Hi guys! Can you believe it's nearly March already? Though things in the world look dark right now, remember there is always room for hope. Keep faith! Thank you for allowing me to write these stories and entertain you just a little. Sometimes we all need to get away from reality for awhile. I'm honored that you choose to do so with me!

And now, on to our story.

Chapter Twenty Seven

The carriages moved up the drive that made a little half circle outside Longbourn. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet stood in line to receive the travelers, along with Jane and Elizabeth's younger sisters, peering curiously towards the vehicles.

Inside the carriages the two pairs of newlyweds waited anxiously. They had managed to travel without incident from Paris to Calais, to take a ship from Calais to Dover, and then to drive from Dover to town. After staying in town overnight they made for Longbourn.

"I hope you are prepared to meet my family," Elizabeth said to Darcy as their carriage came to a stop. "They can be overwhelming even when they are calm, and my mother is not likely to be the least bit calm once she sees you and Bingley."

"How overwhelming can they be?" Darcy gave her a quick kiss. "If we could manage the mobs of Paris, surely we can withstand whatever your family may bring upon us."

"That only shows that you have not met them yet," Elizabeth answered mischievously, but not without some anxiety. "You may prefer the mobs once mama realizes that we are married!"

"I just hope your uncle was able to get word through, telling them that we were going to be married. Otherwise our appearance may be quite a shock."

His question was answered almost as soon as she finished speaking, as Mrs. Bennet's voice came in clearly through the windows of their vehicle. "Mrs. Bingley!" she exclaimed. "And Mrs. Darcy! How well they sound! Two daughters married, and everything that is fine! How shall I ever stand such excitement? I shall go distracted!"

Elizabeth barely heard her mother. She was too busy looking through the window to see if all was as she remembered it and to mark what changes may have occurred in her absence. She and Jane had last been home nearly two years before, yet everything about the house was the same, except perhaps for a faded shutter or a leaning fence post. Her father looked more serious than she remembered, and her sisters were, perhaps, a little taller. Otherwise she could find no alterations.

Mrs. Bennet's exclamations continued as the passengers disembarked, and in her excitement she scarcely knew where to look or who to greet first. "Come here, Jane and Lizzy, that I may see you! I scarcely recognize you! Such grand ladies, with your French styles and dresses! Are you truly married? I could hardly believe it when I read it on the page. You must come inside at once and tell me all about the ceremony! Mr. Bingley! Mr. Darcy! You are even more handsome than I imagined! Do say that you will all stay here and not at the inn in Meryton, for I have had the very best rooms made up for you special!"

While Mrs. Bennet was talking, admiring, and asking questions without waiting for an answer, Mr. Bennet came forward to embrace his daughters and kiss them proudly. "Jane, Lizzy, it is a relief to have you back safely." Then he turned his attention to their husbands, eyeing each one carefully in turn.

"I wish I had been able to meet you before now, but I suppose later is better than never," he said, in his laconic way. Elizabeth held her breath, wondering how Darcy would react to her father's unique sense of humor.

"I regret that we could not meet you under more conventional circumstances," Darcy answered cautiously, with a glance at his wife.

"Do you mean you wish you had not met and married my daughter in the middle of a revolution? It is certainly unconventional behavior, young man."

"I am sorry for any anxiety it may have caused."

"Oh, don't apologize! There is no need. I was not looking forward to giving away my two most deserving daughters, but you have saved me a world of trouble. If you had both approached me in the traditional way I would have questioned you about your intentions, you would have ranted and raved about your love for them, and in the end you would have had it all your own way. Young lovers always do."

Darcy was not offended. If anything, judging by the way the corners of his mouth lifted, he might have been slightly amused. "Mr. Gardiner assured me that we would have your approval and blessing."

"Under the circumstances I could hardly object. But I would like to think I would have approved in any case. You are welcome here at Longbourn, you and Bingley. Treat my daughters well and I shall have no complaints." The gentlemen shook hands heartily.

Elizabeth gave a sigh of relief. If Darcy and Bingley could tolerate her mother's excesses and her father's sardonic manner, surely they would have no trouble tolerating her younger sisters and their somewhat milder eccentricities. The group turned and moved into the house together.

