Checkmate, Mr Darcy Chapter 26, a pride and prejudice fanfic

Well – another one bites the dust.

I will spend the next 2 or 3 days editing and tweaking the story to get it ready for publication on Kindle and KU. Then I will have to remove the bulk of this story.

Thanks for all your feedback. I appreciated most of it. 😉

~O~

Chapter 26 - Epilogue

The influence of Georgiana and Mrs Annesley stood the younger Bennet sisters as well as their mother in good stead.

Having seen and experienced the comportment of real ladies, the youngest girls learned to behave with decorum during their mourning period. By the time they started to attend parties and assemblies again, their neighbours were pleasantly surprised at the change.

That change was helped by the transformation in Mrs Bennet's attitude. Since she no longer feared but embraced the hedgerows, she counselled her daughters to take their time to find the right kind of husband, just like Jane and Lizzy had done.

The weeks of Georgiana's presence had benefitted Mary, as, for the first time in her life, she had the opportunity to learn how an expert played the pianoforte. Within weeks, her playing improved to the point that Mrs Bennet asked her to play in the evening. By the time they re-entered society, Mary was often requested to perform at events.

~O~

At Christmas that year the extended Bennet family gathered to celebrate at Oakdale.

Mrs Bennet and her younger daughters were conveyed to Oakdale by Charlotte who was already in half mourning, as she had decided that her mourning period should not exceed the length of her marriage.

Mrs Bennet was charmed by the house. 'Lizzy, I never thought that you would be mistress of such a wonderful property,' she gushed to Elizabeth's delight.

The youngest girls were excited to spend time with Georgiana and shared her suite with her while Mrs Annesley spent the festive season with her own family.

This provided just enough room to accommodate the rest of the guests.

The Bingley's, who also brought Mr and Mrs Phillips, added to the excitement by announcing that Jane was expecting an addition to the family at about or shortly after Easter.

The Gardiners spent some time in the Fitzwilliam's study discussing the investments of the couple which were doing well enough to allow Richard to expand the stables.

The Gardiner children were all in favour of the stables as Richard was a very patient teacher as he taught them to ride. He had had a lot of practice as he had been able to overcome Elizabeth's reluctance to get back on a horse.

The final arrivals were the Fitzwilliams who had come via Rosings and collected Anne de Bourgh.

Oakdale was filled to capacity and for two weeks was ringing with laughter and good cheer.

After all the families returned to their own homes, Fanshaw was a frequent visitor at Netherfield.

~O~

When Charlotte finished her mourning at Easter, Fanshaw was there.

Despite all the time they had spent together, Charlotte was still surprised when he proposed.

'Mrs Collins. No, Charlotte, In the months I have known you, I have come to respect and love you. I cannot think of a better fate than spend the rest of my life with you. Please, marry me.'

'My Lord, you cannot be serious. Wy would you marry someone as old and plain as me, when you have all the pretty daughters of the nobility to choose from.'

'While many of my peers would preen to have a pretty and much younger wife on their arm, I have learnt that I prefer a woman of substance not a child. And since you have an estate of your own, no one can accuse you of marrying me for my wealth. If you should agree to marry me. Do you care for me at all?' he added nervously.

'I care for you a great deal, and nothing would make me happier than to marry you. But–'

Before Charlotte had a chance to argue further, Andrew pulled her into an embrace and kissed her… thoroughly.

For the length of the kiss, Charlotte forgot everything, but as soon as he released her, she exclaimed, 'But I did not say yes.'

'You said nothing would make you happier than to marry me. That is a yes, if ever a heard one.'

It would have taken a stronger person than Charlotte to resist the expression in his eyes. After a few moments, she sighed and said, 'Yes.'

Lord Matlock was pleased that his heir was marrying at last and he was even happier when the couple presented him with his first grandson, followed by a granddaughter and another grandson.

Lady Matlock was ecstatic.

It should be noted that Andrew and Charlotte had a happy marriage.

~O~

At Pemberley, Fitzwilliam Darcy became the most conscientious master the estate had ever known.

All his energy went into improving the estate, the life of his tenants and his staff. In the early days after his return, the main reason was that being busy meant he had no time to dwell on the happenings in Hertfordshire and London.

In those first months after his return, his initial shame had turned to anger.

He was angry at Elizabeth for not telling him about her real situation.

He was angry at the Fitzwilliams for making him look like a fool and also for not informing him about Elizabeth's real situation.

He wanted to be angry at Georgiana for abandoning him. After all, he had stood by her after her disastrous decision at Ramsgate.

