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“Mr. Bennet.”

“Yes, Lady Catherine?” Bennet inquired wearily but courteously. He had eaten an early breakfast and retired to the library in the hopes of reading for a short time. He had slept poorly the previous night, his mind and heart struggling between joy over Elizabeth’s engagement and sorrow that his precious second born would never live at Longbourn again. Mr. Darcy was, he believed, Elizabeth’s perfect match, but Mr. Bennet would miss his dear Lizzy.

“I wish to speak to you of this absurd supposed engagement between my nephew and your second daughter.”

Bennet suppressed a chuckle. Lady Catherine, it seemed, was predictable in her own way. Miss de Bourgh had warned him that her mother would almost certainly approach him.

“What about the engagement, Lady Catherine?” he inquired politely.

The lady hesitated and then seated herself across from him, her hands worrying the several rings on her fingers.

“You must know, Mr. Bennet, that my nephew has been engaged to my daughter since they were both in their cradles.”

“That is very young! They must have been quite precocious to agree to an engagement while still yet babes.”

“Do not be insolent and stupid, sir! It was my sister’s fondest wish that her son would marry my daughter, and mine as well. Darcy is a man of honor, and he would never set aside my dear Anne in the ordinary way, but your daughter, through her arts and allurements, has enticed him away from his duty. Surely you must see that this is an appalling situation and against all that is right and decent and principled.”

Bennet shook his head decidedly, “I reluctantly must disagree with you, madam. I am a gentleman and thus Elizabeth is a gentleman’s daughter, thus she and Mr. Darcy are equal. There is no societal or moral impediment to the marriage.”

“Nonsense! Your wife is a daughter of trade and your estate is entailed away from the female line. Your daughters will be mere paupers upon your death!”

“Precisely,” Bennet agreed enthusiastically. “You must see what a wonderful situation this is for our family! I will die eventually, and my younger girls left with meager resources, but of course with the Darcy fortune available, all will be well. Really, I had no idea that our trip to Pemberley would result in such good fortune for our family.”

The lady grew purple with outrage at this nonchalant remark, but, after breathing harshly for a minute, managed to choke out one sentence.

“I will pay you ten thousand pounds to break up this despicable engagement, Mr. Bennet.”

Bennet chuckled aloud and glanced at his watch, “Ten thousand pounds? That is a princely sum, Lady Catherine. Unfortunately, as much as I wish to continue this fascinating conversation, I must go. Mr. Collins and Miss Lucas are being married in less than an hour at the church in Kympton. Would you care to join us?”

The lady irritably waved her right hand, “I have no interest at all in my fool of a parson. Tell me when the engagement is at an end, and I will arrange your payment.”

“That is most magnanimous of you, Lady Catherine,” he said with a bow and twinkle in his eye.

***

Mr. Burke, the rector of the church at Kympton, smiled at the tall man standing nervously before him.

“Mr. William Collins, wiltthou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?”

“I will,” Mr. Collins said fondly, gazing down at Charlotte’s face.

“Miss Charlotte Lucas, wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou obey him, and serve him, love, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?”

“I will,” Charlotte answered, smiling brightly.

The marriage ceremony continued until both man and woman heard the words for which they had been waiting.

“I pronounce that they be Man and Wife together, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.”

There were sighs of delight from the few individuals in attendance at the wedding, and Mr. Collins and his new bride walked over to enter their names into the marriage book.

A moment later, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley walked down the aisle and stopped in front of the rector, Mr. Burke.

Mr. Burke smiled at his patron and turned his attention to the back of the church where Elizabeth Bennet, dressed in her favorite gown, walked slowly down the aisle on her father’s arm.

Darcy felt his breath catch in his throat. She was a vision in light green, and her hair had been carefully arranged so that her glossy ringlets fell artlessly from a twisted bun at the top of her shapely head. Was it only yesterday afternoon that he had asked her to marry him? Only yesterday’s dinner when she said ‘yes’?

It had taken servants rushing to and fro to arrange with Mr. Burke for a common wedding license, but it had been done and now, today, this hour, this minute, this second, she was walking down the church aisle to be joined with him in marriage before God and man.

Fitzwilliam Darcy had never, in his entire life, been happier.

***

“Thank you for allowing us to share your wedding day,” the new Mrs. Darcy said to the new Mrs. Collins.

“My dear Elizabeth,” Charlotte replied, looking around her at the glowing profusion of flowers in the conservatory at Pemberley, “you know that this is a dream come true. I am so happy for both of us.”

