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J ane and Elizabeth married their fiancés on the tenth of February.

The wedding was small, as the Bennet family was only six months into mourning, but it was everything elegant and lovely.

The Earl and Countess attended, as did Colonel Fitzwilliam.

The Gardiners were in attendance, of course, as were the Hursts.

Mr. Hurst fell asleep during the ceremony, but Mrs. Hurst smiled throughout and was seen wiping away a tear.

Mrs. Hurst informed Caroline Bingley of the event by letter, but only after it was over.

After her bridal journey, the new Mrs. Bingley returned to Netherfield. Mr. Bingley decided to purchase Netherfield, as Jane wished to be near her father and sisters. Jane and Louisa Hurst were on a first-name basis within two days, and became as close as sisters.

The new Mrs. Darcy went to Pemberley, where she was warmly welcomed by Georgiana, who had been waiting impatiently, as well as by the entire staff. Pemberley had long felt the absence of a mistress, and all its inhabitants were happy to have one at last.

Mary was soon invited to Pemberley, where she found a true sister in Georgiana.

Under Georgiana’s tutelage, Mary’s efforts on the pianoforte improved remarkably.

Georgiana also helped Mary to soften her appearance, and Elizabeth provided Mary with a new wardrobe.

She dealt with Mary’s protests by informing her that if one were to speak honestly, as Mary now preferred to do, it was doing the Darcy family no favours for their sister to be seen in inferior and unflattering clothing!

It was thus no surprise that Mary attracted the attention of the eldest son of a nearby estate owner, and married him six months later.

When a new parson came to Meryton, young and handsome, it was Kitty who caught his eye; since housing and a salary were provided to the rector, the interest from Kitty’s dowry, now grown to two thousand five hundred pounds, was enough to allow them to live comfortably.

The Colonel made it a point to visit Longbourn whenever he was on leave.

He actually did develop a tendré for Lydia, who had since forgotten her promise to have nothing to do with men.

When Mr. Darcy heard of it, he laughed heartily and promptly gifted Lydia five thousand pounds.

This, along with Lydia’s dowry, enabled the two to marry.

The Countess raised her eyes to heaven, but did not protest. Indeed, Lydia had improved a good deal under Mr. Bennet’s tutelage, and the Countess could not disapprove of her.

The couple decided to live in Meryton, and did so quite happily at Haye Park, despite its dreadful attics.

Once all the girls were out of the house and there were no longer any dowries to save for, Mr. Bennet lost interest in the estate.

Seeing this, the Bingleys invited him to live at Netherfield Park.

He removed there at once, lining Netherfield’s empty library shelves with his collection, and invited the Collins to come and take Longbourn immediately.

He spent the remainder of his days quite happily in Netherfield’s library, with Jane in attendance, and Kitty and Lydia close at hand.

The End