Christmas at Pemberley (55 page)

“What will you do, Bingley?” Darcy asked. His friend had returned recently from a harrowing journey across the Atlantic where he tried to recover his sister.

Bingley heaved a deep sigh. “What can I do? Caroline is Mr. Buckley's wife. I've seen the marriage license. The man married her aboard ship and then a second time when they landed in Baltimore. He claims he wanted to alleviate my anxiety, but I question the legality of their first joining. It wasn't a reputable ship upon which they sailed to America.”

“Did not Miss Bingley realize her mistake when
Manneville
became
Buckley
?” Edward asked.

Bingley looked heartbroken. “Caroline had no choice: Buckley had thoroughly compromised her. Luckily, the man was not entirely without scruples. He does own a house in Charleston and a decent-sized estate south of there. But I don't think my new brother is totally solvent. He was most anxious to finally receive Caroline's dowry.”

“And you'll comply?” Darcy shook his head in disbelief.

“I cannot deny Caroline her inheritance. My father's will specifies that she'd receive it without my consent when she reaches the age of five and twenty. That's in another two months; whether I wish to delay it or not, I have no alternative.” Bingley took a deep drink from his wine. It was too early for any others to imbibe, but Bingley had suffered much from his sister's actions. “My new brother holds high ambitions. Maybe he and Caroline will do well together. I can only hope it will be so.”

Edward placed his teacup on the tray. “I wish I'd known Buckley had taken your sister's carriage, and that she was with him. We looked for a single man, not a couple.”

“Bingley and I assumed that was part of Buckley's motivation in convincing Miss Bingley to accompany him. He had no coach of his own nor did he know the best places from which to ship out. Miss Bingley served as a source of information and provided the perfect cover for the man's escape.”

“It's a shame, Bingley, that the man used your sister so poorly,” Edward remarked. “We were late in discovering Buckley's real name and his familial connection to Hesse.”

A light tap on the door ended their conversation. Elizabeth appeared, and Darcy's whole composure changed. “It's time to leave, Mr. Darcy.”

“We'll be there momentarily, my dear.”

She gave them a quick curtsy and departed.

“Mrs. Darcy glows,” Edward noted.

“She celebrates the third calling of your banns,” Darcy teased.

“I suspect it's more than that.” Edward said smugly. “But either way, we shouldn't tarry.”

“Miss Catherine,” Edward said as he touched Kitty's elbow. He'd expected her to be one of the first down for the church services. Her relationship with Winkler was common knowledge, and a summer wedding was expected. “May we have a few moments together?” He nodded toward an empty drawing room.

“Of course.” She sounded suspicious. “Is there something faulty, Sir?” she asked when he closed the door behind them.

“Nothing is out of kilter,” he assured. “I wanted to speak to you privately because the others don't know of the service you did me when I searched Buckley's room.”

“It was truly nothing,” she began, but his scowl cut off the words.

“Neither the Prince Regent nor I consider it to be nothing. Because you forestalled Buckley's return to his room, I managed to find Princess Charlotte's letters. Now, the princess is free to
accept Prince Leopold's attentions. This pleases the Regent very much. He's sent you a gift to show his approval.”

Kitty gasped, “A gift from the Prince. Surely, you must be mistaken!”

“No mistake, Miss Catherine.” He produced a small teardrop diamond on a gold chain. “Our Prince wished to send something grander, but I convinced our sovereign that you'd have trouble explaining anything larger to your family.”

“Oh, my!” She looked amazed. “It's exquisite. I've never owned anything half as fine.”

“The Prince wasn't satisfied with just the necklace,” Edward continued. “He's dowered you with two thousand pounds in your name. I'll deliver the papers when we have the opportunity to speak again privately.” He hooked the necklace about her neck. The teardrop fell between her breasts and was hidden from view.

“This is too much,” Kitty declared, but she fingered the diamond lovingly. “How might I thank the Prince?”

“I'll see to it for you. Possibly, you might write a note of gratitude.”

“Most certainly.” Kitty stood in complete shock.

Edward smiled happily. “My tale of how Buckley manhandled you and how you persevered entertained His Highness most thoroughly. So, there's one last thing.” Kitty's eyes widened in disbelief. “His Royal Majesty cannot bestow a title on you, but he thought that once you and Mr. Winkler joined that he might concoct a reason to give your new husband a knighthood. Sir Thorne and Lady Winkler sounds quite delicious, does it not? You'll have something even Mrs. Darcy doesn't have. The Prince will make arrangements to bring you to St. James.”

Kitty's mouth remained agape. “Just like Lady Lucas. I'll be Lady Winkler. Mama will be so pleased, and Lydia will be eaten up with envy.” She impulsively hugged Edward. “Oh, how do I thank you?”

“As before, your silence is required,” he cautioned. “For that, you'll reap the benefits.”

“Tell His Royal Highness that I can be as silent as a tomb.”

Mr. Winkler's voice rang clear. “Dearly beloved, forasmuch as all men are conceived and born in sin, and our Saviour Christ saith None can enter into the kingdom of God except he be regenerate and born anew of Water and of the Holy Ghost; I beseech you to call upon God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that of His bounteous mercy He will grant to
this Child
that which by nature
he
cannot have that
he
may be baptized with Water and the Holy Ghost, and received into Christ's holy Church, and be made
a living member
of the same.”

