Chapter 28 #2
It was a relatively long receiving line, made up of both betrothed couples and their three sets of parents.
As the neighbours from the Meryton area arrived and greeted those in the receiving line, they all made it a point to pause and tell Elizabeth how happy they were she was doing so well with parents who loved and protected her as she deserved.
A little over an hour later, the receiving line duties were completed and the five couples joined the guests in the ballroom.
When Elizabeth and Darcy lined up for the first set, both recalled the last time they had danced together in this ballroom.
It had been the first time Darcy had noted a softening in Elizabeth’s attitude towards him.
He now understood that softening was due to the influence of his soon-to-be cousin, Charlotte, who was lining up opposite Richard.
When they came together for the first time, Darcy decided to have some fun with his betrothed. “Come, Miss Gardiner, we must have some conversation. What will people think if we spend half an hour in complete silence.” Elizabeth’s tinkling laugh was heard above the musicians.
“I am at your disposal, Mr. Darcy; we can discuss anything,” Elizabeth’s eyes were shining with mirth. As Darcy looked into those inviting emerald-green eyes, he had to catch himself before he was completely lost and forgot the steps of the dance.
They separated as they danced down the line. Once he took her hand when they came together again, he offered, “I hope you prefer this dance to the first set you danced with that buffoon when last we were at a ball here.”
“There is no comparison,” Elizabeth stated when they came back together. “You, Sir, do not stink, you know the steps of the dance, and you are not a fool. Which all means I am enjoying this first dance infinitely more than I did the last one, as I have nothing for which to fault you.”
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
A few couples down, Bingley and Mary, now officially courting, were enjoying their dance in companionable silence.
Bingley recollected at both the assembly he had attended in the area as well as the ball he had given at this estate that Miss Bennet had sat out and read, dancing with no one.
He could still hear his sister Caroline’s mocking, and wholly inaccurate words.
Based on their dance so far, he understood it was not for want of skill; Mary was an accomplished dancer. As they danced, he felt very pleased with himself to have gained this woman’s agreement to explore the possibility of a future with him.
As he thought about his sister, he almost laughed aloud thinking about how Caroline had always pushed for him and Darcy to become brothers. If he eventually proposed to Mary and she accepted him, then he and Darcy would be brothers, but not in the way Caroline had envisioned.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Our wait is almost over, my Charlotte,” Richard said close to his fiancée’s ear as they came together during the dance. “I find I am most impatient; I never wish to be parted from you again.”
“I am no less impatient, Richard,” Charlotte returned saucily, almost causing her normally unflappable betrothed to miss a step.
“Soon it will be just you and me at Darcy’s house in Ramsgate. If he was not going to use it himself, I would have asked William for Seaview Cottage near Brighton,” Richard stated before the pattern separated them again.
“Are you sure your cousin Anne wants you to take over as master even before she turns eight and twenty?” Charlotte asked. She wanted to make sure she would not be displacing the rightful mistress of Rosings Park, if Anne did not wish her to do so, after Lady Catherine was removed from that office.
The dance separated them, but when they came together again, Richard assured her it was Anne’s explicit wish. To reassure Charlotte, he said they would talk to Anne when they were at the estate to confirm it was what she wanted.
After supper the five younger girls, now including Maria among them, said their farewells and followed Mrs. Annesley above stairs without a word of complaint.
The rest of the ball passed much as such events do.
As they had been co-hosts, it was past three in the morning when the Lucases, sans Maria, left.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Between the ball and the day before the double wedding, the couples were able to keep company with each other all day. There were walks, rides, and other entertainments, usually in the company of the younger boys and girls.
The night before the wedding, Richard joined Darcy at the Red Rooster Inn in Meryton.
Richard did not need to sleep elsewhere, as his bride was not residing in the same house, but he did so to keep company with his cousin.
As they were standing up with them, Andrew and Bingley rounded out the party staying at the inn.
The four men had departed Netherfield after everyone retired. Elizabeth had just prepared for bed when there was the inevitable knock on her door. “Welcome Mother. I was expecting you.”
Madeline took a seat on the bed with her eldest daughter and then commenced her talk.
“Let me start by telling you there is nothing to fear…” She went on to explain that the act of love was enhanced when the couple were in love, as Elizabeth and William were.
She explained about the giving and taking of pleasure.
She assured Elizabeth although there would be a little pain or discomfort, and more than likely some blood, the first time, it would still be a pleasurable experience if she allowed herself to relax.
“Do you have any questions, Lizzy dearest?” Madeline asked when she had completed her talk.
“No, Mother. I thank you for putting me at ease. I want to thank you and Father for being the best of parents while I have lived under your protection. Without you and your love, I would have been lost when I was banished,” Elizabeth told Madeline.
“You know how much your father and I love you and all of our children, regardless of whether they are of my body or not. That love will not stop when you marry on the morrow. We will always be here when you need us for anything,” Madeline told her eldest.
The two hugged, then Madeline let herself out of Lizzy’s bedchamber. On the morrow Elizabeth would be leaving her home, but this time it would be very much her choice.