Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth

by Greer Boyd

  “Daniel,” asked David with a sympathetic smile, understanding more than the others why the young man would wish for the informality, “how did you remember about the ‘medicinal’ properties of clay?”

  “Well, as Nate can tell you,” replied Daniel almost shyly, “I do not have a head for money or finance or investing like he does; but things involving livestock, especially the care of horses, seem to stick in my mind. I thought that if the clay worked on a horse there was hope that it would work on a person.”

  Daniel seemed quite comfortable within the Darcy and D’Arcy clan, and Jacob was eternally glad that he had had the foresight to ask to bring him to Pemberley.

  The snow had continued to fall for two days, and it was another two days after that before the doctor was able to reach Pemberley House. He had been greatly concerned for the fate of the young woman and was most eager to see how she was doing. After he had examined Clarissa’s wounds and found them to be healing exceedingly well, Mrs. Reynolds told him about how the infection had set in quickly, and how they had finally managed to draw it from the wounds.

  “My goodness,” acknowledged the doctor, “I had forgotten about the healing properties of clay. From now on, I may just have to start carrying a jar of the stuff in my bag.”

  A week after recovering from the infection, Clarissa felt well enough to join the others for breakfast in the dining room. Her arm was carefully bound across her upper stomach beneath her breast to restrict its movement until her shoulder had a chance to completely heal. As she entered the room, Daniel stood up slowly along with the others, and it was then that he noticed her eyes. He could scarcely breathe as he became lost in their depth, and a wave of welcoming comfort washed over him like he had not felt since before his father had died.

  For her part, Clarissa was drawn to the young man to the point that all conscious thought seemed to leave her mind. She did not know how long they stood in the midst of her family merely gazing at one another before Nathan broke the spell when he took her hand. “Clarissa, may I introduce you to the Earl of Greenwood, Lord Greenwood, Daniel Benton.”

  As Clarissa rose from her curtsy with her brother’s assistance, Nathan continued, “Lord Greenwood, may I introduce you to my sister, Miss Clarissa Gardiner.” As Daniel bowed to Clarissa, both of them became aware of the giggles from the ladies and the knowing smiles from the men and realized that their “interlude” had been observed by all.

  “Lord Greenwood,” Clarissa spoke softly as she gave Daniel a smile that set his pulse racing, “Thank you. It seems that I owe you my life, twice actually.”

  Looking into her face as she spoke, Daniel decided that he had never before beheld such beauty: a beauty that came shining from the inside out. “Please call me Daniel,” he begged softly. “It was my pleasure.”

  “Well,” suggested Nathan as he looked back and forth between the two young people, “shall we attend to breakfast?”

  “Yes,” responded Daniel quite cheerfully. As he offered Clarissa his arm, he asked. “May I?”

  “Of course,” she replied as she took his arm. Then, turning to look at him, she spoke softly so that only he could hear, “My hero.”

  During the breakfast, no one spoke of the incident in Lambton. In fact, no one had spoken openly of it or of Mrs. Younge within the walls of Pemberley House since Darcy had brought Clarissa home from the Inn.

  CHAPTER 20

  In the early morning the day after the incident, Messrs. Grove, Georges, and Fleming, the three men who had elected to take responsibility for the protection of their collective families, bundled warmly against the cold and the snow and rode into Lambton to the Office of the Magistrate. Mr. Proctor immediately stood to greet them as they were shown into his office, and after the normal social pleasantries were exchanged, he said: “I thought that you gentlemen or perhaps Lord Pemberley might be coming here today. I was going to have this message delivered later if you had not arrived as expected.”

  He handed the note to Mr. Fleming, who read it and then passed it to the other two men to read in turn.

  “Thank you, Mr. Proctor,” replied Mr. Grove flatly. “We will deliver the note to Lord Pemberley for you.”

