“Mother, I will miss you terribly,” William owned after his tears had ceased.
“I know you will, William. My charge to you, my son, is to be open to others. Do not prejudge them and remember that sometimes you will be convinced of a certain thing only to be proved wholly wrong, as you discovered when you were eleven in this very house,” Lady Anne took her son’s hand. “Allow your heart to direct you, and it will not lead you astray. Please never allow my sister to manipulate you again. She is my sister, and as such I will always love Catherine, but I am not blind to the fact she is only interested in that which she feels benefits her own selfish aims. It has been some years since she tried to influence you. Remember her behaviour as an example of hownotto behave; do not emulate it.” Lady Anne turned to her husband sitting next to her on the bed. “I am in need of rest. Please inform my friends I would like to see them when I awake.”
“Come, William and Gigi, we need to allow your mother a respite. As hard as it will be, please do not discuss your mother’s illness with anyone until she and I have talked to those who need to know,” Robert Darcy told his children as he shepherded them out of their mother’s chambers.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Anne, Robert told us you wished to see us,” Lady Elaine verified as she led the other two ladies into her sister’s chambers.
“Yes, I need to talk to you three together,” Lady Anne averred as she indicated the three ladies should sit. “Elaine, you are my sister; Fanny and Edith, you have become sisters. As you know, Mr. Taylor gave me a lengthy examination today…” As Lady Anne told them all, the three ladies became more and more distressed. “Mr. Taylor informed Robert and me that when I get close to the end the pain will be acute and I will need to be dosed with laudanum, which is why I needed to talk to you three now before that point is reached.”
“Oh, Anne, your poor children, to have to be told such news by their mother,” Elaine stated through her tears. “William is older, but Gigi is only eight.”
“She is young, but she got to know me, Elaine, and we have had eight good years together. Imagine if I had passed just after her birth so all she would have had were stories others might tell her about me. Thankfully, she will have her own real memories.” Lady Anne turned to Fanny. “Fanny, I told Robert and I want to ask you to consider this. With the bond between all of your daughters—especially your two youngest—and Gigi, after my children have mourned for three months, will you take her into your home for a while? She loves all of your children dearly, and it will be a balm to her. Rather than sitting around and allowing her grief to overpower her, she will be with girls who she counts as sisters and with the masters, especiallySignoreda Funti and Mr. Mercury, to help her with her music and singing. In addition, Tommy makes her laugh as well.”
“Anne, you know we will do anything for you,” Fanny stated emphatically, “and to have Gigi with us, for as long as your husband desires, will be our absolute pleasure. Robert knows he and William would be welcome at any time. I would suggest to him that he come and see her as often as he is able while she stays with us. That way, she will not feel as if she is being sent away.”
“That is true for us as well, Anne. We will do anything we are able to in order to assist when requested,” Lady Edith stated as she dried her eyes.
“It goes without saying for us, Anne,” Lady Elaine added.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Darcy, I am so very sorry to hear about Anne,” the Prince stated.
“Your wife, my baby sister,” Lord Matlock managed, his voice gruff with emotion.
“Darcy, you know that Gigi will be welcome for as long as you desire, and as I am sure Fanny is informing your wife, you should feel free to visit or stay at Netherfield Park any time you desire,” Bennet stated sympathetically.
“Anything you need,” Lord Holder told his friend.
“Do we have any idea how much longer Anne will be with us?” Lord Matlock asked as he regained his composure.
“Mr. Taylor told me there is no way to know. He opined, based on the length of time my Anne had been feeling poorly and the size of the thing growing inside her, that it will not be very much longer, mayhap weeks or a few months at the most. Once she starts to suffer with too much pain, we will use the laudanum. Until then, we will spend as much time together as we are able,” Darcy averred.
“We are all family here, Darcy,” the Prince spoke for the group, “and we will be with you and help in any way you decide you need. You are not alone in this, so do not try to carry the burden alone, let us share the load with you, just as we also love her as a friend or sister.” The Prince’s words were seconded by the other three men. Darcy thanked them sincerely for their statements of support.
Chapter 13
Plans to leave Pemberley for Snowhaven and Holder Heights were cancelled forthwith. The Prince sent an express to Windsor Castle, where the royals were for the summer months, to notify the King and Queen he would be in Derbyshire for longer than expected.
Between the other four men, Darcy’s duties were covered, which allowed him as much time with his wife as possible. The ladies worked with Mrs. Reynolds to make sure anything that required input by the mistress was done.
Jamie, Andrew, and Richard kept William distracted when he was not with his mother. William found that debates with Elizabeth would take his mind off worries about his mother for a time. It was during this time that the last bricks in the wall between the two were forever destroyed.
Georgiana would spend time with her mother and would often be joined by some of the other girls as an upright pianoforte and a harp had been moved in Lady Anne’s chambers at her husband’s behest. Knowing how much her mother loved music, Georgiana would play if her mother was awake during her visits. When their Aunt Anne requested it, Elizabeth or Mary would play the pianoforte and Jane would accompany them on the harp. Every now and again, a group of the girls would sing for the ailing mistress of Pemberley.
The four Darcy’s took their midday meal together in the bedchamber—even if Lady Anne hardly ate anything. Dinner would see the family together, and when Lady Anne felt she was able, one or two of the other adults would join the family for dinner in her chambers.
Mr. Taylor would check in on Lady Anne at least daily. Each day he found evidence of the correctitude of his diagnosis, for the tumour was getting much larger and the whites of her eyes were now a very distinct yellow.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Towards the end of June, Robert Darcy had a meeting with his steward, Mr. Wickham. It was a meeting he felt he needed to have himself rather than leaving it to one of the men who were assisting him, for the subject was Mr. Wickham’s errant son.
“I am afraid the news is not good,” Wickham reported sadly. “After I revealed the truth of his mother, I thought—hoped—he had been reached. For whatever reason, it was not many months before he reverted to his old ways.”
“You know what they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot force him to drink,” the master stated stoically. “There are some who are, unfortunately, intrinsically bad. It could be your George is not so but will need to fall lower before he wakes up. You did everything you were able to put him on the correct path, but it takes his desire to lead an honest and honourable life. By his theft—the ones which are known—he clearly demonstrated which path he has chosen—for now at least. We can only pray he still has the capacity for change inside of him.”
