Chapter 19
Fitzwilliam Darcy, overlord of the vast estate of Pemberley, carefully turned over in bed. In the five days since he had married the former Miss Elizabeth Bennet, he had discovered that there were few things more delightful than sharing a bed with the woman he adored.
The bed itself was rather small for two people, especially when one of those individuals was a tall, well-built man. Nonetheless, the newly married couple found they could not repine the closeness; indeed, it was a great joy to wake up in one another’s arms.
Darcy was therefore surprised and disappointed when he reached out a sleepy hand to discover his wife had already arisen. Pink light glimmered through the airy curtains and mosquito netting, and he realized that it was not as early as he thought.
A moment later, the door opened and Elizabeth slipped in with a tray in her hands. Darcy sat up, his hair tousled, and gazed lovingly at her in the soft light of the rising sun.
“Good morning, dearest Fitzwilliam,” Elizabeth murmured, pushing the netting aside and leaning over to give him a kiss. “I have brought breakfast and an invitation for an adventure.”
Darcy sat up slowly, his brows arched in surprise, “What kind of adventure?”
“Jacob, Sarah’s husband, returned from fishing and tells me that there is a large turtle laying eggs only a few hundred feet from the Christiansted pier. Apparently they usually lay at night so she may no longer be there, but I would adore walking over to see. Jacob says she is huge!”
Darcy threw his sheet off and rolled to his feet, “By all means, my darling! Let us go observe a monstrous turtle!”
Elizabeth took a few quick sips of hot tea, grabbed several rolls and stuffed them in her pocket while Darcy threw on his clothes with far more speed than was typical for him. A minute later, they were tiptoeing down the main stairs, stifling laughter as if they were little children.
Sarah stepped out of the kitchen as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Mr. Darcy and I are going to see the big turtle,” Elizabeth explained softly, gesturing toward the front door.
Sarah laughed and nodded, “I tell Mrs. Kendall.”
“Thank you, Sarah.”
Darcy guided his bride toward the door, and together they stepped out into the comparative cool of Christiansted at dawn. The streets were deserted at this hour, and the air was warm and gentle on their exposed faces and hands.
Hand in hand, they hurried to the shore, hoping that they would be in time.
/
They were. The enormous turtle was some thirty feet from the sea.
The soft rays of the sun touched on the reptile, making her patterned brown carapace nearly glow in the dawn light.
They knew from speaking to Rebekah and Sarah that there were several species of turtles that laid their eggs on the sandy beaches of the island.
One kind could grow quite massive, significantly longer than a grown man is tall, but this one was either a smaller variety or not fully grown, though it was still a full five feet long. It was a truly incredible sight.
Darcy and Elizabeth approached within ten feet and watched in awe as the great flippers slowly and methodically threw sand behind the turtle toward a hole that was being slowly filled.
“I wonder if her eggs are in there?” Elizabeth murmured.
“I suspect they are,” Darcy whispered back. “She is covering them with sand to protect them from predators, no doubt.”
“She is incredible, Fitzwilliam. Amazing. I had never imagined such a creature.”
“Indeed, she is.”
They stood together, man and wife, hand in hand, and watched as the ocean behemoth, following the instincts of many thousands of generations, paved the way for a new cycle of turtle life.
/
The door knocker sounded and Elizabeth ran a quick hand over her hair, “I will get it, Rebekah.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Darcy,” Rebekah replied, her hands deep in the slimy raw fish which Sarah was going to cook for dinner.
Mrs. Darcy. She, the former Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn, was truly Mrs. Darcy, wife to a handsome and very rich gentleman. Her mother, Mrs. Bennet, would be ecstatic if she only knew.
There was another knock at the door and Elizabeth swung it open to reveal a middle aged man on the doorstep, his attire and bearing indicative of a seafarer.
“Is Mr. Darcy here?” the sailor inquired politely.
“Yes,” Elizabeth replied with equal courtesy. “May I ask who is calling?”
“Captain Drayson of the Riley, Miss,” the captain replied.
“Oh yes,” Elizabeth returned, her heart beating slightly faster. The Riley was the ship that would carry them back to England, back to Jane and her aunt and uncle. Back to Pemberley. “Please, come this way.”
She led him through the main corridor to the parsonage office, where Darcy was seated behind the desk frowning over an obscure ledger which described the repair projects carried out in the church for the last decades. At the sight of his wife and the captain, he rose to his feet.
“Good morning, Captain Drayson,” Darcy said with a slight bow. “It is good to see you again.”
“It is well to see you again, Mr. Darcy. I trust you are in good health?”
“I am indeed, sir. I see you have already met my wife, Mrs. Darcy?”
The captain turned in surprise to Elizabeth, who walked past him to stand beside her husband, her smile sly.
A pleased smile appeared on Captain Drayson’s face.
He well remembered his conversations with Mr. Darcy and the pursuit of his love across the ocean.
It had been a romantic tale and he was immensely pleased that the story had a joyful ending.
