Page 102 of Roses from Pemberley
“So what were you ladies discussing?” asked Bingley, sitting beside Jane. “You seemed quite enthralled over it.”
Elizabeth stayed silent, not wishing to embarrass Jane, but Jane appeared to have no such qualms and answered, “We were speaking of how kind it was of you to bring me to Lizzy last spring.”
Bingley appeared to think about this for a moment and then frowned. “I never even knew until that evening that you were in London. Otherwise I would have called much sooner.”
“Yes, I know,” said Jane with a smile, “for you informed me of it several times that evening.” She turned to Darcy. “However, I do wonder how you came to know of my feelings…for Mr. Bingley.”
“Oh! Ahh…it was Elizabeth who told me.”
“I apologise, Jane,” said Elizabeth, “I was so angry when I found out about his interference that I accused him of separating my sister from the man she loved.”
Jane gasped. “But what if Mr. Bingley did not care for me, Lizzy? It would have been quite mortifying if he came to find out about it.”
“But I did love you,” said Bingley with a grin, “so you need not feel mortified.”
“Besides,” said Elizabeth, “I told Darcy about it, not Bingley.”
“True,” said Jane with a chuckle, “but he told Bingley about it anyway.”
“Yes, I suppose I did,” said Darcy. He grinned. “But, though your separationwasmy fault, at least I also provided the remedy…despite the fact that it was a little risky.”
Eventually Jane said, “All in all, I believe we each have something which we would have liked to do differently. However, as we are all happy - now - shall we not simply dwell on that?”
“You are right, dearest,” said Bingley, “let us simply dwell on our happiness.” He looked pointedly at Jane and added, “With that in mind, shall we retire now?”
Jane blushed but only nodded. Bingley assisted her to stand, then the pair walked out of the room together.
“Shall we too retire for the night?” asked Elizabeth, turning to Darcy with a smile.
“We could,” he said, walking to the window and looking out. “But I confess, I do not wish for this day to end just yet. Would you care to take a stroll in the rose garden? There is a full moon, you see.”
Elizabeth stood up and joined him at the window. She looked up at the cloudless sky and saw that there was, indeed, afull moon hanging just over the wooded hills. “Yes, I think it a brilliant idea.”
A quarter hour later, clad in her warmest cloak, Elizabeth walked arm in arm with Darcy through the rose gardens at Pemberley. The night was cool, but there was no wind. Thus they felt quite comfortable as they walked along, staring at the eerily beautiful blooms on which dew had already begun to form. The petals glowed in the moonlight, creating a symphony of colours that was almost magical in its beauty.
They paused in the midst of it and looked around.
“I am so happy to be here,” she said with no little amount of wonder. She touched a fingertip to one of the roses then bent down to sniff its scent.
When she looked up again, Elizabeth noticed that he was looking at her with an expression of...
"I adore you," he said suddenly, breaking into her thoughts.
She stared into his face and wondered what she had ever done to deserve such love. Perhaps it would always be a mystery.
Elizabeth gave him a tender smile then ran a finger across his lips. "Kiss me, then."
The two weeks of their honeymoon passed quickly. Soon the Bennets, Philipses and Gardiners returned to Pemberley and spent another few weeks there. They played games on the lawn and had picnics by the lake, when the weather was fine. Mrs. Bennet’s spirits became lighter and everyone seemed to breathe a little easier. Mary and Georgie played duets in the evenings and Mrs. Bennet began to spend more time in the library, “In honour of your father,” she would tell them. But she herself had developed a love of books, albeit mostly romance novels. Andthey often found her there, cup of chocolate by her side, sitting by the fire and completely engrossed by what she was reading.
“The library at Purvis Lodge does not have many books in it,” commented Darcy to Elizabeth one day. “Shall we go into Lambton and buy some for your mother and sisters?”
Elizabeth was again taken aback by his thoughtfulness but, knowing how little he liked to be thanked, only said, “Yes, let us go into Lambton today in the phaeton, and buy books for my mother.”
He gave her a wide smile and they went into the village that very afternoon, enjoying themselves immensely as they selected books for Mrs. Bennet.
Eventually the Bingleys went on to Scarborough to visit some of Bingley’s relations in the area, while the others returned to their respective homes in the south. Mary stayed at Pemberley and eventually caught the eye of the vicar from Kympton and became engaged to him.
The following winter, Georgie had her come out and was immediately approached by Sir Edward Pennington who had never forgotten her from the time he heard her playing the instrument at the Matlock’s. He courted her, proposed a few months later, and was accepted. Diana Fitzwilliam eventually met a naval sea captain and married him. And Kitty, who continued to live at Purvis Lodge, became engaged to Sir William Lucas’s eldest son.
