Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth

by Greer Boyd

  Aunt Lilly could not contain her laughter any longer, as Darcy looked down at the children and simply stated more than asked, “Shall we continue the meal at the table?”

  The children scrambled back into their chairs giggling with unbridled glee, while Darcy pulled another chair close to the table. When he sat down, Anne Elizabeth announced, “Good,” as she nudged the confection box toward him with one small hand.

  He took one of the confections for himself. “Thank you,” he replied emphatically, “Yes, they are very good.” Then, at his next bite, he dramatically threw his hands into the air and murmured, “Uuuummm.”

  A bit insistently, Thomas interjected “Pony,” one more time. Darcy turned to look at him. “Did you enjoy the pony ride today?” Both children repeated their happy enthusiasm via hands aloft and heads bobbing, prompting Darcy to ask Elizabeth, “So how does this ‘dinner game’ work?”

  Aunt Lilly again burst into peals of laughter, and the nurses hid their faces behind their napkins. Between her own giggles, Elizabeth quietly answered, “You are already doing it. The game is meant to encourage good table manners and stimulating conversation.”

  When he realized that he had been playing all along without even knowing it, he started to laugh also, whereupon Anne Elizabeth looked to Elizabeth and giggled, “Mama,” before pointing to her father, “Funny.”

  When they had finished eating and the servant had cleared everything away, Darcy inquired, “So what happens after the ‘dinner game’?”

  “Well, usually I tell a story or read until Thomas starts to grow sleepy, then Nurse Lauren takes him up to bed,” replied Elizabeth. “I go in later and give him a kiss goodnight.”

  “Well, why not have a story time now?” queried Darcy as he looked at the children’s eager faces. “Would you like that?” Obviously elated, both skittered to the side of the bed and lifted their arms into the air.

  Without a second thought and as though it were the most natural thing in the world, Darcy picked them up and placed one on either side of Elizabeth as he began telling them about how he had taught Georgiana to ride. He recounted that before she could even walk, he or his father had sat her in front of them while they rode over the fields of Pemberley. He explained how he had searched for weeks for just the right pony for her to ride. How it had been the tiniest one he could possibly find, and how he had to ride very slowly so that Georgiana and the pony would be able to easily keep up. In much the same way, he declared that he was going to teach them to ride, and so he had already begun looking for the tiniest of ponies for them. They, too, would one day ride out with him over the fields of Pemberley Estate.

  When he had finished his tale, he looked at Elizabeth and saw her smile lovingly back at him. Then he noticed that both children had gone to sleep in her arms and that each had thrown an arm over her breast to hold her closer to them.

  He stood and bent over to gently kiss Elizabeth on the forehead as he had wanted to do for so long. With gentle care, he removed first one child and then the other handing each into the arms of their nurse. “I will be up in a bit to kiss them goodnight.”

  The nurses smiled and again exchanged knowing glances as they took their charges and headed for the nursery.

  “Thank you for the story, William,” Elizabeth smiled broadly. “I think that I will sleep now as well. Goodnight.”

  Darcy waited only a few minutes while Aunt Lilly and the maid removed the pillows from behind Elizabeth’s head and helped her to lie back on the bed. He then went to the nursery to kiss the children goodnight and afterward, although it was still relatively early in the evening, made his way to his own bedchamber. His valet helped him undress, and having slipped on his sleeping shirt, he went to bed and fell into the most peaceful sleep he had had in years as he dreamt of Elizabeth. Before he knew it, his valet was nudging his arm to awaken him. He had slept far beyond his normal time of waking.

  Once he had bathed and dressed, it was almost time for breakfast, and while everyone else was gathered in the smaller dining room he sought to have breakfast with Elizabeth. He knocked softly on the door and Mary answered. “Good morning, ‘almost sister’ Mary,” he remarked with obvious glee.

  “Good morning, ‘near brother’ William,” she answered just as cheerfully, as her arm swept into the room in a gesture indicating that he should enter.

  “William, please come in. Mary and I decided to wait for you before we called for a breakfast tray and tea,” Elizabeth smiled toward her sister and winked.

  “Oh ho, am I so predictable?” Darcy stopped short of his chair and placed his hands firmly on his hips.

  “No, I was only hopeful, William,” she nearly sighed and then gestured to the seat closest to the bed.

  “Then I shall not disappoint you,” he replied as he pulled the bell cord and bent to kiss her lightly on the forehead.

  When the servant knocked on the door and entered the room, Elizabeth brightly inquired, “Emma. Am I correct?”

  “Yes ma’am,” replied the servant clearly delighted at being addressed by name.

  “Emma, would you please bring a breakfast for three with tea and hot chocolate?” she asked cheerfully with a broad smile.

  “Right away, ma’am,” she grinned as she curtsied and disappeared from the room.

  “Elizabeth,” Darcy stated unabashedly, “it seems that the servants are as much in love with you as I am.”

  As Elizabeth blushed, Mary declared, “Elizabeth has always had that effect on people. Her pleasant smile and laughing eyes inevitably endear her to those around her.”

