A/N – Chapter title is an extract from a letter written by Alexander Pope to William Fortescue.

Disclaimer – All original P&P characters belong to Jane Austen

Chapter 21 – Blessed is He That Expects Nothing, For He Shall Never Be Disappointed

Easter was a busy time for a parson and this naturally meant that Charlotte's time was fully accounted for too.

She regretted that she saw little of her guests for the next few days, but she was exceedingly proud of how the church looked on Easter Sunday and how her husband now comported himself both in private and public.

When William had taken Lady Catherine's part in the plan to close the school Charlotte had been very angry and disappointed and it was not until they were in the safety of their bedroom that night that he admitted to her that he had thought to not close the school entirely but relocate it to a venue beyond Lady Catherine's reach.

Whilst the parsonage was apparently out of bounds to pupils in the future, if either Mary Kendle or Mr. Ennis were willing he had thought to ask them to play host each Sunday whilst he would have continued to secretly fund the venture along with Sir. William. He knew that Charlotte took joy in teaching, but he had thought she would rather the children continue in their education even if her participation was directly forbidden by Lady Catherine.

Her husband received a fond kiss when he shared this thought with her but his cunning plan came to naught as, just as the Colonel had said, Lady Catherine made a complete about face on the subject and the 'Lady Catherine de Bourgh School for the Poor' was now her dearest topic when corresponding with friends.

Days passed by and then weeks. Sir. William was the first to leave Hunsford as he had pressing business in town and he openly expressed how much he missed his wife and family. He was sad to leave young Maria behind but she was enjoying life in Kent with her sister and new brother too much to make her return to a place that would offer fewer opportunities to live her life to its full potential. She now had her weekly lessons to plan for the school and the pleasure of daily enlightenment in the subjects of mathematics and engineering at the desk of clever Mr. Ennis.

Elizabeth eventually received glad tidings from her sister Jane. As expected, Mr. Bingley had rushed to her side as soon as he received Darcy's letter informing him of Jane's continued fidelity and Jane was happy to report that he had been in her company in some form or other every day since.

He had boldly informed Jane that he had sincerely loved her from the very moment he first saw her and he was currently making plans to leave for Netherfield Park in the next week or so. Jane fully expected him to ask her Papa for her hand in marriage as soon as he set foot in Meryton.

Evidently Mr. Bingley's sisters were not at all enamoured of this development and they blatantly slighted Jane whenever they were brought together. This enraged the normally affable Bingley and he coldly told them that they were no longer welcome in his home and furthermore they would not be received at Netherfield Park or at his house in London until such time that they saw fit to treat Jane as their friend and sister.

In time Miss Bingley was proven to be as stubborn as she was mean-spirited and although she and Charles kept in touch with each other she never again stepped foot in her brother's homes.

Mr. and Mrs. Hurst were more prudent in this matter and, although it took a year or two of careful negotiation, Mr. Bingley and and his eldest sister were eventually reconciled. Truth be told, the Hurst's main reason for swallowing their pride in this affair was for an opportunity to enjoy a brief period of respite from the embittered spinster residing in their home in Sussex.

With the news that Jane was returning home very shortly, Elizabeth decided that her sister needed her immediate support and so her stay in Kent came to an end two weeks earlier than planned.

Darcy made several calls to the parsonage between Elizabeth's departure and his own, partially to receive knowledge of his new sweetheart but mostly because he grew increasingly fond of Charlotte herself. He thought her a kind, sensible and intelligent woman who he would not be unhappy to see as a regular visitor to Pemberley even if he and Elizabeth did not make a match of it. Even Mr. Collins' company became slightly more palatable when tempered by his wife's warm welcome.

The gentlemen of Rosings Park did not overstay their welcome; Richard continued his convalescence at his parent's home in Knightsbridge which was but a short distance from his regiment's headquarters and Darcy went forth to accompany Mr. Bingley on his journey to Netherfield Park.

Charlotte was disappointed to see the Colonel only at church whilst he remained in Kent as he did not accompany Darcy when he came to call. He made a short courtesy call before taking his leave permanently and thenceforth from the letters she received from both Elizabeth and Darcy she learned that he had rejoined his regiment in Portugal.

