"Who is here?" grumbled Darcy.
"Mr. Collins and his wife. Mr. Collins informs me that he has important news from your aunt, Lady Catherine. I asked if it was an emergency. He replied nay, but that Lady Catherine needed a response and soon. However, his wife claimed that it was not so very urgent."
Sighing, Darcy brushed his hair out of his eyes. Damnation. In between Elizabeth's family and his own, they would get no rest. "Tell them I shall be down momentarily," Darcy replied.
Closing the door, he walked to his wardrobe to quickly pick out an outfit to wear. There was no need to dress up for his visitors. They were quite unwanted, with the possible exception of his wife's friend, Mrs. Collins, and he planned to shoo them out the door as quickly as he could.
As he buttoned his jacket, he heard a rustling sound from the bed. "Mmmm," his wife moaned. "Why are you awake? Come back to bed."
"Alas, I can not. We have visitors."
"Visitors?" his wife asked, aghast. "Who could be here? At this hour? Why it is only seven o'clock!"
"Why, the one and only Mr. Collins, of course," Darcy replied drolly.
"Could we not have him sent away?"
"I am afraid not. He has a letter from my aunt that needs a reply, but you might want to know that his wife came with him."
"Charlotte?" she asked. At the mention of her friend, Elizabeth's whole demeanor changed. A look of pleased surprise uplifted her weary features. She bit her lip and tentatively asked, "Might we ask them to stay? I have not seen Charlotte in so long and I would so very much like to visit with her and show her our son."
"As you wish my dear," Darcy said, before kissing her forehead. "Get some rest. I will let Mrs. Collins know when you wake up. You two can have a grand time catching up then."
"Collins. I was told that you wished to speak with me."
"Indeed so, sir. Indeed so," Collins said in that irritatingly nervous manner of his. Darcy had been in his presence for less than a minute and he was already annoyed by the man. He was seriously contemplating not following through with his wife's request and telling her the Collins had been in a rush to get back home. But he would not stoop that low. His wife was lucky that he loved her, loved her enough to allow this insipid man to stay in his home.
"Well, let's have it. What does my aunt have to say?"
"The great Lady Catherine has honored me with the chore, nay the delight, of delivering this message. She told me that it was of a delicate nature and needed to be hand delivered by someone with a high moral standard. Who better than a clergyman from her own parsonage she said. It is not lost upon me the esteem Lady Catherine has for me in giving me this most sacred of duties. I shall forever cherish the trust and confidence Lady Catherine has placed in me by assigning me to this errand. Furthermore..."
The man could go on forever, but Darcy did not have that kind of time. "Stop," Darcy barked. "Where is the letter from my aunt?"
Collins began to riffle through his pockets frantically. "It is here somewhere. Charlotte!" he called to his wife who was standing back a few paces taking in the entire scene. "Where did I put that note from Lady Catherine? Oh, wait, never mind, I found it."
Darcy took the letter from Collins's outstretched hand. Opening it, he read the following:
Fitzwilliam,
I write to you even though I am still gravely disappointed in your choice of wife. I will hold until my dying day that she is not fit to bear the surname Darcy. However, you have made your choice so you must in turn deal with the consequences.
As to my reasons for writing this letter, I am inviting you and your wife, if she must needs come, to attend the wedding of my daughter. Anne will be marrying Lord Duffington. The wedding will be two months from now and only family members will be in attendance. Anne has chosen you to walk her down the aisle. We shall be expecting you a fortnight before the wedding.
Regards,
Lady Catherine de Bourgh
Folding the letter, Darcy slipped it into his pocket and lamented his familial obligations. It would be unseemly if he did not acquiesce to his aunt's request. He had no choice but to make plans to attend what would no doubt be a forgettable wedding.
"I will write a letter for you to deliver back to her," Darcy informed the other man. "In the mean time, my wife and I would like to invite you to stay and rest for a few days before making the trip back to Rosings."
