I don't own Pride and Prejudice.
Elizabeth woke up Christmas morning once again in the arms of her husband. However, this time we was awake and had obviously been watching her sleep. They had spent all day the day before delivering Christmas baskets to the tenants with all of their sisters in tow. Georgiana and Kitty had been so very excited to invite all of them to their party, and the children were all excited to wear their new clothes to it. She believed she made a good impression on her new tenants, but figured time would tell.
"Good morning, you're awake early." She mumbled sleepily as she snuggled further into him.
"Or maybe you just slept late. After all, you did have a big day yesterday. I would not be surprised if the girls slept all day, after how tired they were when we returned last night." Fitzwilliam said with a fond grin.
"Who would have thought that within around two and a half months of marriage we would find ourselves being parents to four almost full grown daughters." She couldn't help but giggle at the irony of it.
"As much as I love the girls, I look forward to being able to start parenting one from the very beginning." As he spoke he gently ran his fingers up and down the bare skin of her stomach.
"All in good time my love." Her courses had come recently a couple weeks ago, so they knew an addition to the family was not immanent.
She as surprised when his fingers stilled, and she replayed what she had just spoken in her head. Instantly she began to fear that she had given too much away too soon? What if he didn't feel the same? What if he only saw in her a friend? What if the time he spent in their marital bed was just for the purpose of creating and heir.
"Did you mean it, or was it just a term of endearment?" She couldn't read the expression on his face nor the tone of his voice, for she was too busy with her own internal crisis. He had given her an out, she could say she just meant it as a term of endearment, but did she want this to be the first and hopefully only time she lied to her husband?
"I did, I mean I do..." She didn't fumble over her words long before he attacked her mouth. Their love making had always been pleasurable, but this time it was so much more than that. Every whispered I love you from him heightened the experience, and he became more eager when she would return them.
In the end, both lay in bed, gasping for breath, more satiated than either had ever been. Turning to his side, he looked at her seriously, "I do love you Elizabeth, more than I have ever loved another living soul. Just when I think I can't love you more, you do something to surprise me, and I fall harder. The way you care for our sisters makes me crave a house full of daughters, just so I can watch you with them the rest of our lives. It wasn't until the boys found their way into my study, that I even imagined us with boys, but now my daydreams are split between the two."
"When you stood up to my Aunt Catherine, I fell for you even harder. My aunt had never had anyone stand up to her before, and your strength and bravery in the face of her was awe inspiring."
"Your kindness to our tenants reminded me so much of my mother, I can not even begin to describe it." Reaching out, he brushed the hair from her face, "I love you Elizabeth, my Beth." She was surprised at how he shortened her name, "To our sisters and friends you are Lizzy, I find I want something all my own." He explained, and she found she liked the name very much.
"Then I must get my own name for you." She smiled at him, brushing an errant curl from his forehead. "Now I have heard many of your family members call you Fitz, but what about William?"
"No one has called me that since my father passed away." She could see in his eyes how the loss still affected him.
"Then you shall be my William, maybe even Will at times. My William, the man who saved not only me, but my sisters from less than ideal parents. Who has been more of a father to Mary and Kitty in a couple of months than ours had been in their entire lives. Who sees the importance of his people and cherishes them for that. Who has inspired so many daydreams of our future life and children in me, that I can't wait to see them all come to fruition. My William, who I love with all my heart." He kissed her again, and they did not make it downstairs till almost lunch.
"Lizzy, Cousin William got to stand up with you last time!" Ten year old Edmund Gardiner pouted when her husband tried to claim her hand for another dance. The Christmas celebrations were well underway, and the children had begged for dancing before dinner. As the children would be joining them for dinner, they saw no need to make them spend the day in the nursery.
"My apologies good sir, I shall relinquish my lovely partner to your care." William bowed to the boy, allowing him to escort her to the makeshift dance floor in one of the larger parlors. There was a large tree in one of the corners, with presents piled around the bottom of it, and more than one child being shooed away from it.
She watched as her husband asked Maria to dance, and waited as the young girl hesitantly accepted. Jane was standing up with eight year old Maggie, while Georgiana was claimed by little Ethan. Of course four year old Bethany Gardiner refused to be left out, so had a partner in Kitty. Little James Darcy, seeing the other children dancing begged his Mama to dance with him, though it was clear by the smile on her face that little begging was needed. The last couples were Andrew and Charlotte, Richard and Mary, Martin and Anne, and finally Olivia and her father.
Aunt Madeline played the opening bars, and Elizabeth hear Lady Catherine let out a fond sigh, "This used to be one of my favorite dances as a girl."
"Well then my lady, would you care to stand up with me?" Uncle Edward held out his hand.
Lady Catherine studied it a minute before taking it, "I would be happy to Mr Gardiner, how about we show these young people how it is done." The two grinned as they joined the dance, and danced it very well indeed.
"Papa, me next! Me next!" Little Bethany ran to her father once the song had finished, and the partners all changed up again.
To everyone's surprise Lady Catherine offered to stand up with Maggie when the little girl shyly asked her if she would dance with her. "Anne and I used to take turns dancing the man's part as girls when we were learning to dance, it should be fun to see how much I remember."
Dinner was announced shortly after, so the dancing came to an end.
"Mrs Gardiner, your children are absolutely delightful, I hope you will indulge me and let me have your family visit me when we all return to London. It has been so long since I have had the pleasure of being around children. I consider you and your husband friends, and hope you may come to see me as such." Lady Catherine spoke once they were all seated, "and you as well Mrs Darcy, I look forward to entertaining you both while in town." She smiled at William's aunt. The older women in the group had gotten along very well for the entirety of the visit, it was almost hard to believe they had not known each other forever.
Dinner was filled with laughter, and over relatively quickly as the children were eager to open their gifts, and parents who were ready to get said children to bed for fear of overly tired children the following day.
"Oh, I just realized I never sent a gift for Mama, Papa, and Lydia." Kitty gasped when they all sat down to open their gifts.
"Not to worry dear, I sent them gifts from us." She smiled reassuringly at her sister, and was rewarded with one from her in return. Looking at her husband, she could see the amusement in his eyes, and knew he was thinking about what she had sent them.
For her mother and sister she had gotten books that highlight the proper manners for gentlewomen. For her father she found a book about the importance of daughters and why it was important to raise them well and protect them.
"Sir, riders have been seen on the road..." The butler's announcement had all of them freezing in their spots.