How had such sorrow and loss led her to such a place of happiness and joy? She no longer had any doubt about his motives or the depth of his affection for her. Just as a steady drip of water erodes stone, his unwavering love and steadfast demeanor had gradually eroded her fears and doubts.
Jane's lips met his in a tender embrace, and the world around them seemed to fade away. It was so intoxicating that Jane momentarily forgot about everything else until Grace's small giggle broke the spell and brought them back to reality. For a moment, Jane was captivated by the warmth in Charles's smiling eyes, but then she forced herself to look over and check on Grace.
“You look at each other the way Mama and Papa did.” She rubbed at her eye, a soft smile spreading across her face as she looked up at Charles and Jane in their embrace.
Jane gazed down at Grace, happy despite the interruption. Leaving Charles's side, she leaned over and felt Grace’s brow, and was glad to find her cool to the touch. “How are you feeling, my dear?”
“Much better,” Grace said with a contented sigh.
Bingley looked down into the sleepy eyes of the child he and Jane had both worried so much about. There was a light in her eyes that had been missing the last few days. While that was encouraging, it was the statement she had made that he could not stop pondering.
He marveled at how a seven-year-old girl was able to recognize the love that he shared with Jane. She did not know their entire story, but she had recognized something in their look that reminded her of a happily married couple who she loved. Letting the melody of Jane’s conversation with the little girl wash over him, he basked in the moment’s joy. Elation was hardly a strong enough word to adequately describe what he felt at finally knowing that Jane had gifted him with her love and trust.
Turning his attention outward, Bingley watched Jane and Grace talk softly. The tired lines around her eyes were less noticeable than they had been, but they were still present. Even after having rested, she still appeared worn. Bingley also saw that she had dropped her mask, and she wore a naturally joyous smile. Clearly, Jane was delighted with the girl’s rapid improvement. Jane looked so relieved, and that in itself lightened his heart.
He began paying more attention to the conversation when he heard Jane say, “We can’t have you wasting away without something to eat. Would you like some broth and perhaps a roll?”
Grace’s eyes lit up. Her expressive smile was a wonderful contrast to how listless she had been only the day before. “Yes, please!”
Bingley stood and helping Jane to her feet, he moved with her to the door. They walked into the kitchen, where they found Susan chopping carrots at the table and humming under her breath.
“Miss Grace has asked for some broth and bread,” Jane said, her voice dancing as she finished washing her hands. Bingley started washing his own hands with the soap, happy to hear the joy in Jane’s voice.
“Oh, that is splendid.” Hopping up from her seat, Susan rushed to the stove where she had been keeping broth simmering in case it was needed. She ladled out some of the broth and scooped up one of the many rolls she seemed to be making regularly. She handed them over with a wide smile. “I have been praying that she would show signs of recovery.”
“I think we all have,” Jane said, her voice soft and almost reverent.
It was quiet in the kitchen for a while, and Bingley wondered if Jane and Susan were also thinking of how close they had come to losing Allen and Grace, or how they had lost all the other members of the small family. Hating to think that their jovial mood was about to disappear, Bingley searched for something to say. He knew that something in the kitchen smelled amazing, so he asked, “Something smells splendid, Susan, and I do not think it is the broth. What are you making?”
Susan blushed and waved her hand in the air in an embarrassed manner before saying, “I’m just making some stew. I thought we might be needing something heartier given how tired we all are. Then too with the children improving, I thought it would be a good idea to provide something more nourishing.”
Bingley smiled in response, grateful for such a thoughtful meal because despite the grave circumstances, they had much to be thankful for.
Chapter Eleven
Jane watched as they drew closer to Pemberley and could not but help feel that it had been an age and a half since she had seen the estate. Had it only been a fortnight? It had seemed longer.
She had dealt with death and celebrated life. Jane had even let Charles into her heart the way she should have long ago. She would have thought that having someone take a place in her heart would have felt heavy, but it was nothing like that.
While it had been a struggle to let go enough to give Charles a place in her heart, doing so had been a release of sorts. Instead of feeling burdened, she found that having another person to love lifted her spirits and made her feel buoyant.
