“Randy and Lydia are sending her to Ole’ Miss in Oxford, Mississippi. Liddy has decided to study counseling. She wants to work with young people, hopefully to help them avoid the pitfalls in life that she’s experienced,” Robert said. “Liddy’s grown up through all of this, and I believe she has become a better person. She told Tana the only unselfish thing she’s ever done was to have Linda and give her to us. I can’t tell you what this little girl means to me. I never thought we’d have a child after Tana’s cancer, but now we have Linda, and what a joy she is!” The little girl giggled and wiggled in his arms.
“I know what you mean, Robert. I know what you mean,” Fitzwilliam said, casting a meaningful glance at his own daughter.
While the men continued to talk, Jane gasped with shock when she finally realized what her sister had done. “Lizzy, you cut your hair…you cut your hair!”
Elizabeth swallowed hard. “Jane, it will grow again. I know it’s a shock, but it will grow.”
“It’s just that you’ve never had short hair. Although mid-back isn’t short, it is for you.”
As they went into the house, Tana addressed Elizabeth. “Lizzy, your children are beautiful. It’s for certain that you and Fitzwilliam make beautiful babies.”
“They are cute, but I’m not sure it’s because of me. I think they both favor their father.”
“No, Lizzy, Emily looks just like your baby pictures. She will be beautiful, just like her mother,” Tana said as she gazed at her niece and nephew’s wrinkled faces while they lay sleeping in their carriers.
Once in the house, Jane fixed tea while the men went to the study for brandy, leaving the twins and Linda with the ladies.
“Lizzy, may I have a private word with you?”
“Of course, Jane. What do you want?” Lizzy looked at her sister, knowing full well what was coming.
“Excuse us, Tana, while I speak with my sister.”
“Of course. I’ll stay here and watch the babies. You go right ahead. They’ll be fine.”
Leaving Tana in the kitchen, the sisters went to the sitting room. As they entered, Jane closed the door and turned to face her sister. “Lizzy, why didn’t you contact me? I’ve been worried sick and praying constantly, wondering if I would ever see my sister again. Why didn’t you tell me what was happening to you? We have always been close. And why did Celia lie to me when I called her?”
Elizabeth hesitated as tears began to fill her eyes.
“Jane, I couldn’t…I couldn’t tell you, with you being married to Charles, and Charles being Fitzwilliam’s best friend. I was afraid at the time. I know now that it was all wrong, but back then I felt I was doing the right thing. I didn’t want to come between you and Charles by asking you to keep a secret from him, and Jane, I know it would have because I know you. I was protecting you as much as I was protecting myself. As for Celia, well, that part I really hate because she was only doing what I had asked her to do. Jane, don’t hold it against her, please. It was my fault, and I feel terrible about it. Please, can you forgive me?” Elizabeth pleaded.
“Lizzy, I’m sorry you felt that way, but you’re probably right. If you had asked me, I would’ve tried to keep your secret, and it would’ve caused problems. I do understand. But Lizzy, don’t you ever do anything like this again. I’ve already forgiven both you and Celia, but I promise you, I will skin you alive if you ever pull something like this again. You and Celia both! Do you understand me, Lizzy?” Jane said with a very forgiving smile as she hugged her sister.
Elizabeth whispered her thanks to Jane as the sisters held one another her tight. With a gentle pat on the back, Jane released her. Taking her sister’s hands between her own, she squeezed Elizabeth’s fingers gently. “Lizzy, I have an announcement of my own,” she said. “You are going to be an aunt in September.”
“Jane, are you really expecting?”
Jane nodded.
Elizabeth grabbed her sister. “I’m so happy for you and Charles. Does Fitzwilliam know yet?”
About that time they heard the men laughing and Fitzwilliam congratulating Charles as they made their way toward the kitchen. Jane looked at Elizabeth and smiled.
The three couples talked for hours before deciding to go out for dinner. They relived old times, and Fitzwilliam questioned Charles about the classics department and the students. Elizabeth saw a look of sadness come over his features as Charles filled him in on all that had happened during the academic year. Elizabeth felt terrible for him. She knew his future was fixed, and it was not the one he’d wanted.
