Beginning, Previous Section, Section IV
Jump to new as of March 12, 2003
Jump to new as of March 18, 2003
Jump to new as of March 20, 2003
Posted on Monday, 3 March, 2003
The phone rang early the next morning, and Richard rolled over and answered the extension next to his bed.
"Fitzwilliam," he said, no longer giving the inn's name. "Mark! How goes everything? The license, the adoption, the transfer of sale..." He listened for a moment and then sat straight up in bed. "What? He didn't! He wouldn't! That, that, slimeball!"
Diana came in at that moment with the baby. "Who's a slimeball?"
"What? Oh, yeah, that's great. Heh heh heh. What? No, I don't think so... Yes, I do believe Diana and I would be willing to give witness to - what? Oh, no, no, no, I am not subjecting Diana to that sorry excuse for a human being ever again!"
Diana glowed with pleasure at his words. She was sure he was talking about Wickham, but the instinct to protect her was there.
"Well, if I must, I must. That means another trip to Wethersford... Shanti? If you think it would help," he replied and gave Diana a thumbs-up sign in answer to her grin. "I'll let her drive."
He hung up after another quick conversation and then patted the bed, inviting Diana and Sabrina to join him, which they promptly did.
"So! I take it we are going to nab ourselves a bad guy? He gives me the creeps!" Diana shuddered and Richard put an arm around her and pulled her and the baby to his chest.
"I don't like this, but it's the only way we are going to get this baby... and we can put him away for even longer than he already is. I'm all for that."
"Me, too. Richard?"
"Hmmm?"
"Does Mark want me to be wired? It's not the first time I've done this. Most of my consulting is passive. You know, check the premises and then advise on the best systems needed for each facility. However, I've been known to hire guards to cover public events, and I've been asked by a private investigator friend to wear a wire and help collect information. I'm not very proud of that - makes me feel awful - but when it is necessary..."
"What are you trying to say, sweetheart?"
"I'm saying I'll do whatever it takes to keep this jerk away from our daughter for the rest of our lives."
"I like a woman with attitude!"
"I know. That's why you're marrying me!"
"Diana! Roses or daisies?" Georgie wanted to know as soon as Diana entered the kitchen, the baby strapped to her chest.
"Whichever is easier to obtain. In another hundred years no one is going to know. Hell, no one is going to remember next week what flowers I had at my wedding!"
"Oh. OK, if you don't mind then... Roses it is," Georgie said brightly. "Now, what color is your dress."
"What dress?"
"Your wedding dress, silly!" Jane said, coming into the room with three children in tow. "But she doesn't know yet, Georgie, because we're just now going shopping. What do you think of periwinkle blue?"
"Looks great on Pipsqueak," Shanti insisted, walking in the back door. "Anything but white - too stark for her complexion. Those bridesmaids dresses, though, make those darker."
"Bridesmaids?" Diana was startled. "Who had said anything about bridesmaids?"
"Yep, we're having those, too, but don't you worry about a thing. Ready to go shopping?" Jane replied.
"I can't! I have to go back to Wethersford today and...you know... and Shanti has to come, too. Mark said so."
"He did?" Shanti lowered her gaze. Diana could only stare at her friend. "What else did he say?"
"He said 'Shanti, will you marry me?'" Diana teased, to be rewarded by a big smile.
"He did?"
"Nope. Not today. Not to me, at any rate. Sorry, Amazon. Better luck next time."
"Ready to go?" Richard asked, popping his head in the back door. "Shanti coming?"
"After I take this girl out and kick her -"
"Shanti!" Jane fussed. "There are children present!"
Diana repeated her teasing words to Richard and he laughed. "Wait a minute, Shanti." He took the baby from Diana. "Now you can kick her -"
"Richard!" Jane yelled this time.
Diana sighed. "Will you go shopping with me tomorrow morning, Jane?"
"It will have to be tomorrow morning," Georgie insisted. "There is too much planned for the rest of the weekend, otherwise. Keep in touch on your phone, Shanti," she insisted. "I might have a few more questions..."
"Roger that!" Shanti agreed before running out of the room to change her clothes.
"Didn't she just get dressed?" Georgie asked.
"Possibly, but that was before she heard she was going to see Mark," Diana said with a smirk. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen..."
"Richard, everything set on your end?" Georgie asked. "Friday dinner for twenty-five sound OK to you?"
"Fine," Richard calmly replied.
"Twenty-five?" Diana cried. "I figured on that many for the wedding!"
"Oh, there will be more than that for the wedding. I have the guest list up to over two hundred at this point, have already called a lot of people, and everyone is coming."
What?" Diana was flabbergasted, but Richard seemed unconcerned.
"You know best, cuz," was his only reply.
"In this instance," Georgie replied, shooting a smug glance at Diana, "I believe I do."
The trip to Wethersford was uneventful. They dropped the baby off with Elizabeth and then Shanti headed the inn's van north toward the prison.
Once inside, however, Diana was relieved not to be wired. She noticed how Mark Robinson barely gave Shanti a glance, only asked if she would consent to be a witness, with several other people, in the adjacent room while Diana was admitted to Wickham's presence. One of the witnesses, it appeared, was that man's now former attorney, who made a point of telling Mark she was glad to help keep that idiot in jail for a very long time.
