After Darcy had made Ashley her tea, he'd gone back to the bedroom to find her sleeping. He'd set the tea aside, and for a while he just sat with her, thumbing through her very well-loved copy of Wuthering Heights. He should probably be spending more time on the non-fiction, but he supposed it was okay to give his brain a break now and again.
Time ticked on, and Darcy eventually decided he should make her some lunch. Magic soup had appeared, but did manage to make her a sandwich all by himself. He brought it through on a tray which he placed on the bedside table and gently woke her. He ate with her, and then he pressed a kiss to her forehead and told her that he was going to have to check in on Annie, but that she was to call him if she needed him to hurry back. Or just to talk to him. But she had seemed happy enough just to stay and rest.
He pulled on a waistcoat and buttoned it up, but he didn't bother with a jacket or doing up a fancy necktie. The walk was good, actually. It helped to clear his head, but he was still finding it difficult to shake the thought that he had been the cause. He had put a strain on her relationship with her mother, and as much as he had brought Ashley happiness, he also had a part to play in her current pain.
Being lost in his own thoughts, he didn't realise that he was marching along with a scowl on his face like he was about to kill a man. He marched his way through the park, up to the barn. He could see the woman standing there, but since he didn't expect anyone he knew to be there, his expression really didn't change until he was a couple of feet away from her. And then it was like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over him.
"Oh my God, Georgie?!" he exclaimed, his voice catching in his throat. He pulled her into a tight hug and surprised even himself by promptly bursting into tears.