A/N: Last chapter, gang! Wade

"Milo, eh", Darcy said, "I can see I might need to limit your access to Georgie."

"Did she tell you about that story?"

"She abruptly decided to put herself into my Aunt Catherine's care for some sort of endurance training. I did not see her for some time, but I wrote to Aunt Catherine who told me to mind my own business."

Elizabeth giggled, "That seems… I am struggling between 'abrupt' and 'typical'. What do you recommend?"

They both had a laugh at that, and Darcy finally said, "Eventually we met when I visited your sister."

"More specific if you please… I have four, and you seem to have spent more time at my home than I have in the last few months."

"I meant Mrs. Collins. I asked Georgie exactly what she was doing, and she said it was her turn to carry the bull for a while."

Elizabeth smiled, "I am happy to hear it."

"Shall I assume you are responsible for her abrupt change of residence? Oh, and she will be here in two days, by the way."

Elizabeth smiled, "I will be glad to see her. I suppose we have some arrangements to work out, and no, I did not send her to Rosings. That was entirely her own doing. She is however responsible for the 'Welcome home, Milo' reference, but I suppose you can pry the story out of her. After she told me about Mr. Wickham, we were in a state where we went beyond polite conversation. That is all I will say on the subject. It is her story to tell."

"Understood", Darcy said, while marveling at the matter of fact way Elizabeth mentioned Wickham, basically saying, 'of course Georgie would tell a near stranger about the worst time of her life within hours of meeting her.'

They sat in companionable silence for a while, occasionally speaking of this or that minor point. The sun was moving closer to sunset than noon when Darcy said, "I have an idea!"

Elizabeth laughed, "Let us have it."

"I think we should try a new communication method I read about in a book once. It seems radical, but it might be interesting."

"Why certainly", she replied playfully.

Elizabeth had reluctantly climbed off his lap some time earlier, mainly because his leg started to fall asleep, so they were sitting side by side, perhaps closer than propriety strictly demanded.

Darcy slid off the bench, faced her, went down on one knee, reached for her hand, and said, "Elizabeth Bennet, Love of my Life, will you do me the great honor of accepting my hand in marriage?"

Elizabeth giggled, "Plain, unvarnished, unambiguous English. This is unprecedented."

Darcy just cocked an eyebrow at her, so she wagged a finger and said, "And now are back to non-verbalism."

With a smile, she slid off the bench to rest on the ground on her knees, took his other hand and said, "Fitzwilliam Darcy, you are indeed the love of my life, and it would be my great honor and pleasure to be your wife."

They sealed the bargain with another kiss, which lasted just about as long as it took for the rocks on the path to dig into their knees, then both jumped up, and laughing happily, they decided to take the long way back to the house.

"Fitzwilliam, that was a brilliant idea, speaking clearly and succinctly."

"I thought so."

"A good idea, in moderation."

They both chuckled, and walked some more, speaking of this and that.

When they left sight of the house and entered a shaded path, Elizabeth said, "Now that we are officially and unambiguously betrothed, I believe we have some arrangements to work out."

"Such as?"

Elizabeth sighed, "I suppose we should follow the proper forms by asking my father's blessing, though technically it is not necessary, as I am of age, and to be honest, Uncle Gardiner would negotiate the settlement anyway. Of course, that is aside from the fact that, you will obviously just take my dowry out of one pocket and put it in another."

Darcy chuckled, but Elizabeth continued, "Speaking of that, Fitzwilliam – when you bought the books, did you know who and what they were for?"

Darcy stared at the ground, "Actually, I did not. Your brother, much to his credit, was careful to keep your confidence. I believe your sister Mary was concerned about fortune hunters, so all I had was an inventory of titles and publication dates. I did not recognize the handwriting as yours at the time. I did not work it out until after Hunsford."

Elizabeth smiled, "That makes me feel better. So, the arrangement makes financial sense."

"A library that has been the work of many generations, is also a library that generates a lot of expectations. Should I ever meet any of my ancestors in the afterlife, I would certainly like to establish some boasting rights."

Elizabeth chuckled, "I am happy to have contributed to your afterlife hubris."

They continued a moment, and then Darcy said, "About those arrangements – I may be able to simplify."

"Do tell."

Darcy smiled, "Your father told me that should I ever find myself in want of a wife, that I could assume I have his blessing for any daughter whose age is on 'the sequence'." I asked him which sequence, and he said I would know, if and when the time came."

Elizabeth laughed gaily, slapped him, and said, "Please tell me you have worked it out by now."

Darcy grinned, but shook his head in confusion.

"I suppose you may have forgotten one tiny little fragment of our conversation in Hunsford. I will forgive you this once."

"Pray, re-enlighten me, my lady!"

"It is the Fibonacci Sequence. I was calculating them in my head to calm myself down in Hunsford."

The reminder of Hunsford left the mood slightly altered, but Darcy said, "None of that! Hunsford was our turning point. All is as it should be. I am sorry we had to cause each other so much consternation, but I do believe we both emerged stronger. I will always remember Hunsford fondly."

