Epilogue
Richard and Mary’s estate in Nottingham, called Chestnut Hill, was not more than a day’s ride from Pemberley, and the two families saw a good deal of one another.
Kitty and Lydia had open invitations to Pemberley and Chestnut Hill; though, of course, Pemberley was preferred as long as Georgiana was in residence.
Jane and Charles Bingley purchased Netherfield, so as to be near the Bennets.
Derbyshire was a three-day journey, but the Bingleys and the Darcys nonetheless managed to spend a full month together every year.
Letters flew back and forth between Pemberley and Netherfield Park so frequently that Mr. Darcy wondered if he should just hire a private messenger to carry the sisters’ letters.
Kitty and Lydia had their ‘come out’ in London along with Georgiana, and both Bennet girls married respectable gentlemen. It surprised no one when Georgiana married the Marquess of Hartington, who was considered the catch of the Season.
The five Bennet daughters had many children; all in all, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet had fifteen grandchildren, with enough boys to satisfy even Mrs. Bennet.
Miss Bingley did indeed marry Lord Hilton. Though she was certainly delighted to have the title of “Lady”, she was very good about not lording – or, in this case, ‘ladying’ – it over her sister, Louisa Hurst.
Mr. Bennet passed away at the very respectable age of four and seventy.
Mrs. Bennet moved into Netherfield before the Collins’ carriage arrived at Meryton.
As expected, its new master had no idea what to do with an estate, and it was up to Charlotte to manage everything, which she did with her usual calm practicality.
Charlotte Collins, however, had no children.
When Mr. Collins eventually passed away, the entail was broken and Longbourn returned to the Bennet family.
Jane, as the eldest daughter, was next in line.
Her first son, named Charles for his father, inherited Netherfield Park in due course, while her second son, named Bennet, inherited Longbourn.
Elizabeth truly did find Pemberley to be a palace, and it took her an entire month to stop making wrong turns in its many hallways.
But the love and warmth of its occupants turned what might have been a cold and imposing dwelling into one filled with friendship and kindness.
The servants were all well-treated, the tenants cared for like family, and Elizabeth found herself respected and even loved by everyone around her.
She had never imagined a life as magical as this one.
She and Mr. Darcy often spoke of the many silver linings that had resulted from Georgiana’s mishap: Mr. Darcy’s escape, as he called it, from his Aunt Catherine and expectations regarding Cousin Anne; similarly, his escape from Caroline Bingley’s aspirations; the healing relationships between Georgiana and the Bennets; Miss Bingley’s improvement in character; the steady friendship between Georgiana and Miss Bingley; the changed manners of Kitty and Lydia.
But they flatly refused to consider their own marriage as one of those silver linings, as they were certain that they would have found each other, one way or another.
There was one silver lining that they never knew of. Mr. Alfred Carruthers of The Morning Post vowed to never again print scurrilous gossip, and many a young lady’s reputation was saved as a result.