He immediately noticed his second son looked identical to his brother; the only difference now was the colour of the ribbons that marked their order of birth. After returning his son to Aunt Elaine, he took his daughter from his sister Jane. He was instantly lost to her. She had the potential to be a carbon copy of her mother with the same colour hair. Like all babes, her eyes were a deep blue, but those could change up to six months after her birth.
It was impossible not to be sad his second daughter had not lived, but God had given them three blessings to help balance His will, so he allowed himself at this moment to feel joy for the three babes that were living, and who by all accounts so far were strong and healthy.
Darcy would worry about his wife until she woke, but he was heartened by what Sir Frederick had told him. While Lizzy was being cleaned and changed and her bedding replaced with a clean set, a process directed by her maid Arseneault, Darcy followed his children as they were carried into the nursery.
Present were two nursemaids and two wet nurses. Knowing he could not be present when the wet nurses fed his babes, he kissed each one gently on the forehead and withdrew from the nursery.
In the hall, he bumped into the midwife and was grateful for the chance to ask a question he had not dared to ask in company so he could deal with the answer privately if there was cause for concern. “Mrs. Mathers, all three of my beautiful babes seem to have pointy heads is there something wrong with them?” he held his breath.
“No, sir.” she tried to stifle a laugh. “What you see is perfectly normal. We do not know how it all works, but the head is always like that when the babe is born. Within a sennight, you will see all of your children will have perfectly normal, round heads.
“We know from experience that the crown of the head can be soft until that process is complete, so everyone needs to be extra careful with the babe’s heads. That is why whenever you are passed a newborn babe, that is the warning that comes with them to all new parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, brothers…” she trailed off when he chuckled.
“Thank you for explaining, Mrs. Mathers. Thank you for everything that you did to assist my wife, Darcy offered quietly.
The midwife bobbed a curtsy and walked toward the servant’s stairs to go and get some rest before she left for home. It was past six in the morning already and the first tendrils of light of the new day were creeping over the horizon.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
When Darcy woke, his first visit after he kissed his still unconscious wife on her forehead was to the nursery. The sight that met him was one that warmed his heart. The new grandfather was sitting in a chair with one grandson in one arm and his granddaughter in the other. His uncle Reggie was sitting in another chair holding his other son, while Lord Hilldale and Bingley were looking on with pleasure. Georgie and Kitty were bouncing from foot to foot with excitement waiting for their turn to hold a niece or nephew.
As he walked in and was noticed, Kitty asked how her sister was doing. Darcy explained she was still having her much-needed rest to aid her recovery and thankfully she, thus far, had not developed a fever. Once Kitty and Georgie were seated in a chair, to their delight they were passed a baby boy each. Andrew retrieved little Miss Darcy from her grandfather.
“Did you and Lizzy decide on names before the birth William, and when will you notify people of their arrival?” Andrew asked his cousin as he held his Miss Darcy, his words for William, his eyes not leaving her.
“Other than Bennet for our first son,” he nodded at Bennet, “no, we have not. We felt we would be tempting the fates to pick names before our children were with us. Once Elizabeth is awake and we choose names, we will send the notifications out.
“However, I am sending a note to the Elliots today, as Charlotte and Lizzy are so close, and to Anne and Ian, and Richard and Mary as they will be most anxious, and we do not want to cause Mary any unnecessary anxiety or Richard will call me out with pistols at dawn.”
“I will write the missives to my brother and cousin. You focus on the one to the Elliots and your wife and babes,” Andrew offered, “and I suppose we can call them numbers one, two, and three,” the Viscount stated with a playful twinkle in his eye.
“Never!” Darcy retorted playfully with a fake look of outrage, then again grew serious. “Once we have named them after Lizzy is awake, we will inform all of you what our second son and daughters are to be named.” He looked at each again. “And thank you, Andrew, I appreciate your sending those on our behalf. You have had experience in writing these, after all.”
“Daughters?” Georgiana asked, confused as she looked around the room.
“I see no one has told you and Kitty yet. Lizzy delivered four babes, but the last one, a very small girl, God called home to him. Once we have spoken, Lizzy and I will name her, and she will be buried with all of her Darcy relatives in the family plot,” Darcy explained, the emotion in his voice thick.
“We are so sorry, William,” Kitty whispered, both she and Georgiana crying silently for the niece they would never know.
“I was very sad when she passed, and I still am, but as was pointed out to me by a very wise lady, at the same time God took her home, even before he had, He had blessed us with three healthy babes to counter the toll.” William walked over and touched both of his sisters, soothing them, and letting their sadness remind him of his blessings.
The rest of the day, when the babes were not asleep or being fed, there was no shortage of visitors to the nursery, especially once Mrs. Bennet, Mrs. Bingley, the Countess, and Lady Hilldale woke up and joined the rotation.
Chapter 29
Just before midnight, as Darcy was sitting and holding his wife’s hand, the accoucheur’s prediction came to pass. He felt a weak squeeze of his hand and looked up to see his beloved’s eyes fluttering. After what seemed like an interminable amount of time but was really only a minute or two, Lizzy opened her eyes.
“Water,” she croaked out, her throat feeling dry as desert sand after not drinking for almost a full day. Darcy poured some water into a glass for Lizzy and helped her raise her head so she could drink a few drops. After three or four sips he helped her settle back onto her pillows. Sir Fredrick’s nurse for the night shift went to wake the man himself so he could come and examine his patient.
“The babes?” asked Elizabeth as she looked at her husband to gauge his mood, and for once she had a hard time reading his expression.
“As soon as Sir Frederick examines you, my love, I will tell you all.” As he said the last, he gave Lizzy’s hand a gentle squeeze.
“I am very happy to see you have decided to join us, Mrs. Darcy,” Sir Frederick quipped as he walked into the room dressed in his robe and slippers. “I apologise for my casual style of dress, but I felt examining Mrs. Darcy took precedence over making myself presentable.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Sir Frederick. In fact, I laud you made my dear beloved wife your first priority,” Darcy said with relief.
Realising even should he request it Mr. Darcy would not leave his wife’s side, the accoucheur did not bother asking him to. After a twenty-minute examination assisted by his night nurse, the accoucheur looked at the nervous parents, his expression telling them he was pleased with what he saw.