Elizabeth smiled, "I shall do so as well. Shall I continue?"

"Please."

"It is an interesting sequence that shows up quite often in mathematics and in nature. It seems related to everything from branching in trees to the shape of spirals to the Golden Ratio in painting. Each number is the sum of the previous two, so the beginning goes 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144."

Darcy laughed, "Unless I want to wait 13 years, I suppose I am stuck with you."

"Where did you get 13? Father might have been thinking of 16 or 18 years, since he has two more daughters."

Darcy looked on in mock horror, while she laughed gaily.

Finally, after laughing together for a while, Elizabeth sighed, and said, "That was diverting. I suppose we should discuss arrangements."

"The wedding is traditionally the purview of the bride, so what do you suggest?"

They walked a few more steps, and she said, "I suppose driving straight to Lambton, buying a common license, and marrying, with Mrs. Reynolds and Mr. Newton as witnesses might send the wrong message. It is too late today anyway."

Darcy chuckled, "It is funny that you picked those two in particular."

"Oh?"

"Newton has determined that young Keppler is ready to be a head coachman, and I was planning to lure the elder away from Bingley."

"Oh, for what purpose", Elizabeth asked in genuine confusion?

"To be your coachman, of course. I suspect he has courting Mrs. Reynolds in mind, but it is not my business, so I cannot comment on it."

"What leads you to think I need my own coachman?"

"Perhaps we should procrastinate some more about the arrangements of the wedding and talk about after. You are aware that Pemberley has been without a mistress for well over fifteen years?"

"Yes", Elizabeth said with a sinking feeling.

"Our position in society has eroded, and it will be up to us to fix it. Some of that repair must be the two of us together, but I fear, a certain amount will fall to the mistress of the house. That is just the way it is. I assume this is no surprise to you?"

"No, I considered it… briefly."

"You will have a great amount of visiting and shopping to do both here and in town. I will shield you from what I can, but…"

Elizabeth sighed, "… do not concern yourself, Fitzwilliam. I know what I am getting into."

Darcy smiled, "I should also mention that the Oakley estate is but forty miles away."

Elizabeth laughed openly, "Mr. Newton will have his work cut out for him."

Darcy chuckled, "I should also mention that the Langston estate…", and he paused abruptly, pulled out his pocket watch, and said, we must wait five minutes before I can complete that sentence."

Puzzled, Elizabeth decided if they had time to kill it might as well be productive, so she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him within an inch of his life. Their three-minute window came and went, with neither party being the wiser.

After quite some time, Darcy said, "I do hope you are not inclined towards a long engagement."

"Not on your life but let us finish one sentence before we start another."

Darcy looked back at the watch, and said, "All right… Correction! The Jameson estate is but thirty miles away, and in a direction about 45˚ away, with the three points forming something close to an equilateral triangle. That means that you, Mrs. Jameson and Mrs. Oakley will be just about equidistant from both us and each other."

Elizabeth was so happy she took her bonnet off, threw it in the air, and danced around singing. She took Darcy's hat and did the same thing, then grabbed his hands and made him dance around like children along with her. That naturally led to a certain other kind of dance, that mostly seemed to involve hands and lips, which was not traditionally performed in ballrooms.

After some time, they decided they would need to start moving if they wanted to make it back to the house before supper. They looked around for hats and bonnets, only to find the hat hung up in the branches of a tree, and the bonnet currently making its way along a branch, being dragged by a particularly vicious and intimidating looking squirrel. They both laughed and set of walking again, sans headwear.

The lady asked, "Any more surprises for me?"

"I believe the parson in Kympton might be looking for a pension."

Elizabeth laughed, "Oh my, it seems all we will be missing is Kitty and Lydia to make our life complete."

"There have been some developments along that front as well. I suspect we would need our best horses, and both Newtons to pry them out of Rosings. It appears Aunt Catherine did not find Miss Lucas sufficiently challenging."

Elizabeth just shook her head in wonder, no longer trying to make any sense of the world.

"That leaves us with the wedding. What are you thinking?"

Elizabeth sighed, "As appealing as just getting a common license sounds, I do not think that would be the best way to establish ourselves in society, unless of course you plan on leaving me alone in the mistress chambers for a month to insure there is adequate time between the wedding and any other announcements."

Darcy choked and sputtered, but much to his credit as a sportsman, he did not actually faint at the idea.

"I think a moderate courtship sounds about right. Perhaps a month… six weeks?"

"Closer to the former than the latter, I should think. We have already been courting for half a year."

"I suppose we must pick a venue."

Elizabeth frowned, "While I would love to do it here, I do not think it would be quite the thing."

Darcy frowned slightly, "Meryton then."

Elizabeth frowned along with him, "It took all of Jane's patience, and my father, Lady Catherine and Anne together to keep my mother under control for her favorite daughter. Imagine what it would be like if her least-favorite daughter marries a man of considerably more consequence."

Darcy physically shuddered at the thought, but gamely continued, "So, three days journey is too far away, and Meryton is too close. I suppose you have worked out the exact optimum location and are cleverly waiting to surprise me with it."

