Mr. Darcy's Forbidden Love-kindle (96 page)

Almost three years later another son, Thomas Edward Fitzwilliam Darcy was born. Thomas’ name honoured Elizabeth’s father and William’s uncle, the earl. With a temperament that was quiet and reflective, he was the one in the family who listened to every side of an argument before opening his mouth, and the person to whom his siblings would turn when they needed an unbiased opinion. In later years, because of his interests in science, he would become a respected chemist as a direct result of the influence of Michael Faraday,
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a chemist he met at a lecture at the Royal Institution in London.

Barely a year after Thomas’ birth, the Darcys welcomed another daughter, Evelyn Jane, named after William’s aunt and Elizabeth’s sister. She was the most like her brother, Thomas, in temperament, and though known to the family as Eve, her mother often teased her by calling her Jane because of her tendency to see the good in every situation. Moreover, she resembled her aunt, her hair being only a shade darker. Nonetheless, the sky blue eyes of her father proved her a Darcy, and her interests in books proved that she was her mother’s daughter. Inspired by her mother’s journals, she became an accomplished writer of novels before she was thirty. 

During the year of 1821, Elizabeth experienced a miscarriage, losing a baby boy in the sixth month. Though she and William were deeply saddened, they had only to consider the children God had given them to realise that they should not despair. Vowing not to allow this tragedy to defeat them, it served only to force them closer as a couple and as a family.   

It would be four years before another Darcy would join the family. This time it was another daughter, Claire Elizabeth. Claire was a miniature of her sister, Anne, who was now a young lady of eight. Anne, feeling sufficiently grown, took the nurturing of her younger siblings seriously, especially since her mother was busy with the baby. Under the governess’ supervision, she became quite adept at helping to instruct the younger Darcys, either by reading to them or helping with their numbers and letters. So dedicated was she, that her parents often insisted that she go riding with her father or pursue her own music and art, otherwise she would have been perfectly agreeable to spend all her time with her brother and sisters.

After several years, the Darcys began to believe that God had no more children in mind for them, but He indeed had other plans. The year that Elizabeth was eight and thirty, she learned that she was again with child. William was ecstatic upon hearing the news, but she secretly worried that she might not be able to carry the child to term. But God was faithful and Sophia Rose was born on the 24
th
of December, 1831, a perfectly healthy girl and a wonderful Christmas present. She would provide much joy for the family, living at home far past the age when her older brothers and sisters had married and moved away.

In fact, Rose did not marry until she was five and twenty, though she had her share of admirers. She was quite handsome, having her father’s black hair and her mother’s dark chocolate eyes. Taller than her sisters, a trait she inherited from her father as well, she was a fearless horsewoman and enjoyed competing against any who dared to challenge her. For years, only her father could keep up with her as she raced across the pastures, jumping fences and creeks one after the other. 

~~~*~~~

And so it was that the Darcy children lived a fairytale existence, anchored by a father and mother determined that they would know that they were cherished. And though they never had much contact with the Bennets other than with their grandfather, who lived long enough to see their third child enter the world, and Aunt Jane, they were not without a great number of relations who loved them and with whom they shared their lives.

Georgiana Darcy was barely two and twenty when she married the handsome Earl of Cheltham, Arthur Findley, who was eight and twenty. She and her husband resided in the county of Cheshire, their home being approximately thirty miles from Pemberley. They had two sons, Arthur Darcy and Roland Harold, though Georgiana also became the mother of Findley’s two daughters when they married— Mary, aged two, and Melanie, aged four. Their mother had passed away the year before Findley met Georgiana and both little girls became extremely close to their new mother, who treated them as her very own. 

Charles and Jane Bingley had three children, all girls—Charlene Jane, Rebecca Elizabeth and Marjorie Kathleen— born within the space of six years. The oldest girls had bright red hair and dark blue eyes, the image of their father, while the youngest was a miniature of Jane.

Richard and Colleen became the parents of four boys, the first being his namesake, Richard Edward. The second and third sons were identical twins—Joseph Martin and James Marshall. They were so similar that it was impossible for most of the family to tell one from the other and strangers were completely baffled. Colin Spencer was born two years after the twins.

The birth of each successive son resulted in a ceaseless stream of teasing from the men of the family, as it was common knowledge that Richard wished for a daughter. And though content with his boys, nevertheless he added to the dilemma by teasing Colleen.

“And what happened to the girl I ordered?” he would taunt whenever the family gathered to greet the newest addition to the family.

Colleen always replied with a smile. “You are not in His Majesty’s service any longer. Surely you do not expect your orders to be carried out.”

Nonetheless on their 15
th
wedding anniversary, Richard was rendered speechless by the birth of a beautiful red-haired daughter, Penelope Colleen.

Thus, as the decades passed and the children matured, there was no end to the number of coaches travelling between the estates as one cousin or another decided to spend time with their personal favourite amongst the multitude of offspring.

With the exception of Edgar and Frances Fitzwilliam, who kept to themselves in London, they were by and large a contented bunch.  Years later, after the Matlock title had passed to Edgar, he and Frances died when influenza swept through Town. Thus, the title passed to Richard, along with the estate of Matlock.

Not in good health, the Earl of Matlock expired before William and Lizzy’s fifth wedding anniversary and the Countess the following year. They were sorely missed, as they had chosen to live in Derbyshire in their final years. So it was that Lord and Lady Landingham, who were already considered grandparents by the Darcy children, stepped in to fill the void by becoming surrogate grandparents for all the children and were an influence on them all until most were grown.

