The years had been very good for the Darcy family. During the first ten years of their marriage, Elizabeth gave birth to three sons and two daughters, losing only one pregnancy. During each of her pregnancies, Darcy was happy but afraid of losing her.
Shortly after their first year of marriage, Louis Darcy was born. As a result of this happy and important event, Lady Catherine sent a short letter of congratulations to the couple. Due to Elizabeth's persuasion and the fact that Darcy cared for his aunt and cousin, that letter led to a full reconciliation between the De Bourghs and the Darcys. From then on, it was common for the Darcys to visit Rosings Park with their children every year for two or three weeks.
After two years of marriage, by chance, they met Jane and her husband in Hyde Park. The meeting was brief and cordial, if slightly awkward. Elizabeth had recently been with Mary at Hunsford and learned Jane had married Mr. Swan. Said gentleman was a successful merchant; he had an import and export company similar to Mr. Gardiner's and an income of around £800 to £1000 a year. He was eight years older than Jane, and he had lost his wife in childbirth; sadly, his child only lived a few days. He had first met Jane when she was 16 years old, and he was in awe of her beauty, sweetness, and kindness. Back then, since Jane was still very young and he was not in a position to support a wife, he didn't ask for permission to court her. However, he wrote her a couple of poems. They both seemed to be happy and in love.
Three years into their marriage and shortly after their first daughter, Elizabeth Darcy, was born, they were shocked to find Peter Stevens had married Kitty Bennet. They had met in Hertfordshire, where her sister Marianne Lucas now lived, and over time they fell in love. While Kitty and Elizabeth had had a superficial relationship as cousins in the past, over the years they formed a solid friendship, which was the catalyst that helped repair the tenuous relationship between the Darcys and the Stevenses.
Two years later, just days after the birth of Elizabeth's second daughter, Mr. Thompson sadly passed away. Elizabeth cried bitterly, and for a long time she was deeply depressed, but due to the constant care and love of her husband and their children, she managed to overcome her sadness. Five years later, twins George and John Darcy were born.
The years went by, and in the corridors of Pemberley, laughter was always heard, first from children, then from teenagers, and finally from young adults. It was also common for the Bingleys and their four sons to come often to visit Pemberley.
No one was surprised when, in the spring of 1835, Georgiana's eldest son asked his uncle's permission to court and later marry Beth Darcy. The irony of the situation was that young Mr. Bingley was physically and in character very much like Fitzwilliam Darcy, and Beth Darcy was a copy of her mother.
Pemberley 1836
Like every night since they had been married, after making love, Elizabeth was lying on her husband's chest while Darcy caressed her long hair which now had a few gray hairs.
"What are you thinking, my love?" Elizabeth curiously asked her husband.
Darcy smiled and replied, "Of you, and how fortunate I am. Exactly twenty-five years ago by chance, I went to a party at Lucas Lodge and I met the most wonderful woman in the world when I least expected it."
"It's been so long, and yet, it seems like it has been so short. God has been very good to us."
"Have I told you every day that passes I am more in love with you? I am sure if I lived a thousand years, I would never get tired of telling you that I love you."
The End