Life became much more staid for Charlotte after her friends had departed but she found that her work within her home and the parish kept her busy and content for the most part. She still felt the odd pang of unrequited love for the Colonel whenever his name came up in conversation, but it was usually short lived and she scoffed at her continued foolishness whenever it occurred.

To Charlotte's delight Elizabeth and Darcy's blooming friendship eventually turned to a fully fledged romance, but as the prospective groom was still fearful that the Bennet ladies would return to their old flighty ways it took him almost almost twelve months to be convinced that this change was permanent.

If it had not been for Elizabeth giving Darcy an ultimatum on the issue it may have taken even longer for him to propose to her, but the thought of losing his Lizzy struck a fire in his belly and he paid the long awaited call to Mr. Bennet to ask for his blessing, which was of course given with good humour and a little ribbing at the expense of his daughter's nervous suitor.

It would not be hyperbole to say that Lady Catherine was incandescent with rage when the news of the impending nuptials reached her and she falsely blamed Charlotte for introducing the pair with the express idea of this being an excellent match for her friend. It should be noted that Anne de Bourgh seemed underwhelmed at the idea of losing Darcy as her husband and apart from some half-hearted sniffling, mostly accomplished when in the presence of her mother, she went on with her life much as before.

Charlotte returned to Meryton alone to see Elizabeth wed as Lady Catherine had forbidden Mr. Collins to attend. As it was his wife who was a particular friend to the couple and not himself this was no great sacrifice on his part and instead he stayed behind to listen endlessly to his patroness rail against the guttersnipe who had wormed her way into that great lady's family circle.

The Earl of Essex attended the ceremony and wedding breakfast along with his wife as, apart from his much younger sister Georgiana and the now estranged Lady de Bourgh, they were the closest living relations to Darcy. Charlotte found them to be a genteel but distant couple and she could not imagine them to be the parents of the rascally, good natured Colonel Fitzwilliam.

Shy and sheltered Georgiana was overwhelmed by the albeit muted exuberance of the younger Bennet sisters and Elizabeth was much too busy with wedding preparations to spend much time with her soon to be sister, so soon after her arrival in Meryton, Darcy applied to Charlotte to take Georgiana under her wing.

He told Charlotte unblushingly that he knew that young Georgie would take to his good friend as easily as he had. How could Charlotte say no to this request in the face of his flattery?

Indeed it was no hardship to spend time with the girl as both Georgie and Mrs. Annersley, the young lady's middle aged companion, turned out to be delightful, if quiet, company. By the time the wedding and resultant celebrations were over Georgie and Charlotte were firm friends and vowed to keep in touch regularly.

In fact the correspondence from the young heiress became Charlotte's sole window into the goings on of the Darcy and Fitzwilliam families as for a prolonged period of time the newlyweds were so wrapped up in each other that they quite neglected their friend in Kent.

So it was Georgie who gave Charlotte a most unwelcome gift as she reached her thirtieth year the following November.

Georgie wrote that the whole family was in an uproar as whilst he was briefly stationed in Madrid after the Battle of Salamanca, Colonel Fitzwilliam had been introduced to a Miss Ana Luisa de Corazon, the young, beautiful and wild daughter of an affluent Spanish landowner.

When, several months later, the Colonel was ordered to accompany Wellington to the new command base at Santander, both the Colonel and the young lady's family were astonished to find that Ana Luisa absconded from the family hacienda in the dead of night and followed him to that far flung destination with only two loyal servants to accompany her; her old governess and a young man of North African descent who had been employed as a footman in the family home.

Although it was difficult given Georgie's circumspect language, Charlotte gathered that not only had the young woman followed the Colonel from Central to Northern Spain without her family's consent, there had been no understanding or formal courtship between the pair and most damning of all, on her arrival at camp, the young lady was noticeably with child. The Colonel had no recourse but to marry her forthwith.

Georgie reported that the girl's morals had obviously been called into question by her new in-laws given her actions and...activities...before marriage, but Georgie said that there was no doubt that her uncle was pleased that the girl's father had wealth beyond measure and had settled a vast sum upon the couple after he had received proof of them being wed. This apparently went a long way towards the Earl giving his guarded approval to the match and permission for them to return to England and prepare for the birth of their child in the family home.

Oh, how bitterly Charlotte wept upon receiving this news.