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Just as the flower gardens at Pemberley erupted into their full glory, the news of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy’s betrothal to Miss Elizabeth Bennet began to burn across the Derbyshire countryside and from there into the remainder of England.

That this was the gentleman’s second offer but the lady’s first acceptance was known to only a select few, but as Miss Bennet herself liked to say, it was better to think on the past only as it gave them pleasure.

As they wandered among the roses one morning, her fiancé questioned whether such hard lessons as he had learned should be so easily forgot; she promised to faithfully remind him of his past mistakes at any time she deemed him in need of such.

Darcy was clever enough to accept this offer in the manner it was intended.

When Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth informed her aunt and uncle of their happy news, the older couple was not tremendously surprised and soon expressed their approval.

Although the Gardiners’ first meeting with Mr. Darcy might have been unconventional, they had come to know him as an intelligent and deeply honorable gentleman, and certainly the best match they could imagine for their niece in all the qualities that truly mattered.

Before the morning was out, a pouch full of letters was heading swiftly toward Hertfordshire in care of the estate’s fastest rider.

It had taken Elizabeth some time to decide how to begin, but in the end, she had written a lengthy epistle to her father, assuring him that it was her very happy choice to marry Mr. Darcy.

She did wonder at how Mr. Bennet would react upon the presentation of such a number of letters for, in addition to those from herself and her fiancé, both of the Gardiners had insisted on adding their own notes.

Although a quip about the beauty of her lover’s estate and size of his library could not be avoided, it was quite the most serious, sincere, and transparently joyful letter that Mr. Bennet had ever received from his favorite daughter.

He shook his head over the pages and even shed a few tears.

“Ah Lizzy—quite over the moon for your young man, I can plainly see.”

Turning to another letter in his hand, of equal length and earnestness if more restrained in tone, he added, “And by the look of it, the lad loves you just as dearly, it would appear. Well, my girl, I could not have lost you to anyone less worthy. A love match, and to one of the richest men in England! What will your mother say?”

Much to his chagrin, Mr. Bennet found no way to avoid writing three separate letters in response; he satisfied his innate indolence by combining his responses to the Gardiners in a single epistle.

As a result, several days later Darcy received perhaps the oddest letter in his adult life.

Pushing back his chair from the breakfast table, he slit open the seal and spared a glance toward Elizabeth who was eagerly reading her own letter with an amused smile.

Taking a deep breath, he turned to the page in his own hand, only to be amazed by its brevity.

Longbourn, Hertfordshire

Mr. Darcy,

Yes.

Yours etc.,

Thomas Bennet

P.S. As to recompense: I shall require visitation rights to your libraries, both in town and Derbyshire.

After a moment of shock, Darcy could not stop his chuckle from growing into a full belly laugh. Eyebrows raised, Elizabeth reached over to nip the letter from his hand and, skimming its few lines in an instant, sank back in her chair with an exasperated smile. “Oh, Papa…”

Still chuckling, Fitzwilliam waved his hand at the paper.

“In all of my days in Society… I’ve always dreaded this part of an engagement…

one hears such horror stories of fathers haggling over settlements and such.

Livestock auctions seemed simpler and more pleasant to arrange than a marriage contract…

and here, your father gives his permission for nothing more than access to my books . ”

Elizabeth rose to stand behind her fiancé, resting her hands on his shoulders and bending to buss his cheek. “I’d like to think it’s because he knows we love each other and that this will make me happy.”

Darcy turned his head and caught her lips for a quick kiss that, although not laced with any great passion, promised a lifetime of affection.

Even so, Colonel Fitzwilliam groaned theatrically and threw a bit of toast at his host. “Oh, come now! Must you exhibit such behavior at the breakfast table? I really must protest such impropriety before my little cousin.”

Georgiana merely continued buttering her toast serenely and said, “Don’t be ridiculous, Richard.”

After sharing a warm smile with her betrothed, Elizabeth returned to her seat and began to read her letter from Jane, only looking up when the Gardiners entered the room and were offered their own mail.

