31. Chapter 31 #2
"I appreciate your apology, Bingley, but it is not enough. Your sister is obsessed with me. You remember the conversation we were having when she suddenly arrived in Hertfordshire. What you do not know is that she attempted to break into my bedchamber that night," Darcy said.
Bingley's mouth fell open as he spun to face his sister. "Caroline!"
Miss Bingley simply looked away with an unconcerned expression.
"You informed her, did you not, that Elizabeth, Georgiana, and I wanted nothing further to do with her?" Darcy asked.
"Yes, I did."
"Well, she disregarded it. Miss Bingley addressed me almost as soon as she noticed my presence in the shop.
Of course, that was before she tried to attack Elizabeth with a makeshift weapon!
" Darcy said heatedly. “Bingley, your sister is mentally unstable. Miss Bingley needs to be kept away from society because she is clearly a danger to others. You should also know there were other patrons in that shop who witnessed everything. This will become known.”
Visibly deflating at this news, Bingley solemnly replied, “I shall see that she does not cause further harm, especially to Miss Elizabeth. You have my word, Darcy.”
Darcy gave a brief nod, then he and his cousin left directly.
Once he and Fitz were seated back in the carriage and headed to Gracechurch Street, they both sighed.
“Never a dull moment, Darcy.”
Darcy shook his head. “Indeed.”
“I feel sorry for your friend. That sister of his has always been trouble. Evidently, she is mad as well. I wager he is kicking himself for letting Jane go now,” Fitz said.
“I think he has been doing that for a while.”
“Is that so?”
Darcy nodded.
“Well, he will meet someone else. Maybe he will finally choose to suit himself rather than his family," Fitz said. The next moment, a wide grin appeared on his face. "Now that I have expressed compassion for his plight, let me say how fortunate I am that his loss has been my gain!”
Darcy chuckled. “How generous of you.”
“Yes, thank you! His loss has indeed been my gain, and I hope before long will be my bliss.”
“Indeed?”
“I have tried to delay a bit, cousin, so as not to be on the heels of your own proposal, but I cannot wait much longer,” Fitz said.
Darcy looked at his cousin shrewdly. “Do not think to catch up to Elizabeth and me in order to share our wedding day!”
“That is exactly what I am trying to do! Do not think that I do not know what you are about with this wedding in four weeks' time. You are trying to run off with your bride to Pemberley before the weather can prevent you!”
Darcy laughed.
“Do not be so stingy, cousin!” Fitz said, chuckling. “This period of courtship has its charms, but I do not wish to languish in it ‘til spring!”
Darcy chuckled. “Indeed! The weather will become more and more unpredictable with each passing week. I hope Whit is keeping this in mind as he makes plans.”
“Whatever his plans are, they will not slow down my own. It is every man for himself,” Fitz declared, prompting more laughter from them both.
After Fitzwilliam and his cousin related what transpired when they delivered Caroline Bingley to her brother’s custody, Elizabeth allowed Fitzwilliam to lead her away from the others to a pair of chairs where they sat down.
“It has occurred to me that Fitz and possibly even Whit may propose to your sisters before long. Should this happen, I feel it likely that one or both couples might wish to add themselves to our ceremony,” Fitzwilliam said.
“Really? Even with our wedding only a few weeks away?” Elizabeth asked.
“It is possible. The unpredictability of December and January weather might be incentive enough for them to wish to join a wedding that has a definite date and is already being planned. How would you feel about that?”
She looked at him for a moment, then smiled somewhat sadly. “Well, I had thought it would be just the two of us.”
He smiled in return and caressed her hand with his thumb.
“However," she continued, "I am not opposed to including them so they are able to make it to their homes more quickly. Now, my mother will be decidedly against it. She will not appreciate being denied the pleasure and the prestige of planning two other weddings.”
“I have no doubt,” Fitzwilliam said, shaking his head. “However, it may be that she will have no choice in the matter.”
In the end, Fitzwilliam had been correct to suspect that the gentlemen would see their wedding day as convenient.
By the end of the following week, both her sisters had become engaged.
Jane and Mary then asked Elizabeth if she and Fitzwilliam would be willing to share their wedding day.
Elizabeth assured her sisters that they would be willing.
“Lizzy, we are grateful that you are willing to share your special day with us,” Jane said, reaching a hand out to both her sisters.
“We are indeed!” Mary agreed, reaching her other hand to Elizabeth so that they formed a circle.
