Late August 1812
In late August 1812, Elizabeth, Darcy, and Georgiana travelled to Hertfordshire and stayed at Netherfield Park for a month. Elizabeth wanted to be with Mary for the last days before her child was born and during childbirth.
Caroline Bingley took the opportunity to be very courteous to Elizabeth and especially Georgiana. Although they never became good friends, they learned to tolerate one another quite well over the years.
Mary had her first and only daughter, Rose Barton, three days after Elizabeth's arrival; five years later, she would have her only son. Fortunately, the girl was born healthy, and Mary's recovery went quickly.
Mr. Barton was over the moon; unlike some men, he did not have any preference about the sex of his child, and Rose was such a lovely girl. Everything indicated that she would resemble her mother, whom he loved more than anyone in the world.
Three weeks after Rose Barton was born, she was christened at Netherfield's chapel. Elizabeth was her proud godmother, and Lord Sebastian was her godfather.
1813
In September 1813, the Darcys received an invitation to Bingley's wedding to Miss Holmes. As Elizabeth was so far along in her pregnancy, they could not attend.
Caroline was initially dissatisfied with her brother's choice of wife since Miss Holmes was the daughter of a minor gentleman and only had a £7,000 dowry. But as Miss Holmes was a sweet and kind young lady, Caroline calmed down in the end.
Caroline stayed with her brother and wife at Netherfield for a few years. When she was twenty-seven, a gentleman with an estate similar in size to Longbourn, who was more interested in her dowry than her person, proposed to her. As she was about to be on the shelf, she agreed to his proposal.
December 1813
Lord Sebastian sipped a glass of brandy while thinking about Marianne Campbell and how much his life had changed that day.
Three years ago, when he met Marianne, he found her a lovely, intelligent, and pretty young lady. But back then, she was still very young, and he debated whether to court Miss Bennet.
Over time, they began to see each other reasonably frequently in London and twice at Pemberley when their visits overlapped. Without a doubt, he enjoyed her company very much, and he liked speaking with her.
A few months ago, his feelings changed—or he realized he had tender feelings for her—when he saw Marianne walking arm in arm in Hyde Park with Mr. Stones, a wealthy gentleman. That same day, he heard rumours of a possible engagement between them.
Over the next three weeks, he saw Marianne at five parties but could not speak to her much as Mr Stones monopolized her attention.
For the second time in his life, Lord Sebastian became jealous. He knew Mr. Stones very well; he was an intelligent, rich, and amiable man who would make a good husband for Marianne.
They met at a ball a few days later, and he asked her to dance. Mr. Stones was absent due to a problem with his estate, and Sebastian learned they were not courting yet. During their set, Sebastian concluded that Marianne was the one he liked best of all the ladies he had known in his nearly thirty years.
That night, he concluded that, without realizing it, his feelings for Marianne had changed, and he loved her quite ardently. The following day, steeling himself, Sebastian called her in her house. It was better to be rejected than to live the rest of his life wondering what might have been.
Mrs. Campbell left them alone for a few minutes at Lord Sebastian's request.
Lord Sebastian took Marianne's hand and tenderly said, "Miss Campbell, Marianne, in the last few months, I have not stopped thinking about you. You may not feel the same way I do, and I am also aware another gentleman is interested in marrying you."
He kissed her hand. "But I must tell you what I feel and not wonder what 'might have been' if I had not dared to speak." Looking into her eyes, he knelt and said, "I care deeply for you, and what I want most in this world is a chance to win your heart. Marianne, may I court you?"
Marianne closed her eyes briefly to hold back her happy tears. She had been in love with him for so long and lost hope he would ever notice her.
With a big smile, she nodded. "Yes!"
December 1813–1814
William Darcy was born in December 1813 to the Darcy family's joy and pride. Fortunately, Elizabeth did not experience any complications during childbirth, and their son was born healthy. A few weeks later, Elizabeth resumed her activities as mistress of Pemberley.
Due to her nephew's birth, Georgiana decided to postpone her coming out for another year. Darcy and Lord Hertford supported her decision. Lord Hertford told Mrs. Campbell and other acquaintances that he was travelling with his son to Pemberley to meet the newest member of the Darcy family, and Lord Sebastian was to be William's godfather and Georgiana, his godmother.
Finally, in late December 1814, Georgiana Darcy's grand coming-out ball was held at the Matlock home. Lady Matlock invited all the leading families of England and went above and beyond to ensure that everything was perfect; her niece's coming-out ball would be the event of the year!
Georgiana was beautiful that night; she was wearing a light blue gown with silver embroidery and delicate lace that accentuated the colour of her eyes. Her hair was tied back with hairpins and a diamond tiara, and she wore a matching diamond necklace and bracelet from the Darcys' jewellery collection.
As expected, Darcy opened the ball with his sister, and Georgiana subsequently danced the second set with Richard, the third set with Lord Matlock, and the fourth with Lord Hertford.
