Andrew had to restrain himself when he saw Jane walking towards him. His desire was to run down the aisle and sweep her up into his arms, but he regulated himself.
When William saw the beauty he loved walking up the aisle, his mouth fell open. She wore a simple hunter green empire waisted silk gown, matching elbow length gloves, and a white wedding bonnet.
She had selected the earrings, necklace, bracelet, and hairpins which had the same rose design as her rings.
As Elizabeth walked, her eyes locked with William’s and that was the impetus for him to close his mouth. By the time Gardiner and his nieces reached the spot near the head of the aisle, each groom was waiting impatiently for his bride.
Gardiner lifted Jane’s veil, kissed her cheek and placed her hand on Andrew’s forearm. He kissed Lizzy on her cheek and repeated the action of placing her hand on her fiancé’s arm as he had Jane’s.
With Elizabeth on his arm, William smiled at his parents sitting in the front pew across the aisle from the Gardiners and Lucases. He led Elizabeth to their spot and waited.
As was planned, Lambert performed the ceremony for Jane and Andrew first. It was not too long before they were married. While the newly married Fitzwilliams had recited their vows, Elizabeth and William, lost in one another’s eyes, had mouthed the vows one to the other.
Next it was their turn while Jane and Andrew stood to the side as spectators. There were no objections expressed to their marriage and when it came to the vows, there had been one small, almost unnoticeable change. William had asked his soon-to-be uncle to omit the word ‘obey’ from Elizabeth’s vows. He had done so.
Soon the wedding ring with the roses was slipped into place. Just before the ceremony, she had, albeit reluctantly, removed the engagement ring and placed it on the corresponding finger on her right hand. Before they made for the wedding breakfast, it would be back in its rightful place.
As Elizabeth signed the register, she wistfully looked at the name she had just signed:Elizabeth Rose Gardiner. The family name had not been hers for long, but it had fit until now.
‘Elizabeth Rose Darcy,’ she tried out in her thoughts. ‘How very well that sounds.’
As there were two couples, they did not tarry in the registry. “You are My Grace now,” William whispered as they walked back into the nave of the church behind Jane and Andrew.
“Iammy beloved’s and my belovedismine,” Elizabeth whispered back.
After a round of hearty congratulations from their family and close friends, with Biggs, Johns, and Smith in their regular positions, the coach which had brought the two brides to Lambton now made its way back to Castlemere; two newly wed couples within.
Chapter 39
It took a few hours but eventually all the guests and family departed leaving Elizabeth and William alone at Castlemere—save only the necessary staff and servants.
The wedding breakfast had been celebrated in the great hall of the castle, something which had been both fascinating and enjoyable for all of the guests. The younger men and women who were present had especially enjoyed exploring the castle, most of all, the one remaining intact, and safe to enter, tower.
Those who were returning to Meryton would be hosted at Pemberley until their departure on Monday morning, the first day of June. The Lucases needed to return to plan Charlotte’s upcoming wedding.
Jane and Andrew were on their way to the Lakes where they would spend their honeymoon at Lakeside House; a house owned by the Fitzwilliams which overlooked Lakes Windermere and Coniston on its eastern side, with views of some of the smaller waters and lakes to the west.
Anne de Bourgh and Richard would remain at Pemberley for some days before departing for Kent. The Portnoys and Barringtons would soon depart for Hertfordshire where they would remain until Charlotte and Lawrence’s wedding.
Elizabeth and William would have a fortnight of wedded bliss before having to venture out into the world again. Theirplan was to travel with the Darcys and their sisters into Hertfordshire departing on the third Monday in June.
“Elizabeth, would you like to wait until after dinner, or would you like to retire to the master suite now?” William asked his wife after the final guests had departed her estate.
“Now William, now,” Elizabeth insisted. “I am not of a mind to wait for us to become true husband and wife.”
He extended his hand, which his wife took and the two made their way upstairs, no more conversation was required. When they reached the door to the bedchamber Elizabeth had used, which would now be theirs as they had decided to share a bed and do away with separate bedchambers, William took both of his wife’s hands and leaned over and kissed her languidly.
“How much time do you need?” he asked his breathless love.
“No more than half an hour,” Elizabeth, her legs feeling rather wobbly, managed.
It was not often he discomposed her, but William was happy to have been able to do so now. “I will see you soon my love.”
William made for the smaller bedchamber in the suite which was being used as his dressing and bathing room, although he was not averse, if Elizabeth desired the same, to sharing a bathtub from time to time. He found his valet, Carstens, waiting for him.
Her maid had to school her features when she saw the dreamy look on Her Grace’s face when she entered the bedchamber. She assisted her mistress to change into a thin, practically translucent, night gown. Jennings helped the Duchess into the matching robe.
With her mistress seated in front of her dresser, the maid removed all of the pins from the coiffure and then began to brush the long, raven coloured, silky tresses out.
