Chapter 17
“Certainly you both have my blessing,” Mr. Kendall assured them cheerfully. “Indeed, I believe you are very compatible.”
“Thank you, sir,” Darcy replied joyfully, while Elizabeth murmured her happy assent.
Elizabeth was of age and thus did not actually need the permission of Mr. Kendall, but both Darcy and Elizabeth wished to honor the man who had watched over her since she had left England in haste.
“Do you wish to marry here on St. Croix, or will you return to England and marry there?” the clergyman inquired
“We wish to marry here and as soon as possible.”
Mr. Kendall looked concerned, “You are quite certain that you do not wish for your families to attend the ceremony?”
Elizabeth and Darcy exchanged glances.
“No, Mr. Kendall,” Elizabeth replied softly. “I love my family, of course, but we wish to be wed here in St. Croix. If we wait until we return, there might be complications from competing voices.”
“Ah yes,” the parson agreed. “Sir Claude, for example.”
“And my aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh,” Darcy added with a wince. “She has long held that I would marry her daughter. I have no intention of doing so, but if we are already married when we return to England ...”
“It will be too late for anyone to interfere.”
“Precisely, sir.”
“I know you are quite able to purchase a marriage license, Mr. Darcy, so you may marry whenever you see fit. Miss Bennet has been here long enough to make her a resident of my parish. Also, I want to invite you both to stay here in the parsonage after your marriage. There is plenty of room. Of course, if you wish to relocate elsewhere, I completely understand.”
Elizabeth looked at Darcy, who looked back.
“Where do you wish to stay?” she asked shyly.
“I wish to stay wherever you wish to stay,” he replied simply. “I would be delighted to live in a cave or a hovel or ...”
“In the deepest jungle with the snakes and tarantulas?” Elizabeth finished with amusement. “Mr. Kendall, I believe we will accept your kind invitation. Mr. D ... Fitzwilliam, when do you wish to be married?”
“Perhaps tomorrow morning?” he suggested, which caused her eyebrows to fly up in surprise.
He laughed now with joy, and she laughed with him.
“I believe it will take a little longer than that for me to prepare,” she said. “Perhaps three days from now, on Monday morning?”
“That will do very well,”
He looked on her face, her eyes alight with happiness and love, and his heart sang within him.
In three days, they would be joined together before God and man.
/
“Oh, my dear Elizabeth, three days! What about your dress?”
Elizabeth, who had been working her way quickly through her breakfast, looked up as Helena Kendall entered the dining room.
“Helena, how well you look!” she cried out. Her friend’s face, which had been wan since they had first met, was slightly rosy this morning. It was a great relief that the lady was experiencing renewed health.
Helena waved an irritable hand and sat down quickly, “I do feel much better, Elizabeth, but that is not the most important question at the moment. Your dress! You must not wear mourning or even half mourning for your wedding, my dear!”
Elizabeth glanced down at her lavender dress with a frown.
Helena was entirely correct; it was not appropriate to wear mourning to a wedding.
But she had brought nothing but black and lavender dresses with her to St. Croix; there had been little time to obtain clothing when she had fled on short notice to escape Sir Claude.
“I have nothing else to wear,” she admitted with a sigh.
“Well, I do,” her friend riposted. “I brought a great many dresses with me and while I am bigger and taller than you are, I am a gifted seamstress and I can whip something into shape by Monday morning.”
Elizabeth grimaced, “That is very kind of you, but I cannot have you exhausting yourself.”
“Nonsense. I enjoy sewing very much and it is a quiet endeavor. I am much better, Elizabeth, and I will greatly enjoy providing a garment for your wedding day. I think I have a light green dress that will be lovely on you.”
Elizabeth nodded with misty eyes. When she had fled England after the death of her father, she had not imagined that she would find such wonderful friends in Mr. and Mrs. Kendall. Nor had it dawned on her in her wildest dreams that Darcy would follow her across the ocean to make her his bride.
“Thank you, Helena.”
/
“Congratulations, Mr. Darcy!” Governor Bowyer said heartily. “She is a charming and handsome young lady indeed.”
Breakfast at Government House was a buffet, with various officers and short-term occupants coming and going, from early in the morning until nearly noon.
Darcy generally woke and ate early, but he had been awake into the wee hours rejoicing that he and Elizabeth were betrothed and thus had risen late.
Governor and Mrs. Bowyer, usually late risers, found Darcy at the table as he broke his fast.
“Thank you, sir,” Darcy answered, aware that his cheeks were aching slightly from all the unaccustomed smiling. The last time he could remember being this happy was when Georgiana was born. “Miss Bennet is indeed a gift.”
“Do you intend to return to England before you marry, or will you wed here in St. Croix?” Mrs. Bowyer inquired.
“We will marry here on the island at the Anglican Church.”
“How delightful! I do hope we will be able to attend your wedding, Mr. Darcy,” Mrs. Bowyer said cheerfully. “I took a great fancy to your young lady. Do you have a date set for when you will tie the knot?”
“Yes, we will be married at ten in the morning on Monday, Mrs. Bowyer.”
“This Monday?”
“Yes, madam.”
Mrs. Bowyer laughed at this, her plump face alight with amusement, “You are marrying in haste!”
“I long to make her my bride,” Darcy returned rather stiffly. “In any case, the merchant ship, Riley, may return at any time, and we will be departing on her for England.”
“That is completely understandable,” the lady answered in a soothing tone. “I certainly meant no disrespect. I believe we are available to attend Mr. Darcy’s wedding on Monday, are we not, Governor?”
The lady’s husband looked startled but, based on the minatory tone in his wife’s voice, responded with alacrity, “Of course, my dear, of course. Mr. Darcy, I hope that Mrs. Bowyer and I are welcome?”
There was only one possible answer to this question.
“Of course, Miss Bennet and I will be delighted to have you attend.”
“How wonderful!” Mrs. Bowyer declared.
Darcy bowed slightly to her as he rose from the table.
He knew it was not Elizabeth’s charms which drew the Governor and his wife to the wedding, but the Darcy and Matlock connection; it was always wise for military men to form ties with high ranking families.
He did not mind. The Bowyers had been gracious hosts during his time in St. Croix, and he would ask them to be witnesses to the marriage.
That would provide additional authenticity to the ceremony.
Sir Claude, and Mrs. Bennet, and anyone else who sought to harass or endanger his precious Elizabeth would find that Mr. Darcy of Pemberley was prepared to go to war to protect his bride.