Chapter 15

It did not end up being anywhere near that long before one evening a week later at dinner Jane gasped and dropped her spoon into her soup. She looked down into her lap and flushed beet red. "Lizzy," she whispered to her sister. "I am so sorry. Your chair."

Elizabeth looked down around the corner of the table to realise Jane was wet. "Do not concern yourself with the chair, sister, we have more important considerations tonight!" She helped Jane up as the gentlemen realised what was happening, and Charles turned white with sudden fear. "Fear not, Charles, all will be well. Please assist Jane to the birthing chamber we have prepared, while I send a carriage for the midwife and a rider for the doctor.

Not an hour later, Elizabeth and Charlotte had Jane changed into a loose and comfortable nightgown, with her hair plaited neatly, and a window cracked to let cool air into the birthing room, which was likely to get very warm over the course of the evening. Jane's hands were shaking as she tried to sip her tea when the midwife entered the room with Evie. Her pains were coming every thirty minutes, and she was beginning to be desperately afraid. "Lizzy, I was mad to think I could do this; I should have adopted an orphan!"

"Do not fret yourself, Mrs Bingley. That is just your fear speaking," Sister Augustine reassured her. "Your sister and Mrs Collins have you well looked after, just do what we tell you and all will be well."

"Jane, I have learned from experience, that you must do whatever your body tells you," Elizabeth paused as Jane cried out in pain and gripped her hands tightly. "Listen to your body, Jane. If your body tells you to get up, then get up and walk. If you feel compelled to lie down, you must do so. Your body knows the way. You must listen to it."

"WALK! Oh heavens, I could not possibly! Oh Lizzy, I do not think I can do this!" Jane cried, as tears began to roll down her face.

"Now listen to me, Mrs Bingley, and take hold of yourself! You must not panic, or this shall go very bad for you! You must remain calm! No one shall make you walk if you do not wish to, but your sister has given you sound advice. Your body knows the way. Your sister walked through her pains with both of her deliveries, and her late husband always claimed it made the birth go faster. I must admit that I am inclined to agree. If you do not have the strength, we will not compel you, but whatever you feel, you must remain calm!" Sister Augustine admonished Jane before she could begin to really panic. "I just hope that you will not be stubborn like your sister, and insist on having your husband of all people present when you deliver."

"Oh! I cannot let Charles see me in such a state! Lizzy, promise me you will not let him in!" Jane cried.

"Of course not, Jane. No one is going to make you do anything that makes you unhappy. But I assure you that if you change your mind, I will drag the man in here myself if you want him."

"Lady Darcy!" Sister Augustine, shrieked, scandalised.

Mr Lloyd came in and gave Jane a brief examination, agreed with Sister Augustine that all was well, and returned to Jane's sitting room to wait with the others. Miss Long kept the company in tea and refreshments, and Darcy kept adding small amounts of brandy to his terrified friend's teacup. Georgiana and Lydia stayed in the family wing with the children. After another hour and two more terrible pains, Jane asked, "Lizzy, does the walking truly make it faster?"

"It is what I did with both of my births, Jane, so I have no other experience for comparison," replied Elizabeth. "But I believe it did. I will not lie. I walked the portrait gallery for hours with the twins. It got to the point when I nearly entered into a conversation with an old crone who may well have been Darcy's great aunt. But my body wanted to get up and move, and so I did."

"I did not walk through mine, Jane, and I must say that Lizzy birthed two babes in half as much time as it took me to deliver one." Charlotte added, as she held Jane's other hand.

"It is not a race, Charlotte. All women are different, and all births are different. Mama birthed all of her children almost effortlessly until Lydia came, and then with that delivery her pains lasted nearly two days," Elizabeth said.

"TWO DAYS!" Jane's eyes widened. "Oh, I cannot. Lizzy, I think I want to get up!" Jane said.

