Chapter 36: Rural Life 30: Double Crisis
It was almost two o'clock in the afternoon when Heather returned home from Netherfield. The intermittent rain made the country dirt road muddy and difficult to walk on. The journey that usually took only forty minutes by carriage took at least one and a half times longer in winter.
This is probably why many wealthy families move to London during the winter. Villages like Longbourn offer their own unique charm in spring, summer, and autumn, and even a short walk through the fields and woods on a sunny day can be beneficial to one's health.
Winter in the UK is cold and rainy. Rural areas lack modern heating systems, and muddy and icy roads make travel difficult, bringing social activities to a near standstill. Furthermore, winter supplies are relatively scarce in rural areas, and the limited transportation of essential items like fresh fruits and vegetables and fuel also reduces the quality of life in winter.
After a bumpy ride back home, Heather felt cold and dizzy, and nearly vomited when she got out of the car. She now truly felt that Mr. Bingley still had some sincerity towards Jane. He had been able to insist on walking this difficult route at least every other day for a while, which really showed his patience and perseverance.
Heather carefully stepped out of the carriage after wrapping her shoulders and head in a thick cashmere scarf. Looking up, she saw Jane, dressed in a casual dress, standing anxiously at the door. Her nose was red from the north wind, and although she tried to maintain a calm expression, her demeanor was that of a broken little white flower.
Heather quickly pulled her into the house, and soon everyone gathered around, staring at her eagerly.
Just as she was about to speak, she couldn't help but sneeze. "Is there any hot soup? Can I eat while we talk? This horrible wind is going to give me a cold."
The fact that she was still thinking about eating at this time made the atmosphere in the room much more relaxed.
Mrs. Gardner took over the responsibility of getting the kitchen to put lunch on the table as soon as possible on behalf of the bewildered host. Fortunately, Mrs. Molly had already made some preparations, so everyone didn't have to wait for another two hours with hungry stomachs.
Lunch was put together as quickly as possible, and Heather picked up the spoon and took a big sip of the hot chicken stew, and finally felt her body warm up.
As she sipped her soup, she spoke as calmly as possible, "From the information I have so far, Mr. Bentley isn't someone who would betray his friends or desert a battlefield. He really does have urgent matters to attend to."
As soon as she said this, Jane immediately put down her fork in worry.
"What's wrong with him? Is he sick?"
Heather immediately denied it. "No, he's in good health. He just ran into some problems with a business deal he was doing, so he has to go back to London to deal with it. It happened so suddenly that I'm sure Mr. Bentley didn't have time to come and inform him."
Elizabeth asked, "What about Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst? Why are they gone too?"
Heather explained calmly, "Mr. Bingley left in a hurry, and they were worried, so they wanted to go with him to take care of him. Besides, Netherfield is too big in the winter, and heating is not convenient. They are used to spending the winter in London."
Everyone else in the room felt relieved, but Jane was still worried. Mrs. Bennet was only concerned about when Mr. Bingley would be able to return to complete his plan, but no one could predict the time until the matter was settled.
In the evening, although the Gardners tried their best to tell interesting stories to liven up the atmosphere, and Heather and Mary actively cooperated, the atmosphere in the living room became a little subtle, like a group of clumsy actors trying to play an ordinary state where nothing happened, but they were exposed because they tried too hard.
After returning to the room, Jane couldn't fall asleep for a long time. She stared at the slightly swaying candlelight, and the uneasiness in her heart became more and more magnified.
"I always feel that what happened to Mr. Bingley is not as simple as my aunt said. Maybe Miss Bingley didn't tell the truth, or maybe my aunt concealed it to prevent us from worrying."
Elizabeth blew out the candle, climbed onto the bed, and leaned her head against Jane's. "The war isn't over yet, and industry and trade have been affected. Didn't my uncle say business is tough this year? Besides, doesn't Mr. Bingley still have land? Even if business is slow for a while, as long as he has the land, he'll have a steady stream of income."
Jane sighed softly: "Actually, I also know that he may not be very good at running a business. He is always too kind-hearted. Just like Dad said, maybe if the two of us were together, we would be cheated by the servants and would not be able to make ends meet."
Elizabeth said, "You just have too little experience. Once you've been fooled a few times, you'll know everything. Now close your eyes and go to sleep. You've been outside in the wind for so long today, I've heard you cough several times."
Elizabeth's worries were not wrong. The next morning, when she opened her eyes, she found that something was wrong with Jane. Jane's face was flushed and her eyes were tightly closed. Elizabeth touched her forehead and hurried downstairs to call for help.
Jane felt someone wiping her face with a wet towel in a daze. She opened her eyes and found that her whole family was surrounding her. She was a little dazed for a moment.
"Oh, oh, my poor Jane!" Mrs. Bennet rushed over when she saw that she had finally woken up.
