Page 49 of Leave Her Wild
Earlier, when she made the turn at the end of the passageway, a sharp pain deep in her most private parts had driven her to her knees. For several long minutes, she had remained in just such a position, holding her engorged middle with one arm and stroking her midsection with the other, while quietly humming a lullaby as she rocked back and forth on her heels.
Hannah had found her there and had alerted Mrs. Reynolds, and the housekeeper had sent someone for Mr. Darcy.
A second knee buckling pain presented itself as she had made her way to her quarters, this one had her legs and chemise soaked in a warm liquid.
“We must change out your clothes, Mistress,” Hannah had ordered. “Something comfortable like what the midwife ordered we have made for you. I have it all prepared.”
“We should send someone to alert Mrs. Griffin,” Elizabeth said. “She shall not be expecting me until the first part of next month.”
“I shall see to it, ma’am,” Hannah coaxed as she led Elizabeth along the passage. “First, we see you are more comfortable.”
“This is normal,” Elizabeth declared as she approached her quarters. She meant to convince herself and everyone around her that nothing would happen to her child. Such would destroy her husband, just as Lady Anne had destroyed George Darcy. “We just had the dates wrong in the beginning. Such is why I have gotten so large.”
“It be what Mrs. Griffin described, Mistress,” Hannah assured. “The date could easily have been in error. No two women are the same. You may have been increasing long before you took to being sick in the morning. Me mother never became ill with my brother Lucas, but she was supposedly sick from thebeginning with me. You have gained girth substantially in the last six weeks.”
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Darcy entered the house through the kitchen, sending everyone inside into a tizzy, but he ignored the chaos his sudden appearance had caused and took the servant steps two at a time to reach the family wing. The Springer was quick on his heels.
“Elizabeth!” he bellowed, but was brought up short when he viewed her hobbling along in a soaked gown. His heart took a stutter step. “Dear God!”
His wife held up her hand to silence his protest. “This is normal, William. I mean to change into a dry gown. Meanwhile, you will wash off the field dirt and sweat and then assist me in walking the hall again.”
“Demme you woman, how can you be so calm?” Darcy demanded with a frown. It was then he noted the slight tremble of her lips. “It will all be well,” he said with a purposeful smile. Elizabeth required him to be strong and so he would be. “Just promise me that you will wait until I return for you before you set your steps again in motion.”
“Thank you, Fitzwilliam.”
The use of his Christian name meant she was as frightened as was he: Therefore, Darcy meant to protect her and to hell with the rest of the world. He waited until she made her way into their adjoined quarters before he entered his. Stripping off his field coat and shirt, he took up a cloth, a bar of soap, and dipped them in a bowl of water. Lathering the cloth, he washed his body as best he could, recalling how the midwife said some odors and scents irritated the senses of a woman carrying a child within her. He could not recall whether that meant during labor or other times, but the process was helpful in calming his anxiety. “Which was likely Elizabeth’s purpose,” he told the dog as he washed his face and arms.
Despite his worry, Darcy sighed heavily. “Demme woman! She knows how always to be in control!” He chuckled easily. “Which is why you married her, Darcy,” he told his image in the small mirror on the dresser. The idea brought another smile to his lips.
Dropping a shirt over his head and ordering the dog to wait, Darcy crossed to his wife’s quarters. Odd as it would be to speak his observations aloud, Elizabeth appeared to be carrying the baby lower than she had when he had tucked her next to his side last evening. “Shall we walk together, Mrs. Darcy?” he asked with a smile and a bit of caution.
“Such a handsome gentleman,” she said in that tone which always had him desiring her in his arms.
“Your gentleman, my love.” He kissed her forehead. “I am so very proud of you. You have answered all my prayers, even the ones I did not know my soul had sent out in the world.”
Together, they walked to the end of the hall and made the turn to do so again, when Elizabeth suddenly clutched at his arm. Her lovely countenance scrunched up in pain.
“What the devil?” he demanded.
“Another of the birth pains, sir,” Hannah explained. “Though Mrs. Darcy should not swallow her screams,” the maid said with a tut of her tongue in disapproval. “Pardon my forwardness, sir. Mrs. Darcy means to protect you.”
“Elizabeth?” he questioned, but she did not respond, just buried her nails into his arm.
“We must know the time on the clock,” Hannah demanded.
A voice at the other end of the hall said, “Two minutes after ten.”
The dog came running to greet his former master, while Darcy and Elizabeth looked up to find Mr. Bennet at the top of the stairs and looking at them in dismay. Neither Darcynor Elizabeth had realized anything of his arrival at Pemberley, though they both had expected the gentleman soon for the birth of his first grandchild.
“Papa!” Elizabeth reached a hand for her father, and, after giving the dog a command to return to the room, Mr. Bennet moved quickly to replace the maid.
Mr. Bennet asked Hannah, “How far apart are the pains?”
“A little less than seven minutes, sir,” the maid reported with a smile. “Since the last one.”
“You were experiencing pains while I was washing off the field dirt?” Darcy accused.
