Mr. Sanderson well trained vocals and Mary's strained efforts produced a mixed effect in the drawing room. Thankfully Georgie was sleeping and Catherine took it upon herself to write letters to her sisters. With Elizabeth in London, Lydia and Jane living with their husbands elsewhere, she had three sisters to keep her amused. Soon she counted on Mary becoming Mrs. Sanderson and thus another sister to keep in contact with! Marina seemed to share the same opinion as Marina did not try to invade the pair's personal space.

Simon hummed under his breath while standing behind his wife and massaging her shoulders. They whispered back and forth without giving away their conversation, but as it dragged on, their shared energy lowered briefly before Marina grabbed his hand and pressed it to her lips. " Then I suggest you tell your second child that you're going to spending another three weeks in Hertfordshire before we return to our home," She said in perfect timing with the fading voices of Mary and Mr. Sanderson.

" Will the renovations be finished by then?" Catherine asked equally loudly, glancing up from her pen and inkwell.

" I would hope so, otherwise Simon will be staying here by himself," Marina answered defiantly. Simon's arched brow met with his wife's stubborn will. Everyone already predicted who would emerge the victor. " I miss my home, and no offense to Hertfordshire, but Longbourn is not home,"

" Longbourn is a root to our past," Mary agreed. " I would remind the gentleman who rents this house and stables of that as well, brother,"

Simon sighed heavily as he kissed his wife's hand in acknowledgment of her choice. " I would rent the home to you, sister, if I could, but as we all know you did not inherit a 100,000 pounds nor have you a suitor that earns what this house rightfully charges. I am not selling the land, Mary. I am simply returning to my own home,"

" Very soon," Marina added before anyone could blink.

He shook his head. " Yes, very soon, My Darling,"

Mr. Sanderson's bowed his head to keep his own smile hidden, but Mary caught him and rested her hand on his shoulder in familiar manner. " I am certain that the next renter will take great care of this gem, Miss Bennet,"

Mary blushed. " Twas not the point, Mr. Sanderson,"

" Forgive my presumptions, Miss Bennet," He replied gently.

She hastily removed her hand when Catherine cleared her throat.

" Well, Mr. Sanderson, I will be retiring early to bed. Georgie will be up early inevitably and sleep is a very precious luxury," She smiled and accepted her husband's help to stand. " Mary, please don't exhaust Mr. Sanderson's voice. It was a pleasure to listen to your joined voices and I desire to hear the joined voices again before I leave for home,"

" It would be my pleasure, Mrs. Bennet,"

Marina curtsied, leaving the spell bound pair in the care of Simon and Catherine. Simon stood next to Catherine to sneak a view of what she was telling her sisters. " Kitty, I have news if you would please follow me to my study," He whispered.

She obliging obeyed and in less than ten minutes Simon explained why their father was killed and that the killer had been caught in London in no small part to the army of investigators hired by immediate and extended family and connections. She cried into his shoulder, relieved to know that they would not be bothered again.

Alone in the drawing room, Mary turned to Mr. Sanderson hesitantly. He took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles with a tender smile similar to the warm smiles shared between Marina and Simon.

**** I am pleased to have finally finished this fanfiction. I like finishing what I start, and I have now considered Simon and Marina my perfect True Couple. I almost wish that I hadn't become enthralled with P&P because it has ruined my idea of the perfect man. Don't get me wrong - while Lizzy and Darcy were the star of the book, I think the family was really what made the book worth reading. Without Lydia to embarass everyone and Jane to be the far fetched 'perfect lady' and the annoying Mrs. Bennet and the ' I don't care' Mr. Bennet and the pious Mary and silly Kitty, the book would not have been as interesting as it was. I am not ending this as I did the other ones in a summary, like Jane Austen did in her book. I'm giving it a modern, imagine the future as you wish twist, and I adore everyone who stuck around to the end.

I would have finished this sooner but I've been captivated by crocheting with upcycled cloth and I am attempting to start up a side business that would be used for paying off debt and fixing up the house we call a money pit. I am taking a break from writing P&P fanfictions for at least the next 6 months but the next P&P fanfiction I was thinking of writing will be a self-insert/time travel. It will likely follow the plot of the book but again Lizzy and Darcy will not be the focus of the story as I have always considered the family members the more interesting part of the book.

I love you purists, but I have a wild heart and I am bored of Lizzy and Darcy. I love my what ifs. Don't take it personally when I say that the purists of P&P are too pure in their demands. I love you, but I love my options more. As always, my love and adoration as a writer goes out to everyone.