De-lurking to say how thrilled I am to be reading another exceptionally wonderful story by Jan H! Your style is unique and captivating: I am particularly pleased to be reading this story from Darcy's point of view. From the comments, it is clear that your writing talents are bringing joy to many, but I wanted in particular to add my own: Thank you!
Oh, Darcy, you've learned how to set aside your pride and begin anew. So has Elizabeth, both of them confessing what we knew all along, that they loved each other. So Wonderful! Jan, your Darcys are so beautifully human, love their flaws along with their charm.
Poor Mr Wickham!To break his crown in manner of Jack and Jill! And poor Mr Darcy! For ever tied to make love only at Pemberley!LOL
Thank you for a lovely chapter. I hope you already have some other story just as entertaining.
Male
Yay! Ding Dong the Wick is dead!! He was such an inhuman being I can’t feel a bit sorry for his death only rejoice that he can’t hurt Elizabeth or Fan again!
“His parents died some time back,” I said softly. Wickham had no one...other than the child he did not want.”
What a sad ending. Darcy’s father had such high hopes for him and look how he ended up.
Seeing the child had done me great good like a medicine. I had not realized how hungry I was to view her sparkling brown eyes and hear the infectious giggles that erupted quite frequently. And when she called me Papá, it warmed my heart as much as it had upon hearing it for the first time.
I can’t get over how Darcy has changed toward Fan. So different from when he first met her.
“I will tell you when I have done enough.”
Actually, by the time he had gotten to this part, I was hoping he would get sick. This sounded so much like his aunt Catherine I wanted to smack him. If he has any hope of ever having a happy marriage, he needs to stop the proclamations and begin to work as a couple for the good of both.
“I do not pity you. When I learned that you and Wickham had conspired together, I—I tried to hate you, William!” A sob escaped her, and she placed her fist to her lips. “But I could not. For all your false actions, I could not hate you.”
I held my breath. I had come closer to losing her than I feared.
Yes you did…you conspired with the devil and almost lost the one thing you valued most! Elizabeth truly did have 2 children on her hands and she still does to a certain extent. Darcy’s lies and half-truths have made the whole situation very confusing for Elizabeth. She doesn’t know what to believe.
I suspect that Darcy will still have a lot of ground to make up and I can’t even imagine what will happen with his own family or even those of Caroline Bingley’s ilk. Darcy needs to learn to share everything with Elizabeth and to lose some of his aunt Catherine’s personality. They have a long trip to Pemberley...it will be interesting to see how they manage once they are there.
You have given us such a flawed Darcy...more so than most. Disguise has been his constant companion rather than an abhorrence and his own pride and vanity have allowed him to make decisions for people he had no right to make. Elizabeth fell in love with him before she found out about his conspiring with Wickham. When she married Darcy, all she knew was that the one person who loved her was Fan and Darcy’s dealings with Wickham almost lost her Fan. She is right…perhaps they can start over at Pemberley, removed from the lies and the heartbreak that has surrounded them at Netherfield. Fan loves her Mama and her Papa…maybe they can truly become a family.
I really love this story Jan as I love all your stories and can’t wait for more to see how our little family is faring!
Oh, how I LOVED this chapter! The scenes with Darcy and Fan are absolutely heartwarming. And I am so glad that our dear couple finally declared their love to each other. Thank you so much.
Thank you, everyone, for all the kind comments. And thank you, Kathryn Ann, for de-lurking! It's always extra pleasing when a new reader speaks up. I can safely say that all cliffies are over because the next chapter is the last.
Thanks for the new chapters, Jan! I loved the transition from Elizabeth's anger to love. I agree that they should start anew when they get home. I am glad Fan is acting as if she is happy and secure and no longer acting out. The DArcy family should be a happy one!
Jan, I love your story and wait for the new chapter impatiently every week! Therefore I'm a little upset that the next chapter will be the last... I hope to read more about Lizzy and Darcy's life after they made amends.
Well, all I can do is to be thankful for this wonderful story and wait for you posting a new one!
I found this wonderful story last night and have read it straight through. It has recognizable elements from some of your others. I count myself lucky in my timing, being able to read it from beginning to end nearly without a break.
