Epilogue
Darcy handed his horse to the stable boy, relieved to return home after a long day with his steward. A quick wash, then he would find Elizabeth.
The butler met him at the door with a letter in his hand and a knowing smile.
It would be another Love, Lizzy note. Perkins never looked so pleased to deliver any other correspondence but the precious missives he delivered from Darcy’s wife.
Carefully unfolding the paper, Darcy read:
I may be found in my sitting room penning hundreds of Thank-You notes at my writing desk … in case you wanted to find me.
Love,
Lizzy
Her “L”s swooped over the page, swirling upward in smiling flourishes. Much like their author, who smiled often and flirted relentlessly with her adoring husband.
His bath could wait a moment longer. He needed to see her.
Elizabeth sat with her back to the door, facing the window. Sunlight shimmered against her hair. Darcy’s breath caught in his throat. He had dreamed of Elizabeth so long, there were times he still, after a month of marriage, believed she was a vision.
She spun around then, and she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him until his doubts dissipated. She was real and here with him.
Cradling his cheeks in her palms, she lowered from her toes. “You are my hero for interrupting me when you did. My fingers are in danger of petrifying against the quill.”
He looked past her to the towering stack of envelopes waiting to be posted. “My family will think no less of you if you take your time.”
She shoved him. “You would continue to distract me as you have been doing the past month!”
He grinned, wrapping his hand around her waist, and lowering his mouth to her neck. “I can think of several other, more agreeable ways to pass the time.”
She wiggled out of his grasp, laughing. “Not today, Fitzwilliam Darcy.” Then, twisting her lips to the side, amended, “Not this moment at least. I am determined to thank your relatives and friends who have sent gifts and hearty welcomes before the sun sets. Besides,”—she hopped on her toes—”I am in possession of such delicious news.
I was sorely tempted to ride over the fields in search of you hours ago, and I would have done so were it not for all these letters I must write. ”
Tugging his hand, she led him to the settee by her writing table.
“I heard from Jane. She said that Georgiana invited Mary to stay with her and the Matlocks in London.” She bit her lips and looked at him through her thick eyelashes.
He chuckled. “If you are scheming something, you may be assured of my cooperation.”
Darcy loved how her eyes glistened and danced.
“I am glad to hear it, and I will not abuse your trust. What I was thinking of was perhaps inviting Mary to Pemberley so that she and Georgiana might continue their friendship. You saw how they were at the wedding feast.”
“Inseparable.” He had noticed, and it had been a pleasant surprise to see how Mary encouraged Georgiana’s confidence while benefiting from her experience at the pianoforte.
“Excellent! I will suggest it to Georgiana when I next write.” She counted on her fingers. “That was the most pressing matter, but there is more.” Her expression went somber. “Jane’s letter was rushed as it contained some startling news. Wickham is dead.”
Darcy stiffened. “What happened?”
“As you know, the Bedlam doctor traveled with him to convince his commanding officer that he was insane and in need of the treatment at the asylum. However, Wickham had suffered so many bug bites and bee stings, one of them, too long unattended, became severely infected. He developed a fever, and by the time they lanced the festering wound, the poison was in his blood.” She rubbed Darcy’s arm. “I am sorry.”
“I am, too. How is Lydia taking his death?”
“Jane said she is already in widow’s weeds and grieving her situation in her best dramatic fashion. It will be difficult for her to flirt in head-to-toe black.”
Just like that, she lightened the air. Darcy brushed his lips over her fingers in appreciation. “How do the rest of the Bennets fare?” he asked.
“Kitty has taken to heart the lessons to be learned from Lydia’s rash conduct and poor choices.
Jane says that she spends more time with Papa in his study, reading and discussing his bees.
Papa is happy for her company, as the bees accepted his skiff as their own, and he needs her help to collect their honey. ”
“And Mrs. Bennet?” Darcy worried for her now that the battery of the stimulator had given out.
“Papa has extended his area of study beyond bees to batteries, and she is content in the knowledge that he is concerned for her welfare. That, and the security of Longbourn has restored her nerves marvelously. Which leads me to my next bit of news. I finally heard from Charlotte.”
Now it was Darcy’s turn to console Elizabeth. Taking her hands, he asked, “How is Mrs. Collins?”
She sighed. “You know how anxious I have been going so long with no word of my dear friend — anxious she would resent me for taking Longbourn away — but it was for naught. I ought to have known better.”
Darcy breathed a sigh of relief.
Elizabeth continued, “She apologized for not writing sooner, but she has been feeling so ill, she could hardly sit long enough to attend to her correspondence until recently. She assures me she is much improved, and that Mr. Collins is generous in his attention. She only has to lift a finger, but he is at her side, eager to be of assistance.”
“I am happy to hear it. What did she say about Longbourn?”
“She admitted she knew better than to set her heart on Longbourn, knowing I would find some way of securing it for my mother and sisters — a security Charlotte would have seen to had her mother and sister been in the same position and, therefore, one for which she can hardly fault her dearest friend.”
Darcy pulled Elizabeth closer, settling her in the crook of his arm. Kissing her forehead, he said, “You must be relieved.”
“I am. Deeply relieved. Oh, I almost forgot,” she said, twisting to face him. “I also received a letter from Anne.”
“You have been busy today.”
“She bears the best news. She is happy running her own home, truly content and at ease. The captain keeps her busy decorating, sparing no expense and plying Anne with as many pastries and chocolates as he can persuade her to take. She plans to invite us for a stay once the rooms are finished.”
Darcy said, “Richard says Aunt Catherine is resigned to the match now that it is done. She sulks alone at Rosings, but she has been after the colonel to settle.”
Elizabeth laughed. “He is to be her next project, then? I wish them both well in that battle, though I do hope Richard prevails.”
“He is as bullheaded as my aunt.”
“As you are?” she teased, tilting her chin up to look at him.
He kissed the tip of her pert nose. “I have only ever met one to equal me in obstinacy. Aunt Catherine was no match for her.”
Elizabeth snuggled into his side. “Just think, none of this would have happened had I not lost my memory.
Anne would still be miserable at Rosings, Lady Catherine would have cut ties with us, Wickham would be your brother, and I would have wondered for much longer if your choice in me was worth the trouble it generated between our families.
Darcy felt likewise. “Not every lady receives three proposals … from the same man,” he teased.
She nestled into his side, spinning her ring around her finger, her breath tickling his neck. “And not every lady is so fortunate to fall in love twice … with the same man.”
Elizabeth did not finish her correspondence that evening. Darcy might have felt guilty for distracting his wife, but he was remorseless.
For Darcy had learned the importance of memories worth recalling, and he would give his Elizabeth as many pleasant remembrances as there were minutes in the day.
Can curiosity and crimes lead a young lady to the altar? Join Elizabeth Bennet as she finds out!