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Elizabeth stepped out of the house into the warm summer sunshine.

The gardens of Pemberley were so beautiful this time of year.

She could never resist the lure of walking the paths when the weather was fair, like today, even though she was heavy with child and her ankles were swollen to the size of gammons.

The bees buzzed over the lavender, and in the distance, the Peak had a pinkish hue from the heather growing in abundance over the hills. A butterfly flitted by, and she paused to follow its flight as it wound through the roses to join the bees feasting upon the lavender nectar.

“Ceilt,” said a voice as she neared the walled garden.

“Do you believe it will hold this time?”

“I do.” Her eldest son’s tone was not as certain as his words.

“Stiúdú.”

She peered around the stone wall as Fitzwilliam’s spell made contact with the pail they had placed on a garden bench. The form of the pail held as the charm ricocheted off the shield Bennet had conjured.

“You created a full shield this time, and the charm worked just as it should.”

He turned to their eight-year-old daughter Rhea.

“What of you? Can you remove your brother’s shield?

” When Bennet was born, he had borne the mark of the Darcy heir, a flame, on the inside of his arm; however, when Rhea was born, to their surprise, she possessed the four-point star of the Bennet heir on hers.

Naught was known of what would occur in a marriage between two heirs, but in their case, it seemed as though they had an heir for each family.

Only time would tell if the Bennet heir would always be a lady from now on .

“Oscailt,” said Rhea, her tone more confident than Bennet’s. Fitzwilliam had always said Elizabeth’s magic seemed to come easier to her than his, and Bennet was every bit Fitzwilliam’s son. They shared similar looks as well as a similar staid manner.

“Now, you cast your shield charm.”

“Ceilt.”

Fitzwilliam cast a crooked smile down at his daughter. “Stiúdú.”

The pail remained intact, and Fitzwilliam grinned.

“You have both improved prodigiously in the past few months. I am proud of both of you.” Her heart swelled in her chest when her husband tousled Bennet’s hair.

He resembled Fitzwilliam so much that when their portraits were placed side by side in the portrait gallery, some of the guests believed they were likenesses of the same person.

While Fitzwilliam began discussing the next spell with the children, she leaned against the edge of the wall, her hand rubbing the bottom of her swollen belly.

When she was not so heavy with child, she worked with the children some as well, but since she had become so unwieldy, keeping up with the house as well as Bennet’s and Rhea’s education had become more difficult.

At some point during his conversation with their children, Fitzwilliam lifted his gaze and paused when their eyes met. “You should greet your mother,” he said with a slight smile. “It seems she has come to join us.”

Bennet whirled around and ran towards her, only stopping when he wrapped his arms around her belly.

“Will you teach me with Papa? You explain the spells better than he does.” Since the battle with Anne all those years ago, her magic had returned to the power and strength she boasted of before the encounter, but her recovery took quite some time.

At first, spells were difficult to cast, and her magic did not seem to cooperate at all.

Now, she could wield an incantation with the same ease as when she first married Fitzwilliam.

Yet, her son did not quite understand the significance of her power thus far, but for him, his sister being an heir as well rendered his mother’s ability commonplace. He saw nothing unusual in it.

She bit her cheek to keep from laughing. “You can always ask me if you do not understand, but from what I saw, your shield charm was exceptional.” She combed her son’s hair from his face with her fingers. “Your shield charm was brilliant as well, Rhea.”

Both children beamed.

“Papa said I could ride or roam the forest if I wished as a reward,” said Bennet. “Will you come with me?”

She had taken Bennet on rambles since he was small, but she did not have the energy for a long walk through the woods at the moment. “Not today.”

“Did Papa tell you about the stag?”

A pang ripped through her chest as her gaze collided with her husband’s. “What stag?”

“He is my friend,” said Rhea, her arms crossing over her chest. “He would never harm me. You just want him for yourself!”

Her husband placed his hand on their daughter’s shoulder. “From what I understand, Rhea has made a friend in the forest. She is greeted by a great white stag upon her entrance to the wood, and they explore together.”

Rhea lunged forward and took her hand. “I was afraid at first, but he is gentle and follows me all over. Today, when Bennet told Papa about him, Papa said you were friends with a stag in Oakham Forest.”

She nodded as her gaze met with Fitzwilliam’s before she turned her attention back to her daughter.

“I was indeed. I called him Herne, and I put a protection and shield charm on him so no one would see him but me, even though I now know he had a certain amount of magic and could control who could see him despite my spells.”

Rhea was quiet for a moment with her forehead crinkled. “Do you think I could call my stag Herne too?”

