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Elizabeth and Darcy left the other Bennet sisters to act as hostesses at the start of the wake while he stood with her in front of Mrs. Bennet’s grave. She confessed that evening that she could not still her mind enough to allow her to grieve her mother, she had precious few positive memories of Mrs. Bennet. Instead of trying to understand her feelings for her mother Elizabeth threw herself into resolving her family issues once and for all.

She invited her Uncle Philips to Longbourn and explained the proposed transaction. Mr. Bennet had not considered the offer for even a second before accepting it. All of the family were shocked as to how eager he was to leave Longbourn. To avoid questions the estate was leased to Fitzwilliam Darcy but all four people involved knew that it was Elizabeth Darcy that was going to run the estate.

Thomas Bennet left Hertfordshire without a backward glance. He did not announce he was leaving and he made no round of farewells. He packed up his study, together with some of his clothes and left for his new abode in Cambridge. Again, his daughters were shocked at how young and vibrant he appeared as he departed.

“Papa really hated Longbourn.”

It was a statement but everyone could tell Catherine’s underlying question. It was Jane who responded.

“It is only as he is leaving that it became so clear. But remember he called the estate cursed. Both his parents, both his brothers, their wives, and five children, all dead. What is that? Eleven people. He had never expected to become Master of the estate and clearly did not want to. Then there was the entail which meant that none of us could inherit it. He was just biding time until Mr. Collins would inherit.”

“Why have you leased the estate then Mr. Darcy?”

“I will remind you again that you may call me William. As to why? A deeper understanding of entails is the main reason. Everything bought by your parents since they inherited is their personal property. That is why your father took most of the books from his study and why the four of you can share your mother’s jewellery. None of it is part of the estate. It is the estate that is entailed not everything on it. The manor house will be maintained, my steward may reside here with his wife and the few servants that stay. He will run the home farm as well as the tenant farms using the most modern practices and ideas. The money made from the estate is mine. The estate will be well managed and well maintained but that is all that your father has to do. Mr. Collins has no say in any aspect of the Longbourn estate until your father passes. Something we all hope will be many decades in the future.

“My steward at Pemberley has two sons and both have been trained to manage an estate. His second son will be offered the chance to manage Longbourn. We will be here regularly to visit with your Aunt and Uncle Philips.”

It took longer than they thought, or wished, but at last the Darcys and Bennets were ready to leave. Darcy and Elizabeth had been extremely firm with the servants, there was to be no gossip in the neighbourhood until they had left, especially to Lucas Lodge. Every single personal item was removed from the manor house; clothes, fancy dishes, saddles and riding gear, it was all crated up and sent north to Pemberley.

Mark Hayworth, the second son of Pemberley’s steward, had grasped the opportunity with both hands. He arrived at Longbourn a week before their final departure with his new wife. This position allowed him to support a family and the two of them were happy and grateful for the opportunity.

As the two carriages pulled away Darcy turned to Elizabeth.

“How long do you think it will take for the neighbourhood to find out your plan?”

She smiled.

“I think Aunt Philips will be round every house in the area before the end of tomorrow.”

“What will be the reaction?”

“Surprise at first, but as people think about it they will see that it makes sense.”

“And the Lucases?”

“They will look at it through the lens of their daughter who is married to the man who will ultimately inherit. But it is no different than the situation with Netherfield Park. The Uptons still own the estate but lease it out. Papa still owns Longbourn and is leasing it to you.”

“He is leasing it to you.”

Elizabeth smiled and kissed her husband, unconcerned that Claire was sitting opposite them. Darcy in turn smiled as he remembered his wife’s reaction to his plan.

“You talked about wanting to learn about managing an estate. How you understood the numbers but never got the chance to put your ideas into practice. As Longbourn is the estate you know the best what do you say to this idea? I will pass on the instructions to Hayworth, but they will be your instructions. Unless what you suggest is going to cause a huge loss I am not going to amend any of your instructions. You and I will be working together at Pemberley so I will be helping you learn. At the end of each year we will review how Longbourn has done. I will not stop you from earning £2,400 a year even if I think the estate could make £2,600. We will talk about it as part of the review. Longbourn is yours to manage without interference, other than to avert a catastrophe. You finally have the chance to put all your ideas into practice.”

The approach that was guaranteed to unleash his wife’s passion more than any other was to do nothing more than treat her with respect and as an intelligent person.

Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy spent more than 55 years as a happily married couple.

Chapter 34 – Epilogue

“Happy Anniversary my love.”

“55 years William, where have the years gone?”

At 84 and 76 years of age Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy were slowing down, had slowed down, physically but were still mentally sharp. The lived in a modest cottage on the outskirts of Paignton, a town in Devon on the south coast of the country. The arrival of the railway to the town eight years earlier in 1859 meant they could enjoy the milder climate but still be visited easily by their large family.

“So many things have changed since 1812, do you remember the first year of our marriage. We were interrupted within a week of getting married.”

It was the same reminiscence every year. The first year of marriage for the Darcys had been chaotic. There was no other word to describe it. It was well into July of 1812 before the extended family finally arrived at Pemberley. Mary and Catherine met with their new sister in London and the three of them made a tentative friendship. Georgiana now could spend time with two young women closer to her age while for the two Bennet sisters they had a guide for the world they were moving into. Georgiana was not the sort of person to mock or sneer at another and so they were the recipients of sincere and genuine advice. Having a second carriage on the journey north also meant that Elizabeth and Darcy were able to spend much of the journey alone, time that had been non-existent since Mary’s letter in the middle of June.