by Greer Boyd
Aunt Eleanor threw her arms around Mary, while Elizabeth and Jane tried to caress their sister at the same time. The children were cleaned and wrapped in their blankets with a coloured ribbon tied loosely around the little wrist of the heir. The afterbirth had been delivered, Mary bathed, and the birthing chair removed before the babies were placed in their mother’s arms.
Elizabeth had just opened the door to go down to David, when she ran directly into Annabel, almost knocking the young woman off of her feet. “Oh Lizzy, how is Mary?” she asked as she grasped for Elizabeth’s arm to steady herself.
“Mary is doing very well, as are your nephews,” cooed Elizabeth.
Annabel had headed through the door to the bedchamber when she suddenly realized what had been said and turned back to Elizabeth, “Nephews? There are two?”
When Elizabeth nodded her head quickly in the affirmative, Annabel squealed and started jumping up and down, “Oh Lizzy. I am so happy. Two nephews . . . TWO.”
“Well AUNT Annabel, if you will release my hands, I will go to tell your brother, David.”
Surprised that Annabel’s squeal had not brought everyone out of the sitting room, Elizabeth entered quickly, happiness evident on her face. David stopped his pacing back and forth in front of the window overlooking Pemberley’s massive front lawn as soon as he spotted her.
“Viscount Matlock,” announced Elizabeth with the widest grin possible, her hands beneath her chin as if she were trying out to sing the lead in an opera, “would you like to meet your heir and his younger brother?”
David shut both eyes and steadied himself, before he bounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time, followed soon by the rest of those assembled in the sitting room. When he saw Mary, he came and knelt at her side. Looking at the bundles in her arms, he simply kissed her gently and whispered, “Thank you.”
Handing him the bundle she held in her right arm, she asked. “May I introduce you to the future heir of Matlock?”
Taking the infant into his arms, he saw abundant blond hair, beneath which were two barely opened deep blue eyes. When she gently pulled the blanket away from the face of the second infant, he saw the duplicate of the one currently in his arms.
“Well Mary, what shall we name these two young men?” he asked as his chest swelled and he clutched his son closely.
Exhaustion evident in her voice, she suggested, “If you do not mind, I was thinking of Bennet for the first and James for the second and any combination of names that you would like after that.”
“Well, how about naming them Bennet Richard Piers Fitzwilliam and James William Alexander Fitzwilliam?”
“That is simply lovely,” mumbled Mary, then her eyes closed. Aunt Eleanor took James from her arms, but David continued to hold Bennet.
When Mary fell asleep, Georgiana began to panic. That was exactly what Amanda had done immediately after Anne Elizabeth was born. Darcy instantly knew what she was thinking. Placing his arm around her shoulders, he told her, “She will be well. She is only tired after her efforts today.”
Big with child herself, Georgiana remained in Mary’s room, gently holding her hand, far long into the early evening. A couple of hours later, when the new babies began to demand to be fed, Elizabeth, Aunt Eleanor, and Aunt Lilly decided to place the children at Mary’s breasts. At this point there were not any other choices. Aunt Lilly and Mrs. Farmer had just fed baby Eleanor and her sister Anne.
Aunt Eleanor sent an express to Matlock inquiring if the wet nurse Mary and David had contacted would be available immediately instead of three weeks from now. She also sent a note to the midwife to let her know that the children had been born successfully, but she was still needed at Pemberley as soon as she had rested sufficiently from the difficult birth she had been dealing with for the past many hours.
Piers came to escort Georgiana down to dinner, but she steadfastly refused to leave Mary’s room and asked that a tray be sent up to her instead. Annabel and Jane accompanied the tray that was sent for Georgiana with ones of their own, and the three sat beside Mary’s bed as they ate their dinner and talked about the new infants who were so like the Gardiners’ tiny baby girls.