Elizabeth called for Charles to come in and assist his wife. The midwife and the ladies took chairs in the hall while Jane held onto Charles' arm and walked up and down the hall for hours. Each time Jane had a pain, her husband stood in front of her and held her up as she wrapped her arms about his neck and cried out in anguish. After three hours, Jane returned to her bed to rest. The pains were sapping her strength, for she had not exercised her body as much as Elizabeth had, and so her stamina was not as strong as her sister's. She rested for an hour, and had a few sips of well-sugared tea.

After an hour of rest, Jane wished to move again, and she walked the halls with her husband for two more hours before the pains were finally coming one after another, practically on top of one another. She was quite overcome, and could stand no longer. Her husband swept her off her feet, and carried her to her bed, and though Sister Augustine objected strenuously, when the time came for Charles to join Darcy in the sitting room, Jane became quite frantic and sobbed, clutching Charles's hand and begging him not to leave her.

Elizabeth, though she had the highest respect and esteem for the nun, encouraged Charles to disregard her outrage and stay to comfort his wife if she wanted him. "I do want him, I do! Charles, please do not leave me!" Jane begged.

"Mrs Bingley, if you want him to stay then you must calm yourself and concentrate! I will not allow him to remain if he continues to be a distraction, so you must do your duty now!" Sister Augustine declared. Charles held Jane's hand, while Lizzy took the other. The two of them encouraged her and wiped her brow as she laboured and pushed. After an hour of pushing, Jane cried out, "I have to get up!" The midwife objected, saying that the time for walking had passed, Jane must keep pushing, for the head was near. "I cannot, I must get up! I can feel that it will not come out this way, I must stand up!"

Elizabeth encouraged Charles to assist Jane to stand, and he stood by in case she fell as she held the bedpost and cried out with each new pain. The midwife stood by with a blanket ready and after some time, Jane got down upon her knees and laboured and screamed until eventually a beautiful babe slid into the towel waiting in Sister Augustine's hands. "I shall have to remember that trick of getting on your knees, Jane. It looked as if it helped tremendously," Elizabeth told her sister as the midwife attended the babe, who was a lovely, but outraged young lady. As Charles and Elizabeth helped Jane back into bed, the maid and Evie helped to clean Jane up while the doctor was called in to look over the babe. Shortly after the afterbirth was delivered, Elizabeth was standing near the dressing room door and heard Jane's lady's maid speaking to a wide-eyed Evie.

"And now I am meant to go back in there and serve her, after she's degraded herself in such an unseemly fashion! Down on her knees, like an animal in the field! And now I am supposed to treat her like a lady! If she were a real lady, she would have stayed in bed, no matter how she felt. Or better, the birthing chair. I was shocked there was no birthing chair! I thought these Pemberley folk were quality, but what can you expect, I suppose, from the sister of a woman who births her child on all fours like a beast in the field! If my mother knew what I had seen this night she would-"

"Indeed, Mrs Harris, it would indeed be unacceptable to expect you to stay in a position where you must work for my sister, and I certainly do not expect you to spend a single night more under my roof under such circumstances," Elizabeth interrupted, as she stepped into the dressing room.

The servant gasped, "Your ladyship, I was only saying-"

"I heard what you were saying, Mrs Harris. You no longer work for my sister," Elizabeth replied coldly.

"You cannot sack me! I work for Mrs Bingley and-"

"Watch me," said Elizabeth with a smile. She went to the door that led to the hall and found a footman and Wilson, who had been waiting to be sure that the family did not need anything. It was now very early morning. The servants were about the house, although all but Wilson and a footman were avoiding this hall of the guest wing, in order not to disturb the lady in labour or the family. "Wilson, Mrs Harris no longer works for Mrs Bingley. Please escort her to pack her belongings, and then see her to Mrs Hayes. Ask her to pay the maid whatever she is owed, as well as six months wages. You will escort her by cart to the inn, where you will give her money for the post to whatever destination she prefers, as well as money for up to four weeks at an inn, provided she leaves the neighbourhood tomorrow."

"But my reference!" the maid cried.

