"The mistress surely is a lot different this time around" said Mrs. Rogers as she prepared the sweet tray the duchess had just called for.
"Yes the little lords did not allow her to eat much of anything, while this babe has her craving all types of things" said Antoinette fondly as she sat at the table in Pemberley's huge, welcoming kitchen and had tea with the other servants.
"The house is so lively with the little lords around" said Shelley.
"Says one who does not have to chase them from one end of the hall to the next" said Mrs. Harper, one of the boys' nannies, fondly.
"You love every minute of it" said Mrs. Reynolds as she came in to review the menu with cook.
"I do" she said with a sigh. "They are the sweetest boys ever though they do not lack for energy and they are under my care a lot less than what I expected" she said.
Her previous employer was a viscount and his wife who had a son and two daughters. They were nice and fair employers but they never spent time with their children just as most of their circle did not. She would present the children to one or both of their parents once a day for less than half an hour or she would present them to callers. They were confined to the nursery the remaining time under her care. She adored the children, but when their father acceded to his earldom, he got rid of his staff and took on his father's though they had been with him for years. She was blessed to have found such a living as she had at Pemberley though she had little to do.
"Yes well, as you can see Their Graces are very involved parents and will always take an active role in rearing their children" said Mrs. Reynolds.
"While it is seldom seen from ones of their stations, it is very admirable and their boys are thriving under their care" said Mrs. Stevens, the boys other nanny.
"And I dare say you will spend more times with the boys once the new babe arrives" said the cook.
"I doubt that" said Antoinette, knowing how attached her mistress was to her boys and that she would never neglect them for a moment, even with a new babe.
"As do I" said Mrs. Reynolds. "Their time with their parents will be as it ever was though it may be a little quieter for a while" she smiled.
"Dowh, dowh, dowh" they heard, instantly putting smiles on everyone's faces. "Dowh, dowh" the voice sang until a pair of mischievous green eyes turned the corner in his Aunt Georgie's arms and immediately started kicking his legs, the signal for 'put me down now', as he entered the room.
"Yes, milord. Right away, milord" said Georgiana as she put the hefty boy, who had barely started walking, down.
The twins started to come below stairs with their mother as she went about her duties. She was a very involved mistress and came down to speak with the staff and the cook regularly, bringing the boys along occasionally. They had started to equate going below stairs to getting treats and they had lately started to ask to be taken 'dowh' so they could grab a biscuit or two, or three in Wellesley's case. His sweet tooth was staggering though his parents limited his sweet intake. He toddled over to the cook who held out a sugar biscuit to him.
"Can you say thank you, Wells?" said Georgiana. "Thank you" she said slowly.
"Tank" he said and wobbled away on his still unsteady legs to everyone's amusement. "Up" he demanded as he held out his arms to his aunt.
"Can you say bye, Wells?" she said as she picked him up. "Say bye bye"
"Bybybybybybyby" he sang with a wave of his chubby arm as he munched on his treat."
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"Did you miss me, sister?" asked Lord Sutton as he kissed a very round Elizabeth's hand.
"Always!" she said fondly as she greeted her other visitors.
Her family, after her scare with the twins, all decided to come to Pemberley for her lie in again. They were deathly afraid for her since she had fallen with child so soon after her difficult birth and wanted to be near. And though the duke had been much less worried during this pregnancy, as her time drew near he started to be more and more concerned and they wanted to support him. He was so scared he may lose her this time.
"Are there two in there again?" he asked as he gave her a once over.
"Absolutely not" said the duke.
"Did you specifically ask the doctor?" asked the viscount as he kept staring.
"No but surely he would have informed us as he did the last time" said Elizabeth as she led them into the front drawing room. "Sisters, you remember my family do you not?" she asked as her husband helped her sit down.
