For several days after learning of Lydia's horrible fate, Elizabeth was very sad and lost in gloomy thoughts. At first, Darcy wanted to give her some time to process everything that Mrs. Younge had told them, but as the days went by, he felt that a barrier was forming between them and he needed to break it down at all costs; he needed to recover the trust and intimacy with his wife that they had managed to achieve in the last months. So, on the fifth day after Mrs. Younge's confession, after they made love, he decided it was time.

"My love, please, talk to me. I feel like an invisible wall is forming between us and I don't want that. What are you feeling? What are you thinking?" He caressed her face tenderly. "I love you so much, Elizabeth. I want to help you. You know, you can trust me."

Elizabeth sighed sadly. "That's the problem, I don't know exactly how I feel or what I should feel. My life and my sisters' lives were changed so much because of Lydia's folly. For months I hated her so much, especially when our neighbors began to treat us as if we were fallen women. I felt powerless seeing the daily sadness and humiliation on Jane and Mary's faces, along with Kitty's remorse. I had to listen to my mother's endless complaints about our neighbors' insults and censure. I hated her so much at that time… But due to Lydia's folly, I went to America and now I have Isabella. Jane, Mary, and even Kitty married good men and are happy. Would we have been just as happy if Lydia's indiscretion hadn't happened?" Lizzy began to sob uncontrollably, and Darcy hugged her tightly.

"You always say that I should think only of the past as its remembrance gives me pleasure. Lydia's actions completely changed both your and your family's lives. They changed mine, too. You and your sisters suffered a lot of humiliation and sorrow over Lydia's indiscretion, and, naturally, you felt angry and negative feelings toward your sister. Unfortunately, we cannot change anything that occurred and we must live with the consequences of our decisions and actions. I wish I had found her in time! I wish I hadn't wasted seven years of my life without you!"

The two held each other tightly until Elizabeth finally calmed down and fell asleep in his arms. As the days went by, Elizabeth slowly recovered from her melancholy and, little by little, everything returned to the way it had been...

PPP

Over the next few weeks, the invitations to balls and parties kept coming, and to Lady Matlock's delight, Richard decided to stay two months longer than he originally intended. Although he had to go every two or three weeks to Rosings for a couple of days to supervise the horse breeding business, he tried to get back to London as soon as possible. The irony of the situation was that the main reason for the change of plan was not because of one of the young debutantes Lady Matlock had in mind, but because of the daughter of his former General.

The Darcys, and especially Elizabeth, noticed Richard's interest in Mrs. Harper, and began to pay more attention to the lady. Since Lizzy was the same age and had a similar temperament and disposition, they soon became good friends.

After an informal courtship of about two months during which Richard had the opportunity to get to know Mrs. Harper better, he concluded that she was the perfect woman for him; so, he proposed and she gladly accepted. Perhaps Richard did not feel the same passionate love and devotion that Darcy felt for Elizabeth, but he did have a deep affection and respect for Mrs. Harper, which he was sure would grow even more with time. Ironically, several years ago when Mrs. Harper made her debut in society and was yet unattached, she had been attracted to the former Colonel Fitzwilliam. At that time the gentleman was courting another lady and he paid no attention to any other lady. Because her first marriage was to a military man, Mrs. Harper knew that soldiers often had nightmares about the horrors of war and perhaps their guilty conscience; over time she helped Richard to leave behind such sad and horrible memories.

PPP

During the few months they were in London, Darcy and Elizabeth went frequently to the theater, bookstores, and museums, although they also thoroughly enjoyed being alone at home. On some occasions, the Thompsons and Gardiners joined them at dinners and parties. Isabella was very happy with her new "papa" and she adored him. Darcy was pleased with his role as a father; he loved reading fairytales to her every night, taking her to Hyde Park to feed the swans, and listening to her when she called him Papa. He never thought being a father could be so rewarding.

As happy as he had been in London, Darcy was even happier when the day came for him to return to Pemberley with his loving family. Since Hertfordshire was on the way to Pemberly, and Elizabeth's parents wanted to see her and Isabella, they decided to stay at Longbourn for two days. As Darcy's carriage passed through Meryton, people looked curiously at the luxurious carriage and wondered who was inside, and many were surprised to see Mr. Darcy with the former Elizabeth Bennet.

Within a few hours, due to Mary Shaw's gossip, everyone in Meryton knew that Mr. Darcy - who was one of the richest men in England and had connections to the nobility - had married the former Elizabeth Bennet.

Until that moment, few people in Meryton knew of Elizabeth's marriage to Darcy. The great irony of this situation was that before Lydia's incident, Mrs. Bennet would surely have bragged to all and sundry about her second daughter's great achievement.

Everyone wanted to congratulate the happy couple, but Darcy did not forget that some of them, in particular, the Lucases and the Gouldings, had been very mean and spread hateful lies about his wife and family.

So, the day after they had arrived in Longbourn, Darcy, and Elizabeth went to Meryton to buy some books for Isabella. When they came out of the bookstore, Mrs. Lucas and Mrs. Goulding greeted them with obviously false smiles. Darcy simply looked them up and down, and in a clear and loud voice - so that everyone nearby could hear him - he said to Elizabeth,

"My love, do you have any relationship with those women? I seem to remember they were malicious gossips and liars. I feel sorry for their husbands who have the misfortune of having such despicable women as wives."

"A few years ago, I had the bad luck to meet with them, but fortunately I no longer have a reason to speak with them..."

The happy couple continued walking towards their carriage, leaving two petrified women. In a very short time, everyone was talking about what had happened and those people who had in the past been the victims of Lady Lucas and Mrs. Goulding's gossip were laughing heartily that someone had finally told these two women what many of them thought.

In addition, everybody was commenting on the good fortune of the Bennet family; Mr. Darcy had connections to the nobility and was a very wealthy man. Nobody in Meryton remembered anymore or wanted to remember that years ago the Bennets had been considered a family of low morals.

Also, nobody knows exactly how, but a rumor spread in Meryton that Lydia Bennet had been living all of those years in America, but when Elizabeth and the Gardiners came back to England, she decided to stay there with her husband...