Chapter 29: Anne's Avarice
Monday, 2 November 1812
Rosings Park
Mr. Darcy refused to tell Anne of the babe's movement and forbade Elizabeth from telling as well. He wanted to keep this intimacy between Elizabeth and himself for as long as he could. The possibility of his leaving was now so foreign to him that he did not even consider it as a reason to delay the telling of Anne.
Mr. Pryce and Mrs. Wilson had visited the Friday last. Mr. Darcy again stayed during the visit to hear all the doctor and midwife had to say. He needed to be there to "receive an update on his investment," as Mr. Darcy drolly called it. Anne decided she should attend Elizabeth's visits as well. Elizabeth's feelings on the matter were not consulted, though she in no way appreciated being put on display for so many. When Lady Catherine tried to demand a right to attend, Elizabeth was thankful that both Anne and Mr. Darcy refused to allow her admittance.
Mrs. Wilson's exam had found her increasing womb to be slightly larger than she expected. She attributed it to the size of the baby since its father was such a great height. (1) Mrs. Wilson also felt movement during her exam, pronouncing it to be a good sign. Anne rushed to feel her child move, but the baby had stopped by that point.
As Mrs. Wilson began to speak, Elizabeth interrupted her, giving her midwife an imploring look. "Anne," Elizabeth said quietly, "it is more active in the evening. You will likely be able to feel movement before retiring tonight." Elizabeth watched Mrs. Wilson, praying she would not elaborate on how to encourage movement. She had no desire to find out what Anne may do if she learned touching Elizabeth's breasts would cause the baby to move.
Thankfully, Mrs. Wilson did not share that bit of information with Anne. She did warn both ladies that Elizabeth's condition would soon be unable to be hidden by loose clothing and warm wraps, they would need to prepare for confinement.
Once the doctor and midwife left, Mr. Darcy shooed away Anne so they could rest. Elizabeth could tell by the look on his face that the direction of his thoughts had little to do with resting.
Once Anne left, even though mid-day, he was quick to pull Elizabeth close. "You must be tired after so much poking and prodding." His comfort level with her was now such that he was quick to tease. "Mrs. Wilson said you should again loosen your clothing, here, allow me to help you," he offered as he moved around to unbutton her gown. Once he removed her gown and stays, she helped him remove his own clothing with the exception of his shirt. They slipped between the bedclothes, clinging together to warm each other in the chilled bed.
"The exam was most unfair," he told her. "Mr. Pryce feeling you. Mrs. Wilson feeling you. Anne feeling you. I was the only one left out," he pouted. The knowing smile that quickly replaced his affected pout left no doubt of his intentions. "Now it is my turn to do the feeling. And the poking and prodding."
As Mr. Darcy began to find his favorite places on Elizabeth's body, he first moved her to lie on her back, while he again did everything to feel his child move. Placing his hand on her belly and his mouth on her breast, he encouraged the little Darcy to dance within his mother before his father decided it was time for the little one to rest while the adults focused their attentions on playing a very different rhythm with each other's bodies. One that could only be called a percussive beat, after which rest finally came to both.
~~~oo0oo~~~
After the parties had retired for the evening, Anne came to Elizabeth's room. "I wish to feel him," she weakly exclaimed. Elizabeth, already undressed to her chemise, lay on the bed to allow Anne to properly place her hands to feel the little Darcy move.
Big Darcy, dressed in his nightshirt when Anne so boldly walked in, once again reprimanded his cousin for, once again, simply walking into their room without the courtesy of even a knock. "Anne, what is wrong with you? Why do you just walk in? It is uncouth. We could easily have been in here without clothing."
"So you would be undressed. Why do I care? Do you think I would be impressed, or do you fear I would laugh?" Anne bit back to Darcy, much to Elizabeth's surprise. "I wish to feel my baby move. Your state of dress means nothing to me."
Darcy, now growing even more agitated at Anne's interruption of his peaceful evening, took a book and sulked to a chair by the window, removing himself from her company before he said things that he would later regret.
Anne kept her hands on Elizabeth's now slightly rounded belly, anxiously awaiting some movement. "What does it feel like, when it moves?"