  Darcy knew that the three men had ridden to Lambton and that he was in their debt for their having undertaken to go in his stead, but he was surprised to see them at the door of his study a little over two hours after they had departed. All three men looked at him as Mr. Grove handed him the note from Mr. Proctor.

  Lord Pemberley

  Pemberley House

  Your Grace,

  Apparently Mrs. Younge was unable to live with the realization of her actions. She was found dead in her cell late last night. She had torn strips of cloth from her under garments to braid into a short makeshift rope, which she tied to the chain ring on her cell wall, and then around her neck. She then leaned forward from the wall until she succeeded in choking herself to death.

  With her suicide, our case against her is closed with no other action to be taken. She will be buried in an unmarked grave at the rear of the Lambton cemetery as soon as the ground thaws enough to dig the grave.

  I feel that there will be little discussion of the incident in or around Lambton.

  Howard Proctor

  Magistrate for Lambton

  “Thank you for so readily assuming the role of ‘family protector’ for us all,” acknowledged Darcy to each of the men: his cousins and his friends. After the men shook Darcy’s hand, each left the study and sought his wife, whereupon Darcy refolded the note and went to look for Mr. Gardiner. Finding him in the portion of the library that he used for his study when at Pemberley House, Darcy simply handed the note to him, quietly turned away, and left the library. By the end of the day, everyone within the house had read the note.

  George Wickham’s reign of terror was finally over, and life at Pemberley Estate was almost idyllic throughout the rest of the winter. Nathan frequently went into Lambton with Darcy, Gabby, and Mr. Grove, to help oversee the conversion of the Lambton building. Since, it would take another month or so to complete the redesign and construction of the kitchen for the confectionery, only Madame Claudine’s Modiste of Lambton opened in February, a few days after Anne Elizabeth’s second birthday in late January.

  The birthday was celebrated in much the same way as Thomas’ had been. Mrs. Kirk, Lin and Jo baked a special cake and also made sweet treats that were to be shared among the family, the staff, and servants of Pemberley House.

  By March, Daniel and Clarissa had come to seem like an older version of Thomas and Anne Elizabeth, and simultaneously a younger version of Darcy and Elizabeth. It ended up that most of the clothing that Elizabeth had sent from her home near Cheapside needed little to no alteration, as Clarissa’s form began to change quickly and proved to be almost as abundant as Elizabeth’s. To her unending pleasure, Daniel seemed not to notice; and, if he did, it was in such a manner that it was not obvious to her or anyone else.

  Still, her resemblance to Elizabeth increased to the point that when either went into Lambton, someone invariably mistook one for the other. If they went into town together, people with whom they were unacquainted often thought that they were, at a minimum, sisters and often twins.

  The pregnancies of the Darcy, D’Arcy, and extended family ladies were confirmed one by one and continued apace, while Aunt Lilly found that she was continuing to have difficulty sleeping well. One morning toward the end of the second week of March, she finished her bath and dressed with much assistance from her maid, before Nathan and Daniel arrived to escort her to breakfast. Since the sixth month of her pregnancy, someone, and most often two people, had escorted her down the steps, because both Elizabeth and Uncle Edward had become very concerned for her safety. Having grown quite heavy in the front, she found her stability suffered considerably. She had never been this large with any of her other babies until it was much closer to her time of delivery, which at this point was almost six weeks away.

&
nbsp; When she walked into the dining room for breakfast chatting amiably with her escorts as they continued to move beside her, Uncle Edward rose from where he had been sitting and came to greet her with a swift kiss and to thank the two young men for their assistance. Seating her at the table, he filled her plate with eggs and ham, toast with butter, and a generous scoop of her favourite jelly, then brought along a cup of hot chocolate. As she ate, he noticed that she seemed distracted, but chose not to inquire. He knew that she would tell him what was bothering her before long.

  A flurry of French flowed in from the hallway as Elizabeth and Clarissa came into the dining room. Elizabeth and the D’Arcy sisters were speaking only French with Clarissa to help her practice her conversational skills. Aunt Lilly chuckled to herself, when both Elizabeth and then Clarissa easily broke from the French to speak with her and then slipped back into it to converse with each other.

