Chapter 29
Mary would stand up with Elizabeth while Maria would do the honours for Charlotte. “I am far too excited to eat,” Elizabeth greeted her mother and sister.
“Trust me, Lizzy, I know from past experience you should eat something now. It will be many hours until the wedding breakfast. I would not have you faint from hunger while you are reciting your vows,” Madeline stated firmly.
Elizabeth rose from the window seat and followed her mother and Mary into the shared sitting room.
As soon as she sipped some tea, Elizabeth realised how thirsty she was.
The same was true when she took a nibble of an apple pastry.
By the time she was sated, she had finished two cups of tea, two pastries, and a scone with jam and clotted cream.
“I did not know how hungry I was until I took the first bite,” the sheepish bride said to her mother, who gave her a knowing look.
As Elizabeth had not gone to London to shop before the wedding, she would wear one of the new gowns her parents acquired for her not long after she came to live with them.
The gown was an off-white silk. It was simple in design but highlighted Elizabeth’s darker colouring, especially her mahogany tresses. Rather than a bonnet, Elizabeth chose a gossamer veil with small pearls sewn onto it.
After a bath, her mother and a maid assisted Elizabeth. She was about to ask for help putting her garnet cross in place when her mother returned with a velvet-covered box.
“A present from your groom. He asks that you wear them today,” Madeline told her daughter as she opened the box.
Inside was the most beautiful pearl necklace Elizabeth had ever beheld.
In the centre of the necklace was a very large emerald.
There were matching earbobs as well; each one had three strands of pearls descending from a central point below the clip.
There were three small pearls with a small emerald at the base of each descending strand.
“I will feel like a princess when I wear these,” Elizabeth exclaimed, looking at her reflection.
“William mentioned there is a matching tiara, but I felt it would be a little too much,” Madeline quipped.
When she was dressed, her brothers and the rest of her sisters, accompanied by Tiffany and Giana, came in to greet Elizabeth.
May lifted her hands to be picked up and her mother explained her sister could not oblige her at the moment, but her new brother William would be at the house soon enough and he was always willing to pick her up.
Once everyone had admired the bride, Mrs. Annesley, the Gardiner’s governess, and a nursemaid shepherded the group to the carriages waiting to take them to the church. The Matlocks and Hilldales, after greeting Elizabeth, followed in their coach.
Gardiner looked at both Lizzy and Mary in wonder. One was leaving his protection today, and he believed it was but a matter of time before Mary married her own suitor. Mary and her mother helped Elizabeth into the carriage. Once the ladies were seated, Gardiner boarded and they were off.
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Lord Hilldale and Bingley organised a light breakfast in a private sitting room between two of their chambers at the inn. They too had to convince their respective groom they were standing up for to eat, but in the end they prevailed.
Both Richard and Darcy were up with the sun; one was used to rising early from his time as an officer in the regulars, and the other had the habit of rising early ingrained in him by his father before he was ten years old.
The four men ate in quiet companionship. Darcy stood first and went to bathe; Richard was not far behind. Richard’s loyal batman had followed his colonel out of the army and was now his valet and assisted his master to don his suit.
St. Alfred’s was a five-minute walk from the inn, but the grooms had been given clear instructions to be inside the church no later than a quarter after the hour of nine so they would not see their brides arrive.
Not long after the clock in the common room of the Red Rooster Inn chimed the hour, the four men walked to the church, ensuring they were in place well before the time they had been told to be there.
Although it was early, by the time the men entered the church, it was already almost full.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The Gardiner coach arrived at the church only a minute after the Lucas carriage came to a halt. Sir William looked as pleased as Punch. He was normally a jovial man, but on this day when his Charlotte was marrying a man who loved her, he was having a difficult time containing his joy.
Neither the brides nor their families noticed Bennet standing in the shadows—almost in the same spot where he had watched Elizabeth deal with Wickham.
His heart was heavy when he saw the love in his daughter’s eyes for Gardiner.
He knew he had forfeited the right for her to look at him like that, but it did not stop his regret.
Lady Lucas and Maria had just been handed out of their carriage when the Gardiner conveyance halted behind them. By the time Lady Lucas and Maria had assisted Charlotte to alight, Madeline and Mary were assisting Lizzy out of their coach.
