Page 94

Out of the corner of her eye, Elizabeth saw her father glance at her with alarm, but she accepted the gift from her mother with every appearance of gratitude and no comment on the implication. “Thank you, Mama. The embroidery is beautiful.”

Mrs. Bennet accepted the comment breezily. “Well, I suppose you have a fine French seamstress making young Bennet’s clothes, but I daresay a lifetime of experience counts for something.”

“Oh Mama,” said Lizzy, reaching out to press her mother’s hand. “The gown is truly beautiful. I would save it for a special occasion, but Ben grows so fast that I fear I should put him in it today, lest he be too big for it by tomorrow!”

“Well then,” said Mrs. Bennet, affecting a careless manner, though Elizabeth could tell how pleased she was.

They talked a little longer, until Elizabeth could see that her mother was tiring. After a few minutes, she used the excuse of Ben’s fussing to take her leave.

“Oh, yes—you had best take him to his nurse. You did bring a nurse for him, didn’t you, Lizzy?

” Once her daughter had assured her that the Darcys had indeed brought a servant to look after the baby, Mrs. Bennet relaxed back into her pillows.

“Well, that’s alright, then. I need to rest a bit this afternoon, but I’ll see you at dinner, Lizzy.

Tell Hill not to bother me until I send for her. ”

“Yes, Mama; I’ll tell Mrs. Hill. Rest well,” offered Elizabeth and kissed her mother’s forehead.

Bennet’s nurse was waiting in the hall and Mrs. Darcy gratefully handed over the babe to be changed and put down for a nap. “I expect that we will bring all the children down to the drawing room before dinner; let’s put Master Bennet in this gown—his grandmama made it.”

“Oh, yes ma’am! It’s beautiful, if you don’t mind my saying, ma’am.”

Elizabeth smiled a little sadly in agreement, for her mother had always had a fine hand with a needle.

Before she went to find her husband, she paused to tap lightly on the door to Catherine and Lydia’s suite. Hearing a low murmur, she cracked the door and was glad to find the pair awake.

“Lizzy! You have come!” exclaimed Kitty, jumping up to hug her sister.

Lydia held back until Elizabeth held out a hand for her and then she joined the other two, giving and receiving comfort.

“Thank you so much for writing to the Gardiners, Lizzy… I had no idea what to do… Mama was saying such strange things, but Papa only said I shouldn’t worry about it… ”

“Dear Kitty… I imagine it has been very hard for you.”

“I wrote to Aaron, but he’s so busy working on his father’s estate that I didn’t want to worry him over much...”

“Lizzy, what is going to happen to Mama?” asked Lydia, direct as ever, even if her tone was rather more polite.

Elizabeth sighed and drew the girls over to sit on the bed. “What do you know?”

“Mama says that she is pregnant and we are to have a baby brother,” answered Kitty in an uncertain tone.

“Which is totally ridiculous because she is ancient … I mean, she’s a grandmother , for heaven’s sake!

” exclaimed Lydia. “But when I asked Jane, all she would say was that everything was fine, and that the doctor would come and tell us everything is all right. But the doctor came this morning and when I asked her again, she had that look in her eye, like when the horse kicked Mary’s cat and it wouldn’t wake up. ”

Elizabeth was glad that she had come alone to talk to the girls. “Mama is very sick,” she agreed. “The doctor says that there is a cancer growing in her stomach—that is why her belly is so swollen.”

“But she isn’t pregnant,” repeated Kitty.

“No, she isn’t,” agreed Lizzy with equal solemnity.

“Is she going to die?” asked Lydia bluntly.

Elizabeth reached out to take both her sisters’ hands. “Yes, I’m afraid so… and probably sooner rather than later. I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but we must prepare ourselves.”

Kitty stared at her wide-eyed for a moment before bursting into tears.

The three clung to one another and Lizzy and Lydia cried a little as well.

It was some time before they quieted, and then the younger girls had more questions which Elizabeth answered as well as she could.

When they finally fell silent, Lizzy checked her watch and noted that it was nearly time to dress for dinner.

“Mama looked to be in some pain, but she assured me she would come down for dinner. Let us all put on pretty dresses and happy expressions and enjoy being together. Can you do that for her? ”

Once Kitty and Lydia had both agreed, Elizabeth gave them each a last hug and then went to find her husband.

She discovered Mr. Darcy in the drawing room, sitting across a chessboard from her Uncle Gardiner. Neither appeared to be much involved in the game, however, and rose from their chairs the instant that she appeared in the doorway.