Richard watched from the two-way mirror as Diana nervously entered the next room. It was apparent to him - and Shanti, who amused herself by making rude hand gestures at the inmate - that she was agitated, and he would have taken her place gladly if he could.
Wickham, damn him, had asked specifically for Diana.
"Well, if it isn't Fitzwilliam's little lady," he said once Diana was fully in the room. The paperwork she needed signed was clutched in one hand.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
"I don't need to. I saw you two yesterday. Rather cozy moment," he sneered. "As if I would let my dear child go to that family."
Don't antagonize him, Diana told herself calmly. Get the paper signed and get the hell out. She thought of how Richard, behind the mirror, had probably reacted to that taunt, and smiled.
"Think it's funny, do you?"
"Well, yes, in a way," Diana told him with a little smile. "If it makes you feel any better, he probably hates you as much as you hate him." She wasn't sure about that, but it seemed to appease him. "Besides," she continued, "I was being cozy with Richard in order to get this baby. When you sign the papers, I'm going to pack up and head back to New Jersey with her, but without him. He's just a means to an end." Forgive me, Richard, for that lie, she prayed.
He seemed to have taken the bait. "Well, well, well, so you're into using the Fitzwilliams and Darcys as much as I am. I like you, pretty lady. I'm going to give you that baby... but it will cost you."
"Oh? How much were you thinking of charging." Come on, now, make me an offer...
"I want $25,000 in exchange for signing that baby over to you."
Diana slowly nodded, but only because she knew there would be no repercussions on her end. Didn't he realize he was doing something illegal? "Sign the paper," she implored.
He did, and she breathed a sigh of relief. And ran from the room, the release clutched in her fist once more.
Once in the hallway, she was passed by several people intent on taking care of Wickham - for a long time, she hoped - and then she burst into tears.
In the other room, Richard watched anxiously as Diana was admitted to Wickham's presence. She was nervous, and they all knew it, even the prisoner.
"Well, if it isn't Fitzwilliam's little lady," he heard Wickham say snidely. Diana ventured in a little further, papers clenched on one fist.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
"I don't need to. I saw you two yesterday. Rather cozy moment," he sneered. "As if I would let my dear child go to that family."
Richard almost passed out. Don't antagonize him, he prayed. Get the paper signed and get the hell out.
To his amazement, Diana smiled.
"Think it's funny, do you?"
"Well, yes, in a way," Diana replied. "If it makes you feel any better, he probably hates you as much as you hate him. Besides, I was being cozy with Richard in order to get this baby. When you sign the papers, I'm going to pack up and head back to New Jersey with her, but without him. He's just a means to an end."
Richard tensed, but felt Shanti's hand on his arm, her dark eyes brimming with compassion. "She would say just about anything to get that baby for you, Studmuffin, and you know it."
Richard knew it, and nodded. Wickham took the bait and he breathed a sigh of relief. Once the paper was signed and Diana was out of the room, he went to find her. She was seated on a bench in the hallway, in tears, and he gathered her into his arms and held her.
"Shhhh! You did what you had to do," he told her. "You had to do it."
"I know," she wailed, "but the things I had to say to get her! Can you ever forgive me? I didn't mean a thing!"
"I know, sweetheart, I know," he soothed. "But we got our baby, didn't we?"
"Yeah," she agreed with a tiny smile. "We got our baby. Richard, if we hadn't been able to keep Sabrina, would you still marry me?"
"Diana!" He couldn't believe she could ask such a thing, not after all this time. He tipped her tear-streaked face up to his. "I want to marry you, Diana, not because of the baby - any baby - but because I love you. Please say you love me and will marry me on Saturday?"
"I do," she simply said.
"Hey!" Shanti called. "You OK?"
"Yeah. What next?"
Mark Robinson came up behind Shanti and took her hand. "Shanti has to stay for awhile, but I will be glad to bring her home. Why don't you two go on ahead."
Diana looked from Shanti to Mark and back again, then she looked at Richard and gave him a wicked smile. "I don't think Richard will mind driving himself home this once."
Richard put in a call to Mrs. Hill on their way home and made arrangements to drop off the paper, since Mark looked as if he was going to be busy for the rest of the day. If the man was smart, he was going to be busy well into the night.
Driving through Hartford, Richard asked Diana if she was hungry, and when she replied in the affirmative, took her to a little cafe on a street teeming with shops. The cafe, coincidentally in Diana's mind, was situated next to a bridal shop, and after a light lunch, Richard casually suggested they go inside.
The walls were covered with frothy white gowns, all very frilly and feminine and not exactly her cup of tea. She said so to Richard, who promptly hailed a salesperson.
"We're looking for something a little more simple, less frilly and in a color, perhaps a very pale buttercream?"
The salesperson nodded and excused herself for a moment. When she came back, it was with two gowns, one in very pale yellow, the other in a dove gray.
"These are both considered mother-of-the-bride dresses, but they are chic enough for a bride," she told them. Leading Diana into a dressing room, she told her to let her know if she needed help, and left Diana to change.
The gray dress was too stark and matronly, and both she and Richard rejected it immediately, but the yellow dress, a calf-length, silky sheath that did not make her look too short, was just right.