I am sooooo sad it's over! I anticipated the new chapters every week, refreshing my screen repeatedly for hours on posting days. I should say thank you and praise you Jan for a job well done but all I can find in my heart to say is waaaaaaah! I can't even beg for an epilogue since that was too perfect. Maybe a sequel? Hehe.
It is so beautiful, the beginning, the middle, and the end! Thank you, Jan, for this wonderful story. We suffered thru some angst but it is all worth it to see ODC so happy in their marriage. I like that Lizzy's persistence paid off eventually with Lady C's visit to Pemberley and her interaction with Fan :)
Jan, I am sad that the end has come. This story, as all of your stories, are so well written. I've enjoyed this story and will be reading over and over again in the future.
A most fitting end to a lovely love story! I like how you close out everyone's story, including Lady C and Caroline. Darcy's determination and generosity is matched by Elizabeth's patience and kindness. With parents like this, the child had little chance to grow up to be anything other than delightful. Nurture making the best of nature.
Glad it all worked out well.
I really like how Darcy excepted and loved Fan as his own in the end & that there will be no retaliation on Wickhams part is an extra bonus.
It all came together beautifully, thanks for the good read!
Fitzwilliam Darcy and the killing of the pillow
at least it was for the best of the causes! That scene, it was just perfect! so sweet and yet entertaining (trust Elizabeth to make someone laugh at the oddest moments )
and a great metaphor too of how they managed to overcome the wall of misunderstandings they had built.
as for the rest of the chapter, simply the perfect ending to a wonderful story. I really enjoyed it, so Jan, thank you very much for sharing
Wow…listening to Darcy talk about Fan and her nightmares after Wickham, and how she behaved in spite of all the strange places they stopped at…such a difference from this trip and the one to London and back to Netherfield.
It was far too late for a long working session that night, and I had travelled on too great a journey of my own to slip back into my old ways. I bounded up the stairs two at a time until I reached the nursery floor just in time to hear Fan’s plaintive little voice.
“Where Papá?”
“He is here,” I announced, striding through the door.
This just melted my heart! What a wonderful scene…yes…he had come a long way! And putting his ‘family’ first was such a big step!
Was I not the only one who had been less than truthful when I proposed at Longbourn? I recalled that she had spoken little. Her uppermost concern had been that Fan would have a home with us. Otherwise, she simply asked the reason I wished to marry her, and if someone else lived in my heart. Had she remained silent to hide her feelings? Could it be that she loved me even then?
Of course she hid her feelings. He didn’t tell her he loved her when he asked her to marry him at Longbourn…he just said
“The woman I love does not love me, Miss Bennet, so you see, I forfeit nothing.”
and
“As I said, my love remains unrequited, so no impediment exists to bar our marriage.”
Through Elizabeth’s shame and disgrace of her family, those were words that said the opposite. She had to hide her feelings to protect her own heart. These two had been at cross-purposes for so long!
“I feel like a bride.”
“And this our wedding night?”
In spite of how long it took them to get there, it’s fitting that their wedding night should happen at Pemberley.
Their banter when he found her in his bed was delightful! And when he saw the pillow and told her
“You have disturbed my sleep for years, and there is not a pillow made that can solve the problem.”
And then he threw the pillow out the window and later threatened to ‘drown’ it! I was howling with laughter. I could see this entire scene as it happened! Wonderful visual!
I wasn’t surprised at Caroline Bingley not marrying. Someone with that much spite and bitterness really does take on the hard and drawn features to match their personality. I can’t imagine anyone who could live with her.
Lady Catherine is the one who really surprised me, too. Getting to know Fan and helping her with her art…and telling Elizabeth that Wickham’s mother also had artistic talent which she rarely used. But the part I really had to laugh at was
“That is the nearest thing to praise I will ever hear from Lady Catherine,” Elizabeth said.
“It sounded more like a warning to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“‘When I return, I will examine her again,’” I said in a mocking voice. “Elizabeth, she is coming back!”
