by Greer Boyd
“Because she has met Annabel’s birth mother,” responded Aunt Eleanor succinctly. “You met her also at Richard and Charlotte’s wedding and will in all probability meet with her again should you visit at Rosings Park. Mrs. Whitehill, her birth mother, is the wife of the rector.”
“Pardon me for asking, but does Annabel know that she is adopted?” asked Gabby somewhat hesitantly.
“Yes, she does,” explained Aunt Eleanor, brushing her hand down the portion of her dress covering her lap. “We have never kept that information from her. However, she does not know who her birth mother is, and we do not wish for her to ever know who her father was. Even Annabel’s birth mother does not know who the father truly was. The young man lied to her by using William’s name instead of his own.”
Aunt Lilly gasped with sudden realization as she asked, “Wickham?”
Looking first to Lilly and then to Gabby, Aunt Eleanor explained, “William came to me and said that he would never allow anyone to suffer because of an indiscretion of his own making and that he could not allow the young woman’s child to suffer because of an indiscretion perpetrated by Wickham. When Annabel was born, a young man who worked for William’s father’s solicitor brought her to me. I did not know who Annabel’s mother was until I met her at Rosings Park when Anne died. She is quite a remarkable young woman.”
“As is your daughter, Annabel,” expounded Gabby unabashedly. “Yes, she is,” Aunt Eleanor agreed. “And with women that she can look up to like Lilly, Elizabeth, Georgiana, and all of the rest of the D’Arcy women, she may even become more so.”
Gabby called for tea, and the ladies conversed for close to an hour. Before Aunt Eleanor and Aunt Lilly departed for home to pack for the trip to Pemberley, they asked Gabby, “Will you please let us know of any items that we may transport for you? We will have more than enough carriages and it can be easily done.” The Gardiner’s carriages would be traveling in a caravan with the Fitzwilliam’s, which delighted all concerned. Long before mid-December the entire party was safely ensconced at Pemberley House and assumed they would most likely remain there until June or July.
∞∞∞
Three days before Christmas all of the family members had returned, and Pemberley House was once again a cacophony of voices, music, and pleasant company.
Lord and Lady Pinewood, Jacob and Arabella Tillman, were the last to arrive. It seemed that Jacob and Bella brought with them the frigid winter weather. Snow fell throughout the rest of the day and night, and continued to fall for another five days, while the winds swept it into drifts that covered the road from Pemberley to Lambton, making travel by carriage impossible.
With the arrival of Bella, the D’Arcy sisters made their way to Elizabeth’s bedchamber soon after everyone had departed the sitting room for the night. Having anticipated that she would have company, Elizabeth had asked Shannon, one of the young maid-companions, to bring a tea and hot chocolate service for ten. She had also requested that both Georgiana and Aunt Eleanor come to her room. When the sisters knocked on her door, she happily replied, “Come in.” Seeing that they had been expected, they shook their heads with happy acknowledgment of Elizabeth’s prescience and her latent hospitality.
“Well?” asked Aunt Eleanor as she leaned forward in her seat almost unable to contain her curiosity a moment longer, “what news of babies?”
As the young ladies simply smiled and said not a word, Aunt Eleanor chuckled, “For a family that has been so small for so long, this is absolutely astonishing.”
“Oh, Aunt Eleanor,” ventured Gabby, her hand resting protectively on her stomach, “none of us knows for sure, but we are all hopeful.”
“Charlotte and Mary have felt the quickening,” stated Aunt Eleanor with a wide, bright smile. “Both are truly with child. I am going to be a grandmother at last.”
“Rebecca, Maryann, and Georgiana are anxiously waiting for the first movement to be sure, but they are convinced that it is true,” continued Elizabeth almost as elated as her Aunt Eleanor. “Aunt Lilly will be the first. She is due in mid-April.”
“We will truly need to start looking for baby cradles and cribs in earnest, as soon as the weather breaks and we can go into Lambton to see what may be available or could be made,” urged Aunt Eleanor.
