Epilogue
For their wedding trip, Jane and Hilldale could not but choose to rent the house where they had fallen in love, with one another.
Hence, they enjoyed six weeks at Lakeshore House near Bowness-on-Windermere.
Although Mother and Father offered the couple the use of their house, Jane and Hilldale had refused in favour of the house which held so many memories for them.
Without the author of this narrative revealing any salacious details, the couple did not do very much sightseeing while they were in residence.
However, each evening, they sat and took refreshments, looking out over the lake towards Belle Isle on the very same veranda where Hilldale had first seen Jane and Lizzy.
It was that day he had heard their conversation, which told him they were not anything like the women of the Ton he had been avoiding.
The more time Jane spent in Andrew’s company, the more she fell in love with him. For that reason, she did not miss interacting with the locals. All she needed was Andrew’s love covering her like a warm blanket.
Hilldale felt the same way; he could not get enough of his wife.
Of one thing, he was certain: he and Jane would never be one of those married couples who lived separate lives once there was an heir and a spare.
Until the day he was called home, Hilldale swore that he would never break the vows he spoke to Jane the day they married.
They could not but feel grateful to the Gardiners for first insisting that Jane join them and Lizzy, and allowing them pressure-free time to come to know one another. To them, the Gardiners would always have a special place in their hearts.
One of the few times they travelled—with Biggs and Johns manning the footmen’s bench—was to Grasmere.
On this day, William Wordsworth was out and about.
As a gift to Lizzy, Jane purchased two copies of A Topographical Description of the Country of the Lakes in the North of England, which the author had originally published anonymously.
Mr Wordsworth wrote a short note to Mrs Darcy and added his signature below it in one.
The other he dedicated to the person Lady Hilldale requested.
As they would make a stop at Pemberley on their return from the Lakes, Jane would present the one book to Lizzy then.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The aforementioned sister and her husband had travelled south for their honeymoon. Darcy owned a house on a bluff near Brighton, aptly named Seaview Cottage. Although, as Elizabeth pointed out when she saw a house which rivalled Longbourn in size, ‘cottage’ was a misnomer.
The Darcys enjoyed a month at the house, only venturing into Brighton once. On that occasion they both agreed that the Regent’s Pavilion was far too gaudy and ostentatious for them.
Many a day would find the loving couple on the small beach in the very private cove below the house.
The seawater reached the cove via a channel which took twists and turns and at some points was too narrow for any sort of boat to pass, making it invisible to those who may be sailing near the entrance.
No one would dare approach the point where one could see down to the cove thanks to Thompson and his men ensuring compliance.
Even though Biggs and Johns had been employed by Jane and Andrew, Darcy had added several former soldiers, sailors, and Royal Marines the pair had recommended. They were employed as footmen, guards, and outriders, among other tasks, under the purview of the ever-faithful Thompson.
On their way home, the Darcys had stopped first at Rosings Park to visit Charlotte and Richard. It was there they had received the news that Anne de Bourgh had gone to her final reward four days after the double wedding.
When Elizabeth and William protested about them not being notified, Richard and Charlotte had informed them that one of Anne’s final wishes had been that neither couple be notified of her passing while on their wedding trips.
In addition, she had extracted a promise that she would only be mourned for a month, which was why there had been no black fabric draped on the estate’s gateposts when the Darcys arrived.
A few days were spent with their sister and brother in Kent.
The next stop was at Longbourn, where Gigi had remained with her new sisters.
During her sojourn at the Bennets’ estate, the three Bennet sisters and Gigi had become as close as sisters by blood.
They also spent much time with Maria Lucas, who was now related to them through Charlotte’s marriage to Richard.
Seeing how sad the girls were to be separated, Elizabeth and William, with parental permission, invited the four girls to accompany them to Pemberley. Three of the four accepted with alacrity, while Mary demurred.
“I would love to come to see where you and William will live,” Mary told Lizzy. “But Johnny Lucas asked me for a courtship, and I accepted.”
“I am very happy for you, but I thought Johnny said he could not afford a wife,” Elizabeth responded. “Did he discover you are Longbourn’s heiress? I would not have suspected Johnny of being mercenary.”
