We are approaching the end, tomorrow I will post the Epilogue, although it may take 2 posts, as it seems to be running away from me again.

Thanks to everyone who has read and commented to far, even if I have not addressed everything in this story, I have taken copious notes for future works. I will take a break after completing my other story before attempting a longer piece again, but I will be back.


Chapter 19 – Ends and Beginnings

Mr Bennet had easily agreed to his brothers' requests; he had never carried much love for his youngest and silliest child and did not mind what his family did as long as he did not have to exert himself. Mrs Bennet was distraught; her beautiful, lively and innocent Lydia would be exiled to a faraway farm to await the birth of her child; Fanny's first grandchild should be born in Longbourn and be loved by all. Jane, who had been horrified at hearing the news, although whether it was Lydia's fate or her own she was concerned about can only be guessed at, spent many hours trying to explain the danger of keeping Lydia in Hertfordshire to her mother, to little avail as her mother could never understand things she did not like, such as the entail on Longbourn.

Each night Jane Bennet went to bed exhausted and wept; she had not felt any grief when her sisters left one after the other and was unlikely to miss Lydia either, after all she had paid no attention to her youngest sibling at the seaside; her heart had remained untouched when she lost Mr Bingley, not even when he had married Charlotte. But now that her reputation was threatened by any slip of the tongue from her mother, and her hopes were all but gone, she finally reflected about her life choices, and wept bitterly over her mistakes. She had not missed the fact that her Uncle Phillips had declined to take of her after her father's nasty jibe, and after her own neglect of her Aunt Phillips in Margate, she knew no help would come from that last remaining side of her family.

By the end of the week, Lydia, who had silently listened to her father's sarcasm, her mother's wails and despair and Jane's disdainful explanations for many days, made the decision for herself. She left Longbourn while her family was distracted and walked to her uncle's house in Meryton.

"I do not want to keep the child." She announced bluntly as soon as she was sat in her aunt's small parlour. "I know Mama wants a grandchild, and with pushing most of my sisters away, she may never have any, but I cannot be a mother, I am not ready, I cannot raise it." Her hand had moved to her belly, as if she was trying to ascertain there really was a child in it.

"Are you sure, Lydia?" Her uncle asked gently.

"Oh yes, I have thought of nothing else since Papa said I was carrying a baby, and I will travel wherever you wish in the north to give it to Aunt Margaret's cousins if they still want it. I do not know whether it will be a boy though, so if they do not want a girl, I do not know what I will do."

"I believe they will be happy with a girl or a boy, so if you are determined to give the child up, they will adopt it as soon as it is born." Mr Phillips had already received confirmation from Mrs Gardiner that her cousins were indeed ready to deal with the unmannered girl to secure a child they could raise and love.

"Then you can prepare whatever you need to prepare for me to go there. Mama will be upset, she already is because I won't promise to keep it, but I will not be here to see it. It is not as if she would raise it if I stayed either it as she barely cared to raise Jane and I and did not ever look at the other three girls she birthed. Papa said that it would not break the entail even if it is a boy, although I did not understand why any more than Mama did. I just don't want it, that's all."

The sentiments expressed were neither tender nor caring, but it gave Mr Phillips the sign he needed to start acting on her behalf.

"Your brother, Mr Darcy, has offered one of his carriages to take you to Derbyshire, and he will also provide a maid and a footman who will remain with you until the delivery, and until you can return to Longbourn. The footman will be able to fetch help should you be in trouble."

"It must be nice to have enough money that you can lend carriages, maids and footmen." Lydia mused, thoughtlessly.

"Yes, it must," her uncle replied, "however do not abuse his generosity. Your father will provide you with a small allowance, although some of it will be used to pay for your board and care."

"I did not expect him to provide any money; he said he would not, and if I wanted anything I should ask Mama. I guess that is good, though I may not be able to do much shopping with the sickness. Do you know whether he will let me come back after all this?" Lydia was worried, and her aunt and uncle were reminded that she was still a young girl, despite her mistakes. A young girl who had received no guidance and far too little genuine love from her neglectful parents.

