Epilogue
“Lord Bennet Robert Darcy, you will be thirteen soon, and gentlemen do not pull their sister’s hair,” Lady Francine Beth Darcy, called Fanny, at eleven, remonstrated with her older brother. Her governess, Miss Jones, looked on with amusement, ready to separate the two if needed.
“Would you like me to tell Mama and Papa you pulled my hair?” Lady Fanny asked, her arms akimbo with the same fire in her green eyes her mother had.
Her father had been delighted when their second born was a girl who, as she grew, became more and more her mother, in both looks and character.
“Otherwise, if you prefer, I will beat you up again, and you can run to Mama and Papa, crying like you did the last time!”
Lord Bennet knew there was only so far he could push his sister before it was too far, and then, he would pay a dear price. He had reached that line. “Sorry, Fanny,” he managed, before he turned and made himself scarce.
“Come, Lady Fanny, let us return to the nursery and join your younger brother and sisters,” Miss Jones directed her charge.
Other than the eldest two, who both had their mother’s fiery temperament, the next after Fanny was almost ten, Thomas, Viscount Kympton, who was called Tom.
With more than one son, the titles had been split among the first two—Ben was the Marquess of Pemberley.
After Tom there was Emily Anne, who was six, and the baby, Annabeth, who would soon be three.
After two years of marriage without conceiving, Elizabeth had begun to be concerned she was barren, or worse, that the attack by the two executed criminals that she had survived had made her unable to bear children.
Just when she was ready to give up the dream, she finally became with child, and nine months later, a little more than three years since marrying her William, she presented him with his heir and first son, Ben.
After Ben, there was no further thought of being barren and it was the last time Elizabeth had thought about the cowardly attack on her person, or those who perpetrated it.
This year, the family was at Netherfield for Christmastide.
Tommy, Allie and their three boys were at Longbourn, now by far the largest estate in the area, and would join them on the morrow.
Allie was with child again, hoping very much to be blessed with a girl this time, but she and Tommy would be happy, regardless of the gender, as long as both mother and babe were healthy.
They had married two years after Tommy graduated from Cambridge, now ten years past, in a double ceremony with Gigi and Phillip.
Gigi and Phillip had four children so far, two of each gender, ranging from nine to eight months old.
When Phillip married Georgiana, the Duke and Earl, each contributed fifty percent and purchased an estate not five miles from Pemberley’s southern border, as the owner, an older man who had no heir, wanted to enjoy his remaining years in Bath without worry.
He had sold the estate, which brought in more than six thousand clear per annum, for considerably less than market value.
He was simply happy to have someone who would look after Broadmoor as it should be.
For the Duke’s part, he would have paid the full price happily, as it ensured his beloved sister would remain in the neighbourhood.
Jane, Jamey, and their six children were scheduled to arrive later that afternoon, as they had been in London at Glenmeade House. They had two girls before the first son arrived; he was followed by another son, a daughter, and finally, another son.
Although they used Glenmeade House in London, Jane, Jamey, and their children lived at Holder Heights.
Some two years before, the Earl of Holder decided to effectively retire and left the running of the estate to Jamey.
There was no health reason for the Earl to retire; it was a choice so he could spend as much time with the family as possible.
Lord James and Lady Amy split their time between their children’s homes and the Darcys’ houses.
They treated the Darcy children like their own grandchildren, so their time was devoted to spoiling their myriad of grandchildren as much as possible.
The Viscount and Viscountess would travel to Netherfield with their parents, and the Matlocks, as there had been a final session of the House of Lords that morning.
Lord James would attend a session if, and when, his voice and vote were pivotal.
Lord Reginald Fitzwilliam had passed away a little more than two years previously, and he had been mourned by all the family.
He had a weak heart from a disease he contracted a year or so before his death.
For William and Gigi, it had been an especially hard blow as he had been a surrogate father to them, so it was like losing a second father.
The new Earl and Countess of Matlock had five children; the oldest was Jamey, now eighteen, who held the Viscount Hilldale title.
Amy was almost sixteen, and had been followed by two more sons and a daughter.
The boys were thirteen and ten, and the baby of the family was six.
Marie and Andrew Fitzwilliam doted on one another and their children, and never held with the Ton’s theory that children should be seen and not heard, as they, and the entire extended family, believed the opposite.
The Dowager Countess split her time between Snowhaven and Brookfield.
Cassie and Richard had married fourteen years previously and had six children.
Andrew was heard to joke that Richard had to one-up him.
Cassie had only suffered through four confinements thanks to two sets of twins.
Her first confinement, a year and a half after their marriage, produced twins, a boy and a girl, followed by two sons, and then identical twin daughters.
The older twins were twelve, the two brothers were nine and seven respectively, and the twin girls a little more than three.
Louisa Hurst went five years without becoming enceinte.
She was convinced it would never be. What Louisa did not know was that, thanks to her punishing schedule of exercise and diet, as well as her intention to never become corpulent again, without knowing it she had affected her monthly courses, as they had ceased.
Hearing his wife’s disheartened determination to give up on her dream of having a family, her husband took her to see a doctor, an accoucheur who specialised in diagnosing birthing problems. The doctor advised Louisa to cut back drastically on her exercise, while increasing her intake of food, and two months after she began this regimen, her courses began again.
