Epilogue

1819 - Pemberley, Derbyshire

It had been nearly a month since Georgiana's marriage to Captain Wentworth, and most of the large party of guests had already returned to their homes. In the case of Richard's parents, they had taken their leave the day after the wedding in order to return home and soothe Lady Catherine's nerves with their never-ending presence. It had not been long after the fiasco of 1812 when the old dear had started to show signs of mental instability with complaints such as tremblings and flutterings all over her. The pains in her sides and aches in her head were dear companions for the tremendous beatings in her heart. None of which existed, but the Earl would not let it be known to his sister, for fear of a full faint on his parlour floor. He did not wish for his footmen to break their backs in the process of hauling the ample woman up the stairs, so he fussed after his most frustrating sister to keep the peace and his staff's health. Richard and Rebecca stayed only a few more days as they were to travel south for the remainder of the season.

The remaining occupants at Pemberley were scattered around the grounds, with the ladies sat on the veranda watching their loved ones fishing by the lake.

"Dear Lord, Mr Wickham!" Caroline cried out as she watched the man plant the precious Darcy heir onto his shoulders. He did not answer, and Caroline surmised that he had chosen to ignore her. "George! Do not refuse to take notice of my call. Put Master Thomas down; you will drop him!"

"Caroline, do not fuss so. My son is no weight at all, and your husband does have hold of his legs. I do not think he is in any danger of a fall and if Tommy feels unbalanced, he will just grab hold of George's hair and hold on tight. He does Fitzwilliam's, and I am sure that is why his hair has started to turn grey at the temples prematurely," Elizabeth stated with a chuckle.

"Ever since his recovery, my relentless husband thinks he is Thomas Topham with his three barrels. He really needs to curb his behaviour; he will have an unfortunate accident one of these days."

Not long after Thomas was born, the Darcys had started to soften to Caroline Wickham, for she had acknowledged her wicked ways and wrote them a very lengthy letter with the most sincere regrets and apologised for her behaviour during those earlier years. She had found love at last, with the man she had married. From their first night together as man and wife, she had confessed her want in life was to be loved and had clung to Darcy in an attempt to obtain that attention from the gentleman. It had taken over a year from receipt of that initial letter for the Darcys to reacquaint themselves with the lady, and once they had, it took just as long to trust the woman fully. Now it seemed as if nothing had ever happened to quash their friendship.

When Wickham saw his daughter for the first time, he vowed that he would walk her down the aisle on her wedding day. Caroline protested at such a preposterous idea, knowing he would not be able to make the short walk from the entrance to the altar without both canes. However, two years later she was struck senseless when she heard her husband announce he was finally ready to see a physician in London in order to correct his skeleton's deformity. He knew that it could have ended so disastrously; that he could even lose his life or be left without being able to father another child, but he was adamant that he would continue with this endeavour. He relished the idea of a future he could have, with not only his daughter but his wife and any other children they may have been blessed with. Boys needed a father; a father who was capable of joining them in their daily pursuits. He knew he would never ride a horse, for Wickham was too old and set in his ways to learn, but at least he could go rambling across the fields, looking for wildlife and pointing out specific fauna and flora.

He had been dosed up on morphine when the operation took place and several months afterwards before he was painstakingly weened off the substance. It had taken a full year of pain, exercise and determination to get back some of his mobility, but it was not wholly successful. He still limped, but at least he was not in pain and was able to walk a reasonable distance without the use of the bath chair, or his canes.

His recovery was not without problems; Wickham had taken hold of a fever not long after, and his life was in the balance as to whether or not he would survive. The constant care from his wife, day and night, saw that the fever broke and her continued attention after that saw the man improve enough to be out of the woods.

The first few months, the Wickhams had taken to living in London, in a small leased house near the doctor's home. As time gave way and Wickham's health improved, they made a polite application to Elizabeth for the use of Longbourn. The estate in Hertfordshire allowed the Wickhams to live close to London, for there were necessary appointments with the physician for quite some time afterwards.

"Mama, Mamama," little Janey mumbled to her mother, as she pointed to the group on the lawn. "Me want Papa!" she commanded.

"Oh, baby. You cannot go over there, you are too little," Elizabeth replied to the two-year-old who had spotted Darcy, Mr Gardiner, Master Thomas along with Wickham sitting by the lake's edge, fishing.

"Lou Lou… Me," she said now pointing to the youngest Wickham, who was holding Mrs Gardiner's hand, as they stood along the edge of the lawn, watching the men in their pursuits. "Me want Lou Lou."

