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I t was her wedding day. Elizabeth was as happy as she had been since before Archy passed away. She prepared for her wedding, with a new maid Sally.

Lettie was with child and had resigned from Elizabeth’s service at the end of June, with a large pension. It was not a fortnight after William had proposed, and Elizabeth had accepted him, on the fifteenth day of June of the current year.

When she thought about the announcement of the official courtship, there had been much gnashing of teeth that the richest lady in the realm was off the market before she even entered it.

Three foolish men, an earl, viscount, and a knight had attempted to entrap her, but each one of them were stopped by Brian, John, and their men before they did any harm.

A warning was issued jointly by the Queen and the Regent, stating that Her Grace, Lady Elizabeth Chamberlain was under the crown’s protection and any further attempts to compromise her would be considered treason.

That edict, the obvious excellent protection her guards provided, plus word that she would never gratify a compromise in any event, stopped any other men who had been thinking along those lines.

A few men had attempted to woo her away from William, and they, too, had failed.

That is the few who had dared to approach her in the presence of Brian and John.

Elizabeth could not but smile when she remembered the reactions of her children, who all saw William as a father figure already.

Matty was five and the twins three, and they could not have been happier.

As they did not remember Archy, right after the engagement was announced, Gracie and Winston began calling William, Papa.

In Matty’s mind, he would only ever have one Papa, so he elected to call William, Father.

From the instant the engagement was official, Aunt Anne and Uncle Robert, well, Mama and Papa now, became the children’s grandparents, and Anna relished the fact that not only would she be sister to all of Lizzy’s sisters, but she gained two nephews and a niece in the bargain as well.

They were marrying from Castlemere. To Elizabeth, this estate felt most like home, and it did not hurt that Archy’s eternal slumber was below the floor of the chapel.

They were not marrying in the chapel, like Archy’s funeral there were too many to use it, so they would marry in the church in Lambton and be married by Aunt Maddie’s brother, Adam.

“It is all done, Your Grace,” Sally stated as she admired her handiwork in the mirror.

“I agree, you have done a capital job, thank you, Sally,” Elizabeth praised.

The maid lit up with pleasure at Her Grace’s kind words. She could not imagine working for a better mistress.

Elizabeth made her way down the stairs where her eldest son was waiting for her.

Uncles Edward and Frank would have done the honours, but Matty who was beginning to understand he was a duke, had requested the honour of walking up the aisle with Mama to give her to Father.

As neither uncle had objected to giving way to their nephew, Elizabeth had agreed.

Mary, who was her matron of honour, stood off to the side smiling at the tableau before her.

On the penultimate day of March, Mary had delivered a son, who in honour of Anne de Bourgh and his living grandpapa was named Lewis Reginald Fitzwilliam.

As Marie and Andrew were yet to be blessed with a child since the two girls, Lewis was next in line to the earldom after Uncle Andy.

Jane and Bingley had been blessed with a child, a daughter born in May of this year.

There was a family dinner the previous evening when Mother handed Elizabeth the final letter that Archy had written to her. She had opened it as soon as she was ready for bed.

12 March 1812

To my beloved Elizabeth,

If you are reading this final letter I wrote, my fondest wish for you has come true, you are marrying again. If it is William Darcy, as I suspect it is, you are marrying on the morrow, then as much as it is below me to say so: I told you so.

I told you in previous missives that you and William have my blessing to marry, but it is more than that. Once he put his improper pride aside, he became one of the best, most honourable of men.

I was well aware how hard it was for him to be in love with you and not be able to give any indication of his feelings or do anything about it.

That is why I know his love for you is pure and true.

He fell in love with you when he had no hope of ever being more than a friend, or after Mary’s wedding, a cousin to you.

Unlike all of the rakes and fortune hunters who would have stalked you like prey to be won, William has no interest in anything but you and your love.

My wish for you and William (or the man you have chosen if it is not him) is that you have a very long, love-filled, and felicitous marriage.

