I was disappointed to only receive one review for the last chapter. I am hoping that this just means you are all enjoying your time with your families and it isn't a reflection on you not enjoying the last chapter. However, a promise is a promise so here I am posting 24 hours later and the epilogue will be up on Christmas Eve. If you could should me some review love for any of this work, I'd appreciate it.
Chapter 21
In the end, Darcy was not fit to drive to Tennessee from Indiana, much less to thereafter travel on an airplane, so he, Georgiana and Anne ended up staying with the Bingleys a couple of days longer than planned. Georgiana was more than willing to get out of school for an extra long vacation, and correctly assumed she could make up her work later.
Darcy of course tried to insist he could get a hotel starting Sunday night, but Charles insisted "You must stay." Jane added, "Don't you know it is our pleasure to host you and no bother at all?" Elizabeth, and the rest, though, left on Sunday as scheduled.
Anne received a call from her mother's attorney on that Monday afternoon. The attorney, Mr. Richards, was a very nice man who had drafted Anne's will twice, and Ms. de Bourgh's several times. Luckily for Ms. de Bourgh, Mr. Richards was also a member of the bar in both Tennessee and Kentucky, so there was no need for a local attorney to be engaged while he attempted to get pro hac vice status.
Mr. Richards explained, "I did my best, but your mother after being arraigned was denied bail. That particular judge is apparently known for being a hardliner when it comes to crimes that endanger people. Your mom gave me permission to talk to you about all of this. I saw the police report of course, which detailed the dispatch report that she sideswiped another car, resulting in it spinning, when she attempted to enter a closed highway on its exit ramp, did not stop and then exited on the next on-ramp, before proceeding on surface streets at a high rate of speed (the police were pursuing at this point), got onto an interstate and drove at over 100 miles per hour before finally pulling over, only to then back into a police car after it stopped, in an attempt to flee again. They had to put spike strips on the road and a news helicopter was following the chase at that point. Apparently it made it on the local Sunday news the next morning."
Mr. Richards told Anne "You aren't my client and maybe I shouldn't say what I am going to now, but the press coverage is going to be pretty nasty in Nashville once this all comes out, and come out it will. If you have a friend out of state or something, this would be an excellent time to take a long vacation. Your mother is going to do some time. The assault charges are pretty serious and the DUI has enhancements requiring mandatory time because she was going more than fifteen over and caused bodily injury to the state patrol officer. Now, don't worry, he's going to be just fine, but I tell you this so you understand. A reporter called me just a few minutes ago asking if it was true that your mother made some 'donations' to get her prior DUI charges in Tennessee reduced to just traffic violations."
"She had other DUI charges?" Anne asked, flabbergasted. She hadn't known anything about them at all.
"Yes, I looked in the practice file on the criminal side, and it looks like three were dismissed. I certainly did not make any bribes on her behalf, but my former partner is my former partner for a reason. I usually just do transactional work, not criminal stuff like he did. I really hope he didn't do anything like that, but like I said, it is going to be bad and I might even face a bar inquiry myself, even though I did not handle those cases."
After that call, Anne was more than willing to stay with them at the Bingleys' home until Darcy felt fit to drive down to the Rosings Plantation, and even agreed that it might be wise to at least visit New York City with them for a while, while criminal matters with her mother played out. A tentative plan was made to get Anne clothes from her home and to then fly out the next day if they could get a last minute flight.
Anne received a phone call from her mother on Tuesday. In it, a teary Ms. de Bourgh said, "Anne, I didn't mean to do any of it. I did not realize what I was doing. I understand that Richards talked to you about it like I wanted him to do. I am so ashamed. I didn't know I was drinking so much. I am going to get help, I promise. I am already attending AA meetings in jail, going to chapel, too. Whatever plea I take, completing treatment will be a part of it. I don't want to die or hurt anyone."
"That's good Mom," Anne replied. "I want you to be better. But also, you need to let me be a grown up and make my own decisions."
There was a pause and Ms. de Bourgh said. "I understand. I just want you to be well. I guess I am overprotective, because I've been protecting you your whole life. Lots of doctors wanted to give up on you, put you on hospice, but I never would, and you are still here."