"At first it was like having the winds," Elizabeth laughed. "But now it feels like little hands are punching me."
"Punching," Anne cried softly. "Does it hurt?"
"Oh no!" Elizabeth assured her. "Not at all. It is just unexpected. Sometimes it is a movement, as though he's rolling over in his sleep. Other times it is quick."
"Oh!" Anne cried. "Was that it?" Elizabeth nodded, happy for Anne's excitement.
To Darcy's disgust, he watched Anne put her head near Elizabeth's stomach, saying, "We finally meet! I have been waiting for you to come for me to love."
When he saw the odd look on Elizabeth's face as Anne planted a kiss on her stomach, Darcy knew she had gone too far for Elizabeth's comfort, and it was time to force Anne out of the room. Getting up he moved toward Anne, ready to physically remove her if necessary. "Anne, what do you think you are doing?" he scowled.
She looked defiantly at Darcy. "I shall kiss my baby if I wish."
"You are not kissing a baby, you are kissing Elizabeth! What is wrong with you? Why can you not maintain some sense of propriety? And at least knock from time to time!"
Anne stood, her frail frame standing solidly against Darcy's powerful one. "Bah!" she spat at him. "I am the one who needs this child, and who already loves this child more than any other. This is my child, and I will not be pushed aside."
Looking at Elizabeth, she apologized if showing affection to her own child made Elizabeth uncomfortable, but as her time and strength would be limited after the child was born, she felt entitled to start showing her affection now. In that manner, her child would always have her love as a part of its very beginning.
She leaned back to Elizabeth's belly, placing her hands on each side of the bulge as if to offer the baby a hug. "I am working to ensure you have a perfect life. I may have little time left, but I will not die until I know with certainty you will live in happiness."
Darcy looked at Elizabeth. She must be feeling sentimental, he thought as Elizabeth's look begged him to leave Anne alone. Deciding against his initial resolution to physically remove Anne, he decided to take a different route. "Fine," he stated. Turning abruptly, he went to his side of the bed and climbed between the bedclothes to Elizabeth's side. Slipping his arms around her, he pulled Elizabeth closer to him staring challengingly at Anne.
Anne stared challenging back at him. "Fine," she retorted. "But you will not stop me from caring for my child." Once again kissing Elizabeth's belly, Anne politely bid her a good night, refusing to further acknowledge Darcy.
When the door clicked behind his cousin who was becoming stranger and stranger, Elizabeth turned to him to take him to task for his treatment of her. "Sir, that was not kind," she chided him.
He expected it with the look she had given him earlier. "She always has been odd, but now her acts are increasingly bizarre."
"She is odd," Elizabeth agreed. "As I have stayed here she has become increasingly strange. I wonder if her illness is beginning to affect her mind. If not her illness, perhaps the realization of her impending … plight."
Elizabeth did have a reasonable conjecture, Darcy thought. "Point taken," he agreed. "I shall work to be more understanding, but I still find it disturbing."
"I take comfort that she wants such happiness for the child. Though odd in her manner, she is showing love. It is charming, in its own way."
"If that is what you wish to believe, I bow to your greater compassion." But then a truly reprehensible thought gripped Darcy, though he could not refrain from teasing Elizabeth with it. "I wonder what Anne would do if she learned how to make little Darcy move?"
Elizabeth was none too pleased with his suggestion. She groaned. "I was so worried Mrs. Wilson would tell her today! While disquieting to have her kiss my stomach, I can tolerate it. But I refuse to allow her to touch my breasts!"
Darcy laughed as he settled in the bed for sleep with Elizabeth in the new position he adopted. Darcy would wrap himself around her back with one hand holding his baby and the other hand holding his love.
~~~oo0oo~~~
Tuesday, 3 November 1812
The next morning Anne ordered trays so she and Elizabeth could share a breakfast in her dressing room while engaging in a private conversation.
"We had discussed this before when we first suspected you were with child, but now I have felt the life in the babe so we must make a decision. Do you prefer for Darcy to stay?" Before Elizabeth could begin to consider, Anne rushed on. "I did believe it best for him to stay, making the birth easier through continued amorous congress. I think it would make Darcy feel more for the babe. His attachment will be important as the only parent on paper once I am gone. But my baby also needs parents to love and to be loved by."