Elizabeth turned on her. "If you believe, after what I have just heard you speaking about my sister, that you deserve a reference, then you are more delusional than I first believed. You will leave, Mrs Harris, and you will leave immediately and without a reference. Furthermore," she continued, "I will be having you watched, Mrs Harris, and wherever you go next, if you have been found to have begun even one scandalous rumour about my sister or my house, I shall write to your new employers. And the ones after that if necessary. I can ensure you that you shall never find work again in this country. So, unless you wish to find yourself sailing away to new shores in search of work, you will learn to hold your tongue!"

Elizabeth again turned on the woman and walked away, as Evie looked on in awe. Elizabeth took Charles aside and explained the matter and then sent for Sarah. She, Sarah, and Charles moved Jane back to her bedroom and her own bed. Jane was able to attempt a feeding successfully before the babe was turned over to the nurse, and she fell soundly asleep. Jane said she wished to try feeding the babe herself like her sister and Charlotte had, and so a wet nurse was on hand, but would not be called for unless Jane encountered difficulties.

Mr Lloyd joined the family for breakfast, and when he took his leave, Elizabeth saw him speak quietly to Miss Long for a moment. When he was gone, Loretta saw Elizabeth looking at her and smiled. "He seems like a nice man. We talked for hours last night. He has asked to call on me, and I have given him permission to do so."

"Oh Loretta, that is wonderful. He is indeed a very nice man. He knew Sir Christopher well, you know." Elizabeth clasped her friend's hands in encouragement. "A physician! Now, will that not be better than being my governess?" Miss Long agreed, and the family all went upstairs to take naps. It had been a very long night, and they were all exhausted. The baby girl had been named Catherine Elizabeth Bingley, and while Darcy agreed to stand as godfather, Elizabeth had only agreed to stand in for Kitty. "As we all know, godparents ought not be married to each other. I shall stand in for Kitty, until she returns, of course."

Pemberley,

Derbyshire,

Dear Mama,

Finally, I can write with some good news. Jane and Charles have returned home! They arrived at Pemberley last week, and last night, Jane was delivered of a lovely baby girl, Catherine Elizabeth. Jane and Charles are filled with joy at their wonderful good fortune, and wished you to know of their good news as soon as possible.

Please share this news with Mary and Richard as soon as you can. Jane wishes to have a short period of rest before she entertains visitors, so you are all to come to Pemberley for Christmas. Please say a prayer that this means that our family's luck has turned and that there will be some new and useful information about Kitty soon.

Your Daughter,

Elizabeth

*****

As Christmas approached, Charles oversaw the estate at Tatton Hall, and with Elizabeth's help, Jane began to interview servants. Mrs Hayes had been able to recommend a friend for the post of housekeeper. The house had a butler already, whom the Bingleys had agreed to keep on when they bought the place. Lydia and Georgie sat in on these interviews in order to learn for their own future households, and Jane was able to put many young people that lived on her estate to work in her new house.

Aunt Gardiner sent wallcovering and fabric samples from their uncle's warehouses, and Elizabeth helped Jane select her colours and the last of the furnishings and upholstery that was required before the Bingley family moved. The couple were overwhelmed by Elizabeth's gift of the plumbing. They had enjoyed the convenience while at Pemberley very much, but after the expense of the estate purchase and the repairs, they had initially elected to add new plumbing some years later.

Instead of hiring a new nurse, under Sister Augustine's advice an experienced nursemaid from Elizabeth's nursery was hired and promoted by the Bingleys, and Elizabeth promoted a housemaid who had eleven younger siblings at home to take her place in the nursery. Jane continued to nurse little Catherine herself, and found she had no need of a wet nurse. Elizabeth also had a housemaid that had been training as a lady's maid at Pemberley, and so Lucy Grimes was hired to replace Mrs Harris, and Lucy's younger sister came to Pemberley to take her place.

The Fitzwilliams arrived with Mrs Bennet a week before Christmas, and before she was allowed to go into the drawing room, Mrs Bennet was escorted to the study where she had a private conversation with Charles. No one knew precisely what Bingley said to his mother-in-law, but it was obvious that Mrs Bennet had learned her lesson, because she focused on her joy of being with her daughter the entire visit, and said not a word about sons. Nor did she instruct Jane that she must get pregnant again immediately and bear a boy. She was prodigiously proud of all of her grandchildren, and spent much time in the nursery, but gave no advice, nor did she make a nuisance of herself in any way.