  “And what about your pleasant smile and laughing eyes?” asked Elizabeth, as Mary merely shrugged her shoulders and looked away toward the beam of sunlight that was streaming in through the window where the drapes had been pulled back.

  The three continued to talk until Emma brought in the breakfast quickly followed by a young footman carrying the tea and hot chocolate service on another tray. “Thank you both,” declared Elizabeth, “I will ring for you when we are finished.”

  As they ate and talked, Mary watched Darcy meticulously help Elizabeth with her food. She was now able to move her head somewhat more freely without becoming sick and that made Darcy’s self-appointed job a bit easier. But, if Mary had not known for sure that Darcy and Elizabeth had only known each other for a mere matter of days, she would have thought them to have been long acquainted. Each conversed comfortably with the other, and they often bantered back and forth. It was truly as though each was only half a person without the other, and the mere presence of the other made them both whole.

  When they had finished eating and Darcy called for the servant to remove the breakfast tray, he leaned forward from the chair in which he sat to be as close to Elizabeth as he possibly could, “How long has it been since you last rode?”

  “I have to admit I have not ridden since before I was married,” Elizabeth replied as she unconsciously picked at a loose thread in the duvet. “Jerome owned ships, but not riding horses.”

  He extended his arm to rest his hand on the arm of Elizabeth’s sister’s chair. “Mary, do you ride as well?” asked Darcy.

  “I do, but not nearly so well as Elizabeth,” Mary responded candidly, her hands clasped properly in her lap, “and it has been years since I have been on a horse.”

  “Well, I will be glad to help you improve your riding skills, since I would like to purchase a mare for both you and your sister at the same time that I purchase the ponies for the children,” he smiled brightly glancing slowly back and forth between the women.

  “William,” laughed Elizabeth, as she gently brought her hands down to rest over her knees, “is there a question in there somewhere or are you simply stating a fact?”

  “How well you know me already,” answered Darcy. He looked to the ceiling and then back at her. “I am stating a fact unless you absolutely forbid it.” He crossed his legs and placed his hand comfortably in his lap, then leaned back as he continued, “I
was thinking of Arabians . . . two mares, a light chestnut for Mary and a black or dapple gray for you, my love.”

  “Oh William, they both sound wonderful.” Mary gleefully gently rubbed her hands together, almost like a child. “I would love a light chestnut as long as it is well-tempered and well-trained to make up for my lack of expertise.” She quickly qualified as she pulled her hands down to rest on her lap.

  “I will scour the whole of England to find the most well-tempered and best trained steed for my near sister,” as he playfully bowed in her direction. “And you, my love, do you prefer high spirits or is your preference the same?”

  “Oh, I also prefer well-tempered and well-trained please, my heart. Only, may I have dapple gray instead of black? I have had enough black to last a lifetime and yet I must endure it a while longer, but not my horse, please . . . and, what of the ponies?”

  Darcy was at once amused at her curiosity and delighted that she cared. “I thought to have the stable master bring several matched pairs so that the children could choose which they might want.”

  “I will be interested to see their selection,” she replied allowing her eyes to lovingly sweep over his face.

  As the three talked a while longer, someone gently knocked on the door to the bedchamber and Darcy moved from his seat to answer. When he opened the door, Lauren, Thomas’ nurse, stood behind both of her little charges. They quickly ran past him to the side of Elizabeth’s bed and held their arms in the air for Mary to lift them up. “Mama,” cried Anne Elizabeth, as Thomas stated succinctly, “Up - - peez.”

  Elizabeth looked at her son, “Thomas, did you just say ‘please’?” He burst into bubbling laughter and was soon joined by Anne Elizabeth and the adults. “Oh my,” whispered Elizabeth almost to herself, “my son is growing up so quickly.”

  After a few minutes watching as both children snuggled to and hugged her, Darcy leaned over the edge of the bed and asked, “Who would like to go to the stable and visit Georgiana’s pony?” Both children eagerly jumped up, gave Elizabeth a hug as she kissed their cheeks, and then left for the stable along with Darcy and their nurse.

  With unashamed wonder, Mary looked from the closed door to her sister as she rested in her bed, “I know that Charles is very much in love with Jane, but William, my goodness, Lizzy, he is the most besotted man I have ever met.” Then, having drawn a chair close beside her sister’s bedside, she dropped her voice, “Lizzy, do you think that there is someone like Charles or William for me?”

  “Oh, Mary, I do not know. I can only pray that there might be,” cried Elizabeth, as she playfully chucked her sister’s chin.

  Standing and almost casually walking to look out the window into the garden below to hide her self-consciousness, Mary admitted. “You know that I am neither as pretty as you or Jane nor nearly as smart as you. I have always considered myself the least appealing of all my sisters. And our meager dowry leaves me even less to offer should any man ever look at me more than once.”

  Elizabeth crooked her finger, to indicate she had something both private and important to say and Mary should return to her side. Taking her sister’s hand once again, she confessed, “I was able to offer Jane £20,000 for her dowry, and I intend to do the same for you.”