The salesperson asked if she wanted a veil, and Diana shook her head. Richard suggested a wreath of silk flowers with a piece of tulle hanging from it, and when one was placed on her head, he declared it perfect, and she did not object.
She went to change back into her street clothes, but Richard stayed her in front of the three-way mirror with a light hand.
"You know, you don't look very engaged to me, Diana Forrester-almost-Fitzwilliam."
"Perhaps if I sported that just-kissed look, it would be more believable," she teased.
"I'll get to that in a minute. No, I was thinking of something a bit more material."
"Oh?"
Richard pulled a small item out of his pocket and took Diana's left hand in his. "I'm afraid you gave me rather short notice about the wedding, my dear, so I just got this back from the jeweler yesterday afternoon. It was my mother's, and she asked me to give it to the woman I chose to live the rest of my life with, when the time came. That time is now." He slipped a one-carat diamond solitaire on her ring finger. It was a perfect fit, and he bent down and gave her a lingering kiss.
The few other people in the shop all sighed as one. Diana blushed and hurried off to change her clothes. When she returned to the showroom, Richard was talking to someone on his cell phone while the saleslady carefully wrapped up her dress and veil.
"You can take her shopping for the shoes," Richard said into his phone. "Humor me, Jane. If I want to help shop for her dress, I will. So there. Bye." Diana giggled when he actually stuck his tongue out at his phone.
"Jane upset about not getting to help pick out the dress? She can help me pick out the lingerie to go underneath then," she teased. Richard pouted.
"I knew I should have let Jane help you choose the dress. Come on, we have to drop off the paper."
"But Richard, the dress...I need to pay for..."
"Nope. All taken care of."
Diana gave him a militant glare.
"Humor me, Diana," was all he said as he picked up their purchases and propelled her out the door.
Mark and Shanti had finished their business at the state penitentiary, and, much relieved that Wickham was being put away even longer than he already was, they headed home.
Like Richard and Diana, they found themselves stopping in Hartford to eat, but where the earlier couple had chosen a small cafe, Mark took Shanti to an elegant French restaurant.
"But I'm not dressed for a place like this," she protested, indicating the plain, slim skirt and sweater set she wore.
"Of course you are! You're the most elegant creature in the room," he insisted, waving his hand to encompass the entire restaurant.
The waiter took orders for their drinks and Shanti found herself staring at Mark, a loss for words.
"Cat got your tongue?" he gently queried.
"I..." She broke off her stare and looked down, toying with her fork.
"Shanti, about my proposal..."
The waiter returned at that moment with two glasses of sweetened iced tea, took their food order and left. Mark reached over and took one of her hands.
"About my proposals, Shanti, I want you to know I don't intend to..."
The waiter was back with bread and butter.
"You were saying?" Shanti asked when the man retreated once more. "You don't what about your proposals?"
"I won't be asking you again."
"What?"
"You heard me."
"But, I..."
"Yes?"
"But, I wanted to..."
Mark tried not to laugh. "Shanti, I never said this was not meant to be. I just said I would not be asking you again. Think about that." He buttered a roll and turned the conversation to other topics.
Posted on Monday, March 10, 2003
"Rise and shine!" Diana rolled over and groaned. If that man thought he was going to say stuff like this every morning she was going to... She was going to what? Take him out and shoot him? Hell, no! She contemplated a lifetime of mornings with Richard and decided there were other, more productive, things they could be doing. Well, the wait was almost over.
Still, the wedding hadn't happened yet. Rolling back over, she covered her head with her pillow, but that didn't work, because the baby had started to cry in the other room. The other room? Really, that man was going to spoil her. And Sabrina!
Finally deciding there was too much to do to lay in bed forever, she got up, put on a robe and followed her nose to the tiny apartment kitchen, where coffee was brewing, a bottle was warming and Richard was trying to soothe a hungry infant.
There wasn't much room, so he was forced to pull Diana into a hug as they all waited for liquid nourishment, but she didn't mind. The baby did, however, and wailed even louder. Richard groaned.
"I don't think she's going to be a morning person. Must be picking up on your 'I-hate-daylight' vibes..."
"Good. When Jane comes to take me shopping, you can babysit," she told him smugly.
"Now wait a minute!" he protested, even as he tested the bottle.
"Ah, ah, ah, Dad. It will be so much easier for her to stay with you while you cook and get ready for tonight than it will be for me to schlep about Meryton with a baby in tow."
"Good point." He kissed her soundly and took the baby and bottle back into the bedroom. She followed shortly with the coffee, and sat there and watched the other two make fools of themselves, as usual. Especially Richard. "Is it going to always be like this?" she wanted to know. "The three of us, snuggling in bed every morning?"
"As much as possible," Richard promised.
It was the shopping trip from hell.
At first, when Jane vetoed every single pair of shoes in existence, Diana thought she was just being picky, but when Jane dawdled over her cappuccino and then lunch, Diana was certain she was keeping her away from home for some reason. That was confirmed when, later, Diana pulled Jane back into the first shoe shop of the day, pointed to a pair of shoes she had already tried on, and Jane approved.
She was even more suspicious when she saw all the cars parked outside of Georgie's house. When Jane suggested they go in the inn for a cool drink instead of going straight to the apartment, Diana was glad she had worn something nice to go shopping in.