Inside the house the family separated into customary groups in the sitting room. The ladies sat at one end of the room while the gentlemen sat at the other, and servants went back and forth with fruit, breads, and other refreshments, a gesture the travelers welcomed, for they had been traveling since early morning. While this was happening Mrs. Bennet and her younger daughters asked questions on every imaginable topic.

"Tell me all about your wedding," Mrs. Bennet commanded. "I wish I had been there to arrange everything for nobody has better taste than I. Still, I'm sure your aunt did the best she could. Were there many guests? What did you serve for your wedding breakfast? How terribly inconvenient it all was! There is no reason why you could not have been married from Longbourn, where all your friends and family could see you!"

"It was not possible, mama," Jane answered in her gentle way. "Surely you must know that. Our aunt and uncle could not take Jules, their little orphan child, out of the country with them yet, and they certainly could not leave him behind. We are hoping and praying that they are not long behind us on the road"

"We are grateful to our aunt and uncle," Elizabeth added. "If they had not insisted that we marry at once we might have been trapped in Paris, like so many others."

Mrs. Bennet sniffed. "Your uncle could have planned things better if he had put himself to any trouble."

Mary, fortunately, chose this moment to add her own questions to the mix. Of all the Bennet daughters she was the one with the most interest in political matters, and the one most likely to ask an intelligent question at this juncture. "Is it true that French citizens are dying on the streets, and that nobody is safe from being sent to the guillotine? Not even the king himself! I hope it is not true; yet in such a popish country it is not, perhaps, very surprising if that is the case."

"It is true that there is danger on every side," Elizabeth responded. "I do not know exactly what news you are hearing, but there have been many sad events. Even our friends the Lucases had to disappear without leaving word. We do not know where they are at this moment, or if they even made it out of Paris."

"Never mind Paris and all of that!" Lydia, the youngest and boldest exclaimed. She had never met the Lucases, and at fifteen her greatest interests were dancing, shopping, and men in red coats. "I want to know how you met your husbands. What did you do to gain their attention, and how did you keep it once you had it? Especially when there were so many other ladies around. French women are supposed to be very handsome!"

"As if Jane would need to do anything to gain any man's attention!" said Kitty, who followed wherever Lydia led. "She has always been the most beautiful of us all. Even mama says so."

Jane sent Elizabeth a sympathetic glance, and Elizabeth smiled wearily back at her. These were her family and they were dear to her, but their vanity, carelessness and general want of manners reminded her why she and Jane had been happy to live in Paris. Some family members, she reflected, were easier to love from a distance.

From across the room Darcy, as if hearing her thoughts, turned to give her a smile full of reassurance and understanding. He was involved in conversation with her father and Bingley, and his distance from her made her think that he had not heard the conversation that had just taken place. But somehow he had sensed her need for support and supplied it at just the right time. She felt a wave of affection rush over her as she returned his look. Then she turned back to her mother.

"I wish I could tell you everything that has happened in the past six months. We met and Mr. Bingley at an assembly in the fall and they began courting us soon afterwards. Paris still had plays and recitals to attend until recently, when the city became more dangerous. Then my uncle decided we had to leave."

"I was the one who insisted on sending you to Paris!" Mrs. Bennet said, triumphantly. "It was over your father's objections, you know. He thought you would do well enough here, but I thought differently. But nobody ever listens to me. Who married you, and how did the ceremony take place?"

Jane and Elizabeth, answering her questions, gave a complete description of the priest, the dresses, the flowers and everything about the short ceremony. They were so thorough, in fact, that their retelling took at least as much time as the wedding itself.

While they were doing this Elizabeth glanced across the room several times at Darcy, Bingley and her father. They were leaning close together. From their serious expressions, their gestures, and occasional words she could make out here and there, she gathered that they were discussing her aunt and uncle's situation. How she would have preferred to be a part of their conversation, rather than the one she was now in! But she could not be impolite to her mother, no matter how the conversation dragged on.

At length Mrs. Bennet was satisfied that she had learned all she could about the event. She sighed happily. "I have been so worried, so anxious to see you all settled in your own homes, and now I have two daughters married. And to such rich men! We no longer have to worry what will happen to the rest of us once your father dies, and your husbands are likely to bring Kitty and Lydia, and even Mary, into the path of other rich men!"