Glancing over, Jane could see Charles as he rode beside the wagon. As if feeling her eyes on him, he glanced up and smiled. “Are you happy to be making your way back home?”
Smiling back, she said, “Yes, I will be happy to see my sisters. I know they will have worried for me this whole time.”
His earnest blue eyes scanned her as she sat next to the driver, then he said, “I will be happy when you can get a full night’s sleep without waking up to care for others. You need to care only for yourself for a time.”
Jane wrinkled her nose. She was not that tired. “I am hardier than I look, Charles. I am well enough.”
“You may be well enough for you, but not for me, nor would I guess your mother and sisters.” Allowing his horse its head, he locked gazes with her and said, “I love your determination, but you are drooping. Your eyes seem bruised, and your hands are cracked from so much time spent washing them with the strong soap. Most of all, your heart still aches from losing four of the McGregors. I know that saving Grace and Allen doesn’t erase that pain for you. You need rest and the comfort your mother and sisters will provide. If you want to appear tolerable at our wedding, it's important that you rest beforehand.”
Jane’s mind went back to the morning that felt so long ago when she made the leap to tell him that she did not like being called beautiful. He had asked if he should call her tolerable instead. Knowing that he was thinking of that time as well made her smile. He was not wrong, of course, but she playfully added, “You could see all that.”
She watched him carefully and, in doing so, she saw how hard he was trying to keep a straight face. He was not very convincing, because his lips kept twitching at the corners. “Yes,” he responded.
“Tolerable indeed,” Jane managed to say without laughing, though she did give in and rolled her eyes.
Elizabeth rushed through the house, excited to know that her sister would be returning home. Though she knew her sister was well enough, she still desperately wanted to lay eyes on Jane herself.
Being separated from Jane at such a time had cut like a knife. Not only did she want to talk about her impending motherhood with her, but she suspected that Jane would have her own stories to tell. She and Bingley had been getting closer to the point of something before everything started going bad. As close as they had been working together, Elizabeth was almost certain they would have come to an understanding by now.
She grumbled at herself as she hurried down the last hall and towards the front windows. She had every intention of rising early and seeing to everything so that she could greet Jane when she arrived, but she had again slept late. William refused to wake her and had told her lady’s maid to let her sleep. He insisted she must need the extra rest and was not about to disturb that and risk hurting her or the baby.
The dear man was always looking out for her, and she loved him for it, but still it was frustrating. At least she was not ill, as were some of the expectant mothers she had encountered. That was a blessing. She rather detested being sick. She would take sleepy over nauseous any day.
Skidding to a halt, Elizabeth narrowly missed running into Lydia. Elizabeth and Lydia locked gazes, and in an instant, the hall was filled with their joyous laughter. Linking arms with her younger but recently taller sister, Elizabeth managed to contain her giggles as long as she did not look Lydia in the eye. They were most alike of all their sisters. Only Elizabeth normally contained herself a little more than Lydia, though sometimes her wit and humor shone through.
Moving in unison, they continued at a more leisurely pace. They eagerly anticipated the arrival of their absent sister. Elizabeth sobered slightly, realizing that she had been so focused on the stress of caring for Pemberley and everything else that she had not thought at all about how worried Lydia must have been. She had been so wrapped up in concern for the tenants and her pregnancy that she had spared little thought to how her sisters had been bearing up under their own worries.
“Did you sleep in again?” Lydia asked, a playful edge in her lyrical voice. Elizabeth relaxed slightly, knowing that her sister held nothing against her.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes at her new sleep habit. She had always been one to wake early enough to greet the sun, but that had changed with her pregnancy. Grumbling slightly, Elizabeth said, “Yes, and that silly husband of mine insisted I must need the extra rest, or else I would have woken up on my own. He does not have to rush around seeing to things in less time than before. I had a system to my day, you know!”
Squeezing her sister’s arm as they walked, Lydia said, “The nerve of him wanting the best for you and your growing child!”
