Epilogue

The reader may be glad to learn that all turned out happily ever after for the new Mr. and Mrs. Darcy. That does not mean they did not have disagreements or misunderstandings. In fact, it was quite the opposite: there were many occasions where Darcy retreated behind his mask or Lizzy took offense at a poorly worded statement.

It was happy, however, because in spite of those spats, they never once doubted the love the other person had for them. They returned to one another again and again, reconciling and forgiving, with their love growing stronger each time.

Lizzy gave birth to five children over the years; three sons followed by two daughters. The eldest son inherited Pemberley, while the remaining sons followed in the footsteps of their uncles, one in the army and the other in the church. The example that all five children learned from their parents led them to search behind the masks of those they encountered. Each of the five eventually made a successful love match.

Jane and Oakley settled at Matlock. A few years after their marriage, Lord Matlock passed away, and Oakley became the new earl. Their marriage brought a daughter and a son into the world, in addition to the three sons from Oakley's first marriage. Although theirs was not a marriage for love at the beginning, the bond they formed grew stronger than most love matches could hope to attain.

Mary and Mr. Collins spent ten years at the Hunsford parsonage before Mr. Bennet fell ill and called them to his bedside. In that decade, Mary had given birth to two sons and a daughter, much to Mrs. Bennet's relief. After Mr. Bennet passed and Mary became the Mistress of Longbourn, Mrs. Bennet decided to spend her remaining years in the house of her sister, Mrs. Phillips, whose husband had passed away the year prior. The two women could often be seen out on visits, boasting of the excellent matches that Mrs. Bennet's daughters had achieved. Mr. Collins, as master of Longbourn, became a fair landlord, and his wife's dedication to the estate increased the income significantly. Mr. Collins demonstrated that the most intelligent things he ever did was listen to his wife's opinions on all matters.

It was with some relief that Mr. de Bourgh replaced Mr. Collins at Hunsford. Although Mr. Collins was a good man, not vicious or cruel, he was unable to provide a strong support for the parish. There had been many changes at Rosings in that decade, most notably the death of Lady Catherine one month before the birth of her grandson.

Miss Johnson gave birth to a beautiful boy, who was named Jonathon, supposedly after one of Anne's grandfathers. Anne and Mr. de Bourgh raised Johnny until he was four years old, at which time, Anne passed away, having suffered from what would later be termed anemia and fibromyalgia.

Anne's passing was rapidly followed by astounding news from Derbyshire. Mr. Cartwright had gambled away his entire fortune and had been caught attempting to seduce the daughter of one of his creditors. As this creditor was particularly unsavory, Mr. Cartwright's attempts led to the loss of his life. His son was now an orphan and was to be sent to the nearest poorhouse. Darcy, upon learning the news, sent an express to Mr. de Bourgh. Young Master Cartwright was biologically Johnny's half-brother, after all. Miss Johnson expressed such a strong desire to see the boy she had practically raised herself, and Mr. de Bourgh was inclined to agree. After three years of them being together at Rosings, the similarities between the boys were so similar that the servants had nearly forgotten they were not born from the same mother. The servants were further delighted when Mr. de Bourgh and Miss Johnson were married, having grown very fond of one another's company in their time together at Rosings. Anne was frequently spoken of as a cherished memory, so Johnny could never forget who had provided him the life he so enjoyed.

Kitty and Colonel Fitzwilliam were indeed married, and no one even remembered that theirs was a forced engagement. The couple was deeply in love, but due to Kitty's somewhat weakened health from her childhood encounter with influenza, she would only be able to give birth to one child. Their daughter was the apple of their eye, so it was fortunate she took after her Aunt Jane in sweetness of disposition, or else she would have been quite the spoiled child.

Lydia and Colonel Forster never did have any children. At first, Lydia did not mind, as she was enjoying the freedoms of being the wife to a military man and following the drum. When Colonel Forster was killed in battle, Lydia chose to return to Hertfordshire and live with her parents. She could not settle down, however, and eventually moved between the houses of her sisters, helping her nieces with their needlework and telling her nephews stories of the battles she had seen. She often joked that she had no need of children of her own, for she was content to have let her sisters do all the work for her. In the end, she passed away from an ailment of some kind that she contracted overseas but laid dormant for several years. Her death was mourned by many.

Bingley and Georgiana eventually purchased Netherfield. They spent half of their time there, and the other half of their time at Pemberley, which was just as much a home to them as their own. In turn, Netherfield's doors were permanently open to the members of the Bennet family who lived in the north to reside in while they visited their mother and sister Mary at least once per year.

Miss Stewart, Georgiana's kind friend in Ramsgate, never married. She enjoyed her freedom and adventures too much to do so. Instead, she sailed for Canada to explore the great country. Georgiana would receive a letter from the good lady on occasion, detailing her adventures. In the end, Miss Stewart felt she had lived a full and adventuresome life, with no cause to repine.

Lizzy remained grateful every single day for Becky, whom she never saw again. She often wondered what happened to her, even going so far as to hire an investigator towards the end of her life. He soon returned with the report that Becky had given birth to a baby that did not survive. Becky herself was soon married to a tenant farmer and cared for his three motherless children. By all accounts, the farmer was very kind to her, and she died peacefully in comfort and security.

Lizzy and Darcy blissfully watched over their siblings and cousins until their fortieth wedding anniversary. Lizzy fell ill with a bad cold after being caught in the rain, and she succumbed quickly to pneumonia. Their children would often say that after losing their mother, their father seemed to have lost the will to live. He became less active, turning the estate over to his eldest son, and was content to watch his grandchildren play and tell them stories of their grandmother until he faded away and did not awaken one morning. He was buried next to his beloved Elizabeth, to whom he would be forever grateful for taking the time to look behind his many masks.

The End.

Author's Note:

Wow, can you believe that we're here? Thank you all so much for reading to the end! I really appreciate it!

I would love to hear what you thought. (Especially now that it's finished, any mean reviews can't kill my muse lol). I am so incredibly grateful for everyone who found this story again after I took it down the first time due to some truly unkind remarks. Without your kindness and motivation, I wouldn't have continued.

Just so you know, my plan is to leave this entire story up until August 30th, at which point I will be putting it on Amazon's Kindle Unlimited and will have to remove all but the first few chapters.

Thank you all again. ❤❤❤❤