Epilogue
Darcy married Elizabeth Bennet one week later by common license in a small ceremony at the Meryton chapel. None were as surprised as Mrs. Bennet when she discovered who was engaged to her least favorite daughter. None rejoiced as much as she did. For the first time in Elizabeth’s memory, she was her mother’s favorite.
“Good gracious! Lord bless me! Who would have thought it? And is it really true? Oh, my sweetest Lizzy. How rich and how great you will be. What pin money, what jewels, what carriages you will have! Ten thousand a year, and very likely more. ’Tis as good as a lord! Oh, my dear Lizzy, please apologize to him for my having disliked him so much before. I hope he will overlook it. Dear, dear Lizzy, a house in Town, everything that is charming. I shall be distracted!”
It turned out that being her mother’s favorite daughter did not give Elizabeth the satisfaction she always dreamed it would. Instead, the tender look of love and longing on Fitzwilliam’s face when she joined him at the front of the chapel meant everything to her. She was needed. She, Elizabeth Rose Bennet, was wanted by the best of men more than any other female. She was his favorite.
Her father had the good sense to attend the ceremony, as did most of their neighbors and friends. Glaringly absent were the Bingley family, who hurried off to London the second the storm was finally over. Elizabeth doubted they had any desire to return to Hertfordshire. Unfortunately, from the reports received from Darcy’s man of business, the Hurst’s townhouse was damaged beyond repair, so they had to stay at an inn close to the edge of Town since no one in Darcy’s social sphere offered to help them. Miss Bingley must have been livid at being cast aside.
Darcy’s house in London also received enough damage to render inhabiting it uncomfortable. Thus, Darcy and his new bride traveled directly to Pemberley, taking their time on the road, stopping at as many inns as was necessary to spend time alone.
“Look!” Elizabeth directed his attention to one of the valleys the carriage slowly moved through. From one end to the other, every tree and blade of grass was bent in the same direction. It was truly windswept.
“We were fortunate, my beloved,” Darcy replied. “Instead of blowing us apart, the great storm blew us together.”
“Which was exactly where we needed to be,” Elizabeth agreed, leaning into his shoulder while seated close to him, her favorite place to be.
“Dearest, I was thinking…”
“Yes?” Before they married, she understood that he considered every angle carefully before making a decision. Therefore, she patiently waited for him to gather his thoughts.
“Before the storm, my life moved pretty much like clockwork. Little changed, and if it did, it was by my command. Since the storm, I lost a brother who, though I loved him, caused more harm than good. I gained a wife, who I dearly love, for good. Because of this, I discovered something about myself that needed adjusting.
She lifted her head from his shoulder and turned to look at him. “In what way?”
He bowed his head briefly before he turned his brilliant blue eyes to her. “I was too judgmental. My prejudices were too deep, and my pride was too much a part of me. In my foolishness, I failed to see you clearly the evening we met. I failed to see the good in your mother and sisters. Therefore, from today on, like you, I will try to see the good in people no matter their station in life. I will treat women like Mrs. Hammond, Cook, and Mrs. Nicholls like the treasures they proved themselves to be.”
Elizabeth chuckled under her breath. “My good man, while I thank you from my heart for thinking I set a good example in being compassionate, I, too, was extraordinarily judgmental. Instead of having everyone’s characters sketched accurately, I quickly learned how little I really knew. Therefore, I will imitate the man I wed by opening my eyes to the value of others, even scoundrels like your brother.”
“You do not think it is wrong for me to mourn him?” Darcy asked, pain dripping from his tone.
“Not at all.” Elizabeth returned to her comfortable position against his arm. “We are all imperfect with perfect flaws. The tempestuous winds did not blow these flaws away. Instead, for us and others, they revealed sterling qualities for good. I love you, my heart, and I will forever.
Five days later,they arrived at Pemberley, where there was no evidence that the worst storm in over one hundred years had struck England. Darcy and Elizabeth were relieved to find that they were not required to devote their time and attention to making repairs. Instead, they spent their hours discovering a love that would span ages.
A fortnight later, the Matlocks appeared with Georgiana in tow. In the spring of the following year, Richard Fitzwilliam escorted his future bride, a smiling Jane Bennet, along with Mrs. Olivia Hammond to Derbyshire.
Late on the night of their arrival after everyone was settled, Darcy watched as Elizabeth ran a brush through her hair. In every way, she pleased him as a wife. During the four months since they wed, Pemberley was transformed from a house into a home.
“Do you not ever tire of watching me?” Elizabeth asked.
“I do not.” Standing to join her at her vanity, he took the brush from her hand and set it aside. “When you flew into my life on the wings of a storm, you captured my full attention.”
Peering up at him with her magnificent eyes, she said, “And you think that was the way of it? For I distinctly recall a gallant gentleman lifting a heavy basket from my hands, charming his way into my heart, then stealing me away once the wind settled.”
Lifting her hand to his lips, he murmured, his eyes never leaving hers, “I will not dissemble, my dear. You swept me away like a whirlwind. I have no cause to repine.”
She laughed, her heart filled with contentment and peace. “Fitzwilliam, would you come with me?”
Without hesitation, he helped her into her dressing gown. Once she was mostly garbed, she reached for his hand. Pulling gently, he followed her to the gallery where pictures of the Darcy family hung. Already, a space had been made for a future portrait of them. However, it was before the painting of Gerald Darcy and Lady Anne that Elizabeth came to a halt.
“Tell me the good about them, husband, for I need to know what to tell the next generation of Darcys.”
He gasped. “Already?” He never imagined that he could feel that level of joy.
Stepping behind her, he wrapped one arm around her shoulders, the other one he positioned until his hand rested on her flat belly hoping for movement, some indication that his son or daughter rested in that safe place. Burying his face in her neck, he pressed his eyelids together until his breathing evened out.
“My mother was my world, Elizabeth. She was always tender and kind to me, Richard, and Wickham. By the time I was old enough to think about it, I realized how much she had grown to love Father. I used to marvel at her having a heart so big that it could encompass all of us evenly. Now, I know why.”
Pressing her hands over his, she leaned back against him. “Then we will tell our child that his or her grandmother was full of love.” Elizabeth studied the picture before saying, “She is truly beautiful with the loveliest of eyes. With your father’s strong features, like your own, it is remarkable that Georgiana has her coloring.”
“I suppose,” Darcy muttered. “Georgiana is remarkably like her in character now that her ordeal with Wickham is firmly behind her and the threat of exposure is gone.”
“Tell me something really good about your father, Fitzwilliam.”
She felt his smile. “I remember how patient he was when he taught Georgiana to ride. It was not until I was away at Cambridge that I realized he was equally patient with me. I see now that he exercised the same with my mother. He did truly love her. He was entirely devoted to her.”
“Then we shall tell our child that when their grandfather fell in love, he stayed in love for his lifetime.”
Lifting his face from where it rested atop her shoulder, he turned her in his arms. “Know this, Elizabeth Darcy, that the son of Gerald and Lady Anne feels even stronger in his affections towards his wife than either of my parents did to each other. Nothing or no one will separate us or keep us apart.”
She kissed him with a passion that shook him.He loved her as fiercely as the winds that blew at Netherfield Park.
“Fitzwilliam, I propose that we tell our children how their father swept me off my feet during the grandest storm of the century. Once my feet again touched the ground, it was at our beloved Pemberley where all our dreams came true.”
He grinned mischievously. Within a breath, he had her in his arms, carrying her to their chambers where their future awaited them—peaceful, secure, and happy.