The double white doors to Mrs. Darcy’s suite opened with little ceremony as her mother bustled in to speak to her daughter.  Mrs. Bennet stalked directly over to her second eldest daughter’s vanity as Elizabeth’s maid worked on her mistress’ hair.

“I was not aware we should don such complicated styles for a family dinner. Though I suppose you making it to the dining room is cause for a celebration.” Mrs. Bennet managed to criticize not only her daughter’s airs of wealth but also show her displeasure that for the last four nights Mrs. Darcy had become indisposed.

In truth, there had been an element of pain in Elizabeth’s lower back that led to her and her husband deciding she ought to rest. But the more significant source of pain had been that in her head as the months of hosting such a full house party while expecting her first child truly wore the mistress of Pemberley to the very edges of her nerves.

“I believe it looks lovely,” Elizabeth said more to her maid than to her mother. Involuntarily, Elizabeth winced as a brief, yet sharp pain, seized her abdomen. However by the time she caught her breath, the pain disappeared. As she looked up into the reflection, she could see her maid’s eyes widen behind her but Elizabeth gently shook her head. The maid nodded, collected the various combs and brushes she had been using to take them back to the wardrobe as Elizabeth barely lifted her right hand to signal she agreed with the dismissal.

Turning around on the stool, Elizabeth placed one hand on the vanity to steady herself as she rose. The Empire line of her gown fell elegantly over the clear proof that an addition to the family would not be long off.

“I asked for you to come—”

“And I do not appreciate being summoned,” Mrs. Bennet interjected to Elizabeth’s annoyance.

Mrs. Darcy repeated herself. “I asked for you to come so that we might have a talk without the presence of the others.”

Mrs. Bennet inhaled deeply with excitement in her face. “Of course, of course, you should have come to me much sooner. I have birthed five daughters, after all, and with your time so very near you must have any number of questions for me.” Mrs. Bennet looked around the room with her keen eyes, jealously inventorying her daughter’s that was so above her own. Plied with complaints from Alistair, she refused to see how much her daughter and Mr. Darcy provided for her, and only dwelled on how little she felt Elizabeth deserved such wealth.

Spying an ornately upholstered chair in a fabric of hummingbirds next to the vanity, Mrs. Bennet presumptively took a seat while her expectant daughter stood. Gently shimmying her shoulders she became comfortable. Mrs. Bennet smiled as she waited for Elizabeth to commence asking her for advice for the baby.

“I’m afraid to disappoint you, Mama, but it is not about my condition that I’ve asked you to visit me.” The sharp pain came again as Elizabeth turned away from her mother and walked a few steps to hide her discomfort. Once more, just as quickly as she registered such an odd sensation, Elizabeth could feel it no more. Taking a deep breath, she turned and faced her mother once more. “I’m afraid I must ask you to please limit your time with Mr. Darcy.”

“Your husband? Why I have barely seen the man! He has been most devoted to you, I must say. Many new fathers are anxious, but Mr. Darcy, in his care, he is so fastidious. I should think if I were you I would wish him away for at least a day or two. Tell him to see to some affair on the estate, or an improvement. Men like him are always keen to think about their legacy beyond adding more portraits to the gallery.”

Elizabeth pressed her tongue with force against the back of her teeth as her mother’s rudeness no longer came as a surprise. Mrs. Bennet routinely spoke with very little thought, but had become measurably more aggravating now that Elizabeth was no longer a child in her mother’s home.

“No, Mama, you misunderstand me. Not my Mr. Darcy. I am speaking about Mr. Alastair Darcy.”

“Oh, Uncle Darcy,” Mrs. Bennet spoke the name that Georgiana and Kitty had been instructed to use in addressing Mr. Darcy’s wayward uncle from India and coincidentally, the poor deceased Mr. Wickham’s natural father.  There was little to argue that such a moniker avoided confusion between the two men, but for some reason the sudden familiarity of a man she and her husband knew so little about rankled the sensibilities of Elizabeth Darcy.

“Yes, Uncle Darcy.” Elizabeth forced herself to say as another sharp pinch began again and this time her mother noticed her discomfort.

“Have the pains come? Just now your hands, they flew to your—”

“No, it is much too early. I am well. But we must speak about how it looks with you constantly laughing with him.” Elizabeth began to grow angry as another pain came along with a swift kick from the child growing inside her. He seemed not to like the new development either.

“Laughing? How could I not laugh when he is so devilishly clever? You should listen to him, Lizzie. He has the most wonderful stories about the tea plantations, and I have found…” Mrs.  Bennet continued to talk about the best aspects of Alister Darcy’s conversational skills as Elizabeth slowly walked over to her bed and rested one hand on the mattress to inhale calming breaths. The double doors of her suite opened again with haste as both Mr. Darcy and Mrs. Reynolds stepped forward. Elizabeth looked up with panic on her face and Mrs. Reynolds walked with great efficiency around her Master who was frozen in a similar panic. She reached her mistress and calmly placed her hands on Elizabeth midsection.

“It is too early,” Mr. Darcy whispered. But it was his longtime housekeeper who heard the fear of a boy she had watched grow since infancy.

“Nothing to worry about yet, but let’s get Mrs. Darcy in bed.” Mrs. Reynolds began to fuss over her mistress as Elizabeth’s maid dutifully fetched a nightgown so that Elizabeth might change her frock.

“But the pains, I tried to ignore them but they will not cease.” Elizabeth furrowed her brow as Mrs. Reynolds shook her head.

