Chapter Eighteen
By Christmas, the events at Clwyd Castle were little more than a distant memory, though an impactful one.
Elizabeth was now Lady Darcy, for the princess had carried her point, and gifted the newlyweds with an earldom.
Lord Darcy was assiduously teased by his cousin, until the princess, after an evening of too much wine at Darcy house, made good on a threat to promote the colonel to a general.
Despite her marriage and sudden elevation, Elizabeth felt strangely untouched by the changes in her life.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet were relieved that the secret was known at last, though it was bittersweet that the truth had come out only as she was preparing to leave Longbourn forever.
Fortunately, Mrs. Bennet was so elated at Elizabeth’s engagement that she agreed to wait a while longer before telling her younger daughters of Elizabeth’s true parentage – until they could be trusted with the discretion required for such knowledge.
Jane was downcast for only a few days before Elizabeth and Mr. Bingley cheered her back to her usual serenity.
Elizabeth promised Jane that they were still sisters in her heart, and always would be, and Mr. Bingley loudly and often proclaimed what fine luck it was that he and his dearest friend had the good sense to fall in love with the loveliest and most loving sisters in the kingdom.
Naturally, Miss Bingley’s reaction to what was made public was more gratifying than any of them could have imagined.
She arrived unannounced at Netherfield, having read of the engagement in the papers, and though she did her worst, it perturbed nobody at all, for they had lately survived the wrath of Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
The dowager invoked every manner of threat and castigation, which might have been diverting enough to satisfy Elizabeth, even without the fortuitously timed arrival of the princess.
To see her mother deliver Lady Catherine such a royal set down was a sight that would carry Elizabeth through the new year in high spirits indeed.
The Collinses braved her ladyship’s displeasure by attending the Darcy wedding, and the juxtaposition of Mr. Collins’s obsequious pomposity and Mrs. Collins’s steady practicality amused the princess to no end.
Having just come from her meeting with the Parker brothers of Sanditon, Princess Elizabeth recommended Mr. Collins to a valuable living in the coastal town, and advised him, with dubious success, on how to behave with greater dignity in his new role.
She was certain he would be a credit to the place, which she told her daughter was a haven for every sort of absurdity.
Elizabeth was content in the knowledge that the Bennets and Bingleys would miss her just the right amount as she took her leave of Hertfordshire; her mother and sisters would write often, and her father perhaps less so, though his lackadaisical correspondence would ever prove to be the most amusing.
They would all threaten to visit more often than they were actually able to, and yet when the families were finally all together at Christmas, it felt as if no time had passed at all.
Lord and Lady Darcy hosted the Bingleys, saving them the inconvenience of receiving the Hursts and Miss Bingley in Belgrave Square. Instead, Mr. Bingley opened his house for the Bennets, for it was very near to the new house Sir Edward Gardiner and his bride purchased.
The new Gardiner residence was twice the size of his house in Cheapside; to his four younger children, it was practically a palace.
To Elizabeth’s delight, the billiard room was elegantly appointed.
It was stately on the exterior, and pure, blissful chaos within.
Cathy, Harriet, and Emma all came to stay for the holiday season and took charge of ensuring that everyone in their circle felt fully immersed in the joys of Christmastime.
They doted on the younger Gardiner children, whom Elizabeth also made every effort to cherish.
They organized shopping trips – or as Sir Edward described it, they executed tactical raids of his warehouses, an indulgence he was all too happy to grant them.
They decorated the Gardiner and Darcy homes with holly and fir boughs, and if they got a little carried away with their generous placement of mistletoe, nobody objected.
They planned dinners and organized games, many of their own invention, and they made it their mission to enjoy every day together to the fullest.
It was a matter of some debate as to who enjoyed this cheerful Christmas chaos the most. The Darcys were determined to be the happiest couple in London, and quite possibly the entire world, and the Bingleys and the Gardiners made similar claims. Mrs. Bennet was perpetually beside herself at her daughters’ good fortune, and while Mr. Bennet had never been particularly fond of London, he found no shortage of amusements there.
When he was not teasing the newlyweds or lurking in Lord Darcy’s magnificent library, Mr. Bennet took delight in introducing Elizabeth’s new sisters to his sardonic style of humor.
