Chapter 39
Elizabeth knew that now that she had accepted a proposal of marriage from Darcy, she had to head home… they could not live under the same roof even though she was well chaperoned.
Darcy wrote to Mr Bennet in Brighton and they received his approval and blessings.
A few days later another letter from Brighton arrived and this time, Elizabeth was speechless with shock.
It seemed Mary had attracted the attention of an older gentleman, the Earl of Newhaven from Newhaven Fort, a Lord Gibbon.
The man was two and forty years old, only six years younger than her father and still very much active. He had danced with Elizabeth’s sisters at an Assembly in Brighton and fallen madly in love with Mary as she had challenged his intellect rather than smiling tediously.
From Elizabeth’s understanding, the man sounded very much like her own beloved Darcy. He was quiet and a bit aloof but an intelligent and thoughtful man who would appeal, as proven, to her most bookish sister.
From all accounts, it seemed Mary was equally in love with Lord Gibbon, if Elizabeth could judge from her sister’s own hand since Mary waxed poetic about her betrothed in a most unfamiliar and delightful way.
But this news was not the only unexpected event to arise from the Brighton holiday and surprisingly, not the most astonishing.
Lord Gibbon had two sons; Viscount Ellis, his heir; and a spare, a Captain Gibbon who was an officer stationed in Brighton.
At the same assembly where Lord Gibbon had fallen in love with Mary, his heir noticed Kitty.
The day after the assembly, Lord Gibbon and his two sons visited the Bennets in their rented house, and at that time, the youngest son, Captain Gibbon met Lydia who had stayed home from the assembly, not yet being out in society.
Within a little over one month, two Gibbons were engaged to the two oldest sisters in attendance and the youngest son given permission to court the youngest daughter until such time as she made her final debut into society.
Mary and Kitty’s wedding would take place at the end of August in Brighton.
Mrs Bennet was beside herself with satisfaction and Mr Bennet was relieved. For the holidays that he had fought against so hard had proven to be a blessing beyond his wildest imagination.
There was no one, as it transpired, in Hertfordshire for Elizabeth to return home to.
The Bennets were too tied up with the weddings to organise in Brighton, so she was given permission to choose - either go back to London to her relatives in Cheapside or get married at Pemberley sooner than expected.
Fortunately, the Gardiners were not in London, they were on their annual holiday and this time they were not far from Pemberley, for they were visiting the Lake District.
A letter was sent to them and they answered immediately that they would stop at Pemberley on their way home; Mr Gardiner would be honoured to give Elizabeth away.
Jane and Bingley had returned from their wedding tour and would also be able to attend. Likewise, the Matlocks would be there and even Lord and Lady Holton had agreed to come to honour the family and friends who had united them in matrimony and bliss.
***
The brilliantly blue, warm and happy day for the union of Mr Darcy of Pemberley and Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn in Hertfordshire arrived at the end of August.
Surrounded by family and friends, the happy couple said their vows in the small church in Lambton.
The small building was decorated with bright roses and lots of greenery, not only from Pemberley but from the farms around the area.
Lady Anne and her family were highly respected and the happy event of the Master of Pemberley’s wedding could not fail to attract the attention of the entire community including other estate owners from as far as Derby.
Elizabeth’s happiness was evident in her dazzling smile; and Mr Darcy, handsome in his formal dress and crisp white cravat looked as contented as he had never been observed before.
His most intimate friends and family had never seen the man laugh so much; sometimes they looked around in astonishment, still surprised by the unusual sound.
The wedding breakfast stretched into a formal ball where the gentry danced within, and the tenant farmers danced without. The food and ale flowed plentifully until the wee hours of the morning in the tent provided for their amusement.
***
After the wedding night at Pemberley, Darcy and Elizabeth started an extended wedding tour; a happy trip that saw them travel the entire length of the Kingdom, including Brighton where they met the other new members of the family.
They spent two weeks getting to know Lord and Lady Gibbon, and Viscount and Viscountess Ellis.
Mary and Catherine seemed now so grown up and respectable that even Elizabeth was pleasantly surprised by her sisters’ mature demeanour. Marriage had suited the two middle sisters extremely well.
All three couples had a delightful time for they were all three, incandescently happy.
Mr and Mrs Bennet accompanied by Lydia had already returned to Longbourn and Elizabeth and Darcy stopped there on their way back to Derbyshire.
The older couple seemed happily situated, enjoying a quieter house with the knowledge that four daughters out of five had married respectable and very rich men who loved their daughters.
Lydia was also a changed young lady. It seemed that her forced withdrawal from society had caused a salutary transformation. Lady Anne had been right and Lydia had finally seen the wisdom of good and genteel behaviour once she saw all her sisters happily married to gentlemen of quality.
Captain Gibbon, her young officer beau visited as often as he could and in one of his visits he had communicated to Mr and Mrs Bennet that his father had bestowed upon him one of his satellite estates near Worthing and as soon as he was allowed to marry Lydia, he would be retiring from His Majesty’s army.
***
When the Pemberley newlyweds stopped in Meryton Elizabeth took Rosie, the upstairs maid from Longbourn with them to Pemberley to become the new Mrs Darcy’s maid.
Rosie married Tim Brown, Mr Darcy’s courier driver within the month.