“That Lizzy, dear, is an assumption,” Mary replied pertly.
“Some days ago, he asked to speak to me and told me that although it would take him some years to be able to afford a wife, would I be willing to begin a courtship with a view to a long engagement period? He said he did not want to chance someone else proposing to me if he kept on waiting.”
“I assume he knows now?” a chagrined Elizabeth stated. Every now and again she still made assumptions.
“He does; Papa told him,” Mary revealed.
“The only stipulation is that when we marry, he must change his name to Bennet. After Johnny agreed, Sir William and Lady Lucas did not object because Franklin will soon marry Marjorie Goulding. They feel that the future of the Lucas name will be secure, as both families have been blessed with multiple sons.”
“Now I understand why you will not join us,” Elizabeth stated. “It seems that we were all destined to become sisters to Charlotte. Had she not married Richard, then it would have been through you and Johnny.”
Elizabeth hugged Mary, and they returned to the drawing room.
“Lizzy, will you play chess with me again?” Lydia begged. She saw the look on her sister’s face. It had been some time since anyone had been able to beat her across the chessboard. “I will remove my queen.”
“If you take a bishop off as well, I may have a chance,” Elizabeth responded.
Lydia agreed. The result was the same; she won, it just took her a little longer. All Lydia could do was giggle at the resigned look on Lizzy’s face as soon as she could see she would lose.
“I know some men who think they are experts at chess and that ladies have no capacity to play the game. I think we should invite some of them to Pemberley while our sisters are with us,” Darcy said. “It would be satisfying to see some of them humbled like Lydia has humbled all of us.”
“This I would like to see,” Bennet mused with a grin. He turned to his wife. “Fanny, I know you need to remain here with Mary, but would you object if I go to Pemberley? I have heard there is quite a library there.”
“I am happy for you to go, as long as you do not remain there too long, and the mistress of the estate does not object to your presence,” Fanny stated cheekily.
“What say you, William, will we suffer Papa’s presence at Pemberley?” Elizabeth teased.
“If we must,” Darcy ribbed.
“You know, Darcy, I think I preferred you when you were that taciturn, aloof man we met the first time you were in the area. I see my daughter has taught you to tease,” Bennet stated with fake outrage.
The next day the much expanded travelling party departed Longbourn in three conveyances, the final one for personal servants and overflow trunks.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
When they had arrived at Pemberley, Jane and Hilldale had been sad to hear of Anne’s passing.
However, they respected her wishes and understood why she had chosen as she had.
After washing and changing, the Hilldales had met the rest of the residents in the drawing room, where Jane presented Lizzy with the book Mr Wordsworth had inscribed for her.
She smiled to herself when she saw the way Papa looked on longingly.
“Oh, Jane, you could not have brought me a gift I could possibly value more. Although I am jealous that you and Andrew met and spoke to Mr Wordsworth, this is perfect,” Elizabeth enthused as she reverently held her signed copy of the book.
“You could not have brought one for your dear old papa?” Bennet said with feigned sadness.
“As we had no idea you would be here…I posted one he signed for you to Longbourn. You will find it when you return home,” Jane replied with a satisfied, almost smug, look when she saw the surprise on her father’s face.
“You did not think I would forget the man who taught Lizzy to love Mr Wordsworth’s poetry, did you? ”
First, his son-in-law Darcy teased him and now Jane. What was the world coming to? Since his arrival, Bennet had spent much time in the magnificent library Pemberley boasted. It was everything he imagined and then some.
The highlight of Bennet’s visit had been when Darcy had invited one of the men who fancied himself a chess master to the estate.
When Lydia had volunteered to remove her queen, the man had scoffed at her hubris, only to be beaten in ten minutes.
Thinking it was an aberration, he had demanded a rematch.
What the pompous fool did not realise was that having played him, Lydia had taken his measure and required less time to win the next time.
Even when her queen was removed before the start of a game, she won.
The man had discovered that his opinions about the abilities of the fairer sex were not accurate.