Mr. Darcy's Obsession (28 page)

"I am glad to call her my cousin," Georgiana declared with a hint of defiance.

"I do not object. It seems to make our aunt happy, and that is the most important thing," Darcy said. "In any case, we will see more of Mary, as Aunt Augusta has announced her intention to visit us often. She says she needs to make certain that Georgiana and I do not revert to our old humourless ways, but I believe it is more that she does not wish to miss any opportunity to remind me that my wife is too good for me. Not, of course, that I have any doubt of this myself."

"Darcy, if I had any doubts that this was a love match, you have long since put them to rest."

The sleigh pulled up in front of the church. The path to the door had been cleared of snow, but the flagstones were already covered by a light dusting of new flakes.

Inside, the curate was waiting at the altar, white-haired and bent with age. He had held that role since Darcy could remember. All those years he had sat with his parents in the family pew, trying to subdue the restlessness natural to a young child, always trying to behave as a Darcy should.

How different it was now! His parents would have disapproved of all aspects of this assembly. Aunt Augusta, who had been married in this same church, had not been welcome at Pemberley during his mother's lifetime. He could imagine his father's fury if he had known that the earl's illegitimate daughter was also sitting in the family pew. They would never have permitted Darcy to marry Elizabeth; they would have disapproved even of his friendship with Bingley, because of his family in trade. Georgiana and Colonel Fitzwilliam were the only people present who would have been acceptable to his parents' pride.

Elizabeth squeezed his hand, reminding him of his duty. As the only adult male connected to the Bennets, he was to give Jane to Bingley. Could he have ever foreseen such an occurrence when he first advised Bingley to avoid Jane? Now he was instrumental in bringing his friend happiness. It was true cause for pride. He kissed Elizabeth on the cheek--one bit of joy!--and went to take his place.

Epilogue

After their wedding, Mr. and Mrs. Bingley relocated to an estate in a neighbouring county, and Jane and Elizabeth, in addition to every other source of happiness, were within thirty miles of each other. Although Mr. Bingley treated young Edward Browning in the very same manner as the children Jane eventually bore him, Darcy remained an active presence in the life of his godson and, as promised, made certain the boy had a gentleman's education, and eventually set him up in a legal practise in London. It was a surprise to no one when several years later, the industrious and well-connected young man became a respected judge.

Charlie remained in London, where he proved an invaluable apprentice to Mr. Gardiner. He continued to hunger for knowledge from any source, and Miss Margaret Gardiner was delighted to find someone willing to listen for hours to her discourses on history. Soon he was reading history books himself, in order to present his own arguments to her. After several years of hard work and saving his wages, Charlie presented Mr. Gardiner with a difficult choice: to agree to marry his eldest daughter to a young man of no pedigree whatsoever or to lose an employee who had increased the profits of his business substantially and was well on his way to partnership. Mr. Gardiner agreed and then sent the new couple to Manchester, where Charlie would act as his buying agent at the mills, and the couple took advantage of the proximity to Pemberley to become frequent visitors. Thus it came to pass that when Mr. Charles Hopper finally travelled to Pemberley, it was as a member of the family, with his new bride on his arm. Mr. and Mrs. Darcy scarcely recognized the stylishly dressed young man as the urchin they had known in years past, but sometimes when no one was looking, Charlie flashed a knowing grin at the master and mistress of Pemberley.

Some years later, the living at Kympton came open. Darcy, knowing that Elizabeth would enjoy having her younger sister nearby, offered it to his cousin Henry, who had indeed taken orders, hoping that Henry's religious meanderings would not prove too tiresome. Lord Derby unexpectedly took the gesture as an olive branch, since it put his reprobate son far from any contact with fashionable society, and he resumed contact with Darcy as if there had never been any disagreement. With much gentle persuasion from Elizabeth, Darcy agreed to resume occasional contact with his uncle, though the gentleman remained as overbearing and difficult as ever. Darcy's chief concern was to avoid the possibility of any overlap between the earl's visits to Pemberley and those of Lady Seaton, who took a continuing proprietary interest in her nephew's family. The parishioners of Kympton did not immediately accommodate Henry's hellfire and brimstone preaching, but still enjoyed the notoriety of having an impoverished aristocrat as their minister. In later years they were known to note that life had become much simpler for fathers of attractive young girls, since all the young men of Kympton were firmly convinced that carnal knowledge of a woman without benefit of marriage would lead directly to loss of their limbs.

Mr. and Mrs. Darcy made an annual trip to Meryton each Easter to visit Mrs. Bennet, who, to Elizabeth's relief, preferred to remain in Hertfordshire, where she could with delighted pride talk to all her acquaintance about Mrs. Darcy, Mrs. Bingley, and the future Countess of Derby. Afterwards, the Darcys would continue to London to allow Mr. Darcy to inspect the Foundlings Home he had established in a poverty-stricken part of London, which on occasion he fondly referred to as "The Mews." The scandal of their marriage died down over time, but the Darcys rarely took part in London society, leading some to name them unfashionable and others as infernally proud. The couple and later their children, however, preferred the society of the Gardiners to the excitement of Almack's and White's and instead enjoyed annual tours of Moorsfield and Hyde Park, which excited gratitude in their hearts for the good fortune that had brought them together to celebrate a love and understanding that only increased with the years.

Acknowledgments

This book would never have been completed without the help and support of many people. My thanks to the readers who encouraged me by asking for one more Pride and Prejudice Variation, and to those who read it as a work in progress. They can claim responsibility for certain twists of the plot, though I must apologize that I couldn't figure out a way to bring bloodthirsty sharks into the same vicinity as the Earl of Derby and his eldest son. Inspiration credit goes to my medical friends who asked so nicely for just a
little
medical scene and then laughed when I wrote one that incorporated treatments still in use today (yes, even the maggots).

I must also thank my extraordinary editor, Deb Werksman, for her belief in my work, as well as my agent, Lauren Abramo, for her patience in explaining the workings of the book world to a very ignorant pupil. Danielle Jackson of Sourcebooks walked me through the publicity minefields.

My colleagues at work deserve credit for coping with the shock that not only did I write books, but ones with love scenes (and yes, I promise to write only emotionally and physically healthy love scenes!). Bonnie Conway gets the Sherlock Holmes award for figuring out about my secret writing life, and Nancy Bullian and Judy ("And they're really HOT sex scenes, too!") Johnson kept my "other" work life running smoothly while providing support and encouragement.

Last, but never least, I want to thank my beloved husband, David, for undertaking the cooking, laundry, and lots of other things so that I'd have the time and energy to write; my daughter, Rebecca, for inspiring different characters through her dedication to marching to her own drummer (or should that be lute?); and my son, Brian, for making sure all the cats got enough grooming and attention while Mom was writing, and occasionally cleaning his room.

About the Author

Abigail Reynolds is a lifelong Jane Austen enthusiast and a physician. In addition to writing, she has a part-time private practice and enjoys spending time with her family. Originally from upstate New York, she studied Russian, theater, and marine biology before deciding to attend medical school. She began writing
Pride and Prejudice
Variations in 2001 to spend more time with her favorite Jane Austen characters. Encouragement from fellow Austen fans persuaded her to continue asking "What if...?", which led to four other
Pride and Prejudice
Variations and her contemporary novel,
The Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice.
She is currently at work on a sequel to
Mr. Darcy's Obsession,
as well as the companion novels to
The Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice
. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband, two teenage children, and a menagerie of pets.