"Come then, we will all go to Louisa, but you are not to walk on the grass," Elizabeth said as she managed to stand with her swollen belly. "Do you need a hand, Caroline?" she asked.

"No thank you, I can manage myself," the equally enceinte guest replied as she slowly rose to her feet. Each, taking a hand of the little girl, they walked towards the object of the toddler's want.

As they reached the lawn's edge, Darcy lifted a large trout he had caught only minutes before, "Look what I caught!" he shouted over with much pride.

"I think you will need to catch a few more, Mr Darcy, for we have six mouths to feed at the dinner table tonight, and that is not including the children," she laughed but stopped when Wickham lifted up his catch, for he had three hanging from his hand. "Mr Wickham! You have come to the rescue."

"Yes, I always caught more fish than Darcy. I am sure they take one look at his face and jump out of his grasp and back into the lake, it must scare them tremendously."

"George!" Caroline chastised, but all started to laugh except little Janey, who was too young to comprehend the humour in the statement.

"Papa looky happy, not scary!" she pouted and sat down on the grass next to where Louisa stood.

Darcy suggested they would have the fish for breakfast in the morning, as he had kept a secret from his wife. He stood and walked towards the ladies on the lawn's edge and confirmed that there would be eight for dinner and a total of six children in the nursery. "Richard and Rebecca will be making an appearance with the children, so we will be having a superb dinner this evening. It is all arranged."

"I did not think they would be back from their trip so soon. When do they arrive?"

"They should be here shortly. I received word this morning from Richard, stating they are on the last leg of their journey."

"What a wonderful surprise; I cannot wait to see them."

"I have another surprise," Darcy stated, then looked over to Wickham who nodded. "Mr and Mrs Wickham will be coming to live at Pemberley. I am making the dower house good for their use and hope they will be in situ before the summer is out."

"This is a day of surprises! You have kept so much from me," she smiled gloriously.

"I love to see the surprise upon your face when I tell you such, my darling," he said softly into her ear as he pulled her to one side away from the throng of people, and so out of their earshot. "I take it you will be joining me in my rooms tonight to show your appreciation?"

A blush formed on her cheeks, a reaction that had not diminished with the longitude of their marriage. "But Fitzwilliam, you seem to forget that I come to you every night. However, I feel tonight I must show you just how very much I love you," she responded in equal secrecy.

"Uncle Wicky!" Thomas proclaimed as his parents were in their tender but private moment, "You're going to live with us?"

"Yes, with Aunt Wicky and Louisa."

"Oh, George! You finally agreed," Caroline was tearful as she ran into her husband's arms.

"Hey! Aunt, do not mind me!" a little voice called out from above. The gentleman let the boy down so that his feet touched the ground and he ran over to his mother. "Does that mean Lou Lou will be here every day?" he eagerly asked.

"Yes, it does. However, you must not neglect your studies. Miss Lucas will not permit you to forfeit your learning, you know she is quite a strict governess."

"Can Lou Lou join me in the classroom? Miss Lottie won't mind." His grin struck a chord in Elizabeth's heart, for he was growing more and more like his father with every day that passed.

"I am sure that she will not. I will talk to her in the morning and let her know that Louisa will be joining you in the classroom in September."

Charlotte Lucus did not wish to be a nuisance to her brother after her father's death the year previous. When she saw Elizabeth's advertisement in the London papers for a governess, Charlotte knew she would be happy taking the post and hoped that their closeness would resurface. To the spinster's regret, the ladies did not completely rekindle that intimacy they once had as too much time had passed them by. Elizabeth had not responded to Charlotte's letter in the year twelve; she was not able to forgive her friend for not listening to her pleas. She had cast their friendship into the gutter in favour of Mr Collins' insistence that their ties be broken, and that bore a terrible scar upon their closeness.

"I remember not liking the schoolroom; my governess was quite strict. A requirement that my parents had insisted on and I am sure it was to punish me for my bad behaviour," Caroline stated as the youngster had wandered off again.

"Thomas loves his governess, and I am sure all the children will take a liking to their mentor. I do not begrudge my children's fondness for her, even if I am unable to accept her fully back into my life as a close friend."

"But you forgave me?" Caroline asked.

"Yes, but you were in and out of our lives in one form or another. I had received a letter from Charlotte whilst I was carrying Thomas, but nothing else. I could not bring myself to write back and therefore ended an open correspondence which had yet to flourish. The longer I left it, the more distant I felt towards her, and it has been many years, and we have yet to move on. Who knows? Maybe in a few years, things will be different, but it is unlikely as we do not converse as we used to. The situation of governess does not give her leave to act as an intimate acquaintance, and although she is a senior servant, I do not wish to entertain her in the same manner I would with one of our guests."


