Chapter 41 #3
“Your Aunt Mary was right about conversations and open doors,” Lizzy laughed brightly for the first time in days and Darcy’s face lit up at the hearing of it, the baby cooed loudly as she looked up at her aunt.
“I hope that you have company soon as this brood is out of me. Then, Elly, you and I will have a proper tête-à-tête with tea.” She kissed her niece and handed her back to Richard who was waylaid by Darcy.
“For that laugh, Elly, I will be buying you the best horse we can find in the country. I will be in for my hug soon,” Darcy kissed his niece and went to his wife’s side.
“These children may make us paupers if you are buying them all the best horses in the land every time one makes me laugh,” she teased her husband whose countenance lit up at her doing so.
“Since it will be her father’s line it comes from, I am hoping for discounts,” he joked, making her laugh until she gasped for air, waving away his concern and smiling at her family.
“You have all been too maudlin around me of late. Elly is truly the blessing that her mother is. I need laughter and to be positive, and it is hard when I am the only one who laughs.” She slid her hand into her husband’s.
“While it is true this will be difficult, I am my mother’s daughter and while she gifted Mary and Jane with her depths, she gifted Kitty and me with her fortitude, Lydia and me with her sense of humour, Lydia and Kitty her joie de vivre, and all of us her beauty and ability to love without reservation.
If any woman can handle this trial, it is I, William,” she reminded him gently.
“You are of course right, my beloved. I too was too caught up in concern. No one tell Mary or Jane,” he scowled at the group playfully and when Mary cleared her throat he winced and Lizzy erupted in laughter no one could resist.
“Oh, William,” she smiled up at him, the colour of her cheeks and the brightness in her eyes all the livelier as they had been absent for weeks, “I love you more each day, my beloved husband.”
“Do refrain from kissing my second daughter as you intend until I am at least unable to watch,” Lord Longbourn groused, pleased beyond measure that Elly had gifted all of the household with much needed joy, just as her mother always did.
He retired from the field, taking his Fanny with him to slip out to the church where they would give thanks to God and offer their prayers on behalf of their second daughter.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
It was on the eighteenth day of March, that the Darcy brood let their mother know that it was time for them to meet the family.
Night at Longbourn was very quiet until after midnight.
The first sign that something was happening was when Darcy yelled for one of the footmen stationed in the hall near the Lavender suite and instructed him to wake Sir Frederick, his nurses, and the midwife.
It was a matter of minutes before everyone was wide awake except for the younger Gardiner children, who were all asleep in the nursery and blissfully unaware.
Lady Longbourn entered her daughter’s bedchamber where she was already being attended by the midwife and the accoucheur with his nurses assisting as needed.
She looked at her daughter and could immediately tell that she was in labour.
Fanny was followed in by Rose Rhys-Davies, Madeline Gardiner and Sarah De Melville.
Jane and the rest of the Fitzwilliams were at Bennet Fields; they would soon be woken and make their way to Longbourn.
“Oh my, what is all this wetness?” Elizabeth demanded, holding tightly to William’s hand while he looked on nervously.
“That, my dear Lady Elizabeth, was your waters,” said Sir Frederick with authority. “Mr Darcy, it is time for you to go join the men downstairs, in the library I assume.”
“Unless my Lizzy wants me to leave, I am not going anywhere!” He stated daring someone to gainsay him.
“But sir, it is not done,” Mrs Richardson frowned.
Sir Frederick smiled; he should have expected this after he had gone through unsuccessfully trying to eject Lord Fitzwilliam Darcy from his wife’s examination in London.
“Unless my wife does not want my presence, it will be done,” he countered. Anyone who knew Darcy could tell from the steel in his voice that he would brook no opposition.
“I want William to stay with me. Propriety be damned! If I am giving birth to three babes, I WILL HAVE William here!” Lizzy yelled out, daring anyone to argue with her.
“William will stay, Lizzy. No one will ask him to leave for as long as you want him here with you.” Lady Longbourn soothed her daughter with a cool cloth to her face and a gentle promise.
“Thank you, Mama.” Lady Elizabeth relaxed as much as she could.
It was not long after that they were joined by the Fitzwilliam ladies, Elly was left slumbering under the care of a nurse as Jane had fed her just prior to leaving.
Jane, Elaine, and Marie Fitzwilliam joined the group in the chambers.
When Lady Matlock saw that her nephew was present, she lifted an eyebrow and would have made a teasing comment if Lady Longbourn had not placed a hand on her arm and shaken her head in warning.
For the next five hours Darcy felt helpless, other than allowing his wife to squeeze his hand with all of her might as the contractions came in waves.
