Page 106 of Anne de Bourgh's Best Friend

Given the relatively short distance between Hilldale and Pemberley, not to mention the less than one mile between their London homes, Jane and Elizabeth saw one another with regularity and their children were more like siblings thancousins. That did not take into account the times the family would meet at various times of the year.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

“When will our youngest sisters depart Netherfield Park?” Elizabeth verified.

“Unless you know something I do not, they will be here on Friday,” Darcy replied.

“Ever since they came out together, those two have been the closest of friends and sisters,” Elizabeth observed.

“When our uncle and aunt allowed Giana to come live with us for a significant portion of the year, she and Lydia built their friendship which is why they chose to come out together,” Darcy pointed out.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

As he had planned to do after their wedding trip, Darcy had met with his aunt and uncle and presented his request that his sister come live, at least part of the year with him and Elizabeth. They had presented Darcy with a letter from his long dead father in which he had directed that when William married and Giana’s guardians felt it would be beneficial for her, he gave his permission for her to live with her brother. From then on, other than for a few months in London, she had lived with William and Elizabeth.

The two girls had come out during the little season of 1813, when Giana was already eighteen and Lydia was only a month or two away from that age. Like their sisters before them, they were not allowed to accept a courtship until they had passed their nineteenth birthdays.

It was not until the season of 1815, that the two best friends had met brothers. The older one was James Carrington, Viscount Amberleigh, heir to the Earl of Holder, who at the time was nine and twenty. He and Giana became engaged in July of that year. The younger was a major in the regulars which, given her brief, but long past fascination with officers,was deemed ironic by those who knew Lydia.

His father, the Earl of Holder had gifted his younger son a healthy legacy so he was no poor officer. Major Stephen Carrington proposed to Lydia a fortnight after his brother secured Miss Darcy. The Major resigned from the army before the wedding.

The two were married at a double wedding ceremony in October 1815.

Even though Major Carrington had offered to purchase Netherfield Park from the Bennet parents at full price, they had, in the same vein as with Bingley and Oak Hollow, sold the estate to their new son at a greatly reduced price.

Much to her brother’s delight, Amberleigh was in Nottinghamshire, less than four hours from Pemberley.

Giana and James Carrington had three sons so far and Giana was with child again, hoping for a daughter this time. Their first son and heir had been born in November 1818, a second son in February 1820, and a third in September 1823. They were named Paul, David, and Robert, respectively.

To date, Lydia and Stephen had two daughters and a son. Their first daughter, Annabeth, arrived in April 1817, and Sarah Catherine in January 1819. Their son, Theodore, called Theo, was born in August 1823.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

There were some people about whom no one in the family thought or spoke. Miss Catherine Smith, formally Lady Catherine de Bourgh, George Wickham, Karen Younge, Caroline Bingley, and William Collins.

The first of the villains, the former Lady Catherine, had not made it all the way to her new home in Australia. She had not been able to supress her imperious nature. Hence, it took no time at all before her fellow transportees could not stomach more time in her company. One day she had been shirking her duty of swabbing the decks when she had mysteriously fallenoverboard. Two women had been seen walking away from the place where Miss Smith had fallen, but no one had witnessed any foul play.

Wickham reached Van Dieman’s land and suffered through his fourteen years of hard labour. Unfortunately, he did not learn anything from his punishment and within a year of his release, he had been shot dead. He was caught trying to cheat at cards.

Karen Younge ran the boarding house on Edward Street with her sister-in-law. It was rumoured she had turned it into a brothel, but no one in the family cared enough to verify or refute that.

Miss Caroline Bingley was still a resident of the asylum on the Isle of Arran. She was even more divorced from reality than she had ever been. She existed there in her own world, happy in her own way.

Collins had attempted to arrive at Longbourn some months after his legal loss. Just as he had been warned, he had been arrested, and gaoled, for trespassing. After a fortnight in the Meryton gaol, he returned to the seminary where he had been sacked for missing weeks of work with no notice. As he had very little money, he had written to his cousin, and this time rather than making demands, he had begged for assistance.

Fanny and Bennet had felt a level of sympathy for him and gifted him a thousand pounds. Collins could not find work as a clergyman in England so he took a position with the Dutch East India Trading Company to minister to its workers in the Cape of Good Hope. He remained there for the rest of his life.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

It was with immense pride Elizabeth and Darcy watched their children enjoying one another’s company, Not only was Anne the oldest, but she was the natural leader of the group.

Seeing her dear daughter made Elizabeth think of her best friend, the late Anne de Bourgh. Just as William still spoke to his parents from time to time, Elizabeth continued to speak to Anne, especially when they were at either Oak Hollow or Rosings Park.

‘My dear Annie, at this estate which I know you and Uncle Lewis loved so well, I can feel your presence even more than when we are at Rosings Park. I still miss you and I always will, but it has been many years since I reconciled myself to the fact you and your papa are at peace and no longer suffering,’ Elizabeth told Anne silently. ‘You always told me what I did for you, but I gained as much, if not more, from the privilege of being your best friend.I trust you approve of the life I am leading by living my best life just like you charged me to do. Please know you are in my heart and always will be. I love you Annie and one day I will see you again.’

When Elizabeth looked at William, she saw his eyes were lifted to the skies as hers had been. It often occurred that he would speak to his parents at the same time she was talking to Anne.

When he was done communicating with his parents, Darcy smiled at his beloved wife. They both urged their horses forward to join the children, nieces, and nephews who were playing under the watchful eyes ofsome grooms, and those of Jenki, Biggs, and Johns.

~~~The End~~~