"Oh, sir. We would be honored to accept your request. The mere thought brings me..."
Turning abruptly, Darcy headed towards his study, having absolutely no patience to hear the rest of the man's thoughts.
Elizabeth was carefully propped up against the pillows. She had finished nursing her son and had laid him in the cradle next to her bed. She had sent one of the maids for her friend Charlotte. Her excitement leaping within her breast. It had been so very long since she had seen her good friend.
Hearing the knock on the door, she called, "Come in!"
The door opened and a very pregnant Charlotte walked in. "Oh, my!" Elizabeth gasped. "You are looking quite different than the last time I saw you. Come, have a seat over here."
Charlotte gingerly sat down, well, as gingerly as a woman in her six month of pregnancy could, in the chair next to the bed. "Yes, you are quite right. I look vastly different than the last time we met," Charlotte agreed. "This must be little Alexander that Mr. Darcy was telling me so much about."
Elizabeth watched as her friend cooed over her baby. "He's quite handsome, is he not? I think he favors his father."
"Yes, I do see the resemblance," Charlotte smiled.
"Now, I must ask why have you not told me you are expecting your own little one soon. You gave me quite a shock when you walked in through the door. Besides, I am surprised my husband did not mention it when he visited me at lunch."
"I know it has been ages since I have written to you. I believe the last time I wrote to you I was suspicious that I might be with child but I had not had it confirmed by the doctor yet. I am sorry that I did not inform you sooner. I have not been a good friend. But enough about me, how are you feeling?"
"Like I just gave birth," Lizzy admitted wryly.
A worried look passed over her friend's face. "Does it hurt so very bad?"
"You are my friend so I will not lie to you. Giving birth is a miserable experience, but the end result is very much worth the pain. Just look at him and how peacefully he sleeps. I have never felt more blessed."
"Yes, he is quite adorable."
Elizabeth bit her bottom lip, not knowing how to broach the next topic, but her curiosity had to be satisfied. "Is the babe something that you wanted?" she asked.
Her friend's cheeks reddened. "Yes, of course."
"I had thought you were trying to avoid the attentions of Mr. Collins."
"Yes, at first," Charlotte admitted. "But I have found that Mr. Collins improves upon acquaintance."
Elizabeth shot a disbelieving look her friend's way. "Really?"
"Oh, he still has moments of silliness and misplaced vanity, but when we are at home and there's no one to impress his personality is much more palatable. I have grown quite fond of him."
"Do you love him?" Elizabeth asked, slightly appalled by her friend's revelation.
"No, but I feel as if I could one day."
"Well, I am happy for you my friend. I wish for your marriage to be full of joy and everything that you could ever desire."
"Lizzy, it is Mr. Collins of whom we are speaking. I am content and hopeful, not suffering from delusions."
Elizabeth laughed with her friend. Although she did not agree with her friend for marrying a man she did not love from the start, she did realize that marrying Mr. Collins was not the worst thing in the world for Charlotte. Her friend seemed happy and pleased with her life.
"So you must tell me about this Lord Duffington," Elizabeth said. "Darcy tells me he is to marry Lady Catherine's one and only daughter. He must be very grand indeed."
"Not quite. He is balding and forty. His interests are hunting and eating. Both of which he does in excess. But he has a title and wealth and is from a good family which is all that matters to Lady Catherine."
"Naturally. I almost feel sorry for Anne."
"I would not. They both probably could not do any better," Charlotte replied.
"True," Lizzy admitted. "Charlotte, will you and Mr. Collins stay for a week or two? Would it interrupt your plans?"
"No, we had no other plans but to return home. We shall stay for however long you can bear our presence. Besides, Mr. Collins would never turn down an invitation to stay at Pemberley. It is quite an honor, you know."
"Oh, yes," Elizabeth said, rolling her eyes and sharing a knowing smile with her friend. "Quite the honor."