AN: The Gardiner's House in town is now in Berkley square, as one of my lovely reviewers told me Belgrave Square didn't exist yet. It is updated in the story now. Also, Family Tree birth years have been updated for certain characters. Warning: Death comes to Lyme Park. Don't hate me after this Chapter. Next Chapter we are out of the flashbacks Yay! Sorry for late post.

-T

Lyme Park, Cheshire

February 1799

Robert Bennet was inside his study at Lyme Park, pacing back and forth and waiting. He invited his family to Lyme Park and they were supposed to arrive at 3 o'clock precisely, but it was half past four and no sign of them. His daughter, Lizzy, was in his study reading. She looked up to him and said,

"You know Papa, grandfather does the same when he's worried, but you should not worry -- it rained last night and the roads are not in the best condition."

"Yes, Lizzy, I am aware, but it is not like them not to send notice."

"Well, I am sure they are just delayed."

Just after she said, that two carriages were announced to be making their way down the driveway of Lyme Park. The first carriage held the Gardiners and Mr. Bennet, and the second held his in-laws, the Dovers. Robert walked out to greet his party.

"Well, well there, old boy, how's our girl?" Oliver greeted his son-in-law as he helped his wife Marianne out of the carriage.

"You are late," replied Robert.

"Well we had to change horses and we ran into your family, and we braved the trip on the muddy road together."

The Gardiners, along with Mr. Bennet, emerged from the carriage.

"How was the trip?" asked Robert.

"Uneventful, How's Lucy?" inquired Mr. Bennet

"She has an awful cough and is on bed rest, but she is doing as well as can be expected. Jane and Mary are with her now. You know she is not the best patient," Robert replied.

"I will go freshen up from that carriage ride and then go to Lucy," said Marianne.

"Let me accompany you," replied Sophia.

"That will give Jane and Mary a break, thank you. Let us proceed inside for refreshments."

The group walked inside, where Marianne and Sophia left and went directly to their rooms, and then to Lucy's room to send the girls down to the drawing room. They sat down to refreshments and were joined by Jane and Mary promptly, while Lizzy came in last. Her father arched his eyebrow and gave her a look. She knew all too well that this meant that she was to help host because she came in the room last.

Lizzy walked over, sat down and started pouring the tea for the guests. She rang for Mrs. Yardley to send a tray up to her mother's room for her and her guest. Her father gave her a satisfied nod. Soon the girls were sent off because their French master had arrived for the girls' lesson.

Meanwhile, in Lucy's bedchamber, Marianne and Sophia visited the poor patient who was stuck on bed rest. She was excited for their company.

"Mama! Sophia! How happy I am to see you both," said Lucy with a cough.

Marianne bent down to kiss her daughter on the forehead. "Lucy, darling, you do not look well."

"I feel better than I did a few days ago, but I still cannot leave this bed." Lucy pouted.

"We are here to keep you company. I'll ring for some tea," said Sophia.

Before she could ring the bell, a maid knocked on the door. She was told to enter, and in her hand was a tray of tea and pastries for the ladies.

"Who ordered this?" asked Marianne.

"Twas' Miss Lizzy, ma'am," the maid replied.

"Ah, at only seven years, my niece is already an exemplary hostess. Thank you, you are dismissed," said Sophia.

"I wish I could leave this room! Everyone is here, and I am imprisoned in these four walls," said Lucy.

"What do you say we have a nice family dinner tomorrow night, and we will have someone carry you downstairs?" Marianne asked.

"That sounds wonderful," Lucy said at the prospect of leaving the room.

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The next morning, Sophia went to visit Lucy to go over the menu for dinner that night. She walked into her sister's room and Lucy was writing letters.

"Oh, sorry Lucy, I will come back later."

"No, it is fine, I got the girls lockets, and I was writing a note with each one. Come and see."

Sophia picked up the lockets. Made of silver, each one had a different flower landscape on the outside -- one had a pink roses on it, the second had purple lavender, and the third bore yellow lilies.

"If you open them, they have watches inside. The rose is for Jane, the lavender for Lizzy and the lily is for Mary. There are different engravings on the back of each one."

Sophia turned the lockets over. On the back of Jane's locket it said, 'My Gentle Daughter,' on Lizzy's it said 'My Brilliant Daughter,' and on Mary's it said 'My Devoted Daughter.'

