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D arcy was relieved to see Elizabeth and Lord Anderson smiling as they emerged from the carriage.

During the last half hour of their journey, father and daughter conversed on various other topics rather than their personal lives, and Elizabeth looked forward to spending more time with him.

Lady Martha and the rest of the family welcomed them with warmth as the children ran up to Elizabeth with excitement.

“Miss Smith,” they cried as they threw themselves at her.

Elizabeth embraced them joyfully and was happy to see they were well. Lady Isabella and Lord Ashton stood together, and it was clear to Elizabeth that they had resolved their differences.

“It is good to see you return in happy spirits, Miss Smith. We have missed you and my brother here,” Mr. Anderson said.

Lord Anderson excused himself and headed upstairs, understanding his wife and daughter had no intention of receiving them.

“My dearest niece, how have you been? I cannot tell you how much we missed your presence here,” Lady Martha cried.

“I have missed you too. I am glad to be back in Ashton Park,” Elizabeth exclaimed.

“Do not be so joyous. I am certain you will have to miss Ashton Park again in some weeks,” Georgiana said.

“That reminds me, Fitzwilliam. Which date are you inclined towards? You did mention some in your letters.”

“We should be able to decide in a couple of days, and since we have a large party traveling for the wedding, I must make arrangements for the same. And we must be heading to Pemberley now,” he said, finishing his tea.

“Won’t you stay for dinner?” Lord Ashton asked, and as much as Darcy wanted to stay with Elizabeth, he could not as he had several matters to attend to, and Elizabeth hugged Georgiana when they left.

“I will miss you,” Georgiana said with feeling.

“I cannot thank you enough for the support you have given me throughout this journey. Your brother is very proud of you,” Elizabeth said.

When she walked along with Darcy to send them off, Darcy kept looking behind.

“What is it, Fitzwilliam?”

“I am waiting for Lady Martha to dispatch a maid to follow us,” he said in a serious tone, making Elizabeth laugh.

“I am truly glad that you and your father are getting to know each other better,” he said.

“We are, and I hope things will be better in the future.”

“I feel comfortable to leave you here now that you are under your father’s protection,” he said, kissing her hand.

“I do not know whether what I say now would be sufficient for all that you have done for me in the past weeks. Thank you!” she said and touched his sleeve.

“You do not have to thank me for anything as you are well aware. I insist you rest because we have had a long trip, and I do not want you to exhaust yourself.”

Elizabeth watched as Darcy left and wondered how her life would have been had she not met him. That day, she spent a lot of time with the children and met the new governess Lady Martha had appointed. She was an older woman, but the children liked her, and Elizabeth was happy with her choice.

Elizabeth finally met Lady Anderson and her daughter during supper.

Both greeted her formally, but she could sense the resentment in their eyes.

She understood that their civility was due to Lord Anderson’s insistence.

Despite his family’s disapproval, his behavior towards her did not change while in their company.

That night, Elizabeth sat with Lady Martha and enjoyed a long conversation. Even though they had communicated frequently while she was in town, they were engrossed in hearing each other’s stories.

“Yes, she left with her parents, and I tried to convince Philip to reconcile with her. He was very adamant until the children asked for her; it also surprised me. Even though she had never spent time with them since their marriage, Edmund and Emily wanted to know why she had left. Philip tried his best to explain and make them understand, but he could sense that his decision impacted them. Finally, he wrote and asked her to return, and honestly, Elizabeth, she has tried her best to make up for the lost time. She seems to be a different person now, without her secret weighing down on her actions.”

“I am so glad, and I am certain the children will be happy with her.”

“Now, let us come to my brother; he seems happy after returning from town. Irrespective of all that has happened. I understand you both have resolved everything,” she said with happiness.

“I assure you, there is a long way to go, but I no longer hate him,” Elizabeth said.

“He is a good man; our parents never understood him and forced him to do many things for the sake of status and society. I never understood why he was so depressed in life after his marriage. I wish fate had been kinder towards him and your mother, but when I think about it, you traveling here out of all the places in the country is beyond belief.”

“It truly is, and it seems as though I came home,” she said.