He had taken the boy in his arms at the beginning of the service, and his son had immediately fallen asleep. It was his role in tending to their child, and Darcy never tired of it. When Elizabeth could not quiet the boy, Darcy would cradle him and whisper words of protection—a vow of love—and young Master Darcy would go silent.

Now, he and Elizabeth presented the boy to the community. His child secured Pemberley's future, and he couldn't contain his happiness. Looking over at his wife, Darcy observed the same completeness—not so much that she had delivered a male heir for the estate, but that God had found her “worthy,” after all. Darcy had no doubts that Pemberley would know such happiness again and again.

The ceremony had progressed to the point where the boy's godparents would perform their duties. Requiring three godparents, Darcy had asked Edward, Bingley, and Georgiana to serve in his and Elizabeth's stead. His cousin and sister were to marry and would see to the boy, as would Bingley and Elizabeth's sister Jane. His son would never suffer. He would have the best of everything.

“Dearly beloved, ye have brought
this Child
here to be baptized; ye have prayed that our Lord Jesus Christ would vouchsafe to receive
him
, to release
him
from sin, to sanctify
him
with the Holy Ghost, to give
him
the kingdom of heaven, and everlasting life. Ye have heard also that our Lord Jesus Christ hath promised in His Gospel to grant all those things that ye have prayed for: which promise He, for his part, will most surely keep and perform. Wherefore after this promise made by Christ,
this Infant
must also faithfully, for
his
part, promise by you that are
his
sureties (until
he
come of age to take it upon
himself
) that
he
will renounce the devil and all his works, and constantly believe God's holy Word, and obediently keep His commandments. I demand therefore, Dost thou, in the name of this Child, renounce the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the sinful desires of the flesh, so that thou wilt not follow, nor be led by them?”

The three godparents responded together, “I renounce them all; and, by God's help, will endeavour not to follow, nor be led by them.”

Winkler continued, “Dost thou believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith, as contained in the Apostles' Creed?”

Together again, they answered, “I do.”

“Wilt thou be baptized in this Faith?”

“That is my desire.” Two strong male voices and his sister's sweetness answered.

“Wilt thou then obediently keep God's holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of thy life?”

“I will; by God's help.”

Darcy shifted the boy in his arms. He rolled back the blanket and traced the soft cheek with his fingertip. His heir wouldn't approve of what was to follow. The baptism would interrupt the boy's sleep.

“Almighty, ever-living God, whose most dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of our sins, did shed out of His
most precious side both water and blood; and gave commandment to His disciples, that they should go teach all nations, and baptize them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Regard, we beseech thee, the supplications of thy congregation; sanctify this Water to the mystical washing away of sin; and grant that
this Child
, now to be baptized therein, may receive the fullness of thy grace, and ever remain in the number of thy faithful children; through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Mr. Winkler's prompting led the congregation, and the onlookers responded, “Amen.”

Then the clergyman took the boy into his hands, and Darcy fought the urge to snatch the child away and take him home to Pemberley. He felt bereft of his son's warmth. “I charge you as this child's godparents to name the boy.”

As planned, Georgiana answered for them. “Bennet Fitzwilliam George Darcy.”

Over his wife's shoulder, Darcy could see a lone tear sliding across Mr. Bennet's wrinkled cheek. Darcy thought of his own dear father's countenance and imagined the pure joy that would have been displayed upon his parents' faces at this moment. Elizabeth's father had escorted Georgiana and Kitty to Pemberley after Anne's wedding. Besides wishing to see Elizabeth safely delivered of her child, Mr. Bennet had wanted to escape the chaos surrounding the preparations for Mary's nuptials. Therefore, when Darcy and Elizabeth could not attend Anne's wedding, Mr. Bennet had volunteered to see Georgiana and Kitty to Pemberley from Kent.

Keeping with the Darcy family tradition, early on, he and Elizabeth had agreed to bestow their firstborn son with his mother's family surname. He was
Fitzwilliam Darcy
because Lady Anne was a
Fitzwilliam
. Young
Bennet
would maintain the tradition. Elizabeth's family name would live on after her father's passing.

Repeating the name, Winkler officially certified it. “Bennet Fitzwilliam George Darcy, I baptize thee in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” And the clergyman immersed
the child in the water, and the congregation said the requisite “Amen,” over the boy's verbal protests of being jarred awake.

Elizabeth took young Bennet from Winkler and quickly wrapped him in a large thick cloth, which Georgiana handed her. “I have you,” she whispered to the boy and pulled him closer. “You are God's child, now.” She kissed the dark curls on the boy's head, and he quieted immediately.

Darcy looked on in satisfaction as Winkler recited the next passage from
The Book of Common Prayer
. “We receive this Child into the Congregation of Christ's flock, and do sign him with the sign of the Cross. In token hereafter he shall not be ashamed to confess the Faith of Christ crucified, and manfully to fight under his banner against sin, the world, and the devil, and to continue Christ's faithful soldier and servant unto his life's end.”