At Catherine (Kitty to her sisters, as a remnant from her childhood) and her new husband's wedding, no one was particularly surprised to see Lydia apparently forget her daughter as she and Mrs Bennet went home. Bingley was the one to pick the little girl up and entertain her as they wondered where her mother had gone, but as only a quick check with his wife revealed that the two Bennet widows had in fact already left, the Bingleys merely kept her.

Then when, some months later, Lydia was blessed with yet another lovely, healthy, charming daughter, she, as well, ended up with relatives. Jane and Elizabeth had gone to assist their younger sister, like they had for Mary just before, and as Lydia showed very little interest in either of her daughters at this time, they took their newborn niece back with then. They took turns to take care for her during her first weeks until finally, she came to be raised in the vicarage, as she was almost to the day of age with Mary and her husband's little boy, with only eleven days separating the two cousins.

As the days and months turned into years, as days and weeks and months are wont to do, Lydia and Mrs Bennet were talked about only more and more briefly by the rest of the family. They fit in poorly with the daughters based in Derbyshire and their families, and as time passed, they were not forgotten so much as isolated and distanced, mostly by their own devises, though maybe not intentionally so.

Mary and her priest were blessed with a little girl of their own eventually, but the second Miss Wickham - taking her aunt and uncle's name entirely before her first birthday - remained with them, leaving them a happy and perfectly peaceful family of five. No one really talked about it, but Mr Darcy set aside a neat sum for the education of both the "vicarage girls", as well as two dowries for when that time came. Mary was as grateful for this when it came to her daughter as to her niece, never differing between the two.

Indeed, besides the fact that Mary's girl was darkhaired and her niece blond, no one could really tell a difference between the two sweet little girls, though one was a touch older than the other. Most people unfamiliar with the story assumed, in fact, that all three of the children belonging with the pair was actually, even from birth, their own. In a way, this was also entirely accurate. Having the knowledge that Mary's oldest sister was blond as well, thus explaining the appearance of the "oldest Miss James" the fact was genuinely forgotten in most circles and certainly in their neighbourhood before the girls even started school.

As for the first daughter of Lydia and her redcoat, she remained with the Bingleys, turning into quite a young beauty, much like her adopted sisters, as Bingley and Jane had five children of their own, both of them loving souls who doted on all of their offspring. Jane always called her the gift who made their half dozen complete, and no child in their home ever lacked for love.

Lizzy and Mr Darcy never had more than three children of their own, perhaps following Lizzy's near danger with their little girl at his birth, but they, too, were happy in their little family, and with the Bingley's and Mary's family both so close to Pemberley, not one of their children ever wanted for playmates.

As such, time ran on peacefully, the two bonus girls of name Bingley and James well loved and well cared for, until a peaceful afternoon in the vicarage, some fifteen years after Catherine's (formerly Kitty Bennet) wedding. It was a marvellous, crisp, happy autumn day, as evidenced by Mrs Darcys insitance to walk there with her nieces, the Miss Bingleys, as well as her own daughter, instead of talking a carriage.

They arrived in a flurry of gentle upset and activity which somehow reminded Elizabeth of that afternoon some twenty years ago when her beloved husband first asked for her hand, somewhat rudely, only to be even more so rudely rebuffed.

Different from most of their children, who were all still children - certainly Georgiana's youngest was still in the nursery - (this was also true of Charlotte's children, as a matter of fact, but she had so many in her second marriage that this fact was hardly even in need of mentioning) Ameliana Bingley, formerly Wickham, was now eighteen years of age and however young, a grown woman.

Jane would have been deeply surprised to hear of her news, but Elizabeth, ever the more shrewd sister, took it just as calmly as Mary, who too, was quite the steady woman and not easily upset. In fact, Elizabeth was glad Ameliana had been staying with Mary for a few weeks when this had occured.

With the audience of Miss Darcy, the two Miss James and the three younger Miss Bingleys, including her own sister by birth, as well as her sisters as raised, Ameliana retold the story of how she had been visited early this morning by the young priest of the nearest parish, and he had offered for her hand. While the young woman told the younger girls in flourished and romance, the two older sisters, their mothers and aunts, had quite the different discussion in the other end of the room, where Mary was doing some mending, which Elizabeth was quick to assist her with.

"It sounds like a good match - Ameliana has not grown up her whole life in a vicarage like her sister, but she has spent time here enough, I'd think. I tend to think that we do better - and chose better - with things where we know what to expect," Elizabeth stated calmly, eyes on her needlework.

"Oh, I agree," Mary tilted her head as she mended a stitch. "She is a sensible girl, and he is a very pleasant young man, they shall do well together." "Like you did with your reverend?" Elizabeth's tone and certainly her smile, could only be described as teasing. Mary smiled, the years having granted her insights into her own choises and behaviour of earlier years that she had not possessed at the time. She had been overly read and perhaps a bit arrogant, just like Elizabeth had been prejudiced once upon a time, and they were both aware of it.

"Well, it did turn out marvellously for me," Mary admitted willingly, looking over to where her two daughters and flock of nieces sat with a fond smile. "I know that I used a bit too much knowledge gained from books at her age, and to little of my own head perhaps, but I was right on one account. One must be sensible as well as following ones heart, and I think Ameliana does both in this. She is a thoroughly sensible girl, not so frivollous as her mother and just as clever, she just uses it."

"Oh, I don't think anyone ever accused Jane of being frivolous," Elizabeth pointed out with a pointed look at her younger sister, hinting at Mary's own relationship with the girl in question's younger sister, almost making Mary blush in the process. "They both have the best of us all," Mary granted, "in fact... they all do," she amended, including all of their children.

"They have many good influences in their uncles, all of them," Elizabeth's eyes were distincly fond as she said so, and Mary's were no less so as she nodded her agreement.

With this, the two older women fell into a comfortable silence, listening to the conversation of the younger girls in the room, who were enthusing about dresses and flowers and the beauty of small, intimate weddings. It was so similar, but also so different a conversation from one collected straight from their own lives at that age that they both had to smile. There was n doubt that the young were always young, but at the same time, they could both recognise just how different these young women were than they had been at that age.

Good as their intentions had been, Mr and Mrs Bennet had somewhat failed at making their young daughters sensible, even though at the same time, they hadn't, as said daughters were (mostly) quite sensible grown women, and it was indeed easier, raising children with the right means, and no fear of an entailment hanging over your heads.

Life had turned out good in the end, and both Elizabeth and Mary felt some pride, looking over at the glad and clever young girl and the now blushing, brightly smiling, excited young woman with sparkling eyes they had seen their niece grow up to become. It might have started somewhat precautiously, but their lives were good.