Chapter 52: Closure

One morning, Elizabeth and Mary sat together in the comfort of Mr. Gardiner's drawing room, recollecting the tormenting events of the past few weeks. A lot had happened since the day Elizabeth stepped foot in Longbourn.

The Bennets never expected the confrontation to end the way it did. Lord Anderson, Mr. Gardiner, and Darcy did not want to leave anything to chance that day and were well prepared for the Bennets to be arrested. The moment Elizabeth left the library, constables arrested Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, much to their horror.

Except for Mary, the rest of Elizabeth's sisters were confused and horrified by the state of affairs. They could not understand the situation and were alarmed by the revelation, as Mary explained why their parents were arrested. Jane threw a tantrum when she saw them being taken away.

However, Mary and Elizabeth's reunion was beyond emotional, and Darcy could see how much the sisters loved each other. Elizabeth felt sorry for the rest of her sisters, but her uncle assured her he would take their guardianship.

The Bennets were sent to trial very soon, and all the evidence against them proved them guilty. Mr. Gardiner found documents and a few letters regarding the money Lord Anderson had sent to Elizabeth's mother in Longbourn, which was submitted during the trial. Mrs. Lewis appeared as a vital witness in the case, and Mrs. Bennet confessed to her crimes, much to her husband's horror, as she hoped it would lessen the punishment. Unfortunately for her, as per the verdict, both husband and wife were sent to the Australian colonies and almost had no chance of returning to England.

As for Mr. Collins, Darcy, and Lord Anderson had travelled to Kent to confront him, and he faced the same rage Mr. Dean had experienced from Darcy. Mary had helped expose his involvement with the Bennets through her statement, and he was banished from the parish, as he was publicly disgraced for his involvement with the Bennets in their evil schemes. Much to Lady Catherine's shock, Darcy had informed her of his wedding, which made her furious. From the way they had parted after a heated argument, Darcy was certain there would be no future relationship between him and Rosings Park.

Now, the sisters sat in deep thought.

"Finally, everything is over. However, I do not feel happy when I think about what happened to them," Elizabeth said.

"How can you still pity them? I do not. They are my own parents, after all; all their acts are so devious I am so ashamed to be related to them. They left an unremovable mark of disgrace upon us, and I cannot never forget it."

"I do not pity them; I worry about what would happen to the rest of our sisters."

Mr. Gardiner had already brought them to town, set them up in a townhouse close to his residence, and arranged for a companion to stay with them. As Elizabeth requested, Mr. and Mrs. Hill were employed in the household.

"Uncle Gardiner has been kind enough to take their guardianship, Lizzy. Although Mr. Bingley and I suggested they stay in Longbourn, we could take care of them."

"That was gracious of you; I am unsure what will happen to Longbourn now. Fitzwilliam says Mr. Collins has been banished from Kent and the parish. With his current reputation, I am not certain how he can survive anywhere. I wish they had thought about the repercussions of their actions. As difficult as it seems, I see some change in Kitty and Lydia. They seem to understand the world is very different from what Mamma wanted them to see, but Jane will never be happy with her new life."

"She has no choice; Uncle is not like Papa; he will ensure she understands. If not for him, she will have no support in this world, so she needs to change her character. After the disgrace caused by our parents, I doubt whether any of our sisters would get a suitable proposal for marriage unless they prove worthy in their character, and more than Lydia and Kitty, Jane should understand that."

"I hope she does; without Mamma's influence, she would change; it might take some time, but she will. I might not have been close to the rest of my sisters like you, but it does not mean that I would not care for them. I will do everything to support them in the future, and Fitzwilliam has assured me of that. I think we must talk about happier things now; we have only a few more days before your wedding,"

"I do not know, Lizzy. I could not deny his request to get married as planned; despite everything, he still wanted to marry me. I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been to convince his family."

"You deserve his love; do not doubt that. Mr. Bingley is a wonderful man, and I am so glad you both found each other. I cannot tell you how happy I was when I became aware of your engagement."

Mary smiled.

"I never imagined I would get married without my parents, Lizzy. I am glad it will not be the same for you; you will have Lord Anderson."

