Epilogue

The Bennet sisters were born to a father and mother who tried very hard for a boy child. By the time Lydia had been born, Seth and Frances Bennet gave up hope of conceiving a boy child. As their five daughters blossomed into fine young ladies, some more wild than the others, they had accepted that their gentle born daughters would not inherit Longbourn as it had been entailed away from the female line. With the arrival of Mr. Wilder and his sister, Clara in 1811, the promise of marriage multiplied with the additional presence of Charles Bingley and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Mr. Wilder married Edith Boulanger, Clara Flint married her cousin Jonathan Flint, and Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy claimed Jane and Elizabeth. Shortly after Lydia eloped, Kitty engaged to a familiar officer, and Mary appeared the only Bennet unmarried. A clerk's surprise proposal freed Mary of singlehood, and all of Hertfordshire celebrated the unexpected surprise.

But happiness was guaranteed. George Wickham was both poor and a drunkard with a penchant for gambling. Charles Bingley proved to be unfaithful to Jane and smart enough to allow her to take control of the estate, he continued his affairs. Captain Carter had been detained by the wars for almost three years. Only Mary and Elizabeth knew real domestic felicity as Darcy ardently loved and admired his wife and Edmund utilized Mary's practical nature to his great benefit. The Wilder twins experienced brief joy in their domestic felicity before still births, premature deaths, and childbirth put the twins into mourning. Charlotte Lucas, who married William Collins, was widowed a day into her marriage, and then eventually accepted Mr. Wilder's hand in marriage. Eventually Wickham drank himself to death and Lydia married an old man wealthy enough to keep her comfortably.

Life is interesting however in that it rewards and punishes, and in a manner, it provides the greatest amusements. Eventually Mr. Bennet passed away in his sleep and Mr. Kent inherited Longbourn. Mr. Kent, Mary, and their then born two sons and a daughter moved from London to Longbourn to repair the neglect Seth Bennet permitted to happen to the place. Mrs. Bennet lived her last days in Longbourn till she died of food poisoning after a private ball. The cook almost killed three other people aside from Mrs. Bennet and was ultimately sentenced to the hangman's noose.

Lydia Boording suffered the life of a poor woman married to a wealthy man interested only in a trophy wife and bore him three more daughters. He, wise enough to set aside a dowry for each daughter, reformed her. When he passed away ten years into their marriage, she remained a widow and collected 2,000 per annum according to law along with the jointure he settled on her. She never remarried. Her spending habits also reformed so that by the time she passed, she left a considerable fortune to the three daughters she personally birthed.

Jane Bingley birthed another boy five years after Bartlett, and remained ignorant of Charles's bastard children till the end of her days. Bartlett proved a highly intelligent child and went on to lead the family estate at the age of 18, years ahead of his peers as he did attend Eton and received the best of tutors and masters at Bingley Manor. He went into law for university and emerged a serious candidate for a respectable position. His brother, Jeremiah, followed the career of law further, both brothers well entrenched into respectability. Jane died of a cold one severe winter, Charles peacefully following her to the grave seven years and two more bastard children later.

Elizabeth Darcy never conceived another child after Emma. William inherited Pemberley and its grounds, Morgan entered the military, and Carew pursued a career with the church. Emma eventually married an Earl. Georgiana Darcy married a young man of 4,000 a year, a most respectable patron of artisans. A carriage accident tragically killed Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy as their third youngest prepared to marry his betrothed. The carriage overturned into a pond and drowned both Darcys while the driver was able to save the thrashing horse and himself from the same fate.

Kitty Carter enjoyed her long marriage to James Carter, and as the industrial revolution took place, the Carters rose in fortune rapidly. Her fragile health could not withstand the pollution however, and it eventually weakened her lungs to the point she could not venture outdoors. Barely surviving the birth of one boy, she died of acute ague when her child was only twelve. James Carter eventually remarried, never forgetting his darling Kitty.

Mr. Wilder lived out the remainder of his days with Charlotte. They successfully conceived and delivered two healthy babies, a boy and girl, in addition to Susannah. Netherfield Park never knew a happier family. Charlotte passed before Mr. Wilder, but not before she witnessed the blossoming of her children into respectable ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Wilder watched his children grow, marry, and move away. His son stayed at Netherfield, and when he married, his wife joined him at Netherfield. Mr. Wilder's last days were surrounded by family. His heart failed him one morning walk, and a servant walking the paths discovered him.

Clara Flint lived most of her life content in knowing that Jonathan never strayed from her side despite his cravings for the male sex. Augustus was the only boy child to survive birth. Two still births and one miscarriage later, Clara and Jonny welcomed a daughter into the world. After Leigh's husband perished to Cholera, she joined her brother and sister-in-law at the Flint estate to live out the rest of her days as Clara's companion. Jonny died of a mugging in London leaving behind a grieving Clara. Clara followed him five years later after bleeding out in her bed. The doctor misjudged a fever, and when bleeding out didn't work, she was already too weak to recover. Survived by their son as the Heir to the estate and a daughter with an impressive dowry, the Flint name lived on.

Lady de Bourg never took well to Anne's marriage. She lived a long life of loneliness, often entertaining Mr. Boording and his young wife, brow beating Lydia whenever George wasn't. She died alone at Rosings Park. Mr. Jones inherited Rosings Park in Anne's name, and they left behind no heir birthed by Anne but an adopted boy who took to Anne instantly. Mr. Jones's apoplexy forced their adopted son to care for Anne's needs until her dying days many years later. Anne maintained good relations with her neighbors and died with no regrets.