Epilogue
The Gardiners arrived at Pemberley in late July, just as baby Will approached a month old.
Elizabeth was beyond ready for the churching, having consistently fought against all the ridiculous restrictions that require women to remain in bed in a dark room for weeks after childbirth.
Eschewing a wet nurse, Elizabeth had begun immediately to feed her son and soon was up and about, moving between her chambers and the small adjacent nursery.
William had consistently supported her as she fought against these traditions, although some had required her to convince him first. One tradition he had no qualms about ignoring was his place in her bed.
Before the baby was born, they had shared his bedchamber, but since the nursery was much more convenient to the mistress’s chambers, the couple had decided to share that room for the time being.
Another battle against convention that had taken more convincing related to Elizabeth’s feeding their son.
Adamantly against it at first, Elizabeth slowly dissected each of his arguments against it until he relented, although he still engaged a wet nurse for nighttime feedings and whenever else it might be necessary.
Other skirmishes, such as Elizabeth’s refusal to remain in bed or to confine herself to her rooms for the first month, were quickly won as well.
Before the month was out, Elizabeth was taking short, accompanied walks in the gardens, often with their son, who enjoyed the outdoors nearly as much as his parents.
When the Gardiners arrived, they brought news of the remaining Bennets.
Lydia had written to Kitty, telling her she had given birth to a healthy girl in the spring.
She and Mrs. Bennet remained in Ireland, as they did not have funds to return home, nor did either know what to do about the infant.
Letters to Mr. Bennet went unanswered, Lydia had complained, meaning they had no direction about what to do or funds to attempt the journey home.
Lydia was terribly bored and wanted to be able to attend parties and flirt once again, having learned nothing from her actions with Wickham.
Kitty attempted to respond to her sister but found it rather difficult since her sister was unable to see the truth of her actions and how they would always affect her future.
Mrs. Bennet had also written to the Gardiners requesting their help and bemoaning the loss of her beautiful Jane, who had married so well.
Since Mr. Bennet did not write, she also assumed the worst, believing that his lack of response was a clear indication that he must have died.
She begged the Gardiners to return her to England and to provide her with a place to stay and funds to entertain since she would have nothing if her husband were dead.
These letters were responded to with the assurance of Mr. Bennet’s continued health but that until her husband determined to bring her home, she would, of necessity, remain where she was.
They did not have the money to return her and Lydia from Ireland, and at the moment, the two were well provided for.
Ultimately, neither ever returned to England; Lydia died giving birth to a second child, and Mrs. Bennet found a home for this second illegitimate grandchild.
After her daughter died, she found a protector for several years but remained in Ireland feeling ill-used and never forgave her husband for his neglect.
From Bennet, neither the Darcys nor the Gardiners heard any word, but Mr. Phillips’s letters occasionally contained news.
Every other week, Mr. Phillips would visit Longbourn to ensure that Bennet was still alive, as he had essentially become a hermit with no family in residence.
Most of his knowledge came from the Hills since Mr. Bennet communicated little with anyone and resented interruptions.
The Hills reported that the tenants on the estate were unhappy with the lack of attention from the master since it had always been Elizabeth who ensured the tenants had what they needed before her marriage.
Mrs. Hill could do a little, but without clear direction from the master, it was challenging to do so.
Longbourn employed no steward, so much that needed to be done was left undone, and the tenants were left mainly on their own.
Phillips reported that within these whispers of dissatisfaction were those who spoke of leaving and seeking another place.
Elizabeth and William were not surprised by this news, having heard it in letters from several of their other correspondents.
Bingley’s letters from Netherfield had shared similar tales about Longbourn, where he had retreated to mourn his wife.
The Hursts had joined him so he would not be alone in his grief.
Bingley and Hurst were both attempting to learn to manage the estate efficiently, and the Netherfield steward had kept him apprised of many of the problems at Longbourn as a few affected what was happening on his own estate.
Several of the Longbourn tenants simply moved to Netherfield to occupy the empty tenant homes there, and Bingley provided what direction he could to the remaining tenants of Longbourn.
Louisa and Elizabeth had also exchanged letters, and it was through that connection that Darcys learned Caroline’s fate.
Apparently, fed up with the strictures of her aunt, she had run off and eloped with a handsome man she had met at her aunt’s house.
Mr. Robinson was a tradesman, but he appeared to be well-off, and Caroline decided that a life with him was surely better than the life she lived with her aunt.
