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A s much as he hated that his wife, who was almost nineteen, was in pain, and he was the cause of it, Hertfordshire pushed those self-indulgent thoughts from his mind and concentrated on holding his wife’s hand.

They had decided that as there were to be twins, being closer to more medical services in London was preferable.

The accoucheur was at Hertfordshire House along with the midwife, Mrs Medford, and were both examining his wife.

Mrs Medford had accepted a large payment to attend the duchess in Town.

Thanks to his beloved following the accoucheur’s instructions rather closely and having spent the last month—for the most part—in her bed, the children would be born close to the expected date and not too early.

It was the seventh day of the month, and his Lizzy had commenced her labours a little past midday. Inside of two hours, her waters had broken.

“Your Grace, it is time for you to push with the next pain,” Mrs Medford instructed. “Now, push; push as hard as you can just as you did the last time. Almost there; I can see the head of the first babe.”

Elizabeth gave one more push and felt the release of pressure, at least for now until the next one was ready to greet the world.

The sound of a babe squalling was music to her ears.

“What is it?” she asked tiredly. As they had a son already, they were hoping that at least one of the twins would be a girl.

Matty had demanded two brothers, but Elizabeth knew her almost two-year-old would be happy no matter what the sex of his siblings was.

“Lizzy and Archy, you have a daughter,” Leticia stated excitedly. She was standing next to Lady Anne while the accoucheur’s nurse cleaned the babe.

As tired as she was, and with one more travail to experience, Elizabeth looked at her Archy lovingly.

“Welcome to the world, Lady Grace Beth Chamberlain,” she said as a few tears of joy fell from her eyes.

They had decided their first daughter would be named for Archy’s late mother.

He had insisted on Beth for her second name to honour their new daughter’s mother, and Elizabeth had not objected.

Before Lady Anne could hand Lady Grace to her mother, the pains had begun again.

Grace was taken to the wet nurse so she could have some sustenance.

Although Elizabeth would feed the twins as much as possible herself, she had seen the wisdom of having a wet nurse to help in case she did not have enough milk for two babes.

Less than an hour after his older sister entered the world, a second son was born. Unlike his older brother and sister, based on the small sample he had on his head, Winston Edward Chamberlain had light brown hair like his father.

He was hungry, so once the afterbirth was delivered, and as soon as she was cleaned up and moved into the bed, Elizabeth fed Winston.

While he was eating, one of the nursemaids brought a sated and swaddled Grace to her parents.

When their second son was sated, Elizabeth passed him to Archy, who was able to coax a rather large belch from his new son.

Elizabeth stated as she looked at their twins. “I will not have anyone call him Lord Winny, thus making his name sound like the noise a horse makes. He has your hair, Archy; I hope he looks just like you. Matty has my hair but your eyes, and Grace has the colour of my hair as well.”

“My hope is that by the time she is six months old, she will have your emerald-green eyes, my darling wife. It is amazing to me how quickly you birthed two babes; you have done so well, my Lizzy,” Hertfordshire said lovingly.

“Do not forget you played a part in this as well,” Elizabeth reminded her beloved.

“True, but my part was pleasurable in the extreme and tiny compared to the amount you have done. Anyone who says women are the weaker sex has never witnessed the travails a lady goes through to bring life into the world. For all of their bluster, I do not know any men who would survive a fraction of the pain you just did,” Hertfordshire mused.

“Very astute, Your Grace,” Sir Frederick stated. “Your Graces, may I examine Her Grace? Once I have done so, I will leave you. As before, one of my nurses will remain with you for a day or two, just in case.”

The accoucheur announced Her Grace as healthy as could be expected after delivering twins. He also informed the Duke and Duchess that because the twins had arrived so close to the expected date, they were not nearly as small as most twins at birth. He bowed and took his leave.

“Archy, have Nurse bring Matty to us. I know he would love to meet his brother and sister, and I want our little family together for the first time,” Elizabeth requested.

Hertfordshire pulled the cord which rang a bell in the nursery, and he instructed the nursemaid to bring Lord Matty into the chamber to meet his siblings. It was not many minutes before the sound of a toddler’s running feet was heard.

