Her cheerful laughter filled the room. “Do you read my thoughts?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied. “And from time to time I blush as well.”
He imagined that everything was settled, but in the hall, Elizabeth made him stop with a gentile gesture.
“There is only one thing we must do before our marriage can take place.”
“What is that?”
“We shall go together to my father’s grave.”
In the sumptuous dining room, Kitty gradually recovered her smile. Elizabeth had been right, and more than that, she and Georgiana took to one another from the very first moment, which entirely dispelled her gloom.
Elizabeth seated herself beside Darcy, for neither could bear to be separated from the other for very long. Yet she knew that in time her place would be at the opposite end of the table, and suddenly everything felt natural and inevitable. When the butler, who had also been presented to her earlier, asked her and not his master whether dessert should be served, Elizabeth smiled at Darcy and whispered, “We may hold that feast as soon as we are married.”
But this was not a moment for private conversation, for the atmosphere was exceptionally cheerful. Georgiana promised to accompany them on shopping expeditions; Mrs Cooper admired the necklace with an expert eye, whilst the gentlemen happily drank a thirty-year-old cognac which Darcy’s father had kept for his son’s wedding.
“Would you not like to come and live with us?” Darcy asked Kitty, sensing how difficult it must be for her to remain in the same house as Lydia.
“Please do,” added Georgiana.
Elizabeth thanked Darcy with her eyes. It was an excellent solution.
“Thank you,” said Kitty after a time, addressing everyone present, though especially Darcy. She had found him very different from the gentleman she remembered, and her sister seemed immensely happy.
“I have a proposition as well,” said Elizabeth. “And I shall require all of you.”
Darcy smiled, already prepared to agree to whatever she wished—the others equally eager to participate.
“I want us to go to Rosings and personally inform Lady Catherine of our engagements.”
A great burst of laughter erupted from the gentlemen, amused and delighted by the idea.
“Certainly,” said the colonel. Then, turning to the others, he explained, “In March, we met Miss Elizabeth at our aunt’s estate, Rosings, in Kent. That is where it all began.”
Darcy wanted to protest, but looking at his future wife, he finally accepted that all was well that ended well,and Elizabeth agreed with a smile.
“Can I come too?” Kitty asked hesitantly.
The colonel looked at her, surprised, “Is it necessary to say that you are welcome in all our adventures?”
“Thank you,” Kitty repeated, overwhelmed, happy to be among those happy and nice people and feeling sorry for Lydia for the first time.
“You will never believe what happened to me,” Kitty said, though she addressed herself chiefly to Elizabeth.
“Do you remember the box Papa gave to each of us?”
Elizabeth nodded, suddenly melancholy, for amidst all that happiness, she had not forgotten their father for a single moment. She wished he were there amongst them, a little sarcastic perhaps, but so very loving.
“When I left home, I brought it with me. I felt I needed Papa. He would have known exactly what to tell me to do in this situation.”
Elizabeth nodded again, whilst Darcy quietly sought her hand.
“Inside were our letters, the ones we sent him whenever we were away, and he had placed his own letters there as well.You remember how he had always insisted that we take care of all the letters we receive.”
“Yes,” Elizabeth whispered. “He had always told us that old letters could give us answers to some of our questions. But how he managed to find his letters in our room, that is one of the mysteries we will never solve.”
Kitty approved, smiling, and they all saw how much they were alike, and, for certain, how much they resembled their father.