The first one was, as the accoucheur predicted it would be, very heavy and painful, but by the next month they were normal.
Three months later, her courses stopped again, and as she began to despair, she began to feel tired and was ill in the mornings.
When the accoucheur confirmed her state, she was both overjoyed and felt tremendous guilt at her habits having caused a delay in becoming with child.
It took Elizabeth to remind her of her father, the late Thomas Bennet’s philosophy to pull her out of her despair, and Louisa concentrated on what was to come, rather than what had been.
Her first was a girl she named Beth, after her sister of the heart.
Beth was followed eighteen months later by Harold Junior.
Almost three years after the birth of little Harold, baby Cheryl was born.
For Christmastide, the Hursts would sleep at Hurst Haven and spend each day with the family at Netherfield Park.
Charles Bingley, rather than reverting to his bad behaviours prior to his epiphany, had gone from strength to strength and was as good and honourable a man as any.
He and Charlotte were both happy and comfortable at the Hunsford parsonage.
He had been offered other livings in addition to Hunsford but had turned all of them down.
He did not want any distractions to ministering to his Hunsford flock, and he did not believe he deserved money to do nothing and have a curate do all the work in other locations.
The Bingleys were blessed with five children, three girls and two boys, from the ages of thirteen down to four.
They were close to the master and mistress of Rosings Park, George and Karen Wickham and their five sons and two daughters, ranging from fourteen to two years—George Junior, down to baby Robert.
Although Anne de Bourgh’s health was deteriorating slowly, she was in her element with all of her loving family during Easter of ‘10.
It had been sad for the whole family when she passed away, three months later, bringing the family back to Kent for a much more sombre occasion.
Anne lived the last part of her life surrounded by love, so Karen was able to remind everyone that, when she died, she had promised it was with no regrets.
When her last will and testament was read, George and Karen Wickham inherited everything—the estate, Anne’s dowry, and the de Bourgh fortune. They vowed they would help others with some of their new fortune and did so.
Their children were taught the same lesson the late Duke taught their father—anything worth having is worth working for, and honesty is not just the best policy, it is the only policy.
The Wickhams had been adopted as cousins by the family, and so were included in all family events.
They would depart for Netherfield in two days, bringing the Bingleys and their children with them.
As was their wont to do, Elizabeth, William and their children visited Longbourn to see Allie, Tommy, and their children a few hours before the first guests were due to arrive. As arranged, Louisa, Hurst, and their offspring were visiting as well.
Leaving their spouses with the children, Elizabeth on Aphrodite, Louisa on her horse, and Tommy on an aging Orion, who would be put out to pasture soon, rode to the spot where the Bennets’ father had met his end in the riding accident that fateful day, so many years ago.
Tommy helped his sister and Louisa dismount.
Elizabeth had not told William yet, but she suspected she might be increasing again, so there was no galloping, as her state was unconfirmed.
If confirmed, she would take a break from riding until after her confinement, as she had, each previous time she increased.
Louisa looked at Elizabeth with raised questioning eyebrows; she had an uncanny sense and could detect whenever anyone she was near was with child.
She would often be correct, even if the subject of her guess did not suspect yet.
Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders telling her sister she did not know yet.
“Papa would have been overjoyed at the man you have become, Tommy. You have taken Longbourn to heights he could have only dreamed of. He would have been as we all are, extremely proud of you. Even if you are a little taller than William, you are and always will be my little brother,” Elizabeth said as they stood next to the spot where their father’s life ended.
“Not little, Lizzy, younger,” Tommy corrected her, as he always did, when she called him her little brother.
“What a life we are all having, Papa and Mama. It could not have been better if we had fairy godmothers to grant our every wish,” Elizabeth told her late parents, with her head lifted to the heavens.
“I would have wished for my mother to have never compromised your father,” Louisa added softly.
“It happened as it should have, Lulu. Were it not for that, we would not be sisters, and I would have gone my whole life without meeting my best friend in the world! Never say that, because I do not want to imagine my life without you in it!” The sisters hugged for a long time.
“Lizzy has the right of it, Lulu,” Tommy added. “Never forget what you mean to all of us, and always will.”
“Is Phillip bringing Parrot with him? Is it not your year next, Tommy?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes, he is, and my children cannot wait to see the old bird again. All of our children lament when Parrot leaves their home. But for us, he is a symbol of hope; he always gave us something to think about when we were on New England rather than to contemplate our never being found,” Tommy averred, thoughtfully.
As they always did when they accompanied Elizabeth to this spot, everyone gave Elizabeth some time alone before returning to the house.
“Papa, I will always miss you and Mama, but it is easier for me, as I know you are together in heaven.
I have the kind of love with William that you and Mama had, a love that will last for eternity.
If only, you both could have met him and all your many grandchildren.
“Papa, I want you to know I still read Utopia from time to time. Not as much as I used to, and no longer sitting in front of a fire at night. It has been many years since I have smudged soot on my face from having done so. We will see you again one day, Papa and Mama, though I hope it is not for many years. It is again time to return to my husband and children. I love you both,” Elizabeth told the heavens, then she kissed her hand and placed it on the spot where her father had been found.
She joined her brother and sister and the three turned back, riding slowly toward the manor house, to their loving families waiting for them.
~~~The End~~~