With the Colonel's Help Page 11

  Elizabeth bore her mother’s joy as best she could without cringing and was helped in her forbearance by Darcy’s low chuckle now and again.

  Darcy was not one who liked to be fawned over, but for Elizabeth, he would endure far worse. Surprisingly, he found that in the Gardiners’ sitting room, Mrs. Bennet’s overflowing happiness was humorous at times. However, he suspected that once they left the confines of the Gardiners’ sitting room, it would be less so.

  Bingley smiled and congratulated the happy couple. As he prepared to leave, he assured Darcy he would say nary a word to his sister until they left for Hertfordshire for the wedding.

  This, of course, started Mrs. Bennet down the path of wedding breakfasts, gowns, and necessary calls that would need to be made. And the parson! Oh, they must write to the parson directly! As she left the sitting room to attend to that task, Mrs. Bennet paused at the door and said to Bingley, who was yet in the hall, “Two can stand before the parson as easily as one, Mr. Bingley. I shall not post my letter until the morrow.” Then she was gone, and Elizabeth and Jane were left to say their goodbyes to their gentlemen while Uncle Gardiner and Mr. Bennet pretended not to take notice.

  The Bennets remained in town for one more week, both to give Lydia time to regain her strength and to give time for Mrs. Bennet to see that all the wedding clothes she deemed necessary had been ordered — and not just for Elizabeth but for Jane also. Mr. Bingley would propose, Mrs. Bennet declared loudly many times a day, and eventually, she was proven right. Mr. Bingley did offer for Jane within three days of Darcy’s call on Mr. Bennet, and a double wedding ceremony and breakfast were planned.

  The evening before the Bennets were to depart for Longbourn and Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy were to return to Netherfield, an intimate dinner was held at Darcy House. Elizabeth had been to Darcy House twice over the course of the week and had taken an extensive tour, but Darcy wished for all the Bennets — especially Lydia — to see the place that their daughter and sister would call home when in town.

  Lydia had, unexpectedly, found a place in Mr. Darcy’s heart. Perhaps it was the way Elizabeth had held and cared for her youngest sister that had endeared the girl to him, or perhaps it was the fact that she had been injured by the same man that had injured his sister. It is difficult to say, for Darcy found himself in the midst of enjoying her company before he realized he had begun to do so. It was a task which was likely much easier to accomplish since the fever and her ordeal had left Lydia weaker and more somber than she had been before.

  So it was a very different Darcy who entered Hertfordshire and stood three weeks later before the parson with Elizabeth at his side.

  As they exited the church, he took Elizabeth’s hand and, lifting it, kissed her gloved fingers. Then, he handed her into the carriage that would take them to Netherfield for the wedding breakfast.

  Darcy sighed contentedly as he settled into the seat on the bench next to Elizabeth. He reached across the carriage and picked up a parcel that was wrapped in blue cloth and tied with a silver ribbon. “This arrived yesterday,” he said as he handed the package to her. “I was afraid it would not get here in time. If I had been thinking, I would have brought it with me.” He waited anxiously as she unwrapped the parcel.

  Elizabeth looked up at him in surprise. “This is the book you let me borrow when I was in Kent.” She opened the front of the book and looked at his name on the bookplate. A smile spread across her face, and she peeked up at him with delight. He had altered what was written on that page. For now, it did not just say Fitzwilliam Darcy. Instead, it read

  From Fitzwilliam Darcy

  To my wife, Elizabeth Darcy

  On the occasion of our marriage

  “It is beautiful,” she said as she ran her finger over the shape of his name.

  “There is more,” he said, taking the book from her and opening it to the very back. There in the same place where he had tucked the letter about Wickham was another folded sheet of paper.

  She glanced at him curiously as she unfolded the page. At the top of the page he had copied out the words to “My Heart is in the Highlands.” Her hand rested on her heart as she read the few words of endearment that were written in a neat closed hand below the poem.

  My dearest Elizabeth,

  Forever you shall be,

  Far dearer than any a place I could be

  My heart will never wander

  Nor shall it ever roam,

  For in your love it rests secure,

  And in it is your home.

  “I love you,” he whispered.

  “And I you,” she responded before kissing him quite soundly.