“I have two bwuvers?” Matty asked excitedly.

“You do have a brother,” Elizabeth told her eldest son. “This is Winston here, but you also have a sister.” She looked to her other side. “That is your sister, Grace.”

Matty scrunched up his face as he did when he considered a weighty issue. “Awwite, I happy ‘cause I have bwuver. Sister will be awwite,” the future Duke of Hertfordshire announced. “I want to pway wif bwuver!”

“Winston needs to grow big and strong like you, and then he will be able to play with you, Matty,” Hertfordshire explained.

The little face scrunched up again. “Then I go pway wif my blocks until Wimston pway wif me,” Matty announced.

He accepted a hug from his papa and bestowed a rather moist kiss on his papa’s cheek.

Papa placed him on the bed to receive a hug from Mama, and he kissed her cheek too.

On the bed, Matty looked at his brother and sister from close up.

All they did was sleep. He climbed down off the bed, took the nursemaid’s hand, and skipped his way back to the nursery.

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

Karen Waterford saw the announcement from the royals welcoming Lord Winston and Lady Grace Chamberlain to the world.

She knew the knowledge that one of his enemies had more children would only upset her husband. He, more often than not, seemed to be in a bad mood these days, so she said nothing.

This past summer Peter and Clay had gone to Derbyshire to exact a measure of revenge on the Darcys, but an angry husband had returned, feeling more frustrated than when he had left the house.

Clay had told his twin that there were too many guards to even get close enough to try and take a shot at one of them, so they had returned to Oak Grange.

For his part, as patient as he had been, Waterford/Wickham’s forbearance was at an end. He needed to end this sooner rather than later. If only the chance would present itself.

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

“Caroline, we are returning to London for the Little Season. I swear to you on all that is holy, step one foot out of line, and it will be the last time you see Town or society,” Bingley lectured.

“Just so there is no misunderstanding, you will not approach any of the Darcys, especially William Darcy. You will not gossip, start rumours, or try and act like you are more than you are—the daughter of a tradesman. The days of holding yourself above those you are below, are over. Am I rightly understood?”

Had she not had so many examples of her brother’s unwavering commitment to his word over the last few years, Miss Bingley would have dismissed what he said.

Keeping away from the Darcys would be easy.

The humiliating words the Darcy heir had written in that letter to Charles were burnt into her consciousness.

“I will behave,” she responded listlessly.

“Heed me well. If you do not follow the behaviour I have demanded of you, I will release your dowry to you, set you up in your own establishment, and cut ties with you. Not only that, but I will not be shy about letting all in society know there has been a break between us,” Bingley vowed.

Bingley would be forever grateful to Darcy for that letter which had set him on the road to taking charge of his life and not allowing Caroline to have her way any longer.

He still asked for advice now and again, but the decisions were always his own.

He was looking forward to seeing Darcy again now that he was to return to London.

Bingley had heard that the Duke and Duchess of Hertfordshire would be partaking in the Little Season; in fact, they would be bringing Her Grace’s next younger sister out in November.

He would have to be especially vigilant to make sure Caroline never approached that family again.

Heaven forfend she would allow her pretensions free rein and insult a duchess.

If Caroline did that, there would be no coming back into society again. As it was, he would have to see how his sister was received after a more than three-year absence following her enormous faux pas .

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

“Mary, we are proud of you that you have chosen to come out this year. I cannot believe you are eighteen already,” Elizabeth told her next younger sister as they sat in the former’s private sitting room in the master suite of Hertfordshire House.

“Archy has told me not to spare any expense for your ball.”

“You know I do not need a great big ball,” Mary demurred. “I have begun my lessons for the presentation to Her Majesty with Aunts Elaine and Anne, and Lady Morag has been assisting me as well.”

“I am aware of that. Archy is well pleased that the MacIntyres are in London this season, as he has missed Lord Colbath greatly.” Elizabeth paused and got a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “Have you met Rory, Viscount Glen Loch? He is only seven and twenty, but he is handsome, is he not?”

“He is a pleasant man, but not for me,” Mary huffed.