An Unexpected Legacy

by Don Miller

  Elizabeth’s response to his pronouncement was a big smile and quiet laugh, which she could see was not the response he expected. “Excuse me, doctor,” she said, “I know it does not seem like a laughing matter, but I must tell you my private conversation just now with Lydia was about this exact subject. She told me one of the reasons she did not want to go home in the near future was because she was falling in love with your son, she felt he had some affection for her, and she wanted to see if she had a chance with him. I gather from what you have told me he does. Does this possibility upset you? For I must admit, it delights me.”

  Dr. Morgan shrugged and smiled. “I too have developed affection for your sister, Mrs. Darcy. Normally, I would embrace this possible attachment whole heartedly. But I worry this may be only a passing thing on both of their parts. My son, in taking such good care of her, must seem like an angel of mercy to her, and she is a very attractive and intelligent young woman for whom it is easy to develop affection. But I have never dealt with amnesia like this. I have no idea what the long term effects of it will be. How will she feel if her memories return, and how will he feel if her personality is altered by her recovery of her memories?”

  “Doctor, I had exactly those same thoughts and worries. But I must admit the more I talk with the new Lydia, the more I believe she will never revert to the Lydia I knew. Surely the return of her memories will not make her forget what she has experienced here, and she likes the way she feels now. I always thought Lydia’s actions, deep down, reflected unhappiness with her life and were an attempt to force herself to be happy. I think now, if she recovers her memory, she will regret the way she acted when she was younger. But I cannot speak for Mr. Morgan’s feelings. He seems like a very responsible young man, but I know nothing of his life and his interaction with the opposite sex.”

  Dr. Morgan thought about what Elizabeth had said and his son’s reactions to women in the past. “I know I am very prejudiced, but I believe Daniel is one of the most open, caring, and trustworthy men that I have ever known. Dr. McMillan, the doctor to whom Mr. Wickham was taken, is my best friend in the world and his mother has been a surrogate mother to Daniel for the past several years. She and I have both tried to find a young woman suitable for Daniel, because I believe he is a man who needs a good wife by his side. But he has never shown any interest in any of the young women to whom he has been introduced around here, and he tells me he did not develop any attachments at all when he was at Cambridge. Therefore this apparent attachment to Miss Lydia is very unusual behavior for him. There is clearly something different about Miss Lydia that has touched his heart. What do you think we should do about it?”

  After some cogitation, Elizabeth answered, “First, I promised her I would not tell her parents anything for the moment. Second, having just experienced a somewhat tumultuous courtship myself, with many misunderstandings because we did not communicate properly with each other, I have become an advocate for the direct approach. I suggest we ask Mr. Morgan to tell Lydia of his feelings for her and let them sort it out for themselves, warning them of the worries we have. There is so much uncertainty in the world and in love; I believe there is little worse than having found mutual love and somehow letting it get away from you. It almost happened to my husband and me and had we not had a second chance, we both might have had miserable lives. If they want to take a chance, given all the uncertainties, who are we to deny them that chance?”

  Dr. Morgan’s respect for Elizabeth, which had been high from the moment he met her, rose even further. He did not believe he had ever met a woman so young who was so thoughtful and mature. If Lydia grew up to be anything like her, his son would have a jewel indeed. And even though he knew they were not biological sisters, he was sure being around Elizabeth all of her life must have had an effect on Lydia that was being realized in her new persona. He found himself agreeing with her, despite his trepidations. “Young lady, you are one of the most convincing persons I have ever met. You have convinced me. Do you believe your husband and cousin, whom I have come to respect, will share your views?”

  “I do. And I think it might be a good idea to bring them into this discussion to get their perspective. I have come to trust their judgment very much. Let me go fetch them from the sitting room.”

  A few minutes later, Elizabeth returned to the library with Darcy and Col. Fitzwilliam. Dr. Morgan asked them all to be seated, but before he could say anything further, Col Fitzwilliam said, “Dr. Morgan, I must apologize. Before you tell Darcy and me what this is all about, I think I should pass you a message from Mrs. McMillan which she told me to give you as I was leaving her house. For some reason I forgot all about it until just now, and I suspect it may be relevant to what we are about to discuss. She said, ‘Remind him of what I said about God’s wishes and tell him my intuition tells me it has happened.’ Am I right, does it have some relevance?”

  Dr. Morgan chuckled and said, “It does indeed. I should have known Mrs. McMillan would find out before I did. She is a very perceptive woman. She once told me I worried too much about Daniel’s love life. She believes there are some people who are just meant to be together and God had a plan for Daniel. She thought at some least expected time and under unusual circumstances, Daniel would find there was a girl who was just made for him and he would fall in love when he met her.”

  “So you think that Lydia is that woman?” asked Col. Fitzwilliam.

  “Well, Daniel does. He told me this morning he did not feel it would be proper for him to treat Miss Lydia anymore because he thought he was falling in love with her. He said that in all his twenty-four years, he had never had such feelings. And then Mrs. Darcy told me just a few minutes ago when she returned from talking to Miss Lydia, Miss Lydia had told her she was in love with Daniel. We, of course, are worried their love is just a reaction to the special circumstances in which they find themselves, and it might just be a passing fancy. Furthermore, not knowing much about the long term effect of amnesia, we can only guess what might happen if Miss Lydia’s memory returns. You were called in here because we wanted to hear any thoughts you might have on this situation.”

