Chapter 35 #2
“I do love him,” Elizabeth said firmly. “I love him very much.”
“But are you certain you know him well enough after a relatively short acquaintance?” Mary asked worriedly. “My dear sister, with Jane well married, we need not fear the hedgerows. I beg you not to accept an offer for merely pragmatic reasons.”
Elizabeth looked at her in surprise. Even a year ago, Mary would not have considered whether compatibility was of any importance in marriage.
“I have not known him long,” she admitted, “but I am well enough acquainted with him to know that we are perfect for one another. He is a wonderful brother, a diligent master of his estate, intelligent, kind, and…”
“Not to mention tall, handsome and rich,” Kitty said with a giggle.
Elizabeth turned pink and said, “Yes, those things as well. Do not worry, sisters. We will be very happy together.”
/
London
“Mr. Darcy, sir,” the clerk said.
Darcy stepped into one of the meeting rooms of Mr. Newman, Solicitor, and halted at the unexpected sight of his cousins, Colonel Fitzwilliam and Anne de Bourgh, who were seated on a comfortable leather chairs across from a massive desk.
“Darcy, fancy meeting you here!” Richard said with a welcoming wave of his hand.
“I apologize for intruding,” Darcy replied, casting an uneasy look at the papers spread out on a writing surface.
“Not at all, Cousin,” Anne said. “When we heard you were waiting outside, we requested that Mr. Newman’s clerk bring you here immediately. Are you willing to help us look over my father’s will, along with the other papers regarding the disposition of the estate?”
“Please do,” Richard chimed in. “I have no doubt you are more aware of the particulars of the estate, since I was frequently overseas these last years…”
“And Mother kept me entirely in the dark,” Anne finished irascibly.
Darcy pulled another chair over to the desk and began looking through the documents, though he kept shooting surreptitious glances at Anne.
His cousin looked very well with her cheeks slightly tanned, her body clad in a comfortable day dress of muslin, and her expression one of genuine interest in the documents before her.
It was obvious that her engagement suited her.
“I assume you are here about your own marriage settlements?” Richard asked after a few minutes.
“Yes,” Darcy agreed, his lips curving upwards in delight. “Elizabeth and I intend to wed exactly a week from today.”
“Oh Darcy,” Anne said contritely, “I am sorry for dragging you into our business when you have your own need to meet with Mr. Newman.”
“There is plenty of time,” Darcy assured her, glancing at the clock which showed it was just a few minutes after noon. “I am pleased to help you sort out any legal issues regarding Rosings. I can discuss my own marriage settlements with Newman in an hour or two.”
“I presume you will be in Town for a few days waiting for the paperwork to be completed?” Richard asked.
“Yes,” Darcy agreed, though a little sadly. He missed Elizabeth.
“In that case, I hope you will stand up with me at our wedding tomorrow?” Richard said.
“Tomorrow?!”
“Yes,” Anne concurred with a saucy grin. “My mother is driving everyone nearly insane with her complaining about our betrothal, so my uncle Matlock has arranged for us to wed tomorrow. Once the ceremony is complete, we can send Lady Catherine to the Dower House and get to work.”
“I would not miss your wedding for the world!” Darcy declared.
/
Netherfield Hall
“Elizabeth!” Jane exclaimed, pulling her sister into an embrace. “I thought you were planning to stay at Longbourn for the day!”
“I was,” Elizabeth replied with an expressive grimace, “but Father had mercy on me and allowed me to borrow the carriage so I could flee here. Mother is driving me quite mad with her frantic preparation for our wedding breakfast. I do not care at all what we eat, and as for trying to find a pineapple for a table decoration, it is nonsense!”
Jane wrapped an arm around her sister and said peaceably, “Mother is naturally excited that her second child is marrying into great wealth, but I quite understand your frustration.”
“I miss Fitzwilliam as well,” Elizabeth admitted. “I know he only left this morning, but I can barely wait until he returns.”
“That is because you are in love,” her sister said fondly. “Now come, I know you do not like to be idle. Would you care to assist me in attaching lace for my baby’s dresses?”
“I would be delighted.”
