Darcy in Hollywood

Elizabeth’s eyes couldn’t have gotten any wider, but she responded without hesitation. “Yes.”

“I don’t care if you live in Baltimore or where you’re going to medical school, we’ll make it work.”

There was a suspicious sheen in her eyes. “I’m not living in Baltimore; I applied to UCLA medical school.”

Then she was in his arms, and he was kissing her. The applause swelled around them, but the noise of the crowd was curiously muted and distant in Darcy’s hearing. On the other hand, Elizabeth’s murmured words were nearly thunderous in his ears. “I love you, Will.”

“I love you, too.” His lips came down on hers again.

Epilogue

Elizabeth had always wanted an outdoor wedding, and conveniently enough, she happened to be marrying a man who owned a house with extensive and beautifully landscaped grounds. There were many parts of Pemberley she loved, but her favorite place was the lawn behind the house, where luxurious green grass abruptly gave way to a sheer drop overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Darcy couldn’t be happier to be supplying his new wife with her dream wedding. They had been blessed with perfect weather. The sky was a vivid deep blue, and the ocean roiled with green, gray, and blue, accented with occasional whitecaps. The sun hung golden just above the horizon, painting the clouds with the pinks and purples of a nascent sunset.

The wedding ceremony hadn’t been a long one, and now the guests were clustered around a dance floor and gazebo that had been specially constructed for the event. In part to ensure the privacy of their wedding ceremony, Elizabeth and Will had kept the guest list short—mostly family and close friends. So far there were no signs that the media had gotten wind of the event—no hovering helicopters or paparazzi clustered at the gate. Hopefully nobody would find out until they were on their honeymoon, and Darcy’s publicist released the official photos.

Nobody would be surprised at the news. They’d been dating for two years by now and were a well-established Hollywood couple. Elizabeth didn’t attend that many industry events; coursework at UCLA medical school kept her pretty busy during the school year. But she saw Darcy every night when she went home to their condo—and, of course, they lived at Pemberley on the weekends.

Everything had aligned to make today perfect, Darcy thought. His parents weren’t even bickering, an event that was usually as predictable as the ebbing of the tide. Georgiana had brought a new boyfriend as her date, and Darcy liked what he had seen of the young man so far.

Finishing up his conversation with his sister, Darcy longed to return to Elizabeth’s side, but before he could, Aunt Catherine swooped down on them. Georgiana managed to smile at the older woman, although he knew she found their aunt difficult and intimidating. “Isn’t it a lovely day for a wedding?” his sister said conversationally.

Aunt Catherine made a sour face. “I suppose if one must marry, it’s as good a day as any.”

Darcy’s eyebrows lifted. “I thought you wanted me to marry.”

She waved her hand. “Oh, I did. It’s a useful institution if one is to procreate, and Pemberley needs a proper heir. But one can’t expect too much happiness to arise from it. Husbands can be terribly inconvenient things for wives. Mine obliged me by passing on only a few years after we married.”

Darcy recalled how his aunt had been on the verge of recommending a service to help him conceal bodies. Sometimes it was better not to ask too many questions.

“Where is Bill?” Darcy asked. He almost never saw his aunt without her assistant. “Or Cecil B. DeMille?”

She waved airily. “Bill is in the kitchen butchering a chicken for Cecil’s dinner. You know he can only eat the freshest meat.”

Darcy wondered what the catering staff thought of that, then decided it wasn’t his problem.

His aunt continued. “And Charlotte is preparing the wild gooseberries for my dinner.”

After marrying Bill Collins, Charlotte had quit her job and now catered only to Catherine de Bourgh. Darcy wasn’t sure how she could bear it but had to admit that the woman seemed very happy.

Aunt Catherine lifted her chin. “I don’t approve of Miss Bennet moving into Pemberley.”

Darcy sighed. “She’s already living here.”

She ignored this. “Some of the furnishings which were transported from Europe by your Darcy ancestors. There are pieces that go back to the Regency time period.”

Darcy had heard this speech before. “Yes, I know.”

“It will be Elizabeth’s responsibility to make sure everything is in good repair and cleaned properly.”

“She is going to medical school. We have a staff to clean the house.”

Aunt Catherine scowled. “Such tasks cannot be entrusted to a staff that has no sense of history! Why, you have antique rugs and draperies! And the shades! They must be cleaned frequently.”

“I’m certain the staff will ensure—”

“Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?” The older woman stamped her foot.