Elizabeth was not willing to discuss the matter with her sister, but she was certain that she did not want Lord Anderson to be present for her wedding. She was not blind to the visible bond that had formed between Darcy and Lord Anderson in recent weeks. Even her uncle, who initially blamed Lord Anderson for his sister's misery, seemed to have forgiven the man, and Elizabeth questioned him about the same.

"I ask you this because I want to know what changed now, that you have chosen to forgive Lord Anderson. Yes, I agree, he was deceived by the forged letters, but how could you look past his assumption of my mother's character? Pardon me, I need to know, did he convince you somehow?" she asked him.

"No, he did not. You must understand, I was indeed angry with him, enraged, I must say. But your aunt pointed out something to me the other day. She asked me how different I was from him in my treatment of Sarah. If he did not believe Sarah, so did I; if he doubted her character, then I am guilty of the same. I still remember the day I arrived from France. Father informed me of her condition, and I was enraged; I was unwilling to listen to her words. I immediately assumed that she did something immoral and believed so. Had I been more supportive of her condition and calmer, your mother would have opened up about her marriage to me, just as she did to Fanny. Just imagine, your mother might have been alive had I trusted and given her the support she needed. I have forgiven your father because unless I do so, I cannot forgive myself."

Elizabeth stared at him in silence.

"All your grandfather ever taught me was to be the head of the family after him and look after his business. He failed to teach me to trust and take responsibility for the ones I loved. As much as I loved Sarah, I did not trust her when she needed me the most. All she must have seen in me was the anger I had toward the father of her child, and she must have loved him beyond measure that she chose to protect him."

Elizabeth could not accept his reasoning; as much as her heart wanted to, her mind could not.

"I have no right to ask this from you, Elizabeth; I want you to try at least to be civil with your father. Trust me, Sarah would want this from you; she would want this for him. She died thinking that he abandoned her, and now the truth is out, and I hope her soul may rest in peace, finally."

"Unfortunately, I am not selfless like my mother. I cannot forgive him, nor do I want to have any sort of relationship with him. The last thing I want to do at this point of time in my life is to pity a man who ruined my mother," Elizabeth declared.

Her uncle did not want to press her.

"Maybe someday your anger will subside. Your aunt expressed your concerns about your sisters. Please trust me; they are my responsibility now. Even though Fanny did something so devious, I have no intention of letting her daughters suffer. They are my responsibility now, and I will ensure they don't pay for something they were not responsible for."

Elizabeth felt relieved to hear his words. Finally, the wedding day arrived, and Mary and Mr. Bingley were married at the Longbourn chapel.

Despite the recent scandal, most of the Bennet family's acquaintances were present in the church for Mr. Bingley's sake. They were happy to see Elizabeth after so many months and showered her with affection.

"I am delighted to see you, my dear; I wish my daughter, actually both my daughters, had trusted me in this matter," Sir Willaim said to Elizabeth.

"Please do not hold them at fault. The situation was different then. I did not want anyone to know about my whereabouts. I cannot thank Charlotte and Mariah enough for all they have done for me," Elizabeth replied.

"It is so unfortunate that this happened to someone so close to us. Lady Lucas is still in shock to learn about the cruelty you were subjected to. But I am glad that everything has turned out well for you, and you have been very brave in this ordeal. Please accept my heartiest wishes for your marriage with Mr. Darcy. You must be very proud of the man you are to marry, so handsome and intelligent," Sir William said.

Darcy and Elizabeth could not spend much time together before Mary's wedding, but as they stood in the church, Elizabeth could not help but blush, noticing how he looked at her.

Darcy's eyes silently communicated his impatience to see her as his bride. Elizabeth felt emotional seeing her sister and uncle walk into the chapel, and her mind immediately painted a picture of herself walking down the aisle with Lord Anderson. Elizabeth suddenly felt dizzy and tried to compose herself and concentrate on the ceremony.

I must be relieved that he chose to avoid the wedding; why am I even thinking about him?

She wondered as Lord Anderson had chosen to stay in London.

Once the ceremony was over, the party headed to Netherfield for the wedding breakfast, as none of them wanted it to be hosted in Longbourn.

Miss Bingley and her sister were hostile towards the rest of them, but breakfast was a happy affair. Elizabeth could see the visible change in Lydia and Kitty within a few weeks. They spoke less and appeared to be conscious of their behavior. But Jane still did not say a word with Elizabeth.

