Page 89 of A Life Diverted
Robert was holding his wife’s hands as she seemed to smile and then her chest rose a final time, there was a long exhale as her life’s breath escaped her body and then there was no more movement.
Those waiting in the suite’s sitting room knew the end had come for Anne Darcy when they heard the terrible wailing of her husband.
Luckily, William had led his sister out of the master suite and had joined the rest of the younger group so neither was present to hear their father’s lamentations as his wife left the mortal world.
The doctor slipped into the bedchamber, and he knew before he tried to find a pulse that she was gone.
Without disturbing her grieving husband, Mr. Taylor joined the three couples and the Prince waiting in the sitting room.
All he needed to do was nod to confirm what they already knew; Anne was gone.
None in the sitting room had a dry eye. “My little sister,” Lord Matlock stated poignantly as he hugged his wife to him.
“Who will inform William and Gigi?” Lord Holder asked.
“No one, unless Darcy asks us to,” Bennet stated as held his wife close to his chest as she cried quietly. “It should be he who tells them.”
No one disagreed with Bennet. They decided they would stay where they were until Darcy chose to join them. If not, his brother-in-law would approach him in a few hours to ask about informing William and Gigi.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
When William and Gigi joined the group in the game room, there was no mistaking their anguished looks. Kitty, Cassie, and Lydia immediately moved to sit with and comfort Georgiana. They simply sat and hugged her, allowing her to cry as much as she needed.
William looked as if he were in a stupor. Andrew, Jamey, and Lieutenant Richard Fitzwilliam tried to distract him, but nothing worked. He was lost in a world of his own making as he tried to accept the inevitable.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On graduating Cambridge, Richard had followed through with his desire to join the regulars.
Even though his father had been willing to purchase him a captaincy or even a higher rank, Richard had accepted only a lieutenant’s commission in the Royal Dragoons under the leadership of Colonel Atherton.
If he were to progress up the ranks, he wanted it to be because of his own merit.
After his initial training, he had been granted some leave to join the family, and once his Aunt Anne’s diagnosis had been confirmed, he requested—and was granted—extended compassionate leave.
Andrew returned from his grand tour in April, a month before the newly self-appointed Emperor of France started his war. He was especially hard hit by his Aunt’s illness, as he had always been very close to her.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“William, do I need to kick your shin again to gain your attention?” Elizabeth asked in an attempt to snap him out of the obviously dark thoughts he was having, and her question elicited a ghost of a smile.
“I dare say at thirteen your kick will be harder than it was at five. Also, you are wearing half boots now, when then you wore slippers,” William responded.
He was not unhappy Elizabeth had managed to pull him out of the spiral of despair.
Her intervention also reminded him of the vows he made to his mother.
“Do not forget, William,” Richard, who had always been more brother than cousin, stated, “Aunt Anne is in pain now, but when God calls she will be at peace after a well-fought battle so that we could have her with us longer.”
After seeing the grimaces his mother tried to hide from them over the last weeks, William knew Richard had the right of it.
He could not be selfish and hope his mother would hold on only for her to suffer immeasurable pain.
Between Elizabeth snapping him out of his thoughts and Richard’s timely reminder of his mother’s finding peace being freed from pain, William was able to accept what was about to happen with a little equanimity.
He would miss his mother more than words could describe.
However, accepting that her passing would end her suffering allowed him to feel an inner peace he had not thought possible.
It was three hours later when Douglas entered the room and told Master William and Miss Darcy their father wished to see them in their mother’s chambers.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As soon as the two entered the sitting room, they suspected what had occurred by the way their aunts and uncles looked at them with both compassion and great sadness on their countenances.
When they walked into their mother’s bedchamber, their father’s tears were evident and there was no missing their mother was not moving at all.
“Mama is gone, is she not?” Georgiana asked as her tears started to flow freely again.
“Yes, Gigi, your mother is with the angels. She is in pain no longer,” Robert stated as evenly as he was able under the circumstances.
“When?” William asked simply, not trying to hold back his tears. He would not see his mother again, but he held onto the fact she was not suffering any longer.
“About fifteen minutes after you and Gigi departed her chambers. I think she was holding on to make sure we would be reminded of her hopes for us after she left us to care for each other and our family without her guidance,” their father informed his children as he pulled them both into a hug.
“Once she received our assurances, she was able to let go. I will never forget the peaceful look that came over her just before her spirit left her body.”
“Papa, may I kiss Mama?” Georgiana asked nervously.
“Of course you may, Gigi,” Darcy replied encouragingly.
Georgiana placed a kiss on her mother’s cold cheek and was followed in the same by her brother. The three remaining members of the Darcy family stood and hugged for a long while.
Once the children entered his late sister’s bedchamber, Lord Matlock notified the butler and housekeeper of the mistress’s passing.
Douglas, who normally betrayed no emotion, did not attempt to brush off the tear which ran down his cheek as Mrs. Reynolds openly wept.
The housekeeper had been especially close to Lady Anne, much closer than a regular mistress-housekeeper relationship.
She had served in her post since Master William was but four, and in lesser posts for some years before that.
Once the two recovered their equanimity, they started the process of notifying all of the servants and preparing the house for mourning.
When those in the game room heard some maids crying, they knew what had occurred.
They knew William and Gigi would need them more than ever now and were determined to do anything needed to comfort their cousins and friends.
They sat quietly comforting one another, as they waited to hear from their parents, for Aunt Anne had been loved by all present.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Bennet knew the last thing his wife wanted was to take any focus off the Darcys, but he also knew how she must be suffering from losing another sister of her heart.
There was no doubt his wife would recover her spirits, as her protective instincts kicked in for William and Gigi as they had for Lizzy after Cilla passed away those thirteen years past.
Unlike with Priscilla, he was relieved Fanny would be able to openly mourn her friend this time and that she was surrounded by friends who would share the burden, grateful for them all that there were no life-altering secrets to protect.
The moment he saw the steely look of determination on his wife’s mien and the call for a small repast for the children to be made and tea served to all, he knew her desire to protect, and help had come to the fore.
There would be no fiercer protector of the Darcy son and daughter than Fanny Bennet, of that her husband was certain.