Happily Ever After

"We have breaking news: At six fifty-seven this morning, George Wickham and Caroline Bingley were discovered by police at Ramsgate Motel, where they have been hiding since going on the run two weeks ago. They have been arrested for kidnapping and attempted murder. Ms. Bingley has also been charged with child abandonment. An employee at the motel, Julia Younge, has been charged as an accomplice. The child in question was found with them and safely returned to her sister before the rest of the family were released from the hospital."

Will didn't know what he was doing. He really didn't. As hard as he tried, he didn't know what to do or where to go or who to talk to next. So he just drove aimlessly, hoping that by some miracle, he would find something and all the pieces would just fall into place. Two hours later, in a bad neighborhood of a small town he had never heard of before, he saw it. Ramsgate Motel. Dirty, littered, and falling apart, it seemed like the perfect place to look. Maybe it was the graffiti, the overgrown hedges, or the broken windows, but something about the place seemed to shout Criminals hiding out HERE! Sure enough, he was about to go inside when he saw none other than Julia Younge at the front desk. Her hair, once long and dark, was now cut short and bleached blond, she had lost some weight, and he was sure she was wearing colored contacts behind her oversized sunglasses, but it was definitely her. She looked at the clock on the wall, made a quick call, and stepped outside just as Will jumped behind a hedge. He watched her go two doors to the right. When the door opened, he could smell the smoke, and he clearly heard the people he had been looking for. A quick call to the police, and ten minutes later George Wickham and Caroline Bingley were under arrest. After talking to one of the officers for a few minutes, Will called Elizabeth with the news. Abby, who was sleeping at the time of the arrest, woke up now. She seemed to be all right, but after Elizabeth arrived, she took her to the hospital to make sure and of course, to tell her parents and Jane.

That night, Will, Charles, Georgiana, the Millers, and the Gardiners came to the Bennets' welcome-home party. Ben, Gen, and Jane were well on their way to making a full recovery and Abby was happy, although Elizabeth looked exhausted. She was almost too tired to notice that Will was avoiding her. Almost. After the party, he kept his distance. He went back to work and hid in his office for nearly three days straight, even eating and sleeping at his desk. On the third day, Charles came over.

"So what's so urgent here that you can't take a few hours off to come to Longbourn with Georgiana and me?"

"Charles, I told you…"

"Yes, you told me that you felt partly responsible for what happened to the Bennets because of what Wickham did. That doesn't explain why you're now avoiding them like the plague. You know Elizabeth…"

"I don't think they want to see me right now, especially Elizabeth."

"What, because of Wickham? Because you didn't think everyone needed to know how traumatized your sister was because of him? What about me? Caroline's my sister. Don't you think that's just as bad, if not worse? She did this. What Jane must think of my family…" He tried to say this lightly, but his laugh sounded more nervous than he would have liked. He continued, "Come on, I know the Bennets would love to see you again, especially Elizabeth."

"Charles… There are some things I haven't told you."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere." He took a chair and propped his feet up on Will's desk.

"Charles…why don't you just say it?"

"Say what?"

"I don't know. Maybe everything you wanted to say before you found out Jane was in the hospital."

"What? Oh. Right." He paused a moment. "Look, Will, I never blamed you for telling me to break it off. Really. I guess she is a little hard to read sometimes, and I'm sure you didn't want to hear all about yet another one of my failed relationships when it all blew up. And when I first found out you met her city, I was ticked off, yeah, but if I hadn't run away to South America, maybe you could have told me. Anyway, it doesn't matter now." He saw that Will was about to protest so he stopped rambling and deftly turned the conversation. "So…I ran away to Peru for nearly a year because of Jane. Would this have anything to do with another Bennet sister?"

Will was speechless for a few seconds. He had hoped it hadn't been that obvious. So either being in love had made him completely transparent or Charles had become extremely perceptive. So he spent the next half hour detailing everything that had happened between him and Elizabeth since they met in the city. In the end, Charles persuaded him to come with him to the Bennets'.

Will thought about a lot of things on his way to their house. He thought about what Charles had said, that Elizabeth had seemed to miss him. He thought about the apple pie Mrs. Bennet would be making. He thought about how best to get Elizabeth alone to ask her… Oh no. He was driving past the park in Longbourn when he saw her. She was wearing a pink plaid flannel shirt and long denim skirt and was quickly walking his way. No, she didn't see him. That was probably a good thing, because she looked mad. Five seconds later, he knew why.

"Come back here this instant! I demand that you listen to me!" Will froze. Because right behind Elizabeth was none other than Catherine de Bourgh, screeching at the top of her lungs. Then, despite the fact that there was a huge bush between them and they were now completely blocked from view, Will unbuckled his seat belt and slid down as far as he possibly could. Sure, anyone who happened to pass by would think he was a stalker or something, but he had to know what was going on.

"As your grandmother, I demand you listen to me."

"Oh, are you my grandmother? I thought you cut all ties with us when you disowned my mother. You really can't have it both ways, you know."

