by Wendi Sotis
Her brow was furrowed as she whispered, “Sorry.”
When he laced her delicate fingers between his own and gave her hand a light squeeze, William assumed the niggling sensation he felt was from his conscience. A smile returned to her eyes, making up for any discomfort Mrs. Bennett had caused him.
A very loud noise emanated from Elizabeth’s handbag, causing them both to startle. William felt the loss greatly when she released his hand and reached into her bag to remove her cell phone.
“What was that, Lizzy?” Jane asked from the other side of Elizabeth.
“My phone makes that noise sometimes.”
Although Darcy knew he should respect her privacy and look away, he was overcome by insatiable curiosity. He watched Elizabeth’s hand tremble as her thumb swiped the screen and she pressed a couple of icons on the phone. A photo of Mr. Bennett speaking to Mr. Lucas appeared on the display. William looked over at that table, guessing that the photo had been taken earlier since Mr. Lucas was not standing now.
Hearing a tone he guessed to mean another icon had been pressed on her phone, his attention returned to Elizabeth. Staring at her cell, she gasped and blanched. He looked down just in time to catch sight of a picture of Mr. Bennett lying on the floor, his head leaning on the leg of a chair, his neck at a horrific angle. He was bleeding profusely from what must have been a head injury. She quickly scrolled to the next photo. Displayed on the screen was a close-up image of a doctor William had met earlier in the day. Next was a photo of a sign on a wall showing directions to the Stroke Care Unit.
He watched Elizabeth frantically look around the room while shoving the phone into her pocket. Seeing her father, Elizabeth began to rise, but she was stopped by Jane grabbing hold of her arm.
“Where did those pictures come from?” Jane’s eyes were open wide.
“Not now, Jane!” She pulled her arm free and bolted in the direction of the Lucases’ table. William and Jane trailed after her.
William felt that the happenings that followed occurred as if he were watching a film in slow motion. Now standing, Mr. Lucas was speaking to Mr. Bennett—both men stood in the exact positions they had been in in the first picture. Suddenly, Mr. Bennett’s expression changed to one of extreme pain, and his hand rose to clutch one side of his head. Elizabeth made it there just in time to keep her father from hitting the floor as he lost consciousness. William heard Jane scream behind him as he caught up and helped Elizabeth. Mr. Lucas grabbed hold of a tablecloth and folded it several times, gathering the dishes within, to clear the table.
Time returned to normal speed.
William slid his arms beneath Mr. Bennett’s knees and lifted, laying him on the table. As he did, he could hear Elizabeth calling out for Dr. Jacobs. The man in the photo!
Mrs. Bennett’s wails sounded out over the noise of the others in the room as Dr. Jacobs pushed his way through the gathering crowd, followed by Dr. Jones, who had been introduced as the Bennett family’s physician earlier in the day.
“It’s a stroke,” Elizabeth declared. Dr. Jacobs was too busy examining Mr. Bennett to acknowledge her statement. William pulled Elizabeth out of the way. She clung to him, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
After Dr. Jacobs finished checking his patient’s vital signs, he turned to Elizabeth. “Why do you think it’s a stroke?”
“I just know it is.”
“He is at high risk, Al,” Dr. Jones stated. “I recommended he should come see you, but as far as I know, he never did.”
The two doctors continued to work on Mr. Bennett. Sirens could be heard in the distance as Dr. Jacobs announced that he was riding along in the ambulance.
Mrs. Bennett screeched, “I’m his wife! I should be the one to ride in the ambulance with him!”
Gardiner gently held his sister away from interfering with the doctors. “Be reasonable, Frances. It’s more than sixty miles to the hospital in Longbourn. He’s much better off with a neurologist at his side. I will take you, but I’ll only have room for two.”
Elizabeth broke from William’s embrace. “I’ll take Jane and Lydia in my car.”
William laid his hand on her arm. He shook his head. “I’ll drive.”
~%~
When Dr. Jones entered the waiting area in the emergency room at Longbourn Hospital, Elizabeth stopped pacing.
“Dr. Jacobs has been detained with another patient, so I volunteered to bring you up to date. Tom is stable. He’ll be transferred to the Stroke Unit as soon as they prepare a bed for him.”
