Chapter Fifteen #2
“Jane is correct. The wedding must be very quiet.” Mrs Bennet started talking, almost to herself as much as to anyone else.
“Perhaps if Lydia had not so recently embarrassed us all, or perhaps if Kitty were not known to be quite as wild as her younger sister…but no…Jane could not be more right. Everyone will think Kitty is in trouble, or some other ghastly lie, and there will be whispers for months. And whether Kitty has a confinement quickly or not, we will have had to be the ones left behind in Meryton to weather the talk. That is something that Lizzy in all her selfishness has not considered. That we must be left behind with whatever gossip a rushed double wedding will create.”
The wedding of Miss Mary Bennet to Mr William Collins and Miss Catherine Bennet to Captain Matthew Denny was a quiet affair, but joyous nonetheless.
Elizabeth was grateful that she was not obliged to stay in Meryton after Mr Darcy arrived and snubbed Jane by not staying the night at Netherfield.
Jane had complained bitterly in private of not having the distinction of hosting her husband’s dearest friend.
The townsfolk just assumed that Mr Darcy–who arrived an hour before the wedding–must be in a terrific hurry to return to his estate.
The gentleman stood up with Mr Collins, escorted Elizabeth after the ceremony and during the small wedding breakfast, because she had stood up with both Kitty and Mary, then returned to the north the same afternoon.
Mrs Gardiner had arrived with surprise gowns that fit as if they had been created by a premiere modiste.
Kitty’s was a lovely willow green while Mary’s was blossom pink, which suited her colouring to perfection.
Their aunt and uncle promised other, more expensive gifts, which their uncle had paid a great sum to have ready in time, before they left London in a fortnight.
The wedding breakfast had few guests. The Lucases and the Phillipses were present, as well as Mr and Mrs Gardiner, who stayed as Jane’s guests at Netherfield.
Colonel and Mrs Forster attended, as well as perhaps a half dozen officers that Mrs Bennet was obliged to allow the Captain to invite in the absence of any of his family.
A few clergymen that Mr Collins knew well were also present.
Even with a limited guest list, Mrs Bennet would not be mean with her menu, no matter how her eldest daughter felt about it.
The entire neighborhood and half the county would have been invited if Mrs Bennet had her way, but she would not under any circumstances, serve a meal less than worthy of her table.
The menu was a secret until the breakfast, for even Mrs Bennet was unwilling to mitigate Jane’s worries and nitpicking over the feast. Elizabeth was grateful that for at least this one point, Mrs Bennet would not allow Mary and Kitty’s wedding to appear shabby.
Elizabeth was surprised by how relieved she was when Mr Darcy met her with a broad smile and letters from his sister and cousin when they were finally at the wedding breakfast and at liberty to speak as they strolled the drawing room.
“I hear your faith in our friendship is in peril.” His smile was more dazzling than she could ever recall it.
“We must remedy that. One of your letters to my sister went astray, and two arrived at once. She and Priscilla are both grieved to think that you believed us all to be above your company, no matter who your sister married.”
“I heard that the name Wickham is notorious in Derbyshire, and that the man has abused your family’s generosity. I could not blame you if my connection to my sister’s husband was abhorrent to you.” Elizabeth’s face burned even as she accepted the letters with alacrity.
“You shall not escape my interest so easily, Miss Bennet.” His eyes were alight with mischief.
“I did not realise how true it would be until I said so, but I am relieved to hear it,” Elizabeth confessed shyly. “I have missed our walks in the park.”
“So have I, but now you will be nearer to Pemberley, and we can come to know one another better without the disapproval of or difficulties caused by Mrs Bingley, or even the interest of my aunt and uncle.” Darcy said. “I cannot deny that this delights me.”
“Speaking of my sister, it was very good of you to loan my other sisters and their new husbands your carriages to transport us north. I am certain it will enhance the comfort of our journey, but if only you knew how short-tempered Jane has been since she learnt of it, and that there is nothing she can do to prevent it.”
“No there is not, but Mrs Bingley enjoyed the distinction of occupying my box at the opera,” Darcy pointed out.
“It is no less than I ever could have done for Collins, no matter who he married. I always ensure he has a carriage when he travels between his parishes. And I understand that Captain Denny has quite a task ahead of him at Hawthorne Vale. I do not know his family well, but he is a young gentleman who is soon to be a landowner near my home. It is a pleasure to offer my carriages to my newly married neighbours, and I hope to come to know the Dennys well, once they have settled in.”
Mr Darcy, showing his good breeding and generosity, had written a sennight before to inform Collins of his gift of the loan of two of his excellent carriages for the use of the two couples and Elizabeth to travel north.
She would take turns riding with each, so that she was not always imposing upon one couple.
Her cousin’s patron had also, as a wedding present to both couples, made reservations for their party and for horses at every stop on their journey, making what could have been a long, uncomfortable journey on the mail coach a pleasure to undertake.
Mr Darcy also offered both couples the use of Darcy House while they visited London for a brief wedding trip, and his box for a night at the theatre.
Elizabeth, who stayed with the Gardiners to give the couples privacy during their stay in town, attended the theatre with them and her aunt and uncle, and she called upon Priscilla and Lady Matlock while in town.
Both Mary and Kitty acquired a great deal of fabrics from their uncle’s warehouse, little of which did he charge them for, enough for several years worth of gowns, and they would have their funds from Mr Bennet to have their wardrobes made up in Derbyshire.
Elizabeth and Kitty were careful to ensure that while Mary would be a clergyman’s wife, that she bought yard goods for bright and cheerful gowns as well as sober and mature colours.
The last gift from their uncle, the ones that he ordered as soon as he learned his nieces would live in the north, at Aunt Madeleine’s suggestion, was the gift of heavy wool pelisses lined with sable, and large fluffy muffs that matched.
They even included Lizzy, since even though she was not married, she would still go north to help her sisters, and would need proper furs to keep warm on her walks.
Mary and Kitty’s husbands could order them more furs that suited their station later at their convenience, for they would need heavier ones next winter, but this would give the young ladies a warm start when they first entered Derbyshire.
After a week in London, both new brides had all of the warm fabrics, gloves, stockings, chemises, lace, linen, and flannel they required.
Even Elizabeth had a quantity of fabrics her aunt and uncle had pressed upon her, in addition to the trunks of gowns and other items that had once belonged to Priscilla that made the journey north with her.
Their time in town had been wonderful, and, stepping into Mr Darcy’s carriages on their last day in the metropolis, Captain and Mrs Denny, Mr and Mrs Collins, and Miss Elizabeth Bennet began the journey to the north with a great sense of camaraderie and adventure.
If my sisters’ marriages turn out to always be this way, filled with friendship and laughter and hope…I shall have no cause to repine for them.