Vol 2, Chapter 16 #3
In the drawing room, Lady Lucas was talking to her eldest daughter, again marvelling at how contented Charlotte looked.
“Can you believe all the Bennets have done for us, Charlotte? Rather than leave their old contacts behind, they are sharing their good fortune with those they have long been friends. Did you hear what they did for the tenants of both Longbourn and Netherfield Park?” Lady Lucas asked.
“If you mean they have given all of their tenants at the two estates a year of free rent so they may build up some savings and better their positions, then yes, Mama, I have. But it is what I would have guessed from the Bennets. Even before their elevation, they helped where they could, whether or few of those receiving help knew to whom they were indebted. Nothing was ever done for accolades, but for the purest reasons there are—helping one’s fellow man,” Charlotte stated quietly.
She believed her father had an idea that his son’s scholarships had come from the Bennets, but had said nothing himself, and unless her mother asked her a direct question, Charlotte would not betray the secret she had learned.
“We need to get ready for the family dinner at Longbourn tonight,” Lady Lucas stated. Not only were the Bennets friends now, but thanks to Charlotte’s marriage, they were related.
“I will have to forcibly extract Richard from my brothers’ company to return to Netherfield, as I am sure they will talk of horseflesh for days otherwise,” Charlotte smiled as she stood then kissed her mother on both cheeks then went in search of her husband.
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The morning of their betrothal ball, Darcy met his soon-to-be wife before sunrise and the two, with their escorts, made for Oakham Mount. After posting one guard on each side of the hill, Biggs took up station a little before the summit.
“Come, William,” Elizabeth led him to the big rock below the lone oak tree on the eastern side of the summit which offered a clear view of the eastern horizon as the dawn started to lighten the sky in preparation for the sun to peek above it.
They sat in companionable silence as the sun’s first rays broke over the horizon.
Their bodies were as close to one another as possible for added warmth; steam showing each time one of them breathed out in the cold of the late September morning.
The few clouds in the sky lit up in golds and silvers as the sun’s rays kissed them.
Elizabeth turned her betrothed’s head with her hands and placed her lips on his to claim a kiss as the first rays of the morning sun caressed them.
The couple drew back one from the other and sat for a while longer, fingers interlaced with their heads leaning against each other as they watched the birth of the new day.
Knowing that Biggs would come and make sure all was well if too much time passed, they stood and made their way to the head of the path and found the big man waiting for them where they left him.
When they reached the fork Darcy took to return to Netherfield, each felt bereft of the other’s company, but they were fortified knowing that in four days they would be married.
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The second Bennet daughter’s betrothal ball at Netherfield was no less enjoyable than the ball for the first. The main difference was at this ball Darcy claimed the first, supper, and final sets, and as the last set was a waltz, they both looked forward to that dance with much pleasure.
As he had at Jane’s and Andrew’s ball, Tom opened the ball with Georgiana and, with both guardian’s permission to request a second set, claimed her for the supper set as well. Unsurprisingly, Robert Jamison danced the same two sets with Lady Esther Bennet.
Charlotte Fitzwilliam had never enjoyed a ball or assembly as much as she did this one.
She also danced the three significant sets with her husband, who had planned to dance every set with her until the Countess of Jersey got wind of his plans and told him, in no uncertain terms, no more than three sets would be allowed with one’s spouse or betrothed.
When it came time for the final set, Elizabeth and Darcy relished the contact the formerly scandalous dance allowed them, grateful it was now widely accepted in London’s polite society.
To Elizabeth, it felt like she was floating on air as William twirled her around the ballroom.
And in but a few short days she would attain her heart’s desire, marriage to William.
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There had been a few scheming fortune hunters who had hoped to try to convince Lady Elizabeth away from the prig Darcy before they wed.
When it became clear the lady would not be seen in London before she returned a married woman, the final and desperate plans to try and capture the lady died on the vine.
But those involved in machinations to win the hand of the jewel of the upcoming season consoled themselves that at least there was one more Bennet daughter who would come out next year, and two Bennet sons would soon be available for them to pin their hopes on.