“Of course, I wish for children, Will! I would give you everything within my power and I adore babies. It would be a precious thing to create something, you and I, together.” Lizzy laughed loudly, “But knowing how I do things differently, we might have seven daughters and two sons!”
“I shall be happy to have seven daughters, Lizzy. I would love to have daughters in your likeness and grow a whole new patch of grey hairs for each and every one of them.” They laughed together. “Whether none or nine children, every moment with you is a blessing and you will always be my heroine.”
“I love you, Will. I love you with all of my heart.” Lizzy pecked his lips.
William softly whispered, “I love you, Elizabeth Andromeda Bennet, soon to be Darcy. I love you with every fibre of my being.” He smiled, “Since you will be my wife, I will tell you Georgiana’s middle name and you can tease her about it. Father was going through a particularly interesting set of books before she was born. She hates it more than I hate ‘Perseus’ but she will not mind that you know it since you will be her sister.”
He revealed to his beloved of Georgiana’s secret and they shared other amusements together to spend the rest of the morning, as they leaned back against their tree and watched the birds in the sky and the sun shine brighter. Unbeknown to them was that a particular woman was readying for departure from London to cause trouble for the newly betrothed pair.
Chapter 17
Caroline Bingley looked at the quaint village from the carriage and scoffed with her nose high in the air. “I know that you were delighted with this countryside when you visited with papa last month, Charles, but it is certainly a backwater county and I cannot find a single lady with a decent yard of fabric on her.” She began to titter, “Everyone pales in comparison, with the exception to Lady Anne, and no one else will match my exquisite tastes and I will be able to capture Mr. Darcy in no time.”
Charles Bingley scowled, “But I thought you were being truthful about wishing to accept the Bennets and you had said you respected my dear Jane and was eager to become her sister. You said you were supportive of my future connections and I thought you had changed, Caroline!”
“Oh, you stupid boy,” Caroline spat out, “Since Mr. Darcy approves of your courtship with her, I like your Jane just fine but I cannot stand the rest of the Bennets. Such a father and mother! They are nobodies and they were only fortunate that the noble Darcys happened to have moved three miles from their home. My maid heard that Mr. Bennet has only £2,000 a year and their daughters only £1,000, and only at their mother’s passing, Charles! If only you had been patient and waited a few more years; I would have been able to promote you to Georgiana Darcy, my being her dear sister-in-law, and we would have kept all of our magnificent wealth within the family.” She jeered, “The Bennets are nothing, especially that Eliza chit. I hope she is gone someplace far while Mr. Darcy courts me so she does not interfere.”
Charles sighed, “Fitzwilliam Darcy is a good man and I hope to become a better friend to him while we live in closer proximity. I am much younger than he but he is generous and has been a very good friend for years. I know he called on you several times but I doubt he will continue the acquaintance if he knew your true character, Caroline. I am ashamed of you and if he asks me about you, I am of mind to tell him all!”
“Do not dare, Charles!” Caroline angrily retorted. “Stay out of my way or else you will regret it. I will ruin your chances with your precious Jane and she will never wish to see you again.” She huffed, “I wish Louisa were here with me instead of you. She would say all the right things to Mr. Darcy and he would fall madly in love with me even sooner. I cannot wait to see him again. I know he is looking for a wife and I am the only woman he called on more than once.”
“I am only glad papa is not here to listen to you,” Charles crossed his arms in vexation. “He arrived last week to meet with Mr. Jones the apothecary and he will be disappointed that you are as you have always been; selfish and rotten to the core!”
Caroline smirked, “But I will be rich and married to a handsome gentleman and that is all that matters. I will say, Charles, that meeting Jane Bennet those years ago did provide one advantage. I learned to behave like her and found that men like a simpering, soft-spoken woman like that. Mr. Darcy found me much more delightful when I acted like Jane and I will be able to continue my charade until we are married. There is no such a thing as true love, Charles. Your wife will disappoint you and you will drown yourself in your work when you grow older, and your wife will die, just like mama died and left us all alone.”
“Mama died in an accident and papa did the best he could with us,” Charles replied gloomily. “He loved her but he did not show his grief because he thought he was protecting us. He did not want to appear weak but I know he misses her and even now, he speaks of how he will reunite with her soon.” He pinched the bridge of his nose in resignation, “I feel sorry for you, Caroline. You will not find love and