“How are you?”

“Did you see your mother? You were upstairs for a long time…”

Elizabeth smiled wanly and stepped into her husband’s arms. “I took Ben to meet Mama and Papa—it went very well, I think—but as I was coming back, I stopped to see Kitty and Lydia and we talked for a time.”

“Ah,” said Mr. Gardiner, looking a little guilty. “Maddy and I were going to talk to the girls. We were just discussing how best to approach it with Jane and Bingley when your carriage arrived, and then I suppose we let ourselves get distracted.

Lizzy remained with her cheek pressed against her husband’s chest, taking comfort from the steady thump of his heart.

“I told them the truth—they are both strong girls. Kitty was very upset, but I think she was also relieved, in some ways, to finally know the facts. And Lydia certainly suspected it, probably because the change in Mama is so striking to one who has been away from Longbourn as she has.”

“Mmm… yes, I’m afraid that Lydia did not take well to Jane’s attempts to soothe her.”

“Where is Jane?” asked Elizabeth curiously.

Darcy answered, “Bingley took her up to their rooms to rest.”

Elizabeth tilted her head back so that she might see his face.

“She isn’t taking this very well, is she?

” Rather than wait for an answer she already knew, Lizzy sighed.

“Well, we should probably follow their lead and go dress for dinner. Mama insisted that she would be down, and the girls and I have agreed that it shall be a cheerful, happy evening. I thought that all the children could come down to the drawing room before we go in, Uncle?”

Mr. Gardiner nodded in approval. “A very good notion, Lizzy. With any luck, their good humor shall carry us through the meal, as well.”

It turned out to be an excellent idea, for the Gardiner children were a happy lot and truly glad to see their grandparents and cousins.

Jane sat with John Thomas in her arms, which seemed to lessen her disquiet; it certainly pleased Mrs. Bennet to look upon such a pretty picture.

Longbourn’s mistress might not have been so pleased when Mrs. Darcy sat down on the carpet so that her son might demonstrate his newest accomplishment of rolling over, but as the whole room turned to praise the baby and then admire his grandmother’s handwork on his gown, Fanny could not bring herself to admonish her daughter more than once.

Catherine had taken charge of little Annie Gardiner while Lydia looked on doubtfully, prompting Mrs. Bennet to exclaim, “Oh! My dear Lydia—now that you are home, we must go shopping! There’s an assembly at Meryton next month, and I’m sure that there will be ever so many handsome young gentlemen for you to dance with!

Now that Kitty is engaged, it is your turn, my dearest girl! ”

After a reassuring look from Elizabeth, Lydia did her best to agree with her mother with most of her usual exuberance, and then encouraged Mrs. Bennet to tell them more about the recent happenings in the neighborhood.

Any who had known Miss Lydia Bennet before she had been sent to school would have been surprised to see her less than enthusiastic over attending a dance, but the more sensible members of her family were very pleased by the changes she exhibited.

Though Lydia would never lose her native exuberance (and indeed, none of them truly wished her to do so), it was now expressed in a more proper manner, and that shade of vulgarity that had so often colored her ways in the past had been mostly eliminated.

She would never be a great reader, but Lydia’s mind had been broadened through exposure to girls from a wide range of backgrounds and, by hearing tales of their experiences, the youngest Miss Bennet had gained a great deal more sense herself.

The happy mood continued even after the children were herded upstairs by their maids and the adults passed into the dining room.

Elizabeth kept her mother well-entertained for a time with stories of Miss Darcy’s wedding, and never hesitated when Mrs. Bennet inquired if the Duke of Grafton might have any more unmarried sons, with a pointed look toward Lydia.

To her mother’s great fascination, Mrs. Darcy told the story of poor Lord Granville Somerset, second son of a Duke and a wealthy gentleman in his own right.

The gentleman had been engaged four years prior to a young lady with a fine dowry and excellent connections…

and who, only a week before the wedding, had run away with one of her father’s stablemen.

“The last anyone heard, they had married in Scotland and then taken a ship to Nova Scotia,” she finished with a flourish.

While Mrs. Bennet and the other ladies gushed over the poor gentleman and his broken heart, Mr. Darcy received his wife’s wink with a subtle eye roll.

Both Darcys had noticed Lord Granville’s interest in the widowed Lady Lucy Wallace during the wedding festivities, and Elizabeth was fairly certain that Richard’s sister was not at all indifferent to his admiration.