After they had finished their meal, Georgiana left for a moment to refresh herself. When Annabel took Georgiana’s place and gently took Mary’s hand into her own, she realized it was unusually warm. Placing her palm on Mary’s forehead, she found her to have a high fever. Abruptly, she asked the maid sitting in to corner, to have Elizabeth, Aunt Lilly, and Aunt Eleanor come to Lady Mary’s room immediately. “Also,” she instructed, “ask Mrs. Reynolds to bring a basin of cool water and cloths, and have her send for the Lambton doctor as quickly as possible.”
Darcy dispatched a carriage to Kympton forthwith, along with a note to the doctor telling of the successful birth of the babies, describing the current situation with Mary, and asking the doctor to come to Pemberley House in the proffered carriage.
Moments later, Elizabeth entered Mary’s room closely followed by her aunts. The three women had been resting, having taken their dinner in their rooms as well. Before Annabel could say anything, Mrs. Reynolds entered with the basin and cloths. Immediately they knew what was happening. By now Mary was almost delirious and thrashing about in the bed. When Georgiana came back into the room, she found the other women looking anxious as Annabel and Jane administering cooling cloths to Mary’s face, arms, and upper body, while Mrs. Reynolds prepared a tea of feverfew. Elizabeth had pulled the curtains open wide and opened the window.
When David and Darcy strode through the door, Georgiana rushed to her brother pleading, “Please do not let her die. I know that I not could bear it. Not like Amanda. Please do not let her . . .”
Suddenly her words were cut off as she gave a harsh gasp of pain and collapsed into his arms. Darcy fought panic as he looked from David to Elizabeth, who immediately took charge. “William, we must take her to her bedchamber. David, please find Piers. Mrs. Reynolds, Jane, as much as I wish to remain with Mary, I must be with Georgiana.”
Georgiana remained unconscious for ten hours. Very early the next morning, she woke to find Elizabeth gently holding her hand and Piers stretched out on top of the duvet, snuggled close to her, with his arm wrapped protectively around her protruding stomach. As she was seized by pain, she let out a whimper sounding so very much like a wounded animal that it awakened Piers. Looking around the room, she saw Rebecca and Maryann and then Gabby and Lin.
“Lizzy,” she asked, grimacing as another pain struck her, although it was not as strong as the previous one, “Is the baby coming? It is weeks too early.”
Elizabeth held her hand tightly and then moved to brush aside a tear that had escaped from the corner of her sister-in-law’s eye: “Georgiana, whether it is way too early or not, the baby IS coming. Your water broke shortly after midnight, but you remained unconscious until now. Your body has convulsed as in pain for the last few hours, but this is the first time that you cried out.”
As though suddenly remembering, Georgiana impatiently asked, “How is O-o-o-o-o-o-h-h-h.” Grasping her stomach and with new tears in her eyes, she started again, “How is Mary?”
Piers answered her before Elizabeth had a chance to speak. “Her fever broke early this morning, and, after bathing, she was able to feed the boys again with the help of Aunt Eleanor and Aunt Lilly. It is a good thing, too, since we seem to be a bit short on wet nurses lately.”
Running her fingers down the cheek that rested so close to hers, Georgiana turned slightly and whispered softly, “I love you so much.”
He responded with a quick kiss to her cheek and a whisper of his own, “And I love you.”
“Georgiana, I hate to tell you this, but you must see if you can walk around the room a bit or in the hallway just outside,” explained Elizabeth, as she pulled the duvet away and sought bedroom shoes for her sister.
Although he always slept with Georgiana, Piers left to refresh himself in his bedchamber and ask for a breakf
ast tray for eight to be brought to the shared sitting room located in the center of their suite of rooms. After she had eaten, Georgiana continued to walk for the next eight hours, resting frequently but continuing to walk as much as possible.