  And so began a family which would eventually grow to include children and grandchildren as well as nieces and nephews and uncles and aunts. And as the family tree grew and blossomed, a story would be passed from one generation to the next about how a love that was almost lost was captured and secured with the colonel’s help.

  * * *

  To a Young Lady. On Her Recovery From a Fever by Samuel Taylor Coleridge ↵

  Before You Go

  If you enjoyed this book, be sure to let others know by leaving a review.

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  Acknowledgements

  There are many who have had a part in the creation of this story. Some have read and commented on it. Some have proofread for grammatical errors and plot holes. Others have not even read the story and a few, I know, never will. However, their encouragement and belief in my ability, as well as their patience when I became cranky or when supper was late or the groceries ran low, was invaluable.

  And so, I would like to say thank you to Zoe, Rose, Betty, Kristine, Ben, and Kyle, as well as the readers who faithfully read all those Thursday posts on my blog. I feel blessed through your help, support, and understanding.

  I have not listed my dear husband in the above group because, to me, he deserves his own special thank you, for, without his somewhat pushy insistence that I start sharing my writing, none of my writing goals and dreams would have been realized.

  Leenie B Books

  Novels ~ Novellas ~ Shorts

  ~*~

  Oxford Cottage: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

  For Peace of Mind: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

  Teatime Tales: Six Short and Sweet Austen-Inspired Stories

  Listen To Your Heart: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

  With the Colonel’s Help: A Pride and Prejudice Variation

  ~*~

  The Choices Series: Pride and Prejudice Novellas

  Her Father’s Choice (book 1)

  No Other Choice (book 2)

  His Inconvenient Choice (book 3)

  Her Heart’s Choice (book 4)

  ~*~

  A Dash of Darcy Collection

  Finally Mrs. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Novella

  Waking to Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Novella

  Discovering Mr.Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Novella

  Unravelling Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Novella

  ~*~

  A Dash of Darcy Companion Story Collection

  A Very Merry Christmas: A Pride and Prejudice Novella (A sequel to Waking to Mr. Darcy)

  Not an Heiress: A Pride and Prejudice Novella (A sequel to Discovering Mr. Darcy)

  COMING LATE FALL 2017:

  Becoming Entangled: A Pride and Prejudice Novella (A sequel to Unravelling Mr. Darcy)

  ~*~

  Willow Hall Romances

  And Then Love: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Prequel (book 1)

  The Tenant’s Guest: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Novella (book 2)

  So Very Unexpected: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Novel (book3)
>
  At All Costs: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Novel (book 4)

  Better Than She Deserved: A Pride and Prejudice Novelette (sequel 1)

  ~*~

  Touches of Austen Collection

  His Beautiful Bea

  ~*~

  Other Pens

  Through Every Storm: A Pride and Prejudice Novella

  Henry: To Prove Himself Worthy (A Mansfield Park Continuation)

  About the Author

  Leenie Brown has always been a girl with an active imagination, which, while growing up, was a both an asset, providing many hours of fun as she played out stories, and a liability, when her older sister and aunt would tell her frightening tales. At one time, they had her convinced Dracula lived in the trunk at the end of the bed she slept in when visiting her grandparents!

  Although it has been years since she cowered in her bed in her grandparents’ basement, she still has an imagination which occasionally runs away with her, and she feeds it now as she did then ─ by reading!

  Her heroes, when growing up, were authors, and the worlds they painted with words were (and still are) her favourite playgrounds! She was that child, under the covers with the flashlight, reading until the wee hours of the morning…and pretending not to be tired the next day so her mother wouldn’t find out.

  In addition to feeding her imagination, she also exercises it ─ by writing. While writing has been an activity she has dabbled in over the years, it blossomed into a full-fledged obsession when she stumbled upon the world of Jane Austen Fan Fiction. Leenie had first fallen in love with Jane Austen’s work in her early teens when she was captivated by the tale of a girl, who like her, was the second born of five daughters. Now, as an adult, she spends much time in the regency world, playing with the characters from her favourite Jane Austen novels and a few that are of her own creation.

  When she is not traipsing down a trail in an attempt to keep up with her imagination, Leenie resides in the beautiful province of Nova Scotia with her two sons and her very own Mr. Brown (a wonderful mix of all the best of Darcy, Bingley and Edmund with a healthy dose of the teasing Mr. Tilney and just a dash of the scolding Mr. Knightley).

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