My mother is a twin. Funny story, when she was in labor with me her twin sister called the hospital and paged my father because she had felt it clear across the country. I always remembered that story from my family, and true or not, it’s a legacy. Many of my books have these little folklores of my history woven in where I can fit them 🙂
XOXOXO Elizabeth Ann West
Chapter 19 - The Trappings of Marriage, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
Kitty Bennet stared in disgust at her sketchpad with a frown on her face. Since moving to Netherfield Park, her brother Bingley and sister Jane had been kind enough to establish a sitting room on the east side of the home as her art studio. Many of her canvases of watercolors and sketches lined the walls in various states of completion. The room provided an ample amount of light in the early morning hours when she preferred to draw. But the sketch in her hands utterly failed to capture the violent violets and crimson reds of the west garden she had been most keen to record. Aggravated, she crumpled the offending piece of work and threw it over her shoulder without a second glance.
The door to her studio burst open, and the crumpled sketch sailed through the air striking poor Mr. Bingley on the top of his head, but being paper, caused no injury. The door opening caused Kitty to turn around and she gasped as Mr. Bingley stood there white as a sheet.
“It is time – what I mean to say is, Jane so desperately needs you?”
Kitty scrambled to follow her brother by marriage across the house to her sister’s suite. By the time they arrived, Kitty felt slightly warmed from the exercise.
Heavy with child, Jane Bingley had taken to her bed over two months ago from complications of carrying the child. Even now, if it was indeed time, the babe was trying to come nearly a month early. Kitty followed Mr. Bingley’s long stride with a scurried step of her own, anxious to get to Jane’s side.
They reached Jane just as she cried out during another contraction. Her maid stood grimacing holding the hand of her mistress, and when it had passed, Kitty silently took the servant’s place to listen to her older sister’s demands.
“I need Aunt Phillips. Please send for her.” Just a thin line of perspiration outlined Jane’s forehead as a combination of the days since her last bath and the effort her body made to birth a child plastered her golden locks to her skin.
“What about Mama? Surely you need Mama.” Kitty asked.
Jane was about to answer when another contraction distracted her and Kitty felt her hand squeezed so tightly that it was almost as if her sister meant to transfer the pain from her body to another.
The housekeeper entered the room with the confidence of a great general. Two maids carrying arms full of white linens marched behind her, and she quickly took over from Kitty to begin preparations in the room for the birth of a child.
“I sent a messenger Miss Catherine to your aunt and uncle in Meryton. They should arrive soon.”
“And Mr. Jones?” Poor Bingley called out still holding on to the doorframe for support.
The housekeeper appeared to notice her master for the first time and clucked her tongue in disapproval. “Yes, and Mr. Jones.” She addressed Kitty directly. “Perhaps you should help your brother find a suitable place to wait. Firstborn sons have a tendency to take their sweet time in arriving.” The housekeeper’s piece of intelligence was heard by Jane who uncharacteristically cried out at such news as the beginning pains already wore on her nerves.
Kitty looked to Jane for approval, and her sister nodded. “Please look after Charles. And there’s a letter in my nightstand–”
“Oh, please do not speak of that! We all know, but there will be no need,” Kitty declared, rather indignantly, as she had begun her progress towards the door and gently nudged her brother-in-law to follow her out the door.
After Kitty helped Mr. Bingley to the study downstairs and declined his awkward offer of a drink, she seized the butler’s attention in the hall and gave him instructions to sit with Mr. Bingley.
“I beg your pardon, Miss Catherine. You wish that I should stay?”
Kitty looked to Charles who stood by the fireplace absentmindedly sipping from his drink and looking crazed with the reality of the mortal danger threatening his wife. Kitty’s heart broke to see such romance between two people, but she also knew what she had to do.
“Yes. And if he tries to leave this room, tackle him. Keep him here, and I will be back as soon as I can.” Kitty turned around to begin to leave as the butler called after her asking where she was going. But Kitty did not respond. She would head back to her rooms to collect her spencer and bonnet as she called for the carriage to be ready by the front door. Jane was not thinking clearly and though she appreciated the love and support of Aunt Phillips, the truth of the matter was that their aunt had never successfully carried a child to term.
But one woman Kitty knew had successfully birthed five daughters. And Kitty would not rest until she took the carriage to Longbourn and brought their mother back to help Jane.
Chapter 20 - The Trappings of Marriage, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
A lazy afternoon in her bed became rudely interrupted as Mr. Darcy continuously tickled the tip of his wife’s nose until she woke. Elizabeth stretched and yawned, once more waking contentedly in her new role as Mrs. Darcy, and blinked numerous times to spy her husband and focus.