~*~
That evening, after dinner, the Darcys took the twins for a walk around the corner to see the old Harwell house. Fitzwilliam laughed and talked to Alex and Emily while he showed them the vacant house, telling them they had come into being right there in that very house. As he glanced over at their mother and smiled, he told them how happy Mum and Dad had been while living there.
Elizabeth smiled in amusement. He certainly made a good father, just as she had always believed he would. …He talks to Alex and Emily as if they were grown and can understand him. I’m so sorry that so much came between us…he missed their birth…but he’ll be there next time. …What? Am I thinking of the next birth? She chuckled to herself.
~*~
The next day, the Darcys drove to Longbourn Farm. When they pulled into Longbourn proper, everyone poured out to greet them.
“Lizzy, Fitzwilliam, it’s so good to see you.” Lori pulled first Lizzy and then Fitzwilliam into a hug.
“It’s good to be home, but where are Bette and Florence?” Elizabeth asked. “I thought they’d be here.”
“The two of them are such rascals.” Henry laughed. “They won a trip to Aruba. They won’t be back for two weeks!”
“Well, I’m happy for them,” Elizabeth said with a soft laugh, “but I’m sorry I won’t be able to see them, especially since I have two little someones for them and you all to meet.” Elizabeth reached into the car for Emily while Fitzwilliam reached for Alex. “Meet your new niece and nephew,” she said, presenting the children. “This is Alex and this is Emily.”
“Niños pequeños. Lizzy, your bebés are beautiful! And you look so well. And Fitzwilliam, you are looking well, too.”
“Thank you, Grace. I am well. In fact, I’m better than I’ve been in some time,” Fitzwilliam said, looking off into the distance of the farm.
Daniel had been standing off to the side when they drove in and got out of the car. After the others had greeted the Darcys, he approached his sister.
“Lizzy, I’ve been so worried about you that I could hardly study. Jane told me what happened, but don’t ever do anything like this again.” Daniel hugged his sister, his eyes glistening. He was the most tender-hearted of all the Bennetts, and his look broke her heart. Elizabeth pulled her little brother into another hug, holding onto him, fighting back the tears. Fitzwilliam approached them, putting a hand on both brother and sister. Then he left them to themselves as he walked around to the back of the house.
Grace and Lori took the twins inside, leaving Elizabeth with Daniel, but before long, they followed the others into the house, walking hand in hand. Elizabeth was grateful no one mentioned her hair, but it was clear by the initial shock on their faces that they all had noticed it.
~*~
As the others went into the house, Fitzwilliam lingered and walked towards the barnyard. Although he had only spent a brief time on this farm, he knew he would miss it. He had come to realize that the Cumberland Plateau was every bit as beautiful as his home county in Northern England. He could understand why the Scots-Irish and English had settled here. If Fitzwilliam couldn’t be in Derbyshire, here is where he would want to be, too. He knew his wife would miss her home. He only hoped that he could make it up to her with Pemberley.
Thinking of Pemberley, his mind drifted to the spring calving at Longbourn last March. This year’s calves were playing in the barnyard. Last spring, he had enjoyed picking up the
newborn calves and bringing them to the barn in the first few weeks of their lives. Had things been different, he had planned to help with the spring planting and autumn harvest, but as fate had it, his life had taken a different course.
Awakened out of his thoughts as Elizabeth approached, he turned and smiled as she wrapped her arm around him. Walking her to the back porch, he stopped long enough to reach down and rub the ears of one of the old hound dogs lying by the steps.
Sitting at the kitchen table having tea, they told the story of what had happened. Elizabeth deliberately left out many details. They were personal, for Fitzwilliam and her only.
The next few days flew by as they rode out over the farm to the cove, where they strolled through the woods, then around to the old cabin, which they wanted to see one last time. Jane and Charles made plans to see them in England at Christmas, and Fitzwilliam said they would return to the Cumberland Plateau at a future date.