“I am just happy that we are to marry such worthy men! It was not so long ago that we doubted we would ever be so fortunate,” Elizabeth said, her eyes tearing up.
“Indeed,” Jane agreed with an unsteady breath.
Sniffling, Mary said, “Best wishes to each of us!”
Laughing through fresh tears, Elizabeth and Jane chorused, “Best wishes to each of us!”
Then the three of them hugged each other tightly.
They were nearing the end of their journey.
Fitzwilliam said they would be home in a quarter of an hour.
Home. Her home was now Pemberley. Not for the first time, Elizabeth thought about how strange it was that a simple ceremony completely changed one’s life!
The change in what was viewed as acceptable behavior had been jarring.
She had been so used to it not being proper for her and Fitzwilliam to be alone in private settings or to be free with their expressions of love and affection, that it had taken a day or so after the wedding for her to stop having sudden moments of mild panic that they were breaking some rule of propriety!
When she admitted as much to Fitzwilliam, he laughed and told her he would consider it his duty to completely orient her mind to the new reality.
He then took her in his arms and kissed her thoroughly.
Since then, the question of whether or not they were adhering to the rules of propriety had become a private joke between them.
Lost in her thoughts as she was, Elizabeth was surprised when the carriage stopped and Fitzwilliam got out.
“Is all well?” she asked.
He turned back to her with a smile, extending his hand. “Perfectly so! I thought you might like a glimpse of your new home.”
Elizabeth grinned at her husband and allowed him to assist her from the carriage.
She looked around as the icy wind blew across her face.
Fitzwilliam wrapped his arms around her from behind and blocked the wind with his body.
He then turned her in the direction of the house.
There in the distance, she could see it!
It was an extremely large home with a pond in front of it and a stream along the side of the property.
There were also woods and hills as far as the eye could see.
“Oh, Fitzwilliam, it is lovely and so perfectly situated!” she exclaimed.
“I am happy the sight of it pleases you,” he said, smiling. “Come, we shall arrive very soon.”
He helped her back inside the carriage, and they continued on their way.
Elizabeth began to feel nervous the closer they came to the house.
She was mistress of all this! Aunt Madeleine had told her she would soon appreciate what being the mistress of Pemberley meant.
Elizabeth was certainly beginning to get an inkling!
Darcy was excited to be bringing Elizabeth home and eagerly looked forward to their life together. He could sense that she was beginning to feel a bit uneasy. Darcy knew the size of his estate must be overwhelming, but he would assure her that she was the perfect woman to be mistress here.
Because of the winter weather, their wedding trip would have to be postponed, as would the wedding trips of his new brothers and sisters-in-law.
Whit and Mary were en route to his estate.
His brother and mother were to go stay with relatives so the newly married couple would have some privacy.
Since Fitz had not yet found an estate, the earl and countess were allowing their son and his new bride to have Thornbridge Hall to themselves.
Of course, Stafford did threaten to pop in from time to time to see how Fitz was getting on.
This, in turn, led to Fitz threatening Stafford with the loss of a limb.
Uncle Byron and Aunt Sophia had also volunteered to keep Georgiana with them at Matlock House for at least a month so Darcy and Elizabeth could focus only on each other.
When they stepped into the entrance hall, they were met by a large portion of Pemberley’s staff who were lined up in respectful acknowledgement of the new mistress.
Darcy proudly introduced Elizabeth as his wife and as their new mistress.
She graciously thanked the staff for their warm welcome before he led her away, pointing out different rooms as they passed them on their way to the master and mistress’s suites.
Later in the evening, they were in their sitting room, cuddled together on the couch before a roaring fire.
“I cannot believe that I am here with you,” Elizabeth said. “A few months ago, there seemed to be so many impediments that I would never have credited the possibility that we would be here now, especially with my family’s propensity for shameful behavior.”
“Do not forget my own aunt’s shameful behavior,” Darcy said with a raised brow.
Elizabeth smirked. “No, I cannot forget that. Which tempest was worse, do you think? The tornado or Lady Catherine’s tirade?”
Darcy laughed. “Lady Catherine, for certain!”
“I agree,” Elizabeth said, chuckling.
“We certainly have weathered a few storms, you and I. No doubt life will throw others our way,” he said, sliding his fingers into the hair at her nape as he moved his lips closer to hers.
“Fortunately, our love is true. The storms of life are no match for it,” she said, looking into his eyes.
“No match at all, my love,” he replied.
Then he pulled her close and kissed her.
The End