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“Let us hope that Ian and Anne will not be afflicted as Sed and I were,” Lady Rose said with feeling. “We tried for many years before we accepted that it was not to be. Then again, although we did not have children of the body, we had a good number of the heart,” Lady Rose said with a smile.

Lady Priscilla joined the group and sat next to her younger sister.

“My Loretta is missing her Harrison. He will be here with his family next week to meet the rest of the family,” she reported.

“She is impatient to see him again and was sitting and looking longingly at her cousins walk in the park with their men. If you hear melancholy sounding music emanating from the music room, that will be my daughter. I convinced her to go practice on your pianoforte, Sarah.”

“Young love,” Elizabeth said smiling.

“You are barely four years older Lizzy,” her Aunt Priscilla pointed out.

“That is true, Aunt Priscilla,” Elizabeth agreed, “but in less than a month I will have been married for a year.”

“I almost forgot, Lizzy,” Lady Sarah said, “when will you celebrate your anniversary, if your babes or born before the nine and twentieth of this month? I think that you will be rather occupied.”

“We spoke about that,” Elizabeth informed the ladies. “We will wish one another happy anniversary and then have a dinner party to celebrate once I am able to move about normally after my confinement.”

The conversation turned to the large family dinner that was to be held that night at Longbourn to welcome the extended family and congratulate the young ladies all in formal courtships as of that day.

It was the one dinner that Elizabeth did not want to miss, so Biggs, Johns, and two large footmen would carry her down the stairs in a bath chair.

Once she was on the lower level of the house, Elizabeth would be able to walk around under her own power, albeit slowly and leaning on her husband’s arm.

Dinner that night was a raucous affair, with many toasts drunk to the courting couples, and to the one with one half not present.

It was a very tired group that retired that night after those staying at Netherfield had departed.

The four footmen carried their mistress back up the stairs, and then her husband escorted her to their chambers.

Once they were both dressed for sleep, William and Elizabeth met back in their sitting room.

She was sitting with her back resting against him with her feet up on a footstool.

As he did many a night, William was rubbing his wife’s back, which helped her relieve the stress that she felt on her petite body.

“Oh, thank you, William,” she said in a breathy voice almost like a sigh of pleasure. “You know the spot to rub to help make me feel better.”

“You know that I would do anything for your comfort, my love,” he responded as he kissed her exposed neck.

“I wish that you could love me William,” she said wistfully “Unfortunately it has become too hard now.” As she realised her use of double entendre Elizabeth let out a giggle.

“Well, to tell the truth, I enjoy certain things hard, but as much as the spirit is willing, the body is not able at the moment.”

“Once you are churched and you have no more pain and discomfort, we will resume our love making, Lizzy,” William agreed as he rained more kisses down her neck and on her shoulders.”

“I look forward to it. I miss feeling you inside me, William,” Elizabeth said as she bent her neck to expose more of it to her husband’s ministrations.

“You know there are other things that I can do to give you a release, my love,” William volunteered. “All you need is to give the word and it shall be my supreme pleasure.”

“As good as that sounds, I do not think it is a good idea right now, my William,” she said with gratitude for this man that would do anything in his power to make her happy. “Just hold me and do what you are doing, that is all I need for right now.”

They stayed in that attitude for another half hour before Elizabeth started to yawn repeatedly.

William helped her onto her feet and into their bed, and then after extinguishing the candles he joined his wife in the bed.

As she had for the last number of weeks, she was on her side and he behind her gently holding her with his one hand on her ripe belly feeling the occasional movement from his active children.

Two days later, Elizabeth was joined in the family sitting room by all of the ladies of the extended family, while the men were out on an expedition to reduce the number of birds in the coveys on Longbourn’s lands.

Not only were the ladies present, but the children as well.

The four Gardiner children were most pleased that they were not the youngest in the family since the birth of the Fitzwilliam, Bingley, and Phillips’ babes.

Little Viscount Broadmoor was already pulling himself up when he was near a chair, a table, or even the leg of someone who was nearby.

Little Martha Hattie Phillips, named for her late and living grandmothers, and Cara Francis Bingley were both calm babes who seemed to observe everything that going on around them with much interest. Caroline could not have been happier as a mother and doted on her daughter who had flaming red hair like some of her Bingley family.

Miss Cara Bingley had sandy blonde hair like her mother and blue grey eyes.

The Gardiner boys were fascinated by their young cousins while the two girls each asked for and were granted permission to sit with a babe in her lap.

Maddie Gardiner was relaying how happy she was to be close to Lambton once again, and even better was having Edward relaxing at home rather than dealing with one issue or another with the business.

She informed everyone how impressed her husband was with Charles Bingley’s running of the company, and that the Company’s profits were projected to be the best ever in the history of Gardiner and Associates.

