Chapter 15 #3
Pemberley had not been so animated in more than ten years, as Mrs Reynolds recollected and wrote to Mrs Clarke in a long and detailed letter about recent events.
They were still sharing a regular correspondence that included Julia Norwood as well as Mrs Crawford.
They had all been invited to join the rest of the party from Brighton at Pemberley but were unable to attend and so they postponed their travel plans for another year.
Fortunately, everything was perfectly arranged and met the master’s expectations.
Instead of Elizabeth travelling with the Gardiners to the North, Mr Darcy came to Longbourn to ask for Mr Bennet’s consent to marry his second daughter, causing a commotion at Longbourn that shook the town of Meryton too.
Many could not believe such a happenstance and Mrs Bennet was among them. But she had no time to faint, as she was too eager to share the news with everyone she knew, while she prepared for a double wedding as her friends had never seen before.
Lydia was forbidden to mention Wickham again and she railed against it for about a month—then she found consolation in other objects that caught her interest.
At the beginning of September, Elizabeth did travel to Pemberley with the Gardiners, as well as with her parents and sisters, and the Bingley siblings.
A week later, Colonel Fitzwilliam and his eldest brother, together with his wife, joined them and the guest wing was almost full.
The master suite was prepared for the soon-to-be Mr and Mrs Darcy in a private wing, and a separate apartment—away from the other guests—was ready to offer well-deserved privacy to the other couple waiting for their wedding: Bingley and Jane.
Much to Darcy’s delight, Georgiana had quickly become friends not only with Elizabeth—whom she welcomed like a true sister—but also with the other Bennet girls. She found great pleasure in playing with the Gardiner children too, who simply adored her.
“Darcy, how are you feeling?” Colonel Fitzwilliam asked. They were on a small balcony outside Darcy’s study, since Mr Bennet rarely left the library.
“Perfectly fine. Excited and a little exhausted with all the upheaval. But it is well worth the trouble.”
“I imagined as much,” the colonel laughed. “It is a loud party indeed, but I believe Pemberley needed some laughter and music, and noise and liveliness.”
“I could not agree more. We, the Darcys, needed it and Elizabeth has brought it to us.”
“Upon my word, I would never have imagined you marrying Miss Elizabeth Bennet. You argued all the time when you were in Kent, do you remember?”
“Of course I do.”
“When you first confessed to me that you had been in love with her all that time, I could not believe it. The news of your engagement fell like thunder on all of us as did the date of your wedding. You gave us no time to became accustomed to the idea. That is why my parents are still reluctant to accept this marriage.”
“And I do not blame them, as you well know. But I am grateful to you and your brother for supporting my decision and for being here.”
“Well, it was the least we could do after Lady Catherine complained all over town about how Miss Bennet charmed you and made you betray Anne.”
“I am too happy to allow Lady Catherine to bother me. And the reasonable people of London will ignore her claims—they usually do.”
“Undoubtedly. I must say I envy you, Darcy. I have known and loved many women in my life, but no one has ever looked at me the way Miss Bennet looks at you.”
“I am certain you have never looked at a woman as I look at Elizabeth either, Cousin. This is love. Not the sort that you have shared with so many others, but the kind that captures your heart once in a lifetime. It might change over the years, but it will never go. I hope you will find it one day and will understand my meaning.”
“I might do—or not. Perhaps that sort of love is not meant for everyone. Perhaps some of us will never find it or never recognise it and we should be content with what we have. I have no reason to complain, I assure you. Now give me one more drink and you should have one too. It is your last day as a single man of great fortune, chased by most of the young ladies of the ton.”
Darcy smiled at his cousin’s teasing, as well as at the anticipation of his wedding.
It was the last day before the only woman in the world he had ever wished for would be his.
From the garden, in the midst of the guests, Elizabeth waved to him discreetly.
He knew that her thoughts as well as her wishes were aligned with his.
She had once called him the last man in the world whom she could marry, but he had no doubts left that he had become the only one.
On a lovely morning in September, a year since Mr Bingley had rented Netherfield on his friend’s advice, Pemberley Chapel received two of the happiest couples it had ever seen. They were blissfully united, surrounded by their families and friends and some of Pemberley’s tenants and staff.
Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy wedded the former Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Charles Bingley married Miss Jane Bennet.
Everyone in attendance—with the exception of Mr Bingley’s sisters—agreed that they had never seen better suited couples.
It was a universally acknowledged truth that proved itself in the years to come.