Chapter 8: November 1814

Standing up with some difficulty, Lizzy rose from her bed to pace the cold floor restlessly. She was eight months pregnant now and the baby was keeping her awake almost every night with its kicks and other lively movements.

Darcy, half asleep, reached for his wife and, not finding her, rolled over and opened his eyes wearily.

"Awake again Lizzy?" he asked incredulously.

"Well it's not my fault," she snapped.

He saw the dark circles under her eyes and, shaking off any lingering longings to go back to sleep at once, raised himself of one elbow.

"Can I rub your back? That has helped in the past has it not?"

"Yes," she agreed and wearily climbed back onto the bed and lay down with her back to him.

He began to massage her gently. Elizabeth sighed a little and seemed to be relaxing.

She broke the silence a moment later. "What shall we name him?"

"Him?"

"Yes, that is, I think it will be a boy."

"Would it not be advisable to come up with at least one feminine name just in case?"

"I suppose so," she sounded unconvinced.

He smiled into the dark. "Have you anything in mind?"

"Well, I like a great many names and I find choosing a favorite quite difficult."

"You could give him a middle name as well."

"Now you are saying "him" too!" she said triumphantly.

"So I am," he said, chuckling. "It was an accident however, I assure you."

"I think Fitzwilliam is a good strong name and it is customary to name an eldest son after his father," she said musingly.

"Fitzwilliam was my mother's surname as you know," he said. "And I always thought it a rather long name for a little boy to drag about."

"But William or Will is very nice for a boy. And I don't want him to have my maiden name. It is too odd as a first name and I do not like Ben."

"We shall avoid it then," he said smilingly. "And I have no objection to William."

She sighed drowsily and changed the subject as her thoughts wandered another way. "Jane will be here in a few days," she said happily.

"Yes," he replied. "And the London midwife your Aunt Gardener recommended will arrive in two weeks. She will remain as long as necessary of course."

"It was very kind of my Aunt to engage her for me," said Lizzy sleepily.

He was quiet, and after a few minutes her steady breathing told him she was asleep. He collapsed down beside her, having learned in the last few weeks that sleep was a precious thing not to be wasted. Within a minute he was dead to the world.

Jane and Charles came, as promised, and Elizabeth was greatly cheered by her sister's presence. There was no wandering the grounds this visit however, for a bitter wind was blowing from the north and the air was thick and damp.

Inside, the sisters sat by the warm fire and visited comfortably. Jane had much to tell Lizzy of their Hertfordshire acquaintances and Lizzy was glad of the distraction from her uncomfortable state. Nevertheless, the days dragged by slowly for her.

Two days before the midwife was expected, the rain began; a cold drenching rain with the wind that cut through clothes like a knife at its back. It poured down so heavily that, looking out from the windows at Pemberley, the bare trees fifty yards away were invisible.

In the warmly lit sitting room, Darcy paced the floor like a caged tiger, casting frequent anxious looks at his wife. Elizabeth laughed at his worrying. The baby was not due for three weeks yet and he was wasting his time fretting so.

The rain continued to pour down. The ground was soaked through and pools of water began to gather in all the low places.

"Darcy, stop acting like a numskull and come and play a game of chess," Bingley urged his friend in an exasperated tone.

Darcy threw him a glowering look.

Bingley sighed. "You cannot stand at that window all week. Come on Darcy, this can't be born!"

Darcy glared at him and then turned back to the window.

I begin to comprehend Charles," said Lizzy, with a mischievous smile at Darcy's back, "what you meant that time at Netherfield when you said that you did not know a more awful object than Darcy at his own house on an evening when he had naught to do."

Georgiana gasped a little at the boldness of the speech.

Darcy shifted slightly and looked at Elizabeth almost angrily, but with so much anxiety that Lizzy regretted her teasing at once.

"Fitzwilliam, come and sit beside me and read to us," she pleaded. "You are causing me more distress than you know with your worrying."

"The rain will not stop because you desire it to Sir," said Jane gently.

Darcy turned reluctantly from his window and proceeded to read to them for half an hour with every sign of submission. After two chapters however, he lost patience and, throwing the book aside, excused himself and went to his study to write business letters that could not be sent, and stare out the study window in peace.

After two days of a steady downpour, the deluge changed to a fine, driving rain that stung the face of anyone who ventured out. The ground was one large, undulating puddle and the trees dripped water.

Georgiana played cheerful airs for the company, while outside the sky and earth met in one expanse of greyness.

Darcy rode to the village to see how they were faring and returned two hours later, soaked to the skin and chilled to the bone. He reluctantly agreed that traveling long distances in such weather was madness. The temperature was dropping steadily and now stood at a little above freezing.

Elizabeth tried to comfort him with assurances of her continued health, but he would not be cheered.

The first of December came and went with no change in the weather.

Five days after the rain began, it suddenly ceased and a great quiet settled on the world, broken only by the drip, drip, drip of the soggy trees.

The next morning, there was no dripping sound. The drops were frozen into long icicles and the pools of water were sheets of dirty ice.

The temperature continued to drop. By the following day the puddles were frozen solid.

Bingley came into the room where his wife, Elizabeth and Georgiana were sitting, and said cheerfully, "Darcy and I are going out to have a look at the road. We shall be back shortly."

Jane smiled at him and nodded her consent. "Yes, perhaps the road can be traveled now," she said hopefully.

I do hope the storm has not done much damage to the grounds," Georgiana added.

Lizzy said nothing.

Bingley looked a little doubtful but said cheerily, "We shall have a full report for you ladies when we return." He bowed and left.

The three ladies sat quietly for a few minutes. Suddenly, Elizabeth inhaled sharply and laid a hand on her side with a frightened face. Jane and Georgina looked up startled.

"Lizzy?"

There was no answer. Elizabeth's face had gone white and drawn and her lips were tightly compressed. Jane was on her feet in a moment and bending over her in alarm.

Georgiana stood, frightened into inactivity.

The pain passed, and Lizzy gasped in temporary relief. "Jane," she whispered fearfully. "I told myself I wasn't. I didn't want to say anything to raise unnecessary fears. But I think it is starting."