "Yes you did," she admitted, then quickly added. "But William you asked me to lie to your sister, and that was something I just could not do," she told him honestly. "You should not have asked me to do something that caused me to go against my conscience. It was terribly wrong of you."

Darcy was quiet for a moment as she continued. "Georgiana and I have grown very close, asking me to keep the truth from her was not something I was comfortable doing," she told him. "If Georgiana found out I was purposely lying to her, it might give her cause not to trust me ever again, and I did not want that to happen," she further explained. "Besides she already knew that you were sick before I even had a chance to tell her. She is not as oblivious to things as you believe she is."

Darcy struggled to sit up even further in bed. "Yes, she told me that herself when she brought me my gruel and wine," he admitted. "She told me that she has always known when I have taken ill but was too afraid to tell me that she knew. Seems that all the while I thought I was protecting her, what she needed was to be of use to me."

"William, she is not so fragile as you think she is," Elizabeth told him. "In fact, she can be very strong and determined when given the opportunity."

Darcy sniffled in again. "I am learning that about her," he told her.

Elizabeth reached up and gently brushed the curls from his forehead, "Do not be cross with me for wanting to help," she pleaded with him. "I know I did not do as you asked but it was for the best."

Darcy caught her hand in his. He held it for a moment gently caressing the palm of her hand with his thumb. "It did work out for the best," he began to say. "This time, but Elizabeth, I need to know that I can trust you no matter what," he told her. "If in the future, a situation like this comes up again you must tell me how you feel so we can discuss it freely between us," he said. "If I had known asking you to keep my illness from Georgiana was upsetting to you I would not have done so. I would have dealt with things differently."

Elizabeth knew he was right. "I should have told you how I felt," she agreed with him, then continued, "But William you need to make some effort as well where Georgiana is concerned. She is growing into a young woman and not the little sister you are so used to caring for. She wanted to help care for you and did a wonderful job of it."

Darcy smiled, "Yes she did," he agreed, then said. "And you are right, I do need to make more of an effort and I will," he promised.

Elizabeth moved over to the bed. "Am I forgiven then?" she asked.

Darcy shook his head. "You are forgiven," he told her as he reached up and gently caressed her cheek. "Will you forgive me for asking you to lie?"

"I already have," she told him as she took his hand in hers. "Now tell me, are you hungry?" she asked.

Darcy cleared his throat. "I am hungry, but please no more barley gruel," he told her, then said. "I would, however, like more of the warm wine and lemon."

"Mrs. Dawson has made you some lovely chicken soup," she told him.

"That sounds wonderful," he said.

"I will ring for Mr. Thomas to bring up your dinner directly," she told him, as she stood up and walked over to the bell pull, and rang for Thomas. She turned and went back over to Darcy's bedside. "Would you like me to stay and keep you company?" she said, as she walked over to his writing desk and picked up the book he had been reading. "I could read to you?"

Darcy smiled, "I would like that very much," he told her as he settled back in against the pillows and she sat down next to him.

Elizabeth opened the book and began reading where Darcy had last left off. "Mr. Barlow rode to the top of the hill as fast as his horse would carry him. The wind was howling as the skies grew dark. He knew in situations like this every moment counted. His heart was pounding as his horse came to an abrupt stop..." Elizabeth looked over at her husband and smiled. She took in a small breath and began reading again.