Elizabeth glanced towards her husband, but he did not appear to have heard the comment. Never again, she decided, would she underestimate her family's capacity to embarrass themselves. She was saved from responding, however, by another inquiry from Mary.

"What happened after you were married? Was it hard to get out of the city?"

"Not at all. We presented our papers at the gate and the captain of the guard let us go through." If she told them the whole story now, the resulting exclamations and questions would go on all day.

"Just like that?" Lydia asked, wide eyed. "They did not even try to stop you?"

"My husband can be very persuasive," Elizabeth answered with a smile. "Once the soldiers were convinced that we were newlyweds and had nothing to hide, they let us go."

"So they didn't chase you all the way to the coast?" Lydia sounded disappointed. "We thought they would attack you somewhere along the way."

"Quite the contrary; our journey was uneventful. From Paris we went straight to Calais. We had to stop two nights on the road, but Mr. Darcy made sure we had the best possible accommodations each time."

"Mama was sure you would be murdered in your beds, or at least robbed along the way!"

"We had our footmen to guard us, so we had no fear on that account. In that respect, we are more fortunate than many others." Her voice faltered slightly as she thought of the uncounted poor souls left behind. From the look on Jane's face, her mind was similarly engaged.

"Oh, to have a French footman!" Mrs. Bennet exclaimed, oblivious to her daughters' distress. "And French servants! Didn't you bring even one maid with you? Just one French maid would have been the talk of the neighborhood!"

"Not even one maid?" Kitty exclaimed. "La! How strange! Where are your maids and your menservants? Who will do all your unpacking?"

"Most of the footmen who came with us from Paris already had other positions here, but a few went on to Mr. Darcy's town house to prepare it for our arrival. As for maids, I would like to think that we are quite independent when the need arises!"

"Dear me! Who would have thought it?" Mrs. Bennet fanned herself. "A house in town, and everything that is delightful! Ten thousand a year! You must tell me what dishes your husbands most favor, that I may serve them at dinner while you are here."

Plainly nothing here had changed. Their mother was as she had always been- vain, self centered, and invariably silly. Kitty and Lydia were still frivolous and no better disciplined than they had ever been. Only Mary seemed to appreciate the gravity of the ordeal that they had just passed through, but even she had failed to express any concern for her aunt and uncle.

There was not much conversation after that. Having exhausted the subject of their time in France, at least for the moment, Mrs. Bennet offered to have them shown to their rooms in order to refresh themselves and change, an offer the whole party gladly accepted. They stood and a maid led the four of them upstairs.

Once Elizabeth and Darcy were alone in the room which would be theirs while they stayed at Longbourn, he took her eagerly into his arms. Elizabeth sighed with relief as she relaxed against him, then laughed as he kissed her again and again. "We have been together nearly without ceasing since we were married five days ago!" she said between kisses. "Could you not stand being at opposite ends of the same room for less than an hour?"

"I think, Elizabeth, that no matter how long we are married I shall regret even a minute not spent in your presence!" He followed this with even more tokens of his affection.

"I was so afraid," she said when she had a chance, "that you would be embarrassed, or worse yet, horrified by my family."

"You are not the only one with difficult relations," Darcy answered. "Someday you will meet certain relations of mine who can, I think, match your own for poor behavior. Fortunately I also have my sister to introduce to your acquaintance, and she is as dear to me as Jane is to you."

"When can we go to your house in town? Say that we will not have to stay at Longbourn too long!"

"Be patient, my dear. We only need to give the servants time to prepare for their new mistress. I want everything to be perfect for you when you first arrive."

Elizabeth looked at him archly. "I will try, but my patience is already being sorely tested!"

Darcy framed her face in his with his hands as he gazed down at her.. "As long as you and I are together, I do not care where we are. I can take on the mobs of France, your family, my relations, and anything else life may bring against us as long as you are by my side!" He followed this with more breathtaking kisses and Elizabeth surrendered herself to his affection, knowing that the bond so recently created between them would never be broken.

I'll see you back here in three weeks. In the meantime keep yourselves and your loved ones safe! -Elaine