“Fitzwilliam, I was having the most beautiful dream.” Elizabeth kept the details to herself, though he peppered her with questions. “Oh, no, I shall never tell. But it was a most happy dream and you were in it.”
He left the bed as Elizabeth sat up to reach for the bell cord.
“Before you call your maid, I have yet another gift.”
Elizabeth tucked her knees up to her chin as she looked at him askance.
“Another one?” She laughed. “You do realize a spoiled wife is a heavy burden to live with, sir.”
“And are you spoiled? Or have I bestowed upon you the exact amount of respect and adoration that you deserve?”
Elizabeth blew out a breath. She began to feel that her cheeks might permanently hurt from how much the man made her smile. “I suppose when you speak of it like so, who am I to argue with the great intelligence of Fitzwilliam Darcy?”
“Who indeed.” Mr. Darcy turned around and pulled a box from the top of the dresser to carry it over to the bed. When Elizabeth did not reach for it, he nudged it more and more, while she continued to laugh at his antics. But there was no denying that, since their arrival in Scotland and wedding at the anvil, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy no longer looked like the burdened, anxious man of eight and twenty with the entire world upon his shoulders. Their wedding trip had succeeded in taking no less than five years off the expressions he regularly gave to his wife.
Elizabeth pulled the box into her lap, once more surprised by the weight and size of the package. As she struggled to untie the twine, Mr. Darcy pulled a penknife from his pocket and reached forward to cut the string entirely.
“Thank you, my dear.”
“My pleasure, my darling.” Darcy licked his lips, as, though he stood fully dressed, Elizabeth was not. And though he enjoyed their passionate pursuits in the bedroom, there was far more his estate in Scotland had to offer that he wished to share with his Elizabeth.
Elizabeth gasped, looked up at her husband, held up the clothing in her hands, and then squealed.
“Truly? I did so enjoy our time at Netherfield, and you remembered?” She pinched her lips into a saucy pout as her husband gave her a sheepish grin.
“This is why I wished to give it to you before you called your maid. I did not wish for you to waste time fussing into a gown when I would like to invite you to join me in a bout down in the ballroom.”
Elizabeth frowned, and her husband asked what made her suddenly unhappy. But Elizabeth waved her hand.
“Oh, it is nothing. A small matter of household management. Apparently, I am to refer to my personal maid as Higgins instead ofBetsy.”
Darcy shrugged. “I call my man ‘Simmons.’”
Elizabeth frowned. “Yes, that may be well and good for men, but a lady’s maid is something entirely altogether different.”
“If you say so; I shall defer to your expertise. But I have found that there are times when I hold more power in allowing the servants and staff their way on things rather than merely imposing my will at every instance.”
“But I’ve always called her Betsy! It will be extremely awkward to call her Higgins.” Elizabeth realized she began to sound like a petulant child, and that there was a great deal to be said for the traditions of an older house like Carver. And yet, the idea of calling her personal maid Higgins felt foreign and distasteful.
“Did you consider also that in continuing to call her Betsy you do your personal maid a disservice because you are not honoring the promotion and status that you granted her?”
As they continued to speak about the maid business, Elizabeth pulled the covers back and began to don the fencing costume that Fitzwilliam had gifted her. She pulled on a fresh chemise and tucked the skirt into the short trousers, as the rough cotton did not feel as if it would be ideal against her skin. He lifted her coat and assisted her into the jacket that fastened in the back. As he hooked her buttons, Elizabeth giggled as she counted her blessings to be married to a man with a younger sister. She wondered how many times he had assisted the young Georgiana with her dress as, though there was no doubt that the Darcy siblings had many on staff, any child was likely to have a costume difficulty when out playing. She and her sisters had mended each other’s clothes and buttons many a time.
“Perhaps, as a compromise, I can call her Higgins when others are in the room, but ask if she wouldn’t mind me calling her Betsy when we are in private.”
Darcy tugged on the top of the coat to pull the slack towards the back, which caused Elizabeth to jostle and step backwards. “Do you believe your maid will be honest with you as to her wishes?”
“I believe so. Did you know that I did ask her specifically if she would mind continuing in my service even though we were to elope?”
“While it is obvious she answered in the affirmative, did she express any concerns?” Darcy finished his work and walked around to the front of his wife so that he could spy her beautiful female form in the fetching tightness of the fencing costume.
Elizabeth sighed and walked over to the full-length mirror to admire her new attire. She pulled her fisted hand up as though it held the blade to the side and up in front of her face, remembering the salute that Mr. Darcy had taught her just two months ago.
