Chapter 29 #2
Colonel Forster returned to his regiment without his wife and with news that his brother-in-law had left the country.
However, the colonel left again soon, citing health issues that did not allow him to carry out his duties effectively.
He was expected to be given another commission, and a different colonel was to be appointed in his stead.
Due to their friendship with Denny and Sanderson — who were more fond of gossip than officers should be — Lydia and Kitty brought home further reports on the subject strongly forbidden by their father.
Apparently, Mrs Harriet Forster had been acquainted with Wickham prior to his joining the regiment and possibly prior to her marriage too.
Also, more debts were attributed to Wickham, the list of his creditors — forever to remain unpaid — was growing by the day.
Elizabeth disapproved of such gossip and refused to participate — being herself a victim of it.
Her only joy was to read Darcy’s letters and to daydream about the moment of her wedding and afterwards.
A certain letter from Mrs Gardiner both mortified her and enhanced her dreams of connubial felicity.
Dropping some hints, her aunt also disclosed that she had ordered some nightgowns of silk and lace, both for her and for Jane, appropriate for newly married ladies.
More than once, Elizabeth dreamed of her wedding night, and, with limited knowledge from romance novels as well as the recollection of the sensations and intimacy she had already experienced with Darcy, her imagination kept her awake most nights.
Eventually, Darcy returned, welcomed by everyone, calming Mrs Bennet’s nerves and Elizabeth’s restless heart.
For the next few weeks, he and Bingley were so often at Longbourn that Mr Bennet suggested they should either move there or the Bennets move to Netherfield to avoid all the travelling between the estates.
The two acknowledged couples became even fonder of long walks in the garden, either all together or taking separate paths in search of privacy.
While she assumed — utterly wrongly — that her sister and Bingley behaved properly during these strolls, Elizabeth was thrilled to see her betrothed ready to belie his reputation of a reserved, stern, and forbidding gentleman by breaking often the rules of decorum led by the power of his ardent love.
There were no more than kisses and apparently innocent caresses, but the simple act of holding hands without gloves, his whispers, his smiles, and his lingering gaze — everything enhanced her imagination, stirring inside her a searing heat.
And his kisses… The torturous delight Darcy had to bear in anticipation of their wedding night she could not even imagine; his little insinuations and meaningful looks could not be fully understood by a young woman with no experience of the world, but she readily guessed that there was much more to the passion she felt than touches and kisses, and she yearned to learn everything he was willing to teach her.
Eventually, as a huge relief for the two engaged couples and a blessed response to Mrs Bennet’s prayers, the day of the double wedding arrived.
It had been a week of heavy winter, cold and wet, with days that seemed both shorter, as the dark came early, and longer, as the time seemed to have slowed unbearably.
Eventually, they decided to write to Georgiana, the colonel, and the Gardiners, as well as to Bingley’s sisters, to not come for the wedding, risking travelling in dangerous conditions only to depart the following day.
Mrs Bennet did not care in the slightest about who was in attendance as long as she was gaining her sons-in-law. Mr Bennet was relieved to not have the crowd returning to his house.
Despite the less than promising travelling conditions, Darcy intended to take Elizabeth and hurry to London immediately after the wedding so they could spend their wedding night in their own home, while Bingley was also happy to have an empty house for him and his new wife.
The people of Meryton, however, did fill the church for the wedding ceremony.
While Jane Bennet’s marriage to Mr Bingley was expected, Elizabeth’s wedding to Mr Darcy and his change from the most unpleasant sort of man to one who might even be called amiable was astonishing, and they needed to see the final act with their own eyes in order to believe it.
After the ceremony, the carriage waited for Mr and Mrs Darcy to travel to London; they were not to dally for the breakfast, as the weather was still uncertain and the daylight short.
The family took a long and warm farewell with the promise of meeting again soon, and, while Mrs Bennet praised Darcy for his elegant carriage, Mr Bennet embraced his favourite daughter.
“Lizzy, my love, I wish you all the happiness you both deserve. I hope this will be as blissful a marriage as can be.”
Elizabeth kissed his cheeks and embraced him.
“Do not worry, Papa,” she smiled tearfully. “It is already decided between us that we are to be the happiest couple in the world.”
“Well, if you have decided, it must happen. Your plans have been quite successful so far,” he teased her.
Darcy approached too, wearing a large smile, followed by Bingley, Jane, and Mrs Bennet.
“I am afraid we must leave,” he said, and, after more embraces, goodbyes, and promises to visit soon and write even sooner, he helped his new wife into the carriage.
The door closed and they glanced outside one more time before the carriage started to move.
The remaining party went to their own carriages, heading towards Longbourn for the wedding breakfast.
Mrs Bennet, however, was still gazing after the carriage until it disappeared from sight.
“Mrs Bennet, shall we go?”
“Yes, yes, Mr Bennet. I was just thinking…I still cannot believe Mr Darcy married our Lizzy. Nobody would have expected him to choose her — of all women!”
“Well, my dear, what can I say? He is certainly the sort of man who can afford to choose a wife to his liking.” Mr Bennet smiled, remembering a conversation he had had with Lizzy herself a few months ago.
***
After weeks of excitement and anxiety, a beautiful service, and a short goodbye, after a long journey through a cold and rainy day, an emotional introduction to the servants, and a rich and tasty dinner with her husband, after a hot bath and blushing preparations, Elizabeth waited in her stunning apartment at Darcy House.
She was more nervous than she had anticipated, although her husband — her husband!
— whose steps and soft murmurs to his man she could hear behind their adjoining door, was the only man in the world whom she trusted completely.
She looked at her image in the mirror with her hair down on her bare shoulders contrasting with her creamy thin strapped nightgown — one of those purchased by Mrs Gardiner — a silky creation that covered her figure in a revealing and alluring way.
“You look beautiful, Mrs Darcy,” she heard said in a husky voice which made her shiver every time.
She turned, trying to smile, and met his dark gaze. This time she knew very well that he was not looking at her to find fault.
“You look very dashing too, Mr Darcy,” she teased him as he stepped towards her dressed only in loose trousers and a linen shirt.
When he was near, his arms closed around her, and her hands gently encircled his neck, their faces almost touching.
“I have dreamt of this moment so long that I still fear it is only my imagination, my dearest Elizabeth.”
“Everything I have dreamed of is so little compared to what I feel now, my dear husband,” she whispered. “Do you remember when you told me that you loved me ardently? Now I know and understand what you meant because I feel it too.”
He inclined his head so he could whisper to her, his lips tantalising her earlobe as he replied, “No, you do not know what it means, my love. Not just yet. But I shall show you…”
She was ready to disagree, but she felt herself lifted and carried to the bed, whilst his lips finally captured hers.
Lying on the bed against soft pillows with the fire burning in the hearth and her husband stretched out next to her, she decided to trust his words completely and allow him to prove his claims. After all, they had both wished for a complete understanding, and now it was finally happening.