AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is the final chapter, ending on a happy note.

On entering Longbourn, the two gentlemen greeted Mrs. Bennet, then went to the library. When they entered, Mr. Bennet looked very surprised to see them. "To what do I owe this visit? I hope you have good news for me. I could sure use some now."

Darcy was the one to answer, "Mr. Bennet, we come here to ask for your daughters' hands in marriage. Today I asked Miss Elizabeth and Bingley asked Miss Bennet, with positive responses to each of us. We come here to ask for your permission to marry them."

"Well, well, well. This is a surprise although I suppose it should not be as I knew the interest both of you had in my daughters. I know I do not have to ask if either of you can support them, but are you both so sure of their love for you that you will be able to spend the rest of your lives with them? I know how initial love can change over the years."

Bingley finally spoke, "Mr. Bennet, I fell in love with Miss Bennet when we first met. I was not sure of her regard for me until I returned to Netherfield, but now I am sure. How could my regard for her ever change? We are perfect for each other. She is the sweetest woman I have ever met."

Mr. Darcy then spoke, "As for me, Mr. Bennet, you know I have had a high regard for Miss Elizabeth since before I left for Pemberley. The better I get to know her, the higher my regard for her. I believe we are perfectly suited for each other and will make each other happy when we are wed."

"Mr. Darcy, if you know Lizzy that well, you know she will speak her mind without hesitating. Your marriage will not be all hearts and roses. Will you be able to weather those storms?"

"I respect her intelligence and expect we will be able to talk about any disagreements with no long-term problems. That is one of the attributes I admire about her."

"Well, gentlemen, I believe you both know what wonderful ladies you are marrying. I give you both my consent and blessing with no reservations." He shook hands with both of them.

When Darcy and Bingley rejoined the women, they found the room in an uproar as Mrs. Bennet had been told why they had gone in to see Mr. Bennet. She was in raptures about their prospects, their pin money, their carriages, and jewels, and how they might find husbands for both Kitty and Mary. Lizzy smiled at this as she expected good news from Kitty, if not soon, then eventually. Mrs. Bennet also surprised both daughters when she said how she hoped they would be wise enough to make their husbands happy and never spurn their demands, no matter what happened. Jane and Mary were puzzled by this statement, but Lizzy understood.

They decided to get married at the same ceremony, knowing how this would lessen the amount of planning and disruption that inevitably results from any marriage. Georgiana and Kitty came down to Longbourn for the ceremony, spending several weeks there before the wedding and several more weeks after while the two couples enjoyed their honeymoons. Before the wedding, everyone was very busy planning the wedding and helping Jane and Lizzy get ready; after they had left with their husbands, Longbourn was comparatively very quiet. The three young ladies spent time enjoying walks in the neighbourhood, visiting Meryton, and practicing on the piano. Evenings were again enjoyable with music; even Mr. Bennet again sang with the ladies, much to his wife's surprise and pleasure. She wondered at the recent changes in her husband, but decided not to ask but just accept them.

Mrs. Bennet's nerves remained much calmer as her husband continued to soothe them, albeit not quite so assiduously as when he first returned to Longbourn. Many friends asked themselves why she seemed so changed, but most attributed this to having three of her daughters married. Mr. Bennet just smiled at these assumptions. Mrs. Bennet did not admit to having changed at all, but did smile to herself and to her husband much more often.

When Lizzy and Darcy returned, with much blushing on Lizzy's part whenever their honeymoon was mentioned, they did not tarry at Longbourn for more than a few days. They returned to Pemberley, taking Georgiana and Kitty with them, even though Mrs. Bennet was very reluctant to see Kitty go, leaving only Mary at Longbourn. Lizzy's hints that their local vicar needed and desired Kitty's presence was sufficient to convince her mother to let her go as she hoped to hear more good news in the near future.

Only Mary was left to be a companion to their mother, which she found not to be so onerous as she had anticipated due to their mother's oft-soothed nerves. Of course, Mary had no inkling why her mother was so changed, as she, as an unmarried maiden, had no real awareness of the tribulations of a married couple's physical relationship. Mary was obliged to mix more with the world, but she could still moralize over every morning visit; and as she was no longer mortified by comparisons between her sisters' beauty and her own, it was suspected by their father that she submitted to the change without much reluctance.

Mr. Bingley and Jane remained at Netherfield only a twelvemonth. So near to her mother and their Meryton relations was not desirable even to his easy temper, or her affectionate heart. The darling wish of his sisters was then gratified; he bought an estate in a neighbouring county to Derbyshire, and the three Bennet sisters, in addition to every other source of happiness, were within thirty miles of each other. Bingley's sisters found the society so far removed from London was not to their liking, so they spent very little time with their brother and his new wife.

The attachment of the three ladies when together at Pemberley was exactly what Darcy had hoped to see. They were able to love one another, even as well as they intended. Georgiana had the highest opinion in the world of Elizabeth; though at first she often listened with an astonishment bordering on alarm, at her lively and even sportive manner of talking to her brother. He, who had always inspired in her a respect which almost overcame her affection, she now saw the object of open pleasantry. Her mind received knowledge which had never before fallen in her way. By Elizabeth's instructions she began to comprehend that a woman may take liberties with her husband, which a brother will not always allow in a sister more than ten years younger than himself.

Kitty became much more involved in teaching the young children in Mr. Thompson's class as he realized how much better the children learned with her compared to him. He slowly gave complete control of the class to her and concentrated his efforts on the more advanced students and on his ecumenical duties. Many of Kitty's stories for children were published and found a market, bringing her a small, but steady, source of income. It was not long before Mr. Thompson made their relationship permanent, making her daily commute much shorter.

Only Mr. Bennet was not so pleased with all these weddings, having lost his two favourite daughters. Because of Kitty's settling permanently in Lambton, his new respect and love for her could be shown only on his visits to Pemberley. However, he continued to find consolation in his wife's arms and continued to be pleasantly surprised by the absence of her concerns for her nerves. The Longbourn residents were all rewarded by frequent invitations to Pemberley, so life was good.

THE END

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope you enjoyed this story. Please keep posting your comments. Remember that this is my very first attempt at fiction so I welcome all suggestions/complaints.

I have a second story in draft form and will be posting it here as well: "A Compromised Mr. Darcy." What if Caroline Bingley successfully compromised Darcy at Pemberley on his return from negotiating with Wickham in London?

With both stories I try to retain the personalities and idiosyncrasies of all the characters as created by the immortal Jane; I just imagine what might have happened if some small change in her initial plot had occurred. I hope you enjoy my efforts. Ronnie

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