Mr. Darcy's Daughter Read Online Free PDF Page A

her relief. "Ah, that surely is a blessing, ma'am," she said
and added in a woebegone sort of voice, "I wish I could say the same of my
Miss Josie. She will see no doctors and take no medicine at all."
    Alerted
by her words, Cassy asked quickly, "Susan, do you mean Miss Josie--I mean Mrs.
Darcy--refuses to take any medication for her condition?
    Has
not a doctor seen her at all?"
    Susan's
eyes widened, reflecting her alarm.
    "No,
ma'am, she will not see anyone, nor will she take any proper medicine. It is
only with much coaxing that I can get her to take a spoonful of honey for her
chest or some chamomile tea for her headaches, when they are really bad. She
has had nothing more in weeks, ma'am. It really is a sad thing to see her
wasting away."
    Cassy
was appalled. "And what about her food?" she asked. The maid rolled
her eyes skywards and shook her head.
    "That,
too, ma'am. She will eat like a bird, and then only when the master pleads with
her to do so. Poor Mr. Julian, he is so worried about her, he forgets his hat
or his scarf and has to rush back for them, else he will leave his tea until it
is cold and gulp it down before rushing out the door. It's a wonder he can
still work, ma'am."
    Cassy
agreed, though she said nothing to the girl, as she rose and walked about the
room. It seemed things were a good deal worse than they had suspected. Hearing
footsteps descending the stairs, Susan picked up the tea tray and left the
room, leaving Cassy gazing out of the bay window that looked out on a forlorn
old rosebush, so overgrown it had hardly any blooms. Yet, she recalled, the
last time they had been here, it had been covered in roses and when she had
opened the window, their sweet scent had filled the room.
    Her
brother entered the parlour and Cassy, turning to greet him, could see he was
miserable. Several years her junior, Julian looked depressed and vulnerable as
he stood there, his tousled hair and rumpled shirt, as much as his anxious
expression, evidence of his anguish. Cassy went to him and took his hands in
hers, trying to offer some reassurance, looking for the right words to assuage
his pain. She was sure, she said, that Richard would be able to help Josie;
after all, he had been their family doctor since she was a little girl.
    "If
only she would take some medicine and a little nourishment, I am sure she will
begin to feel better," he said and then added helplessly, "but Cassy,
she will take neither, no matter what I say!"
    Cassy
felt tears sting her eyes; she had always felt responsible for her young
brother, especially because he had been born when everyone was still grieving
for their beloved William. They had all treasured Julian, yet he did not appear
to have grown into the role he was expected to play. There was a great deal to
learn about running an estate, but Julian had shown little interest in it. Even
as a boy, he had no talent for practical matters and relied upon their mother
herself or the servants for advice on everything.
    His
sister knew, only too well, that the young man who would one day succeed her
father as Master of Pemberley would need to be stronger and more determined
than Julian was now.
    Beset
with domestic problems, he seemed even weaker and less likely than before to
take up with confidence the onerous responsibilities of Pemberley, where he
would influence the lives of many men, women, and children, who would depend
upon his strength and judgment for their livelihoods and security.
    Standing
in the middle of that drab room, he looked so forlorn that she was moved to
say, "Please try not to worry too much, Julian dear. Richard will do his
very best. I know Josie trusts him and, when he has persuaded her to take some
medication and good food, I have no doubt we will see her condition
improve."
    Julian
did not appear convinced. "Oh Cassy, I do hope you are right. There have been
times, awful frightening moments, when I have felt that she does not wish to
recover at all."
    His
voice was so