Thinking this would be the thing that allowed her to return to London, she was disappointed to learn that her new husband was at point non-plus and that after obtaining her dowry, he planned to take them to America to attempt to regain a fortune in a new land.
She was quite unhappy when she found herself on a ship bound for New York, but by eloping, she had made her choice and could do little to stop it.
Her husband controlled her dowry, and since her family would not allow her to stay with them, she would have to accompany him across the sea.
Life continued this way for some time. Letters continued to be exchanged between the Fitzwilliams, Gardiners, Bingley, Hursts, and Darcys.
Three Christmases later, the families gathered at Pemberley once again to welcome the Darcys’ second child, a beautiful girl named Anne Elizabeth.
Mary, Georgiana, and Kitty had become fast friends, having overcome the silliness of girls and were beautiful young ladies in their own right.
The Darcys had hosted a coming-out ball for the three that spring, and none had yet met a suitor who could inspire them to reply favourably to more than a dance.
That Christmas, Bingley spent quite a bit of time with a neighbour of the Darcys, finding in her what he thought he had with Jane.
Jessica Watkins was the daughter of a nearby estate owner, a landed gentleman like Darcy, although nowhere near as wealthy.
The two were married that spring. Bingley had bought an estate in a neighbouring county the year previously, enabling him to continue his friendship with the Darcys.
That couple eventually went on to have three children, two boys and a girl.
Mary also married that spring, having met a young gentleman at Bingley’s wedding, falling in love quickly and marrying within two months of their meeting. He was the heir of a modest estate in Shropshire, and the couple had several children and remained close to her remaining family in the north.
Kitty and Georgiana waited a few more years to marry.
One day, while visiting Lambton, they became acquainted with the new parson in that village.
He was immediately struck by Kitty and was initially reluctant to court her since she lived at Pemberley.
Still, he was eventually persuaded to learn more about her, and six months later, he asked for her hand and was accepted.
Darcy gifted her a five-thousand-pound dowry, which her husband appreciated, and the two lived happily in Lambton until he inherited a small estate near Yorkshire.
They retired to that home with their five children and were very happy.
Georgiana was the last of the girls to marry.
She fell in love with a Viscount in her sixth season and led him on a merry chase.
He proposed just a month after meeting her, but she hesitated in accepting him.
After another three months and two more proposals, she finally accepted him.
Their engagement lasted another month, and they were delighted with each other.
However, they only had two children, a set of boy and girl twins.
Eventually, Mr. and Mrs. Collins eventually inherited Longbourn, but it was nearly insolvent at that point.
Since Mrs. Bennet could not be located, it was determined that her five thousand pounds would be given to the Collins family to help them restore Longbourn to what it had been.
Collins was still self-important, but marriage to Charlotte had provided a measure of sensibility that had been lacking before.
She was able to guide him, along with help from Elizabeth and Darcy, to make Longbourn profitable relatively quickly.
She also prevented him from wasting the funds they had been gifted on useless “improvements” suggested by Lady Catherine.
Elizabeth and Darcy went on to have four more children, bringing their total to six.
After Will and Anne, they had three more boys in succession and finally another daughter, just as Will was approaching his eighteenth birthday.
This girl, who they named Madeline Rebecca after the aunts who had served as mothers to the couple and grandmothers to their children.
The two honorary grandmothers were thrilled with each of their broods, as Colonel Fitzwilliam never gave them children, and the Viscount only managed one son, his heir.
Elizabeth and Darcy were married for many years and saw all their children marry and many grandchildren born.
When their eldest son was thirty, they handed over the running of Pemberley to him and moved into the dower house, where they enjoyed visits from their grandchildren and assisted in the running of the estate only when requested.
They travelled to the continent for their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary and spent short periods with all of their children each year.
When Darcy developed a cold that turned into pneumonia in their forty-fifth year of marriage, Elizabeth stayed with him and nursed him until the end.
She mourned his loss greatly, having spent only a handful of nights away from him in the entirety of their married life.
However, her grandchildren still needed her, and she lived another five years and saw the first of their great-grandchildren born.
On the night that would have been their fiftieth wedding anniversary, Elizabeth went to sleep and never woke again.
Her death was mourned as her husband’s had been, but the legacy that was left was treasured by all those who had the pleasure of knowing Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy.