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"Then I hope you will be equally gratified that Jane is to marry a gentleman who loves her. I believe that is the greater occasion before us."

Mrs. Bennet agreed at once, finding the subject of Bingley's income more comfortable and infinitely more cheerful. Elizabeth listened without bitterness. Mrs. Bennet could be foolish, anxious, and unjust, but she was not Adelheid. It would be an error to give every weakness the same name merely because some had once caused pain.

The morning of Jane's wedding was clear. Bingley stood before the church looking as though he had prepared a speech and forgotten it upon seeing the bride. Darcy, standing beside him, murmured something that made his friend straighten and breathe again. Elizabeth watched Jane approach on Mr. Gardiner's arm, her face peaceful, and felt the old tenderness of their childhood return.

Years earlier Jane had written secretly to Lord Matlock when Elizabeth had no safe place to turn. That letter had altered the course of her life. She had not known it would one day bring her to a wedding where she could stand with her cousin and rejoice without fear.

After the ceremony, Jane found an opportunity to take Elizabeth aside.

"Do you ever regret leaving Longbourn?" she asked. "I know it was painful. Sometimes I fear I should have done more."

"You did everything that mattered," Elizabeth answered. "You believed me. You wrote for help. I could not have wished for a kinder sister, though we are cousins by birth."

Jane's eyes filled. "You have always been my sister in every way that counts."

They embraced once more, and Mrs. Bennet called from the doorway that Bingley's wife was wanted before the guests had eaten all the cake.

The weeks that followed seemed full of travel and preparations. Albrecht was living quietly with the Matlocks while waiting for further official correspondence from abroad. He had written to his children, and in return received a letter from young Wilhelmine thanking Elizabeth for her kindness. His son was taking a greater role in estate management under Herr Weiss's supervision. Neither child had ceased to love their mother, but both had been assured that affection did not require them to deny what she had done. It was as much peace as the family could presently secure.

When Albrecht heard of Jane's marriage, he asked whether English weddings always involved so many relations giving opinions about the arrangements.

"More," Elizabeth answered. "I have spared you the half of ours."

"Then I am grateful you have brought me to a country where moderation is held in such esteem."

Saye looked up from an estimate for the wedding breakfast. "Moderation will arrive only when Richard has finished proposing musicians."

"I have selected a military band of entirely respectable size," Richard said. "You object merely because you have not been asked to conduct it."

"I object because you have proposed a band large enough to frighten the horses before the bridal carriage."

Elizabeth laughed. Albrecht looked from one brother to the other, and the room once more became, for him, the Falkenried nursery before the troubles began. This time he did not fall silent. He joined the argument on the side of music, explaining that Minna had loved a lively march and would never have forgiven a wedding that sounded like a funeral.

"You hear?" Richard demanded. "Authority has arrived from Germany."

"It has arrived," Saye replied, "without consulting the household accounts. We shall see how long its authority lasts."

Darcy, who had endured the exchange with an appearance of solemn attention, suggested a small ensemble rather than an army. Georgiana offered to play during the family gathering afterward. The matter was settled with less injury than Richard had predicted, though he maintained that great art had suffered.

The evening before Elizabeth's wedding, Georgiana asked Darcy to come into the music room. She stood beside the pianoforte with a piece of music in her hand, twisting its corner between her fingers.

"Is something troubling you?" Darcy asked.

"Not exactly. I wanted to say that I am glad Elizabeth is to be my sister. I feared, when you first spoke of marriage, that your wife might find me inconvenient. Elizabeth told me Pemberley was already my home. She did not say it merely because you were listening."

Darcy felt the old sharp regret associated with Ramsgate and every occasion upon which he had mistaken vigilance for understanding. "I know. She has never considered affection something to be earned by good behaviour."

Georgiana smiled. "She told me I might correct her whenever I thought her wrong. I have not yet dared do it often."

"You should begin with the books she intends to put in the east library. I believe they are multiplying without any intention of stopping."

"She has already ordered more shelves," Georgiana said, delighted. Then her expression grew serious. "I hope I may love her openly, without fearing that I shall make you less important to her."

Darcy drew his sister into an embrace. "You may love her as freely as you please. Neither of us has ever been made poorer by the affection she gives another."

Georgiana rested her head against his shoulder. They had spent years learning to be a family after their parents' deaths. In the morning that family would grow larger, not because anyone had been replaced, but because someone had been welcomed in.

The day before the wedding, Lord Matlock asked Albrecht to walk with him in the garden. The two men had grown close in an unexpected way. Both had loved Minna's daughter when she was helpless; one by choosing her, the other by discovering her too late. Neither felt his claim diminished by the other's affection.