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Richard wound an arm around his cousin’s shoulder. “Being tender-hearted is nothing to be ashamed of.”
Suddenly a child’s cry pierced the air, and both men turned to look at the door leading into the bedroom. In seemed only seconds before it flew open and Mrs. Wickham stuck her head inside the room. “It is a boy! A perfect little boy! My sister and the babe are both doing very well! I shall fetch you as soon as they are ready to greet you!”
Just as quickly as she appeared, Lydia disappeared, leaving both men speechless and still staring at the door. After a short pause, Richard slapped William on the back.
“Congratulations, Cousin! You are a father, and you have an heir!”
Suddenly, William’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank God! My prayers for Elizabeth and our son have been answered.”
Later
Once Mrs. Wickham opened the door to let William back into the room, he found himself in a trancelike fog as he walked towards the bed. How often have I dreamed of this very thing?
After the ordeal Elizabeth had suffered giving his son life, seeing her smiling lovingly at him whilst wearing a new muslin nightgown sprigged with blue flowers and a matching blue ribbon in her hair, William felt as though he had stepped into that dream. Only this time it was real.
Upon reaching the bed, he sat down on the edge and leaned over to give Elizabeth several soft kisses on her forehead, both her cheeks and her lips. When he settled back, she opened the blanket lying on her chest that was covering their son. Oddly, Bennet was not crying; instead, he was curiously examining his father with a pair of dark blue eyes. This caused William’s heart to squeeze with such indescribable joy that he prayed silently not to cry in front of those assembled.
“Elizabeth, he is so beautiful,” he whispered, running his hand over the soft black curls covering his son’s head. Chuckling, he added, “And it seems he has inherited our curly hair.”
“I am glad, for though I sometimes wish mine was not quite so curly, I adore your curls,” she replied.
Unwrapping the babe entirely so William could see all of Bennet, she exclaimed, “Look! His feet are perfect, as are his toes.” She counted all ten toes before laughing aloud. “And look at that glare. He looks exactly like you do whenever you are angry, or worried, or merely curious. Therefore, you cannot deny he is yours.”
“I-I have no wish to deny him,” William hurried to say before leaning over to place a kiss on his son’s forehead. “His eyes are the same shape as yours though they are blue, and his nose favours yours as well.”
“The shape of his eyes does favour mine, but in time the colour may turn out to be as light as yours. In any case, I cannot disagree about his nose. I understand, though, that noses are the feature most likely to change as a child grows.”
“I will be well pleased if he looks exactly like you when he is grown,” William replied.
“I can say the same thing about you, my darling.”
The baby suddenly began to cry and Lydia, who stood watching, said, “You will need to begin feeding him, Lizzy.” To William she said, “Hold the baby whilst I stuff more pillows behind Elizabeth’s back so that she may sit up better. That will make it easier to feed him.”
Soon afterwards, their son was suckling as though he had always done so. William sat back down on the edge of the bed to watch. “He certainly seems to have figured it out.”
“I am glad,” Elizabeth said, smiling. “Lydia, do you recall mother saying that teaching a baby to feed is difficult, and it is best to hire an experienced wet-nurse, if one can afford it?”
“I certainly do. There was no way I could afford one with Emma and, in hindsight, I am glad. I believe mothers should feed their own children. After all, that is how God intended it.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“Have you settled on a name?” Lydia asked.
Elizabeth beamed as she answered, “Yes. His name is Bennet George Fitzwilliam Darcy.”
“That is quite a name!” Lydia proclaimed.
“He will be called Bennet or Ben,” William replied.
“That is much better,” Lydia said, laughing. Then, she added, “As soon as Ben has finished eating, you should take him to the sitting room to meet all of those who have gathered there to meet him. I know that Colonel Fitzwilliam said he will not budge until he has seen him.”
“I shall gladly show him off as soon as he is done nursing,” William replied.
And it was not long afterwards that William kept his word.
Several days later
The sitting room