Fanny Bennet had learned much since leaving Hertfordshire. She had learned that the very elite did not approve of loud voices, talk of money, nor did they speak aloud of marriages for their children or expectations in public. The few times she had done so, she had not liked the way the other ladies had looked down upon her. By watching and emulating her daughters, she had improved her behaviour by leaps and bounds. In any situation, no matter how a piece of news excited her, she looked to see how her daughters reacted and behaved, and then followed their lead.

She observed that the goal of high society seemed to be who could show the least interest or reaction to anything, and so she learned to feign a vague disinterest in everything, leaving behind her old nerves. Elizabeth had given her a fine wardrobe from Madame Clarisse, and Mrs Bennet gave a good account of herself while staying at Pemberley. She spent days touring the house in detail with Mrs Hayes, learning the history of Pemberley, and about the fine pieces of art on display.

Mrs Bennet had discovered in her wandering the grand halls of Elizabeth's estates a great interest in art. Elizabeth walked into the library one day to find Mrs Bennet sitting quietly and reading. "Mama, what on earth are you doing?" asked Elizabeth, sounding alarmed, having never in her life seen her stepmother with a book. Indeed, if she had ever picked up a tome, even a novel, she might have gained a small amount of attention and respect from her husband. Attention and respect that she ought to have had anyway. But Mrs Bennet had never before been seen looking at anything but fashion plates.

"I have learned since staying in your houses that I like art, Lizzy." Mrs Bennet smiled. "At Windmere, Mrs George only knows so much about the pieces there. The housekeeper and butler in London have little time for such things, but Mrs Hayes takes her responsibility to give tours of Pemberley very seriously. Mr Mason has been helping her learn the history of all of your art. I have learned so much from them. This is a book Mr Mason found that he thought might interest me about Leonardo DaVinci. What an interesting man he was, do you not agree? I would quite like to see some of his work."

Elizabeth could not have been more astonished if Mrs Bennet had suggested running away with the Rom, but maintained her composure and answered, "Indeed he was, Mama, and a man of many interests and talents as well. If you wish to spend some time at Pemberley House when you next travel south, I will ensure you have an escort to visit the museums, and you could even attend some art lectures, if you like. The younger ladies enjoy such activities with Mrs Annesley when we are in town. It has been far too long since I had time to visit the museums, myself. Perhaps the family might make a day of it."

"That sounds wonderful Lizzy, I should quite like that," said Mrs Bennet, looking back at her book. "I wish I had learned to paint and draw. My family had no time for such activities."

"Mama, it is never too late to learn a new skill. You can still learn to draw if you wish. You are skilled at embroidery, and it was you who taught Lydia many of her skills with a needle. That suggests some artistic talent," Elizabeth suggested.

"Lizzy, how ridiculous, a woman my age learning to draw." Mrs Bennet scoffed.

Elizabeth laughed, "You are never too old to learn. Or to become proficient. Indeed, no person ought ever to consider their education complete. There is always room for new information, and I have always maintained that everything is interesting if you give it enough consideration. Everyone should spend at least five hours a week learning or reading something new, no matter their age. I may be lacking in feminine accomplishment, but I spend several hours each week reading industry books and periodicals, or sometimes even books about new agricultural methods. It is good to have new knowledge and skills. You would not even need to hire masters. There are people in the house already with such skills. Ask Georgiana to teach you a few things. I am certain she would be glad to share her watercolours or her pencils. Why not learn a genteel activity to keep your mind and time engaged if you have found something that interests you?"

Mrs Bennet said she would think about it and went back to her book. Elizabeth could not wait to find Mr Mason in the hall and give him a hug. The man dropped what he was carrying, pencils scattered about the floor, and the man flushed red to the top of his balding pate when she threw her arms about him. Elizabeth moved on as quickly as she had come, saying nothing as she continued about her business. "Whatever do you think that was for?" Mr Mason asked Mr Wilson who had been nearby.