You will see my love, loving another will never evict me from your heart. I will always watch over you and the children.

With all my love and so much more,

Archy

His words had chased the last vestiges of guilt from her mind, and Elizabeth had slept very well.

Elizabeth’s thoughts returned to the present as she admired her son.

Matty looked every inch the little duke in his trousers, white shirt, small cravat, waistcoat, and morning coat.

Elizabeth beamed with pride when she saw him.

Brian and John handed them into the coach and took up their places on the rear bench.

The four miles to the church passed in the blink of an eye, and soon enough, with Matty at her side, and Mary following them holding the bouquet, Elizabeth was walking towards her William whose ardent love was shining from his eyes as he watched her.

Just before she reached the point where Matty would hand her to William, Elizabeth lifted her eyes in the direction of the heavens. ‘ You were correct about everything, Archy. My love for William has not erased your place in my heart. ’

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

That evening at the inn—they had the whole of it reserved—where the newlyweds were spending the night as they travelled south towards Cliff House, when they reached their suite, William pulled a letter from his inside jacket pocket.

“Mother handed this to me this morning. I would be happy for you to read it,” William said as he proffered his wife the missive.

Elizabeth recognised Archy’s script right away and took it from William. “Sit next to me while I read it,” she stated and patted the settee next to her. Once her husband was seated, she unfolded the single page.

12 March 1812

Falconwood

William,

If your mother handed you this letter then my prediction has come to pass, and you and Lizzy have found your way to one another.

I repeat that you have my blessing, and I wish you and Lizzy nothing but a long and felicitous life together. I will not prevaricate and say I do not wish it were me next to her still, but it is not to be. God had other plans for me.

There is no doubt in my mind you will be a good father to Matty, Gracie, and Winston. I am sure you will do so anyway, but I ask you not to allow them to forget me. I thank you in advance for being a good father to my children.

Always treat Lizzy as she deserves to be treated, and you will not go wrong. It pleases me that you two will have a love match.

With thanks,

Hertfordshire

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

Falconwood, November 1814

Elizabeth and William, when not in London, lived primarily at Castlemere and Falconwood. The former in the summer, and the latter in the winter when the whole of the family would be with them for Christmastide.

On the penultimate day of November, close to midnight, Elizabeth had begun her lying-in.

Like when she had born Matty more than six years past, Leticia, Loretta, Marjorie, and Charlotte were all with her as she laboured.

Mama was, of course, present for the birth of her first by blood grandchild, and like Archy had with the birth of their children, William refused to leave her side.

Mary and Jane were both with child again, so Aunt Elaine and Uncle Reggie were at Rosings Park.

It had been a sad year for the family when Anne de Bourgh had succumbed to her illnesses in April of this year.

At least her years since her mother was removed from her life had been very pleasant.

Said mother had become sick with a trifling cold two years before Anne passed.

Knowing best, she had refused assistance, and pneumonia had claimed her three weeks later.

In her will, Anne left her dowry to her long-time companion, Mrs Jenkinson, and no one in the family disputed her decision. In addition, although she did not need it, the lady had lifetime rights to a cottage at Mary and Richard’s estate.

The children, Matty was six and had been taught by a governess for well over a year now, and Gracie and Winston, four, were as pleased as can be at another brother or sister. Of course, the boys wanted a brother while Gracie insisted Mama would give her a sister.

Matty took to reading—lessons started not long after he turned four—like a duck to water, perhaps because of all the books read to him, or he was simply intelligent like his parents.

He still loved to be read to by Elizabeth and William, which they did at least once a day, but he also enjoyed reading to himself, and to his brother and sister.

Miss Havelock, the governess, began to teach the twins to read when they reached the age of four and a half.

At two in the morning of the final day of November, a third son was born to Elizabeth and William. They named the future heir of Pemberley and all of the Darcy holdings, Alexander Robert, eschewing the tradition of using the mother’s maiden name.

Although Gracie would have preferred a sister, she had no complaints about her new brother.