“You deserve all the happiness coming your way, my dear. Had you not saved Lady Isabella that day, our family would have never recovered from another loss.”

“Please do not even think about something as horrific as that.I must ask you, how is Lady Anderson and her daughter? It must have been painful for them to stay here without him. I can clearly see they still cannot accept me; honestly, I do not expect them to.”

“I did have some conversation with Augusta, but her anger has not subsided nor is she willing to forgive her husband. They expected to leave when Mark returned, but they did not expect Mark to stay for your wedding.”

“It must be very unpleasant for them to see me every day.”

“That is not your concern, my dear. Please do not ruin the happy days before your marriage with things you have no control over. My brother would never let them cause you any distress and I assure you of that. You must be exhausted, and I suggest you sleep well. There are many matters to discuss about your wedding, and I have not been this excited in years.”

Elizabeth smiled, seeing the excitement on Lady Martha’s face.

“Go on, my dear, sleep well,” she said, and to her surprise Elizabeth hugged her.

“Good night, Aunt Martha,” she said and left the room, much to her aunt’s shock and delight.

***

Within a couple of days, the date for the wedding was finalized, and it was decided that Darcy and Elizabeth would marry a week before Christmas. All the preparations were in full swing, and the party from London was to arrive soon. Elizabeth was impatient to see Mary and Charlotte.

Darcy meticulously planned every detail regarding the wedding and supervised preparations for the arrival of the guests.

Meanwhile, in Ashton Park, Elizabeth established a routine of spending time with her father whenever possible. However, Lady Anderson and her daughter avoided her company and kept to themselves.

One morning, Lord Anderson and Lady Martha summoned Elizabeth to the study.

“Good morning, my dear!” Lady Martha said.

“Good morning; I understand you both wish to speak with me. Is something wrong?” she asked, observing the look on her father’s face.

“No, nothing is. We wish to discuss something with you and decide accordingly. It is always a tradition to have an engagement party at Ashton Park for any wedding in the family, and we intend to host yours here.”

“Do you think it is necessary? Our engagement was already announced at Pemberley.”

“Well, that is what we would like to discuss,” Lady Martha said. She looked at her brother and continued, “When your engagement was announced, you were addressed as Miss Smith, and now maybe it is time to change that.”

“Elizabeth, I want to declare to the world that you are my daughter before you become Mrs. Darcy.”

“I am certain that everyone is aware of it by now.”

“Not everyone and this would be an official announcement, and I wish to do it because I owe it to Sarah. I cannot let you get married as Miss Smith.”

“All these do not matter to me, and you know that. Please do not assume that I am insulting you; the status, wealth, or rights I get because of this are trivial to me. You have already given me what I need: your love and affection.”

“I am well aware of your sentiments, but this is important for me as a father, and this is the right time to do it. Please do not assume I am doing this for Mr. Darcy as well. You are my daughter, and as late as it may be in your life, I want everyone to know that you have a father who would do anything for you.”

Elizabeth stayed silent as she knew this would increase the animosity with his wife and daughter.

“Elizabeth, what are you thinking?” Lady Martha asked.

“I am not certain.”

“All right, let’s assume you get married as Miss Smith, and at some point, in the future you regret the decision; there is no way we can make it right then. Please do not hesitate.”

Elizabeth thought about it; more than her father’s wishes, she felt she owed it to Darcy who was willing to marry her when she was a governess with a disgraceful past.

I must do this for him; after all, I rejected his proposal initially because of the scrutiny he would face in society because of my status.

“Very well! I agree,” she said, much to the joy of her father and aunt.

Lady Anderson was enraged when she heard the news and argued with her husband relentlessly.

“You will not leave before that girl’s marriage. Now you want to declare to the world that she is your daughter and Beatrice is not?” she cried angrily.

“I am only declaring that she is my daughter; I am not disowning Beatrice. Augusta, after all these years, how could you doubt my affection for Beatrice? How many times am I to tell you that Elizabeth, being my daughter, will not change anything between us? I have always protected and respected you as my wife and showered my love and affection on her as my daughter. How could you doubt that I would change?”