Elizabeth was confused by her reference to 'parents,' Mr. Darcy would be the child's only parent until he found one of the ton to remarry.
"My plan appeared to be working, Darcy is attached to the babe, but now he seems to be declaring ownership and trying to push me away. That will not do," Anne announced, suddenly shifting into a possessive stance.
Looking directly at Elizabeth, Anne shared some of her plans for her baby. "You must remain in the little Darcy's life. You must stay with the Darcy family, so the babe will have your love. You are the only one who could love my child as much as I do."
Again, Elizabeth felt Anne's expectations odd. She already felt the stirrings in her own heart for the baby and was beginning to realize giving her child away would be the most difficult thing she had ever done.
On her walks, she found herself planning ways to keep the child once Anne passed. Mr. Darcy would wish to go back to the carefree life of a gentleman, so perhaps she could take Anne's child to raise. It was not an uncommon thing for the gentry to give a child to others to rear, though usually not an heir. (2) Other times she dreamed of just taking her child with her under her cloak when she left. They would think the child with the nurse. When feeling particularly aggressive, she would dream of stealing her child straight from Darcy's house. She could enter pretending to be a servant. If she worked in the kitchens, he would never know she was there. Then in the night, she would slip into her child's room and quietly move off into the dark. She would not give her true name to the servants—none would know it was her. Then, she could call the child a foundling, and they would live quietly together at Longbourn.
She sighed knowing none of these would happen. She would honor her agreement, but this baby would always live in her heart.
Now Anne wanted her as a part of the child's life. Could she see the child and not embrace it as its mother? Could she see the adult, look into possibly her own eyes, and not be a part of its life? A wave of grief unlike any she had felt before washed over her.
Anne wanted to know if Mr. Darcy should stay.
Elizabeth acknowledged this lovely interlude in her life was now over. If he left, it would hurt, but he would leave, either now or in April. Once the babe was delivered, they would rarely see each other again. Mr. Darcy would have no reason to be in Hertfordshire, and she would have no reason to leave.
If he left now, Elizabeth would have time to grieve his loss before having to combine that grief with the loss of her child. Now thinking upon her eventual return to Longbourn, how could she return to her family amidst such misery? Elizabeth chose to follow her sense over her sensibility. If her opinion were consulted, Mr. Darcy should go now allowing her five months to heal that part of her heart before the rest broke.
Hearing a throat clearing, Elizabeth looked up to see Anne looking at her askance.
"My apologies. I was in thought. What did you ask?"
With a concerned look, Anne repeated herself. "Will I be able to count on you, as my friend, my dearest friend, to help protect my child?"
Feeling the shame of guilt, Elizabeth tried to be honest without betraying Anne's faith in her. "Anne, you are a dear friend, but I do not believe that will be possible. The babe will be under Mr. Darcy's care. I shall be at Longbourn. I fear the likelihood of us seeing each other after we leave Rosings is small."
A wave of shock registered on Anne's face. "I thought you and Darcy worked out your dispute? You seem to get along well now."
Elizabeth nodded. "We have, and we do."
"Then why would you not see him?"
"Anne, your world is very different from mine. I was reared on country manners. I understand the ton is different, and I do not believe I could adapt."
"Explain yourself," Anne demanded. "After you returned from your sister's wedding, you said you would not accept Richard, that you could not accept the perfidy in the relationships you have seen of the ton. Beyond speaking of Lord Huron and his mistress and mercenary marriage, what other evidence has either gentleman given of his moral uncertainty?"
Elizabeth sighed in exasperation. This whole scheme was an example of it! But Elizabeth was not ready to speak with Anne about her own regrets at agreeing to give up her child, a life now intertwined with her own.
When Elizabeth did not answer immediately, Anne demanded an answer. "Do you still feel that way?"
"Yes," Elizabeth sighed. "But it is more than simply the ton. I do not wish to be married without mutual respect. The only example of marriage with mutual respect is that of my aunt and uncle in Town. Though my sister seems to have one, I have not been in her company enough to know. I prefer a marriage where the partners enjoy the company of each other."
