What Would Mr. Darcy Do?

Epilogue

It was snowing very lightly when they left Pemberley for Lambton. After several days of poor weather kept them restricted indoors, Elizabeth was longing for a chance to set foot in the outside world. Mrs. Gardiner had expressed an interest in visiting one of her Lambton friends, and Elizabeth was interested in finding some new millinery, so an outing was decided upon. Darcy decided at the last moment to join them, though how much was due to a desire for the company of his wife, and how much represented an excess of exposure to the post-Christmas exuberance of the Gardiner children could not be said.

The Darcys had visited Lambton on several occasions since their return to Pemberley. Although the Darcy family never before favored Lambton with their custom, Elizabeth had early established a preference for the small market town owing to her previous familiarity with it. Her inclination was reinforced by the friendly behavior of the inhabitants, who took personal pride in the new Mrs. Darcy as the niece of a former Lambton resident, and, should anyone in the town have forgotten that she had met with Mr. Darcy on more than one occasion in their village, any number of people would have reminded them of the fact immediately. The value of a mistress of Pemberley who brought her family to their village could not be underestimated, either.

Certain of the village residents had therefore seen it as their business to find out more about the goings-on in the Darcy family, and, in cultivating their acquaintance with members of the staff at Pemberley, had been able to report back that Mr. Darcy was considered to be exceedingly enamored of his lively new wife, and much more cheerful and less proud than was his former wont. This intelligence being spread rapidly throughout the town, Mr. Darcy was bemused to discover that he was being greeted with smiles of amused indulgence from the villagers whenever he accompanied his wife to Lambton. Though he professed bafflement with the change, Elizabeth suspected that he surreptitiously enjoyed being the recipient of this kind of attention, so unlike any he had received in the past.

When Elizabeth finished her business in the town, she found it still wanted an hour until the time Mrs. Gardiner was to rejoin them. Rather than hurry her aunt’s visit, Darcy suggested they might stop at the Lambton Inn for something warm to drink. This being agreeable to her, they proceeded to the inn where the proprietor, feeling the Darcys might prefer more privacy than the main room offered, showed them to the private sitting room Elizabeth remembered well from her last visit.

Elizabeth looked around at the familiar paneled walls and heavy furniture. Turning to her husband with a smile, she asked, “Do you remember the last time we were here together?”

“Vividly. I lived on the memory of those moments for weeks.”

“And now, not half a year later, here we are again.”

“But in a condition much different from where we left off, and far preferable, I must say.”

It was indeed far preferable, Elizabeth thought, reflecting on how content she had been since their marriage. Pemberley, while still new to her, was beginning to feel like her home; Georgiana was becoming a true sister, and the staff at Pemberley had welcomed her. If Mrs. Reynolds possessed any qualms about the young woman her master had brought home, she overcame them when she saw the joy she brought him, and the liveliness, absent from Pemberley these many years since old Mr. Darcy passed away, that she added to the household. She remarked to Elizabeth on one occasion how much more like his old self as a boy Mr. Darcy seemed. Elizabeth was also quite certain the housekeeper was pleased by the Gardiners’ Christmas visit, since it meant the halls of Pemberley were ringing with children’s laughter and Christmas spirit again.

“And with far better understanding of one another, I should hope,” she added.

“I believe you could safely say that,” he agreed.

“As I recall, you had some difficulty believing I was serious in my regard for you,” she teased.

“That was only because I was so afraid of losing you again,” Darcy said, thinking back to the anxieties of their courtship.

“I am not so easy to be rid of,” she said. “Besides, I could never leave you to the mercy of the fashionable ladies of the ton!” This had become a regular source of teasing between the two since Elizabeth had finally come to understand why, with all the finest society ladies to choose from, he had fallen in love with a mere country gentleman’s daughter. She now questioned why anyone had ever thought that he might wed a society lady, since it had become obvious that a country girl was what he would have wanted all along, had he given the matter any thought. A wife who longed for the social delights of London would have made him miserable; in fact, when they decided to forgo completely the pleasures of the Season in London this year, and to spend the winter at Pemberley instead, Darcy had shown nothing but relief, and had even been heard on occasion to regret that they could not do the same next year, since their presence would be required for Georgiana’s first Season.

“There are certain things that are quite unchanged, though,” Darcy said meaningfully.

“And what, pray tell, do you have in mind, sir?” asked Elizabeth impertinently, knowing full well where his thoughts were headed.

With a teasing smile, he drew her onto his lap. “I still spend a great deal of time thinking about how much I want to kiss you,” he said softly in her ear, and proceeded to do just that.

Elizabeth wound her arms around his neck and, having learned a good deal in the last two months about how to gain her husband’s attention, ran her finger lightly under the very edge of his cravat and began skillfully torturing him with light kisses along his face. “Elizabeth,” he moaned, retaliating by trailing kisses along her neck before recapturing her mouth with a series of passionate kisses that left her breathless. “Must you do this to me when we are five miles from home?”

“You started it,” she pointed out wickedly, redoubling her efforts. “Shall I stop, then?”

“You know the answer to that,” he growled, and stemmed her laughter by the most efficient means available to him.

It was then that Nan, the serving girl, appeared in the doorway carrying a tray with their coffees, only to find the Master and Mistress of Pemberley locked in a passionate embrace. Apparently the Pemberley staff had not been exaggerating after all about how often they discovered the Darcys in a compromising position! She retreated on tiptoe, closing the door quietly behind her. With a broad smile, she headed toward the kitchen where she knew she would have an eager audience for her tidings.