  Neither Darcy or Col. Fitzwilliam were totally surprised at what they were told, because while Elizabeth had been in the library with Dr. Morgan, Col. Fitzwilliam had told Darcy about what Mrs. McMillan had said about Mr. Morgan having feelings for Lydia. They had both decided her message to Dr. Morgan had to be interpreted somewhat like what they had heard from Dr. Morgan. Darcy, who had not spent as much time with Lydia as his wife, was skeptical. He found it hard to believe Lydia had changed as much as his wife believed she had, and he would not wish the old Lydia on any man as a wife. Col. Fitzwilliam on the other hand had not known Lydia before and was quite impressed with the Lydia he knew now. He admitted she was a little young and that the amnesia was problematical, but she seemed very quiet and sensible to him. He thought the match might be a very good one.

  “Are you really certain she has changed as much as you think she has?” asked Darcy. “I am afraid I cannot get the old Lydia out of my mind, and that Lydia would certainly not be appropriate for Mr. Morgan. Do you truly believe the loss of her memory can have changed her personality that much? And I totally agree about your concern that her memory will return and she will revert to her old form.”

  “Mrs. Darcy has told me about Lydia before the accident,” said Dr. Morgan. “But you clearly have a much more negative view of what she was like than Mrs. Darcy does. How about you, Colonel?”

  “I did not know Miss Lydia before the accident, so I cannot comment on what she was like from my own experience. All I know is what Darcy has told me. I can tell you I am impressed with the young lady who is down the hall lying in the sick room. So I guess I am prejudiced for her because of my current experience with her and he is prejudiced against her because of his prior experience with her. I would say if she remains as she is, she would be an excellent partner for Mr. Morgan.”

  “I can agree with that,�
�� said Darcy. “But it is just hard for me to believe she will stay that way.”

  “William, you do comprehend that if I had taken that attitude toward you, or you toward me, we might not be here today,” said Elizabeth. “I know it is not the same, but clearly it is possible for people to change when they see that the way they were was not the way they want to be. Our changes were not as dramatic as hers, but we did both change. I have talked long with Lydia about what she was like, and she has told me she would rather not recover her memory of that Lydia if it meant she might go back to being that way. I think Lydia genuinely likes who she is right now and I cannot imagine, if she does recover memory, she will forget the way she is now.”

  “I hope you are right,” he said.

  Dr. Morgan stood and came out from behind his desk. “I do too,” said Dr. Morgan decisively, “because I am going to go with Mrs. McMillan’s instincts. I am going to find my son and encourage him to talk to Miss Lydia about how he feels and see what happens. As I said, he has never shown an interest in a woman like this and I am going to believe it is because he recognizes she is the one. I will leave it to you to deal with Mr. and Mrs. Bennet.” And so saying, he left the room in search of Mr. Morgan.

  The room went silent after his sudden decision and abrupt departure, no one quite knowing what to say. Finally Col. Fitzwilliam said, “I think that is a man who has grown almost as fond of Miss Lydia as his son and only needed Elizabeth’s corroboration of Lydia’s feelings for his son to convince him to encourage Mr. Morgan. Personally, I have great hopes that God or Providence or Chance, or whatever we want to call it, has struck our lives once again and all will be well: probably even better than well.” He paused and then said with a small laugh, “And to think we owe it all to Wickham. Here we all thought he was evil when in fact he has been, unbeknownst to himself or anyone else, an instrument for good.”

  “I know you think you are making a joke,” said Elizabeth, “but his actions have made us all stronger people. It is, after all, life’s challenges that build our character more than its blessings. And speaking of challenges, how do we deal with my foster parents?”

  “Why not just wait and see what happens?” asked Darcy. “They may be very happy over this development.”

  After some discussion, they agreed to say nothing until they learned the result of Mr. Morgan’s talk with Lydia, assuming, of course, that it happened. If Mr. Morgan and Lydia needed support, both Elizabeth and Col. Fitzwilliam would be happy to provide it and even Darcy was becoming more convinced that it might be for the best.

  Chapter 25: Love is in the Air

  Lydia was becoming upset. It had been at least a half an hour since Elizabeth had left and Dr. Morgan had promised he would give her something to relieve the pain. It was not as bad as it had been, but it was annoying and she could certainly not rest much without some medication. She knew they did not want to give her laudanum anymore, but it certainly would feel good at the moment. Lizzie had told Lydia how William Carlson, Lizzie’ father, had become addicted to opium and died of it, and had warned her the same thing could happen with laudanum, so she should fight her desire for it, but it was hard.

  There was a soft knock at the door, and when she told whoever it was to come in, she was surprised to see Daniel. Dr. Morgan had said Daniel would not be taking care of her anymore; the doctor himself would take care of her for the foreseeable future. She was afraid the doctor had seen her growing affection for Daniel and did not want Daniel to get involved with her. So to see Daniel was a very pleasant surprise, particularly because he was by himself; neither the doctor nor Mrs. Jackson was with him.