"Oh, these are gorgeous, I am sure the girls will love them," Sophia said.

"Please give them to the girls when I go into labor, to distract them from fretting over me. They have been visiting me at the crack of dawn every morning, including today. I think they can sense that their father is worried, so they are worrying too. I feel fine, except for this awful cough; I just want to be able to be me, and do the things I normally do."

"Well, my brother is a worry wart, Lucy," Sophia replied jokingly.

"That he is," Lucy said.

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Dinner was a grand affair. There were seven different dishes served that night over the three courses. They included Boullie soup, Sole Fry'd and Boild, French pie, a Pork fillet, potatoes, Pippins and Rice and lastly a Caudle. Lucy sat at the head of the table with her dinner companions, Oliver and Sophia, next to Sophia was Jane, and next to Jane was Mary. Next to Oliver was Lizzy and next to Lizzy was Edward; at the other end of the table was Robert and his dinner companions, Henry who was next to Edward and Marianne who was next to Mary. Everyone enjoyed their food immensely and conversations were abundant.

Lizzy and her grandfather Oliver were in an intense discussion of her dislike of learning Italian.

"But grandfather, I do not like Italian."

"Lizzy, it will be worthwhile when you get older."

"What do I need Italian for?"

"The best plays are performed in Italian. I just saw one and I brought you a copy."

"What play?"

"Le nozze di Figaro"

"What does that mean?"

Oliver smirked at Lizzy, who continued, "Does that mean I have to learn Italian in order to figure it out?"

"Yes," Oliver said, and Lizzy pouted.

Across the table, Sophia was making plans with Jane to teach her how to draw.

"My favorite season to draw is winter," Sophia told Jane.

"Why? Everything is dead!"

"Yes, but there is so much beauty in the snow-covered landscapes in the North in the morning! Would you like to join me?"

Jane pondered in thought. She was supposed to spend time with her mother.

Lucy, reading her thoughts, said, "Jane, that would be good for you to go with your aunt and get some fresh air."

"Yes, Aunt, I think I will," Jane said after her mother's encouragement.

Mary and Marianne were at the other end of the table, talking about piano forte playing, their shared favorite pastime.

"Mary, would you be interested in playing a duet tomorrow?"

"Oh, yes, but I don't know many songs and I'm not very good," replied Mary.

"Mary we will be playing for fun, not skill. You should enjoy the music you're playing."

"I have never tried that before."

"Well, we will tomorrow."

The Mr. Bennets and Mr. Gardiner were discussing hunting on the morrow.

"There is lots of game to be had. Are you men up for hunting?"

"Of course. I need to show you young lads how it is done," replied Henry.

"I need to practice; I confess I'm not a very good shot and could learn a lot," admitted Edward.

"Then we are set for tomorrow afternoon after breakfast."

Lucy observed the conversations at the table, and thanked God that her family was together and that the new baby would be born into such a loving family.

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The next morning, after everyone broke their fast, they went off to do their various activities. Lucy spent the morning sewing more clothes for the baby, Sophia and Jane went outside to paint the landscape, Marianne and Mary were playing the piano, Lizzy was in the library with Oliver trying to read Le nozze di Figaro in Italian, and The Mr. Bennets and Mr. Gardiner went off to hunt.

The hunting party went out and rode through the five miles of woods at Lyme Park. The hounds picked up a trail about a mile out and broke into a run, with the men following on their horses. The hounds stopped near a hillside in the forest. The men dismounted their horses and moved on foot. Soon the men found the flock of birds and the dogs ran towards the birds. The birds tried to fly away but the men began shooting.

"Haha -- I got one!" Henry announced.

"So did I," said Edward.

"I hit two," claimed Robert.

"Show-off," replied Henry.

"Well I learned from the best," responded Robert.

After about an hour of shooting, Robert had gotten fourteen pheasants, while Edward and Henry had eight and nine, respectively.

Robert declared, "While beating both of you has been enjoyable, I must take my leave of you men for the fairer sex."

"Off with you, boy, I have a chance to beat a young man at sport and I do not intend on letting you get in the way," asserted Henry.

"I see I will have to teach you a lesson, old man. Henry, please send my regards to the ladies, as we may be out here for quite some time," pronounced Edward.

