Prudence laughed. “We also learned that we have a nephew and two nieces to meet. Richard was beside himself with impatience.”
Bennet, Emily, and Olivia approached the strangers with careful assessment, but it did not take long before Olivia marched forward with confidence.
“Boy,” she announced with satisfaction, pointing toward the lad in his mother’s arms.
“Indeed,” Darcy said with helpless pride. “Bennet, Emily, and Olivia, may I present your Uncle Richard and Aunt Prudence and…”
Richard took his son from his wife. “Richard Malcolm Fitzwilliam II. We call him Richie, which I am sure he will loathe once he is old enough for school.”
Upon entering the house, the children were placed inthe care of their nurses, and the adults settled in Pemberley’s drawing room.
“Tell us everything,” Elizabeth said eagerly. “Your letters were fascinating but brief. What wonders did you discover in the Orient?”
Richard grinned. “The Polynesian islands are amazing. Waters so clear you can see coral reefs thirty feet below. Islands rise from the sea like emerald jewels.”
“The people welcomed us with generosity and wisdom,” Prudence added. “We learned navigation techniques passed down for centuries. They follow a way of life that values community and harmony above individual advancement.”
“It sounds idyllic,” Darcy observed.
“Not entirely. We encountered corruption. British naval officers were more interested in personal profit than Crown service, as were merchants who exploited local populations. We faced pirates, political conflicts, disease outbreaks, and winds unlike anything I had experienced on land. But the skills we developed during our expedition to the Mediterranean served us well.”
“Will you be returning to the sea?” Darcy asked.
“No. We resigned from Crown service. I sold my commission, leaving us free to pursue our own plans.”
“We are staying temporarily with Richard’s parents while we search for a suitable property,” Prudence said. “The quest we took on theMary Catherinerefined what we knew about international trade. We used that knowledge successfully during our time in the Orient.”
“How wonderful,” Elizabeth exclaimed. “You have achieved everything you hoped for and more.”
“Speaking of achievements, you will never guess who we encountered at the London Docks upon our arrival.”
“Who?” Elizabeth asked.
“Tommy! He is still aboard theMary Catherinewith Captain Morrison. Now, though, he bears the impressive title of Second Mate. He has grown into an accomplished young man.”
“Second mate?” Elizabeth said with wonder.
“Yes. He expressed his hope that you are all in good health and extended his gratitude for the education you and your father provided. He calculates that by the time he reaches twenty, he will have the qualifications for promotion to First Mate.”
Darcy said with satisfaction, “I offered to provide a formal education for him, but his decision to decline certainly seems to have done him no harm. It is good to hear that his natural intelligence and determination are being properly rewarded.”
When Elizabeth’s parents and the Bingleys arrived, the reunion was complete. The Bingley children were sent to the nursery while the adults enjoyed refreshments.
“By the bye, Richard, the professor’s discoveries continue to astonish the academic world,” Darcy reported. “Before his passing, the British Museum established an entire department devoted to studying the materials we rescued from Alexandria.”
“I am grieved to hear he is not in his office studying every scrap of papyrus himself. But it is certainly gratifying to know our suffering through dreadful heat and terrible sleeping arrangements contributed to such important findings,” Richard said with fond amusement.
He glanced around the room. “There is nothing like being home.”
On the morningof Georgiana’s wedding to Lord Vernon Browning, Elizabeth stood before her dressing room mirror, fastening the coral cameo at her throat as she had done countless times. The gown she wore was crafted from golden silk purchased at the Grand Bazaar in Constantinople, its elegant lines enhanced by Portuguese lace.
Darcy appeared in the doorway, and his breath caught. “Elizabeth, you are absolutely stunning.”
“Do you remember standing on theMary Catherine’s deck the evening I wore this cameo? You told me the sunset perfectly matched its colors.”
“I remember everything about that evening. The way the light caught in your hair and the sound of your laughter. That night, I realized how much you had filled my heart.”
“And our wedding day?” Elizabeth moved closer. “Promising to love and honor each other for the rest of our lives?”