"I am sure I do not know, but whatever it is that you've been up to, you ought to keep doing it then," Wilson replied and the two men had a laugh together as they went about their business.

*****

Christmas passed, and then the New Year. Pemberley's Servants' Ball was held, but Elizabeth had not the heart yet for a Twelfth Night ball. Instead, there was a wedding on Twelfth Night! Elizabeth had been slyly hosting small dinners, including the local vicars and their wives, the Ferrars household, a few of the minor gentry, and… The local doctors. Mr Lloyd had been calling upon Miss Long since little Catherine was born, and Elizabeth made sure he was invited to dine once a week at the least. There were invitations to many events in the county, though with many houseguests and a new mother in the house, the neighbourhood understood if Elizabeth and Darcy themselves did not accept many invitations and only hosted small gatherings.

Charlotte, however, was just as popular and well respected among the local gentry as she had been in Meryton. She went to dinners and card parties in the village at least twice a week, often more, and always took Miss Long with her. As the widow of a parson, the daughter of a knight who had once been a tradesman, and the cousin of a countess, Charlotte was welcome and comfortable in nearly any sphere, and was a welcome guest at every table in the county. Mr Lloyd was a popular and social gentleman, so Miss Long had many opportunities to meet with him in society. He called upon her and walked with her in the gardens at Pemberley when the weather permitted it, and in the portrait and art galleries when it did not. He proposed in early December, and Miss Long accepted with great joy. Elizabeth, Charlotte, and all of the other ladies who had known her from life in Meryton were overjoyed to see her so happy, and marrying for love. Loretta Long was grateful she had taken Charlotte's advice and avoided Mr Connolly when in Meryton. She could have been miserable now, or worse, buried next to the man's previous wives.

Elizabeth had invested half of her dowry, which had now grown to over thirty-five hundred pounds, and remained in trust to provide her a small income if she became widowed. Mr Lloyd had some money of his own, and ensured that Loretta would inherit whatever he had. Elizabeth promised them that if Lloyd were to stay permanently on the estate under their current agreement, that they could expect a genteel cottage to retire in. Loretta Long had done well for herself, and would never have to take a position, nor know poverty or spinsterhood. Elizabeth sent Wilson and two large carriages for Mrs Long, Mr & Mrs Phillips, as well as Sir and Lady Lucas, and Maria, who arrived a few days before her wedding. Mrs Long cried tears of joy at the wedding, and then returned to Meryton full of the wonders of Pemberley and the good fortune of her niece. Every unmarried girl left in Meryton hoped for an invitation to visit Derbyshire or anywhere, the next time Lady Darcy was in Meryton.

*****

The household was filled with people and emotions, both happy and morose. Elizabeth and her sisters and stepmother would alternately find joy in small things and then become depressed or self-recriminating when they caught themselves being too happy while Kitty was still gone. The Fitzwilliams had decided to stay for some months. The Bennet women were still learning to move on in a world where Kitty was missing, and they found comfort in being together as they grieved. Jane's return had opened up the wounds all over again. First, they had grieved for her disappearance. Now they grieved because they had to accept that Kitty may never be found.

Jane and Louisa Hurst spent a great deal of time together with their children, as Jane recovered, and Louisa prepared for her new babe, which was due in late March or early April. Charlotte and Granny Rose made calls upon and accepted calls from the ladies in the village and Mary often accompanied them or spent the day with Elizabeth or Diane.

Georgiana and Lydia studied and practised their languages and accomplishments with Mrs Annesley, and continued Diane's lessons. Caroline spent much time with Elizabeth, Louisa, and Jane, but rarely dined with the family, and never came downstairs if there were guests. Bingley and Hurst went out riding the estate with Darcy and Richard every day, even in the foulest weather (as long as it sufficiently safe for their beasts) and went to Tatton Hall regularly to ensure the last of the work was coming along, and that the servants were preparing the house, which they planned to move into before Louisa's lying in.

