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“Oh Jane, he is perfectly beautiful… just like you!” whispered Elizabeth as she tucked in a loose corner of the newborn’s blanket where he lay cradled in his mother’s arms. It was true: Jane may have labored all night to bring the next generation of Bingleys into the world, but even her sweaty hair and tired eyes did not diminish the new mother’s glow.

“Oh Lizzy… ‘tis too much! By far too much. I do not deserve it. Oh! If only everyone could be this happy!” Jane had turned to her sister as she spoke, but her eyes soon drifted back her son as if drawn by a magnet.

Elizabeth only smiled. “Shall I summon your husband then, dearest?”

If possible, Jane’s expression became even more beatific. “Oh yes! But Lizzy, is Mama still resting?”

Rolling her eyes, Elizabeth moved away toward the door.

“I’m quite certain she shall inform us the very instant that she awakens.

” Having insisted upon being present for her eldest daughter’s lying in, Mrs. Bennet’s nerves had deteriorated steadily through the night.

By two o’clock in the morning, her flutterings and wailings about all the worst possible outcomes of the birth had begun to shake even Jane’s composure.

Finally, Mrs. Darcy had taken the doctor aside and soon after, her mother had been provided with a glass of wine liberally dosed with laudanum.

Once Mrs. Bennet was settled in the adjoining room, the birth had proceeded with relative ease. Even the midwife had proclaimed that young John Thomas Bingley (named for both grandfathers) was the sweetest babe she had ever seen.

Elizabeth shared an understanding smile with Jane before leaving her sister to the temporary care of a maid and going in search of the gentlemen.

Charles Bingley had begun the previous evening with a bottle of excellent single malt whiskey that his own late father had tucked away for a special occasion.

Darcy had begun watering the liquor as soon as it became clear that his friend’s increasing inebriation would be marked by incessant crowing over being the first of them to sire a child.

Conscious that Bingley’s less proper comments were precipitated by genuine anxiety for his wife, Darcy might have allowed his friend to speak more freely had Mr. Bennet not also been present.

Before Charles could continue expounding upon his approaches for guaranteeing his success, Fitzwilliam had deftly turned all attention to the older gentleman and they spent the remainder of the night listening to stories of Jane and Elizabeth’s childhood.

As the sun’s first, milky rays flowed out across the landscape, young Master Bingley was brought out to be admired by his relations, an undertaking to which he submitted with the placid affability one would expect of a child born to Jane and Charles.

After he was adequately petted and cooed over, the small family was left to themselves while everyone else retreated to their own rooms, hoping to scavenge a few hours of sleep.

Darcy had not forgotten about his friend’s boasts, however, and noting a pensive look upon his wife’s face as she moved about their bedchamber, he asked softly, “Do you mind it? That they have a child when we do not, yet?”

Elizabeth turned from her dressing table and, seeing the concern writ large upon her husband’s face, went to him directly.

“I can’t say that seeing him does not make me wistful, but I must trust our own time will come soon enough.

It’s been such a busy year that there’s been little time to worry about it, in truth.

” Resting her hands on his chest, her eyes twinkled mischievously.

“In fact, I believe that I’m glad to have been here during Jane’s travails first, for I’ve learned something very important. ”

Not a little concerned, Fitzwilliam looked at her questioningly.

“When my time comes, my mother is not to be allowed within fifty miles of the house!”

Husband and wife were still chuckling when they extinguished the candles and went to bed.

Three days later, two carriages could be seen departing Holloway Manor.

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet were attended by their daughter, although it was a different Miss Bennet than the one who had traveled northward with them from Hertfordshire.

Having spent her summer at Longbourn, Lydia had traveled north with her parents and been deposited at her school without much in the way of complaints, for she had found Meryton’s entertainments to be sorely lacking now that she had some experience with the broader world.

Instead, Catherine joined her parents on the southward journey, her head full of wonderful memories from her summer in Derbyshire, not to mention a far better understanding of what constituted a happy marriage .

