Epilogue Part One #2
She smiled indulgently. “I am sincere,” she said. “Go and propose to your lady. But do bring her back to London with you. I would certainly like to meet her before the wedding. When you return, we can take care of the transfer of the property.”
Richard leaped up and hugged his mother. Then he dashed out the door.
~~~~~
Charlotte walked slowly down the path she took for her exercise every single day.
For the first week after Colonel Fitzwilliam had left, she had refused to use it, since doing so always brought back a thousand memories of her walks with him.
However, not doing so meant she did not get the fresh air and exercise she desperately needed.
In the end, she decided to face the memories and the pain of missing him and begin her walks once again.
On this blustery day in late March, when winter seemed to finally be relinquishing its hold but spring had not quite begun to truly set in, she was walking more slowly than usual.
She thought about the colonel, as she so often did, and wondered if he had been able to meet his goal of only spending fifty pounds over the last three months.
Her gaze had mostly been toward the ground in front of her, but when she heard the distant sound of a horse, she looked up to see who it might be. When she saw a very familiar horse and rider galloping toward her, her world stood still.
Before she could even decide whether to believe her eyes, Colonel Fitzwilliam had stopped in front of her and was dismounting.
Once he was on the ground, without any preamble or explanation whatsoever, he said, “Charlotte, will you marry me?”
Practical considerations flew out of her mind, or perhaps more accurately never found purchase there in the first place. She flung herself into his arms and wrapped her own arms around his neck.
He accepted the invitation and kissed her soundly. The experience was like nothing she could have imagined. The world around her faded, and she was lost in him. When they separated, she knew she would belong to him for the rest of her life.
“Yes,” she said.
His eyes, still a little smoky with the passion of their kiss, widened in surprise. “You aren’t going to ask about the success of my experiment?”
Charlotte blushed. “I admit, I didn’t think about it in the least, but now that I am thinking about it, I assume you are confident in its success or you wouldn’t have asked me.”
“You have such faith in me,” he said with a tinge of awe in his voice.
“You have never given me reason to doubt your honesty or honor,” she said.
“Well, it just so happens that it was a resounding success. Not only did I succeed in staying under my budget by a significant margin, I found that I rather enjoyed some aspects of that lifestyle. However, that is not why I have returned three months early.”
He proceeded to explain the property he had been given. There was quite a bit of discussion about whether to keep the property and attempt to make something of it or to sell it and put the money into the funds, but no conclusion was reached.
They eventually returned to Lucas Lodge, where Sir William quickly gave his permission for their wedding, which was to take place in just two weeks.
Charlotte spent those two weeks in London with Elizabeth, who reveled in the joy of helping Charlotte choose her wedding clothes and who supported Charlotte as she met her future mother and father-in-law.
Charlotte’s wedding day was everything a bride could wish for. The weather was perfect, and the man she was to marry was the best man in all the world. As they each spoke their vows to each other, meaning every single word from the bottom of their hearts, Charlotte was the happiest woman alive.
The new couple settled in London, though not in the most fashionable neighborhood.
They sold Richard’s property, despite the fact that it likely could have been very profitable if they had chosen to build it up.
It was simply too remote to manage properly when Richard needed to stay near London due to his responsibilities as a colonel.
Charlotte remained close friends with Elizabeth. She and Richard spent a month every summer at Pemberley, and the two friends enjoyed each other’s company frequently when Elizabeth came to London every winter.
Eventually, Charlotte and Richard had three children, all boys.
Richard proved himself to be an excellent father, taking on a significant portion of the effort of educating them.
He also willingly cut back on his spending to make certain he could provide formal education and livelihoods for each of them.
Years later, when all three boys were grown, and Charlotte and Richard once again had their home to themselves, the two of them were sitting on a sofa together after a long day.
Charlotte asked, “Richard, did you ever regret giving up your freedom and comfort to be saddled with so much more responsibility than you ever wanted?”
Richard’s hair was almost completely gray, and there were heavy laugh lines around his eyes and mouth. Charlotte’s hair was well on its way to turning gray as well, though she had fewer wrinkles than her husband.
He pulled her into his lap and held her there as he kissed her cheek and nuzzled her neck.
Eventually, when Charlotte had almost forgotten she had even asked a question, he said, “I didn’t give up anything worth thinking of.
It was a life of empty entertainment and pointless pursuits.
You, my dear, have given me so much more.
Far from regretting it, I cannot thank you enough.
Our boys have been a joy to raise, and I expect that soon we will have the further joy of being grandparents.
“From the bottom of my heart, I can honestly say that meeting you at your parents’ party and eating your cooking for the first time was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Charlotte wanted to reply, to tell her husband that he had given her so much more than she ever expected out of life, but he prevented her from speaking by covering her mouth with a kiss, a kiss which led to much more.
Charlotte never got the words out, but in the end, Richard received the message loud and clear.