In Search of Happiness
Page 24
'Did they get married?'
Yes, it had been right to cut the story short, for her voice was now so very sleepy that it was barely discernible. No need to add an evil hag or a trusted friend or an unhappy sister he first had to make happy before he himself could be so to prolong the tale.
'Yes, they did. And they lived happily ever after, my little darling.'
Darcy kissed Annie's forehead as she snuggled up closer to him and Darcy leaned back in his seat willing his thoughts to stray towards his happy past and not the unsettling present.
He still felt devilish delight thinking back about how he had put Caroline Bingley into place, smiled at the thought of Georgiana returning home from school with a beaming face and how she and Lizzy had first met, becoming friends almost instantly. Well, now his little sister was married herself since June last as were most of his sisters in law. Jane to none other than Bingley, naturally. The only exception was Lydia, who had decided that marrying was not so much to her taste. Well, she was still young. Barely twenty, she was allowed to be foolish still. Though whether she really was, Darcy was not al that certain, actually. Thinking about it, she was both pretty sensible and practical these days.
Another quarter of an hour gone...
No, he had to go upstairs and be by Elizabeth's side before he would go insane. There was no way he could bear this suspense any longer.
Carefully he picked up his sleeping daughter and carried her back upstairs into the nursery, shortly marvelling over both his little girls, sleeping so peacefully in their cots, little Lottie with her bum in the air as always and Annie curled up into a tight ball clutching her doll. As worried as Darcy was about their mother at present, he could not suppress a content smile at the sight before him as his heart swelled with love and pride for his little family. Gently he placed a kiss on both their heads before leaving them to their dreams.
He had not descended the stairs half-way when he heard it. The petulant cry of a newborn baby who had just entered this world and did not quite know what to make of it yet. Hurrying his steps he all but barged into his wife's bedroom but none of the people within looked surprised to see him there.
'I wondered how long you would last this time around, Mr Darcy,' Dr Harris remarked dryly and his wife, despite her apparent exhaustion looked also quite amused, her dark eyes sparkling in the flickering candlelight.
The nurse's face he could not see, as she wrapped the screaming bundle into a blanket and by the time she turned around she had schooled it into a neutral enough expression, though the corners of her mouth still twitched slightly. Not that Darcy took much notice. His gaze flickered between his beaming wife he loved so much and the tiny babe that was presently put into his arms he had not even realised he had held out. With its hair still wet, the face red and swollen, and the little hands firmly clenched into fists it was still one of the most beautiful sights in the world, well beside its mother, that was. His Lizzy would always be the most beautiful sight for him as long as he lived.
'So, Mr Darcy, finally an heir,' the ageing doctor remarked chuckling as he packed his things away. 'Now you only need a spare.'
The End
About the Author:
Author Nicky Roth has written variations on Pride and Prejudice as well Sherlock Holmes pastiche. Her love for history has led her to greatly appreciate the work of Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice in particular, though her lifelong passion has been the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Inspiration she finds in her family and the countryside, living in a small village in Germany.
Other works by this author:
1. Never Mind! - A modern Pride and Prejudice-Comedy (Novel)
Sometimes life can be a right bitch and just on the day Elizabeth Bennet is due to return to uni, her father suffers an accident that might leave him paralysed. Not a good state to be in as a farmer.
Putting her studies on hold, Elizabeth takes care of the farm and her family for the time being and at first, her life is far from exciting, as one might expect. - That is until a certain Charles Bingley buys Netherfield Park to turn the run down place into a conference centre, bringing his best friend and obnoxious sister as well as his mother and step-father with him. From there on, life will never be the same when with the help of some meddling fools, the proverbial shit hardly ever stops hitting the fan and pretty much everybody involved is in for the craziest ride of their lives.
2. An Unpleasant Sort of Man – A Pride and Prejudice Variation (Novel)
Pressed by his friend Mr Bingley, Fitzwilliam Darcy dances with Elizabeth Bennet during the assembly in Meryton – and then leaves her in the middle of the dance. Angry and mortified at first, Elizabeth soon realises that Mr Darcy seems to carry a dark secret and though at first little inclined to forgive him for his slight, she soon finds herself irresistibly drawn to him. When she discovers what the secret is and what burden he carries on his shoulders, she cannot but forgive him as they grow ever so much closer.
3. A Nudge in the Right Direction – A Pride and Prejudice Variation-Novella
Caroline Bingley is determined to become Mrs Fitzwilliam Darcy, and in her feat to fix him as her husband she would stop at nothing. When Elizabeth Bennet stays at Netherfield and nurses her sick sister Jane, it becomes increasingly clear that Mr Darcy is falling for the lively Hertfordshire lady and her fine eyes. At last Caroline decides it is time to take action, and engaging her sister to help her, she attempts to compromise the man. But with her increasingly ruthless and selfish behaviour she soon upsets her sister, and Mrs Hurst, fed up with Caroline’s antics, does some scheming of her own, the results of which are rather unexpected. But sometimes all one needs is a nudge in the right direction and so a happily ever after is inevitable – for more than one couple.
4. The book with which it all began – A Pride and Prejudice Variation (Short Story/Novelette)
Her family’s behaviour during the Netherfield Ball has Elizabeth Bennet hide away in the billiard room where she finds a certain book carelessly left behind. Perhaps Mary is right and reading is to be preferred to dancing after all. But as she starts to read, she soon finds, that reading can be anything but an innocent pastime...
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[1]Translates roughly into: Had you kept your mouth shut, you would have been considered a philosopher.