After the Pride and the Prejudice

In sickness and in health

Elizabeth's stomach was tossing and turning with increasing velocity. Rapid thoughts raced through her head about the upcoming event. The maid led them down a hallway. She knocked politely on the door twice and then entered. The room smelled like musky candles that were trying to overwhelm the smell of sweat. Mrs Bennet was in a chair fanning herself while feigning a look of surprise when they walked in. "Oh! I am so glad you are here, darling. Please come see your father. The doctor should be here any moment. My poor nerves are in such a state waiting on this irresponsible doctor that I think I will die before Mr.Bennet does." Said mrs Bennet. He crude comments made Elizabeth move disdainfully to her father's bedside. At this Fitzwilliam moved to comfort Mrs Bennet and if Kitty or Mary, whom were sitting next to their mother, were confused by this gesture they didn't appear it. They were in a shocked state of despair and prayer. Their father was the only one who kept them on their feet. He was the one who held their future in the palm of his hand.
"Father... Father.." Elizabeth said softly to Mr Bennet. He awoke and then, almost instantly, fell asleep again. He was rolling from dreams and reality. His fever kept him in a perpetual world of cold sweat and a swimming mind. Seconds later the doctor arrived. Kitty and Mary sighed and left the room holding hands. Mrs Bennet said, "Well it is about time I should say." She also departed. Fitzwilliam, Elizabeth, and the fevered father were alone to battle their own internal affairs. Elizabeth was determined to ignore the others and sit by her father's bedside. Fitzwilliam stood by the doorframe and closely examined Mr Bennet, as he'd not had the chance before. His hair was lying limp around his head and drenched in sweat. Above his eyebrows laid a wet towel that Elizabeth was removing and putting into a bucket of cold water and then replacing it. When his eyes opened they were blood shot and searching. Every once in a while he would mumble an unintelligible word, but other than that he was as silent as the dead. Fitzwilliam noticed all of this right before the doctor entered and dismissed them too.
Fitzwilliam took Elizabeth's shaking hand and held her close to him. This was improper but at the time they didn't cling to their propriety as much as they did the idea of comforting each other. At this moment silent tears rolled down Elizabeth's cheeks and neither of them did anything to stop them.
The doctor was in there for what the Darcys and Bennets thought were hours; however they were mere minutes. He finally opened the door, shut it softly, nodded a quick nod and said, somewhat carelessly, "It is the Spanish influenza. If he weren't of strong stature and of a stubborn nature, I would worry that he wouldn't get through it. But, I assure you that this strain is particularly not life threatening.
Mrs Bennet was so overwhelmed with joy that she rose from the wooden chair she sat in and embraced the doctor. Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam grasped each other firmly. Elizabeth sighed in heavy relief. Mary and Kitty could not stop smiling at each other.
Had this gone in an detrimental way, we'd be left with three homeless ladies. And this was exactly where Mrs Bennet's mind was. This thought that they wouldn't have anything left when Mr Bennet died was at the forefront of her mind and the wellbeing of her husband was at the back. This was the way it always was. Mrs Bennet just was that way. Was it a fault to care so much for the welfare of her children and her? It was the way of the world. The woman's job is to find a suitable husband; from their mother's very breast milk they are fed the belief that the only way to succeed in life is to marry an eligible bachelor. Mrs Bennet's ways may seem cruel and careless, but in all honesty it was the way of the world. It was the way of the mother and the daughter.
Later on that night before Elizabeth entered her carriage, Mrs Bennet confided in Elizabeth her absolute fear of leaving her daughters nothing. This change in Mrs Bennet from a ridiculous to a serious woman brought both guilt and sadness into her heart. Elizabeth resolved to take them in if their father were to die before they were secure. In the mean time she had a marvelous idea. Balls, celebrations, anything to bring every male from the country to see kitty and Mary. She vowed to see her sisters taken care of. She looked at her mother, smiled, and said, "It will be taken care of."