Page 44 of The Power of Refusal
Ten years after their wedding, Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy stood on the sun-warmed terrace of Pemberley, the smooth stone still holding the day’s heat. The air was fragrant with late summer roses and freshly mown grass. Below, on the verdant lawn, their children played, their laughter carrying on the gentle breeze.
Their son Bennet, with his father’s dark curls and his mother’s sparkling eyes, was patiently teaching his younger sister Anne how to fly a kite. The vibrant silk kite danced against the azure sky, its long tail whipping in the wind. Anne’s delighted squeals echoed across the grounds as the kite soared higher.
Nearby, Jane and Charles Bingley attempted to corral their brood of five energetic children. Their eldest, a boy with his father’s amiable nature, was engaged in a spirited game of tag with his siblings and cousins. Jane’s melodious laughter mingled with the children’s shouts as she scooped up her youngest, a toddler with cherubic cheeks and golden curls.
In the dappled shade of a giant oak, Mary Couper sat contentedly, the pages of her book rustling gently as she read. Her husband, the Reverend Couper, was entertaining their children, Frances and Robbie with a game of spillikins. He had grown to be a kind and understanding partner after Mary’s difficult second delivery. His appointment to a living near Pemberley had strengthened the family bonds.
After Mrs Bennet’s untimely passing—brought on by the shock of Elizabeth marrying and quickly producing a male heir at her advanced age—Mr Bennet had invited the Collinses to reside at Longbourn.
Under Charlotte’s capable management, the estate turned a tidy profit. Mr Bennet retained tenuous possession of his bookroom as the true owner, and Mr Collins regularly fussed about it. After two years, Mr Bennet met and married Miss Marigold Stone, age eighteen. The new MrsBennet was as silly and empty-headed as the former Mrs Bennet, and as fertile. Within four years there were three male heirs born to the mismatched couple.
After investing so much time in Longbourn, all hope of inheritance vanished for Mr and Mrs Collins. In time, Mr Collins reassumed his position at Hunsford where he regaled his congregation with endless sermons on Job 9:22-24: The earth is given over into the hand of the wicked man; he covereth the faces of its judges.
Kitty had remained at Longbourn, finding purpose in assisting Charlotte and doting on the Collins’ children. Upon her father’s marriage, she begged to relocate to London with the Gardiners. Given her increased maturity and the untenable atmosphere at Longbourn where she stood ten years older than her step mamma, she was conditionally welcomed. There she met and married one of Uncle Gardiner’s merchant colleagues, a kind man who appreciated her gentle nature.
Lydia, after years as the most determined flirt that ever made herself and her family ridiculous, had by then settled into an uneasy marriage with the Meryton haberdasher, to whom she owed a vast sum for her purchases “on credit.” Her London ambitions were forever unfulfilled, though she consoled herself by being the best-dressed woman in Meryton.
As the sun began to set, casting a golden glow over the grounds, Darcy wrapped an arm around Elizabeth’s waist. “After ten years, any regrets, my love?” he murmured.
Elizabeth leant into him, her eyes bright with happiness. “Only that we wasted so many years apart,” she replied. “But I suppose that makes me cherish our time together all the more.”
Darcy pressed a kiss to her temple. “Indeed. Every day with you is a gift, my dearest Elizabeth.”