"Surprise!" everyone yelled as they entered the darkened dining room. Georgie was first, grabbing Diana and leading her over to a place of honor. Shanti pulled her into a bone-cracking body crush on the way, and when she was seated, Bunny and Kimi came out of hiding somewhere behind her chair and gave her a group hug.
"Bunny! Kimi!" she cried. And then she really cried. This was the best surprise anyone ever - "Alyson!" Her cousin was there, too, and Diana, who never shed tears, cried like a baby until Elizabeth herded her into the kitchen and gave her over to Richard.
"Sensory overload," she told him. "Calm her down and I'll send her friends and family in small groups." She grabbed some frappe with which to refill the punch bowl and headed back into the dining room.
Richard held Diana and talked softly to her for a few minutes, and then Alyson came in carrying Sabrina and the two cried together, Diana still holding onto Richard. "I'm so glad you're here! Where is the rest of the family?"
"Next door at Camp Alex," Alyson replied without batting an eye. "The man is good with kids. So is this one," she said approvingly of Richard. "I think you had better keep him."
"She doesn't have a choice," Richard replied.
After Alyson held her, the baby was passed to Kimi and then Bunny as they chatted excitedly about how Shanti had called them late Tuesday night and spread the word.
"Tuesday!" Diana exclaimed. "What did she do? Run into the bathroom at the slumber party and call on her cell?" The look on Kimi's face said she had done exactly that.
"Well! Remind me to tell you both about this man who has the hots for our Shanti..."
"Mark Robinson!" the two exclaimed. "We heard all about him from Elizabeth and Georgie!" Bunny added. "I wonder if he will propose again?"
"I don't know," Diana admitted. "She has been really close-mouthed about the entire thing. We'll just have to wait and see."
"Where are you going on your honeymoon?" Kimi asked.
Diana looked up at Richard, who just shrugged. "I thought that was your part of the plan," he teased.
"What? Unh uh, Studmuffin! You said you were going to..." She saw the smirks on her friends' faces and let it go. "Give me my daughter," she told Bunny. "You've gone over the baby-holding limit!"
Bunny just laughed. "I'm taking this one home with me."
"Oh, no!" Kimi protested. "She's going back to Hawaii with me!"
"Wrong!" Richard said. "She stays here! I mean that - take Diana back into the shower and leave the baby here." The three women grumbled, but Sabrina stayed in the kitchen while Kimi and Bunny escorted Diana back into the dining room.
An hour of games, food and presents followed, and while Diana showed Bunny, Kimi and Alyson to their rooms, Georgie and Elizabeth put the presents on display in the parlor. Then it was back downstairs for Diana and her guests, who were helping set up for the rehearsal dinner. Elizabeth went to take a nap, and Georgie and Jane went next door to help Alex and his mom with all the kids.
After running quickly through the ceremony planned for the next morning, the inn bustled with activity as everyone readied themselves for dinner.
Jane and Charles got to know Alyson and her husband as they watched their three children play with Alyson's brood and the twins; Dr. Bennet and Will kept Elizabeth and Sabrina company at one of the tables; and Shanti, Kimi and Bunny had Georgie and Alex entertained with Army stories centered around Richard and Diana. Shanti's tales, especially, illustrated for Georgie just how far back the relationship between the bride and groom seemed to reach.
Richard and Diana worked in companionable silence as they finished up the meal, smiling at the occasional outburst from the other room. At one point, however, he rolled his eyes.
"Stop her, will you?" he begged. "Shanti's getting ready to tell the airstrip story..."
Diana nodded and was about to fetch her from the dining room when Mark Robinson walked in the back door.
"Ah, just the person!" Diana said sweetly. "Will you do me a favor?" She whispered something in his ear, he grinned widely and strolled into the dining room, where she could hear him being hailed. Five minutes later he was dragging Shanti out the back door.
"Should we wait supper for them?" Richard wanted to know. Diana took a peek out the back door and shook her head. "They're in the swing, and it looks like dessert is on the menu. No, let's feed the hungry people in the other room. Elizabeth gets fed first so we can ransom our daughter back."
"You got it."
A buffet of lasagna and eggplant parmigiana, Caesar salad and crusty loaves of Italian bread was served along one wall, and Richard and Diana gladly sat and reclaimed their child while everyone else swarmed about the food.
"Nothing like catering your own rehearsal dinner," Richard remarked.
"At least the quality of the meal is ensured," Diana replied, calmly giving Sabrina a bottle in hopes she would nod off to sleep. "And Kimi, Bunny and Alyson have offered to clean up. I'm going to miss you tonight," she added with a sigh. She had gotten used to being in the same apartment, even if they did sleep apart.
"What?"
"I've been informed that Sabrina and I are sleeping here in the inn so that you don't see me until the ceremony. Sorry, but that's what I've been told."
"Oh. Well, we'll see about..."
"No, Richard, please." Diana put a warning hand in his arm. "Let them have their fun, OK? Besides, I've been known to sit up for hours with Alyson, and if we add those other three to the mix, it could go on all night. You're welcome to sit up with us, of course..."
"No thanks. I think I'll pass. I'll take the baby with me, though."
