by Beth Wood
As Charles looked back and forth between his bride and his carriage, hoping for a solution to magically present itself, Darcy had his carriage called forward and offered it to the happy couple. With a sigh of relief, Charles handed Jane into the carriage and started down the lane to Longbourn.
Mrs. Bennet offered to let the Darcys ride with them in the Bennet carriage, but they would not fit. Although Miss Bingley wished to offer them a space in the Hurst carriage, Mrs. Gardiner was closer and quicker to extend an offer. Darcy gratefully accepted, leaving Colonel Fitzwilliam to ride with Miss Bingley and the Hursts.
“If would appear your plan to divert attention away from Lydia has been successful,” Mr. Gardiner commented as the carriage started to move.
“It has been much more successful than I could have imagined,” Darcy admitted.
“Why would you embark on a plan if you did not think it was likely to succeed?” Gardiner asked.
“I had hoped to meet with some success,” Darcy replied. “I just did not expect that even those who are family and close acquaintances in Hertfordshire would be quite so easily deceived.”
“Although I love my sisters, neither of them are inclined to deep reflection towards anything that is not immediately before them. As long as Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Phillips are distracted, then Lydia's reputation will be safe.”
“I have tried to encourage Elizabeth to provide another distraction to her mother,” Darcy replied with a smile.
“And I have tried to explain to my loving husband that it is much too early to take his suggestion,” said Elizabeth.
“You would only need to mention that you have been a little ill the last couple of mornings, and let her draw her own conclusions.”
“Only if it is absolutely necessary,” Elizabeth insisted.
* * *
As it turned out, Elizabeth did not need to tell her mother anything. Mrs. Bennet had decided to serve fish.
Elizabeth was just glad she was able to make it out of the room before the retching started.
“If you remember, I was the same way,” Mrs. Bennet could later be heard stage whispering to her sister, Mrs. Phillips. “By the time Lydia was born, I wondered if I would ever be able to eat fish again.”
When Elizabeth tried to tell her that they only had suspicions, but nothing was definite, Mrs. Bennet patted her hand, assuring her that she would be the soul of discretion.
Naturally, by the time that Charles and Jane Bingley pulled away in their borrowed carriage everyone in attendance was aware of Elizabeth's news. Many of them approached her to quietly offer their congratulations, assuring her that they would not tell anyone else.
* * *
It had long been decided that the Darcys would be travelling to Pemberley immediately after the Bingley wedding. Their departure was only delayed two hours by the necessity to wait until their carriage returned from carrying the Bingleys to Netherfield Park.
As the afternoon progressed, Mrs. Bennet began discussing her plans to travel to Derbyshire to be of assistance to Elizabeth during her confinement. As her plans developed, the amount of time she planned to spend with her daughter began to increase. As neither Darcy nor Elizabeth really wanted Mrs. Bennet to spend five or six months with them, they began to suggest that Longbourn could not go that long without its mistress.
The idea was suggested that one of Elizabeth's sisters could attend her instead, with Mrs. Bennet arriving shortly before the baby was expected. Although Caroline Bingley tried to offer herself as a candidate due to the fact that they were practically family, it was decided that Lydia would be the one to travel to Pemberley.
Although Darcy and Elizabeth were ready to enter their carriage as soon as it entered the drive at Longbourn, not five minutes before it arrived Lydia had made the suggestion that she travel with them right then, to save the trouble of her travelling at a later time. Mrs. Bennet grasped onto the idea with glee, and sent Lydia upstairs to have a maid assist her in packing her trunks. This only caused another two hour delay.
Although it was nearly four o'clock in the afternoon by the time Darcy, Elizabeth, and Lydia were prepared to depart, they would not hear of delaying their departure until the following day. They were barely ten miles out of Meryton before they stopped at an Inn for the night. Ironically, it was the same Inn that had housed the Bingley siblings on their journey from Pemberley to Netherfield Park. As none of them were trying to delay the trip, the rest of the journey was accomplished within less than two days, unlike the four that it had taken the Bingleys.
As the carriage pulled onto the Pemberley grounds, Darcy contemplated just how much his life had changed as a result of the journey that he started the last time he left his home. He looked to his wife, sitting on the opposite side of the carriage with her sister. Lydia had fallen asleep not long after their last change of horses. Resting peacefully, she looked much too young to have considered marriage. It reminded him of Georgiana the previous year. He was thankful that he had been able to save them both from a life with Mr. Wickham.