~~~*~~~

Over time, the small chapel at Pemberley was enlarged to accommodate the burgeoning Darcy family, and the vicar at Kympton began to hold services two Sundays per month. The new building witnessed many christenings, several funerals and a plethora of weddings during William and Elizabeth’s era, while the small stone bench under the oak in the cemetery became a haven just for the two of them. It became a tradition that on certain anniversaries, just as dawn was breaking, one would hurry to the spot only to discover that the other was already there.

And that is exactly as it happened on Anne Darcy’s birthday in the year that William turned seventy. He was first to arrive and was already seated on the stone bench in anticipation of Elizabeth’s soon appearance. She had every intention of meeting him there, but seeing that he arrived first, she chose to do what she had begun years before—she stopped in the foggy mist to admire the man she had loved for the greater part of her life. It never failed to amaze her how her heart still burned with love at the slightest glimpse of Fitzwilliam, whether across a great distance or merely across the dinner table.

When she spied him, his head was bowed in prayer, and for a second she was disappointed. Though his attractive silvery hair still caused her heart to beat faster, she longed to peer into the sky blue eyes that twinkled whenever he looked at her. 

He is just as handsome—no, more so—than the day I first met him in the bookstore! 

Suddenly William looked up, smiled and stretched his arms in her direction. Unable to hold back a grateful smile, she hurried to fill his embrace when he stood.

“Why were you smiling so smugly?” she teased, running her hand along his cheek. “Were you surprised that I can still move so fast?”

“Not at all! I was just mulling over how a man who had destroyed his future by assuming he could fix everything, found redemption and then was so fortunate as to marry the most amazing woman in England.”

“Only in England?”

The giggle that accompanied her question was so reminiscent of the pixie of the bookshop that William’s heart swelled with love and melancholy at the same time. Her hair was still just as unruly as ever, having escaped her combs even now, but it was now almost completely white. He smoothed one long tendril behind her ear and kissed the tip of her nose. “In truth, you are the most amazing woman I have ever known.”

Elizabeth laid her head back on his chest. His arms enclosed her tighter, and she sighed. “Do you have any regrets, darling?”

“Only that I did not wait for God’s deliverance instead of marrying in haste to hush a scandal. If I had, I would have been free to offer for you when we met. I knew the moment you came around that bookshelf that you were the one God meant for me.”

He felt her nodding. “I knew too.” When she looked up at him, her eyes were shiny with tears. “I shall love you for all eternity, Fitzwilliam George Darcy.”

His voice was rough as he whispered a reply. “And I shall love you for all eternity, Elizabeth Rose Darcy.”

The dawn found them sitting, hand in hand, watching the sun rise over their beloved Pemberley.

Finis

1
A Selection of Irish Melodies,
4 (November 1811) Thomas Moore, Irish Poet, singer, songwriter and entertainer. (May 1779 – February 1852)
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2
Believe Me, if All Those Endearing Young Charms
is a popular folksong of early 19th century Ireland and America. Irish poet Thomas Moore wrote the words to a traditional Irish air in 1808. The last verse is as follows:
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That the fervour and faith of a soul can be known,

To which time will but make thee more dear.

Oh, the heart that has truly loved never forgets,

But as truly loves on to the close:

As the sunflower turns on her God when he sets

The same look that she gave when he rose.

3
Vauxhall Gardens was the oldest of London’s pleasure gardens. Its twelve acres, containing shrubbery, walks, statues and cascades, were located in Lambeth, south of the Thames from Westminster Abbey. (The Regency Encyclopedia)
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4
Piquet is a game virtually unchanged since the 16
th
century and is played by two people using thirty-two cards. The “piquet pack” is made by discarding all cards below the sevens from a full pack. The game takes about a half-hour to play and takes considerable concentration and skill.   The Cambridge Edition of Sense and Sensibility.  Cambridge University Press (2006). According to the Regency Encyclopedia.
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5
Maria Edgeworth (1 January 1767 – 22 May 1849) was a prolific Anglo-Irish writer of adults' and children's literature. She held advanced views, for a woman of her time, on estate management, politics and education, and corresponded with some of the leading literary and economic writers, including Sir Walter Scott and David Ricardo.
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6
John Weston’s, a tailor at 34 Old Bond Street, London, who made waistcoats, breeches and shirts and was a favourite of Beau Brummell, the prince and Lord Byron. (The Regency Encyclopedia)
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7
Vauxhall Gardens was the oldest of London’s pleasure gardens. Its twelve acres, containing shrubbery, walks, statues and cascades, were located in Lambeth, south of the Thames from Westminster Abbey. (The Regency Encyclopedia)
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8
Hatchards Bookstore (The Regency Encyclopedia). They are still in business, and this is what they have on their website. “Hatchards, booksellers since 1797, is the oldest surviving bookshop in London. Our customers have included some of Britain's greatest political, social and literary figures - from Queen Charlotte, Disraeli and Wellington to Kipling, Wilde and Lord Byron -and our staff has always had a reputation for knowledgeable and professional service.”
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9
Angelo’s Haymarket Room – A fencing academy run by Henry Angelo and then his sons. In 1770, the salle d’armes was at Carlisle House, overlooking Soho-square; then was moved to Opera House-buildings in Haymarket, next to Old Bond Street. The Regency Encyclopedia and www.georgianindex.net
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10
Namby Pamby
is a term for affected, weak, and maudlin speech/verse. However, its origins are in
Namby Pamby
(1725), by Henry Carey. Carey wrote the poem as a satire of Ambrose Philips and published it in his
Poems on Several Occasions
. Source: Wikipedia.

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11
Tucked up with a spade. One that is dead and buried according to the 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue.
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