"Oh, no you don't! If she wakes, there will be a half-dozen volunteers wanting to assist me, and I don't turn down free help. Not when I know they will be leaving in a couple of days and will want to spend some of that time with the baby. Richard!" she suddenly exclaimed.
"What?"
"What are we doing with the baby on our honeymoon? Are we taking her with us?"
"I thought we should discuss that - I want to, but I don't."
"I know what you mean. I don't want to leave her, we worked too hard to get her, but on the other hand..."
"Exactly. Elizabeth, Georgie and Jane have all offered to take her."
"It's only for... how long will it be?" Diana still knew nothing of their plans, but she could sense Richard wanted to keep them secret, so she played along.
"Um, two weeks, but there is air travel involved..."
"Hmmm." She thought about that for a moment. There was no way she was leaving their child for that long. "Our first family vacation! I think our only problem at this point, then, is how well she will cope with a plane ride."
"We hope this is our first family vacation. We still haven't seen the final papers from Mrs. Hill."
"Oh. Well, if we have to delay leaving, we can always spend the night in the apartment." She wasn't too happy about that, and neither was he, by the look he gave her.
They got up from the table and went to the buffet to fill plates. They tried to eat, too, but between the well wishes from their friends and families, and pre-wedding nerves, they did not eat very much.
"I think if we put the baby down and slip out front to the porch swing..." Richard finally suggested. Diana nodded and they excused themselves on the pretext of putting the baby to bed in the downstairs room.
"Let's go outside," Richard whispered as they stood there watching Sabrina sleep for a long moment.
"You've been wanting me alone all evening," Diana teased.
"With good reason," he replied, opening the front door of the inn very carefully, and shutting it quietly before leading her over to the swing. "I have a present for you and I didn't want to give it to you in front of everyone."
"Oh. I have a present for you, too." She handed him a square jewelry box. "It was a good thing Jane hauled me all about town today, else I would not have had a chance to pick these up from the jeweler."
He opened the box to reveal a pair of gold cuff links, little rectangles of satin-finished metal with small, sparkling R's in them.
"They are beautiful!" he exclaimed.
"Real diamonds, too," she said proudly. "Oh, and the garage called. My car is ready, I can go home anytime I want," she teased.
"Don't you dare!" he growled, and gave her a deep kiss to say thank you for the gift. "Although you might run away when I give you your present."
"Oh?" She took the envelope he offered to her, and when she opened it up and read the papers inside, her eyes filled with tears. "Richard! I can't accept this! It's too much!"
"No, it isn't! If something happens to me, I want you and Sabrina well provided for."
"But, Richard! This paper makes me the sole owner of the Twin Oaks Inn! The house and everything!"
"I know," he said proudly. "I work for you now!"
"Don't make me cry," she pleaded. "I will, you know. It's too much," she insisted again.
"Diana, listen to me!" Richard took her by the shoulders and gave her a light shake. "I don't want you dependent on me, financially at any rate. We don't know what will happen in the future - what if I got hit by a bus on my way from the apartment to the ceremony tomorrow?"
She laughed. "Um, it's about fifty yards from the apartment to the ceremony, with no road between. I already have my own business," she also pointed out.
"So? This makes you quite the entrepreneur, then, doesn't it? My point is, the future is uncertain, and I want you taken care of - you and Sabrina. Got that?"
She nodded, more tears in her eyes.
"Oh, and there is one more thing, boss. I'm taking the next two weeks off from work. I'm going to be on my honeymoon!"
"Oh, you!"
Posted on Monday, 17 March 2003
"Wedding day!" Shanti sang that morning as she came into Diana's room. Diana groaned and rolled over, but Shanti would have none of it. "Come on, blushing bride! Kimi has the baby and Bunny made coffee, and Alyson's kids are staking out the apartment to make sure Richard doesn't show his face. Get up and spend some more time with us before you're off to wherever Studmuffin is taking you on your honeymoon. Oh, and there is a sour-faced woman cooling her heels in the parlor with some papers for you."
"Mrs. Hill!" That spurred her to action like nothing else. Jumping out of bed, she picked up her cell phone.
"Good morning, Mrs. Almost-Fitzwilliam," Richard said when he answered.
"Richard! Mrs. Hill is here! What do we do? We have to sign the papers and Shanti won't let me see you!"
"Calm down, sweetheart. You sign the papers first and then send Mrs. Hill over here and I will sign. Is Mark there? I want him to check everything over before we sign."
"I don't know. Shanti!" she called. "Is Mark here? No? No," she told Richard frantically. "What do we do?"
"We wait," he said serenely. Diana could have cheerfully strangled him for his calm demeanor. "And so does Mrs. Hill."
"Oh!" She forgot her pique and giggled. "We have a couple of hours, don't we?"
"Uh, huh."
"Richard?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"I love you."
"I love you, too. How's Sabrina?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "Someone around here has her... maybe Kimi?"
"Go eat some breakfast and take your time getting ready. Judge Phillips will be here in awhile. Will you have him sent over here?"
"OK. I'll try to eat some breakfast," she promised.
"I don't want you to faint at our wedding..."
"Coffee first," she grumbled.
"What? No one has brought you coffee? And you are carrying on a logical conversation? This is a first!"
"Richard?"
"Yes, love?"
"I love you, but you are a pain in the a**."