"Hold on a second, Mom." Anne muted the phone.
Anne asked Darcy and Georgiana, "Should I tell her I am going to New York?"
Darcy shook his head, "I think it will just upset her, Anne. You can tell her later, when things are more settled with her situation."
Darcy determined later that day that he was well enough to at least drive to Kentucky and get a hotel for the night. No one was surprised that he picked a hotel in the same city that Elizabeth was now living. The four of them managed to meet for dinner, but Elizabeth had to call it a night after that as she had a paper to finish that was due the following morning.
Wednesday morning, Darcy, Georgiana and Anne drove to Rosings Plantation, planning on taking it easy until their flight the next day. However, someone on the staff must have put out the word that Anne had come home, for right outside of Rosings's gate, not half-an-hour after they arrived, a reporter buzzed, asking for a comment from Anne.
Therefore, they left out a back gate and drove back to Kentucky, getting to the city Elizabeth lived in by noon, Darcy saying "They will expect us to stay in Nashville, we will keep away from the press if we get a flight from Kentucky instead."
Georgiana thought his reasoning was specious, but had no reason to object as she thought his real object was seeing Elizabeth Bennet one more time now that he was well enough to truly enjoy her company, and she had a lull until her next project was due.
Although Anne said "I want to see Elizabeth, too," Elizabeth and Georgiana cleverly arranged that her younger sisters Mary and Catherine (both of which were out of school, Mary because she had a Tuesday/Thursday college schedule and Catherine because she was taking a gap year and had the day off of work) would take Anne and Georgiana to Kentucky Down Under to see the kangaroos and to feed the birds nectar. Anne was quickly enchanted by the idea.
Georgiana enjoyed hanging out with Catherine, who was only a bit older than her, while Anne hit it off well with Mary. And of course petting the kangaroos was wonderful.
Meanwhile, Darcy and Elizabeth finally were able to get in some deserved kisses that afternoon. They took a lovely walk through Mammoth Cave National Park, pausing often to lock lips, hold each other and enjoy just being together.
The plans for the evening were for Darcy and Elizabeth to go out to a fancy French restaurant, while the others went to a buffet restaurant (Anne had explained that she had always wanted to go to one, on TV they always looked like so much fun, with all the variety, and ice cream, all the fixings and other desserts besides). However, for Darcy and Elizabeth things did not go exactly as planned.
Elizabeth and Darcy came back to her new apartment that she shared with Charlotte Lucas so that they could both change for dinner. Darcy was surprised when they arrived to see that he was not the only gentleman caller there. Of all things, Will Collins was present, but not for Elizabeth but Charlotte.
After social niceties taking forever in which Darcy was forcing himself to respond kindly to Collins's unwanted overtures, Darcy was more than ready to leave. Therefore he asked Elizabeth, "Are you ready? We have reservations and shouldn't be late."
Collins turned to Charlotte and said, "Dinner sounds like a good idea. What do you think, my dear, dear fiancee Charlotte? Should we all go on a double-date, you know to properly celebrate?"
Darcy barely had time to process that the couple was engaged, and from the way Elizabeth's eyes were bulging, Darcy correctly interpreted that she had no idea, before the double date concept was proposed. Darcy knew he had to do something quick.
"It is only a reservation for two . . ." Darcy tried to quickly sort out what to do and had a sudden inspiration, "but why don't you take it? I will call up the restaurant and explain it all. I will even pay, as a . . . congratulations."
"Oh how kind, you are so beneficent, just like your dear aunt." Mr. Collins then paused and looked over at Charlotte who was being dragged out of the living room by Elizabeth for some needed "girl talk."
"Of course, Ms. de Bourgh is fallible? as we all are." Mr. Collins had a question in his tone and seemed to be looking at Charlotte for some encouragement.
After she nodded and smiled, he straightened himself up as if more firm in such conviction. "Yes, a good woman and mother, but flawed. She really must get her drinking under control before she will be fully embraced back into the bosom of the church. But then perhaps it all went according to His plan as I got to spend half of Sunday, most of Monday, three hours of Tuesday and most of today here with her as well. I would have never stayed and gained my wife-to-be if not for the car wreck."