“And you walked in the gardens today and visited two tenants. It is not yet time, but your body does much to prepare. These will subside, if you rest. We shall bring you a tray of tea and something to calm your nerves,” Mrs. Reynolds prescribed, as Elizabeth emphatically declined. Unfortunately, Mrs. Bennet was also present and she agreed with Mr. Darcy that her daughter needed a drop of laudanum to help her rest.

“I will not drink it. I shall rest, like I have every night this week, but I will not take anything stronger than a draught of chamomile.” Elizabeth crossed her arms as her maid had begun unbuttoning her gown for the dinner, thus halting all progress in getting the very pregnant Mrs. Darcy in bed. Then Elizabeth remembered about the follies. “Will you tell Kitty I am so sorry, but perhaps they could perform tomorrow?”

“If you agree to rest, I shall handle breaking the news to Kitty. You truly think they are both safe?” Mr. Darcy asked Mrs. Reynolds.

The older woman clasped both of her hands in front of her and smiled with the pride of her long-term status with the Darcy family. “It is a good sign, sir, with a few weeks left before the babe’s to come, these pains happen. They are signs of a healthy mother and child.”

“We must not bother Mr. Darcy with these things. He need not know until the baby is delivered,” Mrs. Bennet spoke of the experiences of her generation.

“Mama!” Elizabeth said with more emphasis that she wanted as another pain chose the inopportune time to clench her stomach and then release. She unfolded her arms and allowed her maid to finish her work and she accepted her husband’s hand to help her into her bed.

Mr. Darcy cleared his throat. “I appreciate you mean well, Mother Bennet, but it is my intention to be present for the birth of my child.” Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy shared a small smile with each other as they had long decided he would never endure the wait with his anxieties and she wished for his comfort so long as he was able to provide it.

“Well I never have heard of such a thing! For all of my babies, Mr. Bennet was in his study where he belonged. It is the work of women, Mr. Darcy.” Mrs. Bennet refused to give up her point.

“Perhaps, sir, we should go and give Mrs. Darcy a chance to relax. It would do no good for her to see you argue. As I said, I do not believe that tonight is the night we can meet the new master.” Mrs. Reynolds chuckled and caught Mrs. Darcy’s gaze who mouthed a silent thank you.

Mrs. Bennet surveyed the room as the maid, housekeeper, her daughter, and her son-in-law, looked at her to keep the peace. She might have flights of silliness, but Mrs. Bennet knew when she was outnumbered. And she held no desire to continue the previous discussion she and her daughter were engaged in before they were joined by Mr. Darcy and Mrs. Reynolds.

“Why don’t I go downstairs and inform the Cook of tonight’s change in plans?” Mrs. Bennet assigned herself a task.

Mrs. Reynolds began to say that she would do so when Mrs. Darcy interrupted.

“That would be an immense help, Mama. And you will remember what I said?” Elizabeth asked earnestly as her maid had discreetly vanished back to the wardrobe likely to warn the kitchen staff of an impending visit by Mrs. Bennet. Cook and Mrs. Bennet rarely saw eye-to-eye on the menu, or the running of the kitchens, or the seasoning of the food. If Elizabeth could manage to enforce a banishment of her mother from the kitchens, she would do so. Instead, Mr. Darcy had increased Cook’s wages.

“That is such a trifling matter, dear. You have bigger concerns to worry about tonight.” Mrs. Bennet more or less dismissed herself from the suite of rooms leaving only Mr. Darcy and Mrs. Reynolds behind with her daughter.

“I am a fool. You have warned me again and again that there are too many in this house–” Mr. Darcy began but Elizabeth shushed him.

“I am well, Fitzwilliam. As Mrs. Reynolds says, this is all to be expected.” Elizabeth reassured her husband as Mrs. Reynolds nodded.

“You mustn’t task yourself any longer to visit the tenants. I shall make my aunt and Georgiana go.” Mr. Darcy continued as he stared down at his wife’s hand that he grasped in desperation.

“If that is what you wish, I believe I can delegate that to them. Please invite Kitty as well,” she added.

“Of course, the children would love to see her again.” Mr. Darcy smiled down at his wife, the both of them silently remembering how Kitty had written each child’s name on parchment at the estate’s Christmas gathering for the tenant families.

Feeling a new pain, Elizabeth grit her teeth and grimaced. “Now, if you do not wish for us to also hire a new cook in the kitchens, you might hurry behind my mother and assist with the changes.”

“Would you like a tray brought up besides the tea?” he asked. Elizabeth fervently nodded before he kissed her hand and exited the rooms, hastening to catch up before his mother-in-law could cause too much damage below stairs.

Finally alone with Mrs. Darcy, the housekeeper asked Elizabeth a few personal questions she would not have been able to answer with either Mr. Darcy or Mrs. Bennet present. As Elizabeth explained there were no other symptoms but the erratic pains coming and going, Mrs. Reynolds felt confident in her assessment that these were no more than the false labor pains many a mother endured before cradling a bundle of joy in her arms.

Still, as Mrs. Reynolds waited for the tea tray to arrive and instructed a junior maid to remain with Mrs. Darcy until Mr. Darcy returned, she left her mistress’ rooms with the intention to send one of the hall boys to inquire about the location of the midwife. With any luck and the blessing of Providence, no visit would be needed tonight, but Mrs. Reynolds did not wish to take any chances when it came to the health and safety of her family.