Mrs Darcy (Complete)

Chapter 13

It was just after dawn when the soft sounds of the horses hooves on the gravelled ground woke me from my light sleep. I had rested my head on Fitz' shoulder and my hands were resting on his waist, clutching his waistcoat. I felt pressure on one of my hands and twitched it to find that one of his hands was on top of mine. I raised my head and blinked in the dim light of the morning and placed my chin on his shoulder. He was hunched over slightly and I sat up properly once I realised this. "Fitz?" I whispered.

He jerked a little. "Hmm?" He replied through his tiredness of riding all night.

"Are you alright?" I asked him and glanced around us at the open countryside that I recognised was near to Rosings. "Do you want me to take over so you can rest for a while?" I questioned and offered my hand out to take the reigns of his horse.

"No, darling, its fine" Fitzwilliam placed his hand on mine and pushed it back down to his waist, then he took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "I will sleep when you are safe" He said and straightened his hunched back.

I looked to our right and saw Cedric riding his horse near us with his tires eyes looking all around us. Then he suddenly lifted his head up and his eyes widened. "There!" He cried and startled us fully awake. "Rosings! I see it" Cedric said as I looked ahead and saw the great house just beyond the next hill.

It took us a while but soon we were making our way down the long path toward Rosings house where the reinforced lines of black guards lined the hedges beyond the gates of the grand house and gardens. As we approached, the new huge steel staircase lowered to the ground to allow us passage inside the house. Fitzwilliam dismounted our horse first and then held my waist as he helped me down, but he was fragile and exhausted. There were dark bags under his eyes and no hint of a smile anywhere on his lips. "Fitz, you must rest" I said to my fiancée as I placed my fingers against his forehead.

I felt a slight heat on his skin, but he pulled my hand away from his forehead and grasped it against his lips. "Don't worry. Soon we can rest together" He replied and smirked against the back of my hand before placing a kiss on the skin. Fitzwilliam turned and started making his way toward Cedric and Mr Wickham, but as soon as he took two steps he was on his knees and I ran to catch him before he could fall further.

"Help me!" I screamed as Fitz' weight was too much for me to bare by myself.

"Darcy!" I heard Cedric gasp before he fell to his knees and caught my beloved. "It's alright, Eve, I've got him" Cedric said and steadied Darcy just before he moved to carry him over his shoulder and walk in front of me toward the steel staircase which had been lowered prior to our arrival.

I followed Cedric past the portrait of Lady Catherine smiting the undead Lucifer and past the four horsemen of the apocalypse, then up a second staircase toward Darcey's usual rooms when he stayed at Rosings. "Send for the Doctor" I told a maid whom we passed on the way up to the room who instantly replied with a yes miss and walked swiftly down then stairs. Cedric burst through the doors of Fitz' bedroom and marched straight for the bed where he carefully placed the unconscious Fitz on the sheets as I climbed on top of the bed and eased him down. My heart was racing and I worried for my fiancée. "Fitz...?" I questioned silently as tears started filling in my eyes.

"I'll tend to him while the doctor arrives. He'll boil if he stays in these clothes" Cedric said to me and gently pulled me away from the bed.

I continued backing up through the room until I could not longer bare staring at Fitz' unconscious face any longer and I turned on my heel and covered my face. "Cedric, I'm sorry about losing your baby" I said to my sister's lover as I stepped closer to the window opposite the bed and looked out across the vast gardens at Rosings which included my own. There was an almost perfect view of my garden in amongst Lady Catherine's huge garden palace and I could clearly see where I had left one of my tools sticking up in a recently planted flower bed.

There was a momentary silence behind me before Cedric continued. "It's quite alright, miss Eve. Hopefully there will be more opportunities to bring a child into the world for Annabelle. I only wish I do not disappoint her as a husband or a father" His tone was hopeless and pitiful as though he loathed himself for having Annabelle already pregnant once.

"Annabelle will love you regardless of whether you can have more children or not" I spun around and said to the back of Cedric's head as he removed Fitz' shoes, sword belt, jacket and waistcoat. I took them from the end of the bed and placed them on a chair nearby while Cedric tucked Fitz under the covers of the bed and made him comfortable.