  “Vous deux semblez oublier que moi aussi je parle français mais pas aussi bien que vous (You two seem to forget that I, too, speak French, albeit not as well as you),” said Aunt Lilly with a chuckle. As they soon laughed together, Aunt Lilly’s facial expression suddenly changed from one of amusement to one of extreme discomfort.

  “Aunt Lilly,” cried Elizabeth as she reached for her aunt’s hand from across the table. Instantly Uncle Edward was at her side.

  “Lilly,” he cried, “what is it, my love?”

  “Oh, Edward,” she sobbed as she looked at him fully in the face, “I think the child is coming.”

  He spoke softly as he helped her to rise, “She is coming very early. Shall we get you upstairs?”

  When he asked Elizabeth to pass the word to Mrs. Reynolds that the doctor should be summoned, she assured him that it was already taken care of, and then moved to her aunt’s other side to help her uncle and instructed Clarissa to alert Aunt Eleanor.

  Shortly, Aunt Lilly was undressed and redressed in her nightgown and robe. As she climbed into bed, Aunt Eleanor swept into the room, “Lilly, is she coming early? You have never been early before.”

  As fear mixed with great pain flashed across her face and she grasped her swollen abdomen, she cried, “I know, Elly.” Before long, the room filled with women, and when Mrs. Reynolds asked how long the pain had been going on, she responded that while it had begun as slowly increasing pressure the night before, it had not really been sharp until breakfast less than an hour earlier. Then she gasped, “My water just broke.” In nothing flat, Mrs. Reynolds had her bathed and changed into a fresh gown and robe. The bed was stripped and the linens changed as well. Soon the bedchamber had been converted to a birthing chamber, and Aunt Lilly walked back and forth within the room throughout the day resting frequently. But it was nearly twelve more hours before the doctor and midwife arrived.

  In the wee hours of the morning of March 14, 1820, eighteen hours after the first severe pains of the previous morning, Aunt Lilly had an exceeding powerful contraction and Mrs. Reynolds cried, “Doctor Seal, I can see the baby’s head. It is coming.” But, then the head disappeared back up the birth canal.

  “Mrs. Gardiner,” explained the doctor, “next time I ask you to push, push as hard as you can, and then try to relax.” When her next contraction started, she followed his instructions to push. Within minutes, he held a tiny little baby girl in his hands, and soon her lusty cries filled the room.

  “Mrs. Gardiner, she may be tiny but you have a beautiful baby girl,” he chuckled as Mrs. Reynolds took the baby from his hands to clean her and wrap her in a blanket before she would be presented to her mother. “I think I will go give Mr. Gardiner the happy news.”

  As he turned to leave the room, Mrs. Hedgeley, the Lambton midwife who had come with him, started to carefully massage Aunt Lilly’s stomach to encourage her to expel the afterbirth. Suddenly, she stopped applying pressure and called out, “Doctor, come quick.”

  When he saw where her hands lay, he gave the midwife a small smile, “Massage gently. It may encourage the other one.”

  “Other one,” cried Aunt Lilly, very tired and somewhat in shock.

  “This would explain why the first one was so small and why you started labor more than a month before expected,” stated the doctor knowingly, as he again took his place on the stool beneath the birthing chair.

  Mrs. Reynolds immediately sent a young maid to bring her a length of coloured ribbon and when the young woman returned to the room, she tied the length loosely around the wrist of the first baby. No sooner had that been accomplished, than a second little girl was born. It was soon evident that Mrs. Reynolds’ forethought had indeed been necessary. Without the coloured ribbon around the tiny wrists of the first born, it would have been impossible to tell the two babies apart.

