Beginning, Section II
Jump to new as of August 13, 2000
Jump to new as of August 17, 2000
When Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy walked into the Longbourn parlor, they were happily oblivious of all others present. A moment later, however, Jane and Mr. Bingley's warning glance caused the pair to break apart, flushing guiltily. Luckily, their behavior went relatively unnoticed due to the commotion caused by Mrs. Bennet's uncharacteristically happy effusions.
Mr. Darcy leaned over and whispered conspiratorially to Elizabeth. "I fear, dearest, that there is still one more obstruction to be overcome before society would permit us to act as we should wish."
Elizabeth smiled warmly and nodded, leaving her fiancé to attend to the task of asking Mr. Bennet's permission.
When Elizabeth managed to gain a seat next to her sister, she was greeted with the obvious question. "Lizzy, dear, is there something you have not told me?"
Elizabeth blushed slightly. "I believe, dear Jane, you know perfectly well what news I have to tell you."
"I am so happy for you!" Jane exclaimed softly.
"And I for you!" Elizabeth replied. "But for me, do not be too happy yet," she cautioned. "He has gone to ask Papa, and I cannot imagine his consent won so easily."
Elizabeth's concerns were proved to be unfounded, and after a convincing entreaty on her behalf, an announcement was made to the gathered assembly.
Mrs. Bennet was so shocked that she practically had to be carried to her chair. "Oh! Two daughters to be married! And such rich husbands!! God has been very good to us!"
Kitty giggled when her mother proceeded to say that Jane and Elizabeth's marriages would throw her other daughters in the path of rich men.
Mary merely rolled her eyes and went back to her book.
The next day, the newly engaged couples decided to walk to Oakham Mount to avoid the felicitations of family and friends alike. Upon gaining the crest of the hill, the foursome sat down to rest, and predictably, the conversation turned to the upcoming nuptials.
"Well man," Bingley began good-naturedly, "have you set the date? Would the future Mr. and Mrs. Darcy prefer a Winter wedding with Jane and myself, or are you less inclined to be patient?"
Darcy tossed a glance at Elizabeth and gave her hand a squeeze before replying "I would be for Scotland tomorrow, were I not convinced that such an action would cause my lovely fiancee to reconsider her acceptance of my offer."
Jane's jaw dropped, Bingley laughed nervously, and Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock as she turned to her future husband.
"Fitzwilliam Darcy!! You unconscionable rake!"
Bingley and Jane gave each other a look and wordlessly departed in the direction of Longbourn. As they disappeared from sight, Elizabeth found she could no longer keep up the pretense of being offended, and she dissolved into a fit of giggles.
Once she and Mr. Darcy had managed to calm down, they noticed their companions' absence and started the walk back down to Longbourn.
"Really, my love," she began, "have you given any thought to setting a date? I know you must have many affairs that await you at Pemberley, and I have an entire trousseau to buy."
Darcy, still grinning from the novelty of Elizabeth's use of such an endearment, replied "I have thought a little about it. I was wondering if two months would give you time enough, as I am sure it would be sufficient for me to arrange my affairs."
Elizabeth looked at him and said, quite seriously, "I feel sure I could be ready in less time than that."
Darcy looked at her, slightly taken aback, so she continued. "I think we have waited long enough, and I have certainly put you through enough worrying. It would be wrong to delay any longer. I imagine six weeks would be ample time to prepare myself, while also remaining seemingly within the bounds of propriety."
He gave her a look. "Seemingly, Elizabeth?"
She smiled at him in return. "At the moment, my dear, I would not be above absconding to Scotland myself!"
A few days later, Jane and Elizabeth left for the home of their Aunt and Uncle Gardiner. Mrs. Bennet's conspicuous absence was due to her argument with her second daughter over the proper length of engagements. In lieu of accompanying them, she decided to send instructions from afar, leaving them to their own devices (an arrangement which was, in truth, much more pleasing to Jane and Elizabeth than the alternative).
Whilst all this was taking place, Mr. Darcy had returned to Pemberley to make all the arrangements necessary to give his wife the homecoming he felt she deserved. Servants were spoken to, business affairs were speedily dispatched, and certain rooms were readied for the new mistress. Thus, Darcy was able to return to Hertfordshire after a month of dealing with such affairs, and he and Elizabeth were able to enjoy the last two weeks of their courtship in relative peace.
The wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy was a lovely affair, marked by misty eyes and well wishes from many. The reception was mercifully uneventful, considering the guests in attendance - Mrs. Bennet was too thrilled to say much of anything, and Lady Lucas seethed with jealousy in silence. Caroline Bingley's was the only face that wore a sour expression, but fortunately, she remembered enough of her manners to restrict her comments to the weather. (Lydia Wickham was absent due to her delicate condition, and her husband had wisely chosen to remain at home with her.) Altogether, it was regarded by many in Meryton to be quite the impressive event. One, in fact, that would be the foremost topic of discussion for some many weeks until the town could pacify itself with the much-anticipated wedding of Jane and Mr. Bingley.
Early the next morning, the happy couple arrived at Pemberley. As they had stopped only once to change drivers, they were most thoroughly exhausted, and Darcy promised his wife that he would keep the requisite introductions as brief as possible. A short time later, the Darcys took an abbreviated stroll about the downstairs so Elizabeth could be reintroduced to the rooms she had once before seen. This was followed by a more lengthy tour of the upstairs.