But slowly he came to realise that at Ramsgate Georgiana had mostly been a victim, not only to Wickham, but also because Darcy had not provided her with the information which could have helped her make a better decision. While this mitigated the anger he felt at Georgiana, it only made him more morose.

~O~

Mrs Reynolds, the housekeeper at Pemberley, who had been almost like a mother to the Darcy siblings since the loss of their own mother, was getting more worried by the day since Darcy returned to Pemberley.

Instead of spending the summer at the seaside with Georgiana like he had planned, he buried himself in estate duties. And while he had always been of a taciturn nature, he would barely speak but spend hours in the library of an evening, brooding and drinking.

He would not even explain his orders to have Georgiana's rooms to be stripped and all her belongings sent to the Matlocks.

It was Christmas Eve before she lost patience and confronted Darcy in the library after dinner.

'Mr Darcy, I insist that you tell me whatever is the matter with you. You have barely spoken a word for months unless it was something to do with the estate. I know something is troubling you, but sitting and drinking will not make it go away or make it better. You are only going to ruin what is left of your health,' she chided but was only rewarded by a listless look.

She threw caution to the wind and, sitting down next to him, she took his hand. 'William, tell me. What troubles you so?'

The sympathy at last broke through his anger and his armour. Refusing to look her in the eye, he told his tale from the first meeting with Elizabeth until the confrontation with his family.

Some of the points stood out to Mrs Reynolds.

'I felt justified insulting Elizabeth at that first assembly to ensure that those crude people, who discussed my wealth, did not think that I would fall for any of their blandishments.'

'I was convinced that when Elizabeth was arguing with me, she was flirting and trying to gain my attention. After all, no matter how much I ignored Miss Bingley, she would never stop her pursuit of me. I could even have insulted her, and she would not have cared.'

'Then at Rosings, I still was convinced that Elizabeth was eagerly hoping for my proposal. I am now ashamed to think that I must have disrespected Elizabeth to believe that she would be interested in me despite my open disdain for her family.'

'I had made assumptions, based on Miss Bingley's vitriol. It is humiliating now to realise that I had listened to that shrew when she claimed the Bennets had no fortune or connections. In hindsight, it is ironic that Miss Bingley had probably not known about the Bennets' connections, otherwise she would have fawned on them and pushed her brother to marry Jane.'

'I think that also explains why the Bennets did not advertise their true position. If Miss Bingley had been ignorant of my wealth and connections, she would probably have left me in peace.'

'And since I thought myself so high and mighty, I offered Elizabeth a carte blanche, just after she lost her father. I told myself it was to protect her, but I was just and an arrogant, lecherous scoundrel.'

'I now cringe at the irony that the family whom I had disdained had higher standards than my own. If I had been more concerned about character than wealth and position, I might have been able to win the heart of Miss Elizabeth. Instead, I insulted her at every turn.'

'She had the good sense to marry Richard instead.'

Mrs Reynolds was shocked when he finished the recitation. But instead of berating him, she asked simply, 'It seems that you at last learnt a hard lesson. You cannot change the past. The best you can do now is to pull yourself together and learn to become a better man.'

She sighed and added, 'And maybe, just maybe, if you can do that, your family will forgive you.'

~O~

Having shared his pain, Darcy felt lighter. But it took another year before he gathered his courage to write letters of apology to Elizabeth, Richard, Georgiana and the Matlocks.

Those heartfelt letters slowly softened the family's attitude towards him to the point that when they met in public, they exchanged polite greetings.

The Fitzwilliams were surprised because Elizabeth found it easier to forgive Darcy than his family. When questioned by Richard , she explained, 'I was furious with him when he offered me that carte blanche. But I was not hurt because I already disliked your cousin. It was simply another example of his arrogance.'

Richard nodded thoughtfully. 'Whereas I was not only angry on your behalf, but I was also disappointed that the man I loved like a brother could have behaved in such a shameful way.'

'Exactly. To me he has always been an indifferent acquaintance at best. I commend him for improving his character. For your sake, I only hope he does not revert to his previous attitude.'

Eventually a shared love for chess caused more frequent correspondence between Pemberley and Oakdale, as Richard and Darcy started to play their games by mail. Eventually Elizabeth joined in the games.

~O~

Over the five years after Richard and Elizabeth's wedding, until she turned one and twenty, Georgiana frequently visited Rosings where she spent a month at a time to learn how to manage that estate.

At Oakdale she had received instruction from both Richard and Elizabeth, while at Rosings Anne furthered her education.

As she had no taste of high society, Georgiana refused to have a full season, although when she reached her majority, she did allow Lady Matlock to present her at court and host a single ball in her honour.

Because Georgiana and Darcy had made their peace in the meantime, he briefly visited London to dance the first set with her at that ball.

