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As soon as Lady Rose stepped into the library, all conversation halted.

As William looked at their aunt for a clue, he saw her wide smile and knew that his wife and children were well.

“William it is time…” Before Lady Rose had a chance to finish what she planned to say, William was out of his chair like a shot from a rifle and flew up the stairs.

His mother, Lady Sarah, and Jane were waiting for him, and left the room quietly to give the new family time alone.

“How are you, my dearest Elizabeth?” William asked as he looked on in wonder as one of his children was suckling at his wife’s breast and the other was sleeping, swaddled next to her on the bed.

“I am well, William,” she answered softly.

“Sore and tired, but incandescently happy. Come meet your children. As it turns out we were both correct, my love.” Seeing her husband’s questioning look she clarified.

“This young man hungrily drinking is the new Marquess of Dovedale, and the little lady sleeping next to me is our daughter.” Elizabeth giggled as comprehension dawned on her normally very intelligent husband.

“Yes, William, we had one of each, and now we need to name them before our family take to calling them whatever names come to mind.”

“Oh, Lizzy, you did so well,” William said in awe. “Who was born first?”

“That honour goes to our sleeping daughter here,” Elizabeth said as she indicated the sleeping babe next to her. “Now names, what think you, husband?”

“If we follow the Darcy tradition, then our son should be named Bennet, if that is agreeable to you, my Lizzy,” William said, fixated watching his son take nourishment from his Elizabeth.

“That is a good name for a boy. How does Lord Bennet George William Darcy sound to you, William?”

“I like that very well, and for our daughter?” he waited, wanting them each to give their babes a first name.

“If I am not mistaken,” Elizabeth said thoughtfully, “Georgiana is a combination of George and Anne is it not?”

“Yes, my love, what are you thinking in that pretty head of yours?” he asked.

“How does Lady Willabeth Anne Rose Darcy sound?” Elizabeth asked. “We can call our son Ben and our oldest Beth if you agree.”

“I think that is perfect,” William said just as Ben was satiated.

Elizabeth handed her husband his son, and after placing a cloth over his shoulder and some coaching from the nursemaid who had come back into the chambers, he patted his son’s back gently until the tiny marquess issued forth a large belch.

As William placed his son securely in his arms, little Beth woke up and let all know of her displeasure until she was placed to her mother’s breast and followed her brother in feeding.

William was lost. He felt a love so fierce for the new members of his family and as he watched his wife feed his daughter, who he now noticed had the same hair colour as his mother and Georgie, he gave thanks for his wife’s surviving the ordeal of childbirth, and for the children’s safe delivery; he added a special prayer of thanks for his extended family.

After the babes were fed and changed, William took his daughter while one of the nursemaids carried the new Marquess slowly down to meet their family assembled in the largest of the drawing rooms. There was silence for a few moments when he entered, followed by a cascade of well wishes.

William introduced them to Beth and Ben.

Miraculously, the two newest members of the Darcy family took it all in stride and slept peacefully until, that was, Georgiana moved the swaddling slightly to get a good look at her new niece, said niece let out a wail of anger at her slumber being disturbed.

All present who had known Lizzy as a babe had the same thought at the same time, “ That is Lizzy’s daughter, feisty just like her mother was as a babe.

” The nursemaid handed Ben off to his proud grandpapa, who was instantly lost. Beth was handed to her Grandmama Anne while the rest of the family admired the twins and waited their turns to hold one of the two.

“Although little Beth seems to emulate her mother in character, my granddaughter looks just like Anne and Georgie; the same colour hair and eyes, and it seems that she will have the same shape face.” Lord Thomas added, “Lord knows that it is poetic justice that Lizzy will find out what it was like having one like herself to take care of.

“She is all Fitzwilliam in looks,” Lord Reggie said proudly, “but she does not have the placidity of Anne or my niece.”

Lady Anne was looking at her granddaughter and felt a moment of melancholy when she thought how much her George would have loved the twins if his life had not been cut short by that dastardly murderer.

She was extremely grateful when William had shared the twin’s full names, that both her George and she were memorialised in the babe’s middle names.

She loved the name Willabeth, even though it was too early in little Beth’s life to do so, that her granddaughter, who was now awake, seemed to be watching her intently.

A second nursemaid had followed them downstairs, and after everyone had a turn to hold his son and daughter William gave the two nursemaids a little nod for them to take their charges to the temporary nursery to rest.

As William ascended the stairs to return to the Lavender Suite, he thought about how happy he was that they were able to reach an easy compromise on a wet nurse.

Even though most in the Ton thought it was below them to nurse their own babes, most of the women of the family believed that it was better for the babe and the mother for the mother to nurse her own babes.

As they were to have twins, William felt that there should be two wet nurses.

Elizabeth had told him that she intended to feed her own children from her breast, and in having no desire to fight her, he had then suggested that Elizabeth feed them during the day and have a wet nurse to perform the service at night.

After a moment’s thought, Elizabeth had agreed without reservation.

She knew that the more she rested, the faster her recovery would be and the sooner she would be able to leave their chambers.

The matter was settled, and Mrs. Hill found a young widow who was nursing her four-month-old babe who did not object to travelling with the Darcys as needed.

Elizabeth had further agreed that immediately after the lying in, if she was asleep, that Hester, the wet nurse, would perform the feeding which would allow her the maximum amount of time for rest and recovery.

William closed the door softly so as to not wake his sleeping wife.

He used the interleading door to inform those watching his twins that his wife was resting and not to enter the chambers for any reason until he informed them that she was awake again.