Thomas ran over to Louisa and grabbed her hand before running off into the direction of the forest. "No climbing trees!" Wickham called out in his stern fatherly manner. For although there was a ban on tree climbing, it was not uncommon for one of the parents to remind the children of 'The Pemberley Law', which had been conceived once the eldest was barely walking.

"Yes, Papa."

"We won't, Uncle Wicky."

Both Thomas and Louisa ran to the perimeter of the woods and found the tree that had been the bane of Wickham's injury. "This is the tree Papa fell from, when he was a boy," Louisa stated.

"Look!" Thomas said as he pointed to the trunk. "Look at the initials, F.D. and E.B.? Oh? Who is E.B.?"

"That's your Mama, you ninni-nincompoop. Wasn't her name Bennet before she married your Papa?"

"Oh, yes. So they were here back in 1796? That must have been the year that Uncle Wicky fell."

"My word! That makes them ancient, doesn't it!" Louisa gasped. "I wonder if Mama is as old?"

"I don't know, but Uncle Richard is older than Papa by a year, and Aunty Beckie is eleven years younger."

"Why did she marry someone so old?!" Louisa gasped.

"Love," Thomas groaned as he rolled his eyes. "It seems everyone loves everyone. Even Papa loves Mama."

"But is that not normal for parents to love each other? Thomas, do you love me?"

"NO!" he grumbled forcefully before he started to kick the dirt around with his toe to distract himself from his embarrassment. His head was bent to the floor, and he would not look at his friend.

"I love you, even if you do not love me back."

"Do you?" he stopped and pondered what Louisa had just announced. He had only refused to say he did as no boy would acknowledge they loved a girl, even if she was pretty and wore frilly dresses. "I think I do love you, but don't tell anyone." Louisa bent forward and placed a kiss upon his cheek, which Thomas quickly wiped away with a grimace. "Yuk!"

"Do not do that! We are now betrothed, and you must accept my kisses." Thomas just blushed profusely; he had only ever been kissed by his Mama and Papa but did not particularly hate Louisa for making him grow scarlet, even if she did giggle at his now bashful countenance.

"Do you want to marry me?" he asked cautiously.

"I don't know."

"But you just said we were bestowed. Doesn't that mean we are going to get married one day?"

"Betrothed, and I hope so. Then I can move to the big house and run up and down the corridors, playing hide and seek."

"I know all the hidey-holes. I will win every time."

"That is only because you know the house. I am sure I can find somewhere you won't look."

"And what will be my prize when I catch you?" Louisa handed him her hand. "What am I to do with that?"

"Kiss it."

"I… I can't." He blushed further.

"Too proud to give me a kissarooney?!" she smirked.

"No!" He quickly pecked at her knuckles. "There!"

"Oh, I will have to teach you to kiss better than that."

"Not now!" His eyes widened in panic as he was sure the others could see them from where they sat.

"When, then?"

"When you are out."

"I am out now. We are not indoors, so must be outdoors."

"I mean when you are grown up and have curtseyed to Queen Lottie." Thomas rolled his eyes, how could he marry such a simpleton?

"You can't. She's dead."

"When? I thought I heard Papa say she's old, but still trudging along like the mad King George."

"She died last year, so not sure who I'm to make my curtsey to. Maybe some new pretty princess?" Maybe I am the simpleton, he thought.

"You are my pretty princess, Lou Lou. We can go to balls and dinners when we are out. Papa says we will spend the spring and early summer seasons in town and go to grown-up parties. I can even hold your hand if you want me to."

"That is a lifetime away."

"Can you not wait? Father said I will be out when I am eighteen and am seven now. That is only another… eleven years. You are only a year younger, and that means we will be out together." He pouted thinking she would fall in love with someone else before he had a chance.

"I might fall asleep with boredom, waiting all those years to grow up."

"I had to wait for my rocking horse, and I managed it easy enough. Although, it was only days, not years. However, when we are out, we can practice kissing a lot."

"Suppose," Louisa said wistfully. "Just practice on my hand for the time being." Thomas looked at the back of her hand and pouted, but gave it another peck.

All was comfortably quiet, whilst the children sat under the tree picking wildflowers from the ground for some time before they spotted the Fitzwilliam carriage turn the corner and enter the grounds.

"Uncle Richard! Aunt Beckie!" they both cried out as they ran back to the house to greet the new arrivals. All thoughts of balls, kissing, and betrothals were temporarily forgotten, but not for long.