As a general rule Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy never gave each other anything overly extravagant on their anniversaries. In often they never exchanged any gifts on their anniversary but let the day pass only in mild celebration. They were a pair that never needed to be reminded that they loved each other.
But, at least in Mr. Darcy's eyes, this year deserved some sort of present. It was their fifth year as man and wife and he and Elizabeth could not have been happier than they were the year they added their second child to their family. Mr. Darcy did not need much time in thinking of what would the gift would be however. Their courtship had been unusual indeed, and there were few events that Mr. Darcy would ever forget.
It was rather late in the evening when Elizabeth made her way into the library. In one arm she carried a month old infant with blonde hair, their youngest child Beatrice. In her opposite hand she led their three year-old son Sebastian. She had often found that reading to them was the most effective way to put them to sleep. Even if they did not understand the story the sound of their mother's voice was enough to quiet them into a peaceful slumber. But when Elizabeth opened the door it was not any book that caught her eye but a vase.
She smiled warmly and walked over to it. The vase was filled with stalks of spring lavender that smelled like…like a scent she remembered after reading a certain letter about five years ago. Sebastian, unable to see what his mother was so interested in, crawled onto a chair and waited impatiently for his mother. In contrast his younger sister reached out a hand and grabbed one of the herbs. She brought it to her face and started examining it, before she accidentally inhaled, sneezed and giggled. Elizabeth could not help but chuckle a little at her daughter's curiosity.
"I love it when she laughs like that," a warm voice whispered, tickling Elizabeth's ear. She whirled around right into the arms of her husband who was grinningly playfully. The two stood there for a minute just content to be with the other for a moment.
"Fitzwilliam, it's the middle of December," said Elizabeth dreamily. "How long have you been saving that lavender?"
"Ever since the spring, when I went to visit Col. Fitzwilliam at Lady Catherine's house. Since I tried to avoid the fire-breathing dragon as much as possible I spent a lot of time in the garden."
Elizabeth looked up at him in amused surprise. "You really are too hard on your relatives my dear. But why go through such lengths just to…"
Mr. Darcy put a finger to his wife's lips, grinning. Gently he took Beatrice out of her arms and started rocking her gently. "Well since the first sprig came from there, I figured it would be rather sentimental if we had some more from the same source."
Elizabeth just shook her head, smiling that warm smile in which Darcy could always see love. They might have just stood there the whole night if Sebastian was not impatient to begin reading.
A/N: Well here it is the end. I'm actually kind of relieved that this one is over because I keep feeling guilty about writing fanfictions for a book I have not read. Yes, I've only seen the movie versions of Pride and Prejudice, and yet here I am writing most of my stories on it. I plan on reading it of course, I just have two Austen novels to read before it since I'm saving it for last.
Anyway I plan on starting my next fanfiction pretty soon which, as some of you already may know, will be for Emma. It will be called To Sketch a Memory and is about Emma Woodhouse reliving some of her various moments with Mr. Knightley as she tries to figure out her feelings for him. Thanks so much for the great reviews, and I hope to see a lot of you in future fanfics. By the way, I'm accepting Beta requests now.
-Astrum