Georgiana and Mrs Annesley had begun quietly teaching Mrs Bennet to draw and use paints and charcoal and pastels, and the lady was enjoying the new activity immensely, which made her only hungrier for learning about art. She read voraciously about the artists whose work was displayed in the house. Elizabeth requested a list of all of her art pieces from her other properties, and ordered any books that had been written about those pieces and the artists who created them, to ensure that Mrs Bennet would have new material to read, no matter which of her properties she visited.

Elizabeth attended to her duties to the estate, and began to involve herself more in her business affairs again. Uncle Gardiner had been carrying much of it since Kitty had been taken, and Elizabeth had started no new ventures since then, which was unlike her. Usually, she had two or three new investments in negotiation at any given time, but she could not add to the burden while searching for her sister. Now that new information came but rarely, and always proved false, there seemed to be little reason not to explore a few new companies.

There was hope that the soap tax might be repealed, and if it were, it would make soap much easier for the common man to afford, resulting in not only an improvement in the public health, but also a tremendous surge in profits for companies that produced soap. There was an earl who was in favour of the repeal, and the man was also an uncanny investor, much like Elizabeth. His father-in-law was a soap manufacturer from New York and Elizabeth was keen to invest in the factory they would build in Bristol.

Lord W______ also invested heavily in locomotives. Elizabeth invested in the railroad as well, but in a much smaller way, and most of her funds were in shipyards. There were railroads across England moving goods, but they did not go everywhere yet, and although she had ridden on a train a few times, it was not yet a convenient method of travel in her opinion. She found it quite uncomfortable, even in first class. It was fine if you were going between your own properties and London, but Elizabeth found it inconvenient to arrive and not have her carriage or her servants there on the other side. Perhaps one day, when the railroads were more comfortable, and went everywhere, as Elizabeth was sure they would, it would become a more convenient method of travel.

This earl in particular had a good friend and business partner in engineering and locomotives, and they were making impossible amounts of money. Elizabeth had reached out to the man. His father-in-law was due to be in England for the summer, and Elizabeth was hoping for an invitation to one of the nobleman's famously well hosted house parties in Hampshire.

*****

In January, there was an announcement in the obituaries that Captain Miles Spencer had died of a fever that he had caught while in Bath. In February there was an announcement that the Duke of Leeds had married Marianne Spencer nee Dashwood on St Valentine's Day, in Vienna. Elizabeth did not know why she was so shocked by their audacity at marrying so quickly. Several weeks after they had left the country, the clerk they had sent behind the pair had returned with the settlement papers that Leeds had signed at Elizabeth's demand, and assured them that the funds for Marianne had been placed in trust. In fact, the duke had doubled the amount Elizabeth had demanded that he settle on Marianne, and had deeded to her a large estate in Scotland, a chateau in France, and their vast property in Vienna, proving his devotion to her, and his commitment to providing for her as his duchess.

Leeds had also made provision for his wife's mother and sisters. A letter had reached Delaford Parsonage from Marianne, informing them that Maplewood was now reserved for Mrs Dashwood and Margaret to reside in, at least until the young viscount took it over when he was grown. A dowry of ten thousand pounds had been created for Margaret, and an account created that had quadrupled the amount of Mrs Dashwood's funds, increasing her income. The amount was still a pittance in Elizabeth's opinion, she would have given her mother and sister far more in Marianne's position. In fact, the dowry provided to Marianne by Elizabeth had been twice what Marianne gave Margaret, but nothing Marianne did surprised Elizabeth.

An offer had also been made to Mr Ferrars, offering him the next available living in Leeds' gift which was splendid. Mrs Dashwood and the Ferrars had no idea how to receive these gifts. By doing so, they felt they would be accepting Marianne's behaviour, and though Mrs Dashwood wished to reconcile with her second daughter, she still had concerns for how it might affect poor Margaret and Mr Ferrar's situation, if the truth of Marianne's behaviour became widely known. Elizabeth had advised them not to rush over any decisions, and to think matters over carefully, before accepting anything or offending Marianne or the duke by refusing.