  “I did not expect to see you again,” she said softly. “Your father said he would be taking care of me from now on.”

  Daniel walked over to the chair by the wall, pulled it over to Lydia’s bed, and to her amazement and pleasure, did something most inappropriate. He took hold of her hand and squeezed it. “It was my fault he told you that. I told him I did not think I should take care of you anymore, because I could not pretend to be the disinterested student doctor. I was developing feelings for you I did not think would be appropriate for one who was treating you.”

  “Oh,” she said softly, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. Had she really heard him say what she thought she had heard him say? For days she had been dreaming that somehow he might declare an interest in her, and now that he had said it, she was not sure how she should respond. All she could think to say was, “So why did he let you come now by yourself or does he not know you are here?”

  “He knows I am here and he told me to come because he thinks you and I need to talk. He and your sister seem to believe you may be developing feeling for me which is also beyond the usual patient/doctor relationship.” He looked down at her hand, where he was rubbing his thumb across the back of it. Finally he continued, “I am twenty-four years old and in all that time I have never felt about a woman the way I feel about you. I know it is not very rational I should have these feelings, because I have known you for so short a time and cannot really know who you are. Even you do not really know who you are. But I cannot deny my feelings and I need to know if it is something we should pursue.”

  When he looked up, he saw tears in her eyes. He was afraid the he had somehow upset her, and was about to apologize, when she brought his hand to her face and press it against her cheek. “You cannot know how I have longed to hear such words from you, Daniel. I know I should not use your given name, but you have been Daniel to me almost from the moment I awoke and saw you. I told Lizzie I did not want to go home with my parents, because I wanted to stay here and find out if I had a chance with you. I so hoped you returned my feelings. When your father said you would not be coming anymore, I had a good cry after he left. I thought he disapproved of me and did not want you to be involved with me. I still have no memory at all of anything before these last few weeks, but I do not care, because you have become my life. My sister is worried it is just a passing fancy brought on by the circumstances, and maybe your father is worried about that too. I only know I want your love more than anything in the world, and I cannot imagine I will change my mind, even if my memory does return.”

  He pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed it and laid it against his cheek. “I still cannot imagine what it is like for you, Lydia. This feeling is all so new to me, but in a sense even newer to you. How can we know if it is the real thing? How can anybody? And how can we know what will happen if your memory returns? Are not you worried about that?”

  “How can I be? All I know is this world I am in now and you. I do not even know how I will react to the outside world, so I do not know what to worry about. I know it will have an effect on whom I will become, but I cannot believe it will change my feelings for you. I would think you would be the one who would be worried. Why would you want to take a chance on me, who, according to my sister, was in my earlier life a silly and improper young lady? I cannot believe I will ever let myself be that way again, but I would think it would worry you.”

  “I know it should, but for some reason it does not. Besides, I have it on good authority you are the one.”

  “What do you mean, I am the one?”

  “Mrs. McMillan, my godmother, who has been my surrogate mother for several years, sent a message to my father saying her woman’s intuition told her you were the one, even though she has never met you. And Mrs. McMillan’s intuition is never wrong. So how could I not love you?”

  Lydia smiled at him. “You do realize we have gone from having feelings for one another to talking about love. I believe I love you, Daniel, but they could ask me how I know what love is. All I have to compare it with is how I feel about my sister and her husband and Col. Fitzwilliam and your father and my parents and Mrs. Jackson. This feeling is much stronger and more compelling than any of those, although what I feel for Lizzie comes close, but in a different way.” She was quiet a minute, looking deeply into his eyes. “All I know is that I do not want t
o leave you.”

  “And I do not want you to leave. You still need to remain here a few weeks, and I think over that time we can determine in our own minds if what we feel is real and lasting. I only hope your parents will understand and give me a chance.”

  There was a knock on the door, and then Dr. Morgan entered. “I think that is all the time I can give you. She needs her medication and we need to go to dinner. Is everything alright?”

  They looked at each other, and then Mr. Morgan said, “It is for us, but the question is, is it alright with everybody else?”

  “Are you ready for her parents to be told,” Dr. Morgan asked. “Everyone else seems to know.”

  “I am not sure what to do.” Turning to Lydia, he asked, “Would you like me to tell them we think we are in love, but we realize we need to give it some time? I could then ask your father for permission to court you, although it would be a most unconventional courtship, since you are a patient in my father’s hospital.”

  “I have spent much time thinking about that, and I think we should tell them together. But right now it is getting hard for me to think. I truly do need something for the pain now, and then some food. Dr. Morgan, will I be alert enough after you give me whatever you are going to give me to talk to them tonight, or should we do it in the morning?”

  “I think it best be done in the morning. If you feel like it tonight, I might let Daniel come down here with your sister, if she is willing, so you two can talk some more. You also need to talk to her. She is, I think, a very wise young woman, and maybe can help you decide how to approach your parents.”