As the house came into view, Elizabeth turned towards Darcy. Catching him staring at her, she smiled. She did not know everything that the future would hold. But, she knew that with Mr. Darcy at her side, they would be able to face whatever life decided to send their way.
Epilogue
Although Darcy and Elizabeth had only intended on having Lydia live with them for the several months leading up to Elizabeth's confinement, Lydia and Georgiana formed an instant bond. This was most likely due to the fact that in each other they found a kindred soul, to whom they could be completely frank about their disappointed hopes and dreams. By the time the Darcy heir was born, they had invited Lydia to make her home at Pemberley permanently.
This situation suited Colonel Fitzwilliam just fine. At first, he did not try to think about his motivations for visiting his cousin as often as possible. Although he had long been drawn to Lydia, he fought the feeling, trying to convince himself that it was due to his part in saving her from a life with George Wickham. It took him two years to finally realize he could not live without her. They were married in a quiet ceremony from Pemberley, which vexed Mrs. Bennet to no end. She wanted a much larger ceremony. Lord and Lady Matlock were so relieved that their younger son had finally agreed to marry someone, they didn't concern themselves overmuch with who it actually was, or the size of the wedding.
Much to the delight of Lord Hastings, and the aggravation of Lady Hastings, Darcy had been correct in predicting that Lydia would become great friends with their daughter, Rosemary, who was less than two years her junior.
Mrs. Bennet and Miss Bingley were granted one of their greatest wishes. Every autumn the combined family invited themselves to Pemberley for an annual house party. At its conclusion, Mrs. Bennet was able to return to Hertfordshire to crow to her friends about the grandeur of her daughter’s home. Miss Bingley was able to enter the season, being able to casually drop into conversations how wonderful her time at Pemberley had been that year. Caroline was certain that this is what brought her to the notice of a minor baron, who proposed within a month of making her acquaintance.
Charlotte Collins finally understood how Mr. Bennet was able to find amusement at the absurdities in life. The first time Mr. Collins referred to Lady Catherine as his relation, he received a look so cold in return it would have petrified another man. As Mr. Collins had never been very good at interpreting facial expressions, he completely missed it. Charlotte was certain that their invitations to Rosings Park would evaporate, but they continued to come. It took her several months to realize that Lady Catherine continued to invite them because Mr. Collins' prattling monologues were the only source of news to be had concerning the Darcy family. Although Lady Catherine still despised the fact that Darcy had dared to marry anyone besides her daughter, she needed to keep up appearances. The rest of society expected her to know all the latest news concerning the Darcys. She would never admit that her nephew had dropped all corr
espondence, and her brother refused to pass along any information, so she had to get her news from the only source available to her.
Charles and Jane Bingley did very well together. Their tempers were by no means unlike. They were each so complying, that nothing was ever resolved on; so easy, that many servants thought to cheat them; but so generous, that the servants decided it would serve them better in the long run to treat them honestly.
Darcy and Elizabeth were incandescently happy. Their first child, a boy, was born nine months and a day from the day of their marriage. Although Lord Hastings found this quite humorous, Mr. Bennet decided that he would rather not think about the timing of anything.
It was only eighteen months later that Elizabeth gave birth to a little girl. The Darcys would go on to have eleven children total, causing some members of the family to question if they really understood how babies were formed, though Lord Hastings may have replied once or twice that it was obvious they were very familiar with the process.
The End
About the Author
Beth Wood has the rare distinction of being born in a town that no longer exists. She doesn't remember anything about Playas, New Mexico since she was a toddler when her family moved.
She spent most of her youth in small towns throughout the west. She’s now married and raising her five children in Utah.
Beth first fell in love with Jane Austen while reading Pride and Prejudice as a sophomore in high school. It wasn't until she was staying at home with her children (several years later) that she decided to add her voice to the many variations of Pride and Prejudice available.
Fitzwilliam Darcy Elopes is Beth’s third Pride and Prejudice variation.
It Started with a Kiss and A Conversation Behind the Tapestries can both be found on Amazon.com.
