And that is the end of the FIRST YEAR of the Seasons of Serendipity . . .
XOXOXO
Elizabeth Ann West
Chapter 13 - An Autumn Accord, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
A creaky caravan trekked through the woods between London and Derbyshire, eight carriages full of Bennets, Darcys, and Gardiners, plus extended staff slowly heading to the last inn before their final destination. Elizabeth Darcy happily rested her head on her husband’s shoulder, as the landscape outside the carriage looked less and less familiar.
Closing her eyes, her stomach began to twist and turn as she tried once more to picture the large estate her husband owned that was now to be her home as well. “Are there truly over one hundred rooms?”
“Yes.”
“And you’ve not provided me a map?” Elizabeth tilted her head to see her husband’s response to her tease. Sadly, the man maintained his stoicism.
“The mistress of Pemberley does not require the use of a map,” he scoffed. Kissing her temple, he inhaled her scent from a small patch of hair not covered by her bonnet. “But I might keep one in my possession we can negotiate over, so long as it remains our small secret.”
The rare tease from her husband made Elizabeth smile when her stomach made an unmistakably profound somersaulting motion. Gasping for air, Elizabeth’s arm instinctively cradled her midsection at the startling movement.
“Elizabeth? Are you ill? The inn is just around this turn.” Darcy began to fret over his wife.
Breathing steadily through her nose, the motion continued under Elizabeth’s hand, and realization dawned on her. But a moving carriage was hardly the proper place to tell her husband she realized the early stirrings of the next Darcy generation in her womb.
“I am quite well. Just the toil of travels I am sure. When we arrive at the inn, I shall take a brief rest.” She offered him a small smile, leery of showing too much of her joy and risk further inquiries.
“Hrm.” Darcy frowned, but said nothing more.
The Rowdy Rooster stood at the end of the turnpike as a major coaching inn for all travels in and out of Derbyshire. The fussing and cries of the overtired Gardiner children rankled the air as the stable staff attempted to address the chaos of so many carriages arriving together. Elizabeth took her Aunt Gardiner’s arm as she gave orders to the nanny for the care of her children, accepting little Constance from the nursemaid.
“She is so beautiful, and her expression makes me think she is viewing and documenting all around her.” Elizabeth laughed as she offered to hold the child and Madeleine Gardiner complied. Constance had little care for who held her, so long as someone performed the task. The infant was most vocal should she be placed in a bassinet unless she was fast asleep, and even then, it was a gamble.
“I know what you mean! She’s a precocious poppet and not yet three months’ old!” Madeleine Gardiner laughed along with her favorite niece as they entered the inn to refresh themselves in the rooms Mr. Darcy had reserved.
As Mrs. Bennet complained and both Mary and Kitty worked to console her, Elizabeth was thankful she had decided to find some privacy with her aunt. She was surprised when once inside the room, Madeline Gardiner wasted little time taking Constance from Elizabeth and began nursing the babe.
“You feed your children even with a nurse maid?” Elizabeth asked.
Madeline Gardiner cooed and smiled at her youngest child cradled to her chest. “I understand it’s not as accepted in your set, Lizzie. But the bonding between a mother and child is so special, it’s not a task I happily hand over to a stranger. But I wanted you to see this, so no matter the decision you make for your own offspring you will be fully informed.”
“Funny that you should mention, I am . . .” Elizabeth blushed, realizing this was the first time she would confirm to another that she was indeed increasing, “I felt the babe move in the carriage, I am sure of it!”
“Blessings to hear! I told your uncle you were for certain due before your first wedding anniversary if my calculations are correct!”
Elizabeth’s face-splitting smile faltered. “Wait please, you discussed my condition with Uncle? How did you, how did you know?”
Chapter 13(cont'd) - An Autumn Accord, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
Mrs. Gardiner laughed so hard, poor Constance lost her latch for a moment. “My dear, you had all of the signs of increasing when you returned from Scotland, and as much as you and Mr. Darcy love one another, well, babies are not slow to arrive in a happy marriage.”
Elizabeth bit her lip as she considered her aunt’s words. How many others suspected she was with child? What if Fitzwilliam was of that inclination?
A knock on the suite door interrupted Elizabeth’s thoughts and her aunt stood with little effort to move to the bedroom area of the suite, leaving Elizabeth in the sitting room. Shrugging her shoulders, Elizabeth opened the door expecting her maid Becky, but instead her husband entered with a silver tray of tea.
“Fitzwilliam, you brought me refreshments?” Elizabeth chuckled at the care her husband always offered, even if at times it bordered on stifling.
“I asked the wife of the innkeeper for this particular one. There is ginger in the blend you see, and it can be of aid to ladies in . . . in your condition.” The man stammered a moment as he placed the tea service on the small table in the sitting room, as Elizabeth closed the door. She startled slightly when her husband referenced her condition.
“You know?”
Darcy’s eyes pleaded with her own for understanding. He cleared his throat, but when he spoke, his voice was soft. “I have known, or rather suspected for some time. I was not certain if you knew, and I did not wish to speak of it before you did, nor bring memories of your sister.”
A silence descended over the room between the couple as muffled voices from the other members of their party could be heard through the paper-thin walls of the inn. Tears began to fall freely from Elizabeth’s eyes as she smiled at her husband who immediately moved to her side and crushed her in an embrace.