While the snow fell, the inhabitants of Pemberley House scoured the attic in search of furnishings for the nursery, played games, listened to music performed by Piers and Georgiana and various other members of the family, read aloud from the books in the extensive library (or simply read quietly alone), and studied various topics from the books purchased when last in London.
On Christmas Eve, everyone celebrated Thomas’ second birthday. He had a special cake that both Lin and Jo had helped Mrs. Kirk bake, along with other sweet treats that were to be shared with all those who served Pemberley House. The birthday celebration was held in the conservatory where the children could run and play among the trees and potted plants and look through the glass walls as the snow piled higher and higher against the other side of the thick panes.
On Christmas day, presents were exchanged among the family, and Darcy and Georgiana gave gifts to each member of the staff and all of the servants that worked for Pemberley and Pemberley House. Gifts for those at Caenvista were being handed out by Mr. Hedge, the Caenvista steward, and Mrs. Gray, the housekeeper. The Darcy House housekeeper, Mrs. Wyatt, handled the giving of the gifts there.
Annabel had somehow managed to wait until Christmas Day, but, as soon as Nathan walked into the sitting room that morning, she immediately placed her gift for him in his hand as he held out his gift for her. When they opened their packages and learned that they were exchanging nearly identical gifts, Elizabeth and Aunt Eleanor joined them in their merry laughter
When it was time for Elizabeth and Darcy to exchange their gifts, from one another, Nathan and Annabel began to almost howl with laugher, and were soon joined by their older cousins. They had also given each other a small trinket box containing a tiny braided length of their hair. Soon everyone in the sitting room was laughing companionably.
Aunt Eleanor leaned toward Aunt Lilly in a conspiratorial manner and declared, “I think that shows a startling similarity of mind. What do you think?” Both women felt that one day their families would be linked even closer than they were now.
Apart from the games, the birthday celebration, and Christmas festivities, the family members mostly talked. And as they talked, their conversation invariably turned to two main topics: babies and anything and everything to do with them, and various investment opportunities. Nathan mentioned the possibility of opening a confectionery shop in either Lambton or Kympton and was pleased to find that Gabby and Lin had already been thinking along those same lines themselves.
Gabby mentioned that she had talked with Mrs. Weaver, the owner of the modiste shop in Lambton, who mentioned she was interested in selling her shop and moving to Bath to take care of her aging mother. The possibility of buying a business that was already established made a better plan for expansion than starting a new business where none had been before. Nathan suggested that they might be able to purchase the building across the street from the existing shop. The building had an expansive ground floor. If some walls were removed, the ceiling reinforced, and the then expanded room divided in the middle there would be enough room for both the modiste and confectionery shop. Plans would need to be made to make the kitchen area safer, but that could be accomplished at the same time that any renovation was done to the building.
The morning the snow stopped dawned bright and beautiful. Without a hint of the wind that had blown for the previous five days, the temperatures seemed almost balmy, although it was still freezing. Nearly everyone wanted to leave the house for a while, so Darcy had the sleighs, eight in all, made ready for a trip to Lambton. Four were large enough to accommodate four or five people, while the others could carry only two. Needless to say, the smaller sleighs were reserved for married couples only.
The trip to Lambton that would normally have taken much less than an hour stretched into two and a half. Even though everyone was bundled and blanketed, and bricks had been heated to keep feet warm, when they had arrived in the town, they were extremely cold and rushed to stand before the massive fireplace inside the main public room of Three Lions Inn. Once they were warm again, they had a lunch of thick hot soup with fresh-made bread and butter, and a choice of tea or hot chocolate to drink.
When they had finished their meal and refreshed themselves, they went next door to look at the building that Nathan had described. As they looked through the windows, they could see many possibilities.
“Nathan,” declared Gabby shading her eyes to peer through the window to the interior, “you were right about this building. It could be made to serve for both the modiste and confectionery, since neither would need to be the size of the shops in London.”