"You are telling me you do not enjoy the company of Darcy? Because it is evident to everyone how much he enjoys yours, to the point where we have had to separate you in public."
"I enjoy his company, but here is it only the two of us. Once he returns to London, I shall be quickly forgotten among the more beautiful, elegant, and accomplished ladies of Town—from whom he will select his next wife, if he chooses to have another wife." Elizabeth managed to speak with a clear voice, though she felt her throat begin to tighten.
"What of Richard? Is he not diverting?"
Elizabeth choked out a strangled laugh. "Yes, he is. He seems to be a wonderful cousin and friend. However, as the son of an earl, he is used to living extravagantly and, it seems, enjoying the pleasures of many ladies. Those are not the habits of my choice. No, it is better for me to be alone. My property will be my own, I shall have no concerns about the whims of a gentleman, which, if you remember, is how I ended up in this situation," she reminded Anne pointedly. "Besides, Colonel Fitzwilliam views me as nothing more than a trinket to tease his cousin with."
"Richard," Anne spat disgustedly. "I am amazed they give him command of troops. He has botched every assignment I have given him." Looking again at Elizabeth, she asked, "Do you really think my cousin so dishonorable? To ask for a lady's hand and then break the engagement destroys his honor. Look at Wellington, he had offered for a lady before he left for war, only to return and find the lady would not suit him, but he still honored his commitment." (3)
Elizabeth laughed. "Yes, let us look at Lord Wellington. Let us not forget the litany of ladies who have crossed his breeches, as he remains married to a lady who does not suit. What honor is there in being the wife of such a gentleman?"
Anne immediately changed course. "He is not the best example, but Richard is a military man. He wears that libidinous military persona more than he wears his breeches," Anne waved Richard's charisma off. "Darcy, though his cousin, is cut from a very different cloth. He is a serious gentleman, with a well-developed sense of responsibility and dedication to duty. I chose him to be the father because I knew my estate would be safe under his management, and my heir would learn from one of the best."
Pausing to rest a few seconds, Anne tried to gauge Elizabeth's response. "Just because some gentlemen make immoral choices does not mean all gentlemen do."
"And yet, here I am. I believe I am no longer one to judge the immoral," Elizabeth quipped, thinking of her own sinful choice, but doubting the gentlemen of the ton struggled with their decisions in the way she did.
Anne considered the direction of her conversation a few moments. "What about children of your own? There is no reason you should leave here and not have your own children later."
"How will I have children? What decent gentleman would have me after this? It is not something I could hide—my body already begins to bear the marks." Drawing strength from her resolve to finish this conversation without tears, Elizabeth continued. "I have four sisters. I shall have the advantage of picking the niece or nephew of my choice, one that will match my temperament and judgment, to adopt and bequeath my estate to."
"You plan to leave Darcy once my heir is born?" Anne asked astoundedly.
"No," Elizabeth answered. "I plan to return to my home. The home you gave to me in exchange for bearing your heir. For me to plan anything else would be absurd."
"Would you abandon Georgiana as well? She considers you a dear friend," Anne reminded Elizabeth.
"No, I would do nothing to harm her." Elizabeth sighed. "She is a dear friend. But she will be coming out in society next year and will have many amusements in Town. She will quickly forget such a boring country thing as me."
Anne looked seriously at Elizabeth. "You underestimate the hard-won loyalty of Georgiana. She tends to distrust others." Anne paused a moment to gather her strength. "From even her earliest memories, ladies would befriend her as a way to gain access to her brother. Men court her goodwill as an entry to her brother's coffers or her own substantial dowry." Now glaring at Elizabeth, Anne again paused for breath. "She is shy and withdrawn until she becomes at ease with someone. She rarely becomes comfortable, but she has with you. Would you betray her?" Anne demanded, her anger rising.
"I would never betray Georgiana. I would never cut her," Elizabeth swore. "However, it does not follow that I shall see the babe because I maintain a correspondence with Georgiana."