"I know."
Mrs. Hill was not pleased when she was forced to wait for Mark Robinson, but Diana insisted. In the meantime, the house filled with ladies all intent on helping the bride get ready.
Diana was surprised there was an actual wedding party. Alyson was to be matron of honor, and Shanti was maid of honor. Will and Alex, she was told, were to stand up with Richard. Maddy and Grace Bingley, and Meredith Bennet, were steps and stairs flower girls in the light blue gowns they had worn two weeks earlier in Georgie's wedding.
"Pipsqueak!" Shanti called at one point, regal in her dark blue dress. "There is a gift for you upstairs in the room at the end of the hall. Go on up and have a look." Intrigued, and pleased to be away from her ever-growing circle of admirers, she went up to the second floor. Halfway down the hall, she heard someone sobbing in the communal bathroom.
"Hello?" she asked, opening the slightly-ajar door. "Jane?"
She went into the bathroom and found Jane sitting on the edge of the toilet lid, crying her eyes out.
"Jane, dear, what's the matter?"
"I'm not pregnant!" she wailed.
"Oh! Did you want to be?"
"Not necessarily, but it's so heartbreaking - just when I thought I was, and had gotten myself in that 'expectant' mindset, it didn't happen. I would have liked to have had another son..."
"Awww..."
"Maybe next time. This wasn't planned - I mean, Grace isn't even a year old yet."
"Well, if it doesn't happen, maybe you can adopt?"
"That's a thought. Why are you up here instead of downstairs, being fussed over?"
"Oh! My present!" She grabbed Jane by the hand. "Come on - I want to see what I got!" Jane hid a smile and followed Diana down the hall, where they opened a door to find...
"Luggage?"
"Not just any luggage," Jane said. "Packed luggage. Packed with anything you might need for your honeymoon."
"What about the baby?" Diana wanted to know.
"What about her? She's staying with Georgie, isn't she?"
"Nope. She's going with us."
Jane thought about that for a moment, and then she grinned. "I suppose that might work."
"What? You know where we're going, don't you?"
"Yep. Someone had to pack the suitcases. Now that I know the baby is going with you, I'll just take this extra case...I wondered why there was one left over... and go pack the baby's things. Don't peek now. I'll get Shanti to bring them downstairs for you."
"Why couldn't I have just seen these later then?" Diana wanted to know.
"Keeps your mind off things for now," Jane replied. "I'll be back."
Finally, Mark arrived; he gave the attorney's approval to the forms and Diana signed the papers amid a few tears from all the ladies gathered around to witness. Mark and Mrs. Hill went out to the apartment, and Diana was taken off once again to finish the final touches on her hair, face and dress.
"What is Sabrina wearing?" she asked, seeing Georgie and Maria dressing the baby.
"Just a little something special," Georgie replied. "Look! Maria made her a dress out of the rest of the flower girl fabric! She matches!" Everyone oohed and aahed appropriately as Georgie held up the pale blue fairy child. "Maria even found little shoes!"
Shanti's cell phone rang at that moment, and when she finished with her conversation, she was grinning. "The papers are signed and the judge is here. Mark says it's almost time."
"Nervous?" Kimi asked Diana. "I'm so glad you two got back together again."
"Again?"
"Well, even when you were colonel and sergeant, it was obvious..."
"Is that so?"
"And then when we couldn't get you two together that last night..."
"Kimi! What is this 'we' business? I thought it was just Shanti!"
"Now, you should know better than that! Even Bunny helped..."
Diana blushed. "It was a conspiracy!"
"Yeah, for all the good it did us. Lucky for us, this time worked better. Leave it to Shanti to get you up here."
"Well, I'm glad she did. Now that I've seen how this place operates, I guess it would have been difficult to arrange it the other way around."
"Yeah, we had thought about that, too. Had to consider all the possibilities, you know."
Diana pulled her into a hug that threatened to crush the front of her dress, but she didn't care. "I'm so glad you did."
"Oh, and I'm supposed to tell you from Richard not to get too teary-eyed over me being in Hawaii and you in Connecticut, not for the next couple of weeks, anyway. I've been promised babysitting rights, too!"
"What? We're going to Hawaii?" she said loudly enough for everyone to hear. They all grinned and nodded. "Must mean we will be in Honolulu, then, if you get to babysit," she said to Kimi. Her friend beamed. 'I can't wait!"
"Time to go," Georgie said, still holding the baby. Diana went to take her, but Georgie would have none of it. "You are going to be busy holding this," she said as Alyson put a bouquet of yellow and blue flowers in her hand. "Bunny gets baby privileges for now, because she complained that Kimi gets her on and off for two weeks."
"And I get to hold her during the reception!" Alyson called as they gathered up the children and herded them out the door.
Georgie and Shanti were very well pleased with themselves over the wedding arrangements. Georgie had kept records and was able to procure most of the same people who had done such a beautiful job on her own wedding.
A small tent had been erected for the ceremony, with a larger one placed nearby housing round tables and chairs, blue and yellow decorations, a band, dance floor, head table and buffet. A large cake stood proudly in one corner and Georgie had managed to set up an unobtrusive fan to keep the frosting from melting too much in the heat.
