Chapter 27 #2
Darcy would have been mortified to know Elizabeth had noticed the bulge pushing against her belly.
Having grown up on a working farm, and after reading some of Papa’s forbidden books, which she was not allowed to read but had seen as a challenge, she knew exactly what had caused the pressure, and she was in no way upset.
In fact, she felt the compliment of William’s reaction to her.
“Am I to wish you two happy?” Mrs Annesley enquired when she approached the couple. “Judging by the ring on Miss Elizabeth’s finger, you are both to be congratulated.”
“Thank you, Mrs Annesley,” Elizabeth responded dreamily.
Normally, she looked down on the fields below as the sun rose.
Today, Elizabeth did not see the fields full of the crops which had been sown during the spring planting; she only saw her affianced standing opposite her, his piercing blue eyes locked onto hers.
“I think we should return to the house,” Darcy said as he came back to reality. “I need to ask for your father’s blessing.”
“Indeed, we should,” Elizabeth agreed.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
In the same manner he had when Darcy asked for his blessing for the courtship, Bennet bestowed his blessing for the engagement without making sport of the younger man.
Once everyone was at the table for the morning meal, Bennet made the announcement.
As happy as they all were for the newly engaged couple, the news surprised none of them.
Anna was beyond pleased that her wish to gain the Bennet sisters as her sisters would become a reality.
When Priscilla pointed out to Anna with Jamey marrying Jane that she and Emily would technically be Anna’s sisters-in-law as well, Anna was even happier.
Before she quit the room, Elizabeth went to her parents and told them she preferred not to have her engagement announced before Jane’s wedding as she did not want to take any of the well-deserved attention from her dearest sister.
Bennet agreed to hold off with the official announcement until after the wedding on Saturday.
As they were leaving the dining parlour after the meal, Darcy solicited the three important sets at the ball on the morrow from Elizabeth, who was only too pleased to grant them.
Then, he leaned his head close to Elizabeth’s ear.
“Will you join me in the library, please?” he requested.
Seeing her arched eyebrow, Darcy elucidated.
“I have a letter from my father to be opened on the day I become engaged. That day is today. I want you to read it with me.”
“Of course, I will join you,” Elizabeth agreed. “While you go collect it, I will ask Miss Jones or Mrs Annesley to sit with us. If they are both unavailable, I will ring for Jenny.”
Before Elizabeth could seek out one of the companions, Jane stopped her.
“Lizzy, I heard what you said to Mamma and Papa. Jamey and I both agree that announcing your engagement will not take away from our celebration; it will only add to it. Unless you and William object, I will request that Papa make the announcement during supper at the ball.”
“I will ask William for his opinion on the matter. Only if you and Jamey are sure,” Elizabeth responded.
“We are certain,” Jane assured her younger sister.
The sisters hugged, and Elizabeth continued on her quest to find a chaperone. Miss Jones was free and agreed to come sit in the library. Since Mr Bennet had populated the shelves with his collection of books, spending time in the library was a pleasure.
When Darcy entered the library, he saw his beloved waiting for him on a settee. Miss Jones was reading in one corner of the room from where she had a good view of the settee. She had no concerns, as she knew that the Miss Bennets, even Miss Lydia by now, were all well-behaved.
Darcy sat and slowly, reverently extracted the epistle from his inside jacket pocket.
He sat next to his dearest, loveliest Elizabeth, the woman who he loved body and soul.
Darcy’s breath hitched when she rubbed her fingers over the raised ‘D’ with the laurels either side of it.
Then, she lifted his left hand and looked at the signet ring on his little finger, which, when it had been worn by his late father, had been pushed into the hot wax to seal the missive.
Elizabeth nodded to William that she was ready.
Darcy used one of his thumb’s nail to gently lift the wax without cracking it so he could keep it as a memento. He slowly unfolded the slightly yellowed pages. He took a deep breath and held the letter in a way that he was sure Elizabeth would be able to read along with him.
20 April 1803
William,
I, as I know your mother is, am very sorry I am not alive to meet the woman who you are to marry.
In my previous letter, I spoke to you about character and other subjects, so I will not do so again here. There is nothing I can do to ensure you have taken those words to heart, but I believe that you will after you read them.
