by APRIL FLOYD
The double ceremony would be held at Ashford Manor; the estate Mr. Darcy had leased only a mile from Pemberley. The Bennets had only come twice to visit, but the Gardiners also made use of the home whenever they came to the area. Elizabeth had been grateful to have her family nearby.
With the Colonel and Miss Darcy now wed, the large blended family, and a few neighbors from nearby, congratulated them. Everyone made their way to the dining room for a wedding breakfast before the new Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam left Derbyshire to travel south and tour the coast on their wedding trip.
When Mr. Darcy stood to make a toast to his sister and cousin, and wish them all the happiness due them, Elizabeth saw Nanny peeking in the dining room door. She excused herself and went to see whether her son was well.
When she slipped through the barely open dining room door, Elizabeth saw her son smile at Nanny. She took him and rocked the babe while searching the young servant’s face. “Why have you brought him down? Was he fussing again?”
Nanny curtseyed to her mistress. “No ma’am, not a peep from the young master but I thought perhaps you might like for Miss Darcy, err, the new Mrs. Fitzwilliam to hold him for a bit. It is a custom in my family from my grandmother’s mother to place a babe on the bed of a newlywed couple so they might have a fruitful union. Since the Colonel and Mrs. Fitzwilliam will leave after the breakfast, I thought we might let Mrs. Fitzwilliam hold young Philip for a bit since we cannot put him on their bed.”
Elizabeth laughed and thanked her servant. “What a sweet thought, Nanny! I don’t think anyone would mind if our little Philip Bennet Darcy made an appearance. Are the other children napping?”
Nanny nodded. “Peaceful as angels, they are. But this one, he must have heard the celebration and stayed awake for you.”
“You may return to them. I will bring him up after the carriage carries our newlyweds away,” Elizabeth said as she adjusted her son’s gown.
Entering the dining room again, Elizabeth went to her sister by marriage and whispered in her ear. Georgiana blushed and took her nephew while the Earl of Matlock carried on with his toast. He had paused when Elizabeth entered with the babe, but quickly recovered.
When Elizabeth sat beside her husband again and admired her son across the way, Mr. Darcy whispered his question. “Whatever was Nanny thinking to bring Philip down for the wedding breakfast?”
Elizabeth took his hand. “It is custom in her family to lay a babe upon a newlywed couple’s bed so that they might have many children. We cannot do such a thing here at Pemberley, but apparently, Georgie’s arms will do. I think it was sweet.”
Mr. Darcy chuckled low in his throat. “Why did we not have a babe placed on our bed then?”
Elizabeth elbowed him, placing a hand on her midsection and glancing pointedly down. “I do not think it would have made a difference for we may be welcoming another child by our second wedding anniversary.”
Her husband placed his hand over hers where it rested on the slight swell caused by his second child. “Why have you not said something before?”
Elizabeth leaned against him, her heart full. “I did not wish to take the attention from Georgiana and Richard. This is their time, their moment. We may announce the coming babe when they have returned from their wedding trip. It is early yet, waiting will not cause harm.”
Mr. Darcy stood and excused himself and Elizabeth, pulling her up and into his embrace. “Mrs. Darcy and I have a private matter to discuss.”
He led her to the dining room door and glanced back at their large and happy family returning to their conversation and celebration, his firstborn content in his sister’s arms. “To the library, Mrs. Darcy. I intend to express my joy behind a locked door and with but half an hour’s time before my sister and cousin flee on their wedding trip.”
Elizabeth pushed the dining room door closed behind them and hurried with her husband down the hallway, her passion for him growing with each step. The library door flew open under Mr. Darcy’s hand and soon Elizabeth was pinned against it as he turned the lock after closing it again and pressed against her, his weight a welcome burden.
She sighed against his lips when he drew near to kiss her. “Had I known what passions such an announcement would incite; I would have told you sooner.”
Mr. Darcy’s moan as he took her lips was all the answer Elizabeth needed. He would not allow her to repay the debt of keeping her news from him with only words.
When a half hour of passionate lovemaking ended in the library, Elizabeth Darcy adjusted her dress once more and pulled her reluctant husband back into the hallway to rejoin the celebration.
He planted his feet outside the dining room door and pulled her back into his arms. “You are my true love, Mrs. Darcy. None other could compare to the woman you are and I am thankful to God above for granting me the honor of being your husband.”
Elizabeth tiptoed to kiss his lips gently, her eyes holding his gaze. “Do not forget your gratitude when I am swelled again with child and as obstinate as Lydia in my demands.”
Mr. Darcy laughed and pushed an errant curl behind her ear. “I promise to remember our celebration in the library just now each time you chastise me for my part in your maternal suffering.”
She pushed open the dining room door and took her husband’s hand. “I shall recall it as well, Mr. Darcy. And the next time this afternoon, and the next time this evening.”
Mr. Darcy longed to pull her back into the hallway at her bold assurance of marital bliss to come, but his young son saw Elizabeth and reached out for his mother. Giving over his bride to his heir, Mr. Darcy rejoined his family happier than he had been in his life.
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The End
Author’s Note
About St. Valentine’s Day in Regency times, there is a humorous letter found in The Gentlemen’s Magazine, London, 1805, entitled The Reader Tickled by Cupid. You may request to see it through Yale University in the Lewis Walpole Library but you will need an account. There is also a post at a blog I adore from two best-selling authors, Two Nerdy History Girls. It is an amusing account of a man offering advice to parents and guardians about the depravity of valentines. It is quite funny to read and wonder what depravity could be in those three valentines.
Also by April Floyd
Austen Inspired
The Parson of Pemberley
No Promise of the Kind
Mr. Darcy’s Brides
Spells Spoken Lightly
Darcy & Lizzy
Mr. Darcy’s Good Opinion
Mr. Darcy’s Debt
Properly Humbled
Clever Compromises
Miss Bennet and the Beast
A Match Made in Mayfair
Mr. Darcy’s Christmas Wedding
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The Lost Heir Series:
Mrs. Fitzwilliam
The Colonel’s Son
Mrs. Darcy
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Christian Fiction/Romance
Cassidy Jane
Courting Cassidy Jane
Wedding Cassidy Jane
About the Author
April Floyd is a wanderer of the world and lover of great stories who now resides in the Last Frontier with her husband and youngest child. Days are spent doing the mom thing, managing the house, and dreaming up new variations for Elizabeth and Darcy.
www.authoraprilfloyd.com
[email protected]
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