While Edward slit the seal, Madeleine looked around the table and noticed two other pages addressed in Mr. Bennet’s script. “Good heavens, Lizzy—did your father actually write three letters in one sitting?” she inquired with good-natured astonishment.

“Only if you consider his response to Mr. Darcy to be a proper letter,” smirked Elizabeth as she handed the single sheet across to her aunt.

“Oh, Thomas.” After scanning the letter, Mrs. Gardiner eyed their host with a bemused smile. “Well, you seem to have found the humor in it, Mr. Darcy, for which I am thankful. Some gentlemen might have taken offense.”

He recognized her implied question and shook his head.

“We spoke at some length when I was last in Hertfordshire.” Glancing to Elizabeth, he added more quietly, “And I suppose this was not the first letter of mine that he has read, although the two were written in such different frames of mind as to be assignable to two separate people entirely.”

The couple shared a look of understanding but then Elizabeth turned back to the others, hoping to distract any who might think to question her fiancé’s comment.

Seeing Colonel Fitzwilliam glance longingly toward the newspaper that he had politely set aside when the others arrived, she guessed his preference would be other than polite conversation.

“What news is there from India, Colonel? How is Sir Hislop faring after the action at Talnar?”

After some discussion on the topic, Richard glanced toward his cousin before turning back to Elizabeth and observing, “You have a much broader understanding of the current political situation than most young ladies I know, Miss Bennet.”

Lizzy smiled into her tea. “I fear you are not the first to comment on an interest traditionally considered unfeminine. As a very wise authoress once wrote, ‘a woman especially, if she has the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can.’”

Even as the Colonel opened his mouth to protest, she waved her hand to show that she was teasing. “My dear friend Charlotte and I have followed our King’s military for some years now. ”

Seeing that both cousins remained curious, she chose to continue; although it revealed some personal details of her friend’s life, it was nothing that they would not hear gossiped about in the drawing rooms of Hertfordshire.

“When she was nineteen, Charlotte became engaged to a gentleman from the next county. He was not tremendously handsome or clever but he was a good man and they shared a great affection. Unfortunately, he was a second son and his father had very little to give him a start in life.” She smiled softly at Colonel Fitzwilliam’s empathetic grimace.

“They did have a family connection who helped procure him an ensigncy in the navy so he went forth to find his fortune on the sea.

The mail was not very reliable and so Charlotte was always desperate for news.

Her father does not believe that females should see anything but the society columns of the newspaper so she took to visiting me.

I was some years younger but my father always encouraged my sisters and me to read whatever we wished.

“And so Charlotte and I formed a conspiracy that grew into a beautiful friendship. We began checking the lists of dead and wounded, and from there it was but a small step to search the war reports for news of Daniel’s ship.

It was not too many weeks before we grew interested in reading more of the politics and ended up spending a great deal of time discussing parliament and the admiralty’s strategies, much to my mother’s dismay. ”

The Colonel sat thoughtfully for a moment before speaking.

“I had never really considered how hard it is for the ladies to stay at home while we’re gone.

The men speak of their wives and sweethearts often, but there is a comfort in knowing that they are safe in England.

It must be hideous to sit at home, unable to get news of a loved one.

I remember Papa teasing my younger sister about reading the newspaper for news of my own regiment. ”

“Why didn’t they marry? Your friend and the gentleman?” asked Darcy curiously.

Lizzy looked down at her plate sadly. “He had been gone for nearly four years when we received word that that his ship had gone down off the French coast with all hands. Charlotte recovered her spirits after some time had passed but by then… well, you know as well as I that society is very quick to label a young lady of disappointed hopes as a spinster.”

“And so she married Mr. Collins.” Richard squirmed when Elizabeth turned knowing eyes upon him.

“Yes, and though marrying my cousin had more to do with sense than sensibility, I’ve come to terms with her reasoning.

She turned twenty-eight last autumn; an age that, while acceptable for a gentleman to remain a bachelor, is considered quite on the shelf as far as a female is concerned.

Mr. Collins is not clever but he is respectable and Charlotte finally has a household of her own, something which she has desired for a very long time. ”