All I can pray is that upon reading my first letter you chose a woman for all the right reasons which were not based on fortune, rank, and connections alone.
That is not to say you could not be happy with such a lady; but as I told you in my first letter, respect and love are the elements you need for a long and felicitous marriage between true partners.
You may ask how I would still say this when I experienced the worst pain imaginable when my Anne, your mother, was taken from me.
The answer is simple. My life would not have been worth living had I not known your mother’s love.
Yes, she was taken too soon, but I would never have given up the years I had with her for a long married life with one who was not your mother.
“Mother and Father, when I fell in love with Elizabeth, she had neither wealth nor connections; now she has an abundance of both,” Darcy said as he lifted his eyes to the heavens.
“William and Anna, among others, have told me all about the two of you. I am much poorer for not having met you,” Elizabeth added. “Mr Darcy and Lady Anne, I must tell you that your son is the best of men, and our marriage will have love and respect as its bedrock.”
It is one of my great regrets that I am not in the mortal world to attend your wedding and then, one day, to be able to walk Gigi up the aisle and give her away.
“Gigi?” Elizabeth asked.
Darcy explained it was what they called her until she felt she was too old for that name and chose Anna as her sobriquet. The engaged couple returned to the letter.
This may sound like obvious advice, but never go to bed angry one with the other.
My hope for you is that you marry an intelligent woman like I did, one who is willing to disagree with you when you are wrong.
No matter how much we disagreed (especially about George Wickham), we never entered our bedchamber with acrimony between us.
Never forget this, William; it is very important so that small things do not become large impediments to your felicity.
Being able to listen to another is a skill needed for any successful marriage. I know the vows say ‘obey’, but you want a partner who can think and reason for herself, and my prayer is that is exactly the kind of woman you plan to make your wife.
Of course, if she is like most of us Darcys and leans towards being a bibliophile, so much the better.
As long as you have not given in to that Miss Bingley and offered for her and the woman you are to marry is gently born, you have my blessing, William. I can also tell you without fear of contradiction that had she been alive when I wrote this, your mother would have agreed wholeheartedly.
As sad as I am not to be with you as you take this next step along life’s path, I am sure I would love the woman you have chosen (as long as she is not that Bingley harridan).
That being said, William and whoever your wife-to-be is, I wish you a long and felicitous marriage.
With all my love,
Father
Elizabeth and Darcy sat with their heads touching without speaking for a while. They intended to strive to follow the advice in the long-lost letter.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The prewedding ball was enjoyed by all. When Bennet stood up and announced that his Lizzy was engaged to Mr Darcy, those in the neighbourhood—there were not many—who were unaware of the second Bennet daughter’s changed opinions about Mr Darcy were greatly surprised.
As soon as they spoke to Hattie Phillips, she set the record straight.
The two engaged couples were overjoyed as they danced the three significant sets with their respective betrotheds. That Viscount Hilldale opened the ball with Miss Mary Bennet, and partnered her for the supper set as well was unexpected and started many tongues wagging.
The day after the ball, the newly engaged couple chose the fifteenth day of September as the day they would marry.
It was a little longer than either wanted to wait, but as Elizabeth wanted to be sure Jane would be back from her wedding trip, a longer wait was in order.
Elizabeth was to stand up with Jane, and she wanted to make sure Jane would be her matron of honour.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Happy were both Fanny and Thomas Bennet when they witnessed Jane become Viscountess Hadlock.
Their pleasure had nothing to do with her new title or the Carringtons’ wealth.
Rather, it was because they knew Jane had married an estimable man, and their eldest daughter would have a respect-filled and felicitous marriage.
Another reason the Bennet parents were joy-filled was that Fanny had missed her second month’s courses. They would tell no one else until Fanny felt the quickening in the next two months or so.
As Darcy stood next to his beloved watching the Hadlock coach disappear from sight to convey the newlyweds to London, his mind was on his own wedding which would be in a little less than three months. At least, he would have time for his beloved to see Pemberley before they married.
Elizabeth was also thinking about her wedding and after the wedding, when they would not need to be parted again, and there would be no need for chaperones.