While visiting Richard and Charlotte, Georgiana had fallen in love with John Lucas. The couple was not blessed with a long marriage though, as Georgiana had followed her mother’s example, dying in childbirth of her second child. She left behind a son and a daughter to be raised by John and the rest of the family.
The Gardiner children had long grown up, and, amazingly, Mrs Helen Gardiner was still alive. She had just celebrated her one hundred and third birthday. Though she could not attend the service for her beloved niece, she sent her granddaughter, who lived with Helen, with a letter for each of Lizzy’s children.
The service was short, with Bennet speaking on behalf of the family. Through his tears, he looked out at the legacy of Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy. “Mamma and Papa would be so proud of all of you. We never knew any of our grandparents, as they had already died before our birth. Only our parents, Aunt Georgiana and Aunt Jane remained of their immediate families when Mamma and Papa married. And now, Pemberley is filled with the sound of laughter and children’s voices. That always meant so much to our parents. Remember, always, that you come from a love that was stronger than anything else in the world, a love that would last throughout the generations. Be proud of that legacy. Pass it on to your own family.” He then turned to his twin. “Sweetling, would you come here.”
Rose stepped beside her brother, taking hold of his outstretched hand. She smiled at her brother as she spoke. “Mamma made a request seventy five years ago of Papa. She wished to have a piece of Longbourn placed on the grave when she was buried. Papa told her that she could have her wish only if they were married for one hundred years. Of course, Papa was only teasing her. He could never deny her anything she ever asked for.” The five Darcy siblings gathered together, each taking a turn pouring some of the contents from the canister that Rose had brought with her. “Everyone in the family knows the story of before Mamma and Papa married, the fire that destroyed Longbourn and killed Mamma’s parents and younger sisters. Mamma wished to have a piece of her family with her in the grave. So, Mamma, as you asked, you have your ashes of Longbourn.”
THE END
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The Ashes of Longbourn Page 30