He removed his hessians, coat, waistcoat and shirt then crawled under the covers and fell asleep with his wife in his arms.

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

A fortnight later…

Elizabeth had recovered much faster than a lot of women.

Sir Frederick had examined her three days after the birth and had pronounced her well on her way to recovery.

Once he informed their Graces that Lady Elizabeth could resume normal activities as soon as she was able to, he and his nurses packed and returned to London.

Beth and Ben had grown considerably in the fortnight since their births.

Most of the extended family had departed the day after Mr. Pierce had christening the twins.

Ben, much like his father, had taken the ceremony in his stride without any compliant.

Beth, on the other hand, had made her displeasure loudly known.

Charlotte had remarked to her friend that she had been blessed with a blonde copy of herself as a babe.

Richard, Jane, and Edward Gardiner had been named Ben’s God parents, while Andrew, Marie, and Maddie Gardiner were Beth’s.

Only the Bennets, Darcys, and De Melvilles remained at Longbourn.

James was at Netherfield hosting Wes, Mark Creighton, and Harrison Wright.

The four young men were at Longbourn to break their fasts each morning, and only departed for James’s estate just before the family retired each night.

They often walked with the ladies that they were courting under the watchful eyes of a cadre of companions and footmen.

“As much as I love spending time at Longbourn, when will we be able to depart for Pemberley, William?” Elizabeth asked as she cuddled with her husband on the settee in their private sitting room.

The twins were being spoiled by their three grandmothers in the nursery with their nursemaids hovering in the background.

William and Elizabeth had joked that when they were not asleep, their son and daughter were always in someone’s arms.

“As soon as you are well enough for a long journey, my love,” William responded as he kissed her neck just below her ear sending a fission of delight shooting through her body. “As soon as you have no more pains and discomfort, we will undertake the trip home.”

“Then we should be able to leave within the next week or two, William my love,” Elizabeth answered as she tilted her head to give him more room to apply his kisses.

Both were impatient to resume marital relations as they had ceased some weeks before the confinement, but William would not attempt to make love to his Elizabeth until she confirmed that she was completely healed.

“Your parents and Aunt Rose will miss our children when we depart,” William stated.

“Yes, that is true, but do not forget that they will be joining us at Pemberley for the summer so it will be barely a month before they see us all again,” Elizabeth said as she turned in his arms and kissed her husband’s lips.

“Beth and Ben will have no shortage of admirers,” William said. “Mother and Georgie will be with us, Jane and Richard will be visiting with Sed, and Andrew and Marie will spend a fortnight with us after we return home.”

“Mother Anne told me that Mrs. Reynolds and our servants and tenants are anxiously waiting to meet the heir to Pemberley and our Beth.” Elizabeth looked lovingly at her husband.

“Our Ben gives the estate the reassurance that the Darcy line will continue on at Pemberley. No one has told them that if and when we have a second son, he will have Pemberley as Ben will have Dovedale and many, many years from now the dukedom and Falconwood.”

“As there is no entail on Pemberley, if we are not blessed with another son then Beth will inherit the estate for her son,” William informed his wife. “The only stipulation would be that her son would have to take the Darcy name.”

A short while later, Lady Anne knocked on the door with a fussing and hungry Beth in her arms followed by Lady Rose with Ben. It was time for the two to have some sustenance.

Mid-June 1813

Mrs. Reynolds and Mr. Douglas had the servants lined up as they waited for the carriages to come to a halt in Pemberley’s enclosed courtyard.

There was a feeling of anticipation for the assembled group to have their first glimpse of Lady Willabeth and Lord Bennet.

The Duke handed down his mother, who was holding a swaddled babe, his sister, and lastly his duchess who was holding the other babe.

As soon as the servants saw the two newest Darcys, they broke into spontaneous applause which resulted in them being treated to the dulcet sounds of Lady Beth’s wails as she was woken up though her mother attempted to soothe her back to sleep.

At six weeks old, both had grown considerably and had more than doubled their birth weight.

Mrs. Reynolds could not wait to hear the halls of the house ring with the sounds of children’s voices.

The master and mistress thanked their staff for the warm welcome and promised that sometime soon each one of them would have the opportunity to meet the newest Darcys when they were awake.

With the nursemaids and wet nurse trailing, the six Darcys made their way up to the newly cleaned and refurbished nursery that had an interleading door to the mistress’s chambers.

The mistress had ordered that the chambers for the nursery attendants also be refurbished so that the nursemaids and wet nurse found themselves assigned to very comfortable chambers.

Elizabeth seated herself in the large and plush rocking chair and asked her sister-in-law to pass Ben to her.

After he had his fill, Georgie elicited a belch from him before placing him in his cradle and he was soon asleep.

Lady Anne passed Beth to her mother and the process was repeated.

Once Beth joined her brother in Morpheus’s arms, the adults retired to their chambers.

After she bathed and changed with her maid’s assistance, Elizabeth joined her husband in their sitting room. “I have no more pain or discomfort, William,” she said seductively with lowered lashes.

William did not need to be told twice. He scooped his wife up into his powerful arms and walked into his bedchamber, kicking the door closed as he entered.

That first time since the birth that they made love, William was very gentle and only proceeded from one step to the next when he was sure that his wife was experiencing no discomfort.

After that first time, the next two were nowhere near as careful and gave them both supreme pleasure and the gift of knowing that regardless of their trials and joys ahead, together they would be able to face anything.