Epilogue #2
Even Rupert astonished them all with a rare display of mental acumen; he began to speak to the marquess about how they might use their influence to bring the wicked Mrs. Gardiner, neé Wickham, to justice.
Jane beseeched them to manage it with discretion, so as not to mortify her uncle or Mr. Wickham, who seemed to be a decent fellow despite his dubious origins and malicious mother.
Elizabeth observed all of this, and yet managed to devote the greater share of her attention to Lady Anne.
Elizabeth had told her part of the story in its beginning, leaving the great revelation to her mother, and she sat beside her favorite aunt, who wept with joy as she was told how her son had been discovered.
Lady Anne took one look at Miss Annesley’s scars and instantly clasped hands with her in a gesture of affectionate solidarity.
But she never took her eyes off of her first-born.
She had watched him in a similar fashion on the few occasions they met in London, but there was some more in her gaze now, something peaceful and almost possessive, lending her usual poise a measure of confidence.
Of course, Lady Anne was still shedding a great many tears of elation at the end of the tale, and she embraced her son as if she might never release him.
She had brought her young son Henry Beaumont, who had just completed his first year away from home, and was visiting on a short holiday from his studies.
He regarded Darcy as if he were a mythical figure to be venerated and emulated, and Jane teased that it was the same look that Elizabeth had ever bestowed upon Lady Anne.
Darcy devoted his attention chiefly to his mother, looking nearly as emotional as she was at their reunion, and his two siblings crowded around him, drunk on the novelty of having a new brother.
Georgiana had met with him several times in London and was mortified by her initial reaction, having once rather admired his handsome appearance.
But young Henry was of the opinion that there was no praise too great for his most impressive older brother, and he expressed a great deal of it with unparalleled volume and rapidity.
It was not until after supper that Elizabeth had a chance to speak privately with her dear Darcy, who suggested that they enjoy the cool evening air rather than rattle the furniture in the parlor with their exuberance.
There was some general outcry at the sight of the shrubbery that had been burned during Darcy’s Shakespearean Vauxhall demonstration, but Mr. Bingley claimed the distinction of describing that event to his friends.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Darcy managed to slip away beyond the hedgerows. As soon as they were out of sight, they spoke not a word before they were in each other’s arms. He kissed her passionately and for a long while, until they were obliged to break apart for fear of being tempted too far.
They ambled along the path, their hands entwined, and Elizabeth was eager to hear Darcy's impressions of his new family. He sang Lady Anne’s praises enough to please her, once again weeping with tender sentiments at what the reunion had meant to him.
“I have you to thank for all my happiness, my darling Elizabeth. I might have been content to live as William Worthing, with you as my bride – but to be Fitzwilliam Darcy is beyond anything I have ever dreamt! To be a son, a brother, a nephew, a cousin – all this, and best of all, the husband of lovely Elizabeth – Elizabeth Darcy.”
“I have no objection to being given the credit for all this, though we might do better to thank Providence. Perhaps it was fate that brought me to Lady Catherine, and to that fascination which I have had with the Darcy name – and fate that the woman who cared for you as a baby should come into your employ and at just the right moment reveal the truth of your birth. But I hope you shall be content, now, my love, to be yourself, your truest and fullest self, without any more false identity shenanigans.”
“It is strange that I should have been drawn to the name I chose seven years ago, which is my true name, my very birthright. Loving you has shown me that I require no alias to be quintessentially myself; recent events have taught me the vital importance of being Darcy.”
***
The large family party remained at Wildewood for an exultant celebration of Elizabeth’s birthday, though it really seemed to honor the tremendous joy of Lady Anne’s reunion with her son.
Elizabeth passed one of the happiest and most inebriated nights of her life, and she knew it was only the beginning of many more to come.
Two days later, they all travelled to Rosings in a convoy of many carriages.
Elizabeth reveled in the occupation of showing Darcy every corner of her home and all the loveliest parts of the extensive grounds.
A fortnight before, she had not dared to hope he would ever be welcome here, and yet now it was nearly his birthright.
