“How much is the sum?” Darcy asked quietly.
“Mr. Phillips said it is of a certainty more than he would have earned in a year as a lieutenant.”
“Let it be known about,” Darcy said, “that if they will be prepared to document the debts and swear to them, so that they can be used in proceedings before a judge, that I will undertake to cover what Wickham owes to tradesmen in town.”
Mrs. Phillips exclaimed in astonishment. “That is very, very generous of you! Most generous!”
“Just ensure that the JP, and whoever serves in his employ, knows to seize Wickham should he be seen again in Hertfordshire.” Darcy smiled thinly. “I will be paid back in good time.”
While Darcy liked the notion of being thought of as generous, he liked even more the notion of the proceedings for a case to imprison Wickham in Marshalsea proceeding without difficulty.
“My dragon slayer.” Elizabeth embraced him.
Darcy grinned back. “It was a delightful form of exercise.”
“Do not forget your faithful companion,” Colonel Fitzwilliam cried out, “who was the one to lance the beast.”
“You,” Darcy replied, “spent twenty pleasant minutes exchanging anecdotes about a mutual acquaintance and drinking Colonel Forster’s wine.”
“It was an excellent vintage,” Colonel Fitzwilliam replied. “If only every military campaign could be concluded with such refreshments. It reminds me of a time in the south of India, near Hyderabad.”
Lydia stood and stuck her finger in Darcy’s face. “I shall never forgive you!”
She then stormed from the room but turned at the door to shout to her sisters, Mrs. Bennet, Mrs. Long, and the oldest Lucas boy. “Mr. Wickham is worth all of you! All of you at once. And I don’t believe a word any of you said! Not a word!”
While he believed he had made great progress towards paying attention to the feelings and concerns of others, Darcy did not consider himself wholly unjustified in not feeling deeply the eternal loss of his youngest sister-in-law's goodwill.
“How shocking,” Mrs. Phillips exclaimed. “And all of my other nieces are so genteel.”
“A first love.” Mrs. Bennet laughed. “You remember that time I broke my heart over Lieutenant Harper. I cried as though the world would end. But it was nothing serious. I still confess that I can admire a redcoat very much from time to time.”
Darcy saw from Elizabeth’s expression that she was not pleased by her mother’s words. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “No worries. No worries, the dragon is slain.”
Elizabeth let out a long sigh. She looked at him with a glowing light in her eyes.
“Whether it was your cousin or you who lanced him,youare my dragon slayer.”
Epilogue
As Elizabeth Bennet watched her sister and Mr. Bingley swear vows of holy matrimony, her eyes turned again and again towards the man who sat next to her.
She felt so much for him. She depended upon him, she adored him, she loved to hold him, kiss him, to listen to him speak, to make him laugh. Everything.
She loved him.
The path of true love had not flowed straight, but in the end, she loved the man she had married.
When the wedding was over, and the bride and groom had been thoroughly showered in embraces, good wishes, flowers, and rice by the guests, everyone made their way back to Longbourn on foot. A great wedding breakfast had been laid out by Mrs. Bennet. No one, not even Miss Bingley or Mrs. Hurst, doubted her mother’s ability to set forth a fine meal on such an occasion.
Elizabeth and Darcy came out of the church arm in arm, watching the guests stream ahead of them.
Neither were in any hurry, and Elizabeth particularly wanted to go slowly. She showed Darcy around the churchyard, pointing out the graves of her grandmother, grandfather, and a variety of other ancient family members.
Georgiana went off ahead after Darcy confirmed that he did not mind, talking with Kitty and Mary, both of whom seemed to look at her as a guide to fashion.
The day was warm enough to count as the first day of spring.
After a while, they went onto the lane, still arm in arm. Darcy smiled at her, and he made a quip about Miss Bingley’sexpression during the wedding.