All of that would come later, Shanti thought with satisfaction as a harpist played music and she and Alyson were escorted down the aisle by Will and Alex. Now it was time to get Pipsqueak and Studmuffin happily married.
Everyone stood as the harpist switched to a traditional wedding march, and Dr. Bennet led Diana toward Richard. The bridal couple smiled at each other the entire time, unable to look away, even as Dr. Bennet gently released Diana into Richard's care.
"Bigamist!" Frances Bennet screamed from the back of the tent. "How dare you, Tom, marry your floozy girlfriend before our divorce is final!" Dr. Bennet turned to face his almost-ex-wife.
"Fran, please, this is not what it looks like..."
"Really? I suppose next you are going to tell me that she's marrying him instead, and they are the couple trying to adopt my granddaughter!" She looked about wildly and when she saw Sabrina in Bunny's arms, she ran toward the baby. "Come to Grandma, sweetheart!"
Sabrina did not like the loud lady, and started crying.
"You're holding her too tight!" Frances insisted. "Let me have her."
"No!" Diana cried. "Take her in the house, Bunny," she told her friend. Bunny did not hesitate, and hurried the baby into the inn. "Now..." Diana said coolly, thrusting her bouquet into Richard's hands and mentally rolling up her sleeves as she advanced on the gate-crasher.
"You are denying me my granddaughter, you hussy! You're only marrying Tom to get to that baby, aren't you?" Frances screeched.
"For your information, lady," Diana said calmly, "I am not marrying Dr. Bennet today or any day. I am marrying Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam! Or at least I will be, if you will shut your damn mouth! As for that baby, I'll have you know both its biological mother and father have signed away all rights, and that child belongs to us! After this disgusting display, madam, I can only assume we have saved that baby from a fate worse than death - not only to have two totally irresponsible people as parents, but to have you for a grandmother!"
Frances stood there turning purple, her mouth working up and down like a fish. "Well! At least my own children want me! Don't you Christopher! Meredith!" she called.
"No!" shouted Kit, to the surprise of many. "No! Go away and leave us alone! We want to live with Dad, and Lizzie and Will and the new baby and we don't even want to have to see you again!" He turned his back on his mother and buried his head in Lizzie's shoulder.
"You!" Frances rounded on Elizabeth. "You are the one who poisoned my own children against me!" Lizzie started to get up, and Will left Richard's side to advance on his stepmother-in-law, but Diana held up a hand to stop him.
"Let me take care of this," she murmured. "Richard? Is this tent on inn grounds?" When he nodded, a puzzled look on his face, she grinned. It was not a pretty sight. "Mrs. Bennet, I'm only going to say this once. Get the hell off my property, and if I catch you here again, I will have your a** hauled away so fast it will make your head spin. Now get out!" Without waiting to see if the woman complied, she turned on one heel and marched back to where the wedding party waited.
"She's still standing there," Shanti muttered.
"Take care of my light work, will you?" Diana asked sweetly. "I'm trying to get married here."
"Of course." Shanti handed Alyson her bouquet, walked over to Mrs. Bennet and towered over her, a wicked gleam in her dark eyes. "You heard the bride, lady. Get out before I carry you out!"
"I will be glad to escort her off the property," Charles offered. Frances turned around and left, with Dr. Bingley following at a discreet distance.
"At least Georgie had a calm wedding," Will said with a smile.
"How did she get so unlucky?" Richard replied. They both shrugged and the ceremony went on as planned.
The reception was in full swing when it came time to drink to the bride and groom. Diana sat at the head table glowing as Will offered the first of several toasts, Richard at her side with the baby in his arms.
"To my cousin and his new family," Dr. Darcy said, holding his glass high. "Elizabeth and I have always thought the world of Richard, and his darling new wife and child already hold places in our hearts. May the three of you always have peace and prosperity."
Everyone drank to that, and then it was Shanti's turn. Diana watched in amazement as she rose with her head down, a slight flush on her face. Shanti never shied away from a public appearance. What was going on?
"Ahem." When Shanti cleared her throat and did not look at her audience, even Bunny and Kimi exchanged glances. "I will admit that it took a lot to get these two together - but I would not have missed it for the world." She straightened up, squared her shoulders and walked over to where Mark Robinson sat near the head table. "However, I had these two wonderful people, so in love, as my inspiration. Even as I toast Pipsqueak and Studmuffin, I want to know, Mark, if you will marry me?" She drank from her glass when everyone else did, but her eyes were only on Mark as he came quickly to her side.
"I thought you would never ask," he said, giving her a deep kiss. "And the answer is yes."
Everyone stood and applauded, and Diana was so excited she was bouncing up and down on her stockinged feet, having shed her shoes as soon as possible. Bunny passed Kimi a twenty dollar bill, and Will had to give his wife a fifty.
"Are we really leaving tonight?" Diana asked several exhausting hours later as she, Richard and Sabrina rode by limo to New York, where they were to catch a plane for the islands.
"It leaves in the morning. I thought we could stay in the city tonight. The hotel is providing us with a crib, too, in case you were wondering." He stretched out his legs, and then his arms, and pulled Diana close to him, the baby facing them in a car seat.
"You think of everything," she admitted.