Somehow, I don’t think they really mind! Darcy was so much like his aunt…haughty, proud, overbearing! She could have gone on to become a lonely, bitter old woman much like Caroline Bingley…but she, like Darcy, became a better person…and it was all because of ‘the child’.
Fan truly became Darcy’s daughter…from the moment she first called him Papa! And I laughed when, like a typical Papa…he panicked when he had to give her away and vowed the man she was to marry wasn’t good enough for her!
But most of all…I truly enjoyed the final scene when Darcy admitted that he sometimes was ill-tempered on purpose! What a long journey these two have been on to get to this wonderful place of love and family. Whether Darcy realizes it or not…Elizabeth was right…it all did seem to be by accident…they might never have gotten together if it hadn’t been for ‘the child’.
Your stories always give me such a wonderful array of emotions and this one is no different! I enjoyed every bit of it and it is another one I will re-read again and again! It's such a beautiful love story...but not just love between a man and a woman...but love of family and the love for a child.
Stories like this are also my escape into the world of early 19th century England and with my favorite couple!
A beautiful ending and epilogue, Jan. In reviewing their marriage and children, they both seem to forget that Elizabeth was not the mother who bore Fan. And, of course, Darcy was as much her papa as Elizabeth was her mama. Thank you for another one of your satisfying stories!
Jan H: Thank you, thank you for another brilliant, well constructed and engaging tale. You have a lovely talent, and we are all in your debt for sharing it with us!
To travel along with Darcy as he tells his story, as we hear his words, feel his feelings, has kept me entranced. All my thanks for giving us this wonderful story!
And, I'm looking forward to your books being published!
Lovely wedding night. It has always been a trade mark of yours to leave your readers with a sweet last image rather than a heated one, and for that I admire your writing skills even more. It is very difficult to convey such sweetness where ladies generally expect more action and still leave your audience absolutely satisfied.
Also, you have successfully provided entertainment at very regular intervals, which allowed us readers to count on finding a new delightful chapter every Monday morning, a great way to begin Mondays. Hats off for that too.
Thank you again and again. Love your stories. Please never park your plume.
Hugs
Malena
Hi Jan. I HEART this story! Wonderful job using Darcy in the first person. I will now miss reading your chapters every Monday. Hope there are more wonderful stories ahead for us. KC
Jan, you did it again. What a wonderful, complex, surprising, and suspenseful story! Thank you for sharing your creativity and writing prowess with us!!
"You have done more than I expected with the child," Lady Catherine said before she prepared to board her barouche. "When I return, I will examine her again. Do not disappoint me."
Tears actually came into my eyes at this. It's a strange thing to say about a story that is chiefly Darcy/Elizabeth but this... snippet of Catherine and Fan was, to me, the 'heart' of the story.
it's a lovely lovely story! i've been lurking and reading and i wanted to thank you for sharing the journey with us! i especially love that bit where lady cat softened on young fan...
Such a beautiful ending! I can't believe another one of your stories is completed. I'm thrilled to read that everything is resolved, but I just love your stories way too much to want them to end. Thank you so much, Jan, for treating us with another one of your masterpieces!
Thank you for sharing your gift with us. The Child was a lovely story from start to finish granted some very rickety roller coasters you took us over but wonderful all the same.
Geri
BRAVA!! But you do realize since you spoil us so with your fantastic stories-- we are as ever, anxiously awaiting your next. Do say you have more ideas in the wings...
Hi, everyone! Thank you so much for supporting me through this story. Your comments kept me going at times when I wondered how I could. I've been away from writing fan fiction for a few years now, so it wasn't easy coming back until I heard from you. Then I felt like I'd never left.
I must thank my wonderful betas, Debbie S and Linnea Eileen. They cleaned up my punctuation, corrected my non-existent Regency knowledge, and told me when my ideas weren't working, and did it all with a smile. I owe them so much.
And to dear Renee, who provides this beautiful site and gives me a home for all my stories, I have to say thank you, thank you, thank you!
Your stories are always so wonderful to read. I've greatly appreciated The Child. It is as well written as all your other stories! Please, let us enjoy your talents again soon! Thanks, DLSchickel