When she felt the need, she yelled out in pain using words one would expect from a sailor.
It was after the five-hour mark when the midwife said that her Ladyship was ready.
After she instructed Lady Elizabeth to push with the next contraction, she reported that she could see a head crowning.
Lady Elizabeth was instructed to push as hard as she could and five minutes later there was a healthy wail of an indignant baby boy who had been expelled from the only home he had known.
Their new-born son was cleaned and a blue ribbon was tied to both his wrist and his ankle before he was swaddled.
The heir to Pemberley, Viscount Rivington, had entered the world.
His parents were in wonder of the babe with his scrunched-up face as he informed the world of his displeasure when the pains began again.
The heir was given over to his grandmama to be admired as he was the first male grandchild for Lady Longbourn.
Soon the room filled with the plaintive wail of the heir’s brother.
The heir to Longbourn, Viscount Meryton, made his presence known loudly.
After he was cleaned, a green ribbon was tied to his wrist and ankle so that the order of birth would be preserved in case there was a third son.
He was swaddled and passed to his great aunt Maddie.
Just as they had before the pains recommenced, and within ten minutes a baby girl entered the world with a head full of dark curls.
Although a little smaller than her brothers, she was much louder while she flailed her arms and legs and Lady Longbourn smiled.
“I got my wish! There she is, another Lizzy. You have been blessed with a babe just like you,” the mother kissed her daughter’s forehead. The afterbirth was finally delivered and Lady Elizabeth Darcy passed into unconsciousness from exertion and exhaustion.
“Sir Frederick,” Darcy looked at his wife with fear and panic in his eyes, “why has she lost consciousness? Will she recover, will I lose her?”
“Lizzy is as strong as any who has given birth and I am sure that she will recover, William. She informed me of the pledge that you made. Do not forget your promise if, heaven forbid, God calls her back to His side!” Fanny demanded hotly.
“That is not something that you will have to contemplate, my Lord.” Sir Frederick thought it was the right time to intervene. “Your mother-in-law has the right of it; I too do not believe that Lady Elizabeth will succumb.”
“Excuse me, but can you repeat that, Sir Frederick?” Darcy looked at him with hope.
“I said that I believe that she will be well. There has not been any excess of bleeding. I think that your wife’s body just needs time to recuperate.
I have seen this with births of two or more before.
We do not understand how it happens at this point.
However, I believe that the body knows that it needs time to recover so it claims the rest that it craves.
The patient normally wakes up within four and twenty hours and is no worse for wear.
You retained wet nurses as I suggested?” Sir Frederick asked calmly.
“We did, Sir Frederick. My Lizzy’s waking up will be my hopes and prayers until she comes back to us,” Darcy stated with resolve.
“Her Ladyship has just birthed three babes. Can you imagine how tired she is?” Sir Frederick asked.
“Thank you.” Darcy felt relief flood his body as he turned and scanned the room for his children.
“Here, William,” his mother-in-law pointed out to him.
Darcy gently took his firstborn son from Mother Bennet.
He had a tuft of dark hair similar to his parents’ and his own cerulean eyes stared back at him with that renowned Darcy intensity.
After passing his first son back to his mother-in-law, he took his second son from Aunt Maddie.
He immediately noticed that his second son was identical to his brother, the only difference now was the colour of the ribbons that marked their order of birth, however, like his Aunt Jane, he seemed to be serene.
After returning his second son to the new great Aunt, he took his daughter from his sister, Jane.
He was instantly lost to her. He prayed that she would be an exact replica of her mother with the same colour hair and the same hazel eyes with gold and green flecks that he so loved to gaze into when he looked at his Countess.
Her eyes were blue now, like all newborn babes, but he hoped they would change as she got older.
He was so thankful that God had given them these three blessings in His infinite wisdom.
Lord Pemberley allowed himself this moment to feel joy for his three babes that had all been born living, and who by all accounts so far, were strong and healthy.
He would worry about his wife until she woke; it was his way to worry about those that he loved.
He was heartened after Sir Frederick had told him to expect his Elizabeth to wake soon enough.
Darcy followed his children as they were carried into the suite next to theirs that had been co-opted as the nursery.
It was much closer than the actual nursery one level above them.
Present were two nursemaids and two wet nurses.
He kissed each of his babes gently on the forehead and withdrew from the nursery so that his children could get the sustenance that they required.
In the hall he met Sir Frederick, and was grateful for the chance to thank the man for all of his assistance.
The accoucheur gave an incline of his head and then went to his bedchamber to claim some much needed sleep.
It was past seven in the morning already and the first tendrils of the rising sun were creeping over the horizon in the East.