Robert rode off on his horse, Zeus, and before too long his saddle loosened and he decided to ride to Lucy's favorite grove to let his horse drink some water, giving him a chance to fix the saddle. When he arrived at the rocky grove near the pond, he realized that one of his saddle straps had broken.

"Oh, bloody hell. I will just ride back to the stable on a broken strap. It's only about a mile. I can make it," Robert said to himself.

Just as Robert mounted his horse and was about to take off, a large black snake appeared and spooked Robert's horse. Robert tried to stay seated, but with the broken saddle strap he fell right off and hit his head on a rock, falling unconscious.

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"The sky is getting gray, Jane, it looks like a storm is coming. I think it is best we go inside," said Sophia.

"Yes, Aunt Gardiner," responded Jane.

Just as they were turning to leave, Robert's horse returned to the house without him.

"Where's papa?" cried Jane.

"I do not know. His horse may have ridden off, but he should be fine -- he is with your grandfather and uncle," Sophia replied, trying to ease her niece's fears.

Marianne, Mary, Oliver and Lizzy then appeared and saw the horse. The stable boy was trying to wrangle him back into the barn, but the horse wasn't having it.

"What's wrong with Zeus? And where is papa?" asked Lizzy.

"We don't know, but we think he is still with your uncle and grandfather," replied Sophia.

Just then, Henry and Edward appeared without Robert.

"Oh dear, we need to organize a search party right now!" Marianne commanded, yelling for footmen and stable boys to gather people. "I will inform Lucy. Come now, Jane, Lizzy and Mary."

Edward and Henry approached the group just as Marianne and the Bennet girls were leaving.

"What's going on?" Henry questioned.

"Robert did not return to the house, but his horse did. We though he was with you, so no one panicked until you came back," Oliver responded.

"He left us about a half hour ago. We would have stayed out longer, but we saw the storm approaching. We will go out at once to retrace our path," declared Edward.

"I will go with you. He cannot be too far away," Oliver responded.

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Marianne informed Mrs. Yardley of the situation, and the housekeeper took the girls to get pastries from the kitchen to distract them. Lizzy was not complying with Mrs. Yardley, and demanded to know what was going on.

"Lizzy, we have to find your father so we can bring him back safely to you girls, but we need you to stay with Mrs. Yardley."

Mary started to cry.

"Please bring him back," Jane responded with tears in her eyes. Lizzy went to comfort Mary and Jane.

"They will, Jane," Lizzy replied.

Marianne rushed upstairs to inform Lucy of what happened, when she saw Lucy out of bed putting on her caraco and mittens.

"Lucy. You should be resting still," Marianne said in a warning tone.

"How am I supposed to rest when Robert could be out there dying?"

"There are people handling it; you do not need to join the search."

"What would you do if that was dad out there? Stay inside?"

Marianne looked at her daughter and walked over to envelop her in a hug.

"Think about the girls, Lucy, and what they would do if they lost both of you. They need you. You can help in another way," Marianne retorted.

"Fine," Lucy replied, taking off her mittens.

"Is there anywhere else Robert would go?"

"There is a place near the Hunting cabin where Robert likes to go and think, and he also likes to go to a cave near the property line."

"Good, are either of those near the hillside where they were hunting?"

"Yes, both of them are -- just in opposite directions."

"I will send a search party to both locations."

After the search parties had been gone for an half-hour, Lucy thought of another place Robert might be, and with no one left to search, she told Marie where she was going and set off in her cloak and mittens, since her mother had taken her caraco. She walked for about ten minutes and the light dusting of snow on the ground started to appear. As she approached her destination, her favorite place, the grove near the pond, she wondered if she'd made a mistake coming here. She looked around and didn't see anything.

"Robert!" she called out.

No response. Just as she thought to leave she saw a flash of blue near a rock that was almost covered in snow.

"Robert!" she cried as she ran up to him and brushed the snow off of him. He had a gash on the side of his head that was bleeding slowly. He groaned.

She shook him. He felt ice cold. She screamed "help!" repeatedly, knowing that the search party near the hunting cabin should be nearby. The sound of horse hooves approaching relieved Lucy.

"Lucy!" cried out her father.

"We have to get Robert back to the house," Lucy replied.

Oliver called the footmen over, and they carried Robert to a nearby cart they'd brought to carry their master back if he was incapacitated. Lucy climbed on and placed the blankets around Robert to try to warm him up.