For several days afterwards, in the most important salons of London's society, the talk was about how pretty and elegant Miss Darcy was. Invitations to dinners, parties, teas, and balls quickly arrived for the Darcys and morning visits from ladies and gentlemen who wanted to get to know Georgiana better.
Over the next several weeks, Georgiana met several gentlemen; three showed interest in courting her, but none interested Georgiana. The Darcys returned to Pemberley in late February.
March 1815
In March 1815, in a small and nice house in Kent, Mary Reight, formerly Mary King, read in the newspaper that Lord Sebastian was engaged to Miss Marianne Campbell. The news pleased her as she owed Lord Sebastian an outstanding debt of gratitude.
Over two years ago, Lord Sebastian visited her and proposed arranging a marriage for her with Mr. Reight, a man several years her senior who was ill with cancer and owed Lord Hertford a debt of gratitude.
They discussed his plan, and finally, he convinced her of the benefits of being a widow. In case she wanted to marry one day, she did not have to give any explanation for her loss of virtue. A few months later, she was widowed, and she moved to live in Kent.
Since January 1815, a hard-working and honourable solicitor had been courting her, and she was pleased with her life.
September 1815
After Jane's wedding, Kitty Bennet did not return to live in Hertfordshire. She travelled to Hertfordshire occasionally to visit her mother and brother, but Purvis Lodge was not her home anymore. She visited Mary and her niece at 'The Firs' as well. They were living at the estate since Mr. Barton, partly at Lord Sebastian and Elizabeth's insistence, had bought the small estate at a low price.
Now, the Bartons had an income of over £1,000 a year and were saving money for their daughter's dowry.
Lydia hardly wrote to her, and the few times she did, she did not seem very happy in her marriage. She complained that she was bored because Denny spent so little time with her, and the other officers' wives did not pay much attention to her. In addition, she had a one-year-old son and had to feed him because she did not have the money to pay for a wet nurse.
Early in 1815, Jane introduced Kitty to her husband's acquaintance, Mr. Thorne. He was a young lawyer with an income of £400 a year, and within six months, they were married.
1820
A few days after Georgiana rejected yet another marriage proposal, while playing with her niece and two nephews, Elizabeth inquired out of curiosity about why her sister-in-law was reluctant to marry.
"Georgiana, while I understand that you were not interested in poor Mr. Morrison, nor were you interested in my cousin, I sometimes wonder if any gentleman in the world might interest you." Elizabeth smiled slightly. "This is the fifth marriage proposal you rejected!"
Georgiana chuckled slightly. "Do not exaggerate, Lizzy! It is only the fourth, as Mr. Morrison's proposal does not count. Honestly, your cousin was the only gentleman I considered marrying, but I realized that what we felt for each other was just a nice friendship. Gabriel is now very happily engaged to Miss Evian." After a pause, she thoughtfully added, "During the first few years after I entered society, I was terrified that I would fall in love with a gentleman and reject me if he found out about my indiscretion. But as time passed, I did not meet any gentleman who interested me enough to wed. Part of the 'problem' is that I am pleased living with you, my brother, and your children at Pemberley and visiting Lord Sebastian's family once or twice a year. I have my own money and nephews and nieces whom I adore. I also recognize that my standards are very high. I want to meet a tall, handsome, rich, honourable, responsible, and intelligent gentleman who will fall madly in love with me and adore me."
Elizabeth laughed. "Your ideal gentleman closely matches your brother's or Lord Sebastian's description."
Georgian smiled broadly. "In a way, my ideal gentleman resembles the two of them. My brother is the ideal gentleman for you, just as Lord Sebastian is the ideal gentleman for Marianne. Perhaps one day I shall meet my ideal gentleman." She paused and, laughing, added, "who surely would resemble my brother and Lord Sebastian."
When Georgiana turned 28, she met her 'ideal' gentleman, Sir Edward. He was a former Colonel, about seven years older than her; he was also a war hero and a close friend of her cousin Richard.
Richard had remarried years before to the daughter of a minor gentleman from a small estate only 10 miles from Rosings.
Her courtship with Sir Edward was very intense. Fortunately, Sir Edward cared very little about Georgiana's indiscretions. In his opinion, it was just a mistake from her youth and did not in the least define the wonderful woman she was.
Pemberley 1832
Like every night since they had first married, Elizabeth was lying on her husband's chest after making love while Darcy caressed her hair, which was beginning to gray.
"What are you thinking about, my love?" Elizabeth curiously asked her husband.
Darcy smiled and replied, "You and how lucky I have been these last 20 years. Back then, I never thought I could be so happy and have four wonderful children."
"It has been so long since we were married—half of my life. In turn, it seems like yesterday. God has been very good to all of us."
With a smile, Darcy sweetly asked, "Did I tell you today how much I love you, Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth shook her head, and Darcy continued, "I am sure that if I lived a thousand lives, I would search for you in all of them until I found you since I am convinced, I could never be happy without you."
The End