“She did, though not rudely.” Elizabeth’s eyes shifted focus to his reflection behind her, and she offered him an impish smile. “You, sir, are out of order. Here I am, dressed for a bout, and you are still playing the gentleman.”
Mr. Darcy walked forward and snaked his arm around his wife’s midsection to cradle her in the mirror’s reflection. His left hand reached out and pulled the bell cord the appropriate times to summon Higgins, as his wife was not completely accurate that she was fully ready. Her hair still fell in long free tresses of dark curls and her feet were entirely barefoot. But Mr. Darcy did not point out these minor details, and instead brushed his wife’s hair back so that he could kiss her neck and then rest his chin upon her shoulder.
“Your challenge is accepted, madam. I will go see my man and meet you down in the ballroom in ten minutes’ time. En guard!”
“See that you do.” Elizabeth laughed at her own impertinence. A quick knock on her door and then opening of the same revealed Higgins present and ready to help her. As Mr. Darcy left the room, Elizabeth considered her personal maid.
“There is a small matter I should like to discuss with you, if you do not mind.” Suddenly, Elizabeth felt a sharp pain in her midsection that disappeared just as suddenly. Higgins reached out with concern for her mistress, but Elizabeth waved her off.
“No, no, I am fine. It came as quickly as it went.” Elizabeth took a breath and waited for more pain, such as a sign of her courses coming, or that food did not agree with her, but no further pain came. She thought briefly of her family, of her sisters, and especially Jane, but pushed the melancholy of missing them aside as she forced herself to smile.
“See? Nothing to worry about, I must have merely moved in a silly fashion. But I did want to ask you . . .”
Betsy looked at her mistress expectantly, eager to please. Elizabeth faltered in what she wanted to say noticing that Betsy held an expression of pride and confidence she did not hold before.
“Would you be willing to put my hair into two plaits down the side and pinned in the back? I believe the mask will fit more securely that way,” Elizabeth gulped, “Higgins.”
Betsy agreed and retreated to the dressing room to fetch stockings and shoes and hair pins, while Elizabeth looked back at her own reflection. Standing so small in her white costume, her hair flowing freely, she emulated a warrior in spirit. She had her champion, and she wouldn’t mention to him how much she missed her family. It was to be a burden she would not add to his shoulders when they had become so recently freed.
NEW RELEASE
For the Love of a Bennet
What if Elizabeth Bennet traveled with Lydia to Brighton?
A reimagining of Jane Austen’s most beloved tale, Pride & Prejudice, join author Elizabeth Ann West as she writes the romantic adventure story she always wanted! When Lizzy and Lydia arrive in Brighton, it’s very clear that the younger Bennet sister came with very serious plans towards Mr. Wickham. Thankfully, an old ally is also in town, with problems of his own to solve. After Mr. Darcy, himself, is summoned to Brighton to hopefully solve two dilemmas with one wealthy member of the gentry, the whole militia is thrown into an uproar by Wickham’s most dastardly deed, yet. Together, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy have to save Lydia from her own undoing, or it will mean more than just mere reputations are ruined.
For the Love of a Bennet is a novel length story, currently being posted chapter by chapter on Elizabeth’s author site. This story was originally conceptualized in 2019 as a part of the All Go to Brighton challenge.
Chapter 21 - The Trappings of Marriage, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
Kitty Bennet hardly had to convince her mother that she was needed at Netherfield Park before Mrs. Bennet joined her daughter in the waiting carriage. Kitty answered as many questions as she could as to the condition of Jane, but found none of them seemed to satisfy her mother’s inquiries. To her greatest relief, her mother did not display a fit of nerves or fuss in a high-pitched voice but showed a remarkable sense that Kitty had rarely seen in her mother.
Upon entering the foyer, Kitty spied that Mr.Bingley’s study door was open and the butler, Mr. Higgins, stood in the hall.
“I thought I told you to keep him away?” Jane’s screams filled the air as Kitty and her mother did not wait for a response from the butler before dashing up the stairs to the mistress suite.
The screams had traveled throughout the house because the door to her rooms was wide open with a pale, thunderstruck Mr. Bingley standing not three steps into the room. Mrs. Bennet practically pushed Mr. Bingley out of the way as she bustled to the bed where her sister Phillips and the housekeeper already saw to Jane.
“There, there, your Mama is here.”
“Fanny, what are you doing here?” Lynn Phillips, the elder sister of Mrs. Bennet, chastised her presence against Mrs. Bingley’s wishes.
