Epilog

Lisette stood watching the small office and her friend. Her happiness was apparent to any passersby, was a contagious thing that brought a spring to a step when a man was otherwise intent on an errand he would glance at the lady with the tall escort by her side, smile, and continue on with a lightness to his stride and a lift to his countenance.

"I am ready," she told her husband and they crossed over to the office where clerks bustled about and Monsieur Dujardin could be seen at his desk within. He stood and came to the door with a paper in his hand, unhappy, apparently, over its news.

"Monsieur Dujardin," she called out to him.

"Louis!" He called looking up and then his face froze, the paper fluttered out of his hand—he took two steps back inside his office to sit down at his desk all the while staring at her. "You are not Louis."

"I am Louis," she gave a little bow, "but I am also Lisette." And then she curtsied.

Monsieur Dujardin still sat in his chair and stared up at her, blank faced and unsure. Lisette came to stand in the same spot next to his desk where she had been all those months before.

"Monsieur, I assure you I am the same person you knew and rescued from a tree and I do owe you an explanation. My name then was Lisette Bennet," she thought she saw a flicker of recognition cross his face at the name, "but I am married now and I am Lisette D'Arcy. This is my husband, Captain D'Arcy."

Captain D'Arcy stepped forward and his presence brought out something in Monsieur Dujardin who stood finally and shook hands in greeting with him though still with a dazed look.

"Perhaps Monsieur Dujardin, you might dine with us?" Invited Captain D'Arcy. Monsieur Dujardin accepted the invitation, closing up his little office.

There was much to discuss though the delicacy of Lisette's early adventures were tackled diplomatically and Lisette thanked her friend again and again for his companionship in her first days on her own in fleeing from the trials of being under lock and key. Monsieur Dujardin was understandably embarrassed to discover his companion had been a girl in disguise but as she was now safely married he grew more comfortable and the meal and the discussion lengthened as D'Arcy and Dujardin talked more and more of shared interests. D'Arcy's family villa was in Rouen where Dujardin was originally from—and where Lisette and Gauthier were to visit next—and they shared many acquaintance.

They parted in the late afternoon after a pleasant and long day of conversation. And Monsieur Dujardin dutifully restored the Briard Family emeralds to Lisette.

The Earl of Pett proved a most useful neighbor, not only in having answered Grandfather's Bennet's summons for help, but when John Lucas had difficulty finding a living after receiving his ordination, the Earl was able to help. He had contacts and was able to secure John a decent living in Sussex since the living at St. Albans was currently filled.

Cousin Collins had been persuaded to be ordained and to take the living at St. Albans by Mr. Bennet so that he might be close to Longbourn with the idea that he would give that up when he married Lisette. The living was under the will of the Earl of Pett though once given it was the incumbent's for life. Reverend Winthrop was a curate hired at Mr. Bennet's expense to perform parish rites so that Mr. Collins did not actually have to do any work himself. Mr. Collins found himself suddenly saddled with either paying Mr. Winthrop's expenses himself, or having to take on the work of marrying, sermonizing and burying the parishioners of St. Albans as Mr. Bennet withdrew all of his financial support. Reverend Mr. Collins took on this reprehensible burden, remaining in the vicarage in Meryton since he was faced with a rather large number of bills to pay now that he was his own master. It was not the life he had imagined.

His master, Mr. Thomas Bennet, moved out of Longbourn and took a house in London. His father, Mr. James Bennet, moved back from the Dowager House and took possession once again, of Longbourn. He had hoped and reckoned for a thousand and one more days and he lived to see at least that many when he had his beloved granddaughters to bring him joy.

Mrs. Bennet was at last able to see her grandchild, that beautiful granddaughter who took after her mother, Jeannette, and she enjoyed a long stay with her daughter and Mr. Bingley. No word was ever heard from Lydie and Georges Gaspard despite Madam D'Arcy's father-in-law working to hunt them down at her request.

Théophile D'Arcy was disappointed but philosophic about Gauthier D'Arcy's not becoming a diplomat and wishing to remain on his ship. He had had some small successes and the senior D'Arcy was pleased with those diplomatic triumphs. Besides which, Marcel seemed eager to take on this family trade, so to speak. The entire family welcomed Lisette into their fold and she enjoyed her time there whenever she visited. She had imagined a diplomatic household to be serious and cold, all business-like but found it warm and loving, though often it was always busy and over-flowing with people. She could, at least, ride if she needed a release from the demands of so much society.

One person not so enchanted with Lisette and D'Arcy's marriage was Douglas FitzWilliam-Blake. He had decided he wanted his father to remarry and had whispered that desire in FitzWilliam-Blake's ear during their tea that day in Portsmouth and that he though both ladies acceptable but Lisette was, of course, prettier. Lisette's marriage left Miss Bacon still available to be wooed by his father. But Miss Bacon did not remain Miss Bacon much longer.