The girls got up and formally greeted everyone with understated elegance and they were shocked! What a difference a few months under Elizabeth's care had made. They sat and watched Lydia, whose turn it was to pour tea, serve them all impeccably though she did keep looking towards Elizabeth for guidance. She did an excellent job and she even looked older than she did when last they saw her. They saw a hint of the liveliness that they did like about her show when she looked to Elizabeth when she had finished and was given a nod and smile of approval to which she let out a huge sigh of relief and giggled. Yes she was still Lydia.
"Good job, Lyddie" Kitty whispered though they all heard her as well as Lydia's whispered thank you. She only had to pour tea for her brother and sisters and the rector when he came to call, nothing to the group Lydia had to serve and she was thankful it was not her turn.
"Girls!" said Mrs. Keyes sternly.
"We do not whisper in company" said Lydia drolly.
"It is rude" finished Kitty, making everyone laugh.
"Thank you, girls though you should not repeat your lessons in such a fashion in company either. Fortunately this is a family gathering" said their companion.
"While I see you still have some ways to go, I must say you have done an excellent job with the girls so far, Mrs. Keyes" complimented Mrs. Gardiner.
"Thank you, Mrs. Gardiner but most of the credit goes to Her Grace, she works very hard on the girls' comportment as well."
"Not as hard as you do, Mrs. Keyes" said Elizabeth.
"Thank you, Your Grace" she said before taking herself out of the conversation again.
"And you Mary? Are you learning from your sister as well?" asked Mrs. Gardiner.
"Yes of course, aunt" said Mary. "Lizzy is an excellent mistress and I have learned a lot from her. She makes sure she explains things to me in terms I can understand and gives me a lot of hands on experience."
"Hello everyone" said the grand duchess as she entered with a boy on her hip and one toddling beside her as she held his hand. She had been at the estate for a sen'night before everyone arrived though the general would not be able to travel to Pemberley this visit. "The little lords wanted to welcome everyone to Pemberley did you not boys?" she asked her great grandchildren.
"Not not not" said Bennet who formed words better and quicker than his brother though he was not far behind.
"Did you not?" asked the duchess in amusement.
"Not" he said as he grabbed her face and kissed her.
"Such a little flirt" she said gaily, not remembering being this happy since her own babes were this age.
"Flurd" he repeated. "Flurd?" he seemed to ask as a question.
"Fl-irt" the viscount sounded out before he took him from the duchess. "Let your uncle teach you about the ladies" he said as he crossed the room with him.
"I rather wish you would not, Uncle Sutton" said the duke drolly.
"Benz is already a flirt. He shares his kisses with all the ladies while Wells is a tease and you have to chase him down for a kiss" said Georgiana.
"Lady Georgiana, how many times have I advised you not to call my sons Benz and Wells?" asked the duke.
"Lizzy does it too, brother" she tattled.
"Lady Georgiana Darcy I do no such thing!" Elizabeth laughed incredulously. "How dare you blacken my honor so, young lady?"
"Maybe she does not call them that but she is the one that told us the story" admitted Georgiana.
"What story?" asked an amused colonel.
"The story of when they were naming the boys and she suggested they call them Benz and Wells or Vinnie and Jamie and brother forbid it because of his…what did you call it Lizzy?"
"I have no idea what you are referring to" said Elizabeth while glaring at her teasingly.
"Because of his, his, ah, because of the complex he developed due to his traumatic childhood experience" she cried in victory as she remembered, making everyone laugh.
"A complex due to my traumatic childhood experience, Your Grace?" said the duke to his laughing wife.
"Oh I do not recall using those words" she dissembled.
"Because those specific words just flew out of Georgie's imagination" said the viscount sarcastically.
"I only told her the story as the reason why we had not given the boys nicknames, not for her to use against me as justification for doing just that" she said in mock warning to Georgiana who covered her mouth and giggled.
"Be that as it may, you will not call my sons Wells and most assuredly not Benz" said the duke, trying to hide his own smile at his teasing wife.
"Yes, brother" said a still giggling Georgiana.
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"You have done an excellent job with your sisters" said Lady Matlock as few days later as she watched her sons engage the four sisters in a snow ball fight from the parlor window.