"...And this is the Rose Room, where my sister stays when she is at Pemberley. As you know, she and Mrs. Annesley continued on to London from Longbourn, and they will be rejoining us in a month's time."
"She will be staying in your townhouse, then, Fitzwilliam?" Elizabeth inquired.
"Our townhouse," he corrected, which caused Elizabeth to blush prettily in return. "And continuing down this way we reach the East Wing...."
Elizabeth laid a hand on Darcy's arm to stay his movement. She yawned and said, "Oh dear. You must excuse me. I had no idea, Fitzwilliam, that Pemberley was so expansive above stairs."
Darcy worried for a moment that he was over-tiring his bride, but one look at the twinkle in her eye told him that Elizabeth was merely not interested in the East Wing at the moment. Darcy smiled and spoke again, changing his tactic. "The East Wing has another twenty-two rooms that I will bore you with another day."
Elizabeth smiled up at him and gave him a sound kiss for being so astute. They turned around and walked in the direction of the master suite.
"These, I promise my dear, will be the last rooms I shall show you today. I trust you will find them more interesting than the guest quarters."
Darcy opened the door to what was clearly his room and allowed Elizabeth to look around at her leisure. When she had finished, he led her through the adjoining door to their shared sitting room. He had left instructions with Mrs. Reynolds to have it aired and to have the furniture recovered if necessary. She had obviously taken his instructions to heart, as not only did the furniture look as good as new, but there were new curtains hanging in front of the large windows, and the carpet had recently been thoroughly cleaned.
After Elizabeth had finished exploring the sitting room, she and Darcy continued through the adjoining door on the opposite wall that led into her room. "Oh Fitzwilliam, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed.
Darcy smiled in relief. "I am glad you approve of it. It was my mother's chamber, and I have not had the room redone as yet. I thought perhaps you would want to redecorate it yourself."
Elizabeth shook her head vehemently. "Oh no - I don't wish to change a thing. It's perfect!" She walked over to a row of small portraits hanging above the mantelpiece. "These are lovely," she said softly.
Darcy came over to stand by her side. "These are the portraits of every mistress Pemberley has ever had. I hope you do not mind if I have our family portraitist come up from the village to take your likeness - it is tradition that the painting be done soon after the wedding."
Elizabeth swallowed as she realized the importance of her new position. "Of course, dear. That will be fine."
Darcy looked at his wife and back at the portraits on the wall. "Of course, we will have to have a large portrait of the two of us done for the Gallery, but I think that can wait a little longer."
Elizabeth envisioned her own portrait alongside those dignified visages that she and the Gardiners had been led past on their tour. It was all too much to think about so soon. She closed her eyes to regain her composure.
A moment later Elizabeth opened her eyes and pointed to another door in front of her. "Fitzwilliam, love, where does this door lead to?"
Darcy recognized his wife's evasion of the subject, but thought nothing of it. He realized she would need more time to be completely comfortable as Pemberley's mistress.
Elizabeth took two steps into the next room and stopped, realizing where she was. Darcy, having fully expected such a reaction, came up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I took the liberty of having Mrs. Reynolds redo this room, as it has not been used since Georgiana was a baby. I hope you like it."
Elizabeth couldn't manage the words, so she nodded with tears in her eyes. Her husband saw this and became worried. "Is there something wrong darling?" he asked as he turned her around.
She was touched by his concern and shook her head as she struggled to speak. After taking a deep breath to calm herself, she tilted her head up to his and said the only thing she could. "I love you."
Darcy smiled and leaned down. "I love you, too."
"Oh my dear Jane! I am so very happy! So much money!" She reached forward to grab both Jane and Elizabeth's hands. "Just look at you two both - two of my girls so well off!" Mrs. Bennet sighed. "I hope soon I will be able to see my grandchildren?" she said suggestively. "I had such high hopes for Lydia, but now that she's lost her baby....."
The rest of her sentence went unspoken as a new crowd of guests arrived at the reception. The Bingleys followed off to greet the Longs and the Lucases, and as they left, Elizabeth sighed in exasperation.
Darcy mistook his wife's sigh as one of despondence, and tried to raise her spirits. "Do not trouble yourself, darling," he whispered in her ear. "I am sure it will happen soon enough."
Elizabeth turned to her husband and grinned. "It may happen sooner than you think."
Darcy looked questioningly at his wife as she started to walk away. Before she could move more than a few steps, he grabbed her arm and caught up with her.
"Elizabeth, what do you mean?"
She leaned toward him and said softly "Mr. Darcy, how do you feel about being a papa?"
Some time later, the Bingleys and the Darcys were talking about their plans for the future.
"I say," began Bingley happily, "wouldn't it be wonderful to take a trip together? Just the four of us - we could take a tour about the country. We could go to Bath and Lyme, or visit the Lakes. What do you say to going in July? That should be enough time for Jane and I to get settled."
Elizabeth smiled demurely as she noticed her sister's excitement over the plan, but it was Darcy who spoke first.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Bingley." Darcy looked fondly at his wife and took her hand.
Mr. and Mrs. Bingley looked questioningly at each other, and Darcy knew an explanation was in order. He grinned widely at the little group and said proudly, "My wife will be otherwise engaged."