It was so beautiful, perfect...Jan thank you for the one more of your stories which must be reread.

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.

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!


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 saidand
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!

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 herAnd 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
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!

Thank you so much Jan…now…when is the next one?!

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!

Carol

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

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, Jan! Thank you so much for another great story! I hope you have some ideas for more.

Wendi

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!

You're all the best!

All I can say is Wonderful, Just Wonderful! Thank you! Bravo, Bravo!!!!!!!!!

another great story, thanks so much, jan, you never disappoint!

Jan, congratulations on finishing yet another wonderful story. I love your very happy endings especially!

Darcy's reluctance to part with his daughter was so very sweet. I loved Lady Catherine giving art lessons and her change of heart.

Seeing the Darcys still happily married so many years later was just lovely. I will re-read this story with pleasure!

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

Elaine, Michelle, Lucy and DL, thank you for your very kind remarks!