Darcy was pacing nervously up and down the hall; half an hour ago, he had been thrown out of Elizabeth's bedroom because he was too nervous and impatient. Mrs. Gardiner and Miss Taylor were with Elizabeth, and Mr. Gardiner was trying to make small talk with Darcy.

In the last two hours Darcy had had three glasses of brandy; Every time Elizabeth screamed, he felt as if a dagger had been stabbed into his chest. He felt helpless and guilty because his beloved wife was suffering because of him and he couldn't do anything about it.

Finally, six hours later, the midwife came out with a big smile on her face to tell Darcy that he had a beautiful and healthy son, and Elizabeth was exhausted but fine. Hearing the such good news, Darcy ran into the room, Miss Taylor and Mrs. Gardiner smiled and left them alone.

Elizabeth lay with many pillows around her and held her little son in her arms. She was visibly tired but smiling and in Darcy's eyes she was never as beautiful as she was at that moment. Darcy knelt by the side of the bed, entranced he looked at his little son who was sleeping peacefully, and then at the woman he loved more than anything in the world..., and began to cry with emotion.

"Elizabeth, my love, there are no words to express how happy I am." He stroked her cheek tenderly, "Thank you very much for this beautiful gift."

"I'm so happy Fitzwilliam." She sighed tiredly and contently, "Our son is so beautiful. Would you like to hold him?"

Darcy nodded and carefully took his son in his arms. "Hello William, I'm your father. I'm so glad you were born…" At that moment William began to cry and wave his little arms. In a panic, Darcy immediately handed the child to Elizabeth. Elizabeth laid him down on her chest and a few seconds later William calmed down. The image of Elizabeth with his son in her arms was so beautiful and peaceful. If before he was completely in love with his Elizabeth, now he felt a devotion impossible to explain. Elizabeth was not only his wife, his lover, his best friend, but now she was also the mother of his child...

Although Elizabeth insisted, she wanted to breastfeed her son herself, Darcy also hired a wet nurse to ensure his son always had food and Elizabeth was able to rest properly.

Very early the next morning Mary and Johnny were the first to visit Elizabeth and meet William. Johnny was very excited because his sister had a son, and he was also very curious since he had never seen a newborn child. As expected, Johnny asked his sister a lot of questions…

"Lizzy, are newborn boys always so small?"

"Yes, Johnny. They can even be smaller. William looks a lot like you when you were a newborn."

"Did I really look like him?" he asked surprised since he couldn't find any resemblance between him and William.

"Yes, you were very much like him." She looked at him with a smile, "I see you don't believe me. You can ask Mary if you want."

Johnny looked at his cousin curiously, and Mary nodded.

"I believe you, Lizzy. Can I touch and hug him?"

"Yes, but you have to be very careful not to hurt him because he is very small."

Johnny gently hugged him and William began to cry. "Did I hurt him?" he asked horrified.

"No, you didn't hurt him. He cries because he woke up and is hungry." She paused, "Mary, would you go with Johnny to find Mrs. Morrison to help me feed William?"

Mary nodded and went with Johnny to find the wet nurse. Half an hour later William fell asleep again in Lizzy's arms.

PPP

For the next few days, Lizzy rarely left her bedchamber. Her cousins and Georgiana spent several hours with her. In those days Elizabeth realized that although she had lived in the same house with Kitty for several years, she knew her very little. The memories she had of Kitty were of a silly young girl imitating her younger sister. However, the young woman she was conversing at that moment was nothing like what she remembered, but instead was a serious young woman who listened attentively to what was said to her and didn't talk nonsense.

When she made that comment to Miss Taylor, her response surprised her...

"… Catherine is a very docile and sweet young girl whose parents unfortunately never paid any attention to her. All I did was listen to her and advise her." she smiled, "She doesn't have your curiosity to learn or Mary's tenacity, but she's easy to lead."

"Some time ago, Mary told me something similar about Kitty."

"To understand Catherine you have to think about this: what would your life have been like if your mother ignored you all the time and made you feel like your opinion didn't matter?" she paused, "She chose to imitate her mother's favorite daughter thinking that in this way her mother would pay attention to her and love her..."

After that conversation, she understood Kitty better, and she also promised herself that if she had more children, she would never make an effort to give them all the same attention. She knew that she had been very lucky to have wonderful parents, Miss Taylor as a governess and without a doubt a cousin and best friend like Mary...