  Clearly shocked and momentarily unable to comprehend what Elizabeth had just stated, Mary finally responded, “I am absolutely stunned. How were you able to do such a thing?”

  Candidly, but with no evidence of pride in her demeanor, Elizabeth explained: “It appears that God has given me a wonderful gift for finance and investing, knowing that I could use both to help my sisters. Jerome encouraged me and allowed me to use my profits and returns in any way I chose.” Looking fully into Mary’s wide eyes, she simply stated, “I chose my family.”

  As tears flooded Mary’s eyes and her shoulders began to shake, Elizabeth reached to embrace her. Having moving much too quickly, she clutched her head and groaned quite loudly in pain, but was able this time to fight back the feeling of nausea that swept over her.

  “LIZZY,” cried Mary as she pulled the bell cord for the maid. When a young servant suddenly appeared, Mary asked, “Emma?”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “Emma, Lizzy refuses to take the laudanum left by the doctor. Would you please see if Mrs. Wyatt would bring some tea and herbs that may help to reduce the pain?”

  “Yes ma’am. I will go directly,” responded the maid, stunned that anyone would offer her any explanation for their actions; and, in a matter of minutes, Mrs. Wyatt appeared with a tea service and her apothecary box.

  “Miss Mary,” she explained as she took several small containers from her box and placed a pinch of the contents from each in a cup, “I will brew Mrs. Mills a cup of tea and sweeten it generously with honey. That will do the trick, and if she could sleep an hour or two afterward, that would be even better.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Wyatt, for taking such good care of me,” smiled Elizabeth as she took the cup and began to drink. “Mrs. Mills . . .”

  “Please call me Elizabeth,” she stated with a grateful smile. She knew that she would soon feel relaxed enough to sleep for an hour or so and that the headache would be diminished by then. Mrs. Wyatt’s herbal recipe was one she had often used at Longbourn when Kitty and Lydia had become more than she could bear.

  When Elizabeth had finished the tea, Mrs. Wyatt helped Mary to rearrange the bed linens and pillows so that she could rest more comfortably. As the older woman left the bedchamber and headed to her office, she whispered almost gleefully, “Mrs. Reynolds is due a good long letter, yes indeed, a good long letter.”

  CHAPTER 11

  As she came into the library, Georgiana went to the section of bookcase directly behind Darcy’s chair. “Brother, do you know where the old books, those that tell of the beginnings of Pemberley Estate and the Darcy family, are located?” she inquired. “There is something that has continued to elude me since meeting with Madame Claudine and her sisters yesterday . . . something that Papa once started to tell me when I was a child . . . something about a lost relation having until 1845 . . . Oh, if I could only find the old books.”

  When Georgiana stamped her foot in frustration, Darcy turned toward her with an almost stricken look on his face, then sudden recollection displayed as his eyes opened wide and his mouth opened slightly and formed an almost perfect “O”. “Georgie, now I remember his telling me something similar. I will write to Mrs. Reynolds by express and ask her to send several of the old books and a few other items. Meanwhile, I need to check something with our solicitor. It would be a good idea for you to be with me when I meet with him, since this will be of interest to you as well.”

  As he headed off to his study, Georgiana proceeded to Elizabeth’s bedchamber and looked in to find Aunt Eleanor and Aunt Lilly conversing quietly while Elizabeth slept. When she whispered to them that she and Cousin Anne would return in time to take their place, she suddenly recalled what her father had told her so many years ago.

  She quickly left the room and literally ran to Darcy’s study. “Brother, I remember what Papa told me.” She began excitedly recounted the details that she recalled. When she finished, her expression became somber. “It had been a rainy day where outdoor activities were not to be had, so Papa and I had walked through the portrait gallery as he had told me of our ancestors and of the founding of the Pemberley Estate. When we got to the end of the great hall, he asked, ‘There are many more pictures and other interesting items preserved and stored in the attic room. Would you like to go look at them with me?’

  “Of course, I said ‘Yes,’ and he warned me that Mrs. Reynolds would not look kindly on us when we came back, for we would be covered in all manner of dust. Then he said rather wistfully, ‘It has been far too long since I last visited the original Darcys.’

  “It was just then that Mrs. Reynolds sent a footman to tell Papa that he was needed by his steward. Because of the rain, a problem had arisen at the home of one of Pemberley�
��s tenants. Oh, Wills, he never showed me what proof a distant relative could possibly have.”

  “But he showed me,” replied Darcy, as a smile widened over and then lit his face. “I have sent an express to Mrs. Reynolds asking that she send several items. After we talk with my solicitor and have had an opportunity to review the items from Pemberley, we will know better how to proceed.”

  “Brother, I will try to contain myself until we know more,” she promised, as she gathered her skirts to leave the study. From the hallway just outside, she looked over her shoulder softly chuckling, “Oh, and Wills, Gabby and her sisters are coming again this afternoon. Will you be able to assist Elizabeth to the sitting room?”

  Laughing back at her, he rose from his seat, and splaying his hands across the desktop, replied, “I believe I can make the time.”