His men would be glad that their gentleman – as they had come to refer to him – had succeeded.
With a nod to Mr. Darcy, he turned his attention to his wife.
“I am sorry, Mrs. Darcy. I did not realize ...”
“Of course you did not,” Elizabeth interrupted warmly. “We are short on domestic staff at the parsonage and thus I have been answering the door. It is good to meet you, Captain Drayson.”
“I must congratulate you both on your marriage. I am delighted for you.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Darcy replied as he glanced at his much adored bride. “You know of my pursuit of Mrs. Darcy, and I am thankful that my greatest hope was realized. I presume the Riley will be departing for England soon?”
“Yes, sir. I expect we will depart in four or five days as we need to load additional stores on the Riley. I also have to locate two men who have been gathering exotic plants for me to bring back to England, so I believe Tuesday or Wednesday next week we will depart. May I assume that you and Mrs. Darcy will be on board?”
Darcy gazed at his lovely wife and nodded, “Yes, sir. St. Croix has treated us both very well, but we are ready to return home.”
Elizabeth reached out to grasp her husband’s hand, and her eyes suddenly filled with tears. They were going home.
/
“Mrs. Darcy?”
Elizabeth, who was seated in the courtyard with her eyes fixed on the gently waving branches of a flowering frangipani tree, looked up at the young servant Rebekah in surprise.
“Yes, Rebekah?”
The girl was twisting her hands in her apron and looked extremely nervous, and Elizabeth patted the seat next to her.
“Please do sit down. Is something bothering you?”
“Not me, Mrs. Darcy, but Sarah. She will not speak to you of this but she has told me. I do not know if I should tell you ...”
“Did she tell you in confidence?” Elizabeth inquired in a worried tone.
“No, not at all. It is about her sister Althalie.”
“Is she in trouble?”
“She is yet a slave, Mrs. Darcy.”
Elizabeth’s heart quailed within her. She had spent all of her time on St. Croix in Christiansted, and had been largely restricted to the parsonage. Thus, she had not interacted with anyone she knew to be a slave, though it was possible some walking the streets were in bondage.
“I am sorry,” Elizabeth stated softly. “It must be a bitter thing.”
“Yes. Althalie is saving money to buy her freedom, but she does not yet have enough. I was thinking, since Sarah is with child and Mrs. Kendall needs more domestic help, that perhaps ...”
Elizabeth nodded with sudden understanding, “I will speak to Mr. Darcy, Rebekah. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”
/
Elizabeth stood at the window of her bedroom at the parsonage, staring out over the lovely courtyard where she had spent a few glorious hours.
Elizabeth would have enjoyed spending much more time in the lush square, but her responsibilities had been too heavy to allow her to relax as much as she wished.
She had been busy cleaning and cooking and helping Helena, which did not allow for long stretches of time staring at tropical foliage.
She felt a brief pang of regret – it was unlikely she would ever visit St. Croix again – but her brief unhappiness quickly faded away.
She had learned so much on the island about work and responsibility and had found that her times of rest were far more precious since they were rare.
She was confident that she would be a better mistress of Pemberley with these experiences.
The new Mrs. Darcy had a deeper understanding of the struggles of those who toiled in kitchen and farm, and she would never take for granted the services of domestic staff, blacksmiths, farmers and dressmakers.
There was the sound of footsteps behind her and she turned to observe Jacob, Sarah’s husband, standing in the corridor outside her room.
“Trunks, Mrs. Darcy?” the man asked with a gesture at the cases containing the clothing and other possessions of the newly married couple.
“Yes, please, Jacob,” Elizabeth requested. She took one long look about her, at the room which been both sanctuary and bridal chamber. She would probably never see it again, and she wanted to imprint it in her mind.
“Thank you,” she said finally, stepping into the corridor and walking slowly downstairs. The Riley would weigh anchor in five short hours. She and her beloved Fitzwilliam would eat one last meal with the Kendalls before boarding and sailing for England.
She stepped onto the main floor just in time to hear a shriek from Sarah in the kitchen. Worried, Elizabeth hurried into the kitchen and stopped at the sight of Sarah with her arms wrapped around another young woman, whose features were strikingly similar to Sarah’s own.
Darcy was standing near the door and turned to face his beloved wife, who was gawking in open astonishment.
“Are they twins?” she inquired quietly as he placed an arm around her slender shoulders.
“I believe they are,” Darcy returned softly. “Mr. Kendall and I arranged for Althalie to buy her freedom and she is moving into the parsonage today.”
Tears started in Elizabeth’s eyes at the sight before her, even as she felt a twinge of sorrow in her heart. Yes, the sisters had been reunited, but many other families were still torn apart by slavery.
“Thank you, Mr. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy,” Sarah cried out, her face wet. “Thank you.”
“It was our honor, Sarah,” Elizabeth replied. “You have been a wonderful friend.”
She pulled slightly at Darcy, who followed her out of the kitchen, allowing the sisters to continue their reunion in peace.