Her aunt finally broke her silence to answer. "Yes dear, you will be able to come back to Meryton and Longbourn. If you do not want to, though, Frank and Edward have secured your dowry and allowance, so you will not be destitute. After you have given birth, Lizzy, who will not be too far in Derbyshire, or my Frank can explain all the details to you."

Lydia was reassured and she store the information her aunt had imparted for future consideration; the last week at home had been trying, with her father not addressing her or even looking at her but insulting her mother near continuously, Mama being so loud in her complaints and Jane being angry and spiteful. Perhaps all would be well after all, and she would not need to come back and be so desperately alone. She was glad that preparations for her journey were moving fast, though none in Longbourn helped in any way.

"Now," Mrs Phillips cheerfully began, "you will not guess what I have been doing. And you can help me of course. I have been starting a rumour for you, Lyddie, so that your reputation is all safe. I told Lady Lucas that you had made a particular friend in Margate, a proper high born young lady, third daughter to a baronet in fact, with the similar tastes as you, although I am sorry to tell you I was not very flattering. Anyway, I said that you have not been attending events in Meryton because your friend would not approve of our lowly society."

"Why would you do that? They will think me snobbish and above myself, I am not that at all." Lydia said, eyes wide in horror.

"I know dear, that is the point. If they think you believe yourself above your station, when you leave to 'visit' your friend they will not suspect anything." Mrs Phillips was smiling widely.

"Oh, I see."

"The best part is that we were in front of the butcher's shop, and it was Wednesday morning, when several of the scullery maids meet up there for a little gossip before bringing orders back to their estates. It will be all around the neighbourhood in no time at all."

Both the aunt and niece giggled at that, knowing full well how fast gossip travelled in Meryton, while Mr Phillips shook his head. His wife's plan was so simple yet devious, and it was likely to work too. Everyone would discuss how Miss Lydia Bennet thought they were not good enough anymore; they would be too insulted by that to guess there was any other reason for her departure. By painting her own niece as a silly and vain child, Mrs Phillips removed any risk of being questioned; for who would voluntarily lie and depict their own relative as a thoughtless, heartless snob.

"Well then, when anyone can see me, I shall act like that haughty Miss Bingley, and it will confirm your story." Lydia stated firmly.

Early in November Lydia Bennet was ready to depart from Meryton and the carriage had arrived from London with the servants Darcy had selected. She had felt the quickening just before her departure, confirming Mrs Phillips suspicions that her pregnancy was further ahead than her mother and Jane thought and placing the conception sometime in early July, early in their stay in Margate.

When questioned by her aunt, who was the only person to care enough to ask questions, Lydia had refused to reveal the name of the man who had ruined her.

"I am sorry Aunt," she had said, "I cannot take the risk of Mama finding out. She and Jane met him, even though they paid little attention to me or anyone else, and I fear Mama would find a way to insist on a marriage. When I asked her, Mama said I would have a fifteen hundred pounds dowry and half of her five thousand pounds settlement when she dies; I think it would be enough for him to agree to marry, especially with the one hundred pounds per annum allowance from Papa."

"Why would you not marry him, dear?" Her aunt was puzzled.

"I have not missed him at all since we came back, so I cannot have been in love as I first thought. He is not rich, and I do not think he will make his fortune even if he kept telling me he would. I just don't want to live in one of those tiny cottages in Margate for my whole life with a husband hardly ever home. And I would have to keep the baby, although I really do not want to be a mother. At least not now, maybe never."

"He is a sailor, then." Mrs Phillips was only guessing, albeit correctly.

Lydia nodded. "I am not meant to stay at home alone, waiting for my husband's ship to come home or be lost. It was different when I thought I was in love, but now that I am not, I just won't do it."

Mrs Phillips was sad but feeling less guilty than before. She now doubted she could ever have changed the outcome of Lydia's upbringing. Still, she felt the shame her niece obviously could not feel or understand.

After her departure, most of Meryton agreed that they were glad to see the vain child go where she would be humbled, for a baronet's family would surely show her how insignificant she was, and she would come back to Meryton improved by the experience.

Mrs Bennet was the only person in Hertfordshire sorry to see her beloved Lydia gone, even for a few months; the lady had not missed Elizabeth or Mary, had barely noticed Kitty's absence, but she loudly bemoaned Lydia's departure for many weeks. In her usual selfish manner, all her complaints ended with her being the victim, and how none could understand how she suffered, and how much strain this all placed on her poor nerves. She never seemed to think or care about what Lydia was going through, far from home, only sixteen, without family, while carrying a child she did not desire.

