The next morning was Anne's funeral. Darcy and Elizabeth readied themselves in silence that morning. It was not going to be an easy funeral to endure because of the tragic circumstances, but Elizabeth knew she had to for her friend. She slipped on the black silk dress she had brought for the funeral. It was a simple dress with a black silk ribbon to tie around her waist. Darcy helped her tie it in the back, leaning down to kiss her neck softly. Intimate moments like this were some of Elizabeth's favorites with Darcy. Yet, there was a void without their son close by to pick up and hold. Both of them felt it and he could read the sadness in her face as she turned around to face him. He took her hands and kissed them softly. Another thing was weighing on her heart. She knew Lady Catherine would not give up baby Emily without a fight. A few tears escaped the sides of her eyes.

"Darcy, you should see her. She is an absolute angel."

"Who is, my darling?"

"Emily." Elizabeth paused. "She looks just as beautiful as Anne did and is healthy."

"I will accompany you to the nursery later today to see her, if you wish my company." Darcy kissed his wife's forehead.

Elizabeth nodded in reply. "I would like you to accompany me."

The couple left the room together and went down the stairs to the waiting carriage outside so that they would be taken to the church where the services would be performed. Lady Catherine was already waiting in her carriage when Elizabeth and Darcy got into their own. Arthur was in the carriage with her, both looking somber and resigned to their thoughts. The ride to the church was silent between Darcy and Elizabeth, both knowing how hard this was going to be for all involved. Darcy held Elizabeth's hand gently, not saying a word and allowing the silence to be a comfort to them both.

Upon arriving at the church, there were already mourners gathered together to pay their last respects to Lady Anne. Elizabeth and Darcy got out of their carriage and walked into the church where Anne's coffin was placed in the front. Mr. Collins had agreed to proceed over the services in memory of Anne. Now he stood somberly at the front of the church, gathering his thoughts to address those who knew her and members of her family. The Darcys took their seats and waited for the service to begin. Lady Catherine and Arthur entered the church and sat separately from the Darcys. Much to Elizabeth's surprise, Lady Catherine was shedding tears, wiping them away with a hankerchief borrowed from Arthur. She exchanged glances with Darcy, who saw the same thing she did. Just as he was about to say something, Mr. Collins began his service.

"Dear friends and family of Anne de Bourge. We gather here today to say goodbye to a daughter, a wife, a mother, a cousin, and friend. Lady Anne was a light in this world, though her time was short lived, and she will be remembered for her gentle and mild spirit."

Mr. Collins went on for a while longer, but Elizabeth could not help but think that nothing he was saying was true about Anne. Oh, the outward things were true, but she was much more than a gentle spirit. Anne had thoughts, emotions, feelings, and wishes like every other human being, only she could not live them out as she wished because of her illness. In her letters, Anne had confessed a wish to see the world. She wanted to travel and be free to do the things she wished without her mother controlling her all the time. Elizabeth understood her plight as her own mother had been so domineering in her late childhood. Now they were undervaluing the woman who gave her life to have a child, the precious baby girl named Emily who she loved and adored before she even entered this world. And with her dying breath, gave her child a name. This was the Anne that no one else knew but Elizabeth. This was the Anne that lived inside the body of a frail young woman trapped by her own health and mother. More than anything, Elizabeth wanted to show everyone in attendance at the funeral the real Anne, the woman with a beautiful soul, and perhaps one of her dearest friends.

After the funeral, everyone was resigned to return to Rosings. In the carriage, Elizabeth shed tears for her friend. She found it extremely difficult to hide them from Darcy, but she managed as his mind was on other important things that lay ahead of both of them. Taking Emily from Rosings would be a challenge far greater than anything either of them had faced before. Lady Catherine would not take to sending her only grandchild to live with the nephew she practically disowned for his marriage to a woman of inferior birth. Darcy and Elizabeth knew that if they did not take Emily, she would grow up miserable like her mother and isolated from the beauty of the simple things in the world like love and true family. Elizabeth would not stand for it as long as she was breathing and could fulfill the last wish of her late friend. Emily would have a life outside the walls of Rosings.

Once they arrived back at Rosings, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy immediately went upstairs to the nursery where they found the nurse taking care of Emily. The nurse quickly stepped aside, recognizing Mr. Darcy right away. Elizabeth approached the bassinet and looked down at little Emily sleeping sweetly. She was wrapped in her blanket with her initial on it. Without a second thought, Elizabeth reached down and picked up Emily, cradling the infant's head in her arm against her chest. Emily did not wake, but slept comfortably in Elizabeth's arms. Darcy watched for a few moments with curiousity that his wife could be so affectionate with a child that she barely knew, but knew that it was a motherly instinct.

"She looks just like Anne, does she not?" Elizabeth stepped closer to Darcy with the baby in her arms.

"Very much like her." Darcy was amazed at how much the baby did look like his late cousin. She was a remarkably beautiful child for being so young.

"Do you wish to hold her?"

Darcy nodded and took the baby in his arms. She was lighter than he expected and he immediately went back to the time when Bennett was an infant this small. He remembered how afraid he had been to hold his son the first few days because he thought that he might hurt him. Even now as he held Emily there was a feeling of awe that he was holding another newborn in his arms, a new life just beginning. Immediately he was filled with a strong desire to protect her from any harm, including his vicious aunt. Deep within, he knew that Emily would never be happy at Rosings, just like her mother was not. Catherine would control everything she ever did and who she would marry in the future, regardless of how Emily would feel. Darcy knew he had the power to change all of that for her.

Elizabeth watched as her husband bonded with Emily, knowing what things were going through his mind. Emily was their daughter now and no one would tell them otherwise. Anne had gone through hell in this household and given everything so that her daughter could have a chance at a life she could not even have begun to dream about. No one, not even Lady Catherine, would take that chance away from Emily if Elizabeth had anything to say about it. Elizabeth plotted in her head how she would take Emily away from Rosings forever to live with them at Pemberley. She hoped her plan would work, but if it did not, there were other ways in which the Darcys could keep Emily. When she looked back, Darcy had sat down in a chair with the baby in his arms, fast asleep against his shoulder. It was one of the most precious scenes she had ever seen in her life. A smile drifted across her face as she approached the pair.

"Am I wrong to presume that the two of you are now inseparable?" She smiled at her husband who smiled back.

"I did not imagine that I would love a child so quickly that is not my own." Darcy shifted Emily in his arms to wrap a blanket around her tiny body.

"Neither did I." Elizabeth came and sat in the chair next to her husband.

The Darcys sat together and spent time with Emily. They bonded with her and began to think of all the things she would have to look forward to living at Pemberley with her new brother, Bennett. Elizabeth was sure that they would become the closest of siblings, like Darcy was with his baby sister Georgiana. This was a moment she had dreamed of since Bennett was born. Though Emily was not the daughter she had on her own, she loved her no less and realized that she was her daughter through love. Her daughter. Her Emily.

A/N: Sorry this is way overdue! School got kind of crazy and I didn't really have time to update. Hope this is alright for now until I can write a longer chapter to make up for this.