Georgiana had formed a strong bond with Mary in a short period, and she expressed her wish to see the Bingley couple soon in Derbyshire for her brother's wedding.

Soon after breakfast, Darcy, Elizabeth, Georgiana, and Charlotte's family returned to town. Darcy had made plans to return to Derbyshire in a few days.

Elizabeth felt emotional to part from Mary, but Mr. Bingley promised they would travel to Derbyshire as soon as possible.

"I promise you, Miss Elizabeth, that once Darcy confirms your wedding date, we will start packing our trunks," Mr. Bingley said, and Darcy nodded.

Elizabeth bid farewell to Hertfordshire, and in her heart, she somehow knew she would not have a reason to return there as she had heard from Darcy that Mr. Bingley was keen on purchasing an estate in Derbyshire and settling down there.

The days before their travel to Derbyshire were busy for Elizabeth, as she had made several shopping trips for her wedding. Charlotte and her aunt had helped her select dresses that befitted her new station in life. To his irritation, Darcy could not spend time in privacy with her, and he was impatient for their travel. He finally had a chance to spend a few moments alone with her while he took her to the Hatchards bookstore along with Georgiana.

"This place is wonderful; it is almost like a paradise," Elizabeth exclaimed with excitement.

"It is, Georgiana, and I love spending time here. I assure you we will stop here whenever we are in town," he said.

Darcy looked at what she had selected and was impressed with her choice. They recollected the heated argument they had at the bookstore in Lambton many months ago; both smiled at the memory.

"Are you going to steal my book today as well, Mr. Darcy?" Elizabeth asked playfully.

"I assure you, I have every intention of doing it," he said seriously.

"I still cannot believe you behaved so arrogantly with me that day, and instead of apologizing, you dare to tell me you intend to do the same again. Am I to educate Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy about the punishments one would get for stealing something?"

"Was that called stealing?"

"Yes, it was. You took something that belonged to me without my permission.

"A crime of such caliber is unpardonable indeed. But before accusing me, you must know you are guilty of the same."

"What? How could I be… Pray tell me, what have I ever stolen."

He took a few steps forward, and Elizabeth was surprised by how close he stood to her. She trembled at the intensity of his passionate gaze. He bent down to whisper something into her ear, and Elizabeth could feel his cheek brush against hers.

"My heart," he said and moved away upon seeing Georgiana. Elizabeth finally understood why Lady Martha firmly insisted on a chaperone for them.

Meanwhile, Lord Anderson was tired of staying at the Darcy house. He wanted to spend time with his daughter and felt lost when he considered his future.

She assumes I will leave for Scotland and never see her again, and I am certain that is what she wants. I can never be away from her life. She need not forgive me, but she can at least understand me.

Everyone around him had accepted Lord Anderson as Elizabeth's father, but it did not matter to him, as Elizabeth still resented him. He had insisted on paying for her trousseau and would not take no for an answer, and Mr. Gardiner had finally agreed.

"Elizabeth will never agree to this," Mr. Gardiner said.

"She need not know; let her assume that it was you. You would have taken care of it anyway if not for me. But please let me do this for my daughter," Lord Anderson had requested.

He had also bought her some jewellery, hoping she would accept it as his wedding gift.

Finally, the day of travel arrived, and Elizabeth arrived at the Darcy house along with Charlotte and her husband. Lord Anderson had not seen her for many days, and he felt a deep sense of happiness and peace as he set eyes on her and saw that she was well.

Elizabeth merely nodded at him as Darcy welcomed them that morning. She was appalled to understand that everyone had accepted him as her father and wondered how they could forgive him. They broke their fast, and the carriages were ready for their journey. The Gardiners came to bid farewell and promised to arrive for the wedding soon. Elizabeth was happy to see that Lydia and Kitty had accompanied them.

Finally, as the party started their journey to Derbyshire, everyone felt a sense of closure after the many distressing weeks.

But the same did not apply to Elizabeth and Lord Anderson, as each sat in separate carriages, battling feelings of despair and agony. While Lord Anderson wanted nothing but happiness for Elizabeth in the future, Elizabeth mentally prepared herself to have one last conversation with him before reaching Derbyshire— a conversation in which she would ask him to leave her life forever.