“For a woman who delivered multiple babes less than a day ago, you are doing remarkably well, Mrs. Darcy. My nurse informs me there has been no trace of fever and no more than the expected bleeding. The longer we go without any adverse signs, the less the chance of any negative consequences. It is very serendipitous you are such a fit woman. I have no doubt your overall health made you a much better candidate to survive multiple births than most. Do either of you have any questions for me?” he enquired.
“What happened? How many babes did I birth? Are they all well?” Elizabeth was babbling, something out of character for one as intelligent as her but given the ordeal she had experienced, it was understandable, even expected.
“It was a long and hard birth. You lapsed into unconsciousness about twenty hours ago, but before you panic, that is not out of the ordinary for multiple births. The body needs to take some time to relax, rest, and recuperate. The rest is for your husband to tell you, and unless there is nothing else you need specifically from me, I will retire for the night. My nurse will wait in the hall until you have finished your discussion.
“Just call out if you need her assistance. Do not worry, Mrs. Darcy, if you feel very tired over the next week or so, it is natural and expected. Your body will crave rest, and the more you allow it, the faster you will heal. I will take my leave of you now, Mr. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy.” He bowed slightly to each as he said their name then he and the nurse left Elizabeth’s bedchamber, closing the door behind them.
“Please William, tell me everything, and do not feel you need to protect my sensibilities.” Elizabeth looked at him in fear. Darcy took his wife’s hand and looked at her lovingly, hating that he would have to deliver devastating news but glad that at least there was considerably more good news than bad news to impart. “You delivered four, not three babes my love,” Darcy informed her gently.
“FOUR!!” exclaimed a very flabbergasted, if tired, Elizabeth Darcy. “Are they all well, William?” she asked, already feeling the answer in her heart as no one had heard even a faint fourth heartbeat.
“Three are very well, my Lizzy. The last babe was a tiny girl who took one small breath with us, but never opened her eyes before she went to be with God.” He fought to maintain his equanimity, needing to be strong for her in this moment.
“One daughter passed away?” his distraught wife choked out, tears streaming down her cheeks before she could ever say the words.
Darcy passed his wife one of his handkerchiefs and soothed her as best he could without lifting her into his arms, his thumb gently caressing along the back of her hand to help her feel his love while she let go of one she had loved without even knowing she was there. It took some five minutes for her crying to ease, while they experienced their shared grief.
“You said four and our daughter passed?” Elizabeth asked once she could again speak.
“That leads us directly to the good news, my love. We were blessed with three healthy and hearty babes. Two sons and a daughter, and oh, my love, your Mama says the baby girl is an exact copy of how you were as a babe. Even arriving in the world crying louder than her brothers,” he smiled. The grief would never be discounted, but the joy should also be celebrated.
“We have two sonsanda daughter?” she gasped, then looked at him and locked their eyes. “Have you decided on names yet?”
“You wound me by asking, my love. You must know I would never make that decision without you. We have a partnership in all things so I could as soon presume to name our children without you as I could make them without you, which the doctor assured me I could not. I hope you agree, I would first like us to name our daughter that passed and have her buried with her grandparents.”
“I am so sorry I said that William, I know you would not name them without my input. You have my full agreement and I have a suggestion for the name of the babe that passed. When Tom and James were born, my parents were convinced they would be daughter number five so they had the name Lydia picked out for my mama’s late great aunt. Can we name her Lydia Bennet Darcy?”
“That is perfect, my love. As sad as we are about little Lydia not being alive to grow up with her brothers and sister, I am counting my blessings from God on high for the three healthy babes as we will have our hands full caring for them. We need to name the other two of them soon, my love, to stop our sisters and brothers calling them numbers two and three. The firstborn is Bennet as we agreed ahead of time.
“Also, other than the Elliots, Andrew sent announcements to Anne and Ian, and Richard and Mary, I have not sent any notifications out yet. Charlotte was here earlier today, and she will wait to hear you are awake before she comes again. Anne was not able to come but would have taken us to task andthatnone of us want to see should her anger be anything like her…” he cleared his throat, “and no one wanted to cause Mary any undue anxiety as she is on bedrest and required to keep calm.”
“Thank you for caring so for my sister’s wellbeing with so much going on here.” She caressed his cheek. “Now, what names should we choose William, my most beloved husband?”
“You know the Darcy tradition to name the heir with the last name of his mother before marriage, and we chose Bennet for our first son, so for our oldest son and heir’s full name, I suggest Bennet Alexander Darcy,” Darcy suggested the second name he had contemplated while he waited for his wife to wake up.
“I agree with one amendment; Bennet Alexander Fitzwilliam Darcy, who as we have previously decided, we will call Ben. I think the name Fitzwilliam should be in the names of each of our sons.” She smiled up into his eyes.
“Well then, we now agree on the name of our first son, who is less than ten minutes older than his identical brother,” Darcy chuckled.
“Identical? Oh my. With Tom and James, it was easy to tell them apart since they look as dissimilar as Jane and I do. How will we tell them apart? I am sure they both will need scolding, but I would hate to apply it to the wrong one!” she looked at him in alarm and he laughed as he nodded.
“I am sure that they will. And, I am equally sure as they grow, we will see subtle differences in them. For the time being, Ben has blue ribbons on his wrist and ankle and his brother has green.” Darcy chuckled.
“How about George Thomas Fitzwilliam Darcy for our second son? As Ben honours my family with his name, our next oldest will honour your father,” Lizzy suggested.
“That is perfect, my love. I agree, so George Thomas Fitzwilliam Darcy it shall be, and no more number two! Now what do you think an appropriate name for our daughter should be? I am thinking of Francine Anne Elizabeth Darcy. If all the boys are to have Fitzwilliam in their names, then it is only fair the girls have Elizabeth. I think we should leave Lydia’s name as it is, it honours both families and her as an individual.”
“I love that name for our daughter, and I have no objection to Elizabeth being part of the girl’s names if we have more. I think we should call her Franny or Fran. And yes, I too think we should leave Lydia’s name as it is.” Her husband kissed her hand and just then they heard a chorus of cries coming from the nursery as their children woke up demanding sustenance and changing.
“I want to see our children, please my love, and I want to feed one of them at least,” Elizabeth pleaded.
“Hold on while I go get them to introduce them to their Mama, though without a third arm, it will not be all at once. It is suggested that you should feed Franny. She is the smallest of the three and Sir Frederick said no matter the societal norms, he believes it would be beneficial for her to be fed by her Mama.” William smiled when he saw hers. Darcy stepped into the nursery, and once they were changed, he returned carrying two fussing babes, one with a green ribbon and one with a blue.
“Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Master Ben and Master George Darcy. More importantly, boys, this is your most beautiful mama, who will be the best one in the world. And I will tell you a secret, she is already the best mother in the world as she is yours, but I would not boast about that around the Bingleys or Fitzwilliams so very much.” He teased his wife, causing her to laugh so their sons could hear that most perfect sound first.
After holding and kissing each of her sons, Darcy returned them to the wet nurses and then came back carrying little Franny. She was most indignant at being disturbed, but soon was suckling happily at her mother’s breast. Lizzy found it very fulfilling, and she agreed that she would be the primary source of nourishment for Miss Franny, but she would nurse each of her sons at least once a day as she felt the bonding while she fed her daughter.
Once Franny was done feeding, she marvelled as William put some cloths on his shoulder then took Franny, holding her upright and gently patting her back until she had a very satisfying belch then promptly drifted off to sleep.