"You…" A car alarm, a lawnmower, and a barking dog suddenly drowned out Mrs. de Bourgh's vitriolic response. When the noise died died, Will heard her say, "Who do you think you are, using your arts and allurements to steal poor Anne's fiancé?"

"What?"

"Anne is my adopted daughter. Her parents died when she was a child and I took her in out of the kindness of my heart, and she has always been grateful for it, unlike some people."

"Really?" Elizabeth asked skeptically. You have a heart? "So why haven't we ever met her?"

"Anne is very…delicate." I won't allow her to be corrupted by the likes of you. "And she was practically engaged to William before you came along." It was true. Will had the great misfortune to meet her on a few occasions and ever since, Mrs. de Bourgh had been planning their wedding. Will shuddered. Because hiding behind a well-crafted "delicate" persona, which required her to spend no more than twenty minutes a day outside her room, eat no more than three bites of food at a meal, and never speak until absolutely necessary, Anne de Bourgh was a cold, malicious con artist. At nineteen, she bore an eerie resemblance to a photo Will had seen of Mrs. Bennet as a teenager. Anyone who didn't know better would swear Anne was Catherine de Bourgh's real daughter, that the photos on the walls had stayed the same for nearly four decades, that a strange medical condition kept her forever young and beautiful, while those who had known Genevieve Miller would say she was a twisted doppelganger or a cheap imitation. Maybe Mrs. de Bourgh was truly unaware of this. Maybe she was deep in denial. Or maybe she just didn't care. But she continued, "Now, let's be reasonable here. How much do you want?"

"Excuse me?"

"From what I have seen, your family is living in a dreadful state of poverty. I have it in my power to help you, if you only promise me that you will never come anywhere near William again." She paused. "And if you should be foolish enough to refuse, you have my full assurances that I will do everything in my power to make sure he will never want anything to do with you again. You have no idea what you are dealing with."

"You're insane." Elizabeth had tried to be respectful and everything, but really, enough was enough. This woman couldn't just come barging into her house acting all paranoid, insult her family and call her a gold-digger. But a small part, a very small part of Elizabeth felt sorry for the crazy old lady she saw before her, who she suddenly noticed was trying to look twenty years younger with one too many facelifts or Botox injections and too much makeup. She obviously lived a very empty, lonely life. She was in a loveless marriage, her daughter had left her and her son soon followed suit, she believed in nothing and loved no one but herself, and now she was living vicariously through Anne. But someone had to tell her. Elizabeth continued calmly and quietly, but Will could still hear every word. "You have no right to tell me what to do or who to see. You have absolutely no right to say anything about my family, who, I'll have you know, is much happier than you are with all your money. Do what you want, but even if you succeed in spreading spiteful, malicious rumors, no one will believe you. Around here, everyone knows us, but you are nobody." She continued for a few moments more, when Mrs. de Bourgh stormed off to her limo.

Will was stunned. No, he was mortified. He had known that Mrs. de Bourgh was a little off, but he hadn't thought she would go so far as to threaten Elizabeth over what she perceived as her stealing him from Anne. Stealing me? Hmm. Is this how it feels to be objectified? Will had hoped…but no, if she had disliked him before, she would never want anything to do with him now. Because, even though Mrs. de Bourgh was a very distant relative (distant enough so he could safely imagine himself with her granddaughter), she was much closer to him than to the Bennets, and her behavior reflected poorly on him. But wait. She didn't agree. Crazy Cat told her to stay away. All she had to do to get rid of her was agree to leave me alone. Is it possible…?

Will could have spent hours crouched down in the front seat of his car, lost in dazed reverie, but reality came knocking in the form of his ringing cell phone. He answered without thinking and immediately regretted it when he heard the familiar screeching. Her language was so abusive of Elizabeth that it made him absolutely furious, but there was something else there. It was a smug tone of victory that might have been used by a teenage girl in a popularity contest that turned ugly. One that said, Who did she think she was? But I showed her who's in charge. It was this tone which made him say in no unclear terms that he would never marry Anne because he was going to marry Elizabeth. He hung up and decided. No more hiding in his office or his car. He walked toward Elizabeth, who was standing partly hidden behind a large tree nearby. She was turned away from him, arms folded, looking as if she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

What happened next? It's obvious, isn't it? Will announced his presence. Elizabeth was surprised. She tried to thank him…but he said it was the least he could do. And he did it for her. She admitted trusting Wickham had been a mistake. He pointed out that she wasn't the first. She invited him to dinner. He accepted. They walked in silence. He proposed. Elizabeth did something that was very out-of-character for her and started to tear up, thinking this was just like some Hallmark movie she would never admit to liking. She said yes. He went inside and spoke to her father, because he was such a gentleman. He said yes. Everyone congratulated them. Jane and Charles first suggested a double wedding in November. They got married and lived happily ever after.

THE END!

A/N: So, that's the end of it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and added this story to their alerts and favorites. :) I'm currently working on "All About Anne" and yet another sequel to "The Giver."