The wedding breakfast was held at Braydon Hall, and all of Mary’s family and friends were there. Gregory’s parents had been unable to travel so far, but she would have plenty of time for them at a later date.
Mary was careful to speak to each guest, accepting congratulations and making her farewells to each of them. She would not be returning to Hertfordshire until next summer at the earliest.
When the breakfast was approaching its end, Mary gave orders for the leftovers to be delivered to those who were in need of food among her tenants. Gregory called for the carriage, with Mary’s trunks loaded onto the back, to be brought around.
Amid many calls of congratulations, the two of them climbed into the carriage and were off.
They would be spending a week in London at Gregory’s home, though they would be leaving the knocker down while they were there so that they were not disturbed. Then theywould make their way to Eastbourne to settle into their new lives together. They had discussed a longer wedding journey, but neither of them was particularly fond of travel or excessive amounts of leisure.
Once they were on their way, Mary turned to her new husband. She was unexpectedly shy and did not know what to say or do. Certainly, she knew what it was that married people did. She also knew what she wanted to do, but not all of her desires were possible in a moving carriage.
As Gregory returned her gaze, he too was silent. Then he suddenly chuckled. “We are quite a pair, are we not? We’ve been fighting so hard against temptation for two months that now that everything is perfectly legal and moral, neither of us knows what to do.”
“It isn’t that I don’t know what to do,” said Mary. “It is more that I do not wish to get carried away in a moving carriage.”
Gregory’s eyes heated, but Mary had little time to contemplate them. Within moments, his mouth was on hers in a searing kiss, which she returned with fervor.
There is no telling how long it lasted. In some ways, time had very little meaning for them. When they did part, however, Mary said, “Thank you, Gregory. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for waiting for me. Thank you for everything.”
Gregory traced a finger across her cheek and said, “You were worth waiting for. The few months I spent waiting for you are far outweighed by the many years we will have together in the future. Together, always.”
Epilogue
The day after the Netherfield ball, Elizabeth moved back home to Longbourn to prepare for her own wedding. She also wished to spend as much time with her father as possible to soften the blow of him losing two more daughters to marriage.
Jane and Elizabeth shared a wedding date on December twenty-eighth. Then, each of them went their separate ways. Jane and Mr. Bingley spent a month in Brighton, and Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy spent a month touring the lakes.
After their wedding journey, the Bingleys stayed in London for several months, giving Jane an opportunity to meet all of Mr. Bingley’s friends. When they returned to Netherfield, they both quickly realized that living so close to Mrs. Bennet was simply asking for her to interfere in their lives on an almost daily basis. Even Mr. Bingley’s congeniality and Jane’s gentle kindness couldn’t tolerate such a situation for long.
The following fall, they moved back to London. From there, they spent some time looking for land in the country so Mr. Bingley could finally fulfill his father’s wish, to elevate their family to the status of landed gentry. They were fortunate enough to find an estate only thirty miles from Pemberley, making it possible for Jane and Elizabeth to resume the closeness they had always shared as sisters.
Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy also went to London that winter, but only for a couple of months. They then returned toPemberley, since spring was the best time to get to know that great estate.
It took some time for Elizabeth to become familiar with all of her new responsibilities. She had been raised as the daughter of a gentleman, so she knew most of them, but being married to a man of Mr. Darcy’s status and wealth required much more work than she had anticipated. Elizabeth was not afraid of work, however, and it was something to fill her days.
Both Jane and Elizabeth were blessed with several children each, and the two sets of cousins grew up knowing each other well. The journey between the two estates was easily accomplished in half a day, so there were frequent and extensive visits between them.
A few months after the three weddings, Lydia shocked every person within five miles of Meryton by running off with one of the officers of the militia, a man by the name of Mr. Wickham. The young man had joined the militia shortly before the Netherfield ball, but he had not garnered much attention from Jane, Elizabeth, or Mary, since they each were focused on the gentlemen who were courting them.
The rest of the neighborhood, however, was quickly enamored of the young man’s cheerful nature and pleasing good looks. He easily fit in with the other officers and gained a reputation as a good friend to them all. He also gained the attention of every single lady in the neighborhood.
Lydia, the youngest Bennet, felt herself to be the luckiest girl in the world when Mr. Wickham’s affections were turned toward her in the spring of 1812. It did not take him long to convince the young lady that she was violently in love with the man, nor did it take much to convince her to elope with him, since she thought that to be the most romantic thing in the world.
Mr. Wickham had no trouble convincing the youngest Bennet sister to relinquish her virtue, but it quickly came to light that he had no intention of marrying her unless Mr. Darcy, Mr. Binley, and Lord Pendleton agreed to furnish her with a decent dowry.
Mr. Bingley purchased a commission for him in the army, and Gregory and Mr. Darcy each furnished five thousand pounds, though the money would be settled on Mrs. Wickham, and it could only be collected by her.
Lydia cared little for how it all came about. She was simply overjoyed to finally be married and to such a handsome and charming young man.
Once the glow of romance wore off, however, Lydia found that she had married a scoundrel. She was forced to learn how to manage their money, and she frequently hid a portion of it so he would not gamble away the money they needed for food, coal, or servants.
Kitty fared much better than her younger sister. With Lydia gone, she was the recipient of much more attention from their mother, and since she was the only daughter left at home, she was also treated with more respect from her father. Her petulance and vanity smoothed out, and she became a fairly well-behaved young lady.
In the winter of 1813, Mary was finally able to convince Mr. Bennet to let Kitty come stay with her when she and Mr. Worsley went to London. The two sisters had a gloriously fun time shopping for an entirely new wardrobe for Kitty and visiting every place of interest in the city.
Mary’s triumph and joy in Kitty’s company did not last long, however. Within two months of Kitty’s arrival in London, she had caught the attention of a friend of Mr. Bingley’s, a younglandlord who owned quite a bit of property in London which he rented out. His name was Mr. Branton. After a mere month of courtship, the young man proposed, and two months later, the last of the Bennet sisters was married.
It took three years before Mary and Gregory had any children, but they were both delighted when their son was finally born. Having an heir put them somewhat at ease, though they both earnestly wished for more children.
