Epilogue
That Mr. Darcy allowed Miss Darcy to live openly with her illegitimate child at his house was a matter of scandal. It was far more scandalous than the fact that he had killed the father of that child in a duel, and then promptly married that man’s wife.
There was a general sense of disapproval upon the matter within Derbyshire society, and the whole of the ton spoke in scandalous tones about it during the season after Georgiana’s child was born.
When the name of Darcy came up in conversation amongst those who were only acquainted with him, an argument whether he was an excellent brother or a destructive force eroding the moral fiber of the community inevitably arose.
During the ten years between the birth of her child and her marriage, Miss Darcy never attended any public balls, and only a very few private balls thrown either by her own family or friends of a most intimate sort, such as Mr. Bingley or the increasingly wealthy Gardiners.
This limitation did not bother Georgiana at all.
Despite her excellent sense of rhythm, her elaborate training in the art, and the fact that her brother was generally acknowledged to be the one of the finest dancers in the county, she hated the practice.
Georgiana never lost her distaste for large crowds, and she always avoided them when she could.
While there were very few who wished to wholly give up a connection with Mr. Darcy, or his wife, there were several families who dined with Mr. Darcy, whose unmarried daughters were always mysteriously ill on occasions when Georgiana would be present.
Mr. Darcy would have been quite angry upon his sister’s behalf, if not for the fact that Miss Darcy never showed signs of any emotion but general happiness and satisfaction with her life.
Further, Mr. Darcy still believed that he had very little right to judge others for their social transgressions.
Judge not, lest you be judged for having shot a man in a duel.
Over time the prejudice against Miss Darcy slowly eroded.
Partly this was simply because a sin that was openly acknowledged made a smaller part of how a woman of twenty-five was judged than that same woman as a girl of seventeen.
Partly it was because everyone thought very highly of Mrs. Darcy, and her popularity in the community and society grew and grew.
But a significant part of Miss Darcy’s improved reputation came because she had become known as the person in the county who was the most dedicated in organizing support for unfortunate mothers in Derbyshire.
Enormously to everyone’s surprise, Georgiana in fact found herself giving public musical concerts to raise money for the foundling hospital that she had established.
When the suggestion had been made by a friend of the family that doing so might help to afford an addition to the hospital’s building, Georgiana found it impossible to not make the attempt.
Though the resources of the Darcy family were great, the scope of suffering in England, and even just the extended environs of Pemberley, was far greater.
While not so successful as the famous performance of Handel’s Messiah which raised more than a thousand pounds for the London Foundling Hospital in the 1750s, Georgiana’s efforts over the following year raised many hundreds of pounds from the gentry of Derbyshire for her cause.
She did vomit before every performance.
After one of these events, Georgiana met a prominent manufacturer who had been fascinated both by her story and her performance, and whose mills were one of the largest employers in Derbyshire.
After a courtship of more than a year, which was very romantic, they married and lived very happily together, and Georgiana’s child soon had siblings to help care for and to lord over in nearly equal proportions.
Mrs. Darcy was universally seen as one of the most charming conversationalists in the ton, and one of the most beautiful women. Further she was sought out as a member by committees seeking to achieve concrete goals because she was known as being particularly capable of arranging practical matters.
That is, when she was not too busy caring for her slowly growing collection of children and delightful husband.
Jane and Bingley eventually moved to a county neighboring Derbyshire, as the constant presence of Mrs. Bennet at their home eventually became too much for the complaisance of even this couple.
Though others might think that this move could have been avoided more easily had they clearly explained to Mrs. Bennet how they would prefer her to act.
Elizabeth was very happy to have her sister a mere thirty miles away. By this time, she had become sufficiently used to the habits of the very wealthy that thirty miles of good road seemed to be a perfectly easy distance.
Despite her firm belief that Papa would never let her come out, Lydia Bennet eventually entered society at the age of eighteen. She promptly tried to elope with a penniless young officer but was stopped by the trained and expectant watchfulness of her father.
This young gentleman, however, proved to be a much better sort than Mr. Wickham had, and after receiving significant wounds while making a remarkable display of bravery at Waterloo, he gained a promotion and the permission of his beloved’s father to marry.
While that couple was never rich, they were happy.
As were Elizabeth, Darcy, their children, and all who came within the happy circle of concern that centered at Pemberley.