Epilogue

Mr. Darcy looked out the large window at the immense park surrounding his property. Certainly, life had been generous to him; after twenty-eight years of marriage, he had practically everything: beautiful children and his wife, who had been a great life companion.

They had the happiness of raising three children, Bennet, Richard, and Anne. And now, their eldest son, with his wife and daughter, lived with them at Pemberley. Bennet was learning how to manage Pemberley, which would soon pass to his hands. Mr. Darcy was happy to accompany his son while he learned everything necessary, something very different from what happened to him, who had to assume all the estate responsibilities at a very young age and without his father's support.

Richard Darcy was still in Cambridge, and since he had been very interested in machinery his whole life, he considered asking his uncle Albert Reed to let him work in one of his companies. Little Anne had not yet made her debut in society, and her father was happy to have her home. At that moment, she was visiting Aunt Georgiana and her favorite cousin, Evelyn.

Jane and Peter had four children, two boys and two girls. The Daniels men wanted to dedicate themselves to something other than farming; they both had the entrepreneurial spirit of their great-grandfather, Roger. So Peter was considering selling his estate and settling in the city or handing over the entire administration to his steward to rest, relax, and dedicate himself to caring for his wife, as Jane had been in poor health. Their two daughters were already married and had two grandchildren who always made their lives very happy. In addition, Mr. Darcy and Peter Daniels became great friends, and the families remained close for all those years.

Mary and her husband also lived in Derbyshire, not far from Pemberley. Since Dr. Baker left the area, they had yet to find a doctor with his knowledge and dedication. So Mr. Darcy offered Dr. Davies the opportunity to settle in the area, and he gladly accepted. Mary and Arthur had five children, all boys who followed their father's footsteps and wanted to study medicine.

Kitty never returned to Longbourn, staying part of the time with Jane and some with Georgiana in Pemberley or London. At the home of her friend Sarah Fitzwilliam, she met her husband, a brave colonel who was a friend of the retired Colonel Fitzwilliam. Kitty's husband worked with Uncle Gardiner and his children, so they all lived in London.

Lydia lived with her parents until Mrs. Bennet died. After that, Mr. Bennet leased the property to Mr. Collins and moved into the Daniels estate. Seeing that Lydia had nowhere to live, Kitty invited her to live with them, and there she met her husband, a retired officer without much fortune. After three months of marriage, they emigrated to North America, where they had a respectable life without great luxuries.

Georgiana married a widowed viscount who had a little four-year-old daughter. When she met the girl, she identified with her and decided to accept Lord Kingswell's marriage proposal to be the mother of little Rose. Eventually, she and her husband fell in love and had three more children, including a boy who would carry on the family legacy.

Richard and Sarah became the new leaders of London society, and everyone wanted to befriend them. Beautiful Sarah and her charming husband threw the most entertaining balls and social gatherings in the Ton, and everyone desired to receive one of their invitations. But, as happy as they were, they could only have one son, Edward Fitzwilliam, who inherited the title of Baron when his grandfather passed away.

In Canada, Charles Bingley fell in love with the daughter of a local tradesman, and without his sisters' constant interference, he could take time to get to know the lady. After five months of courtship, he married and settled in the new land. Caroline and Louisa had to pay for their own expenses, and since they were not used to spending money wisely, they were both practically broke after five years of not receiving help from their brother. For that reason, they had no alternative but to emigrate to Canada. Caroline married a little before her thirtieth birthday and had two sons who, like their father, went into business.

"My dear, I think I just saw Reed's carriage approaching the house. I thought they would be here in a few more hours," Mr. Darcy said to his wife.

"Maybe Albert and Emily must be anxious to see Lily," Elizabeth explained, smiling at her husband's seriousness.

"Our granddaughter's birthday is in another week, Elizabeth. So it is not that they are late," Mr. Darcy said, sitting beside his wife.

"Fitzwilliam, they do not have the fortune we have to live with our granddaughter and see her every day," Elizabeth explained, caressing her husband's cheek.

"No, but they visit us practically every month, so they still see her quite often," Mr. Darcy replied. Although he did not want to admit it, Mr. Darcy did not like to share his beloved granddaughter's love and attention with her other grandfather.

"If it was the other way around, and our granddaughter lived with them in Manchester, would we not travel as much as we could to see her?" Elizabeth asked. She knew that her husband could often be a little possessive with those he loved, and little Lily enjoyed the cuddles of her funny and always friendly Grandfather Reed.

"I suppose, as always, my dear, you are correct," Mr. Darcy said resignedly.

Bennet Darcy had been married just over three years to Martha Reed, the eldest daughter of Albert and Emily. They had known each other their whole lives and had always been friends until they finally fell in love. Little Lilian Darcy was the first granddaughter of the former rivals, and they both loved her unconditionally.

Bennet and Martha had gone to a friend's wedding and would return the following day. That was the first time they had been separated from their little daughter for so long since she had been born almost two years ago.

Albert and Emily commemorated their twenty-seventh-anniversary last month and celebrated with their four children, extended family, and friends. Albert felt like he had absolutely everything, professionally and personally. However, he always wondered why he never realized that Emily admired him until the very moment he thought he might lose her. During the almost seven months she was in Florence, he prayed every day for a second chance and that she would not meet any handsome Italian who could steal her heart.

They always laughed when they remembered the months of courtship through endless letters that poor Roger had to receive and send. So when Emily returned to England, Albert left nothing to chance and campaigned intensely to show her how much he loved her and that they were made for each other.

That is why when he proposed to Emily, he made sure to tell her all the beautiful feelings that she inspired him and that she was his first and only love. As expected, Emily was very moved and accepted his proposal immediately, and three months later, they were married.

Emily had been influential in all Alberts business decisions he had ventured into, and thanks to her advice and a good instinct for business, he was a prominent industrialist directly involved in the production of machines for the nascent industry.

