The next week was spent very pleasantly, with Darcy and Jardine shooting, fishing, or riding each day. They were even joined by Malcolm once, indicating that a decision had been reached. The ladies enjoyed the company of Mrs. Jardine, even though she was much their senior. She showed herself to be very practical and easy to talk to. When she and Lizzy were alone, she talked about childbirth and what to expect, which eased Lizzy's mind a lot. Together, they inspected the nursery and she made several suggestions in its arrangement and composition, which Lizzy later found to be quite helpful.

The young couple needed only a few extra days to come to an agreement, much to everyone's satisfaction. After that, Darcy and Jardine came to agree on a sum that was pleasing to both of them. Then, everyone talked about the steps that were needed to be done next. Malcolm had already looked into shipping dates and what supplies and equipment he needed and where to get them. He was in a rush to book a shipping date, knowing when the winter storms on the Atlantic usually began. He wanted to sail from Glasgow to Quebec City, then portage their goods by cart around the Lachine Rapids on the St. Lawrence River to another boat that would carry them to the town of Kingston on Lake Ontario. From Kingston, they would go by cart to his brother's farm, which was to the northeast of the town. They knew this area was settled mainly by Americans who had remained loyal to the Crown in the American Revolutionary War, and so was very pro-English. The area was prosperous because of the rich soil and abundance of trees for lumber.

Knowing that Lizzy's due date was fast approaching, Mrs. Jardine offered to stay with her until Darcy was able to leave her to take Lydia to Scotland for her wedding. Both Mary and Georgie expressed their wish to attend the wedding, so it would be quite a party. Lizzy welcomed Mrs. Jardine's offer as she knew she would very much like to have another experienced woman with her when the baby came, in addition to the midwife

When the men had agreed on terms and steps needed to be taken, Jardine and Malcolm returned to Scotland. Darcy and Lizzy were very pleased to see that Malcolm's leave-taking from Lydia was quite tender, indicating their growing attraction. The next several weeks of waiting were enjoyed by the three youngest ladies, but Lizzy could not do much because of her size. Mrs. Jardine was her constant companion and was very solicitous of her comfort. However, Mrs. Jardine did manage to spend time with Lydia, talking quietly to her. When Lizzy thanked her for her kind attentions, the lady replied that she considered the three of them to be just like daughters to her and that she was enjoying being of assistance to them.

Finally, the pains began and the midwife was summoned. After Darcy saw that Lizzy was in good hands, he was unceremoniously evicted from her chambers and told not to come back until he was summoned. The three youngest ladies, being unmarried, were also banned from the birthing room. For many long hours, Darcy paced furiously at every wail from Lizzy, while the ladies held each other in fear, knowing that their time would come. The noises began to be more frequent and louder, until finally there was a hush and the distinctive cry of a baby. Darcy kissed all three ladies happily and rushed to Lizzy's door. He was finally admitted to see his son, but he first went to Lizzy and found her groggy from lack of sleep. He knelt by her bedside and kissed her gently. She could only smile wanly before drifting off to sleep. Hearing the girls at the door, he nodded at Mrs. Jardine who was holding his son. She took the baby to the girls, who each took their turn cuddling and kissing him, before passing him to his father, who held him very awkwardly, but lovingly

After relinquishing the baby to his nurse, Darcy invited Mrs. Jardine and the girls to come to the sitting room and instructed a footman to bring a bottle of French champagne that he had been saving for a special occasion. The girls enjoyed this bubbly tremendously, while sighing their relief that Lizzy's ordeal was finally over. They had been convinced that they never wanted to go through this suffering, but one look at the baby, and being able to hold him, changed their minds. Darcy's grin was ear-to-ear, a very proud papa, knowing that he now had an heir to Pemberley. He remembered that he had to change his will to account for this new addition to his family. After dinner, he excused himself and went to sit by Lizzy and held her hand, just watching her sleep off her exertions.

Lizzy managed to get up just two days after her delivery, although Darcy insisted that he carry her down the stairs to dinner. If anyone noticed how closely he held her while she was in his arms, no one said anything. Dinner that night was lively as they talked about their plans to go to Scotland. They had heard from Jardine that the trip to Canada was now fully planned and passage on a ship from Glasgow was booked. Jardine assured them that the ship captain was not worried about the recent sea battles with the Americans as those battles were all to the south of his planned route.

