A Wife for Mr. Darcy

Bennet.
    After dismounting, he took his horse by the reins and walked toward her, wondering all the while what on earth she was doing. Elizabeth turned around and greeted him, giving the appearance that there was nothing unusual about a young lady, miles from home, walking down a muddy lane.
    “Miss Elizabeth, what are you doing here?”
    “I have come to visit my sister. Have you just come from town, Mr. Darcy?” she asked, after looking at the amount of mud on the horse’s hooves.
    “I have.”
    “Then you do not know my sister, Jane, was taken ill during dinner yesterday, and I have come to visit her.”
    “On foot?”
    “As you see,” she answered, looking down at her dirty hem. “Because we have had so much rain, chores on the farm have been neglected, and I did not wish to ask my father for one of the horses. Besides, after dancing and teasing, walking is one of my favorite things to do.”
    Although his eyes were drawn to her muddied hem and soaked boots, Darcy had also noticed her rosy complexion and that her eyes were brightened by the walk, and because of the humidity, her beautiful dark, curly hair was trying to escape from beneath her bonnet.
    “I can see you are looking at my boots, Mr. Darcy. I successfully avoided every puddle, except one,” she said, laughing. “However, you need not be concerned; I promise to stay off the rugs.”
    “Please allow me to go ahead and secure dry shoes for you. I believe you are about the same size as Mrs. Hurst.”
    “Please do, and warn them that I am coming.”
    “I am sure they will be pleased to see you again,” Darcy said, knowing that Louisa and Caroline would be anything but pleased.
    Lizzy thought that Jane would definitely be happy to see her. Mr. Bingley, highly likely. Mr. Bingley’s sisters, not very likely at all.
    In the foyer, Lizzy was greeted by Mr. Bingley, Mrs. Hurst, Miss Bingley, Mr. Darcy, and Mrs. Hurst’s maid, who handed her clean hose and shoes. After removing to an anteroom where she changed her footwear, Mr. Bingley escorted Lizzy to her sister’s suite. Although Jane had asked that he not send for the apothecary, Mr. Bingley, in exercising an abundance of caution, had done so. The diagnosis was that she had a bad head cold and needed to rest and recommended some draughts specific to her complaint.
    Lizzy spent the whole of the afternoon seeing to the care of her sister. The Bingley sisters visited several times to ask after Jane’s health, and on their last visit offered to send for a carriage to take Lizzy home. But Jane gave out a cry imploring her to stay, and Caroline and Louisa, with great reluctance, sent a servant to Longbourn for a change of clothes for Elizabeth.
    “They do not want me here, Jane.”
    “Lizzy, you have frequently said that you do not care what they think about you, so why give in to them now when I am in need of you, if not to nurse me back to health, then at the very least to cheer me up.”
    “You are right. How dare they not like me? I shall punish them by staying.”
    Jane took her sister’s hand and smiled. “I feel better already, but you must go downstairs for dinner as you have not eaten a morsel all day.”
    Lizzy did join her hosts for dinner but immediately returned to Jane’s room to find that the apothecary’s potions had done their work. Even though Jane was sound asleep, Lizzy remained in the bedchamber as she had no wish to spend an evening with Louisa and Caroline, who had stared at her through the whole of dinner as if she was a specimen from a distant land. Mr. Bingley was all charm as usual, but Mr. Darcy had very little to say, except to share some news of his sister.
    The following day, Lizzy spent most of the morning reading to her sister, but she could have read the same chapter over and over as Jane was so sleepy that she could not keep her eyes open. The prescribed rest was doing her a world of good, and hopefully, they would be able to leave the day after tomorrow as her color had definitely improved.
    After supper, all adjourned to the drawing room. Louisa, Caroline, and Mr. Hurst were in favor of playing cards, while Mr. Darcy chose to write a letter to Georgiana Darcy. But Miss Bingley could not be kept from commenting on anything to do with Mr. Darcy.
    “How I long to see Miss Darcy again. She is so elegant and represents the very best in polished society.” She proceeded to wax rhapsodic on all of her many accomplishments.
    Lizzy thought how silly all of