"You have, Lizzy" said Mrs. Gardiner. "Although they are same in essentials, they comport themselves in an entirely different manner. They even move with the same elegance as you do."
"They have a fine master to mimic" said the duchess proudly.
"I have decided to keep them with us when we are not doing the season" said Elizabeth. "I would feel better with them under my care and Georgiana loves having sisters her age around and they have benefitted from Georgie's ladylike manners. They often imitate her as well."
"Tis nothing like a good influence for young ladies" said the countess. "I will be proud to help bring them out when the time comes" she offered.
"Thank you, Lady Aunt. I shall need all the help I can get."
"And Mary" said the impressed Mrs. Gardiner. "I have never seen her so lively. Can you believe our Mary is participating in such an activity? She has blossomed here."
"I shall leave them at Longbourn during the season with trips into to town, but I will keep them with me when we are at one of our estates" said Elizabeth.
"Oh Lizzy Longbourn is beautiful!" said her aunt.
"Is it aunt?" she asked in excitement as she could not wait to see it and had no idea how they got it done so quickly.
"Of course it is not complete but the exterior is done and it is a very handsome structure. I think all they have left is below stairs and servant quarters before it is complete. I cannot wait to see you put your touch on it when it is time for decorations" said Mrs. Gardiner.
"Thank you for letting us stay at Netherfield while I see to its decoration, aunt" she said.
"Of course. Just let me know if you need any help. All the furniture you have ordered is ready for delivery as soon you send for it. All of the beautiful fabrics and wall coverings you picked out are already set aside. The only thing you will have to do is supervise the delivery and set up. It shan't take long at all."
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"Oh my word, tis another head" said the shocked midwife three days later after Elizabeth gave birth to their third son. She and everyone else thought that this would be a single birth but the duchess was once again giving birth to a second babe.
"WHAT?!" shouted Their Graces before Elizabeth let out a blood curdling scream as she squeezed her husband's hand hard enough to make him want to cry out too, definitely not losing strength this time.
"This cannot be" said a panicked duke.
"I assure you it is" said the duchess as she bathed Elizabeth's profusely sweating brow.
"A few more pushes, Your Grace" encouraged the just as stunned doctor who had not detected a second babe this pregnancy and could not fathom such a thing.
"Ahhhhhhhhh" screamed Elizabeth as she finally expelled her fourth child before falling back in a tired heap panting.
"Dearest?" said the duke as he brushed her hair back from her face. "Are you well? Dearest are you well?" he repeated frantically.
"She is very well" said her grandmother when Elizabeth could only nod her head yes as she tried to catch her breath before she gave him a comforting smile between gasps for air allowing him to finally let the breath he had been holding go in relief.
"What do we have?" Elizabeth asked breathlessly.
"One of each, Your Grace" said the midwife as she cleaned her patient.
"Healthy with very strong lungs" said the doctor as he examined the screaming girl babe.
"Thank you, my love" said the duke as her kissed her forehead with tears in his eyes. "Thank you!"
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"Good Lord I was right again?!" said Lord Sutton in astonishment after his mother made the announcement.
"Twins?!" said a flabbergasted Lord Matlock. "Again?!"
"A handsome boy and a beautiful girl" said a happy Lady Matlock.
"My word!" said Mr. Gardiner in awe.
"Can you believe it, husband?" asked Mrs. Gardiner as she came into the room.
"Hardly!" he said.
"The ton is going to be stunned!" said the colonel, just imagining the news this announcement will make.
"Oh those harpies will hate her even more even if they have to admire her" said Lady Matlock smugly, anticipating the season with glee.
"Can you imagine?" said her grandmother, also looking forward to flaunting it.
"Fanny will be livid" said Mrs. Gardiner in satisfaction.
"Especially after her dear Jane's big disappointment" Mr. Gardiner said sarcastically.
"Disappointment?" said the colonel in confusion.
"Why yes of course, colonel. She had a girl." said Mrs. Gardiner.
