“Do you think Cilla imagined the waves that would be created by the vows she asked of you, Fanny?” the Prince asked reflectively.
“I am not sure, Freddy,” Fanny stated thoughtfully. “My belief is there is little she would have regretted, other than being unaware it was not her mother’s choice to cut her. I am sure if she had known that, it would have lifted her spirits, as she felt most betrayed by her mother.”
“Do you think she would have been stronger when she birthed Lizzy had she known her mother did not choose to abandon her?” Elaine asked.
“According to what the midwife said at the time, I do not think anything would have changed the outcome,” Fanny informed them. “We have not discussed this before, but the midwife told us that something tore inside of Cilla and the bleeding could not be stemmed; that is what took her, not melancholy.”
“Have you told Sarah?” Edith asked. “I know she felt guilt over what was done, fearing that being cut by her parents contributed to Priscilla’s death.
“Yes, Sarah knows. Knowing that made the burden she carried that much easier for her to bear,” Fanny reported.
“I am sure Cilla knows we all protected her daughter and that she was raised in a loving home with a family far larger than she had when she was born,” the Prince opined. “She would have loved the young woman Lizzy become, and that they would have looked so similar would have been a source of pleasure to my Cilla.”
“York, I hope this question is not impolitic, but do you ever see Princess Frederica?” Bennet asked. “I know your separation is amicable, but I never thought to ask before.”
“I have no objection to your question. We do not spend time together, but we communicate by letter if and when we need to. Yes, it is amicable, but we have nothing in common, so it is better for both of us to live separate lives,” the Prince informed the group. “She is loved by the populace of Weybridge as she is heavily involved in charitable works there, much like Catherine is at Hunsford.”
“Lizzy may be a Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, but she will always be my little Lizzy, my second daughter,” Fanny stated wistfully.
“As she will always be to me,” Bennet stated as he took his wife’s hand in his own.
“She has been, and I am sure she will continue to be, the light in my life. I was lost in my sorrow after Cilla was taken, but that changed the day you told me I had a child,” the Prince related in a gruff voice heavy with emotion. “She has the best parts of both Cilla and me.”
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Elizabeth and William enjoyed their time at Seaview cottage, and their love deepened day by day. March was one of the warmest in recent memory, so they spent time at the private cove, and discovered the wonders of other activities in the sea other than sea bathing.
They spent a month complete at Seaview Cottage, exploring the area and each other until it was time to leave their magical wedding trip and return to London and then to Pemberley.
Epilogue
Netherfield Park, December 1830
rom Longbourn?” Lady Sarah Darcy asked, not for the first time. At eight, she was the baby of the Darcy family. She was named for her mother’s late Grandmama who passed away in October of 1824, two years after her namesake was born.
“Sarah Anne Darcy, you asked Mama that ten minutes ago,” Lady Olivia, who was fourteen, remonstrated with her youngest sister.
“Olivia, I do not object if Sarah asks me,” the Duchess of Derbyshire, Princess Elizabeth Darcy, soothed her youngest while redirecting Olivia. “They will be here within the hour. Uncle Tommy and Aunt Gigi went to collect them and your cousins.
“The sooner Tom returns the better; we are going to model the battle of Waterloo, Mama,” his Grace, Lord Frederick Darcy, twelve, informed his mother. He and Tom, who was nine, were the closest of friends, just like Tom’s mother Lady Georgiana was with Kitty—Catherine now—and Lydia.
“When will Papa, Ben, and Robert return from their ride?” Lady Anne Darcy asked. Anne, at sixteen, was the third of the six Darcy children. Ben, the Marquess of Derby, was twenty and in his final year at Cambridge. and Robert, the Duke of York, was almost eighteen, in his first year at the same university.
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Elizabeth was as happy and as in love as she had ever been in her marriage, notwithstanding all of the deaths in her extended royal families. First Princess Amelia, the youngest of the King’s and Queen’s daughters and favourite of her father’s died in November of 1810. The King had started displaying some of the mental issues which led to an attempt to impose a Regency in 1789. After the death of his favourite daughter, he was pushed over the precipice and a Regency was established—this one with the full support of her birthfather.
Eight years later, also in November, her beloved grandmother, Queen Charlotte, died. The only blessing arising from the King’s maladies was that he was unaware his wife was no more. In January of 1820, Elizabeth’s grandfather, King George III, passed away. He was succeeded by the Prince of Wales, who ended the Regency when he became King George IV
In August of the year King George III died, Princess Frederica died at Oatlands Park near Weybridge in Surrey. To commemorate her good works, the populace of the area erected a monument on the green in Weybridge to honour her. The Prince, his daughter, and her husband all attended her funeral.
The next blow came seven years later. Elizabeth’s birthfather, whom she loved dearly, died from what the doctors said was a bad heart. He was four and sixty when he died and Elizabeth was his sole heir. Not only did she inherit a fortune far greater than what she already had, but a number of estates, including Oatlands Park in Surrey.
To honour his late brother, King George IV bestowed his brother’s two dukedoms on Elizabeth’s and William’s second and third sons. Robert became the Duke of York, while Frederick became the Duke of Albany.
In June of that year, King George IV died and was succeeded by the oldest person to assume the monarchy—King William IV. Elizabeth was beyond thankful she had been removed from the line of succession. If not, she would have succeeded her Uncle George and became Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and she much preferred her—in her own words—simple life.
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