Fortunately, Dr. Seal had arrived in the Darcy carriage within five hours of being summoned and had split his time tending to both Mary and Georgiana throughout the rest of the night. He had retired to his proffered bedchamber shortly after Mary’s fever broke. Awakening early in the morning, and after checking on both of his patients, he came down in time to have breakfast with the Pemberley House household. By late morning, Mrs. Hedgeley, the Lambton midwife, had arrived, and by early afternoon Dr. Crawford was also in residence, which was extremely good timing. Less than an hour later, Dr. Seal had been called away for an emergency at a neighboring estate.
Mrs. Reynolds had just shown both Dr. Crawford and the midwife to their individual bedchambers, when Georgiana started to suffer severe pains in both her back and her stomach. Piers refused to leave her side, and when it became apparent that he would not be persuaded any differently, he was allowed to remain close behind her, resting his body against the head of the bed. By six o’clock in the evening of May 22, 1820, Piers saw his son and heir come into the world. He was small, but then Georgiana was almost seven weeks early. The new father watched intrigued as Elizabeth loosely tied a length of coloured ribbon around the infant’s tiny wrist. She explained, “After the first set of twins, we decided to be prepared, so lengths of coloured ribbon are never far away.”
Three quarters of an hour later, his daughter was born. The Marquis of Kympton, Lord Julian Alexander William D’Arcy and The Lady Amanda Alexandria Elizabeth D’Arcy became the third set of twins born at Pemberley Estate in as many months.
When Darcy came into his sister’s bedchamber after the children had been born, he had tears streaming down his face. He bent down to give Georgiana a kiss on the cheek, and she offered him her daughter as he sat in the chair beside the bed. He took the little girl in his arms, and when she opened her eyes and he saw the sapphire blue of his sister’s eyes looking back at him, he began to cry in earnest. “Amanda,” he nuzzled the tiny ear, “I will always be your protector, and I will always love you.”
He then took the linen square from the pocket of his waistcoat and tenderly wiped the tears that had fallen onto her face. Remembering that he had done almost exactly the same thing nearly twenty years ago, he looked up to see Mrs. Reynolds wiping tears from her eyes, remembering as well. Georgiana reached for his hand, “Wills, you remember.”
“Always,” was his only response.
Returning his niece to her mother, he took his nephew and looking deeply into the wee one’s bright crimson face, he repeated the same promise, “Julian, I will always be your protector, and I will always love you.” He could not help but notice the sharp little nose, but, of course, that too was a family trait.
∞∞∞
Sir William Lucas, his wife, and their daughter Maria arrived the next morning to find the Pemberley House household simply buzzing with talk about the three sets of twins and the dilemma of finding additional wet nurses, since the ones Mary and Georgiana had contacted were not going to be available for another three weeks or more. It was fortunate indeed that the Lucas’ had traveled with Mrs. Gertrude Morley and her cousin, Mrs. Wilda Stump.
Both women had been widowed a little over a year earlier, when influenza had swept through their families village in Kent, killing both their husbands and newborn babies. Not having any other living family and in order to support themselves, they had become wet nurses when, after having delivered twins, the wife of a gentleman who lived near Nodaway in Bedfordshire had declared that she was not inclined to nurse the babies herself and could not be persuaded otherwise. Thus, for the last year, that family had employed both women. On the first birthday of the babies, the mother suddenly declared them weaned so the cousins were forced to give up their charges and leave.
Being long acquainted with Mrs. Hillary, the Rosings Park housekeeper, they had sent her an urgent express, asking if she had knowledge of anyone in need of a wet nurse or two. Knowing that her mistress was soon to deliver, Mrs. Hillary sent an express to Sir William Lucas and his wife, explaining the situation and giving them her strong recommendation for the women. Sir William had written to the women telling them that his family would be traveling through Bedfordshire the next day on their way to Pemberley in Derbyshire and he would gladly transport them in his carriage. While he could not guarantee them a position, since there were so many expectant mothers at that estate at that time, he presumed the probability of their gaining employment was very high.