“I’ve upset you, and that was far from my intentions. You will be well, you will have the best care and doctors, and I shall not let any harm come to you or our child. I swear.” Darcy’s voice huskily enveloped Elizabeth’s senses, and she sobbed freely in her husband’s chest, in between laughs. The odd cacophony pushed Darcy to release his wife and look down at her. “Elizabeth?”
“Oh, do not mind me, sir, I have not had my own emotions under good regulation for many months. I cry because I was so frightened of telling you so soon after Lydia and carried this knowledge to myself, and I laugh because my aunt just told me she knew of my condition as well. Apparently, it is well-observed that the Darcy heir is on his way.”
“Your aunt?”
Elizabeth pointed towards the bedroom. “She’s resting with the baby.”
“Ah. Well.” Darcy cupped his wife’s face with his hands and bestowed a kiss on her delicate lips, a kiss carrying the pride and joy of a father-to-be to the mother of his children. “You do wear your condition very admirably, Mrs. Darcy, if I may say so.”
Elizabeth moaned softly, beginning to wish she had retired to this room alone. “You may say so, sir, and repeat such sentiments at your leisure. Preferably most often when I’ve swelled to the size of a whale.”
Darcy laughed and released his wife as Madeleine Gardiner appeared in the sitting room, properly clothed, with a fussy Constance.
WHAT A DEAL!
A kiss at the Netherfield Ball . . .
Three Dates with Mr. Darcy is a bundle of: An exclusive story, Much to Conceal, a novella that imagines what if Elizabeth confessed to Jane in London that Mr. Darcy proposed in Kent?
A Winter Wrong, the first novella in the Seasons of Serendipity series that imagines what if Mr. Bennet died at the very beginning of Pride and Prejudice?
By Consequence of Marriage, the first novel in the Moralities of Marriage series that wonders what if Mr. Darcy never saved his sister Georgiana from Wickham’s clutches?
Elizabeth Ann West’s Pride and Prejudice variations have enthralled more than 100,000 readers in over 90 countries! A proud member of the Jane Austen Fan Fiction community since the mid-2000s, she hopes you will join her in being happily Darcy addicted!
Chapter 13(cont'd) - An Autumn Accord, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
“Forgive me for interrupting, but I believe she needs a new nappy. I’ll just pop out and find the nurse.” Mrs. Gardiner ducked out of the room and no sooner had the door closed than the Darcys took full advantage of their brief privacy for more affections.
Feeling a need to breath from the crushing passion of her husband’s kisses, Elizabeth pulled back slightly and gave him such a solemn countenance he paused instead of pressing for more attentions.
“Despite you and Aunt Gardiner knowing the truth, we must not tell Mama! She will go distracted and irksome, and I am not sure my nerves will tolerate her fussing.”
Darcy frowned in horror. Elizabeth nodded as she thought he was in agreement and nudged her back into his arms. “I’m afraid she too already knows, my dear. You really do carry your condition well.”
Just as dusk began to claim the horizon, the carriages were ordered to stop at the crest of Harper’s Hill. The passengers of each carriage huddled together and Darcy held the hand of his Elizabeth most fiercely. Down below, the sun’s intense rays crowned the white estate house below with a glory of golden light so that the effect was truly breathtaking.
“Is that? Is that our home?” Elizabeth forced out, utterly captivated by the heavenly glow. Even her mother standing next to her was rendered speechless, a shock of epic proportion for the entire party.
Taking his wife’s hands to his lips, Fitzwilliam Darcy kissed them audibly, before flashing her one of his rare smiles.
“Welcome to Pemberley, Mrs. Darcy.”
You’ve been reading An Autumn Accord
The fourth season of the Seasons of Serendipity and conclusion of the first year sees Elizabeth and Darcy reconcile the consequences of their honeymoon trip in Scotland with their family’s future. Kitty Bennet and Georgiana Darcy have bonded over their training for debut in society, plus found a bit of mischief to create. When Darcy decides to help his wife mourn the one-year anniversary of her father’s passing with a trip to Hertfordshire, he finds a whole new set of problems await them both regarding the widow Bennet.
An Autumn Accord Book 4 of the Seasons of Serendipity
a Pride and Prejudice novella variation series
Release Date: February 26, 2015
~190 pages in print.
+ 23 additional Pride & Prejudice variations are available at these fine retailers . . .
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A Jane-of-all-trades, mistress to none! Elizabeth Ann West is the author of 8 novels and 11 novellas, 18 of which are story variations of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice.
Wonderful to finally catch up with this latest installment, for me anyway.
I’m enamored of these characters that you’ve drawn so lovingly & I look forward to the next chapter.
I’ve just discovered your series and read it straight through. It’s a very compelling tale. Well written and though it’s a bit hard to adjust to the changes you’ve made to each character, they’re consistent and interesting. My most constructive criticism would have to revolve around Darcy. You’ve set him up as this man with seemingly unlimited patience for the the failings of everyone around him and I unsure where his breaking point is? Unconditional love, forgiveness and support can not be infinite, at least not for everyone. For me, I’d like to see this master of Pemberly stretch beyond just fixing everyone’s mistakes. We see a bit of this in how he handled Mrs, Bennets poor behavior. That was an excellent scene. I’m excited to see where you take us next! Also, I loved Mary’s letter! Calling out the Colonel’s Pride, but offering herself honestly, humbly & laying out a pathway to their happiness; that is how Mary Bennet would love! Thank you for giving so much of yourself to write for all of us!