"I only have to think of you, Mrs. Fitzwilliam," he said, "and everything else just falls into place." He brought her face up to his and kissed her softly. "Thank you for coming back into my life. I was only existing until you reappeared. Don't ever leave me, either, unless your business takes you away."
"I won't," she promised. "And I'll have you and our lovely child to come home to."
"We'll be waiting."
Posted on Thursday, 20 March 2003
It was Christmas Day and the Twin Oaks was closed to everyone but a private party. A family party.
Alex and Georgie had walked over from next door, Alex was wearing a tie Diana's cousin had bought him a few months before - it had been a present to say thank you for helping watch her children during Diana's wedding shower, and it had an insect print on it. Georgie came bearing a tray full of pies, and the inn's famous apple cake, just the kinds of desserts she was baking on a regular basis for the restaurant. Her home-based business had recently expanded to include another establishment across town.
Among the newlyweds in the old Fitzwilliam house that day were Denny and Maria James, and Mark and Shanti Robinson. Denny and Maria had had a traditional ceremony at Thanksgiving, but Mark and Shanti's wedding dated back to just after Richard and Diana's. After Shanti's unorthodox proposal, the two had eloped and were married in Niagara Falls sometime while the Fitzwilliam trio was soaking up sun in Hawaii.
Diana stood in the threshold of the dining room now, an almost-five-month-old Sabrina on her hip, looking about her in satisfaction.
Charles and Jane - undaunted by the fact that they were not going to have another child - had decided to get another one anyway, and were halfway through the process of adopting a two-year-old boy with special needs.
Thinking of boys brought Diana's gaze to the little guy in Will's arms. Only Lizzie, Diana thought, could get as big as a barn overnight and then suddenly have her baby a month early. Young William Charles Alexander Darcy was already two months old, but his name was still bigger than he was.
The plethora of babies in the family brought a smile to her face. There would be plenty of children for Sabrina to play with as she grew.
Richard brought a large platter of raw vegetables in at that moment, setting them out on the buffet table, and Diana's smile grew wider. He saw her, under the mistletoe in a green velvet dress, and came over to her side.
"Well, madame proprietor, what do you think of my catering abilities?"
"I think a bonus is in order," she said, looking up at the greenery over her head.
"A bonus for whom?" he wondered, giving her a kiss.
"Both of us. Actually, I have a different bonus in mind for you."
"Oh? I'm going to get another promotion?" It was a running joke that whenever Diana didn't have time to deal with an aspect of the restaurant business, she promoted Richard. He already held the titles of chef, caterer, office manager and bookkeeper.
"Well, yes, but this is a title you already have. I'm just going to add to its responsibilities." She was being vague on purpose, not wanting to give it all away just yet.
"What title would that be? Hostess?" he teased.
"No..." she said slowly. "The title I was thinking of was Daddy."
"Daddy?" His eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Diana, are we adopting again?"
"Nope."
"But... you know I can't...that I am..."
She just stood there, holding onto Sabrina, waiting for him to come to the right conclusion. Fortunately, Will was on standby, and strolled over, his son all but dwarfed in one of his arms.
"You know, if you'd ever thought to consult me, instead of that quack who told you that you were sterile in the first place, I would have been glad to have had you re-tested. You saved yourself some lab work and money, I see, by not being able to keep your hands off your wife."
"But...but..."
"Was it Dr. Jones at Benning who told you?" Diana finally asked. She didn't even wait for a reply, just sadly shook her head. "Didn't you know he was the biggest practical joker on base?"
The look of alarm on Richard's face was priceless, and Will and Diana laughed so hard, the babies squawked in protest.
"What's so funny?" Georgie wanted to know.
"Richard just realized he has finally earned the title of Studmuffin!" Diana said loud enough for Shanti to hear.
"Woo hoo!" Shanti exclaimed, running over and pulling Diana and Sabrina up for one of her big hugs, cracking Diana's back in the process. "We're going to have ourselves a Baby Pipsqueak!"
"A baby!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Wow, Richard, you work even faster than Will!"
Everyone laughed and crowded around Richard and Diana to offer their congratulations. While they were the center of attention, Elizabeth slipped out to the kitchen to check on the turkey.
It was almost done and she straightened up from the oven to feel two strong, familiar arms wrap themselves around her waist.
"Will... Where's the baby?"
"Aunt Georgie." A pair of warm lips nuzzled her neck.
"Hmmm... Did you ever imagine we'd be standing here like this?" she wondered with a sigh, even as one of her arms snaked back behind her and looped around his neck. "I look back at that silly girl laughing at the haughty doctor from the top of those stairs and I wonder what he ever saw in her."
"He saw a brave, sassy thing who needed all the good things in life given to her on a silver platter." He paused in his study of her neck and ear to bring a jewelry box out in front of her. "Happy anniversary, darling. Thank you for giving me a home filled with laughter, a beautiful son and more love than I deserve."
Lizzie choked back tears as she opened the box. Inside was a gold ring with three stones in it. The peridot on the left was for Will, whose birthday was in August. The diamond in the center was Lizzie's April birthstone, and the pink zircon was for young Will.
"It's beautiful!" she sobbed. Turning in his arms, she cried happy tears. "I love you."
"No, you are the beautiful one, my darling Elizabeth. And I love you, too." His consequent kiss left no doubt about that.