“Fankyou Janey,” May whispered. “I wuv you.”
“As I love you May,” Jane smiled one of her beatific smiles.
“Come Fanny, we will see them inside,” Madeline urged her sister. She could see Fanny was fighting tears of joy so she refocused Fanny on May and them taking their seats.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Richard was fighting to keep his brother’s nervous energy from spilling over. They were in a retiring room just off the altar and Andrew was pacing back and forth like a caged big cat at the menagerie in London.
Just before Andrew was about to ask if it was time for perhaps the tenth time, Mr. Pierce, the clergyman who was about to perform the marriage rites of the Church of England which would unite him and Jane in holy matrimony, put his head into the room.
“It is time my Lord,” the pastor informed Andrew.
Andrew felt like he wanted to run to his place until Richard placed a restraining hand on his arm.
“Andy, Jane will soon be standing next to you, all youneed to do now is relax,” Richard urged his brother.
He would have preferred to have waited off to the side of the altar. That way he would have been able to watch Mary Bennet as she entered the church. Richard was sure that his feelings for her were not one sided, but until she came out officially in London next year and he could declare himself, he would not know for sure. He was there to support Andy. Once his brother was calm, Richard removed his hand from his brother’s arm and followed him to where he was to stand.
As soon as they were in position, Andrew’s eyes locked onto the double doors at the rear of the packed church where his bride would appear on her father’s arm while Richard sought Mary. Just before one of the inner vestibule doors opened, he found her in the front pew between her mother and Kitty. Their eyes locked for an instant. She gave him a shy smile.
As soon as the one door opened, Elizabeth began her walk up the aisle. The door she entered through was closed and remained so until she reached her place opposite Richard. Mr. Pierce signalled the congregation to stand as soon as Elizabeth reached her position. Elizabeth noted that Anne stood, but with the aid of Uncle Lewis. She smiled to her best friend who smiled back at her. All Elizabeth hoped was that Anne would not overexert herself. She was sure Uncle Lewis would make sure his daughter did not.
Mr. Pierce then nodded to two men standing at the rear of the nave. In concert, they opened the inner vestibule doors allowing Bennet, with Jane on his right arm, to begin their walk up the aisle.
Seeing Jane and her looking just like what Bingley would have called her—an angel—Andrew’s mouth almost fell open. He was extremely grateful he had been so blessed to have been given the gift of Jane’s love. He would cherish that love and her person until he drew his final breath in the mortal world.
As she walked, Jane was also marvelling at the fact she had won this fine, upstanding, godly, and honourable man’s love.
Bennet led Jane to where Andrew had, with a little nudge from Richard, come to wait for them at the base of the four steps leading up to the altar. He lifted the lace veil and kissed his eldest daughter on both cheeks. After allowing the veil to fall into place, Bennet placed Jane’s one hand on Andrew’s forearm. With that, Bennet joined his wife and family in the first pew on the right.
Jane and Andrew smiled at each other and would have lost themselves in one another’s eyes had Mr. Pierce not cleared his throat as he had done to indicate the congregants could sit.
“Dearly beloved…” The reverend followed the ceremony as found inThe Book of Common Prayer. Bennet answered he was the one giving the bride away at the relevant time, there were no objections, and bride and groom recited their vows flawlessly. As they did, their blue eyes were locked on each other’s.
All too soon for the parents, and not soon enough for the bride and groom, they were pronounced man and wife.
Richard and Elizabeth joined them in the vestry to witness the newlyweds’ signatures in the parish register. Richard allowed Elizabeth to proceed him out of the room and then, per his brother’s request before the ceremony, he pulled the door closed giving Jane and Andrew some much desired privacy.
During the time of their engagement, the chaperones had been too good which meant they were only able to steal the occasional kiss, and they had to be quick.
Alone in the registry, the newly married Fitzwilliams made up for lost time. It was almost ten minutes later when both exited, quite unabashed at their swollen lips and Jane being quite out of breath.
Chapter 20
Seeing how much weaker Anne had become since Jane’s wedding, Elizabeth chose to spend as much time as she could with her sister of the heart. Due to this fact she had cried off joining Jane and Andrew in London for the little or full season and had foregone—regardless of how much Anne entreated with her to go—visiting Jane in Staffordshire at Hilldale during the summer months.
In the two years since Jane and Andrew married, there had been many events of note in Elizabeth’s life, as well as those of the loved ones around her.
The most momentous occasion of all had been first Jane reporting she was in the family way when she felt the quickening that led to the birth of Elizabeth’s first nephew and grandson for two pairs of extremely happy grandparents. Born at the end of July 1809, Thomas Reginald Richard Fitzwilliam, called Tommy, joined the family. Jane had been attended to by her mother, mother-in-law, and two aunts. At the time, Elizabeth and her younger sisters had been with Anne and Giana at Oak Hollow.
They had been under the watchful eyes of Sir Lewis, ably assisted by their companions and guards, led by John Biggs and Brian Johns. As it had become much more taxing for Anne to speak, when she wanted to communicate more than a word here and there, she would write what she wanted to say. Walking was not something she did for more than a few steps now and again. Anne was either carried where she needed to go or pushed in her bath chair.
The melancholy in Uncle Lewis and Jenki’s visages whenever they thought they were being unobserved was obvious but not mentioned. Elizabeth was aware Anne would not live too much longer, which is why she was taking every opportunity possible to be in her best friend’s company.
Thankfully for all, Anne’s imperious mother was not at the estate in Bedfordshire and never would be. Uncle Lewis kept his wife at Rosings Park and she was never allowed to travel anywhere else.
Ignoring the blowhard, which was Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the Bennets had once again begun to spend Easter at the estate in Kent with the de Bourghs. The first time Lady Catherine had made a cutting remark aimed at the Bennets; Uncle Lewis had been unseen by her in the room. He had let her know, in no uncertain terms, she was teetering on being exiled. Since then, when any of the Bennets were present, other than disdainful sniffs or looks aimed to convey her opinion of them, all of which were ignored by the Bennets they were aimed at, she said not a word to any of them.