"Dinner sounds nice," Charlotte got out before she disappeared with Elizabeth.
Darcy was forced to endure Collins's company for nearly twenty minutes (with very little of that time occupied with calling the restaurant and getting things arranged for Collins and Charlotte, and searching in vain for another good restaurant nearby), before Elizabeth and Charlotte reappeared.
"Let's go," Elizabeth declared.
Darcy didn't know where, but he was happy enough to get out of there. "Where to?"
"How about Indian?"
Darcy was determined to be agreeable, so he said yes, even though he had serious doubts that any authentic Indian food could be found anywhere in Kentucky. On the drive there, Elizabeth told him all about her conversation with Charlotte.
"It makes me so mad, she is just settling for my weasel of a cousin because she wants to have kids and doesn't want to do the whole artificial insemination, do it on her own, route. She doesn't have any faith she can find anyone better." Darcy mostly just listened to Elizabeth talk.
When they arrived, Elizabeth said, "I wasn't being fair to you at all, this is our last night together and we should be having fun."
Before he could make any response, Elizabeth was lunging in his direction and kissing him. Darcy had no trouble giving back as good as he was getting. Elizabeth's kisses had a sort of frenetic anger to them at first, but as they continued to kiss, the kisses were just as passionate as before without the harshness.
When they finally went in, it was very stereotypical Indian food. It was not very good in Darcy's opinion, but Elizabeth seemed to enjoy it, and it was fun to get the dinner for two, to drink the Mango Lassi, eat the garlic Naan and Samosas, the green gunk with the squares of cheese and all the rest, and to have Elizabeth across from him the entire time.
"Should we go back to your place now?" Darcy asked, when the check was paid, his eyes dark with passion. While he had enjoyed making out in a car, he wasn't some teenager. He preferred a nice couch to trying to make out across the captain's chairs and the crick the earlier kissing at such an awkward angle had given his neck.
"Better not," Elizabeth rejoined. "What if my cousin and Charlotte are back there now?"
So instead they went to a movie, held hands, ate way too much greasy popcorn (again not very good in Darcy's opinion, but the company made it all worthwhile). They watched a cheesy romance movie from the very back row, and kissed sometimes. Darcy could not have told anyone the details of the plot afterward, but that the hero eventually ended up with his love interest.
On the drive back to drop Elizabeth off (he had to go get Georgiana and Anne after that), Darcy and Elizabeth made plans to see each other over her winter break. At first Elizabeth was resistant to him paying for her to come visit him after December 26, explaining "I can't do that. That would be a lot of money, which I can't afford, and I pay my own fair share. I don't like owing anyone anything."
Darcy controlled himself from shouting about how bullheaded she was being, trying his best to reason it out with her. "If I could be away from New York the whole time, I would come and stay in a hotel near you for the duration, but I just can't be away that long from the business, and shouldn't be away from Georgiana or Anne, either. Georgiana would just live on pizza and T.V. dinners if I didn't cook for her. Who knows what Anne will need? She has big gaps in her practical knowledge. Come stay with us, please? I would just fly us all back again but Georgiana does have school."
Elizabeth, rather than just repeating her previous argument, took the time to listen to what he said and to think about it. "Okay, but just because I am staying with you all doesn't mean we are doing anything. It doesn't give you any rights at all."
"I never thought it did," Darcy responded, holding her hand. "I just want the pleasure of your company, that's what my mom said was all me ever paying for a woman's meal, etc. ever earned me."
"I like that," Elizabeth grinned. "I hope you've taught that one to your sister and will teach it to Anne. I have a feeling she hasn't dated at all."
The next day, on the plane flying back to New York (via a connection from Houston of all things), Darcy let himself remember all the nice times he had shared with Elizabeth and passed a pleasant hour that way. His reverie was interrupted when Anne suddenly exclaimed. "I forgot to claim my lottery ticket money!"
Georgiana quickly reassured her, "It wasn't very much money, was it? Just imagine, now you will have proof in the form of the ticket that you actual won." This mollified Anne, and Darcy was soon able to sink back into the wonderful memory of his time with Elizabeth. He would be counting the days until he saw her again, which was now less than a month away.