Lizzy was holding her brother Richard’s hand as the Darcy equipage came to halt at Snowhaven. She was bouncing up and down with anticipation to see all four occupants of the lead carriage. As they waited, her mother noticed that Aunt Anne seemed to have a glow about her as Uncle George very carefully helped her down; next out was Will who turned and helped Cousin Anne out. Elaine looked at her sister-in-law with a raised eyebrow in question and Lady Anne returned a nod. Ever observant, the interaction was noted by Elizabeth, but she could not fathom the meaning.
Once the arriving family members had washed and changed, they met in the family sitting room where George Darcy stood, and after an almost imperceptible nod from his wife made the announcement.
“My dearest, loveliest Anne is with child, and she felt the quickening last week,” he declared with pride.“The newest Darcy should join us in March or April of next year.”
“I am well, Reggie,” his younger sister assured him when she noticed the concern in his mien.“I am feeling as well, if not better than I did when I carried William. If we were not certain that I am over the maladies I had a few years ago, we would not have taken the chance that I would becomeenceinteagain.”
The Earl relaxed, feeling a lot more assured that his sister was well, especially after his brother-in-law nodded his head to show that he agreed with his wife. Lizzy was most excited.“Aunt Anne is going to give me a baby!” she exclaimed. Her statement caused laughter among the family. Lady Anne called Lizzy over and helped her climb onto her lap and looked at her seriously, or as much as she could while trying to keep a straight face.
“I will have a baby, Lizzy, but not for you.” Lady Anne had to fight a fit of the giggles as her niece affected a pout.“However, your new cousin will be younger than you so he or she will need you to help.” Lizzy brightened up right away.
“Please have a girl cousin for me,” she begged sincerely,“there are too many boys and only one of me and one Anne!”
“I cannot promise, sweetling,” Lady Anne answered as she kissed her niece’s cheeks,“but I will try my best to have a little girl for you to play with.”
Not long after, Lizzy was opening a mound of gifts from her family, capped off with a huge, three tier chocolate cake with two large candles on the top. Two footmen held the tray with the cake low enough that little Lady Elizabeth was able blow out the candles. As the family clapped at her performance, Lizzy had a vision of a blond angel with the deepest blue eyes and the kindest look on her face. The vision faded and her eyes grew to be large round disks when the biggest slice of cake that she had ever beheld was placed in front of her.
Chapter4
June 1794
“Your sister Lizzy would have been three by now,” Bennet said as he looked into the big eyes of his new-born son and heir, James Edward Bennet. James had been born one month earlier on the twentieth day of May, 1794 and had been christened two weeks earlier. His wonderful wife Tammy was resting in their chambers. The mistress’chambers were no longer used to sleep in. Tammy and Thomas Bennet had not slept a night apart since they had married almost one year previously.
Even after her delivery, Thomas had slept next to his beloved wife making sure to allow her as much room as she needed and he placed a row of pillows between them so he would not inadvertently bump her in the night and accidentally hurt her tender, tired body. As much as he had hated being married to the woman that entrapped him, he loved being married to his Tammy. They often read together, and she was certainly not a woman of mean understanding who had a contrived attack of nerves as soon as she needed attention.
His wife had become a beacon in the neighbourhood, and even the few who had once looked down on her now looked up to her as a leader in the community. The only one who still secretly resented her was Mrs Long. Even though neither Bennet nor Tammy was related to the Phillipses or the Gardiners by law or by blood, the relationship was maintained, and they all accepted one another as in-laws. The relationship between the three couples and their children was as close as could be. Hattie Phillips was with child, the second for the Phillipses.
Now that Bennet had a son, land that he had purchased and held separate was annexed to Longbourn, almost doubling it in size. His income did not change significantly as he was simply moving land around that he already owned. As the lease on Netherfield Park would be up by Michaelmas, the Bennets would move to that estate while Longbourn’s manor house was rebuilt.
Under the terms of the entail, as soon as there was a son that reached his tenth year, the current master could elect to break the entail, leave it as is, or create a new and different entail. Already consigned to the fire were two letters written by a solicitor for his ignorant cousin and erstwhile brother-in-law Ned Collins. Bennet had been amused by the nonsense that was written in the first letter, and after Frank Phillips concurred that Collins did not have a legal leg to stand on, he had ignored the letter and allowed the witless man to waste money on solicitors if that was his choice.
Bennet had agreed with his brother-in-law’s suggestion that if a third letter arrived, an official letter would be sent to the solicitor threatening suit if he did not stop sending harassing and defamatory letters to Longbourn. Bennet’s attention returned to his son as the babe yawned and then scrunched up his face in preparation for a squall, a sure sign that he needed to be fed, changed, or both. By the smell emanating from the young man, Bennet could tell that a change was definitely needed, so he handed James to the waiting Miss Browning.
