Knowing better than to try and gainsay her great-uncle, all Elizabeth said was, “Thank you, Uncle Henry.
Darcy shook his head.
“I assume you have not chosen a date to marry, have you?” Henry enquired.
“We have not,” Elizabeth stated.
“You two should speak to Mary and Roger. The thirtieth of November sounds like a good date to me,” Henry suggested. “It is not my aim to hurry you. Rather, it is just a request by an old man who knows not how much longer he will be here to see his beloved family members marry. Do not forget, Fee is not getting any younger either.”
Elizabeth looked at William who nodded. “We will speak to them and see if they object to a double wedding,” she agreed.
With her engagement official, Elizabeth went around the desk and kissed Uncle Henry on each of his wrinkled cheeks. She held out her arm and led him back to the drawing room to wait for others to wake.
As Aunt Felicity was already present, she was the first to hear the news and offered her congratulations. Soon, Uncle Reggie and Aunt Elaine—the Bennet sisters had all been asked to call them that when they had returned a few days past—Fanny, Jane, Mary, Kitty, Anne, and Anna joined them. The latter squealed with excitement that her best friends would be her sisters, while the rest, including Fanny, had more dignified expressions of pleasure and congratulations.
When Elizabeth spoke to Mary, the latter agreed to a double wedding, pending Roger’s approval.
As was their wont, the men sleeping at the dower house arrived to break their fasts. Once the news was shared, Andrewrequested that Jane grant him a private interview after the meal. Richard and de Bourgh intended to make for Longbourn and Lucas Lodge respectively at that time.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
By the end of the day, there were five engaged couples in the extended family and group of close friends.
At Lucas Lodge, Sir William and Lady Lucas were beside themselves with joy at Charlotte making a match, let alone one as eligible as this one. When Sir William, almost apologetically, explained that Charlotte only had a small dowry, of five hundred pounds, he was beyond shocked when his daughter corrected him.
Sir William and Lady Lucas accompanied their eldest daughter and her fiancé to Netherfield Park to share the good news and congratulate Lizzy and Darcy. They arrived to find a big impromptu celebration underway to honour three, and with Charlotte and de Bourgh, four engagements in the same day. After accepting good wishes for his daughter’s betrothal, Sir William approached Mr Bennet.
“Charlotte told me what you did for her and Maria in dowering them. I appreciate it on their behalf, but that is not why my girls are close to your great-nieces,” Sir William said quietly.
“If for a moment I had suspected that was the case, I would have never dowered them. I will not go into the details, but Sir William, believe me when I say this: What I gave your daughters is a fraction of what my Bennet and Taylor great-nieces have,” Henry assured the knight.
“In that case, all I can do is gratefully accept your generosity on behalf of my girls,” Sir William inclined his head even though Mr Bennet could not see it.
The celebration continued joyfullyfor almost two hours before the three Lucases and Albert de Bourgh—who had been invited to have dinner with his fiancée and her family—departed.
Once things were calmer, Jane and Andrew and Elli and Richard sat with Lizzy and William and Mary and Roger.
Elizabeth related what Uncle Henry had said about the timing of the weddings. It did not take long before the double wedding became a quadruple one. When the news was shared with the rest of those present, Aunt Elaine suggested a pre-wedding ball to celebrate the four engagements which was agreed by all. The ball was to be held on the final Tuesday of November, four days before the wedding of the four couples.
By the next day, the wedding had expanded to five couples with the addition of Charlotte and de Bourgh. They did not want to cause their newlywed friends and families to return for their wedding too soon after their own and Charlotte certainly did not want to marry first. Joining the other four was the simplest solution.
The fifth couple was added to the names of those to be honoured at the ball.
Fanny wrote to Lydia about two more of her sisters to be married as well as the news of Elli’s and Charlotte’s marriages. Lydia’s response was one of genuine excitement and she wished all of the brides nothing but happiness in the future.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Two days later the notices of the engagements of four extremely eligible men appeared in the London papers. Among the huntresses who had decided they would be the next Viscountess Hilldale, and mistresses of Pemberley, Rosings Park, or Rivington, there was much berating of the unknown ladies who hadstolenthe men they had intended to marry.
All concerned knew that such objections were to be kept private because one did not want to cross the Countess of Matlock who was connected to many of the most powerful members of theTon. Lord and Lady Matlock’s approbation for the matches made by their sons, nephew, and adopted nephew was unambiguous. As disappointed as many were, when theywere in company with any of those mentioned in the papers, they would have to grin and bear it. None of them had any desire to run afoul of those who could ruin them in society.
Bingley was back in London and made sure he wrote a legible letter—something he had been working hard to accomplish—to Darcy conveying his and the Hursts’ congratulations on his engagement.
About four days later the same papers arrived at the house of Mrs Hildebrand Bingley in Scarborough. As was her wont, Caroline Bingley scoured the social pages for news of those she used to know. No matter how many letters she wrote, none of her former friends seemed to reply to her. When she saw the announcements in theTimes of London,she had to fight her inclination to unleash a tantrum.
Aunt Hildebrand did not tolerate such behaviour. With the first thing Caroline had broken, her aunt had put her over her knee and paddled her like a little child. When Caroline complained about her treatment through her tears, her aunt had told her that if Caroline wanted to behave as a child, she would be treated as such. It was the first and last time Miss Bingley had unleashed a tantrum at her aunt’s house. There was a reason that Aunt Hildebrand was someone Caroline refused to cross. The woman never said anything she did not mean.
The only woman’s name Caroline recognised was Miss Lucas. She remembered the knight with that name who had called on Charles at Netherfield Park.
