Dr. Gravelle had been in the next room but was never needed, as the midwife had delivered the Fitzwilliam heir with no issues. He was bald when he was born, and rather than the deep blue Fitzwilliam’s eyes, his had a touch of green in the blue that most babies are born with. Grandmother Rose informed them that both Perry and Marie had been born with the same colour eyes, then within weeks, theirs changed to the deep green colour they now had.
As much as both grandmothers hated to leave Marie a few days after her giving birth, knowing she was in no danger, and with Andrew and all of their fussing servants, she and the babe would be well taken care of, the two dowagers agreed to leave as scheduled.
Alex was one of the happiest in the family to learn that little Reggie had been born as he was tired of being the youngest even though he was a full ten years old. He happily resigned the title and passed it onto Reggie whether he wanted it or not. Alex was doing very well with his tutors and seemed to follow his father and brother with an affinity for the written word.
Being so close to the Dragoons training grounds, Richard would be able to see his family in Town a few times a week. Elaine and Elizabeth, in particular, were keen to see him again as they had not since his surprise visit to Snowhaven in June. Seeing her second son was one of the factors that tipped the scale for Elaine in her decision to go to Town rather than stay with her first grandson and his parents.
Although it was cold already in the north, Will and his father elected to ride alongside the carriages, at least part of the way. Aunt Anne, Elizabeth, Georgiana, and Alex rode in a coach which was more than large enough to accommodate them when they decided that they would like to be inside out of the elements. Luckily, Aggie was stretched out on a bench in one of the servant’s conveyances; otherwise, there would not have been room for six.
Will decided to brave the cold for as long as he could, as he was aware that if he sat opposite the object of his love, he would stare at her, and he neither wanted her to think that he was looking to find fault as his father warned nor did he want to sit there looking like the besotted man he was. The fact that he did not ride inside all the times, that his father did harken the memory from years before when he had distanced himself from her. Elizabeth started to wonder if she had done something to displease him as he again did not seem to want to be in company with her as much as he used to. If she had been privy to his calendar as he crossed off each day, as they got ever closer to her come out, there would have been no such questions in her mind.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Before Branch departed for town, he had arranged that Jones be one of the stable hands that would be sent to London to augment the Darcy House hands while the family was in residence. A note was left in the knothole by him before the departure so that Jones’employer would not be suspicious, which would happen if the fortnightly reports ceased.
Jones trusted his good friend Branch completely with collaboration in gaining intelligence, but he had kept the name and location of his secret employer from Branch as he remembered her warning that she would see him dead if he ever divulged that information to anyone. Branch had asked once, and when Jones explained why he could not share that information Branch did not push or ask him again as he was sure that would raise suspicion.
The master had rejected Branch’s suggestion that they lock Jones up since the notes were being written by himself and Jones was essentially superfluous. The master had decided that, out of an abundance caution, Jones would be seen doing his normal tasks just in case there was anyone they were not aware of watching.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Mrs Fitzpatrick was annoyed that she would not receive any more notes until the critical one which would come once the families returned to Derbyshire after Twelfth Night. She begrudgingly agreed with the note as she did know that most families of the Ton, and the Darcys in particular, always sent additional servants to London when they were to be in residence for any length of time. She read her note again:
I am to London. Smaller house so will not be able to slip away unnoticed and no arrangement for Town drop-offs made. Will be back days after Twelfth Night. Have your man check a week after Twelfth Night. The next note will have the date and details requested.
She hated that not everything was by her will, but she accepted that trying to force some sort of communication while he was in London had the potential of spoiling all of her plans. She did dispatch one of her footmen to Town to ride past the mews at Darcy House to verify that Jones had been honest with her in saying he was in town. Five days later, the man returned and confirmed that he had seen Jones working in the stables. This for her confirmed all his missives as truth.
She met with McLamb fortnightly, not because there was any new information, but she loved to exert her will over all she paid to show them that they owed her deference while being beneath her notice. The plan was in place; all she needed now was the date.
Wickham had not been able to glean any information about the man that met with the old bat every fortnight. As he was frustrated in those efforts, he expended his time imagining how it would feel to have control of Pemberley. As soon as he was married to the Darcy girl, his first act would be to have Lady Catherine beaten to death with her own walking stick to repay her for all of the times that she had beaten him it.