The elaborate efforts of wedding planning resumed.
Jane and Rebecca agreed to postpone their wedding until a later date so that Elizabeth might stand up with them.
Kitty swore that she was content to wait, but as her love for Mr. Bingley deepened, it became apparent to the entire household that it would be unwise to leave it too long.
Lady Catherine had been willing to allow that three couples at one wedding was the limit of what decency and elegance would permit, but she was soon obliged to render the proceedings even more auspicious by including a fourth.
It became a sort of game, in the weeks that followed, to take notice of the myriad little similarities between Darcy and his nearest relations, for his mannerisms were entirely Fitzwilliam.
He daily expressed his awe and gratitude at the welcome he had received into his family, and Elizabeth could not imagine how this cheerful, darling man had ever thought himself dull enough to require a false persona to make mischief.
Rupert and Lord Douglas made good on their threats against Mrs. Gardiner.
They used their connections, and that style of charm possessed by handsome men of fabled debauchery, to obtain a divorce for Mr. Gardiner, while the woman who had separated Fitzwilliam Darcy from all that he had been born to was transported to Australia.
Not long after this, George Wickham sent Darcy a conciliatory and very civil letter. He acknowledged that they were half-brothers, made every proper rebuke of what his mother had done, and expressed a wish to become acquainted when next Darcy was in London.
As it happened, Darcy intended to travel thither the week before the wedding, for Lady Anne wished to show her son Darcy House, and assist Elizabeth with the preliminary preparations of reopening a house that had been kept closed for nearly twenty years.
Elizabeth had never seen Darcy House, but she and her betrothed were vastly pleased with it.
Lady Anne had swiftly accustomed herself to considering Elizabeth her daughter, and they devised a great many grand schemes for improvement and beautification of the London residence, for the happy couple anticipated spending a great deal of time so near to their relations.
Darcy met with George Wickham, and found him an exceedingly agreeable man.
Like himself, Wickham had been raised by a generous benefactor who taught him a measure of humility, though he joked that had his natural father lived longer, he may have grown entirely too spoilt.
Lady Anne gave a bittersweet blessing to her son’s wish to befriend his half-brother; she personally issued him an invitation to attend the wedding.
Wickham was in attendance, along with all the Fitzwilliams, Sir Rolland and the new Mrs. Moore, the delirious happy Chasubles, and Mr. Bingley’s relations, which could not be helped.
It was the happiest day of Elizabeth’s life, a whirlwind of perfection and high emotion.
But all the newlyweds were not alone in their blissful romance on that occasion, for Lady Rose attached herself so assiduously to George Wickham that he soon gave up any attempts to escape her admiration; by the end of his visit, he seemed resigned to the inevitability of their attachment.
A great deal had been accomplished with the help of a family solicitor whom Darcy had brought back from London.
The marriage settlements all generously favored the ladies, and three of the happy couples soon found themselves bound for a very different destination that they had imagined upon entering their engagements.
Lady Rebecca and Lord Douglas, whom she fondly called her devoted friend, set off for Scotland as planned, shamelessly poaching Emily and a few other intrepid servants from Rosings.
But the other couples had been gifted quite a surprise.
Jane and Richard took a wedding tour of the southern coast before returning to Rosings, while the Bingleys went back to Wildewood, which Darcy had sold to his friend at an excessively generous price.
He was happy to part with the place, which he had spent seven years constantly seeking to escape.
He and his beautiful bride were to take possession of Pemberley, the great jewel of the Fitzwilliam dynasty.
After they had settled in, they extended an invitation to Lady Anne and Georgiana to reside with them for part of the year, though they soon became accustomed to lengthy stays at Beaumont Hall to be nearer to their family.
Elizabeth looked upon their frequent travel between Derbyshire, Kent, Surrey, and London as the grand adventures she had ever desired in her future life.
But in time she came to feel that she was always happiest at Pemberley, particularly when she was alone with the man she had loved before ever meeting him.