There remained one final matter of business yet to be completed. Bingley and Darcy took their wives to Longbourn Cemetery to view the small stone plaque they had ordered to be placed next to John and Rebecca’s headstone. It read:
Promise fulfilled January 23, 2007 with the marriages
Of
Fitzwilliam A. Darcy and Elizabeth R. Bennett
And
Charles R. Bingley and Emily J. Bennett
As the couples stood in a far corner of the Longbourn Cemetery, the coo of a mourning dove called in the distance. Darcy looked up and saw a pair of white doves perched on a low-hanging laurel bough, overlooking the scene before them. White doves were no longer unusual to him. In fact, they were like old friends. He smiled and gave a gentle nod. As if in recognition, the two birds took flight and cooed once more as they passed over the staring couples, dropping a stem of flowers onto the graves of John and Rebecca.
“Look, Fitzwilliam,” Elizabeth pointed, “it’s that pair of albino mourning doves we saw over a year ago. One of them dropped this sprig of wild mountain laurel,” she said as she stooped to pick it up.
Jane took the twig from Elizabeth’s hand. “It’s unusual, to be sure. Mountain laurel doesn’t bloom for another month. Only rarely does it bloom earlier.” Jane glanced at Charles. “Whatever is bound on earth is bound in the heavens. When an oath is spoken, it is fixed.” She turned to her sister and brother-in-law. “There is an old Cherokee legend in these mountains called the Legend of the Snow White Dove. It goes like this: When there is something left unresolved, a pair of pure white doves will appear until whatever is left undone is accomplished. When the doves have completed their purpose, the circle is said to be complete, and they drop a flower. That’s what these birds have done.” Jane glanced at the graves and then at the laurel in her hand. “They’ve completed the circle. Rest in peace, John and Rebecca.”
“Strange indeed,” Charles said as he looked on. “I would have never dreamt it.”
“All my life I’ve heard of it, but it’s just an old fable, isn’t it? Surely there is no truth to such a thing. I don’t believe in myths and superstition.”
“Lizzy, you have the second sight, too. All in the female line do.”
“No, Jane, you’re mistaken. This is not real.” Elizabeth glanced up at her husband, “What do you make of it?”
“I’ve seen it before,” Fitzwilliam said in a calm voice as he caressed his family ring. “It happened similar to what you’ve seen here. A red rose, pressed and dried, hangs between my parents’ portraits at Darcy House. Remind me later, and I’ll tell you about it.” He turned to his wife and said with a sigh, “Let’s go home, Mrs. Darcy.”
“Yes… let’s go home.”
Elizabeth nodded and glanced back at the grove of trees near the edge of the churchyard. She could have sworn she heard voices whispering in the pines as the wind rustled their branches. It was the sound of a man and a woman softly speaking, mixed with gentle inflections of laughter. She shook her head. It couldn’t be real. It must be her imagination. She turned back to Fitzwilliam and got into the car.
Sitting there next to her husband, a strange euphoric feeling swept over her. Perhaps she was wrong and maybe Aunt Cordy was right. As she left Tennessee for Charleston and her new life in England, another thought occurred to her. Maybe… just maybe Divine Providence or Fate somehow did rule her destiny. She turned and looked back at the churchyard one last time. With a soft smile and a hushed voice, she said her goodbyes to her childhood home—to John and Rebecca—and the only life she’d ever known.
~*~
In one week’s time, the Darcys boarded Pemberley One for the U.K. With Elizabeth and the twins secured in the master suite, Fitzwilliam took a seat next to David. From the look on his brother’s face, David knew he wanted to talk, but his feelings were still too raw. Nevertheless, he decided he would endure the conversation.
Fitzwilliam cleared his throat. “David, if you feel anything close to what I think you do, don’t let it go. Go after her. If you don’t, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Think of our uncle.”
“I can’t forgive her,” he said with a sigh. “She used me—lied to me, and that is unforgivable.”
“But she loves you,” Fitzwilliam pressed.
