“Then, unless you object, I would like to join you. I have a few choice words I would like to impart to the man.”
“William, you must know I could never frown upon your company in anything. Seeing that if Mr Bennet had succeeded in his plans, the chances are great you and I would not be engaged and about to marry, I would not suspend any pleasure of yours.”
“It is not exactly a pleasure, but I feel I must say what I will, just like you need to do. On a much more pleasant subject, Uncle Reggie received the special license. Now there is nothing to stop our wedding on Saturday.”
“Wait, if you are here now, which pleases me more than I have words to express, when did you arrive in Hertfordshire?” Elizabeth enquired
“Late yester-night. I was determined to arrive before March began,” Darcy averred.
With the fingers of one hand each intertwined, the lovers made the walk down the path to where Penny and Zeus awaited them.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On the morning of the fifth day of March, Elizabeth and her William entered the study in which the man who had been her father lived his strange half-life. Thanks to Mrs Hill and some of her maids’ diligent work, the smell in the roomwas not as bad as it could have been. The stink of the man’s unwashed body and clothes, was still rather overpowering.
Being early in the morning, even though he knew not what day, time, or date it was, Bennet was as aware of his surroundings as he ever was since taking up permanent residence in his study. His eyes were dulled, his beard wild and long, but there was almost a spark in his tired eyes when he saw his second daughter enter the room. He did not see the man holding her hand.
“I knew you would come back to me if I were patient…” It was then Bennet noticed the man standing far too close to Lizzy, and worse he was holding her hand. “How dare you stand in such a way next to my daughter?” Bennet croaked out.
“This man is my fiancée, Mr Bennet, and we will marry on the morrow. All of your despicable plans have come to nothing. No matter what you willed, I love my Mama and know how intelligent and what an estimable lady she is. You failed Mr Bennet, failed in everything, especially at being a father, which you have never been to me or to my sisters.”
“I deny my permission!” Bennet cackled.
“As today is the fifth day of March, I do not need your consent. As far as your blessing goes, I neither desire nor require it,” Elizabeth returned firmly.
Bennet lay on his settee without the energy required to stand. He just gaped at his daughter as her words penetrated the fog around his brain.
“You attempted to poison her against me, but in that you failed as well,” Darcy spat out. “Unfortunately for you, this magnificent woman went on a journey of self-discovery, and then adjusted her behaviour as required. You were unsuccessful in everything you tried, especially encouraging her to refuse to hear my apology for an insult I wrongly made. Tomorrow, by the Grace of God, we marry, and thereis nought you can do to stop it.”
Not waiting to hear whatever vitriol Bennet could summon, Elizabeth and Darcy exited the study with their heads held high.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The next morning, with loving family and friends as witnesses, Miss Elizabeth Rose Bennet became Mrs Fitzwilliam Alexander Darcy.
What none at the wedding and subsequent wedding breakfast at Netherfield Park were aware of, was that Thomas Bennet had breathed his last that morning. Hill had known, but he would not allow the late master’s selfishness to spoil Miss Lizzy’s wedding.
A few hours later, the new Mr and Mrs Darcy were in a travelling coach on the way to London where they would spend the night before making for Seaview House, a Darcy property on a bluff overlooking Brighton, where they would spend a month complete.
“Mr Darcy,” Elizabeth sighed as the coachman guided his team of four out of Netherfield Park’s gates.
“Mrs Darcy,” Darcy responded as he captured her lips hungrily. “This evening it will not be Elizabeth’s self-discovery, but it will be my turn to discover everything about you and your body, as you will mine,” Darcy growled. “I can never get enough of your sweet lips my Lizzy.”
The sounds of his wife’s tinkling laugh, a sound he loved, was heard before Darcy silenced her by engaging her lips with his own once again.
“Oh William…”
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Three days after the wedding, Thomas Bennet was buried in the Longbourn cemetery near his parents. Other than Mr Pierce who conducted the graveside service, no one else attended.
Not a soul censured Fanny for choosing to go into half mourning for a sennight only.
Epilogue
Pemberley, Summer 1823
Fitzwilliam Darcy had known marrying the then Elizabeth Bennet had been the best thing he would ever do. What he had not known was just how much he would love being married to such a beautiful, infuriating, impertinent, and magnificent woman. In March of the current year, they had celebrated ten years of marriage, and each and every day when he prayed, Darcy asked for many more decades with his beloved wife. It was not all smooth sailing, as would be expected with two such strong willed people, but they always resolved their disagreements amicably.