“If you like, my love.”

She threw her arms around Elizabeth. “I am going to go see him now!” Before she could stop her headstrong daughter, Rhea took off through the pathways in the direction of the forest through the back of the gardens.

“Wait for me!” Bennet tore after his sister without delay.

“Perhaps we should stop them,” said Fitzwilliam.

“No, they both cast the charm well. Let them have some time to be no more than children. Nothing came of me roaming through the forest as a child.”

“Is Thomas napping?” Their four-year-old son still slept for an hour after his luncheon. He was in the nursery with a maid.

“He is.”

“Come. Let us have some tea in my study. You should not be walking this far so close to your confinement.”

“I am not one to be idle.” She leaned against the wall for support. Truth be told, she was exhausted. When she was this round with child, she did not sleep well.

Rhea was near the edge of the forest when a flash of white in the opening of the trees made Elizabeth gasp. “Fitzwilliam!”

He looked over his shoulder, then slowly turned until he faced the wood. “He looks just like your Herne, does he not? From what Bennet has said, the beast’s allegiance is to Rhea. He never leaves her side.”

As soon as Rhea disappeared behind an enormous oak, the young stag lowered his head to the ground before he lifted it once more and bounded back into the trees .

Fitzwilliam pivoted back around. “I suppose we cannot think Herne to be a coincidence anymore. If he was, then we would not have this stag protecting Rhea. He also seemed to bow before he followed her. Did you see?”

“Yes, I did.” She still stared at the place where the beast had vanished.

They had spoken many times of Herne, and his presence in Oakham Forest. Neither believed him to be a coincidence, but why and how he existed was still a puzzle they could not solve.

He simply was. Yet, he had saved her life, so Fitzwilliam would never question why an identical creature now wandered the forest with their daughter.

“Since meeting this stag, Rhea has walked without Bennet. She has slipped away and rambled on her own. I admit to scolding them both: Rhea for hiding from her brother and Bennet for not keeping better watch over his sister. Apparently, they oft times wander to Nine Ladies.”

“Much like I used to do.” When she was not so unwieldy, she would walk to Nine Ladies.

The stone circle here indeed held slightly different properties than the one in Oakham Forest, which she was still discovering.

She had lived near Oakham for twenty years.

Would twenty be required to learn all the secrets of Nine Ladies?

This stone circle here had more people who visited the site.

They had to always be on their guard for the non-magical who sometimes happened upon the place.

Since it was on Pemberley lands, however, that was a rarity.

Her husband nodded. “Yes, just as you used to do. But I am still tempted to send a footman out to keep an eye on them.”

She tilted her head, and after a glance towards the forest, she shook her head.

“They will be well.” She could not explain how she knew, but she did.

The stag was there for a reason, and while his duty appeared to protect Rhea, he would surely not let Bennet come to harm.

After all, harming Bennet would injure Rhea, even if not physically.

She gasped and rubbed at her lower back.

“We should get you inside. If you walk much more, your ankles will not forgive you with ease.”

“I am well, Fitzwilliam.”

“I do not believe you. You must remember how you deceived me when Rhea was born.”

“You insisted I take to my bed the moment my pains began with Bennet, and I laboured for three days before he was born. You will have to forgive me if I refuse to do so again.”

“And you almost had Rhea at Nine Ladies.”

“’Tis not my fault she decided to be born on the winter solstice.”

With a growl, Fitzwilliam scooped her into his arms and began to stride back in the direction of the great house.

“Yet, you did not tell me you had been having pains all day. If you had, you would have remained at Pemberley while I led the celebration. You will simply have to forgive me for wanting to keep you hale. I would not survive if anything happened to you.”

“We have both seen visions—”

“And I intend to ensure they all come to pass, Mrs. Darcy. We shall have a very long and very happy life together. Do you hear me?”

She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. “Who am I to argue with you?”

He shook his head with a laugh. “My wife who argues with me almost every day.”

“If I did not, you would not love me as you do. You would never desire a wife who does naught but agrees with everything you say and do.”

“I would if she was you. ”

“No, you would not.”

He set her upon her feet and pressed his forehead to hers. “Do not tease me. I could not bear it if something happened to you. I almost lost you once—”

“You will not lose me. I intend to argue with you forever.”

His breathing shuddered. “Do you promise?”

Her fingers curled into the hair at his nape. “Yes, Fitzwilliam, I promise. You own my heart. I love you. I would never leave you.”

“And you will remain impertinent?”

“I have been impertinent for thirty years. I have no plans to change now.”

“Thank God,” he said before he swept her back into his arms and carried her into the house.

The End