Soon afterwards, she and Mrs Annesley moved to Rosings where Georgiana gradually took over the management of the estate, while Anne lived in happy retirement for another three years.

Georgiana became friendly with their neighbours and eventually married the second son of one of them. Having learnt her lessons from her family, the marriage contract specified that she was to remain in control of Rosings and could chose her heir.

Eventually, after many happy years, she passed Rosings on to her oldest daughter.

~O~

While Darcy struggled with his past mistakes and his determination to improve, he became heavily involved in several charities in the area. The most important one to him was the school for all the children in the neighbourhood.

He enjoyed watching their happy and eager faces at the beginning of their school days. In the colder months, for many of them it meant sitting in a warm room while they were learning as well as receiving a warm meal halfway through their lessons.

While for many of the poorer parents that meal was the main reason for sending their children to school, for Darcy it was a pleasure to see happy children as Pemberley seemed more like a tomb since he had returned alone.

A couple of years later, he employed a gentlewoman whose father had run into financial difficulties and when he died, she needed to find a position. Due to her lack of dowry, and average looks, she had not had any offers of marriage and at the age of six and twenty had given up hope. At least this position came with a small cottage next to the school and Mr Darcy was an honourable gentleman who did not expect anything other than her skill in teaching.

Over time those two lonely people became friends until one day Darcy realised that he had fallen in love. It was fortunate that he had left his pride and arrogance behind and when he tentatively asked to court the lady, she was willing to consider his suit.

It took him another six months to convince the lady that he was in earnest.

They married and his wife proudly presented him with a son and a daughter, whom they raised to be respectful to all.

While theirs was not a grand passion, they had a comfortable friendship for the rest of their days.

~O~

Some years after her expulsion from London, Caroline Hastings encountered a familiar face at a function in York.

'Miss Bingley, it has been an age since I have seen you,' Miss Grantley gushed in surprise.

'Miss Grantley, it has been too long, but my name is Mrs Hastings now,' Caroline replied, equally as astonished at the meeting.

The ladies exchanged polite lies for a few minutes until Miss Grantley carelessly mentioned, 'You know, you should have been in town when the stories about your sisters by marriage came out earlier this year. It was quite delicious to hear all those old biddies eat their words about their claims about how unsuitable those ladies were.'

Miss Grantley gave a vicious titter. 'They turned positively green when it became known that not only were Mrs Bingley and Mrs Fitzwilliam connected to the Duke of Barrington, but Mrs Fitzwilliam had been a friend of the Queen for years. No wonder you were pleased for your brother to marry his lady.'

'Indeed. But at that time, I was moving to York with my husband and did not pay much attention to happenings in London,' Caroline managed to say with a pained smile pasted firmly on her features as she spoke of her mythical husband. 'And then, of course, within weeks of marrying, he had that most unfortunate accident and I was in mourning, which prevented me from attending to other affairs.'

Over several cups of tea, Mrs Hastings delicately probed Miss Grantley for further information. Since Miss Bingley had at one point tried to ruin Miss Grantley and that lady was quite aware that Caroline had been expelled from the family, she was only too happy to rub Caroline's nose in all that she had missed.

Later that evening, Caroline exhausted herself by throwing cushions around her bedroom until her arms ached.

Thanks to her unpleasant attitude, Caroline could never find a man willing to put up with her. She became a bitter old woman whose only companion was a cat, who treated her with disdain.

~O~

Despite having become more popular, Mary never met a man who interested her enough to tempt her into matrimony. She remained at The Hedgerows even after Mrs Bennet passed away, filling her days teaching the local children their letters and numbers. On occasion she even taught music.

Kitty and Lydia were so overset by their nay-sayers, they disappeared in a puff of smoke.

~O~

Elizabeth and Richard enjoyed life to the fullest and eventually they had two sons, Thomas and Henry.

Over the years they maintained close ties with all their families, but the Gardiners in particular.

Against all tradition Thomas enjoyed the hustle and bustle of business and joined Mr Gardiner in his company. Henry adored horses and took over Oakdale when his parents decided it was time for them to step back and have fun.

Part of that fun was numerous games of chess and Richard learnt that Elizabeth was as susceptible to distraction as he was.

The also played against a few opponents by mail. Elizabeth enjoyed her games with Mrs George, for which she used the wedding gift, until the lady's passing.

Playing against Richard had sharpened Elizabeth's skill even further and she was delighted when she could write to her favourite opponent, 'Checkmate, Mr Darcy.'

~O~

Since quite a few reviewers complained about the nice but not grand fate I had in store for the younger girls, I got irritated and made them vanish.

~O~