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"Longbourn turned out beautifully, Fanny" said Mrs. Phillips, trying to hide her envy that her sister was now mistress of such a grand home.
"Yes I dare say it did" Mrs. Bennet said nonchalantly as she tried to hide her excitement as the ladies that had shunned her now looked at her in envy as they sat in her sister's parlor taking tea.
"How long will it be until you can move back in?" asked Mrs. Goulding, another neighborhood matron.
"It looks to be almost completed" said Mrs. Phillips.
"Well I cannot say" said Mrs. Bennet.
In fact she knew nothing about the new Longbourn or when it would be ready for occupancy. She knew nothing about when it would be furnished either. She had heard nothing from her girls but their exclamations over their fancy life at that Lizzy's estate which is said to be four stories with over 150 rooms. She had never even heard of a home so big and was envious of her daughters as they talked about the beautiful estate and all they were learning from that Lizzy and that companion of theirs. They never even mentioned Longbourn except for a few lines saying they could not wait to see it or to talk about all the new furniture they helped their sister pick out for the home. Nothing about when they were coming home to tend to her, nothing important.
"Well I am sure the steward will let you know when it is time" volunteered Mrs. Long, she too hating to see the mean shrew live so well and thinking the duchess was too nice by far to the woman who treated her horribly and slandered her.
"Yes no doubt he will since he is overseeing the construction" said Mrs. Bennet.
"I am sure he shall notify you any day now since it looks almost completed" agreed Lady Lucas with a twinkle in her eye as she hid her smile behind her teacup.
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"How are you feeling, dearest?" asked the duke as she stroked his daughter's silky cheek as he suckled from her mother.
"I am feeling very well" said Elizabeth with a peaceful sigh as she watched her daughter feed from her breast, three weeks after the twins' birth, still not regaining all her strength though she still did not limit the time she spent with her children.
"She is so beautiful" said the duke as he rubbed her hair. "She looks just like you my love" he whispered in awe.
He had gotten just what he wanted. A beautiful baby girl, the very image of her mother from her sparkling green eyes to her already curly hair. He watched in awe as his wife lifted the babe from her breast and laid her on her shoulder to burp her. He never got enough of watching her nurse their babes. It was such a beautiful sight and she always looked so peaceful.
He prayed nothing happened with her milk this time and she could continue to feed them regularly though he did have to insist that the wet nurse tend the babes through the night. She was still extremely weak and needed all the rest she could get and since they tended to the babes themselves and always had their rambunctious boys around, she needed to sleep well at night.
"How long do you think it will take Wellesley to stop looking for your round belly?" he asked in amusement as he took his daughter away from her.
"I cannot say" she laughed. "Though he has started to limit his search to once a day. I would say he shall stop soon."
Wellesley would always pat her stomach in confusion since she gave birth and try to pull her gown away from her to find it. The look of concentration on his face as he searched was really amusing.
"Bennet is fascinated with the babes" said the duke as he laid his daughter, Elizabeth Anne, named after her grandmothers, down in one of the cradles they kept beside their bed and picked up her squirming brother and handed him to his wife.
"Yes he cannot seem to figure out what to make of them, especially when they cry" she said as she put her new son, George Fitzwilliam, named after her husband's father and his, to her breast.
"What do you think of your grandfather's determination to get Prinny to issue our son a title?" asked the duke in amusement.
"That old snob" she said fondly.
She had come to adore her grandparents over the past almost two years. They were big supports to her and she did not know what she would do without them now. Her grandfather insists that George should be titled as well so he will not feel inferior to his brothers. He said he would not stop until he attained him an earldom through his many services to the crown.
"They can hardly abide each other, so I cannot see how he will achieve his goal" said the duke, referring to the well-known enmity between the great general and the prince regent. "But Prinny does respect him tremendously and even may fear him a little though he does not long for his company. He may very well get what he wants, now that I consider it further" said the duke.
"I will just be happy if he does not call him 'that wastrel' to his face" giggled Elizabeth.
"No that would not be conducive to his goal" said the duke.