Franny Bingley was very proud of her husband’s achievements and could not help but enjoy listening to another extolling his abilities.

What Maddie did not tell the group was that Edward planned to take some time to pull Charles aside and let him know that he was renaming the company Gardiner, Bingley, and Associates.

Aside from Madeline Gardiner, the only other people that knew were Frank and Hattie Phillips, as Mr. Phillips would be drawing up the charter for the newly named company.

Hattie Phillips thought about how different her life would have been if she had been more like her late sister.

As she looked at Jane and Marie, she could see some of Fanny Gardiner in their looks, but none of her character or lack thereof, thank God.

The sad fact was that Hattie had not thought of her late sister for many years, and although she did not wish her fate on anyone, friend or foe, she knew that it had worked out for the best, Thomas would have been a shell of a man if he had not been able to marry his love, Sarah.

Hattie chalked it up to God working in mysterious ways.

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

As the men followed the beaters, there was a lull in the shooting when Edward Gardiner asked Charles Bingley and Frank Phillips to hang back with him. “Yes, Uncle Edward?” Bingley looked at him questioningly.

“Charles, I want you to know how happy I am with you running the company,” Edward said. Charles, who was always a modest man, coloured at the compliment. “It is less than a year since you assumed the management and the profits are almost fifteen percent higher than in any previous year.”

“As you know, there is an element of luck involved in investing,” Charles tried to downplay his role in the company’s growth.

“Pish posh, Charles,” Edward Gardiner admonished, “false modesty does not become you. It is plain as day that the best decision I made was asking you to take over for me. Even with the extra percentage shares that I ceded to you; my income has not suffered at all thanks to your management.”

“Your confidence in me is most appreciated,” Charles said, still not comfortable with all of the accolades being showered on him.

“I have spoken to Frank here as the solicitor for Gardiner and Associates,” Gardiner said as his brother-in-law nodded his agreement.

“We are renaming the company and adding the Bingley name after Gardiner, so the company will be known as Gardiner, Bingley, and Associates as soon as Frank files the new charter in a sennight.”

Charles Bingley was thunderstruck. This level of recognition was something that he had never dreamed of and was fully cognisant of the honour that was being given to him. “I do not know what to say!” Bingley exclaimed.

“Just keep doing what you are doing and drop by my office to sign the new charter on the morrow,” Bingley’s father-in-law said with pride in his son-in-law. “Would ten work for you?” A still shocked Charles Bingley could do nothing but nod his head.

Lord Thomas and William joined the three as they came back to make sure that all was well.

Once they were informed of the pending name change of the company, they congratulated Charles heartily and soon he was surrounded by all of the men in the hunting party, accepting well wishes and congratulations from all.

Once Maddie Gardiner was sure that the time had passed for Edward to talk to their nephew, she informed the ladies and the congratulations flowed, with Franny Bingley as shocked as her husband had been when he was informed.

She knew that her Charles was doing well in his new role, but never imagined that he had been so successful as he never liked to boast.

As everyone was exclaiming that it could not have happened to a more deserving man, Elizabeth, who had felt pains in her back for the last few hours and had not mentioned them to anyone, let out a sharp yelp of pain.

She had attempted to hide them for as long as possible, but had reached the point where it was impossible to do so.

The occupants of the sitting room become silent as all eyes turned to the very pregnant Elizabeth.

Lady Anne was the first to speak, “How long have you been having pains, Lizzy?” she asked.

“For the last few hours,” Elizabeth answered as she winced with another rolling pain. “Until now they were more of a nuisance than pain.” Caroline, who was closest to the door, signalled to Biggs that he come into the sitting room.

“Biggs,” said his mistress, he became worried as he could see that something was not right. “Please have one of the men find his Grace and inform him that his sons are about to enter the world.”

Before Biggs could leave with the wrong information, Lady Sarah stopped him. “Please inform my daughter’s husband that she is in labour and there are still many hours before his babes are born.”

“Yes, yer Grace,” Biggs bowed and made haste to carry out his charge.

“Franny had gone to summon Sir Frederick, who arrived within minutes, and after a short interview he made his assessment.

“You are in labour, your Grace. We need to get you to the birthing chamber,” he said with authority.

“It will be many hours before your babes arrive, but I need to monitor you as you progress. Has someone summoned the midwife?”

“I will have her sent for,” Mrs Hill said and left to have someone inform the midwife that her services were needed.

William was about to take his shot when he heard the thundering of a horse’s hooves and saw Biggs riding toward him. When the big man dismounted, he simply said, “Tis time, yer Grace.” William took the reins, jumped on his horse’s back and took off with all speed toward the manor house.