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“That is enough about my William, as it is not exactly what a mother wants to consider of their sons. Tease her without including him, if you please!” Lady Anne smiled sweetly when her own sister filled the parlour with laughter.

“Have you instructed your maid to begin packing for Falconwood yet, Lizzy?” she asked to change the subject.

“Yes, Mother Anne,” Elizabeth answered, relieved that her mother-in-law had redirected the subject of the conversation. “I had Arsenault start with the task today.

“It is good that we do not have a long journey,” Lady Rose noted, “as the estate straddles the Derbyshire and Cheshire border. It is only about a three-hour carriage ride, I believe.”

“You are correct, Rose,” Lady Anne agreed.

“My George and I visited the estate on a trip north the year before William was born as we travelled to our estate in Scotland. Even though there was no living title holder at the time, the house was open for visitors, and we enjoyed the tour that the housekeeper conducted.” She turned to her daughter-in-law.

“You will see, Lizzy, that the house is a little larger than Pemberley but does not an enclosed courtyard as we do. The house is built in the shape of an ‘H’, if memory serves. It has one floor less in height than this one, but is more spread out.”

“I would assume that the same housekeeper you met has retired by now, Anne,” Lady Elaine added.

“Likely so as she was already quite elderly when we visited,” Lady Anne replied thoughtfully.

“I know that you will miss William once he returns to Pemberley,” Lady Sarah said sympathetically, “but I believe that the time will pass quickly as you will have a lot to occupy yourself with learning all about the main Derbyshire ducal estate.”

“Being occupied will help, Mama, but it will be hard to be separated from my husband,” Elizabeth said wistfully. “When I first met him, I did not think that I would ever like him, never mind this unfathomable love that I feel for him as we take life’s journey together. He is the best man I know.”

“That is how we all feel about our husbands,” Jane agreed.

“It is the advantage of making love matches and not viewing marriage as a business transaction or a way to gain connections.” There was hearty agreement from all of the ladies’ present, Lady Catherine included, who had all but forgotten that she used to view marriage in that fashion.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Caroline Phillips had just missed her second month’s courses and was very happy indeed.

If her state was confirmed, she and Graham were to be parents.

She had felt concerned that her sister Franny had attained that state before her though marrying some months after her wedding to Graham.

She could not wait to tell her husband, but she wanted to see their doctor before she made the disclosure.

Graham Phillips had left home for the firm’s law chambers some minutes prior, so Caroline summoned a footman and gave him a note requesting Mr. John Worthington to come see her at his earliest convenience.

The doctor arrived at Phillips House two hours after the footman had delivered the mistress’s request. After pleasantries, the doctor examined Caroline with her lady’s maid in the chambers. When she had fully dressed, she met with the physician in the family sitting room.

“Well, Mr. Worthington,” asked an impatient Mrs. Phillips, “am I?”

“This is not an exact science, Mrs. Phillips,” the doctor said thoughtfully. “As you may or may not know, we look for certain signs, and based on what I can see, and your answers to the questions I posed, yes I believe you are with child.”

“That is the best news,” she gushed as she cried a few tears of happiness, “Are we still able to, um, well…”

“If you are asking if you may have marital relations Mrs. Phillips, the answer is yes,” he replied with some amusement at her inability to articulate the questions coherently.

“As childbirth is not my specialty, I would recommend that you consult an accoucheur. Sir Frederick Gillingham is the best that I know.”

“My cousins, the Countess of Brookfield and Viscountess Hilldale, have both seen him so he is known to us,” Caroline informed the doctor.

“Once I have informed Graham of our glad tidings, we will decide whether to see him now or a bit later on.” Caroline smiled and instinctively covered her belly with her hands.

“Thank you for your time, doctor.” Worthington bowed to his patient and took his leave.

That evening when Graham Phillips arrived home, he was surprised to find his wife waiting for him impatiently in the entrance hall rather than the butler to divest him of his outerwear.

“To what do I owe this supreme honour, my love?” Graham asked as he kissed his wife soundly, not caring if a servant happened upon them.

“I could not wait to see you, Graham,” Caroline gushed with excitement. He took her hand and led her to the drawing room where a glass of wine awaited them as was the norm when he arrived home. Caroline sat and her husband handed her a glass, took his own, and then sat next to her on the settee.

“Does your excitement have something to do with the fact that Mr. Worthington was here today?” he asked with a sly grin.

“How?” Caroline asked simply.

“I had a meeting at Boodles and on my way out I bumped into the doctor,” Graham confessed, deciding not to tease his wife any longer.

“He told me that he had seen you earlier, and when I asked the reason, he referred me to you. If I were a betting man, I would wager that it has something to do with the tenderness in your breasts, and that you have missed at least one month’s courses which you know I am aware of. ”

“You would win that bet!” Caroline informed him with a huge smile.

“Well?” he prompted her impatiently.