“I like it. I like it a lot,” announced Lin. “Cousin Darcy, do you think that we could arrange to see the inside tomorrow if possible?”
“Yes, I think that could be arranged. I will speak with the innkeeper to allow us to look inside, if not tomorrow then sometime within the next few days.” Darcy walked up and down in front of the building, as options for its interior design came to his mind and potential uses occupied his thoughts for a few minutes.
“Excellent,” gushed Elizabeth, as she took the arm that Darcy offered. They all then slowly walked along the street, looking into shop windows until they reached the end of the sidewalk and the woodworker’s shop. As soon as they were inside, Elizabeth’s eyes were immediately drawn to a beautifully constructed oak cradle. On the inside of the head of the cradle was carved a stand of trees with a small flowing stream, while the inside at the foot showed a field with a mother deer standing over her sleeping fawn.
“Oh, this is wondrous,” exclaimed Elizabeth, and her eyes sparkled when she looked back at the others. Placing her hand on one side, she noticed that with the slightest bit of pressure, the cradle rocked gently back and forth. Soon the other ladies joined her to run their hands over the cradle and rock it slightly, each as delighted as she was with its design and smooth movement.
“William, I want this for my Aunt Lilly,” declared Elizabeth. She walked to the owner, presented her card, and asked that the bill be sent to the address on the card, while the cradle was to be delivered to Pemberley House.
“Oh Lizzy, she will be positively thrilled,” enthused Mary. “I think I will come again with Maman to look at more things in this shop.” Several of the others nodded in enthusiastic agreement, as Darcy gathered them for the walk back to Inn in preparation for the return ride to Pemberley.
Once back at the Inn, they again warmed themselves in front of the fireplace, while the servants at the Inn replaced the now icy cold bricks from the sleighs with hot ones from the fireplace.
As they had climbed into the sleighs after removing the blankets covering the horses and turned them toward home, no one paid any attention to the woman who had walked to the window of the Inn to watch as they drove away. Slowly, she turned from the door, returned to her seat in the far corner of the main public room, and continued to sip at her now cold tea. She had been in Lambton for nearly two weeks and seemed to blend in with the other travelers who had been stranded there for the last six days. She had listened closely as Darcy had asked the innkeeper if he would obtain the key that they might look inside the building next door on the following day.
Returning to her room, she took a small bundle wrapped in felt from her traveling chest, removed the felt as though she were unwrapping a gift, and lifted the gun hidden inside. Then she took the small box containing the patch, the ball, and the powder, and prepared the gun for use just as Wickham has shown her long ago.
“So Darcy has a new love,” she spoke barely above a whisper as she ran her hand down the length of the barrel of the gun. Then, closing her eyes, she caressed it as though it were a lover as she looked into the deeper recesses of her mind and remembered. Wickham had been a squalid man, but he had been hers. Darcy and this Mills woman had taken him away from her. Now . . . NOW, she would take Darcy’s love away from him.
Very early the following morning, a messenger was sent to Pemberley House informing Darcy that the innkeeper had obtained the key and they might inspect the building at their convenience. Gabby, Lin, and Nathan were very eager to get inside, so Darcy decided to take them to Lambton later that morning in one of the larger sleighs, and he had invited Clarissa to come along as well.
When Clarissa joined the others in the foyer, she wore a thick woolen cape with a large hood, a knit scarf wrapped around her neck covering most of her lower face, and tall boots similar to Darcy’s Hessians, but definitely made for a woman’s foot.
The three women snuggled together as they sat on and under thick woolen blankets in the second seat of the sleigh, while Darcy and Nathan took the front, covering themselves with blankets in the same fashion. An hour and a quarter later, they were merrily laughing together as they began to warm themselves before the fireplace in the large public room of the Three Lions Inn, just as they had done the day before. Suddenly, Darcy heard a shout as a shot rang out, and Clarissa slumped to the floor at Gabby’s feet.