“Charlotte, you are gorgeous,” Elizabeth exclaimed when she saw her best friend. Charlotte wore a white gown with a matching bonnet and looked very elegant.
“If I am gorgeous, then I do not know how to describe you, Eliza,” Charlotte returned.
“Rather than argue who is prettier, let us agree both brides are beautiful,” Madeline stated definitively.
Once Elizabeth was no longer visible in the vestibule, Bennet turned and slowly walked to his horse to make his solitary ride back to an empty house.
He had always wanted peace and quiet and now he had more than he knew what to do with.
He was intelligent enough to know that he was reaping the reward for his lack of backbone.
Each mother kissed her daughter on the cheek, then squeezed the other bride’s hand. The two ladies entered the church nodding to the rector, who signalled the men to take their places.
Maria entered first, followed by Mary. Bingley watched intently as the lady he was courting walked up the aisle and took up her position next to him. Once Mary was in place, the clergyman signalled the congregants to stand.
Sir William entered with Charlotte on his arm. Richard saw no one but his beloved Charlotte. He met her at the end of the aisle and Sir William placed her hand on Richard’s forearm after kissing his daughter’s cheek.
Finally, Gardiner entered with Elizabeth. Her eyes locked onto her groom’s and neither broke contact until Darcy came to meet his Elizabeth, after which Gardiner kissed his eldest daughter’s cheek and placed her hand on Darcy’s forearm.
The rector married Charlotte and Richard first, then repeated the service for Elizabeth and Darcy. The ceremonies seemed to pass in an instant, but soon enough both couples and their attendants were signing the register in the vestry.
When they exited, they were surrounded by family and friends congratulating them. It had been decided they would allow those on the way to Netherfield Park a ten-minute head start before climbing into the open landau that would convey the four newlyweds to the wedding breakfast.
“How do you feel, Mrs. Fitzwilliam?” Elizabeth asked while they waited.
“Excited, as I believe you are, Mrs. Darcy,” Charlotte replied.
“Hearing you being called by your new last name gives me an inordinate amount of pleasure, Charlotte,” Richard stated happily.
“Not as much pleasure as I feel when I am called Mrs. Fitzwilliam,” Charlotte responded.
“How do you like being called Mrs. Darcy, my Elizabeth,” Darcy asked.
“It is the perfect name for me, William,” Elizabeth insisted.
With Biggs and Johns on the back bench, the Darcys and Fitzwilliams climbed into the open coach. The wives faced forward, and their husbands sat opposite them. Richard hit the floor with his cane and the driver put his team of matched greys into motion.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Mr. Nichols graciously allowed his brother-in-law Hill to announce the newlyweds as they entered the ballroom, where their family, friends, and other guests awaited them.
The Hills had attended the church to see their girl recite her vows. Mrs. Hill opened her arms as Elizabeth approached her just outside the ballroom. “Miss Lizzy, I mean Mrs. Darcy, you look very happy,” Mrs. Hill noted as she wiped a tear of joy from her cheek.
“I am, Mrs. Hill, and you may call me Miss Lizzy anytime—when you do, I know it is an endearment,” Elizabeth said, kissing the long-time housekeeper on her cheek.
Richard nodded to Mr. Hill once Elizabeth and Mrs. Hill separated.
Mr. Hill opened the doors and in a clear, loud, steady voice announced the two newlywed couples.
This led to a sustained round of cheering from those assembled within.
As Elizabeth passed Mr. Hill, she reached out and squeezed his hand.
The couples separated, each walking in opposite directions so they would not crowd each other as they greeted their well-wishers. It took about an hour for the two couples to meet where their families were seated.
The four sat, and plates and lemonade appeared in front of them as if by magic. “Giana and I have decided Charlotte and Lizzy are sisters to us both,” Tiffany announced, “Richard and William, that makes you brothers.”
“Do not forget we gained six more sisters and four additional brothers,” Georgiana pointed out. Charlotte was pleased her brothers and sister were included in the number of new siblings.
Both couples ate eagerly. Even though all four had a bite to break their fasts earlier, they were hungry enough to attack their plates with gusto.
When their plates were very nearly empty, the couples continued in the direction they had started, so they could say a few words to everyone who had taken the time to help them celebrate their nuptials.