Anne's anger betraying her, she spat, "You might not have to have a relationship with Darcy, but you do need to continue to see my child. My child needs your love just like I needed my Aunt Christine's love along with my father's." Again Elizabeth was confused about Anne's references. Christine was not the lady who gave birth to Anne, though she did act like a mother. Anne continued, "Mother loves me in her own way, but she does not have much to give. You have much to give our child. That is all I want, for it to know the love my own mother denied me. How can you deny our innocent babe?"
Elizabeth thoughtfully looked at the now gasping-for-air Anne a moment before replying. "If Mr. Darcy marries, his wife will not be pleased to have me as a regular visitor to her household. Besides, I would always fear disclosure in his company. It would be very difficult to maintain a relationship with the child while avoiding the father."
"I will speak with Darcy." Anne then reached to grab Elizabeth's hand, "This is very important to me, promise me you will love my child and help care for it."
"I promise I will always love this child"— Elizabeth easily swore as she rubbed the swell—"but I am in no position to be able to promise you more."
Anne was obviously upset. "I must think further upon this. I thought you a friend I could rely upon."
~~~oo0oo~~~
Thursday, 5 November 1812
Elizabeth awoke before dawn that morning, looking to find her. After looking around a few moments, she finally wondered if it was a dream. It had been so faithful to life she could not immediately discern the difference. As she woke more, she realized it could only have been a dream. Nothing else would make sense.
It was a little girl with long brown curls and a familiar smile. Her eyes danced with joy. She came to the bed and crawling in beside her mother to sleep. How Elizabeth knew the identity of the mother was difficult to say, she just knew. She woke expecting the girl to lie sleeping beside her.
Mr. Darcy woke as Elizabeth looked around for the child. "What are you doing?" he asked her.
"I thought there was a little girl here, but maybe it was a dream." Now regaining more of her rationale, she added, "It must have been a dream." Lying back into the pillows, pressing herself back into Mr. Darcy's hold, she drifted back to sleep, as Mr. Darcy rubbed circles on her growing belly.
~~~oo0oo~~~
Lady Catherine followed Anne and Elizabeth to their wing after tea that afternoon, having a purposeful resolution about her. Managing to keep her discomposure from being voiced throughout the whole of the trip through the house, once she entered Anne's wing, she determinedly herded the ladies into Anne's dressing room and firmly shut the door.
"It is time," she announced. "You must now retire to the wing for the duration. I can see the unmistakable protuberance in your dress," she declared as she pointed to what once was Elizabeth's waist.
Elizabeth startled. She knew her stomach was growing, but she did not think it so large yet. "Maybe," she suggested to Lady Catherine, "I have been eating too much rich food, and it is staying with me."
"It is not in the right place," Lady Catherine declared. "When you stood beside Anne today, it was pronounced. There could be no other explanation. You will begin your confinement now."
Elizabeth looked helplessly at Anne. This was the part Elizabeth had dreaded most when she agreed: to be locked in this wing with no relief. She would have the baby four months from now, but the midwife told her she would need another month or more for her stomach to go down before she could be seen. She was now facing the prospect of spending five months locked in this wing.
"Mother, Peeke gave me this yesterday. It will help." Anne held up an unusual corset with a pouch hanging from the front. "Peeke designed it herself. We stuff this part with cloth, one rag on every other day for the next week. After that, we add a rag each day. It will grow and look like I am growing." Anne looked triumphantly at Elizabeth, "I will get to feel it grow too!"
When Lady Catherine expressed her disapproval and doubt, Anne had Peeke come to show them how it would work and how it would look with the gown hanging over it. Even Lady Catherine acknowledged the strange corset did a fine job making Anne look to be with child.
"We shall need to again loosen Elizabeth's dresses," Anne thought aloud. "With the weather being so much cooler, would you be willing to wear two chemises under your corset? And loosen the laces on the corset? Both will help hide the additional girth."
Elizabeth agreed. The extra chemise would be unnecessary to protect Elizabeth from the cooler weather, the little Darcy furnace inside her did a fine job warming her, but would be worth it to maintain a few extra weeks of freedom.
Anne welcomed Elizabeth's agreement. "I shall start wearing this today. Servants will notice my growth, diverting their attentions from your changes."
