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O ne morning, Elizabeth and Mary sat together in the comfort of Mr. Gardiner’s drawing room, recollecting the tormenting events of the past few weeks. A lot had happened since the day Elizabeth stepped foot in Longbourn.

The Bennets never expected the confrontation to end the way it did.

Lord Anderson, Mr. Gardiner, and Darcy did not want to leave anything to chance that day and were well prepared for the Bennets to be arrested.

The moment Elizabeth left the library, constables arrested Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, much to their horror.

Except for Mary, the rest of Elizabeth’s sisters were confused and horrified by the state of affairs. They could not understand the situation and were alarmed by the revelation, as Mary explained why their parents were arrested. Jane threw a tantrum when she saw them being taken away.

However, Elizabeth’s reunion with Mary was beyond emotional, and Darcy could see how much the sisters loved each other. Elizabeth felt sorry for the rest of her sisters, but her uncle assured her that he would take their guardianship.

The Bennets were sent to trial very soon, and all the evidence against them proved them guilty.

Mr. Gardiner found documents and a few letters regarding the money Lord Anderson had sent to Elizabeth’s mother in Longbourn, which was submitted during the trial.

Mrs. Lewis appeared as a vital witness in the case, and Mrs. Bennet confessed to her crimes, much to her husband’s horror, as she hoped it would lessen the punishment.

Unfortunately for her, as per the verdict, the couple was sent to the Australian colonies and almost had no chance of returning to England.

As for Mr. Collins, Darcy and Lord Anderson had traveled to Kent to confront him, and he faced the same rage Mr. Dean had experienced from Darcy.

Mary had helped expose his involvement with the Bennets through her statement, and he was banished from the parish, as he was publicly disgraced for his involvement with the Bennets in their evil schemes.

Much to Lady Catherine’s shock, Darcy had informed her of his wedding, which made her furious.

From the way they had parted after a heated argument, Darcy was certain there would be no future relationship between him and Rosings Park.

***

Now, the sisters sat in deep thought.

“Finally, everything is over. However, I do not feel happy when I think about what happened to them,” Elizabeth said.

“How can you still pity them? I do not. They are my own parents, after all; all their acts are so devious that I am so ashamed to be related to them. They left an unremovable mark of disgrace upon us, and I cannot ever forget it.”

“I do not pity them; I worry about what will happen to the rest of our sisters.”

Mr. Gardiner had already brought them to town, set them up in a townhouse close to his residence, and arranged for a companion to stay with them. As Elizabeth requested, Mr. and Mrs. Hill were employed in the household.

“Uncle Gardiner has been kind enough to take their guardianship, Lizzy. Although Mr. Bingley and I suggested they stay in Longbourn, we could take care of them.”

“That was gracious of you; I am unsure what will happen to Longbourn now. Fitzwilliam says Mr. Collins has been banished from Kent and the parish. With his current reputation, I am not certain how he can survive anywhere. I wish they had thought about the repercussions of their actions. As difficult as it seems, I see some change in Kitty and Lydia. They seem to understand the world is very different from what Mamma wanted them to see, but Jane will never be happy with her new life.”

“She has no choice; Uncle is not like Papa; he will ensure she understands. If not for him, she will have no support in this world, so she needs to change her character. After the disgrace caused by our parents, I doubt whether any of our sisters would get a suitable proposal for marriage unless they prove worthy in their character, and more than Lydia and Kitty, Jane should understand that.”

“I hope she does; without Mamma’s influence, she should change; it might take some time, but she will.

I might not have been close to the rest of my sisters like you, but it does not mean that I would not care for them.

I will do everything to support them in the future, and Fitzwilliam has assured me of that.

I think we must talk about happier things now as we have only a few more days before your wedding,”

“I do not know, Lizzy. I could not deny his request to get married as planned; despite everything, he still wanted to marry me. I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been to convince his family.”

“You deserve his love; do not doubt that. Mr. Bingley is a wonderful man, and I am so glad you both found each other. I cannot tell you how happy I was when I became aware of your engagement.”

Mary smiled.

“I never imagined I would get married without my parents, Lizzy. I am glad it will not be the same for you, as you will have Lord Anderson.”