The night before their departure, Lizzy took Lydia aside for a talk. "Lydia, we may never see each other again after tomorrow, but I hope we will. I want to say something to you that I know is very important for your future. Do not worry; I am not going to chastise you. I just want to give you a bit of advice about your husband. I have learned that men are very strange creatures. They appear to be so strong and assured, but that is not how many of them are inside. On your wedding night, you will likely have more experience than your husband, but you must never remind him of that. Never compare him to Wickham, either in your mind or especially out loud. You know Wickham was evil, but Malcolm is a good man who needs your support. Be gentle with him in every situation; make him feel he is the most important person in the world. You do not love him yet, but give yourself a chance. Enjoy him and make sure he enjoys being with you, especially in bed. I have learned that love enhances passion, but passion also enhances love. If you follow my advice, I have no doubt that you two will soon be as happy as I am. Also remember that everyone in your family loves you and wants to see you happy. Be sure to write to let us know how life is in Canada. What an adventure!"

The sisters hugged each other warmly, and Lydia wondered how Lizzy learned what she had said. Surely she could not have referred to Darcy, who was so confident and self-assured? Was he really so different when they were alone from how he appeared to others? Would it be that easy with Malcolm? She knew how much she liked having sex with Wickham, so she thought she could easily make Malcolm feel important. She knew she wanted Malcolm to love her, but would it be that easy? Would her passion help her come to love him? After this sisterly talk, she looked forward to her marriage and coming adventures more and more.

In the morning, the five of them were loaded onto Darcy's largest traveling carriage. A second carriage followed, carrying maids, Darcy's valet, and the luggage. Lizzy was left by herself, even though she would have liked to be able to Lydia's wedding, she and Darcy agreed that they would not risk traveling with their son so soon. Darcy did not want to leave them alone, but knew she was in good hands, with Mrs. Reynolds, her lady's maid, and two nurses in attendance. Lizzy had decided to breastfeed her son, so no wet nurse had been hired. When the carriages left, Lizzy quickly went in as it was cold out. Physically, she now felt almost back to normal, so she met with Mrs. Reynolds to decide what needed to be done while they were no visitors.

Lizzy's expectations of having no visitors were soon dashed as the arrival of a carriage was heard the day after everyone had departed. She was surprised to greet Darcy's aunt, the Countess of Matlock, who said, "Elizabeth, when we received Darcy's letter telling us of the birth of your son and his imminent departure for Scotland without you, I just could not leave you to be here alone. We are still at our estate here in Derbyshire, so I decided to come to visit you, if you will have me. Besides, I wanted to meet the newest Darcy."

"Of course, My Lady, I am happy to see you. It will be very nice to have someone with me as I am still not quite as active as I would like to be. I thought the birth was very difficult, but the midwife said I was lucky. Come up and see our son."

The two ladies soon fell into a very comfortable routine and the days went by quickly. Lizzy received a number of letters from Scotland, telling her of their warm greeting and the wedding. Many guests had attended the wedding as the Jardines' friends and neighbours had heard some of the story about Malcolm's betrothal and imminent move to Canada. Many of his friends envied his good luck in being able to emigrate to Canada which they had heard was a land of opportunity to anyone who was willing to work hard to become established. Just being able to own their own land was nothing but a dream to most young Scots.

Mary wrote and described the wedding and the party that followed. She described how so many young Scots wanted to meet her and to dance with her. She said the Scottish dancing was much different from what she was used to, being much less sedate and more energetic. She said she now knew how much fun the Scottish reel could be. She said that she had the impression that, if she had a sufficient dowry that would have allowed her and her husband to move to Canada and become established there, that she would have received several offers of marriage. However, she said that she was not in search of adventure, that she decided that she wanted only a comfortable house and a good husband to be happy. Mary ended her letter by saying that she had talked to Lydia the day after her wedding and, although she did not understand what Lydia meant, Lydia said that she greatly appreciated Lizzy's advice and that she had tried what Lizzy said and that it appeared to be working after just one night. Lizzy smiled to herself on reading that.

Georgie also included a note and said that she enjoyed her visit very much and that Darcy had allowed her to dance at the wedding party, even though she was not officially out. She said she did not sit out even one dance and quickly learned to dance the Scottish reel, which she enjoyed much more than the English dances, which now appeared to be too sedate and formal to be much fun.

Darcy's letter contained less description of the wedding and the party after and more of how much he missed her. He described how much he missed his son and wanted only to come home. He said that all the arrangements were finalized for the new couple's departure for Canada and that they would be leaving for Glasgow in just two days, then he would return home with Georgie and Mary.

Lizzy shared much of these letters with her Aunt Matlock, and they found a great deal of amusement in the descriptions of the wedding party and the guests. When her aunt read Mary's letter and her comments about the advice that Lizzy had given Lydia, she asked Lizzy what this meant, but Lizzy was very vague about the advice she had given her sister. He aunt did not push the issue, but just smiled, thinking of her own wedding night. She had noted her son Stewart's increased happiness in his marriage to Helen and wondered if Elizabeth had talked to her as well, but she did not ask. Her aunt was not shown Darcy's letter, but she was not surprised at this, expecting that the words would have been quite personal as she had clearly seen how happy they were together.