At last, the men returned. Darcy entered and stood behind Elizabeth. Bingley took Jane’s hand. Charlotte and Lady Lucas shifted to make room for Sir William.
When Mr. Collins and Mr. Bennet entered, the room grew still. Mrs. Talbot wept softly. Mr. Bennet moved to her side and took her hand.
“Hettie,” he said, his voice breaking.
“She no longer suffers,” she replied gently.
He remained at her side the rest of the day.
When evening came, all departed save Elizabeth. She sent Darcy back to Longbourn and stayed with her father. When the house emptied, she moved away to grant privacy.
Mr. Collins approached her.
“I wish to apologize to you, Mrs. Darcy,” he said stiffly. “I behaved improperly in the past. You have nothing to fear from me.”
She neither answered nor raised her eyes.
He bowed and withdrew.
At last, Mr. Bennet rose.
“I shall come again tomorrow,” he said.
“Come, Lizzy. We must leave if we wish to reach Longbourn before dark.”
She kissed Mrs. Talbot and then took her father’s arm.
Once beyond the village, she asked quietly, “How are you, Papa?”
He sighed. “I am well enough, Lizzy. I have much to be grateful for. Family above all.”
They walked in silence.
“And Mrs. Talbot?” she asked.
“She has lost much,” he said softly. “Beginning with me.”
“Do you still love her?”
“I do,” he replied. “Some love does not end.”
Elizabeth said gently, “She is not alone, Papa.”
He nodded. “But when the day ends, she will be.”
They walked on together in silence.
June 12 1816
Mrs. Talbot sat in the foremost pew beside Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. On her other side were Jane and Mr. Bingley, with Mr. and Mrs. Bennet next to them. The remainder of the family was scattered among the parishioners of Meryton wherever space allowed.
The service was simple. Elizabeth watched as Mr. Collins spoke his vows to Lydia, who had only just turned twenty. Her eyes filled when she heard her sister’s soft, sweet voice reciting vows in her turn. When he placed the ring upon Lydia’s hand, her face brightened with a broad smile, and he smiled in answer. Together they turned and walked down the nave and out into the churchyard.
When Elizabeth stepped outside on Darcy’s arm, she closed her eyes for a moment until they adjusted to the sudden brightness of the sun. They stood a little apart, watching the newly married couple greet their friends.
Darcy bent toward her and spoke in a low voice. “I can scarcely recognize him as the same man I struck two years ago.”
“He is so changed, I do not recognize him either. Losing Mary and his child altered him profoundly.”
