family was not an issue with only Kitty still at home, but seven days with Mrs. Bennet in close proximity was intolerable. An additional distress was being cramped into a bed not designed for two grown people in a bedchamber surrounded by thin walls that made the necessary joy of loving his wife impossible.
Thankfully, Netherfield was not rented to another party this March of 1820, so they were again able to dwell in comfort. This was a convenience for the Darcys, but also for the other visitors who would be staying there for the wedding. Once again this building belonging to strangers would play host to a gathering of folks intimately involved with the Bennets.
There was never a question of Darcy and Elizabeth occupying the bedchamber that Darcy had inhabited since his first sojourn at Netherfield. The memories surrounding this suite of rooms were special for a host of reasons, but also because of the view of rolling green pastures and a small lake. A nearby chamber served as a nursery, the Darcys insisting on their children staying close. Mrs. Hanford and her daughter, Lisa, who was now employed as an assistant nanny, slept in a bed located behind a privacy screen. This was essential due to the fact that Mr. Darcy nightly crept into the room his boys occupied to check on them.
The need to ensure their contented rest and security was an urge he could not deny, thus it was no surprise when, much later that night, he ignored the post-lovemaking languor that screamed for his body to succumb to satiated sleep. Instead, he kissed his dreaming wife, untangled his limbs from hers, and slipped quietly from their bed.
Soft snores reached Darcy’s ears as he padded lightly to the bed where Alexander lay curled around Dog. Four other stuffed animals lay near his body. Darcy moved the gibbon gifted by “Uncle Goj” during Alexander’s second Christmas so he could sit beside the toddler. Alexander slept as Darcy did: with lips parted as dreams wove through a submerged consciousness. He knew from experience that he could grant dozens of kisses and caresses without Alexander flinching. In fact, he slept so deeply and lengthily that already, at not quite two-and-a-half, Alexander was eschewing the need for a long daily nap.
As the babyish profile and body matured, he weekly grew to mirror his father. There was a great deal of infantile fat here and there, but he seemed to grow taller by the hour. There was a masculine cast to the youngster that disallowed any doubt as to his sex and promised a future figure as powerful as the man who sired him. The squared jawline had a tendency to clench when considering a puzzling toy or dilemma; the thick eyebrows straight on a mildly ridged brow with the left arching in humor or contemplation. His nose was long and prominent to Darcy’s dismay but Lizzy’s delight, his forehead wide and high, and he had a full lower lip accenting a firm mouth. It truly was only the coiled curls that prevented him being a duplicate of his father.
Darcy bent and kissed the ruddy cheek, whispered words of devotion, and tousled the magnetic springy tresses before rising with a contented smile. He turned to the cradle sheltering Michael.
The infant’s plump fists curled beside his head, chest rising steadily with each breath, and skin almost translucent in the dim moonlight. Both of the boys had inherited Darcy’s fair complexion, Alexander even beginning to display a faint scattering of freckles over his nose and shoulders as his father did. Michael, however, aside from the blue eyes that seem to dominate the Darcy clan, resembled neither of them overly. His once delicate, premature body was now stout and strong. His facial features grew daily bolder with a wide nose, almond-shaped eyes framed by thick, arching brows, high cheekbones, and plump lips outlining a generous mouth. His brown hair, a trait both parents possessed, was dark, sparse, and waved gently.
He brushed one finger over Michael’s breastbone, cautious and light so as not to disturb. His heart swelled as his eyes swept over the precious features of his newest child. He was pierced with fresh waves of gratitude for the bonded relationship and love he possessed for Michael. The early months following Michael’s birth were painful to recall. The period when all his dreams of family had seemingly disintegrated beyond salvage was still too real to be forgotten.
The emotions of gratitude and love were followed by a rush of fierce protectiveness. For a second, his eyes were blinded by powerful sensations, his heart skipping a beat and respirations hitching. The years of being a husband and father had changed him profoundly. He felt complete and stronger, yet also vulnerable as never before. Elizabeth and his children were everything to him, his life utterly revolving around them, and living without them was not an option.
He shook his head, relegating the disturbing emotions to a hidden chamber within his soul. He murmured a soft
Chapter One
In the weeks following Colonel Fitzwilliam’s marriage to Lady Simone Fotherby, the reality of Elizabeth Darcy’s second pregnancy was affirmed. The spring to fall months of 1819 unfolded in peace, exciting travel, and the anticipation of new life with no problems of magnitude occurring and no warning of the winter troubles to come.
One
They would be wrong.
The unparalleled ecstasy of fatherhood as he daily interacted with Alexander, who he loved with an emotion formidable in its power, augmented his delight in anticipating the appearance of their second-born.
Alexander was young but seemed to grasp in his immature intellect that a special event was taking place. He joined his father in patting and talking to his mother’s expanding belly, reverently touched the amassing pile of tiny garments, and gradually assimilated that all of this strange activity meant a baby was soon to join their family.
Lizzy’s symptoms of pregnancy never reached beyond the standard vague discomforts of the first trimester and were less severe than with Alexander’s gestation, the comparison to how perfect she felt while carrying Michael notable.
Lizzy’s vitality meant there was nothing to prevent Darcy from proceeding with his secret plans to travel abroad with his family. Lizzy gleaned a few hints and suspected he was plotting something extravagant for her birthday in May—after all, he had a reputation of overindulgence—but was flabbergasted when he dramatically unveiled the entire itinerary over a romantic dinner one night in March.
From that moment on, Lizzy and Georgiana were dizzy with excitement over the trip. Darcy’s arrangements included shopping expeditions and modiste appointments for the trunks of new attire they would need. Neither woman argued over it, instead leaping into action with Lady Matlock alongside, since she and Lord Matlock were joining the journey.
Despite not being able to embark upon a gentleman’s Grand Tour of Europe due to his father’s precipitous death, Darcy had traveled throughout the countries across the English Sea numerous times so knew of the fundamental requirements and the various hazards. Organizing was second nature for him, and with the proper assistance and references from friends, he enjoyed the process, leaving nothing to chance. Lord and Lady Matlock seemed to have acquaintances in nearly every city in Europe who were agreeable to accommodating the travelers, and when that choice failed the finest hotels were reserved. Elizabeth was dumbstruck at the amount of pre- planning and assembling of equipment necessary for an expedition abroad. Darcy refused to divulge the cost, but she knew enough to conclude it must be staggering.
The company consisted of Darcy and Lizzy, George, Georgiana, Alexander, and Lord and Lady Matlock. Mrs. Hanford, Samuel and Marguerite, Mrs. Annesley, and Lord and Lady Matlock’s personal servants accompanied as entourage. Darcy and Lord Matlock insisted on shipping their private carriages with them rather than trusting the ofttimes poorly manufactured rental coaches.
They departed England in April. Having their resident physician as part of the traveling troupe with his assurance that all was well with the expectant mother eased Darcy’s lingering worry. The anxious father and