“So it was a stroke?” Elizabeth asked.
Dr. Jones nodded. “Tom’s speech is affected, and he has lost partial control over the left side of his body. From what we can see in the MRI, he’s lucky to be alive.” He shook his head. “For years, I’ve been telling him that he needed to be checked out by a neurologist.” He shot a scolding look at Elizabeth’s mother, giving Elizabeth the impression that he had tried to get her involved in convincing her father to see the specialist.
“Well, he has a business to run. He has tried to lower his stress level!” Her mother replied defensively. “We started taking vacations twice a year so that he had some time to relax, and he stopped worrying about things that gave no reason for concern.” She glanced at Lydia. “It’s been years since we’ve even had an argument.”
Elizabeth looked over at William and Georgiana. She could tell William was thinking the same as she was. That’s why my father’s behavior changed so suddenly!
“He won’t be running the business for quite a while now, Frances.” Dr. Jones walked over to Elizabeth. “He’s indicated he’d like to see you.”
“He wants to see his daughter before his wife? No, you must be mistaken, or he is delusional.” Her mother sobbed.
Dr. Jones hesitated for a moment, and then turned to her mother. “He wants to speak to Elizabeth—alone.”
Elizabeth looked at Jane and took a deep breath before following Dr. Jones from the room and down a hallway, into a small consultation room. Dr. Jones closed the door. “Lizzy, I just wanted to warn you that your father’s speech is badly slurred. It might be difficult to understand him.”
“Does he know what he’s trying to say?”
Dr. Jones nodded. “We believe so. If he’s patient with himself, you’ll be able to get the gist of what he’s saying, but when he becomes frustrated, it’s more difficult. He’s got a long road ahead of him with physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and whatever else he might need.”
Elizabeth nodded. Dr. Jones led her into the Trauma area.
There were many beds around the outside wall surrounding a nurse’s station at the center. The curtains were drawn on both sides of each bed to give each patient privacy and still allow the medical staff a full view. Elizabeth kept her eyes on Dr. Jones’s back and avoided looking at the patients as she passed them. He stopped and gestured toward a bed, and she looked at her father. He seemed so small and vulnerable in the hospital bed, hooked up to all kinds of tubes and wires. His eyes were closed, and he was very pale. The left side of his face drooped a bit. She moved to the chair on the right side of his bed, sat down, and looked up at Dr. Jones. The family physician smiled slightly, nodded his head, and left. She took her father’s hand. “I’m here, Daddy.”
Her father opened his eyes and tried to speak, but the only word she could understand was an approximation of her name.
Elizabeth smiled slightly. “Dad, the doctors say this could have been a lot worse.”
He sighed and squeezed her hand.
“I know you’re worried about Meryton Building Supply—don’t be. I’ll be taking over for the next year, until Tommy graduates.”
Her father tried to speak, but Elizabeth couldn’t understand. Her eyes filled with tears, but she wouldn’t allow them to fall. Glancing up at the monitor, she could see his heart rate was rising fast. “I’ve made my decision, and you know how stubborn I am. The Gardiners and I discussed it in the waiting ro
om. I can keep up with my internship from home after store hours, the same as I do when you’re away on vacation. We’ve got good people working for us at the store, and I’ll have lots of help. It’ll be fine.” She smiled. “Once you’re out of the hospital, you can stop in every once in a while to check up on me. Please, don’t worry about a thing.”
He squeezed her hand and looked into her eyes. Elizabeth could see a multitude of emotions there—gratitude, love... fear.
“You just concentrate on getting better, okay?” She hesitated. “Are you up to having more visitors? Mom wants to come in next. Tommy isn’t here yet, but Jane and Lydia would like to see you, too.”
He nodded and let go of her hand, holding his first finger and thumb out, slightly apart.
“A short visit? Okay, I’ll tell them.” Elizabeth stood and kissed her father on the cheek. “I love you, Daddy.”
This time, she understood his words without any trouble.
“Love you.”