He would get much pleasure taking the foundling’s life, regardless of the fact that she was not a mongrel. How dare she be born higher than he! That meant Lady Catherine’s demise was actually second on his list and then remembered she was not Lady anything. The crown had rescinded her honorific title some years back. At the time she had raged against her family and added the offence to the long list that she already held against them. It amused him how much she hated losing an appellation she could no longer use because of her assumed identity.
The only thing he did know was that whatever was being planned, it would happen in the new year. He was down to months of waiting left; after the years spent biding his time, what were a few more months?
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As life tends to do, it moves on and in September, Louisa brought Harold Oscar Hurst into the world. He would be known as Harry, named for his two grandfathers, one live and one deceased, and was the source of much joy for his parents, grandparents, great-grandmother, and various uncles and aunts. It was especially good news for the Hursts whose entailed estate would now remain in the hands of a Hurst beyond the younger Mr Harold Hurst.
Little Harry, at six weeks old, had a tuft of light brown hair and his eyes were now light brown like his father’s. Mary was enamoured with her new role of big sister, even if she had preferred that her mama gift her with a sister. As her parents had explained, they could not exchange Harry for a sister, and he would have to do.
For Martha, it was the final push that she needed to embrace her upcoming change to half-mourning. Nothing would replace her Oscar but having Mary and now little Harry in the house to keep her busy when she was not occupied with the committee and their work was a pleasure. Each day, she felt a little more resigned to her status as a widow, and with the new life in her house, she saw that she had many reasons to embrace living. She admitted to herself that her Oscar would have wanted her to carry on and not stop as she had for a time.
Charles Bingley was looking forward to the little season where he would see his friends again as he was about to end his period of half-mourning. He had ordered the house on Gracechurch Street to be opened for the first time since his late father had passed away in the study there almost a year before.
He was looking forward to society, but he was not looking for a lady any longer. He was in love with Miss Amanda Long. He and Mandy had not made any declarations one to the other, but unless he was blind and could not read signals, he was sure that she had a tender regard for him as well. She would be seventeen at the end of June of the coming year, and one month after that he had permission from Mr Long to declare himself. He knew that three and twenty was relatively young to settle down and marry for a man, but why wait once you have found the one that you love?
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The Bennets arrived at Bennet House within hours of the Derbyshire and Yorkshire families arriving at their houses in Town. Perry, Jane, and Lady Rose would reside at his townhouse on St James Square. It was the closest to Grosvenor Square of all of his properties in Town. Elizabeth would be at Darcy House until the end of October; then she would spend a fortnight at Bennet House, followed by a sennight at Birchington House with her sister Jane.
At each of their townhouses, there was an invitation from the King and Queen inviting them to Buckingham House for tea five days hence. It was not an invitation that one could refuse. The Bennets being included in the invitation was a further indication to the Ton of the royal support that they enjoyed. King George III had endured a profoundly serious illness almost ten years earlier and there had been great concern for the monarch, but other than some eccentric behaviour, he seemed well again.
That night, the four arriving families met at Bennet House for a dinner, where they were joined by the Gardiners and Phillips, who were staying with their in-laws. The dinner was loud, and the Bennet House’s new cook showed off her abilities that were enjoyed by all of the diners. In fact, the repast was so good that George Darcy joked with Bennet by offering him some first editions to be able to hire the cook away from Bennet House. Richard, who had arrived just before dinner, extoled the quality of the food over the swill that he was forced to eat in the army. No one felt sympathy for him as he did not look like he missed too many meals.
The ladies had an appointment at Madam Chambourg’s modiste shop on Bond Street in the morning to which Lady Elaine would accompany her daughter. The plan was to meet up with the men at Gunter’s after the modiste. Bennet and the Darcy men would spend the morning browsing the books at Hatchard’s, and by browsing, all three meant purchasing. They would meet Perry at the club, and then the four of them would make for Gunter’s.
As Elizabeth had grown both in height and shape since she had last visited Madame Chambourg’s, she was measured again, as was Georgiana who was already taller than Elizabeth. It was Tammy and Kitty Bennet’s first time, so full measurements for them were also taken. Jane and Anne Ashby were both clients and their wedding gowns were Madame Chambourg creations, so they only needed to look at the sketches and plates that were on display. Ladies Anne and Rose decided not to order anything as they both had orders being worked on that were requested before arriving in Town.