Five-year-old Jane and three-year-old John were playing in the park under the watchful eye of their governess, Miss Anita Jones. The governess was the sister of the apothecary and physician Mr Jones, and even though she had been born a gentlewoman, the family’s reduced circumstances necessitated her seeking employment. Her brother had made the connection between her and the Bennets over six months ago and she was quite satisfied with her position. Jane was becoming an ethereal beauty, willowy and blond. Even at six it was easy to see that she would one day break many a man’s heart. Bennet had set aside five and twenty thousand pounds as her dowry and had a similar amount set aside for Lizzy, which he could not bring himself to release for any other purpose. John Manning would be raised just like James and would be sent to school when he was fourteen to either Harrow or Eton. When the time came for his sons to attend university, there would be none other than Cambridge, like their father before them.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Lizzy was a most happy child; she had her wish granted when Aunt Anne had delivered a golden blonde-haired girl on the fifth day of March 1794. Both mother and babe were as healthy as could be. Lizzy loved sitting in the rocker in the nursery at Pemberley and holding onto Georgiana, whose name was formed by combining her mother’s and father’s names. She was called Georgie by all in the family. Little Georgie was almost as tall at three months as Lizzy was the day her brothers had rescued her from Sherwood Forest.
At three, Lady Elizabeth Fitzwilliam could read and understand simple books. It had also come to light that she was a prodigy with numbers. She could add long columns of numbers accurately in a fraction of the time than most adults could, and it also seemed that she had an exceptional memory. She could read a page today and then recite it word for word at any point in the future. With all of her abilities, she was a happy three-year-old girl who liked to play with her dolls and toys and loved to be with her extremely protective brothers and her cousins. Her parents were determined to allow her to be such.
Her papa—she no longer called the Earl Uncle, he was simply papa—had gifted her a pony for her fourth birthday called Fairy. The very docile pony had made the trip with the family to Pemberley and had been presented to Lizzy after her traditional chocolate cake that the Darcy’s baker had baked to perfection. As soon as she saw Fairy, she understood why Aunt Anne and Uncle George had presented her with a riding habit in hunter green, currently her favourite colour. An extremely excited Lizzy was introduced to the pony who she offered a carrot in the manner that Will showed her; with an open palm and with her eyes always meeting that of the horse. The pony sniffed the little girl’s hand and then she gently took the carrot and happily munched it. Lizzy had just made a lifelong friend.
That day she only sat on Fairy’s back in the paddock as Andrew, home from Eton for the summer, led Lizzy’s pony around slowly by a short leading rein. Ladies Elaine and Anne sat in the shade on a divan that had been placed there for comfort watching the scene unfolding in front of them. Baby Georgie was asleep in her aunt’s lap while Elaine relished the feel of a babe in her lap.
“Anne, can you believe that my daughter has only been with us for two years?” Elaine asked as she watched her daughter in rapture on the pony’s back.“Does it not seem like she was with us from the day that she was born?”
“It does,” Anne agreed.“Frankly, I could not imagine any of our lives without Lizzy in it. Your daughter is a force of nature. I suggest that you get my brother to build a moat around that castle of his as I believe that she will be one of the most beautiful debutantes when she comes out. That, plus her dowry, and it will be like bees swarming around honey.”
“I will let Reggie know that he needs to plan for that task,” Elaine returned her sister-in-law’s tease.“Though with her brothers and William, only the most determined of young men will ever get close to her.” Anne nodded at the truth of the statement.
“Do you ever think of where she came from, Elaine?” Anne asked softly.
“As happy as we all are that Lizzy is a member of our family, we cannot lose sight of the fact that our joy came at the expense of someone’s sorrow. I pray every day that her family who love her, if they are among the living, has found a measure of peace. She is not of my blood, but I could not imagine loving a child born of my body any more than I love Lizzy. Before Lizzy entered our lives, I thought about Tiffany all the time, questioning whether I could have done something different to save her. Lizzy has not replaced her in my heart, but now I think far more often of the joy that her short life brought to me and my family rather than the tragedy that took her from us. Tiffany will never be forgotten, but having Lizzy has enabled me, all of us really, to live life fully again. As much as I feel for the family that lost her, I have to believe that God sent Lizzy to us for a purpose.” The two mothers embraced as some tears fell.
After they both wiped their eyes, Anne changed the subject.“You know how Lizzy always loves everyone,” Anne said.“I find it strange that she is very wary of George Wickham. George agreed to be his godfather and since Mrs Wickham died of that fever in January of this year, George has favoured the boy.”
“Both Andrew and Richard reported that the boy had a mean streak and believed he should not be treated like one of our children,” Elaine warned.