~
Elizabeth’s mother pouted and harrumphed loudly when she saw Elizabeth enter the waiting room. Elizabeth walked over to her mother, and the family gathered around. Tommy had arrived. “I think Dad just wanted to get business out of the way before pleasure, Mom—so he can rest easier. He wants to see you.”
“Business?” Her mother sniffed.
Very much aware that William was listening intently from a few seats away, she glanced at her uncle. “I’ll be manager at the store until Tommy graduates.” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see William stiffen.
Tommy shook his head. “I’ll take a semester off and catch up later—”
“No, Tommy, you’re close to finishing your master’s degree. I’ll hand the management of the store over to you after you graduate, just like Dad planned to do. You can come home and take over during part of your school vacations, though.” Elizabeth winked at him. “Lydia will work at the store after school. I’ll alternate hours with Mr. Hill and Mr. Phillips, the same way it’s always been all these years with Dad. With Mrs. Hill and Mom in the office, everything will be fine. Uncle Ed has already agreed to my working on my internship from home after store hours. It will all work out.”
Gardiner glanced at William and returned his gaze to Elizabeth. “I’ll be passing through often to inspect the jobsites at Lambton, so I can stop in either at the store or at home to check your work. Any urgent questions can be answered by phone, fax, or email. Maybe you can meet me at the jobsites during your lunch hour?”
“I’m sure we can work it out around your schedule, whenever you’re in town.”
“Works for me.” Gardiner nodded.
Jane touched her sister’s arm. “I’ll stay home and work at the store, too, Lizzy.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “Jane, I appreciate the offer, but you can’t walk out on your job with this designer and expect it to be there when you’re ready to come back. I’m sure Dad doesn’t want that, and neither do I. It’s your dream.”
Jane furrowed her brow. “But—”
“No.” Elizabeth shook her head firmly. “I can do both... you and Tommy can’t.”
Her gaze locked with William’s. The pull was as strong as ever, but she forced herself to look away. After her mother left the room, Elizabeth made her way over to him and Georgiana.
Georgiana asked, “Is there any way I can help at the store, Lizzy?”
With Wickham’s whereabouts unknown, Elizabeth doubted William would allow it, and she didn’t think it was a good idea, either. With so many people in and out of the store, it would be impossible to keep a close eye on her.
William’s gaze briefly met Elizabeth’s before he spoke. “I’d rather you stayed close, Georgie, and Mrs. Reynolds needs help setting up the house here. We’re going to need furniture, linens, drapes—everything.”
“But, I’d like to do more for the Bennetts.”
“Georgiana, don’t worry; I understand completely.” Elizabeth smiled slightly. “Thank you, but it isn’t like we’ve lost the whole staff.”
William searched her eyes for several seconds, and Elizabeth’s insides turned to jelly. She longed to step into his embrace as had happened at the restaurant, but she stood still.
“You’re sure it won’t be too much for you? To run the business and work part time for your uncle?” William’s concern reflected in his voice.
For several heartbeats, she felt adrift within his soul. When he blinked, her distraction cleared, and her mind made out what he had asked. “Drawing plans started as a hobby. To me, it’s challenging and relaxing at the same time—sort of like how some people love to join sports teams during their time off from work. I become lost in it.”
“Good.” Looking away from her, William cleared his throat and continued in a tone with a professional edge. “I’m glad we won’t be losing you on the Lambton project.”
Every time I feel a special connection between us, he pulls away.
~%~
Tom had volunteered to drive Mrs. Bennet, Jane, Lydia, and Charles back to the house. William offered to take Elizabeth to the restaurant to retrieve her car from the parking lot. Georgiana had insisted on sitting with Elizabeth in the back seat, but soon after they had left Longbourn, the younger girl had fallen asleep. Elizabeth’s attention had been drawn to the view of William’s clear blue eyes in the rearview mirror for quite a while before he caught her staring.
“Is Georgie asleep?”
“Yes.”
“Then can I ask a question?”
Elizabeth was afraid she knew what his question would be. Although she really didn’t want to discuss the pictures with him, she knew she must do so eventually. “Yes.”
He glanced at her through the mirror once again, then returned his gaze to the road. “Where did those pictures come from?”
