Page 13 of Mrs. Gardiner: Matchmaker (The Pemberley Collection #3)

Darcy and Elizabeth married in a lovely ceremony in Hertfordshire, with Bingley and Jane standing up with them both. Darcy didn't have the patience to wait for the banns to be read for Jane and Bingley, so Mrs. Bennet's dream of a big, fancy, double wedding was not brought to fruition. But this didn't bother either of these betrotheds very much at all—they were each happy to have their own wedding day.

There was only one near-obstacle to the wedding of Darcy and Elizabeth: Lady Catherine de Bourgh and her unannounced arrival to Longbourn. She showed up ostentatiously, demanding that Elizabeth not marry her beloved nephew. Little did Lady Catherine realize, Darcy was already residing at Netherfield, and he road up to Longbourn on horseback just in time to witness the fiasco—not only did he see how horrendously his aunt was behaving, he also saw how majestically Elizabeth refused to back down. He was in awe at seeing her stand up for herself and even more in love with her after he witnessed her declaring her unyielding love for him. Lady Catherine disappeared in a huff with nothing more than a scowl from Darcy, too enamored as he was with Elizabeth's grand proclamations of love to really feel too offended by the old woman.

Darcy and Elizabeth moved to Derbyshire and immediately began having children. Five daughters (five!) were born at Pemberley before Elizabeth finally birthed a son. Ten long years of having babies, just to be only a little more anxious each and every time, in hopes of siring an heir, when finally, at long last, young master Bennet Darcy arrived. To Elizabeth, all her babies looked the way she had dreamed: they all had Darcy's dark coloring and even his stunning, piercing eyes—but this babe, this strapping little baby boy, he had Elizabeth's eyes, or so Darcy told her.

"Bennet has your eyes, you know," he said fondly to his wife, rubbing his hand on her pregnant belly (again) and kissing her temple chastely.

"My eyes?" she asked, playfully raising an eyebrow at him.

"Your fine eyes," he answered, kissing her again.

She turned her head, and the chaste kiss soon turned into something deeper, something intense and full of longing. Darcy could never get enough of this woman, no matter how many years they spent together. She was as beautiful as she'd ever been, and he particularly adored her when she was heavy with his child—it only made him desire her more.

As they kissed and began to cling to each other, they heard some of their older children:

"Oh, Mama, really?"

"They're kissing again—ew."

"Papa, stop that!"

The only children who didn't mind their frequent kisses were the younger ones, who toddled around their legs, stepping on their parents' feet in a bid for kisses and attention from Mama, too. Darcy chuckled as he picked up four-year-old Emma and six-year-old Anne, while Elizabeth scooped up little Bennet who was not yet two. The older three girls—Lizzy, Jane, and Georgie—at ages twelve, ten, and eight, thought they were too grown up for such things, and they ran away with one another, giggling loudly down the corridor. Elizabeth and Darcy shared a laugh with their younger three children, gazing at one another with nothing but affection in their eyes.

"I love you, Darcy," she said to him, leaning over to kiss him again.

"And I love you, Elizabeth."

The End