Elizabeth looked up as her tall, handsome, strong, vigorous husband approached with a plate of food from the breakfast buffet, his brown eyes alight with love, his face beaming with joy.

“I am so happy,” she murmured. “So very, very happy, Charlotte.”

The door into the main house opened suddenly and Lady Catherine de Bourgh stormed in, her eyes flared wide with horror and outrage

“What is this!?” she shrieked.

***

Longbourn

4 days later

“Jane, dear Jane!” Mrs. Bennet cried out in delight. “How wonderful to see you this morning, my dear. How are you feeling?”

“I am feeling better, Mama,” Jane replied, bending over to give her mother a kiss on the cheek. The child within her stirred, and she smiled brightly. The first few months of her pregnancy had been difficult but now, save for excess fatigue, Jane felt perfectly well.

“Well, do come into the sitting room, dear Mrs. Bingley. Really, how very well that sounds!”

Jane suppressed a smile. She had been married for many months now but her mother still rejoiced in having a married daughter.

Jane waited for the tea to arrive and her mother to seat herself before sharing her news.

“Have you received any letters from Pemberley recently, Mama?”

“Not for a week, Jane, not for a week! Your father is, of course, a dreadful correspondent, but Elizabeth usually writes me at least once a week, and Mary at least every two. I do hope Elizabeth and Mary are working on Mr. Collins; he must marry one of them!”

Jane took a deep breath, “Mama, I received a letter from Lizzy this morning.”

“Oh! Is she engaged, Jane?”

“No, she is not engaged.”

“Oh dear. Well, perhaps Mr. Collins is not yet ready to make a decision.”

“He has made a decision, Mama. Mr. Collins married Charlotte Lucas four days ago.”

“Charlotte Lucas! Charlotte Lucas! That conniving, manipulative ... really, when I think of how gracious I have been, inviting her into my home. That snake …”

“Mama!” Jane interrupted, more loudly than she was wont. “There is more news.”

“What other news can be of any interest when you tell me that I will be thrown into the hedgerows after Mr. Bennet dies?”

Jane suppressed a sigh. She was herself married to a rich man and thus her mother would never be destitute, but the lady had been wailing about the entail so long that it had become a tedious habit.

“Mama, Elizabeth was married to Mr. Darcy the same day that Charlotte married Mr. Collins.”

Mrs. Frances Bennet stared at her eldest daughter with wide eyes.

“Mr. Darcy?”

“Yes, Mama. Mr. Darcy.”

“Mr. Darcy of Pemberley, with 10,000 pounds a year?”

“Yes, Mama.”

“Oh, Jane, oh dear dear Jane! You are not teasing your old mother, are you? Elizabeth is truly married to Mr. Darcy?”

“Of course I am not teasing you. He fell in love with her, she fell in love with him, and they are married.”

“Carriages! A house in Town! Such pin money! Oh, Jane, I shall go quite distracted! Mrs. Darcy! How well that sounds!”

***

“Ought we go down for breakfast, Fitzwilliam?”

Darcy pulled his bride closer to him, “No.”

“I worry about your cousin,” Elizabeth murmured, snuggling closer to him in their exceedingly comfortable feather bed, “Anne must feel quite alone in this great house after her mother left in a whirlwind of outrage.”

“Mrs. Reynolds will take good care of her,” her husband whispered into her ear. “And Anne and Georgiana are developing a fine friendship. We are on our honeymoon, my love. I gave strict orders that we are to be left alone unless you really wish for some company other than myself. If you do, of course ...”

“No, not at all. I like alone,” Elizabeth responded, running her hand through his tousled hair. “I like it very much indeed.”

***

“Miss Bennet!”

Mary, who had been wandering the back of the glebe behind the parsonage in Bastow, looked up and felt her heart pounding in sudden excitement.

“Mr. Martyn!”

“Miss Bennet, it is wonderful to see you again,” the gangly steward exclaimed, swinging himself down from his sturdy brown mare. “I was not aware that you were still in Derbyshire!”

“Mr. and Mrs. Collins have been kind enough to invite me to visit with them for a few weeks,” she explained, her face lighting up with a delighted smile.

“Well, that is absolutely splendid,” the man replied. “I was just going to call on Mr. and Mrs. Collins. Would you be willing to accompany me?”

“I would be delighted, Mr. Martyn,” Mary agreed shyly.