Nathan stood almost frozen for a few moments, before running to Clarissa to find both Gabby and Lin already kneeling by her side. Gabby turned to the stunned innkeeper, “Send a runner for the doctor immediately, and we need a room where we can take her.”
“Of course,” the innkeeper complied immediately, as he instructed a young maid standing nearby to take them to a large suite on the first floor.
At the same time, Darcy hurried to assist a young man who was struggling with a woman in the far corner of the room. The outrider had reached the struggling pair only moments before Darcy saw her face. “Mrs. Younge,” he shouted. “WHAT . . . what have you done?”
“I KILLED THE MILLS WOMAN. I KILLED YOUR LOVE,” she shouted and jeered at him, “Just like you killed mine.”
“But, that is not Mrs. Mills, but her twelve-year-old niece,” cried Darcy still so stunned that his anger had not been yet fully awakened.
“YOU LIE. I saw her with you yesterday. You LIE,” she shouted and stretched her hands toward him with fingers splayed as though to scratch at his face.
“You had better hope that she lives or, as God is my witness, I will see you hang,” seethed Darcy as he turned to the young man who had been struggling with the woman minutes before. “Thank you for your assistance,” he cried, trying to reign in his temper and intent on maintaining some modicum of composure.
“I am only sorry that I was not able to keep her from firing the shot. I tried to knock the gun from her hand with my walking stick, but was simply too far away to deflect the gun very much,” replied the stranger, eager to apologize for his ineptitude.
Darcy simply looked kindly at him and smiled benevolently, “May I have your name, Sir?”
“Daniel Benton, Earl of Greenwood,” replied the young man with equal warmth, as he bowed.
Darcy suddenly remembered that his cousin had inquired about a nephew visiting Pemberley for the Christmas holiday, but he was unsure of this young man at the same time. “You are Jacob Tillman’s nephew?”
“Yes, I am. You know Lord Pinewood?” asked the young man as his face brightened.
“He is my cousin. I am Fitzwilliam Darcy, Duke of Pemberley,” he replied with a bow of his own. After shaking the young man’s hand, he continued, “I would like to speak with you further if you will wait while I check on my niece.”
“Certainly, of course,” responded the young Earl with a nod.
The innkeeper directed Darcy to the room where his party had taken Clarissa. As he charged in, Gabby caught him by the arm and turned him back toward the open door.
“Darcy, please allow us to tend her and ascertain the extent of her injuries, and I will come to you as quickly as possible. The doctor has been su
mmoned and should be here soon,” she explained, her voice breaking.
Jaws clenched, Darcy stated flatly, “Mrs. Younge thought that she was Elizabeth.” Turning to leave, he saw Nathan slumped in a chair with his back to the bed holding his head in his hands. “Nathan, come with me,” he insisted.
“I am sorry, Darcy,” replied Nathan, turning his tearstained face up to look at the older man, “but I will not leave this room until after the doctor tells me how badly Rissa is hurt.”
“Cousin,” murmured Gabby, “leave him with us. We will look out for him and make sure that propriety is adhered to as well, then we will send him down when the doctor finishes his examination.”
“Nathan, I will ask the innkeeper for a private sitting room and wait for you there,” called out Darcy as he strode purposefully out the door and down the stairs. When he reached the public room, the innkeeper informed him that the magistrate, Mr. Proctor, had arrived and was already speaking with Lord Benton.
As he crossed the room toward the magistrate and the young man, he eyed the corner where Mrs. Younge was being held by his outrider and two of the Inn’s footmen. Still, he managed to see Dr. Seal, the Lambton doctor, as he walked through the front door. Once the innkeeper had provided directions to where Clarissa and her companions were waiting, he returned to where Darcy stood with the magistrate and explained that the woman had arrived two weeks earlier and paid for a month’s lodging in advance, saying her name was Mrs. Boarder, and that she was waiting for her traveling party to arrive.
