Mrs Darcy (Complete)

Chapter 10

I chased my sister into the room next door and caught her just before she could fall down onto a chair. "Annabelle!" I cried as I helped her onto a chair. "You need a physician" I told her.

"No. Don't tell anyone" My sister replied and leaned her hand on my shoulder as she sat down. She was crying and sobbing as she clutched her hand over her stomach. As she put her feet up on the footrest below the chair, I noticed a trail of blood down her ankle which reached the bottom of her shoe.

"You're bleeding" I exclaimed and knelt down in front of her chair as she sat back against the chair and dropped her expression.

"I'm losing my child" She said with a heavy stare. I silently gasped and out my hand over my mouth momentarily, looking into her eyes. "There's nothing we can do about it now" Annabelle added with a heavy weighted sigh.

"I'll get help" I started getting up, but Annabelle grabbed my wrist and made me stop.

"No one must know until after the banquet tonight" She ordered and I obeyed and knelt back down again.

I glanced down at the drops of blood gathering on the bottom of her shoes and shook my head, then my eyes wondered up to her stomach where her baby was dying inside her. I gently placed my hand over hers and squeezed it. "Did Cedric know you were pregnant?" I asked her calmly and quietly.

Annabelle nodded her head and smiled. "I told him a few nights ago" She replied. "But I want to wait to tell him. I don't want to ruin things for you and your engagement"

I scoffed and brushed off the unrelated topic of Fitzwilliam and I. "Now is not the time to think of others" I told her.

"Eve, if you consider yourself to be my sister, you will not say a word to anyone" My baby sister threatened me with serious eyes.

"Eve. Annabelle" Mother's voice rang in my ears as she entered the room by the squeaky door behind me. "What's going on in here?" She asked.

I turned around to see her and Wickham standing in the doorway and Wickham had an expression on his face which told me instantly that he suspected what was happening with us. His dark eyes flirted from me, to my sister and to my mother before back to me. "Mrs Baasch, lets go to the parlour room upstairs and let your girls get on with whatever they were talking about" Wickham suggested and turned mother around by the shoulders.

"Yes, George, alright" Mother replied cheerfully and allowed herself to be escorted out of the room.

Mr Wickham glanced over his shoulder at Annabelle for one final look before he left the room with mother. "I think he knows" Annabelle said out loud.

"I do too" I said and turned back to face my baby sister. "Come on. We must get you to your room so you may rest there" I told Annabelle and held out my hand for her to take then supported her under her arm as we slowly walked up the stairs and into the room which we both shared here at Pemberly. I got her changed into her nightdress and tucked her into bed where she could lie comfortably while the process happened. It took a few hours, but slowly and eventually we did it.

As I sat by her beside with my head on the edge of the bed, I watched the sunset through the window opposite the bed. I heard footsteps outside the door for a moment and some male voices before I recognised them and sat up from my relaxed position. It was Cedric, Fitzwilliam and Mr Wickham speaking outside. "Where is she?!" I head Cedric cry before the door flew open and Cedric and Fitzwilliam strolled into the room. I gasped as I saw Cedric's expression as he marched round the side of the bed and slowly approached his lover. His face was one of shock and disbelief. "Annie, what is it?" He asked.

My sister replied simply with, "I lost the baby".

Cedric sat on the edge of the bed and held her hand. "Why didn't you send for me?" He questioned and I felt a pair of strong hands settle on my shoulders. I looked up to see Fitzwilliam and smiled at him.

"Because you were so happy" She sniffed. "And I knew how much it meant to you to have your own family" She rested her head back against the pillow as Cedric stroked the side of her face with his fingers to comfort her. "And these last few weeks, I couldn't help wondering whether he would have your eyes" She spoke and Cedric smirked a little upon thinking about his child. "Or would he have your smile or would he be a blend of us both" She started sobbing as she finished speaking.

Cedric pushed himself closer to her and enveloped her in a gentle embrace as he allowed her to sob into his shoulder. "It's alright" He whispered to her and held her close.

Fitzwilliam rubbed his thumbs over my shoulders and lightly squeezed me at a few moments, as I could tell it was hard for his to watch as it was for me. I took one of his hands from my shoulder and kissed the back of it gently to comfort him and in return, he let out a small and silent chuckle behind me. Then I remembered Wickham was in the room and I stood up and faced him. He was standing in the doorway with a moved expression on his face as I stared at him with a tear which fell down my cheek. He clearly saw that I was upset by him selling the boys when we didn't want them to and he left on his own without any of us having to say a word. I felt the inescapable feeling of power in my gut as he left by my sight.