Chapter Twelve #4
When they had finished their account of the past four days, Mr. Bennet remained silent for what felt like an eternity, his face overpowered by the gravity of the situation and his own astonishment at the outcome.
He looked between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, who had held hands for the duration of their conversation, and then he threw his head back and laughed for several minutes.
When he looked back at them, his mirth spent, tears poured down his face.
“Oh my, I cannot wait to tell your mother, Lizzy dearest.”
Mr. Bennet had not long to wait to enjoy that particular delight, for after a few minutes of further conversation, the sounds of several more carriages could be heard coming up the driveway.
Elizabeth rushed out of her father’s study and bounded out of the house, her father and Mr. Darcy a few paces behind her.
It was… everybody. The carriages her family had departed in all in a row, her relations spilling out of them.
To one side of the lawn, Mrs. Hill and Alice came running toward the house, with Wilson supporting a limping but determined Johnny Hill a few yards behind them.
One the other side of the driveway, Georgiana, Mrs. Annesley, the colonel and Denny were all speaking with a pair of beautiful Romany women near their caravan.
Elizabeth stopped and took in the delightful spectacle, and Mr. Darcy wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he came to stand beside her.
He had already offered her a handkerchief as tears of joy began to stream down her face.
Jane was the first to reach her as their relations all rushed toward the manor, toward Elizabeth. The two sisters both threw themselves into the embrace, nearly toppling over as they exclaimed their delight at the reunion. “Oh, Lizzy, we were so worried about you! Can you ever forgive us?”
Mr. Bingley was right behind his wife, echoing her sentiments.
Mrs. Bennet’s shrill cries cut through the crowd that had clustered around Elizabeth, and she pressed herself into the embrace that Jane and Elizabeth still shared.
“Oh my poor Lizzy! Oh, my dear! I knew how it would be! I have been so desolate without you, my darling girl!”
What ensued was another half hour of noisy chaos, and Elizabeth was relieved that it was not taking place inside the house.
Lydia and Kitty predictably fawned over Denny and Colonel Fitzwilliam, Georgiana demanded to know if Elizabeth was to be her sister and proceeded to squeal with delight when the good news was announced, and Mr. and Mrs. Bennet seemed to each be confused as to how the other had arrived home.
“Oh, Hill! Fetch my smelling salts!”
“You must address her as Generalissimo now, my dear.”
“Oh, but who is that handsome officer speaking to my dear Lydia?”
Elizabeth turned to look up at Mr. Darcy, who was taking in the general discord with the brightest smile she had ever seen on his handsome face. “Well, my love, you shall never have another dull Christmas again,” she teased him.
Mr. Bingley and Jane hovered nearby, celebrating the news of their betrothal. “We are to be brothers, Darcy! I never imagined such a thing would come to pass in so fine a fashion as this!”
“Lizzy, you must tell me everything,” Jane cried. “You seem… pleased… by the news?”
“Yes, Jane—I love Mr. Darcy very much, though I fear we shall have to wait a while before I can tell you how that came about.”
When the commotion of introductions and explanations had finally diminished, Mrs. Bennet proudly informed them that she had one final surprise for them all.
Anticipating that there would be scarcely anything in the larder suitable for a Christmas meal, they had stopped at the Red Lion in Meryton, and Mr. Bingley had generously paid Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins an outlandish sum in exchange for use of a large private room; the innkeeper and his family were, even now, preparing a special Christmas luncheon for the Bennets.
The happy event had now been deemed a celebration of Elizabeth’s bewildering betrothal to Mr. Darcy, of whom Mrs. Bennet had swiftly become very fond.
Mr. Darcy and his relations, the Hills, and everybody present was invited; only the gypsies demurred, asking instead that they be permitted to camp at Longbourn overnight before they made their way onto London.
Mr. Bennet cheerfully informed his Romany travelling companions that this was not even the tenth strangest thing to happen at Longbourn in the last week, and that they were welcome to stay as long as they chose.
Their large and rowdy party began to organize themselves, electing to walk into Meryton, allowing their horses to rest before retrieving them after the meal, and Elizabth let out a sigh of relief that she had not yet been obliged to bear her mother’s reaction to the inside of the house.
It would be best to save that until after the tale had been told once more, over a hearty meal that would see them well satisfied before facing that tremendous shock.
But as they began to organize themselves and mill down the driveway, Mr. Gardiner observed that they had once more forgotten a daughter of the house, for Lydia had gone inside to refresh herself.
A moment later, one of the upstairs windows opened, and Lydia leaned out of it, her face nearly purple with rage as she bellowed, “Lizzy, what have you done to my room?”