Elizabeth was not willing to discuss the matter with her sister, but she was certain that she did not want Lord Anderson to be present for her wedding.

She was not blind to the visible bond that had formed between Darcy and Lord Anderson in recent weeks.

Even her uncle, who initially blamed Lord Anderson for his sister’s misery, seemed to have forgiven the man, and Elizabeth questioned him about the same.

“I ask you this because I want to know what changed, now that you have chosen to forgive Lord Anderson. Yes, I agree, he was deceived by the forged letters, but how could you look past his assumption of my mother’s character? Pardon me, I need to know. Did he convince you somehow?” she asked him.

“No, he did not. You must understand that I was indeed angry with him; enraged, I must say. But your aunt pointed out something to me the other day. She asked me how different I was from him in my treatment of Sarah. If he did not believe Sarah, so did I; if he doubted her character, then I am guilty of the same. I still remember the day I arrived from France. Father informed me of her condition, and I was enraged. I was unwilling to listen to her words, and I immediately assumed that she did something immoral and believed so. Had I been more supportive of her condition and calmer, your mother would have opened up about her marriage to me, just as she did to Fanny. Just imagine, your mother might still be alive had I trusted and given her the support she needed. Day by day, I witnessed her health deteriorate when she carried you, but I did not care to understand her. I have forgiven your father because unless I do so, I cannot forgive myself.”

Elizabeth stared at him in silence.

“All your grandfather ever taught me was to be the head of the family after him and look after his business. He failed to teach me to trust and take responsibility for the ones I loved. As much as I loved Sarah, I did not trust her when she needed me the most. All she must have seen in me was the anger I had toward the father of her child, and she loved him beyond measure that she chose to protect him.”

Elizabeth could not accept his reasoning; as much as her heart wanted to, her mind could not.

“I have no right to ask this from you, Elizabeth, but I want you to try at least to be civil to your father. Trust me, Sarah would want this from you, and she would want this for him. She died thinking that he abandoned her, and now that the truth is out, I hope her soul may rest in peace, finally.”

“Unfortunately, I am not selfless like my mother. I cannot forgive him, nor do I want to have any sort of relationship with him. The last thing I want to do at this point of time in my life is to pity a man who ruined my mother,” Elizabeth declared.

Her uncle did not want to press her.

“Maybe someday your anger will subside. Your aunt expressed your concerns about your sisters. Please trust me; they are my responsibility now. Even though Fanny did something so devious, I have no intention of letting her daughters suffer, and I will ensure they don’t pay for something they were not responsible for. ”

Elizabeth felt relieved to hear his words.

***

Finally, the wedding day arrived, and Mary and Mr. Bingley were married at the Longbourn chapel.

Despite the recent scandal, most of their acquaintances were present in the church for Mary and Mr. Bingley’s sake. They were happy to see Elizabeth after so many months and showered her with affection.

“I am delighted to see you, my dear. I wish my daughter, actually both my daughters, had trusted me in this matter,” Sir William said to Elizabeth.

“Please do not hold them at fault. The situation was different then, and I did not want anyone to know about my whereabouts. I cannot thank Charlotte and Mariah enough for all they have done for me,” Elizabeth replied.

“It is so unfortunate that this happened to someone so close to us. Lady Lucas is still in shock to learn about the cruelty you were subjected to. You have been very brave in this ordeal, and I am glad you are safe and happy. Please accept my heartiest wishes for your marriage to Mr. Darcy. You must be very proud of the man you are to marry, so handsome and intelligent,” Sir William said.

Darcy and Elizabeth could not spend much time together before Mary’s wedding, but as they stood in the church, Elizabeth could not help but blush, noticing how he looked at her.

Darcy’s eyes silently communicated his impatience to see her as his bride.

Elizabeth felt emotional seeing her sister and uncle walk into the chapel, and her mind immediately painted a picture of herself walking down the aisle with Lord Anderson.

Elizabeth suddenly felt dizzy and tried to compose herself and concentrate on the ceremony.

I must be relieved that he chose to avoid the wedding. But why am I even thinking about him?