Chapter 25 #2
While two men dreamed about when they could propose, Richard was dreaming about his fast-approaching wedding day and the wedding night thereafter.
They had managed to steal a number of not so chaste kisses during which his hand had brushed her breasts more than once, and he would have had to be blind to not see her nipples harden in response.
They had been self-regulated so that they never came close to anticipating their vows.
That being said, he could not wait to make her his in every way.
There was no doubt that the morning after they had consummated the marriage would find two very satisfied newlyweds.
It was not self-aggrandisement; he was secure in his abilities as a lover.
In his younger days he had, unlike his chaste cousin William, visited courtesans.
He had never had a mistress, and he would be faithful to his vows and never have one.
Regardless of the mores of the Ton, his family and the Darcys did not believe that a man had the freedom to take a mistress once married.
Because they married for love and love alone, there were none besides their wives.
In the tiny chance that love faded, it was still not done.
The Darcys went even further, they believed what was good for the goose was good for the gander.
If they expected to marry a maiden, then the women that they were marrying ought to receive the same from the men.
At least one of Darcy’s ancestors had chosen to anticipate his vows.
Society considered her a fallen woman, and however happy they were, their marriage was still used as a cautionary tale to this day.
Granville was relaxing in his chamber, reposed on the bed with his hands behind his head.
That day he had more chances to speak to the enchanting Sarah Ashby.
Being hosted at the same house made for many opportunities to ‘run into’ the enthralling woman.
The more he got to know her, the more he liked what he saw.
Yes, she was pretty, had an enticingly voluptuous figure, blonde hair, and striking green eyes, but she was so much more than just her looks.
She was no empty-headed debutant who could hold her own on just about any subject, and even exceeded his knowledge in some.
She played chess, reportedly very well, and their discussions were ample evidence of her education and of how she applied what she had read.
She was not quite at the level of the Bennet daughter that Darcy was courting, but she was close.
Yes, he felt that he had finally found a lady that he would like to know better.
All three housekeepers and butlers, a large contingent of maids, and more than half of all the footmen from the other two estates were at Bennet Fields the day of the ball, the first one held since the present-day house was built.
The whole house, not just the ballroom, was shining with the chandeliers throwing reflections on the walls and floors that looked like many small rainbows.
As Fanny Bennet, Lady Longbourn, a Countess, inspected the ballroom and environs an hour before the first guests were to arrive, she marvelled at the change that her life had undergone in the preceding months.
‘Was it but April when Thomas revealed all to me? It seems like this is how it has always been. How far have I come from my constant worries over the future? Hedgerows indeed! Who would have believed that Fanny Gardiner would one day be a Countess?’ she asked herself as she walked among the tables where the revellers would eat their sumptuous supper.
‘If someone had told me that all of this, the elevation and the immeasurable wealth would be a reality, I would have had them consigned to Bedlam.
But here we are and it is all very real.
‘Thomas should not have let me believe that we were poor and would be destitute if he passed, but then again had I behaved better, perhaps he would not have been scared to trust me with the truth.
Look at my girls now, without any pushing or machinations like I used to believe were needed, they are all happy.
I had almost spoilt Lydia beyond redemption, but look at her today.
She is as well behaved and proper as any of my six girls, yes six!
‘What a blessing we have been given with Helen, as both she and Lydia work together to become shining examples for younger girls to follow.
My Jane will marry in but two days to a fine, upstanding man who adores her.
Lizzy and William, now that is one that even as I was, I would not have conjured up.
My middle daughter Mary, what a young woman she is and will soon be a Marchioness and one day a Duchess.
Mary the daughter that I overlooked and, in my blindness, called plain.
It is so fortunate that she forgave me and loves me dearly.
Kitty is her own person now; no longer a follower who once would jump, asking how high, when anyone would command her to do so.
‘Yes, I have so much for which to be thankful. It was the right thing to do to ask the local ladies to be on the board of the charity that we are funding, and when I asked Sarah Lucas to be co-chairwoman with Hattie and me, she was elated. Yes, the free clinic and hospital, school and orphanage will especially help the population of Hertfordshire and Meryton, and look at all the well-paying jobs that we will provide.’ Fanny had a lot to be proud of.
The once selfish and vain woman was taking much more pleasure from giving than she ever experienced from taking.
As she suspected, everything was done to perfection, so she left the ballroom to go complement the housekeepers and butlers with a request it was passed onto the servants with the promise of a bonus of a pound each for their efforts.
The participants in the receiving line were ready about ten minutes before the first of the guests were set to arrive.
Bennet and his wife stood at the head of the line, followed by Lord and Lady Matlock, and then last but not least were Jane and Richard.
Fanny and Elaine decided to keep the receiving line short so that each arriving guest would not have to get through an interminable round of greetings causing a delay for those behind them.
All adult members and those out in society of the four and twenty families in the area were invited, as well as a good number of residents of Meryton, regardless of station.
At the other end of the scale, there were three Dukes, seven Earls, two Barons, four Baronets and a number of Knights and their spouses.
Given the distance from town, there would be no Royal presence, although Queen Charlotte had sent the bride and groom best wishes and an extravagant gift of a Ming Dynasty vase from the Royal Family.
An hour later the receiving line duties were complete.
The Earl of Longbourn signalled the conductor to have his musicians play a few bars to announce the first set which was led by Jane and Richard, followed by their parents and then the rest of the dancers.
Both Darcy and Elizabeth found that this dance in Hertfordshire was far more pleasurable than their last contentious dance in the same shire.
Lady Lucas felt bad for Charlotte, who had stayed home for the mourning of a man she had neither loved nor respected.
She almost had to pinch herself as she and Sir William followed the steps of the quadrille.
There were even more peers here than had been at the tea that she attended but a few days before.
Fanny had made sure that there would be a good balance between the genders as she was determined that her ball would not be populated by wallflowers.
The second dance of the supper set was a waltz.
The bride and groom revelled in the closeness of the dance, as did Darcy and Birchington as they danced with the women they were courting.
Harold Smythe had never enjoyed a dance more and he ignored the stares and whispered comments made behind fans by matrons of the Ton present.
Lord Harold Smythe, Earl of Granville, had truly enjoyed his dances with Lady Sarah Ashby.
At supper he was seated beside her with Anne de Bourgh, Ashby, Ashby’s brother the Viscount and his wife, and Lord and Lady Ashbury.
The conversation was very convivial, and both her daughter and the man that she had danced the supper set with were appreciative that Lady Ashbury was not a matchmaking mama who would try and force the issue.
She would allow her daughter to make her own choice when the time came.
Even though she would do nothing to interfere, Lady Ashbury was not blind.
‘I have never seen Sarah so enamoured with any man before. Many thought that Granville was a confirmed bachelor; perhaps they were wrong. True he danced the first and the supper set with my daughter, but we will have to see how things play out. He is as wealthy as we are, so I have no concern that he is a fortune hunter,’ the Countess thought to herself approvingly as she looked upon the budding couple.
Not knowing that the other felt the same, both Elizabeth and Darcy had enjoyed the before supper waltz excessively.
Because it was a waltz, the feelings elicited at the closeness to one another that the dance demanded were exhilarating.
He was thinking about how much he loved her and she had finally realised the same.
Admitting how she felt even to herself made her feel warm all over, but she decided to wait until she was at Pemberley to see him in his natural habitat to share the revelation with him.
For his part Darcy sensed there had been a change, but he refused to speculate.
She had told him that she would give an indication and he would not rush her, no matter how long it took.