"It may be well for now"—Lady Catherine reminded them—"but you must prepare for the confinement. This might purchase you a couple of weeks, at most. The confinement must begin soon."
Elizabeth sighed. She knew of the pain and perils childbirth brought ladies, but not having experienced or witnessed them, they were an abstract fear she would not allow herself to dwell upon. Being confined in a house, even worse, being confined in a wing of a house was no abstraction. Poor weather had kept her indoors in the past. She knew all too well how caged she was about to feel.
~~~oo0oo~~~
Saturday, 14 November 1812
Rosings Park
Lady Catherine had joined Anne and Elizabeth as they took tea in Anne's wing. After Peeke had notified her mistress of servant gossip concerned with the amount of food Anne consumed and the health of the baby, Anne had Peeke arrange one of the empty rooms in her wing as an eating area for the ladies, who now began taking most of their meals upstairs.
As the trio sipped their tea and chatted about the upcoming holiday season, Mr. Darcy bowed an entry as he joined them. Allowing the ladies to continue their discussion, he added little.
During a lull in their conversation, he shared his situation. He had received a letter from his solicitor about a difficulty with an investment that kept dragging on. His solicitor was being challenged in most ungentlemanly ways while trying to reach a resolution. Mr. Darcy knew he could quickly quell the dispute with the great power carried by his name and position. It meant he would have to return to London for a few days during the next week to personally attend to this issue and bring it to an abrupt and favorable end. His plan was to leave Monday, giving himself two days for the necessary meetings, he foresaw himself returning on Thursday.
Elizabeth felt a wave of sadness as he made his announcement. So he was to go. Once in Town, he would have many distractions to entertain himself with, unlike at Rosings Park where the days held little variation. She could not believe he would return on Thursday. It would be best for her to begin to bear the pain of separation now. Assuring her features were schooled into the expected charming smile, she determined to maintain her own counsel throughout this conversation.
"Nephew, there is no reason for you not to enjoy the pursuits of Town now that your purpose has been achieved," Lady Catherine announced. "You would do well to remove yourself back to London to better nurture your relationships now that the season is beginning."
"It is expected of you," Anne added. "I have heard gossip wondering at your stay, though many believe you to be secretly at Pemberley. If you are spending some time in Town, be seen at balls and in your club. You would do well to assure the gossips nothing is being hidden."
Darcy looked toward Elizabeth, though she could not return his gaze. She held her face expressionless and only looked at her tea.
Returning his attention to his aunt and cousin, he refused their machinations. "The relationships important for me to nurture and maintain, I do through post. I have no reason or desire to attend balls during such a short stay, but I shall likely be at the club to meet with my associates, so that part is already taken care of."
"There is no more reason for you to stay," Aunt Catherine proclaimed. "You have served your purpose. I do not see why you remain."
"So you think I have no interest in the well-being of my child?" he demanded of her. "I will not have something so important left in the hands of others."
"Your insistence on attending her exams is most unusual," his aunt reminded him. "Most men return to their pursuits in Town once their heir is produced. This is most peculiar of you, remaining with your wife through her confinement."
"Most allow stewards to run their estates," Darcy quipped. "Yet for many years you have relied on either my father or me to oversee your own steward, knowing full well we have the entirety of the Darcy estates besides. Why would it seem peculiar for me to attend to my heir?"
Aunt Catherine had no response, thus sipped her tea in silence.
Unprepared, Mr. Darcy's next pronouncement shocked her.
"I am considering bringing Elizabeth with me," he looked toward Elizabeth. "I thought you might enjoy a brief diversion in Town, you could spend time with your sister."
He had tried to concoct a reason he could bring Elizabeth with him. Maybe she could come to London to visit her sister? The Bingley's were in town for the peak of the season. She would still need to stay with Georgiana, as he had no intention of allowing her to sleep in a different house while in the same town. Mrs. Bingley would not understand, and she would likely invite Georgiana to stay at Bingley's house. Damn! That is what she would do, leaving him painfully alone. Would Bingley consider allowing him to stay a couple of nights so he would not have to open his own place? He had certainly opened his doors to Bingley often enough.