Elizabeth laughed, "I believe I have. It needs to be far enough to keep our sanity, but close enough and central enough to make it viable for those I wish to encourage to attend, assuming you will provide all the transportation necessary."

"Of course, so what is the optimum distance you have calculated."

Elizabeth smiled, "I suppose I will need to quote a wise old sage. 'And what is fifty miles of good road? Little more than half a day's journey. Yes, I call it a very easy distance.'"

Darcy laughed gaily, "You do have a sensible sister and a Parson in Kent, so I suppose Lady Catherine and Mrs. Collins will arrange everything to your satisfaction. Miss Catherine and Miss Lydia are already in residence, so all we need to do is go to Meryton, let your mother parade us around for a few days, then bring them to Kent just in time for the wedding."

Elizabeth was so enamored with the plan, she dragged him to a halt, and kissed him again, before taking his arm and dragging him back to the house. She was anxious to start planning her new life. This awkward phase had outlived its usefulness.

As they walked along, both happy and content, Elizabeth had a disquieting thought, which as usual did not percolate very long before it came out of her mouth.

She stopped him, and said, "Fitzwilliam, I have something I want to say."

He smiled at her, sensing no distress, and said, "I am all yours."

She smiled, and said, "That is entirely the point. I now have no idea what all the fuss was about. I find that once I let go of my fears, and opened my heart, it all became clear. I do love you, with all my heart, right here, and right now, and I am so very happy. I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh."

Darcy laughed, and said, "Well then, it is settled between us already, that we are to be the happiest couple in the world."

"Yes, my love… yes we are."

~~~ FINIS ~~~

A/N: There you go, Gang. That's story 26 in the can!

If you want some more geekout, here's some math for you.

This story is 156,000 words, or about 27% longer than canon at 122k. It edges out The Cliffs of Hertfordshire at 152k as my longest works, although it's not a single story.

I had about 5,000 paragraphs, which is about double canon, meaning on average, my paragraphs were much shorter than our Jane's. She averages 57 words per paragraph, while mine was 31. I was cheating though, since many of her longer and more descriptive paragraphs were skipped entirely, and I did not have to do any scene setting or character development.

Some noted that there was a lot of talking, which is hardly surprising, but the actual quantity is interesting. 63% of the paragraphs in Canon have a quote, while I have 68%, so not as much of a difference as you might think on that score. However, about 40% of the text in canon is inside of quotes, while this story clocks in at a whopping 68%. This mostly means that I don't have that many speeches, but they tend to be longer. Of course, that's not all exact, mostly because I'm too lazy to work it out. For example, there were ~250 paragraphs devoted just to charts and graphs. All in all though, more wordy than canon, but of course, Canon Elizabeth wasn't on the spectrum.

Depending on how you look at it, this is three stories in one.

* The original one-shot is about 3,500 words, which is about my 8th shortest story.

* The Short version is about 13,000 words, making it kind of mid-length. It's about the same length as The Propriety Fiction. My shortest story (Dawn at Netherfield) only has 886 words.

* The long version would technically omit the short version, so instead of the 156k for everything you have read if you made it this far, it would be 146,000. This would make the long version my second longest story, just below TCoH.

* As of now (2020-06-08), this has the most reviews of any of my stories, at around 1,700. It's spread across 54 chapters, so about 30 reviews per chapter. That's about typical for my longer stories. A pure division is a bit unfair, as quite a few people only review the entire story. This means short stories will have more per chapter, and that bears out. Most of my one-shots get 50-100 per story. All in all, I'd say the response is much better than I expected, so thank you all for all the lovely reviews.

Lastly, I'll say that this story has surprised me more than any other I can remember. I will admit that when I wrote the one‑shot, I expected it to get a dozen hits and disappear into the ether. It's predecessor, Netherfield Math has quite a lot of hits over the last few years, but only 82 reviews. I suspected I'd tapped out the math market, but apparently not.

The number of Views per chapter did taper off after about chapter 25, so there was a pretty big cohort of people that just thought it was too long. On the other hand, those that stuck it through seemed to like all the extra side-stories I added. Up to about chapter 25, I had about the same number of views I typically get, but the last few chapters have about half as many. Of course, we won't know for some time if they come back. There was a pretty big stretch when COVID first started when there were long delays between chapters, and that tends to drop readers. Perhaps, once it's complete, they will all come back. I guess we shall see. I'll watch the numbers and update on my twitter feed when I see what happens.

And finally, let me just say Thank You to everyone who read, reviewed and/or enjoyed the story. These are exciting and perilous times. COVID is still a very dangerous virus that is nowhere near done with the world. At least 400,000 deaths worldwide (most likely many more), and well over 120,000 just here in the US. The BLM protests we're seeing in the US and around the world feel like a major turning point in history. I can only hope so

.

That's it for me here in Seattle for the day. Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Be Safe!

Wade
JaffWadeH (JAFF Only)
WadeHatler (highly political)