Elizabeth closed her eyes and sighed. “I’ve been thinking... if you don’t mind, I’d rather wait to explain that until we get to the house. Jane will probably want answers, too, and I really don’t want to have to explain it twice.”
William nodded. “Fair enough.” He paused. “Are you okay?”
“I’m as well as I can be. Thank you for everything today. I’m sure it wasn’t easy...”
“To spend hours in a hospital waiting room?”
“Yes.”
“That’s never easy for anyone. I was more worried about you.” He quickly added, “And your family.”
Elizabeth nodded. “I called Mr. Hill earlier. He’s going to switch hours with me so I can see my dad during visiting hours in the morning, and then I’ll work the late shift. Are you returning to the city tomorrow?”
The dashboard lights were bright enough to allow Elizabeth to see his jaw clench, which usually happened when he was upset. “I think I’ll stick around a few days. Since your father gave me the keys to the house today, we’ll get started on furnishings. Mrs. Reynolds will be driving up tomorrow, too. We’ll get rooms at the hotel in the morning.”
“You, Georgie, and Mrs. Reynolds can stay with us until you have the house set up, Will.” She worried her bottom lip. Then again, he might not want to stay with my family after he hears what I have to say about the pictures.
She watched his brow furrow in the mirror.
“Thanks, but we don’t want to over-stay our welcome.” An uncomfortable silence followed. William cleared his throat. “We’ve got about a half hour before we get to your car. Why don’t you see if you can catch a little sleep? It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”
Elizabeth agreed and closed her eyes, though her thoughts ran too wild for sleep to overtake her.
~
The thought of spending more time with Elizabeth was tempting, but William decided he couldn’t possibly stay any longer at the Bennetts’ home with Mrs. Bennett and Lydia there, too. He sighed.
Besides, I could barely stop myself from taking her in my arms most of the day to try to ease her worries. Soon one of her anxious expressions is going to make me act ag
ain before I think, just like I did at the restaurant. That could only cause trouble.
William glanced in the mirror at Elizabeth. Her eyes were closed, and although he didn’t think she slept, he felt better that she was at least resting. He knew her to be exhausted; he couldn’t imagine her safely driving home from the restaurant, where she had left her car. He would head straight to the Bennetts and drive her to her car in the morning instead.
Chapter 10
Used to being rather independent, Elizabeth’s feathers were ruffled when she learned William had decided she was too tired to drive. However, she understood and appreciated the sentiment behind his decision and kept her comments to herself. Maybe he was right, but she was afraid that once she confessed about the photos to Jane and William, neither might want to drive her to retrieve her car in the morning.
Upon their arrival at the house, they found Jane waiting by the door. The look in Jane’s eyes told Elizabeth that as soon as they were alone, she would pounce with a list of questions, demanding to know details about the pictures on her phone earlier that day. Discretely, Elizabeth had told both Jane and William to meet her in the library in half an hour.
Now, she paced the library, waiting for them to arrive. Her thoughts ran wild with possible consequences of her carelessness. It had been sloppy and irresponsible to have allowed them to see the pictures.
Finally convinced that the photos really were predicting the future, and that she was sane after all, Elizabeth was afraid that her worst nightmares about this subject would come true.
Jane wouldn’t abandon her, she knew, but there was a good chance she’d insist Elizabeth should see a psychiatrist. She might quit her dream job and try to run Meryton Building Supply herself, thinking it would be too much responsibility for Elizabeth to take on after a break with reality such as this. Or she might confide in Tom, and he’d leave school to do the same thing. She couldn’t let either of them do it! Somehow, she had to convince Jane that she was not insane.
William would probably feel his initial misgivings about Elizabeth had been warranted after all. He’d grab Georgiana and get out of there as soon as possible, afraid to have his sister spend one more minute in the house with a nutcase such as herself. Well, at least he wouldn’t have to worry about his sister living with a crazy woman at their rented apartment in Longbourn any longer. After the store management duties would be taken from her, she’d most likely lose her job once the head of Darcy Construction told her uncle’s partners that he didn’t want her to have anything further to do with the Lambton project. She’d never get another job in the wake of the rumors that would start, and she’d never be able to try to open her own business without her license.