"No!" Anne cried. "What we can get away with here, in the sanctity of Rosings Park, would not pass the scrutiny of Town."
Elizabeth could do nothing but agree with Anne. "Sir, I do not believe I could be around Jane or any of my family without betraying myself. It is best for you to go alone." She was too far along now, there was no possibility she could spend time with Jane without revealing her condition. Jane was in the same condition herself! With all of the overwhelming emotions Elizabeth now felt, she was not sure she could continue to keep her secret with her dear Jane.
Darcy nodded his defeat.
Anne again suggested he stay in Town longer, at least through the holiday season, to help manage the gossips in town. "You may return after the boy is born—"
"Girl," Darcy corrected her.
Anne looked questioningly at him.
"Elizabeth dreamed of a girl," he told her. "I am now resigned to having a daughter."
Anne smiled. "Girl. You may return after the girl is born but stay for a few weeks. It will be good for you to spend some time free from the demands of Rosings Park."
Mr. Darcy nodded his agreement but did not reply. As he excused himself to return to his duties, Elizabeth worked once again to reign in her emotions. He would be leaving. Anne made it clear she would be sending letters later today to ensure he was kept in London through the holidays or longer.
So this was the end. Mr. Darcy would leave on Monday, and she would rarely see him again.
She would get through it like ladies had throughout time, with her head held high, her dignity intact. She may cry, but with the changes that came with pregnancy, tears were now difficult to control. She would have the baby and go home. It would be over.
~~~oo0oo~~~
Saturday, 14 November 1812
Rosings' Servant Dinner
"I see the miss'us' starting to show her babe," one of the chambermaids mentioned to the women around her.
"I was begin'n to wonder," another replied. "She so frail and not showin' nothin', maybe it didn't take right."
"I been noticin' this past two weeks, watching it grow. Looks to be gettin' enough to grown on, but I don't see where since she don't seem to eat much of nothing."
Peeke listened. She would have to tell the mistress about the servants' talk. Maybe she could start taking an extra tray in her room with Miss Bennet? They would have no way of knowing how much each lady ate, though some food may have to be smuggled to the hogs to satisfy some of the older ladies.
To her companions at the dinner table, she ensured the continued good health of the mistress and her baby. She was growing, now more rapidly than before. She consumed more than her meals would indicate, as she was being served biscuits and small treats throughout the day by Peeke.
The women, for it is always the women concerned about such things, nodded their approval of the extra food served their mistress.
They all again bowed their heads and prayed for the health and safety of the mistress and her infant. Peeke insisted they include the health and safety of her friend, Miss Bennet, which they did.
~~~oo0oo~~~
(1) I read once the baby's weight was correlated with the father's size as an infant. Google "Father's gene linked to baby's birth weight" for the article. If you read the article, it's not as extreme as I'm making it in this fiction.
(2) This is actually true. Look up Princess Caroline for an easy example. Gentry would sometimes adopt kids and pay lower class people to raise them. Jane Austen herself was sent to live with another family as a baby. A really creepy example of gentry adopting is documented in the book How to Create the Perfect Wife. Super-creeper Thomas Day decided he could not find the perfect wife in the frivolous, fashion-obsessed Georgian times, so he set out to create her. He adopted two girls to train, abandoning one in six months but subjecting the other to God-awful experiments and tortures. (Once again, I look at IRL things that happened back then, particularly perpetrated by the gentry, and wonder at those who were so shocked by this story.)
(3) This is also true. Wellesley made his intentions clear for Catherine "Kitty" Pakenham when they were young, but her parents disapproved because he was a third son and had few prospects. Catherine thought it over, eventually becoming engaged to the second son of an earl while Wellesley dedicated himself to his military career. When Catherine's friend, who was in contact with Wellesley revealed Wellesley still felt himself attached to her, Catherine broke off her engagement. It was ten years after they had first known one another, and Catherine had gone from a pretty, vivacious girl to a thin and sickly one when he came back. Catherine wanted Wellesley to see her before he renewed his proposal, but Wellesley felt honor bound to marry her even though he told his brother, "She has grown up ugly, by Jove!"