“I might say the same for you, dear sister. This is my daughter. If anyone should have a right to be in this room–”
Jane cried out again bringing the simpered sympathies of both women.
Through clenched teeth, Jane issued her edict.
“Do not argue!”
She followed with another cry as the contractions refused to lessen.
Mrs. Bennet finally took stock of the situation and realized Jane’s midsection was entirely too large for one babe. Her eyes widened and her sister Phillips clasped her forearm in solidarity.
“Twins?”
Mrs. Phillips nodded.
Jane’s next scream brought a change to the situation and a flurry of activity. The housekeeper began to drape sheets over Jane’s knees and encourage her to prop them up. Mrs. Bennet began calling for hot water despite her sister’s insistence that such an order was already given and a basin of water stood there on top of the bureau.
“No, no, this is entirely not enough. If there are two babes to come, we need double of everything!”
“It is enough, sister. You are distressing, Jane. Besides, you never carried twins.”
“Neither did you, successfully!” Mrs. Bennet’s harshness stung Lynn Phillips’s sensibilities, but Francine Bennet immediately apologized as Jane screamed again.
Mrs. Phillips sniffed. “This is not the time of the place to discuss the past. Come, Jane, rally through! You are healthy and young. If anyone can do this, you can!”
Kitty’s eyes opened wide as she realized that the first babe was on the precipice of being born when she grabbed Mr. Bingley and pulled hard. “Mr. Bingley you must come with me. Jane would not like you to see her this way.”
“But my wife!”
“We have her under our care, Mr. Bingley.” Mrs. Bennet’s tone clashed with Jane’s yells as she, too, shooed Mr. Bingley away as though Jane’s inconvenience was a minor trifle. “Go with Kitty, and begin the letters. We shall fill in the details once we have them.”
For what he was worth, Mr. Higgins stood in the hall and eagerly assisted Kitty in once more removing Mr. Bingley from the birthing room. With the heavy oak door shut, Jane’s cries became muffled, and emotion began to overwhelm Mr. Bingley. His knees buckled and Mr. Higgins was the steady arm that caught the man before he collapsed in the hallway.
Catherine Bennet rolled her eyes and wished she had brought Lydia with her when she fetched Mama. If anyone could bring silliness and frivolity to the anxious business of birthing children, it was Lydia. Instead, Kitty would have to make do with her own abilities, and so she came up with an alternative plan.
“Bring him to my studio; we won’t keep him occupied in his study. But I can show him paintings and keep him calm, and perhaps I’ll even sketch as he will be an excellent subject for study.”
“Yes, Miss.” Mr. Higgins nodded as he agreed greatly with Ms. Catherine’s plan. The staff at Netherfield deeply respected the Bennet sisters and did not miss one bit the demands and tantrums of the Bingley set.
At first, Mr. Bingley could do little more than lay upon the couch and worry for his dear Jane. But as Kitty began to show him comedic sketches she had captured of the two of them, and a landscape she had painted, soon the screams of Jane Bingley which could not be heard in the separate wing where Kitty’s studio lay, relieved Mr. Bingley of some of his anxiousness. A few times, Mr. Bingley looked furtively at the door, but each time Kitty coaxed him into looking back at the art.
“My sister has the best attendants for her labor and delivery. I promise they all shall be well.” Kitty held Mr. Bingley’s hands with the love of a sibling.
“How can you be sure?”
Kitty shrugged her shoulders. “My mother is there and if anyone gets her way more than her, I have never met them.”
You’ve been reading The Trappings of Marriage
Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet are off to Gretna Green!
In Book 4 of the Moralities of Marriage series our dear couple have survived accidents, forced marriages, and meddling relatives. After a short stay at Pemberley where the future Mrs. Darcy comes to terms with the kind of wife Fitzwilliam Darcy will need on his arm, they take off for the border to marry over the anvil. When Mr. Darcy plans an idyllic wedding trip to his family estate just outside of Dumfries, the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Darcy discover the trappings of marriage have yet to relinquish their hold.
The Trappings of Marriage delivers the highs of the Darcys’ love and devotion in spite of the lows of scandal and destruction they left behind in England. Join author Elizabeth Ann West and the thousands of readers who read this book as it was posted chapter by chapter for a unique visit into the world of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
The Trappings of Marriage, Book 4 of the Moralities of Marriage
a Pride and Prejudice novel variation series
Release Date: August 26, 2017
394 pages in print.
+ 23 additional Pride & Prejudice variations are available at these fine retailers . . .
Keep reading more by clicking below!
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.
Oh how I loved Kitty’s comment regarding Mrs Bennet!!!!