“And you will not be made uneasy by Mr. Darcy’s presence?” Jane inquired for the second time, all kindness and compassion.
“Mr. Darcy’s presence will not affect me one jot.” Elizabeth was emphatic. “Not a bit.”
“Good,” Jane said. “For I would not like it if you were not entirely happy on a day that promises so much joy.”
“Do not worry for me, Jane,” Elizabeth assured her sister. “Worry about Mamma weeping during the ceremony, for if she does, no one will be able to hear your vows!”
Jane closed her eyes and shook her head. “Elizabeth.”
Darcy sat up to look at himself in the glass once Scripps, Bingley’s valet, had finished his shave. He would accompany Bingley in his friend’s carriage, walk from the church to Longbourn with the others, participate for a time in the wedding breakfast, and then he would be done. Anders had instructions to load the Darcy carriage and meet him at the Bennets’ estate. By noon they would be on their way to Pemberley.
“Are you ready, Darcy?” Bingley cried cheerfully as he burst into the room.
“The question is whether you are ready, Bingley,” Darcy said drily, “but I can see that you are.”
“I have been awake for hours. I cannot believe it is happening at last.”
Darcy studied his friend. “I am very glad it has worked out so well, Bingley. I feel I must apologise once more . . .”
“None of that, Darcy,” Bingley said, waving a hand dismissively. “I forgave you completely the moment my angel said yes.”
“You are a generous friend, Bingley.”
“As are you. Jane will be quite pleased with all the fabrics you brought her as a wedding gift, as will Mrs. Bennet.” He smiled enthusiastically.
“It was nothing, Bingley. I asked my sister and Mrs. Annesley to select them, and they enjoyed themselves immensely. Please do not mention it.” He truly hoped Bingley would not speak of it. He would not wish Elizabeth to think he was attempting to purchase her sister’s good-will.
He brushed his hands down his jacket and nodded. “To the church, then?”
“At once,” Bingley said laughingly, turning on his heel and marching out to the waiting coach.
Elizabeth entered Jane’s room as the last strand of her sister’s golden hair was being woven into an intricate style perhaps more suited for a ball than a solemn ceremony. Still, Mamma would have her way, and Jane would not mind.
Elizabeth placed her hands lightly on Jane’s shoulders as her sister sat at the glass. “Are you ready, Janie?” she asked, addressing her eldest sister as she had not since they were small.
“Oh, Lizzy,” Jane said softly, “I was up hours ago. I am ready, dearest.” She turned in her chair and grasped her sister’s hands. “You must come to visit me in a few days. Charles still has much to do around the estate, having been gone for so many months and then spending so much time at Longbourn. I will be happier if you are there to help me sort through my own duties. Do say you will come.”
The Bingleys had postponed their wedding trip until the late spring, when they would travel north to meet his family.
“Are you sure, Jane?” Elizabeth asked. “Will you not have company?”
“If you mean Mr. Darcy, no, he means to leave today. Will you come?”
Elizabeth smiled, though her heart broke anew. Mr. Darcy could not even bear to be in her presence for an entire day. He had done all he could to spare her reputation, but even if he did wish to wed her, surely he would not connect himself to a family that included Mr. Wickham. “I would be pleased to come, if you wish it,” she said.
It was not fair, to judge Mr. Darcy so harshly when she had been the one to drive him away. Lydia, too, but Elizabeth had been first.
“Thank you, dearest,” Jane said fervently, squeezing Elizabeth’s hands and allowing herself to be helped to her feet. “Shall we go?”
“Indeed,” Elizabeth said affectionately. “Let us not keep your groom waiting any longer.”
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Papa smiled a little tearfully. “My eldest birdie is leaving the nest,” he told Jane softly. “I am pleased to give you to a man so well suited to you.”
“Of course he is suited!” Mamma exclaimed. “He has five thousand a year! Oh, Jane, he is the handsomest man I have ever seen!”
“Thank you, my dear,” Papa said drily, but Mamma did not hear him.
Jane touched the corner of her eye with her handkerchief but lowered it when Elizabeth smirked and tapped her own nose.