“We are to be parents in February or March of next year, Graham,” she said with joy shining from her countenance, “Do you think we should wait to inform our family until I feel the quickening in about two months?” she asked her husband.

“It is the best news, my love.” He kissed her again after he hugged her, “As far as the family goes, as long as we do not see any of our aunts or cousins then we will be able to savour this news by ourselves for now. When my mother sees you in a fortnight in Meryton she will know, as will Franny as soon as one of you visits the other, but both will keep the news to themselves until we are ready to inform the family at large.” He kissed his pregnant wife with reverence for the gift that she carried.

“I will want to write to Louisa and inform her,” Caroline smiled serenely when her husband nodded before she could continue. “I think that she would be hurt if she did not find out directly from me.” Caroline remembered what the doctor had said about the accoucheur and asked her husband his opinion

“If you would feel more comfortable seeing him now, then we will request an appointment. It is up to you, Caroline, as you are the one carrying our daughter or son.” As he said the last, he placed his hand over her still flat belly gently and kissed his wife again.

Once she informed him what the physician had told her about marital relations, they decided to forgo dinner and asked for two trays to be placed in their joint sitting room then headed directly for his bedchambers.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

The night before the departure to Falconwood, Elizabeth was lying in her husband’s arms, basking in the afterglow of love making. “Have I told you how much I love you, William,” Elizabeth said as her eyes locked onto his cerulean orbs, he could see the depth of her love shining intensely at him.

“You have not told me in a very long time, my Lizzy,” he teased and received a put-on pout and a playful smack on his shoulder for his troubles. “It has been at least a half hour since you told me last, my dearest wife.”

“Oh, you teasing man,” she said with fake outrage, “Sometimes I wish that the hauteur would return. I should never have taught you how to tease me, my grace,” she retorted.

“You did not teach me, my grace,” he informed her with a self-satisfied smirk, “I knew how all along, I just chose not to display my abundant talents.” His speech earned him a mock look of disdain.

“Do you believe that each of us had a soulmate waiting for us somewhere in the world, William, or is it just random chance that we meet the loves of our lives?” Elizabeth asked with a more serious tone.

As he was wont to do, Darcy took a few minutes to contemplate the question and formulate his replay.

“None of us can know the Will of God, and I do believe each of us has a soulmate, but,” he said as he kissed his wife, “I also believe that not everyone is as lucky as we are to find that someone who is meant for them.”

“That is sad to think of,” she said. “I do not want to be maudlin, especially lying here naked with my Adonis of a husband,” she said as she kissed him back. “Why do you think that if each of us has a soulmate we do not all find them, William?”

“As you know, the greatest gift that our Creator endowed us with is free will.” He offered, and Elizabeth nodded her agreement.

“My belief is that our actions and choices are what ultimately decide whether or not we ever meet ‘the one’ meant for us. As much as I do not want to think of that blackguard, Wickham, I believe that he had a soulmate out there somewhere, but his choices made it impossible for him to be where he needed to be to meet her. Mayhap God planned it this way, so we only meet that perfect someone if we are worthy.” Darcy’s expression was thoughtful as he shared his hypothesis with his wife.

“If that is the case, William, then how come we met? You were arrogant, proud, and haughty, and I was full of prejudices and far too quick to judge,” she asked trying to square their initial behaviour with her husband’s theory.

“The answer is quite simple, my love,” he said as he gave her a light kiss on her lips.

“Both of us behaved badly at the time, me more so than you,” he added, and she arched her eyebrow in disagreement.

“However, neither of us were bad people at our core like he was.” Darcy saw his wife’s quizzical look, so he expounded on his explanation.

“We did not break the law or care only about our selfish desires. Not only that, we both had a desire to better ourselves while others who are presented with chance after chance to change their course, never do, no matter what warnings they were presented with.”

Elizabeth considered her beloved husband’s words and realised there was a lot of logic within them.

“I agree with you, William,” she stated.

“There are many factors that need to align to meet one’s soulmate, and even if one does, sometimes they allow something to cloud their vision and miss what is before them.

” He nodded his agreement. “Look at us, me more so than you. I knew there was something that pulled me to you almost from the first time that I saw you, but I allowed my head to wage war on my heart for too long. I thank God in my daily prayers that I acknowledged the truth before you were hurt on that horrendous day, William.” A single tear rolled down her cheek, “To think that I may have lost you…”

“You did not lose me, my grace,” he said tenderly as he began to shower kisses on his wife.

“We did find each other, overcoming many obstacles of our own making, which I believe means that we are worthy. Enough talk, Lizzy. I can think of a much better way to pass the time before we fall asleep…” He resumed kissing her as one hand slid down the counterpane that covered her and started trailing kisses down from her throat to her neck in a path toward her ample breasts.

She arched her back with pleasure and much later the Duke and Duchess of Derbyshire fell asleep, fully sated from their many rounds of lovemaking.