All that mattered to her is that she would never meet her grandchild; she never accepted the fact that even should the child be a boy, he could not be raised by them nor inherit Longbourn instead of her husband's simpleton of a cousin.


In London preparations were well underway for the Honourable Mr Richard Fitzwilliam, former Colonel of his majesty's army, and Miss Isabella Bennet of Adlington Hall.

Following her son and soon-to-be daughter's wishes, Lady Susan had refrained from organising the glamourous society wedding she had initially dreamt of for her son. The bride and groom wanted a simple quiet ceremony, so this was what she would give them. Elizabeth had sent her a list of Isabella's preference soon after the engagement was announced, and Lady Susan knew her son well; the ceremony and breakfast would be exactly as they would have chosen themselves.

Not being able to let the event pass completely without a little sparkle, the countess would throw a ball after the ceremony in honour of both her son and her nephew and their beautiful wives. It would be a small intimate ball, in her opinion, although Darcy would say later that it was a large gathering, only made bearable by Elizabeth's presence at his side.


Longbourn was finally quiet. Mere days after Lydia's departure, Mr Bennet shared Gardiner's latest missive with his wife and remaining daughter.

"Your brother has written again, Mrs Bennet. This time to inform us that your third and fourth daughters have taken the names of their guardians. It appears that only Jane and Lydia now voluntarily bear the name Bennet."

"What do you mean, Mr Bennet?" Although he had briefly told his wife and daughter that Kitty would not come back, Mrs Bennet's mind had been too full of Lydia's situation and her own complaints to fully comprehend the change in her daughter's situation.

"Is Mary now using the Gardiner name then? Did my uncle also take Kitty permanently in his family? I cannot believe he can support both in addition to his four children." Jane was jealous again, as she would prefer to be in London, and allowed to use the Gardiner name. She had been so caught up in her own concerns, she had not fully accepted the fact that Mr Phillips had implied her remaining younger sister would not return.

"Mary is now a Gardiner indeed, but Kitty has taken the Darcy name and lives with her older sister, Mr Darcy and Miss Darcy. They stayed in London for Isabella's nuptials but will return shortly to Pemberley for a few months it seems. Your brother say that Kitty will come out with Miss Darcy next year when the season starts. Mary is settled in London and happier to stay with your brother and his wife." Mr Bennet still carried regrets, but when these threatened to overwhelm him, a little more port would numb the feelings quite nicely.

"But why? How could she take Lizzy's name, that selfish hoyden is nothing to any of us anymore." Mrs Bennet was not yet reconciled with Elizabeth's good luck; she had long stopped seeing her as a part of her family. Had she been able to benefit from her child's wedding, she would have quickly reversed her opinion, but she would never apologise, therefore no reconciliation would take place.

"Mr Darcy requested guardianship for Kitty to rescue her when Lydia's shame was first uncovered. As we could have been completely ruined by your child's actions in Margate, which you did nothing to prevent, it seemed sensible to spare Kitty the shame our family could have faced." Mr Bennet spat out, angry his wife and Jane had yet to accept any responsibility in Lydia's downfall.

"But why did they not rescue Jane then? If she will give Kitty a season, then Jane deserves one too." Fanny Bennet was once more oblivious to the censure he had laid at her feet. Her husband did not reply but returned to his study for another book, and another drink.

Jane knew the answer to that question far too well but saw no reason to enlighten her mother. Kitty was gone and was now a Darcy. Mary was gone to be a Gardiner. And Jane was still home, a Bennet, owing her continued good reputation to Lizzy, the sister she had abandoned nearly a year before. Everything had gone wrong after Elizabeth's departure.


Isabella and Richard wedding was perfect. Their close family and close friends surrounded them for a beautiful, if restrained, at least in Lady Susan's opinion, ceremony in Grosvenor Chapel, only yards away from Adlington House in Audley Street.

