“Yes, a thousand times, and a thousand times more, I will marry you, Charles.”
If Bingley had thought he had seen beatific smiles from her before, they were nothing to the way his fiancée’s face lit up with pure, unadulterated joy. He stood and took her hands and gently assisted her to stand too. There was no mistaking the permission in her look. When their lips met, there was a promise of passion to come on both sides.
After more than a few kisses, as much as he did not want to part from his angel, his wife-to-be, Bingley forced himself to step back. “Jane,” how he loved being able to call her by her informal name, “I am aware you are of age, but I assume you would like me to receive your father’s blessing.”
“Yes, although if he denies it, if you will have me, I will still marry you. Nothing but you, will stop that,” Jane stated with certitude.
“Then while you go to your mother, I will go to your father,” Bingley decided. He escorted his beloved to the drawing room and continued on to the study. He knocked on the door and was invited to enter.
When Jane floated into the drawing room, her face told those within all they needed to know. “Yes, Mama, I am engaged,” she confirmed for her overjoyed mother.
Approbation was expressed by all except for Lydia. Louisa expressed her joy at gaining more sisters. While everyone hugged Jane, Lydia sat and pouted. She hated not being the centre of attention, and she did not want to cede her position as the first Bennet sister to marry. She would speak to Wicky on the morrow when they met at the hunting cabin. She was sure he would gratify her.
In the study, Bennet gave his blessing as soon as hecould, so he could get back to the challenging game he was playing against Hurst. That man stood and clapped his brother on the back in congratulation. Thankfully, his future son-in-law withdrew soon enough so Bennet could return to his game. If he noticed Hurst’s look of surprise that he was not going to announce the engagement himself, Bennet did not show it.
On his entry to the drawing room, Jane lit up all over again when her fiancé nodded, letting her know he had received her father’s blessing. Saddest of all, Jane did not miss her father’s wishes for happy.
For Elizabeth, her father’s neglect on this happiest day in Jane’s life, at least so far, added more questions to the growing list she had.
Fanny Bennet issued an invitation to remain for dinner, and she would not hear of the Netherfield Park party not remaining for the meal. Before Bingley and the Hursts departed after dinner, Bingley had a moment alone with his Jane in the entrance hall. He conveyed Darcy’s request to her.
Jane was not one to crow about ‘I told you so’ so she decided she would speak to Lizzy when Charlotte, Lizzy, and herself were to meet between Lucas Lodge and Longbourn on the morrow to take a walk together. Jane hoped Lizzy would finally listen.
Chapter 19
After enduring their mother’s raptures oft times punctuated with: “I knew Jane could not be so beautiful for no reason,” Jane and Elizabeth were more than ready to escape the house the next morning, and head towards the meeting point with Charlotte.
“Jane, how can you leave the house, you must wait here for your betrothed to arrive,” Fanny worried. “What will he say if you are off rambling about the country side like Miss Lizzy? No, no, it will not do, you need to remain here. He may break off the engagement if you…”
Placing a calming hand on her mother’s arm, Jane responded evenly and soothingly, “Mama, Charles is on his way to London to see his solicitor regarding the settlement. He will not be returned until the morning of the ball.”
“Well then I suppose there is no harm in your visiting Charlotte Lucas with your sister,” Fanny waved her daughters away as she calmed herself.
Thankfully the day was clear, and even a little unseasonably warm, which made the walk that much more pleasurable. Elizabeth kept the pace of the walk to one she knew Jane would be able to maintain with ease. “As I am sure I will never find a man who will want to tie himself to a woman who is educated, impertinent, and opinionated, I will be your ten children’s spinster aunt who will teach your daughters to play the pianoforte very ill,” Elizabeth teased.
“Ten children! Thank you for that, Lizzy. Why only my daughters, should not their brothers have the same pleasure oflearning to play the pianoforte ill like their sisters?” Jane jested back. She hoped Lizzy would find her match one day, just as she herself had done.
“Janey, you will be a very happy woman. Your tempers are by no means unlike; you both like to see the best in others. You are each of you so complying, that nothing will ever be resolved on; so easy, every servant will cheat you; and so generous you will always exceed your income,” Elizabeth stated playfully. She was well aware neither Jane nor her future brother would be so. When tested, they both would be revealed to have wills of steel.
“Lizzy!” Jane gently bumped her sister’s shoulder with her own. “Only two things you said are based in fact: I will be very happy, and our tempers are not dissimilar.” Jane stopped and restrained Lizzy with a hand on her forearm. “Do you remember when I told you that Mr Darcy may have been attempting to apologise to you?” Elizabeth nodded warily. “He has in fact being trying to do so, since minutes after he uttered the words he has regretted ever since. If you would ever allow him to do more than greet you, you will hear a full and sincere apology from him.”
As much as Elizabeth wanted to reject Jane’s words out of hand, if true, it was another brick destroyed in the wall of certitude in her rectitude. Along with all of the other questions she had begun to ask herself, she could now see, she had erred, she could not ignore what Jane had just told her. Also, Papa’s advice had been far off the mark.
“When I see him next, I will allow him to address me,” Elizabeth conceded. ‘I have been wrong about so very much, and with regard to so many things!”she silently chided herself.
She shook off the reflection with a wry smile and noticedCharlotte already waiting at the point in the path where they had agreed to meet. Greetings were exchanged in short order. “Where should we walk?” Elizabeth asked Jane and Charlotte.
“We are close to Oakham Mount. What think you two if we go sit on the summit. It is, after all, such unexpectedly nice weather, there is not a breeze, and it is even a little warm today,” Charlotte suggested.
No one objected so the three friends set off for the mount which was less than a mile distant.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As they had planned to, Lieutenants Denny and Wickham began their walk to go survey the hunting cabin; the one the youngest Bennet had agreed to meet Wickham at later that evening.
The two were in fact on duty, but they had two other officers stand in for them claiming they had urgent business which could not wait. They headed towards the hill the locals called Oakham Mount and the woods which reached almost to the foot of the eminence.
It was not a long walk. The two men guessed that it was not much more than a mile until they reached the base of the hill. They did not see the cabin right away, so they walked around the hill. At first they saw nothing, but then, set back at the point where the woods began, built a few feet from the hill, just before the tree line was the cabin.