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Upon arrival back at the house, Mrs. Yardley had sent for the doctor and he was due to arrive within the hour. Marianne hugged Lucy and said to her, "You foolish, headstrong girl, if you ever scare me like that again--"

"I know, but I had to," Lucy said, cutting her mother off. The footman started to carry Robert up the stairs and Lucy followed after them, with Marianne right behind her. Near the top of stairs, Lucy stopped, and Marianne felt a wet spot.

"Oh no, not now!" Lucy cried.

"Did your water just break?" asked Marianne.

"Yes, but I need to check on Robert," replied Lucy.

"No, you are going to your chambers. I will have Sophia check on Robert and report to you."

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Dr. Hughes and his wife Mrs. Hughes, a midwife, arrived at Lyme Park, and were greeted by the housekeeper, Mrs. Yardley.

"Hello Mrs. Yardley, is Mrs. Bennet in labor now?" asked Dr. Hughes.

"Yes, but we need you to check on Mr. Bennet; he took a fall from his horse and was out in the cold for about two hours."

"I'll go to Mr. Bennet, and Mrs. Hughes will go to Mrs. Bennet directly. I will come check on Mrs. Bennet later," said Dr. Hughes.

Dr. Hughes made his way to the master's chambers, and Henry was there directing the servants to prepare a hot bath for Robert. Dr. Hughes stopped them and said, "You need to raise his body temperature slowly. Raising it too quickly can harm him. Keep him wrapped in blankets for now. "

Dr. Hughes started to examine Robert and came across the gash on his head. Dr. Hughes cleaned the wound and bandaged it. Robert started to wake up. "Robert, do you know where you are?"

He opened his eyes and looked around briefly. "Home," he replied groggily.

"Do you know what happened?" inquired Dr. Hughes.

"I fell off my horse. Lucy."

"Yes, good."

"Where's Lucy?"

"She's in labor," said Henry.

"I need to go," responded Robert.

"You need to rest. I'll go help her," Dr. Hughes replied to Robert.

"I do not think he has a concussion, but keep an eye on him for the next few days. Give him some broth and tea to help him warm up," Dr. Hughes said to Henry.

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Mrs. Yardley, Marianne and Sophia were all in the room with Lucy. She was in a lot of pain, and it was getting worse. An hour went by and there was no change in Lucy's condition. Dr. Hughes walked in and examined Lucy. "It is not time yet," Mrs. Hughes said to her husband.

"Try to rest, Mrs. Bennet," said Dr. Hughes.

"Try to rest, Mrs. Bennet," said Dr. Hughes.

"Rest? How am I supposed to rest when it hurts so much?" retorted Lucy.

"You are going to need your strength, Mrs. Bennet, please," said Mrs. Hughes.

Hours went by and Lucy fell more and more into unbearable pain. Mrs. Hughes came back and finally said it was time. Robert came bustling into the room and refused to leave. "I have never missed a birth of one of my children, and I will not start now," Robert declared, taking his place by Lucy's side and holding her hand.

Dr. Hughes told Lucy, "When you feel the next pain, start pushing."

Lucy pushed with all her might.

"Again!"

Lucy screamed and pushed again with the next contraction.

"Lucy, you have to push harder," said Dr. Hughes.

"I am trying," Lucy said through gritted teeth.

"You can do this, darling," Robert said.

The next push brought the babe out.

"Tis a boy."

"Beautiful Alex," Lucy mumbled.

Alex did not cry, but instead made strained gurgling noises.

"Take him out of the room, Mrs. Hughes, and help him breath," Dr. Hughes shouted at the midwife.

Mrs. Hughes took him, and in a panic Robert tried to rush after them. "Robert, leave her be. She knows what to do. Your wife needs you."

He looked at Lucy -- she was barely keeping conscious as Dr. Hughes delivered the afterbirth. In moments, Lizzy slipped from consciousness. A high pitched cry was heard as Lizzy, Jane and Mary rushed in the room. "Mama!" yelled Lizzy. "No, I want to see her!" cried Jane as Marianne, Sophia and Mrs. Yardley took the girls out of the room.

Dr. Hughes examined Lucy. "She is not breathing." Dr. Hughes tried to revive her for a half hour, but to no avail.

"I am sorry Mr. Bennet, she is gone."

AN: I'm sorry guys! Please review.