Jane shook her mother's hand in confusion, turned her stiff neck, and saw Mrs. Gardner sitting next to her with a concerned look on her face, then she remembered.
"Aunt." Jane coughed a few times, causing Mrs. Gardiner to come over and calm her down. "Are you going back to London in two days? Could you take me with you? I want to go to London to see Mr. Bingley and see if he needs comfort and help."
Mrs. Gardner looked at her with embarrassment. "But you can't hold on any longer. The fever probably won't go away in two days. It'll take such a long carriage ride to London. I'm afraid your condition will get worse."
Jane looked at her pleadingly. She was really desperate at the moment. Not only was she being roasted by the fire in her body, but she was also suffering from the fire of love.
Elizabeth changed to a new towel to wipe her face and said distressedly, "Jane, don't worry. Wait until you are fully recovered, which will take at most two weeks. Then I will take the bus with you to your aunt's house. How about that?"
Jane supported herself and got up: "Mom, can you help me call the village doctor? Maybe after bloodletting, I can recover faster and go to London earlier."
Elizabeth: "Jane, are you confused? There is no scientific basis for using bloodletting to treat colds and fevers. I've even heard that some people get sick more and more frequently due to lack of blood."
For a moment, the room fell into a gloom. Mr. Bingley was gone and Jane had collapsed again. The others could only stand by and worry, not knowing where to help.
Mrs. Bennet hoped that Jane could get better soon and go to London, but she felt that bloodletting was too terrible and it would be best not to do it unless it was absolutely necessary.
Looking at the anxious family, Heather thought for a moment and then waved Lena upstairs to get her echinacea extract. She hadn't wanted to bring it out so quickly, intending to test it on animals a few more times before slowly convincing everyone. After all, Longbourn's current methods for reducing fevers and treating colds, aside from bloodletting, were still based on primitive methods of physical cooling and self-healing.
"Jane, I have a way. Do you want to try it? Look, this is it." Heather took the glass bottle from Lena and held it up to show her.
After filtering, the tincture had already turned a less turbid brown color during the day. Under the sunlight, it looked a bit like sewage freshly scooped from a muddy ditch. Gently shaking it, there was still an unknown sediment swirling in the bottle.
Mrs. Bennett was horrified: "Hazel, you didn't buy this from some witch, did you? You can't be so ignorant!"
Heather was about to laugh at her imagination. "Oh, I can't explain it to you. This is made from flowers I picked from the back mountain. Mary went there with me. I just processed it and put it in rum. Because it hasn't been soaked long enough, it hasn't turned into the final amber color yet."
Mary nodded. "This is what my aunt made in the attic. It's just like the Native American herbs in the book, right? My aunt said this flower can also cure fever."
Heather explained, "This flower is called Echinacea, and it has immune-regulating and anti-inflammatory properties. It's actually better for mild colds or when a cold is about to start, as it can stimulate immune cells and shorten the course of the cold. I also felt a little off after getting caught in a draft yesterday, so I tried adding a few drops to hot water and drinking it, and I had no symptoms this morning."
The two ladies were confused by this series of strange words, but Mary and Elizabeth listened thoughtfully.
Heather knew that such a novelty would be hard to accept. "Although it hasn't been steeped long enough, I already felt a strong numbing sensation when I tried it yesterday. This means that this cold tincture is basically ready for use. Jane's fever is just caused by a fever and a cold wind. I think even if drinking it doesn't do much good, it won't make her condition worse."
Heather put the bottle on Jane's bedside table and let her decide whether to use it or not. Everyone else decided to respect her choice.
Jane thought quietly for a moment, then picked up the bottle and said to the maid waiting at the door, "Please get me a cup of hot water. I want to try it."
Jane had just drunk some water and lay down when Lucy ran up and whispered to Mrs. Bennett that Mrs. Brooke and several other ladies had come to visit and were waiting in the living room.
As Mrs. Bennet went downstairs, she said regretfully, "They must have come here to make fun of us. They took the trouble to come here despite the difficult road. They must have had no good intentions. Hazel, you're right. It's all my fault. If I hadn't revealed the matter between Mr. Bingley and Jane, things wouldn't be like this now. We just need to wait quietly for Mr. Bingley to come back."
She seemed genuinely regretful. She was vain, but she truly hoped Jane would marry a good man. Now that the Bingleys were in trouble, even if she was a fool, she knew it wouldn't be resolved overnight. If it really came to a point where it couldn't be resolved, Jane couldn't just give up and die.
She could think of letting Heather keep Major Brown as a backup, and she could also think that it was not appropriate to be tied to Mr. Bentley anymore.
It was rare for her to think clearly, which made her feel both guilty and helpless. She remembered her sister reminding her to be the first to protect Jane's reputation, so she quickly cheered up and walked towards the living room.
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