Emma and Cathy could unabashedly banter right back at him and were often encouraged to do so by General Fitzwilliam, through Harriet and Georgiana required a little time to acclimate to such japery.
Georgiana was a timid creature when Elizabeth met her in London, before journeying home to Longbourn.
She was instantly ready to welcome a new sister, and revealed that her brother had spoken often of Elizabeth.
Though Georgiana was overwhelmed by the Bennets for a day or two, she acclimated to their liveliness so swiftly that her brother was often expressing his amazement.
Mrs. Bennet affectionately welcomed Georgiana as a companion to her daughters; she praised her accomplishments, her manners, and most especially her elegant wardrobe, and the effusions of Kitty and Lydia worked wonders on Georgian’s confidence and ease in company.
In London, Mrs. Bennet took to Cathy and Harriet with the same alacrity. She was not beyond the occasional vulgar or indiscreet comment, and she was quite cool to Emma, at first. Sir Edward and Elizabeth put paid to her attitude, for Emma was just as dear to them as any other member of the family.
“If my Harriet had been a Harry, if she were a son and not a daughter, she and Emma would be wed, making Emma my daughter. I do not know if it is wrong, or a sin, but it is not for me to sneer at them. I have only just discovered my Harriet, and I will not make her uneasy over her personal matters.”
Mrs. Bennet gave her brother just a little more trouble about his liberality and his libertine past, but she and Emma found their footing eventually.
They grew to take delight in sniping at one another, each laughing at the other’s absurdity.
But it was undeniable that Mrs. Bennet was proud of her girls, and relished presiding over so many young ladies.
Her three youngest, the three young ladies at the Gardiner house, and the increasingly outspoken Miss Darcy made quite a set.
The princess found Mrs. Bennet’s idiosyncrasies to be delightful; she was as fond of folly and foibles as her daughter, and there was a great deal of such things to be savored in company with Elizabeth’s expanded family.
It became a game between the princess and the general to tell wild stories of their various exploits in Mrs. Bennet’s presence, vying for who could work the lady into the greatest state of excitement.
Emma and Mr. Bingley picked up the habit ere long, and Mr. Bennet always drily congratulated them on their achievements when smelling salts were called for.
Lavish gifts were exchanged on Christmas Eve, when the princess managed to sneak away for a while to make merry at Darcy House.
The Fitzwilliams were introduced to Elizabeth and her relations, and though their noble bearing was more reserved and decorous than the Bennets and their kin, they were kind people who were glad of so many new relations.
The Earl of Matlock was distantly acquainted with Sir Edward already, but he took with relish to Mr. Bennet’s style of raillery, and his attempts to lure Mr. Bennet from the library and further their acquaintance soon won him over.
They often abandoned the ladies entirely, attending lectures and touring museums, a welcome escape from gatherings that were decidedly feminine.
The Countess of Matlock reminded Elizabeth of the late Madeline Gardiner, for her manners were genteel and she was youthful for an older woman.
Though she had no daughter of her own, she shared Mrs. Bennet’s matchmaking fervor, and the two ladies made stalwart chaperones in many ballrooms around London.
On one occasion, Elizabeth had the supremely amusing distinction of intruding her dashing husband to an old acquaintance they met with most unexpectedly, Mr. Craig Lucas.
Mr. Tilney and Mr. Willoughby were often to be met with, at the Gardiners’ Twelfth Night Ball, and at many events thereafter.
Cathy’s passion for Mr. Tilney cooled somewhat, for she was popular amongst their social circle, but he remained a favorite companion.
Mr. Willoughby confounded the gossips of the ton, for he was a perfectly amiable beau toward his intended, but paid special attention to Emma's particular friend, his cousin Harriet.
In the spring, Emma and Mr. Willoughby wed in Highbury before removing to Combe Magna, where Emma brought Harriet as her companion.
The Willoughbys happily adopted the child they referred to as his ward, and Eliza Williams returned to her relieved guardian Colonel Brandon.
The child, Christened Margaret Willoughby and passed off as an orphaned cousin, became the apple of Emma and Harriet’s eye, and they were very content in their new home while Mr. Willoughby divided his time between his estates.