The only small shadow on the day had been that Miss Anne De Bourgh did not attend, having caught a cold while checking a tenant's cottage; she was recovering well enough, but Miss Fairchild had insisted she did not risk the journey to London when Richard and Isabella were already planning to visit Rosings Park for Easter.

Ten days after the wedding, the countess' ball was held at Matlock House on Berkeley Square. As the London Season was in full swing, it was well attended with most of the people invited being already in London and happy to come and look at the unknown ladies who had joined the Fitzwilliam clan. The Darcys had married over a half year before, yet had not been seen in town much, and many members of the Ton wanted more opportunities to study the young and pretty Mrs Darcy. While Mr Fitzwilliam had not been as sought after as his cousin, the crowds were as curious to meet the heiress he had discovered, for a young lady with her own estate and a London townhouse was a connection worth having.

The day after the ball all the Fitzwilliams, together with the Darcys and Miss Mary Gardiner were enjoying a late lunch at Darcy House.

Henry Fitzwilliam, viscount Sutton, had enjoyed his mother's ball far more than usual. "Well, mother, you certainly organised a ball that will be remembered for a long time. The air was thick with jealousy and bitterness, all concealed beneath a veneer of polite elegance."

"What do you mean by this?" Mary had been present at the ball, but, unused to the Ton, she had not picked up any of the undercurrents.

"Well, cousin, for you are twice my cousin now, my dear," Henry answered in a teasing manner, "many of the ladies present had wanted to catch Darcy for many years, either for themselves or their daughters. Your handsome and rich brother was one of society's most prized and eligible gentlemen for many years with yours truly. And a good proportion of the same ladies would have happily accepted an offer from a decorated war hero, the second son of an earl at that; Rich's reputation for heroism and honesty, together with his status made up quite nicely for his lack of personal fortune. Did Darcy not tell you all this?"

Darcy completed the picture his cousin had started: "Quite a few gentlemen present yesterday would also have wanted to be the lucky man to first discover the young heiress from Cheshire or her lively beautiful cousin." He smiled at his wife. "I expect few of the attendees outside our family were truly happy about either of our marriages."

Mary sighed. "I am glad Miss Gardiner was not worthy of notice, for I am not ready to navigate this type of society, and I may never do."

"You are correct, dearest," Elizabeth smiles at Mary, "you were lucky, for once society knows that Miss Mary Gardiner is my sister, as is Miss Catherine Darcy, you will both be under the same scrutiny as Georgiana. This is why William wanted you to both come with the Gardiners rather than us, to give you a little more anonymity. We will not be able to keep you hidden long once you officially come out in society though."

Kitty looked terrified, prompting the countess to intervene.

"My dear girls, we will not launch you in society without our full support and protection. Yesterday was special as two highly sought after former bachelors were introducing their wife, your come out will be far quieter and smoother, I can guarantee it." Having experienced Lady Susan's idea of a small quiet event, the girls were not reassured in the slightest.

"I do not think I am ready." Kitty said quietly. "As Georgie will not come out until next year, can I not wait and join her? It would be so much nicer to have a sister with me in all the functions and balls we attend." Kitty was looking at Lizzy and Darcy with pleading eyes. Darcy chuckled, but nodded, agreeing with his ward; there was no hurry for the girls to marry and leave them.

"I do not think I want to come out in the Ton at all." Mary's quiet voice interrupted the silence that had followed Kitty's declaration. "I think I am more at ease with our uncle's level of society. I hope you do not mind Lizzy; you know I am not as sociable as you or Isabella are."

Isabella took her hand before saying: "I for one understand you, Mary dear, you know I did not enjoy my only season years ago, and if it wasn't for Lizzy, I would not have mixed with any of the Ton ever again. I am glad I did allow her to pull us into this world though, as I would never have met Richard without her. You must find what makes you happy, little cousin, and we will support you, always." Lizzy nodded at that statement.

Having gone through neglect and verbal abuse at home, having both been rejected by those who should have cared for them, Elizabeth and Isabella were grateful of the new beginnings and the bright futures they could both see ahead of them. They had found love with two amazing gentlemen and friendships aplenty; with their new families and the small remaining part of their old families beside them, they would ensure Mary, Kitty and Georgiana would be offered the best chances they could give them, to allow them to carve their own successful path in life.

~The end - nearly~