“She’ll get over it.”
“No, David, I don’t think she will.”
“Then that is her misfortune,” David bit back, letting his brother know this conversation was over.
Fitzwilliam sighed and shook his head. “Don’t let the infamous Darcy pride cost you what it has cost so many of us. Don’t hold her to a standard not even you can meet. You know what you have to do.”
David nodded and then returned to his reading, but his mind was frozen. The words on the page seemed to sit there, unabsorbed as Cecilia’s words echoed through his thoughts.
…There is one thing I want you to know. No matter what you hear…no matter what I do…you’re the only man I have ever loved—the only one I ever will love—but someday you’re going to leave me.
Looking up from the pages, he shook his head and rubbed his brow, trying to dispel those thoughts. He sighed. …Though I love her, she can’t be trusted. A marriage has to be built on trust…love it not enough…not for me.
Chapter Sixty-one
…She finally understood the man who loved her…
Getting through customs and the airport with two small screaming babies and all the baggage the Darcys brought with them was no small endeavor. Weary and hungry by the time they reached Darcy House, Elizabeth thought only of lunch and a comfortable bed, but when the estate came into view, she quickly revived and sat up straight.
The grounds were enclosed by a large rock wall covered in English Ivy, giving wonder at what might lay beyond it. As the massive iron gates opened, what she saw whisked away anything she might’ve imagined. A well-manicured lawn flanked both sides of a yellow brick drive leading to the house. In front of the home, a Greek statue of Aphrodite, balancing an urn on her shoulder, rose up out of a massive stone fountain, spilling water into the pool below. Gardens of spring flowers in beautiful hues of reds, yellows, purples, and blues contrasted vividly against the vibrant green lawn. And to the right of the driveway climbed a maze of topiary hedges clipped in the fashion of exotic animals.
Then there was the house! Constructed of white stone, it was box-shaped, with two large wings extending forward. Large white columns spread across the breadth of the portico. Its beauty and size rendered her speechless. On the first level, ornate stained glass windows adorned the alabaster stone while small balconies dotted the large windows on the second level. Surely, Elizabeth thought, they must lead to bedrooms. And on the third, there was yet another row of windows, albeit not as elaborate as the previous floors, but beautiful all the same.
“Fitzwilliam, it’s so big and magnificent!” Elizabeth exclaimed.
He laughed. “It’s over two hundred and fifty years old and has been kept up all these years. Do you like it?”
“Yes!”
was all she could say.
“Well, I’m glad you do, because it belongs to you, love—you and me, that is. Don’t be intimidated. I’ll show you around after we’ve eaten and rested.”
“I’ll never get used to such a large house. It’s so imposing. How will I ever take care of it?!”
“Love, that’s what we hire servants for, and yes, you will get used to it. Just you wait and see.”
As the car rolled to a stop, servants came out and quickly took control of unloading the car.
Entering the house, Elizabeth stood rooted to the floor as she looked around. If she’d thought the outside was something, the inside was really something! The high vaulted ceilings were painted in a tapestry of murals—cherubs, Greek gods, and mortal men and women sitting at a banquet table. Marble floors in black and white contrasted against the rich colors of the walls and furnishings. A massive staircase ascended to the second floor with a large balcony overlooking the entryway below. It might have been a scene from Twelve Oaks out of Gone with the Wind, she thought, or perhaps from one of the famous antebellum mansions in the Deep South. To be sure, Elizabeth had seen grand houses, but none so luxurious as this! It was magnificent—and it belonged to her.
Elizabeth had had no idea of the magnitude of her husband’s wealth. Nor had she understood him until this moment. No wonder his family thought of her as commonplace, unequal to them. Compared to him, in terms of wealth and status, she was. If she’d only known before what she did now, she would’ve understood the thin line he walked. The love she felt for him increased at that moment—the moment she finally understood the man who loved her.
Georgiana and two servants quickly came around the corner. Kissing his sister’s cheek, Fitzwilliam greeted her. “Georgiana, meet Alex and Emily.”
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