It had not taken more than a few minutes before the women found themselves in Darcy’s study being interviewed by David and Piers along with Elizabeth, Darcy, and Aunt Eleanor. Less than three quarters of an hour later, they were introduced to the two sets of twins, and it was love at first sight, as it had been for Mrs. Farmer with the Gardiner twins.
∞∞∞
All of the new mothers were very appreciative of Aunt Eleanor’s foresight in having them in one central location for their confinement and delivery. Pemberley House was vastly more expansive than the next largest family home. A few of the vacant rooms on the top floor had been opened for the first time in many years to provide bedchambers for the maids and valets of the family members. With the births of multiple babies and the host of wet nurses that were needed, more of the rooms were opened and made ready for use. Still, there remained many more available should they be needed.
The day after the birth of the D’Arcy babies, just after breakfast, Elizabeth pulled Richard aside. “Richard, may I suggest that you send an express to your wet nurse to see if she might be available to come immediately? With so many babies being born early, I think that it might be prudent.”
“That realization had not yet occurred to me. Thank you. I will write to Mrs. Trotter right away,” Richard agreed, and left immediately for his bedchamber to write the letter and have it sent via express rider that day.
As providence would have it, Mrs. Trotter was only able to arrive one day before the anticipated date of delivery for Charlotte, the first day of June 1820. When she first entered Pemberley House, Mrs. Reynolds greeted her warmly and led her through the foyer and up the stairs to meet with Richard, Elizabeth, and Aunt Eleanor. On her way, she saw one expectant mother after another. Finally, with eyes opened alarmingly wide, she asked Mrs. Reynolds, “So many?”
“Honeymoon babies,” Mrs. Reynolds replied with a smile. “The members of the Darcy, D’Arcy, and their extended families are all in residence.” Mrs. Trotter remembered that there had been much talk in the London papers about the multiple weddings that had taken place last year for members of both of the families. When Mrs. Hillary had initially contacted her about her availability as wet nurse for the Earl and Countess Rosings and, even after her interview with the Lord and Lady, she had not associated them with the Darcy, D’Arcy families.
As she entered the sitting room, Richard rose to his feet along with Elizabeth and his mother. “Mrs. Trotter, I would like to introduce you to the Mistress of Pemberley, Duchess Pemberley, Her Grace Lady Elizabeth Darcy; and my mother, the Countess of Matlock, Lady Eleanor Fitzwilliam.”
At once, Elizabeth and Aunt Eleanor took over the conversation. “We are so glad that you were able to come so promptly. Wet nurses are in high demand at Pemberley House at this time,” announced Elizabeth with a laugh.
“So it would seem,” the wet nurse chuckled.
Smiling broadly, Aunt Eleanor explained further, “We have ten expectant mothers and anxious fathers, and we have already had three sets of twin births within the last three months.”
“Oh my goodness,” responded Mrs. Trotter, her amusement turning to outright amazement.
“And each of the twin births was early by several weeks,” added Elizabeth.
“With that in mind,” Aunt Eleanor h
urried on, “we should get you settled. My daughter-in-law is expected to deliver at any time. Once you have had a chance to refresh yourself, I will have Mrs. Reynolds show you to the nursery.”
As she stood to pull the bell cord, she continued, “Thank you for coming. I hope that you will find the house and the company most comfortable. We are expecting a great influx of wet nurses over the next three months, so you will have lots and lots of company.”
The nursery in Pemberley House was quite large by any standard. All of the larger cribs had been removed to the attic for temporary storage, while the cribs for Thomas, Anne Elizabeth, and Jonathan Bingley were now situated in one of the individual bedchambers within the nursery wing near the one occupied by Wallace Gardiner. Soon Thomas and Anne Elizabeth would be old enough to be given their own individual bedchambers. Finally, the furnishings from the school room within the nursery were temporally removed to the attic also, thereby affording plenty of room for the dozen or more cradles that now lined the wall of the nursery and the three rocking chairs that stood ready.