To Sir William and Lady Lucas' relief their eldest son decided to finally take a bride, a bookish bride that was such a perfect fit everyone wondered why they ever thought to doubt he would find a wife. Captain FitzWilliam-Blake was invited to the wedding and reacquainted with Mr. Lucas' sister, Charlotte. They had met briefly at the D'Arcy's wedding but that had been such a hurried affair. He had arrived to only really enjoy the wedding breakfast before he, his crew and Douglas, assured of Miss Bennet's, now Madame D'Arcy, and Miss Bacon's safety, had returned to Portsmouth and ensured Douglas was not overly late in returning for the Spring term. But FitzWilliam-Blake had more time to sit with this intelligent and well-read lady and got to know her at the engagement ball and at the small parties before the Bacon/Lucas wedding, and the captain decided to follow his cousin, though with far less drama, into matrimony. His wife was content to remain in port, be an anchor for Douglas and him to revolve around which was so unlike his cousin's wife.

Lisette sailed with her husband whenever she wished, especially on any voyages around France and England. She sometimes opted to stay at the D'Arcy Villa with her father-in-law—and to ride—especially if Captain D'Arcy had a route that sailed too near corsair-held waters.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who stuck with me and enjoyed this little melodrama and left such delightful reviews. I believe I wrote it as an antidote for having written a tragedy before. My next story is to be a straight historical story based on a single line in Austen: "Netherfield Park is let at last." It explores the "at last," backstory as to why it took so long to get Netherfield Park leased and diverges from the original in multiple ways. I have about 10,000 words down and probably will not begin posting until after I go on and come back from vacation in late June. I may do this as a NaNoWriMo Camp attempt in July to see how quickly I can steam through it.

I love it when all of my little plot birds land on that wire and line up in a row all neat and tidy. This story came together quite easily as though I was shuffling a deck of cards; I did not struggle with writer's block except for my hurricane (it was too long and I cut it in half), at the governor's ball (I had a cat fight between Sol and Lisette that was also cut as it did not further the plot) and in attempting to figure out who would kidnap our heroine and return her to her father (that stalled me for quite a while).

This is not historically accurate though I do always try to make my stories as accurate as possible. Esteban Rodríguez Miró was governor of the Louisiana Territory at the time but at no time did he go missing in 1785. The de Granadas were entirely my creation. And while I have sort of portrayed the Spanish as incompetent in my story I have to say they were actually very good at administration. In researching the British, French and Spanish in the New World it was intriguing to read how differently they approached their expansion into these territories. The British were very agrarian, established small holdings, farms and port cities and sent back the fruits of their labors. The French raped the land for want of a better term, trapping for beaver, mining for gold (none), silver (some) and taking whatever resources they could get, finally establishing huge industrial plantations for cotton and indigo and sending it home to Paris. The Spanish did all of those but they created some great architecture and established schools, churches, ensured there were sewers laid in cities, firefighters were on the city staff and that there were police: laying down all of that underlying backbone pieces that are so needed to ensure a society survives.

Since this was a cross-over with Naughty Marietta, one scene I never quite figured out how to incorporate was after Marietta arrives in New Orleans and realizes she does not wish to be a casket girl (and must marry a local man, a condition of the girls coming to New Orleans) she begs off by saying she does not meet the requirements because she is "naughty" i.e. not of good moral character. In the Jeanette MacDonald movie she briefly sets herself up as a courtesan (and Captain Warrington (Darcy) is her first customer) before running away to work with Signor Rodolfo the puppeteer but I could not see Lisette/Elisabeth Bennet ever going so far as that so left that scene out.

I must confess that Cousin Collins' wedding suit was not my creation but a description of an actual museum piece I found on Google images; men at that time actually dressed in such garish colors.

Some of my favorite bits:

I liked Gérard. I created him to set up the standard of Frenchmen as a foil to stoic and stuffy Englishmen. I fear if I was Lisette I would probably have married him, or at least have slept with him and then never would have left to meet Captain D'Arcy.

I love that the entire Le Cerf Blanc crew was pulling for Lisette and the Captain to be together (except maybe Carbonneau). Actually I loved the whole damn story arc when they are together on his ship. I believe I wrote that entire arc in one week I was so inspired.

The tension between Lisette and her corsair tormentor flowed well and one reviewer asked that they come back (sorry!). He was a good bad guy. I am not sure how I did that.

I liked Papa Rodolfo; she needed a good father figure since Mr. Bennet was not going to change. I am sorry there was no reconciliation. One of the reviewers said she hoped for that, but every story needs a villain.

Thank you,

SixThings