  After the midwife had helped Aunt Lilly to expel the afterbirth, she was bathed and redressed in a fresh nightgown and dress robe. The babies now washed, dressed, and sleeping peacefully, were placed in her arms, with Jane and Elizabeth standing on either side of the bed. When Uncle Edward came into the room, smiling broadly, Jane took the first little girl born and handed her to her father.

  “And who am I holding, my love?” asked Uncle Edward as he looked at the little bundle in his arms.

  “Eleanor Rose Layton, and I have Anne Elaine Wells,” replied Aunt Lilly, passing the tiny bundle to Aunt Eleanor. When the child opened her eyes, they were as pale a shade of blue as Jane’s and her hair was so blond that it almost looked like white fuzz instead of hair.

  “Well, well,” laughed Uncle Edward merrily, when little Eleanor opened her eyes to peer at him. “It appears you have not only succeeded in making a copy of Elizabeth, but you have made two of Jane.”

  As everyone in the room started to laugh, both babies began to whimper in hunger. Aunt Lilly took Eleanor from her husband, untied her gown and placed the baby at her breast, while Aunt Eleanor walked around the room softly cooing to Anne. Within half an hour, the nursing baby was asleep, and, as Mrs. Reynolds gently removed her, Aunt Lilly took Anne into her arms and placed her at her other breast to suckle. She knew that she would not be able to feed both babies as they grew bigger, but for now it was her preference.

  Soon after the births, Aunt Lilly felt well enough to leave her bed and sit in the chair placed close to the window. For the next week, she rarely if ever left her bedchamber. Nursing the twins took almost all of her time. Since they were so small, she laid them side-by-side in the cradle that Elizabeth had given her. It fit within the room perfectly, and the twins fit perfectly within the cradle. All of the expectant mothers had been in her bedchamber off to the side as the babies were born, and now one or more of them made sure to be available to assist her with the care and feeding of the girls.

  The wet nurse that Mrs. Reynolds had originally contacted regarding Aunt Lilly’s baby would not be available until close to the end of April. Since the need had become immediate, Mrs. Reynolds sent a note to her cousin, Mrs. Gray at Caenvista, to ask if she knew of a reliable and trusted wet nurse in Kympton. Bright and early the next morning a young woman dressed in the black of mourning was shown into Mrs. Reynolds’ office. She handed the note that she had been given by Mrs. Gray to Mrs. Reynolds and sat quietly in the chair across from the desk while the older woman read.

  Cousin,

  I have asked Mrs. Frances Farmer to come speak with you about the position as wet nurse at Pemberley House. She is a recent widow and only very recently gave birth to her husband’s heir. The child lived only a few weeks after the birth, and now her husband’s family sees this young woman as a burden rather than a daughter.

  I can personally vouch for her honesty and trustworthiness. Her life would be much better at Pemberley House than with those who wish her gone in their grief over the son and child that were lost.

  Your cousin,

  Dorie Gray

  “Mrs. Farmer,” inquired Mrs. Reynolds as she looked over the young woman carefully, “may I ask your age?”

  “I was two and twenty last month
, ma’am,” replied Frances, as she nervously ran one forefinger down a pleat in her skirt, but never looked away from the housekeepers piercing eyes.

  “Are you sure that being a wet nurse is what you want to do with your life,” questioned the housekeeper continuing to look into the young woman’s face.

  “Mrs. Reynolds, I have lost a husband and a child, and the only. . . only thing that I have in this world at this time is the milk that my body has produced,” she murmured tremulously. “I would prefer to have it used rather than lose everything.”

  As compassion swept over Mrs. Reynolds, she asked the young woman to wait while she took Mrs. Gray’s note to Mrs. Gardner. When she had read the note, Aunt Lily asked, “And what is your impression of this young woman Mrs. Reynolds?”

  “I liked her immediately,” she responded, without any pretense or need for further explanation.

  “Well, let us see how the girls like her,” said Aunt Lilly, looking from the cradle containing the newborns to the face of Mrs. Reynolds. “Will you bring her here?”