/
St. George’s
Hanover Square
“Dearly beloved, we have come together in the presence of God to witness and bless the joining together of this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony. The bond and covenant of marriage was established…”
Anne de Bourgh, arm in arm with Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, gazed up into the face of the clergyman who was proclaiming the stately words from the Book of Common Prayer.
Flanking the couple were Darcy, on Richard’s left, and Richard’s sister, Lady Rebekah, on Anne’s right.
St. George’s was a large cathedral, but the pews had only a sprinkling of guests, all of whom had direct ties to the de Bourgh and Fitzwilliam families.
One individual was very much not in evidence.
Lady Catherine de Bourgh, furious to the last, had refused to attend the wedding ceremony of her only daughter.
Lady Matlock, seated at her lord’s side, watched the ceremony with delight mixed with some anxiety. There was one section of the liturgy which was of concern…
“If any of you can show just cause why they may not be lawfully be married, speak now; or else for ever hold your peace.”
Darcy stiffened at these words and cast a fearful glance at Richard and Anne, both of whom also looked nervous. Two or three seconds passed in apprehensive silence, and then the clergyman continued, “I require and charge you both, here in the presence of God…”
Everyone aware of Lady Catherine’s opposition to the match heaved out a deep sigh of relief, and the ceremony continued.
As it came to an end, with Richard and Anne officially husband and wife after signing the marriage register, Darcy hurried over to congratulate his cousins even as one thought was uppermost in his mind. In six days, it would be his turn to wed his beloved Elizabeth.
/
Meryton
Six days later
The sky overhead was a mass of swollen gray clouds eager to drop rain on the earth. The wind, too, was brisk, such that Darcy had to clutch his hat as he stepped out of the carriage and hurried toward the front door of the church.
He cast an absent glance skyward before entering the church, and sent a hasty prayer heavenward that the rains would delay until Elizabeth and her family had arrived.
Not that his bride would care if her hair was wet and her wedding gown disarranged, but Mrs. Bennet would, and Darcy preferred to have Elizabeth’s mother as calm as possible on this exciting day.
“Darcy!” Bingley exclaimed, standing up from his chair in the vestibule of the church. “I fear it is not a particularly propitious day outside, but I daresay you do not care.”
“I do not,” Darcy agreed, pulling his watch chain so that he could check the time. It lacked twenty minutes until ten o’clock, the time that the wedding was to start.
“I have been cast out of the sanctuary while Jane, her mother, Miss Darcy, and the Misses Bennet deck it with flowers, but since you are the groom, it would be best if you…”
He broke off as the door into the sanctuary flew open, and Lydia Bennet, dressed in her festive best, rushed into the room.
“Mr. Darcy!” she exclaimed, her handsome face flushed with excitement. “You must come in, sir. Lizzy will be here soon, and you should not see her before the wedding begins!”
Darcy found himself chuckling as the girl grabbed his arm and tugged him into the main body of the church, where Elizabeth’s sisters were running around adjusting flowers, and many of the gentle inhabitants of Meryton were already seated on the pews.
He was not a man who enjoyed being the object of mass attention, but somehow in this moment, with his wedding finally here and his darling bride on her way, he felt entirely at peace as various ladies and gentlemen smiled and shifted excitedly at the sight of his tall form walking quickly down the aisle with Bingley in pursuit.
Within a few minutes, there was the sound of voices in the antechamber, and a minute later the doors opened to reveal the sight of his Elizabeth on her father’s arm.
Darcy felt suddenly short of breath. She was dressed in ivory with a soft green overdress and a straw hat, with an attached veil that cascaded down her shoulders.
Her hair, her glorious chestnut hair, becomingly framed her lovely, joyful face, and he watched in awe as she walked down the aisle, whereupon Mr. Bennet carefully took her hand and placed it on Darcy’s own.
Darcy turned toward the rector, Mr. Allen, though he took a moment to smile at Georgiana, who was seated on the front pew. He knew, as did Elizabeth, that Georgiana had brought the two together. How fortunate he was to have such a wonderful, unusual, and peculiar sister.
“Dearly beloved,” Mr. Allen began, “we have come together in the presence of God…”