Having spent so much time with the well-mannered and naturally quiet Miss Darcy, Kitty no longer felt the need to be constantly competing for attention and Mr. Bennet found himself pleasantly surprised by his second youngest daughter behavior.

To pass the time in the carriage, she shyly brought out her portfolio and let her parents leaf through it.

Though her mother exclaimed loudly over her daughter’s new accomplishment, it was quickly clear that Mrs. Bennet cared little for the art itself and the matron soon returned to complaining about the dust of the road and the poorly sprung carriage.

In contrast, Mr. Bennet’s response was notable for its very restraint.

He said very little but proceeded to spend hours silently studying his daughter’s sketches and watercolors; his obvious intrigue making it far easier for Kitty to ignore her mother’s periodic disparagements.

To himself, Thomas vowed to encourage this new talent in the girl whom he had so long derided as silly and ignorant.

Meanwhile, the three Darcys were very happy to return to the peace of Pemberley, even if it was to be for less than a fortnight.

Fitzwilliam would have gladly ignored the Little Season, but Georgiana was showing signs of restlessness and even Elizabeth had begun to mention several performances and exhibits that she wished to take in.

The early days of autumn were busy. Mr. Darcy spent long hours in the saddle, riding the fields and checking on the tenants, the mines, and the mills, among other interests in which he was invested.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth worked with Mrs. Reynolds to see that Pemberley’s larders and cellars were replenished with the cheeses, smoked meats, preserves, pickles and root crops that would see them all through the winter.

Not a few times, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy found themselves discussing crop rotation and sheep sheering at the dinner table with such intensity that Georgiana could not help but laugh at them.

Miss Darcy found herself participating in these activities far more than before as her new sister made a concerted effort to help her learn those duties for which the mistress of a great house and large estate was responsible.

Georgiana applied herself to these new lessons with the diligence one would expect of a Darcy, although she found herself hoping that her own future would not involve a house quite so great, nor an estate quite so large.

As a result, the family settled into the most comfortable of the Darcy carriages for the trip to London with something like relief. “For what is 150 miles of good road? An easy distance, would you not call it, Mr. Darcy?” inquired that gentleman’s wife impertinently.

Fitzwilliam tried to appear stern. “Pray do not remind me what I said then, for in hindsight I am well aware that my reasoning was perhaps not entirely... sound. ”

“What can he mean, Georgiana? What could possibly leave your brother’s mind in such disarray?”

Elizabeth’s teasing made Will wish that his sister and her companion were miles away so that he might stop his wife’s mouth in the most effective way he knew. Instead, he said only, “A pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman, as you are well aware, my dear.”

With her husband’s dark eyes focused on her with such intensity, Lizzy quite forgot whatever teasing response she had planned to make.

Georgiana, having become relatively inured to Elizabeth’s sporting manner and her brother’s affectionate responses, merely smiled at the pair before turning back to Mrs. Annesley and inquiring if her companion had heard anything about her newest niece.

The trip passed without event thanks to good roads and favorable weather.

Elizabeth found herself greeting the sight of Grosvenor Square with a great deal of fondness and far less trepidation than the previous spring.

This time, there would be no royal audiences or grand balls to host, only some small gatherings with family and friends and such excursions as they chose for their own entertainment.

Even so, they had been in town for less than a week when Mrs. Darcy found herself alone in her study one afternoon feeling exceedingly restless.

She considered the possibilities. She had finished checking the household accounts and finalizing the week’s menus.

Her husband was away until supper, meeting with her Uncle Gardiner and several other businessmen to consider a new investment opportunity.

Neither letters, nor books, nor sewing held any appeal.

Really, she had no desire to sit at all.

Unlatching the window, she gazed out upon the rear garden of Derwent House and finally realized why she was feeling unsettled—the sun was shining out of a clear blue sky and there was a delicious hint of autumn in the air.