Chapter 35
The two brides were gently woken at the crack of dawn by their lady’s maids with a steaming cup of chocolate.
As the service would commence at nine that morning, they would have to be in the vestibule no later than ten minutes before the hour.
All guests were instructed to be seated by twenty minutes before nine at the very latest or they would not be allowed to enter once the main doors were then locked to all except the brides and their attendants.
There was no worry about guests being late; one was never late for an event attended by the royals.
Like she had for Jane and Richard, the Queen gifted both couples with a very rare Ming Dynasty vase.
Both Lizzy and Darcy were somewhat surprised and very curious about the reason that they had been given a royal summons to attend the Queen and the Regent at Buckingham House after the wedding breakfast before they departed for Darcy House.
They would be at the docks with the sunrise on the morrow to begin the surprise wedding trip gifted to both couples by Bennet and Gardiner.
Lizzy sunk into her bath putting thoughts of the summons out of her mind.
‘Next time that I am in a bath,’ she melted into her thoughts, ‘it could be in one of those enormous bathing tubs that William has. I want it to be with him in that tub,’ she blushed at her wanton desires.
The more she thought about him and what he would feel like as she touched him, as they were bathing together, the more that she became supremely aroused, which seemed to be as frequently as seeing him of late.
Each time she dreamed about seeing him, it always ended with his gorgeous body, naked before her.
‘Soon enough I will not have to dream and imagine William before me,’ she told herself.
‘It will be the reality, and if being with William is anything close to my imaginings then I dare say it will be very enjoyable.’ She stood and summoned her maid to help dry and dress her.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As expected at a wedding attended by royalty with invitation only guests, all were seated well before twenty minutes prior to the time on the invitation.
The group from Meryton all had reasonably good seats, which from their point of view was unexpected given the many peers of the realm in attendance but from Fanny’s point of view their true friends would surround her daughters as they married the men who had been searching for them.
The Phillips’ sat with the family right behind Fanny’s appointed Mother-of-the-Bride seat.
A somewhat nervous Lord Birchington and Mr Darcy were pacing in an antechamber to the one side of the altar.
The Archbishop summoned them for the arrival of the Royals led by the Queen and the Regent.
The congregation stood for their entrance and once all the royals were seated, the ladies curtsied and the men bowed.
The same royals that had attended the ball were in the royal pews to the right of the altar.
The grooms returned to the antechamber to wait for what seemed like an interminable time, but in truth was less than ten minutes after the arrival of the royal family.
Those seated inside the abbey waited in hushed silence and even the Queen was seen to smile when those in the church heard the crowd outside swell in cheer signalling the arrival of the brides in their open carriages.
The cheers quickly changed to oohs and ahhs as the two Bennet sisters stepped down.
The effect caused when the sun reflected off the jewels on their dresses, veils, and in their hair created myriad of reflected colours as if two crystal chandeliers were alighting from the carriage.
The brides were escorted through the doors of the church which were promptly closed by the royal guard.
The grooms had been summoned when the crowd was heard and stood in position on either side of the Archbishop.
Richard stood behind William while Hugh’s best friend, Comté Henri Bonhomme, stood behind him.
Given the grandeur of the wedding, the brides were attended by their six sisters that included Georgie and Tiffany.
The music started, which signalled the attendants to begin their walk.
Excepting the royals, the congregation came to their feet as the vestibule doors opened.
As had been instructed, when each pair entered the church they curtsied to the Queen and her family before walking sedately down the aisle.
Lydia and Helen were first, followed by Georgie and Tiffany, and lastly Jane and Kitty.
Once they were standing in a line of three to either side of the steps that led to the altar, the music ceased and there was a pause.
The musicians started playing a wedding march and the doors opened again.
The sun streaming through the stain glassed windows above the altar shone on the brides as they made their curtsy to the royals and Bennet bowed between them.
The sun beam on both brides gave them an ethereal glow and played off the jewels on their gowns as they started the walk toward their grooms, each on an arm of a father who was bursting with pride.
He was sad to lose two more of his beloved daughters so soon after his Jane.
They stopped two feet in front of the steps up to the altar and their grooms descended toward them.
Lord Longbourn placed a daughter’s hand on her groom’s arm and lifted the veil each to kiss her cheek and whisper that they were beautiful.
He watched Mary take her first step up before he went to his Fanny’s side and took her hand in his.
The Archbishop gave the congregation the signal to be seated and began: “Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses with your leave.” The Regent gave a nod of permission and the familiar wedding service started with ‘Dearly beloved…’
The words flashed past in a blur for both couples.
Before they realised it, the brides were wearing wedding bands and the admonition that ‘what God had joined that no man may tear asunder’ was intoned followed by a final blessing.
The congregants all cheered and then stood as the royals exited after the expected bows and curtsies.
Led to an alcove, both brides signed the name Bennet a final time in the register, which was witnessed by the Archbishop, his assistants, and by the men and women who had stood up with the couples. At last, they were Lady Mary Rhys-Davies, Marchioness of Birchington and Lady Elizabeth Darcy.
Each in a corner of the alcove, the new wives were soundly kissed by their husbands, and words of love only shared between themselves were offered in this quiet moment before they returned to celebrate with those waiting for them.
They had not heard the joyous pealing of the Abbey’s bells until they opened the door that took them back to their waiting families in the nave of the abbey.
There was a flurry of hugs, kisses, and well wishes as the brides were officially welcomed into their new families.
Counting Andrew, the Bennet sisters now had four brothers and had added three more sisters to their brood.
Two of their new sisters, the Rhys-Davies’ daughters, had children so they instantly gained nieces and nephews and they were already vying for who would teach which one to read, play the pianoforte, and draw.
Lizzy was glowing from the inside out as she stood next to her husband who was talking to his new in-laws while Mary was surrounded by her husband’s family.
The Duchess had to catch her tears of happiness with the handkerchief her husband had given her to replace the one he had given her during the ceremony.
The absolute joy and love reflected in her son’s eyes as he looked at his wife was all a mother could ask for, and for it to be this extraordinary woman who had won her mother-in-law over long ago.
The newlyweds climbed in their individual open landaus pulled by a matched set of four to take them to Bennet House.
Mary, as a Marchioness, was expected to leave the church first and enter into the closest pair.
However, she looped her arm with her sister’s as they led their grooms out until they were precisely between both vehicles and in the sight of the crowd kissed her sister’s cheek as she whispered her congratulations to her sister and new brother.
The Marquess assisted his wife into the forward conveyance, chuckling at Mary’s smile when she heard Lizzy’s laughter fill the square.
“That was a most precious gift to give the Darcys,” Hugh took his wife’s hand in his.
“It was the gentlest way I could think to switch positions so that we would have the carriage with the white horses,” she shrugged, smiling when he laughed as richly as Lizzy had.
Darcy led Lizzy to theirs, appreciating that Mary had not just stepped ahead of her sister the way many would have, but also kissed her and made her laugh as she walked to the further conveyance.
It was not lost on him that his Lizzy although older than Mary was now below her in rank.
He had to deeply respect the loving way Mary had switched their positions of precedence.
The crowd waiting for the newlyweds to emerge let out a roar of approval when each husband gave his wife a chaste kiss in their respective conveyance. As the landaus started to move, to the delight of the crowd, both grooms threw coins into the air.
They waved to those that had lined the streets for almost a half a mile from the Abbey toward Mayfair. No wedding solemnised at Westminster Abbey was restricted to the Ton, and less so once the Queen had gotten involved.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~