"My dear, I think we are almost there," Albert told his wife, who was asleep on his shoulder.

"Looks like I fell asleep, my love. I am sorry, but I believe I also used you as a pillow. It seems that I was not a good travel companion," Emily said as she fixed her hair.

"My pretty wife, you are always my best company, even when you are asleep," Albert replied as he kissed her hand.

"Before we get to our friend's house, I want you to promise me you will not get into any silly argument with Darcy. Remember, we are here to visit our daughter and granddaughter, which is the most important thing," Emily said as she fixed her husband's cravat.

"I promise, my dear. You know very well that Darcy and I are good friends. But if he provokes me, I shall not keep quiet," replied Albert as they approached Pemberley. Emily preferred not to say anything else, and both grandparents began to talk about their little granddaughter and all the gifts they had brought her until they finally reached Pemberley after several hours of traveling.

"Albert, Emily, welcome to Pemberley. You do not know how glad we are to see you. I hope you had a good trip," said Elizabeth as she kissed and hugged her friends.

"Thank you, Lizzy. The trip was not that bad, but very soon, and thanks to the brilliant engineers and industrialists who are always ready to support innovation, we will have trains throughout England, and we will not have to travel by carriages anymore," Albert said as he greeted his hosts.

Mr. Darcy preferred to remain silent; he knew that Reed was right about that. So the Reeds, after saying hello, went to freshen up and one hour later joined their hosts in Elizabeth's favorite drawing room. As always, the conversation was led by Elizabeth and Albert, while Mr. Darcy and Emily listened intently and occasionally offered their opinion.

However, the tranquility of the conversation was interrupted when little Lily came to greet her grandparents after waking up from her nap. From the moment she entered the room, all the attention was focused on the little girl, and everyone started pampering her. She already babbled her first words, which melted her four grandparents' hearts.

"My beloved little princess, you are just as pretty and charming as your Mama, my dear daughter, and both of your grandmothers," Albert said to little Lily. She was sitting on her grandfather Reed's lap and looking at him with great interest.

"Without a doubt, my dear granddaughter has the poise and elegance of her father; she is a true Darcy," added her other grandfather, who wanted to remind his friend that Lily was also his granddaughter.

Albert did not like that Mr. Darcy interfered in his conversation with his granddaughter. He had Lily every day with him; now was his time to be with her. So, he decided to put the intruder in his place. "You know, my dear child, that when your grandfather Darcy and I were young, he could never beat me at boxing." Little Lily continued looking at her grandfather Reed with great interest.

"Yes, it is true, my pretty little princess, but your grandfather Reed could never beat me at fencing, and he tried really hard, but unfortunately, he could not anyway," said Mr. Darcy. He sat beside Albert and took Lily's hand; she was now looking at him.

"I do not think Lily cares to hear about boxing or fencing," Elizabeth added, laughing.

"Yes, she is too little to understand," Emily added.

"Why not? Ladies also have to know how to defend themselves. So Lily must learn things like this, especially when she grows old and wants to live in the city with her grandfather Reed. Right, my princess?" added Albert.

"Without a doubt, a young lady must know how to defend herself, but not with her fists like a man. When you are older, my dear girl, your grandfather Darcy will teach you fencing," said Mr. Darcy, kissing his granddaughter's tiny hand. "Lily, being a proper lady, will always want to live in the country." Lily looked at each of her grandparents with growing interest.

"Lily herself will decide that in the future. She will have the opportunity to choose where she wants to live. Considering how smart she is, she will surely want to be where progress is," said Albert, looking at Lily, "In any case, my precious girl, Grandpa Reed, will teach you some good defensive moves. I cannot imagine a lady carrying a fencing foil wherever she goes, just in case someone attacks her," said Albert laughing.

"You are right, Reed; teaching MY granddaughter to fight like a drunk sailor is a brilliant idea," Mr. Darcy said, rolling his eyes.

"OUR granddaughter, Darcy, do not forget!" Albert replied, equally exasperated.

"Also, what is this about progress and cities? Does progress mean that you have to live in a place where you can barely breathe?" Mr. Darcy asked dismissively.

"No, progress is everything that makes your life easier, Darcy," Albert retorted.

By then, Lily was utterly fascinated by listening to her two grandparents discuss things she could not understand, but they seemed very amusing.

"Would you like a cup of tea, Emily? When those two start their nonsense, they do not rest until it is time to sleep," Elizabeth said, barely holding back her laugh.

"Yes, thank you, Lizzy. The funny thing, my dear, is that Lily seems to enjoy her grandparents' silly arguments," Emily added with equal amusement.

"I am glad she is patient with them because I lost mine a while ago," Elizabeth added.

"Indeed," Emily replied, taking her dear friend's arm. Then, they went onto the terrace to enjoy the garden view while they drank tea and talked about their families.

"My princess, Grandpa Reed, will teach you arithmetic and accounting because if you learn with your Grandpa Darcy, you will go bankrupt in a year," explained Albert.

"Of course, for that reason, I was first, just a little below you in arithmetic," Mr. Darcy replied with a sneer.

"What is that, first a little below me? That is called a second place, Darcy," Albert said wryly.

"You are correct, Reed. Lily, your grandfather Reed was always second in grammar, rhetoric, and geography. So if one day you want to travel, my girl, better you ask your grandfather Darcy because if you ask your grandfather Reed when you want to go to London, you will end up in Edinburgh…."

"No, Darcy, I shall accept that... Lily, your grandfather Reed was always the best in..."

"You are not going to accept what, Reed? Lily, your grandfather Darcy was always the best in…."

Little Lily happily laughed as she witnessed her grandparent's childish discussion.

P&P

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See you on another adventure!

Saludos,

Yo