Chapter 36 #2
One of the final families of guests to arrive was the Chamberlains.
The parents were Lord Archibald and Lady Alicia, the Duke and Duchess of Hertfordshire.
They had only been blessed with one son, Lord Winston, the Marquess of Hertford.
His parents did indulge him but did not spoil their only child, who had been born more than fifteen years after their marriage—some years after they gave up hoping for a child.
The marquess was one and twenty and had graduated from Oxford at the end of the previous school year.
Where most males were encouraged away from playing a musical instrument, Hertford, who loved the pianoforte, had not been.
He had heard about the virtuoso, Lady Mary Carrington-Bennet, who had entertained the Queen and caused Her Majesty to say, to not a few people, that she had never heard better.
He was excited that he would finally meet her.
The previous time his parents had been in company with the Carringtons, Hertford had been at school or with friends.
From the first time they met, the two connected over their love of music, and more specifically, the pianoforte.
Hertford learnt that if anything, the praise for Lady Mary’s playing had been understated.
Mary had never imagined a man playing the instrument with as much feeling for the music as Lord Hertford.
Always with either Mrs Annesley or Mrs Healy with them, the two spent much time together in the music room.
When Hertford discovered that Lady Mary was out locally and would attend the ball, he requested two sets but he had to settle for one as her parents would not allow her to dance more than one with any non-family member.
Edith had an idea she was seeing Mary’s future husband. She was gratified that it would be three to five years before the Marquess would be ready to marry.
The evening before the ball, Elizabeth asked William to meet her at the stables before sunrise the next day. William, who would deny her nothing, agreed.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
There was a hill a mile from the manor house very creatively called ‘Holder Heights Hill’.
It was at least twice as high as Oakham Mount, and the summit was far larger.
It was where Elizabeth loved to go to see the sunrise when at home.
The added attraction was the Southwest Peaks, specifically Dark Peak, which were visible in the distance.
On a clear day, the mountains would look even more magnificent as the sun rose in the east, and its rays hit the majestic peaks.
On this morning, as the sun would be up before four, Elizabeth and William met at the stables at a little after three as the first glow of the approaching sun was visible in the eastern sky.
They mounted, with Biggs, Johns, and Mrs Annesley as escorts, and began to ride towards the hill, which was still swathed in darkness.
They had been riding no faster than a trot, so it took some time until the foot of the hill was reached.
As they guided their horses up the bridle path, the eastern horizon was coloured with shades of orange, yellow, pink, and red, which told them the sun would make an appearance in about twenty minutes.
It would take them about ten minutes to reach the summit.
Once on the top of the hill, William dismounted and then assisted his betrothed from her saddle.
Johns did the same for Mrs Annesley. This being a popular destination for the residents of the estate, there were facilities to tether the horses, a gazebo on the eastern side with seating within, and benches scattered about.
By the time the engaged couple and their chaperone arrived in the gazebo, the orange and yellow colours were all but gone and had been replaced with the dark blue of the pre-sunrise morning sky.
Less than ten minutes later, the sun cracked the horizon, which meant they could no longer look directly at it.
“Mrs Annesley, William and I would like to walk to the western side to see how the sun lights up Dark Peak. We will be visible to you at all times. May we go?” Elizabeth requested.
“You may, Lady Elizabeth. Be sure you can see me at all times, because then I am able to see you,” Mrs Annesley allowed.
“Biggs and Johns are near the horses, and they will also be able to see us,” William added. Seeing a nod from the companion, William led Elizabeth to the western side of the hill.
“The house looks almost like a toy from a mile away,” Elizabeth observed.
Then she pointed. “The dower house looks even smaller, as it is almost a mile beyond the manor house. You are not lonely there, are you? Unlike before Jamey married Charlotte and Richard married Jane, you are the only single man who needs to sleep away from the house.” She paused.
“I am very grateful that after we marry on Wednesday morning, we will never need to separate again and sleep in separate houses. As much as I like Mrs Annesley, I will not miss having a chaperone everywhere we go.”
“Do you see how well the mountains look bathed in the sun’s rays as they are now?
” William pointed out. He paused as he considered her previous words.
“Yes, Lizzy, I too cannot wait to be married. It may be too early to speak of this, but I hope you will want to share a bed every night. I do not want us to be one of those proper couples who live separate lives.”
“Yes, my darling William, I very much want to follow our parents’ examples and share a bed with you.
” Elizabeth blushed deeply when she said the last. “You know Jane said something before she married Richard, and I want to ask your opinion of it.” She desperately needed to change the subject before she blushed some more.
“Ask away; you know if I am able to comply, I will never deny you anything.”
“Jane said she wondered if our birth mother had not abandoned us if she would have met and married Richard. I suppose I am asking you the same question about you and me.”
“Lizzy, that is not even a question. Mother says we were formed for one another, and I agree with her. That being said, God would not have made us perfect for one another only to keep us apart. Hence, my dearest, loveliest Elizabeth, I am certain we would have met, fallen in love, and married. Nothing would have stopped that. The path to happiness might not have been as easy as it was with the closeness between our families, but easy, difficult, or nigh on impossible, we would have found each other.”
“I believe that as well,” Elizabeth said as she wrapped her arm about William’s, and she leant her head until it was resting on his strong shoulder.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The next few days passed by as if in the blink of an eye.
The ball had been very enjoyable, and Elizabeth had loved once again dancing three sets with William.
During supper, she and William had sat at a table with Marie and Andrew and Jane and Richard.
The final couple at the table was Mary and Lord Winston.
The two debated music and pieces on the pianoforte the whole time during the meal.
Edith had called two waltzes for the final set, something Elizabeth appreciated greatly.
Once the ball was behind them, there were the last few items to be made ready for the wedding. Elizabeth’s belongings were packed up—except for the wedding gown and anything she needed for the final two days as a single woman—and by the day before the wedding, a cart was on its way to Rivington.
The night before the wedding, Elizabeth received the talk from her mother. After hearing what Mamma had to say, it was much easier to understand some of what Jane would not discuss with her before and after her wedding.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Edith was in the same seat in St Mildred’s Church as she had been when Jane married less than a year previously.
As much as she would miss Lizzy, she was as happy for her daughter as it was possible to be.
She was bursting with pride as she looked towards the altar.
Lizzy and William stood before Mr Clayburn as he conducted the ceremony.
To Lizzy’s left stood Jane as her matron of honour, with Mary and Anna as her bridesmaids. To William’s right stood Richard.
His duty done, Paul was seated next to Edith; on the other side was Jamey and then the Phillipses, with the Gardiners behind her.
Seeing Edward Gardiner watching his nieces with love in his eyes reminded Edith of how selfless he had been in putting the girls’ comfort and wellbeing ahead of any of his personal desires. She would always be thankful to him for his signing his rights as guardian over to Paul.
All too soon, the ceremony was over, and Lizzy was Lady Elizabeth Darcy. Edith and Paul were the last two to leave the nave of the church before the newlyweds boarded their open chaise for Holder Heights.
As she walked, she lifted her eyes to the heavens.
‘Mr Bennet, we never knew you, but I pray you approve of the way we have raised your daughters. My hope is that you have been able to forgive your former wife for abandoning our shared girls in Hyde Park. In the end, she was not the same woman who abandoned Jane, Lizzy, and Mary. She became someone who was willing to sacrifice her life for her two youngest daughters, and she did admit to all of her errors. If you are both in heaven, I trust you can see we raised your daughters to the light.’
She linked arms with Paul and made for the coach which would take them to the wedding breakfast.