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"I know that," he said, and then he looked up at Elizabeth and couldn't help but smile, both in relief and at the fact that she was there, that she had sat and watched over his sister, that she had not changed nor rested, but had sat in that room for hours on end to make sure that Georgiana was all right.

He'd never loved her more.

"I need to sleep," Georgiana said, blinking slowly, and he did not want her to, for it felt like losing her again, but he knew she would need her rest.

"And then you need to eat," he said. "I will speak to the kitchens and then I will be back to check on you."

She nodded, but her eyes were already fluttering closed.

Darcy squeezed her hand briefly and then rose to his feet. He strode to the door, motioning without words for Elizabeth to follow him.

He closed the door softly behind them so that she would not be disturbed, and then walked a little way down the corridor with Elizabeth.

"This is a good sign, is it not?" he said, needing her words of reassurance.

She smiled. "A very good sign indeed."

He nodded. "I will go and speak to the kitchens about that broth the doctor ordered, and then I will sit with her."

Elizabeth nodded.

"Thank you," he said, taking her hands in his. "For your care of her. I cannot tell you how much it means to me."

"I love her as I do my own sisters," Elizabeth said. "And I am terribly relieved that she is awake. I can sit with her longer, if you like, or..."

He shook his head. "No, you should get some proper sleep, have some food."

"But you will come and tell me if anything changes, won't you?" she made him promise.

"Of course," he said.

And then, because he could, because he needed to feel that she was warm and alive and there, right in front of him, he pulled her into an embrace, pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and then departed for the kitchen.

She loved his sister, and he was very pleased to hear so, for his sister deserved to have more family to care for her.

But would she ever love him?

◆◆◆

When he left for the kitchen, Elizabeth found herself standing there, watching him go, and then remained rooted to the spot even after he had disappeared through a doorway which she presumed led to the stairs down to the servants' quarters. She had not even had a chance to properly explore, what with everything that had happened.

She had thought, before she married him, that she knew his character. She knew he was a good man, a loyal man, a man who loved his sister. But she had not expected to see such a level of devotion.

She would not have thought that he would risk his own health, sit up all night, be so distraught. And although she was worried that he would get ill, she also found herself seeing him in a new light, because that was what she would have done, whether or not she had already had measles.

Perhaps they weren't so different, after all.

And then there was that embrace and that kiss. There was barely anything to it, a second or two of contact, and yet she longed to be near him, longed for this to be over so that she could have her husband to herself, as selfish as that thought was.

Georgiana was in bed for a good many days. The doctor came daily, and by the third day he was smiling and seemed wholly convinced of her recovery, which was a great relief to both Elizabeth and Darcy, who had taken it in turns to sit with her.

Georgiana’s maid had helped her bathe, but Elizabeth had sat with her, making conversation and handing her the soap. She had helped her change into a fresh nightgown, bathed her head at night and read to her from the news sheets that were delivered.

"I want to know if our names are in the gossip sheets," Georgiana said on the fifth day. "Can you send someone out to get one?"

Elizabeth smiled. "If it makes you feel better."

Her sisters had always enjoyed the gossip sheets, but Elizabeth had rarely read them herself. After all, there was rarely anyone that she knew in them, for she was not in London or at court, and she had not had a Season.