Jane came last.
She did not speak at once.
Instead, she drew Elizabeth into an embrace that required no words, her happiness evident in every aspect of her countenance. When she stepped back, her eyes shone.
“I knew,” she said softly. “I knew he would be the one to see you as you ought to be seen.”
Elizabeth pressed her hand. “You have always seen me so.”
Jane smiled. “That is because I love you. It is a different thing entirely.”
Darcy, who had remained beside them, inclined his head slightly at this, though his gaze did not leave Elizabeth’s face.
Mr. Bingley, meanwhile, had seized his hand with a vigor that spoke of unrestrained pleasure. “My dear Darcy—this is everything I could have wished. Everything.”
“And more, I hope,” Darcy replied.
“Indeed,” Bingley said, laughing. “For now we are to be brothers in earnest, not merely in inclination.”
At this, Lydia clapped her hands again. “Yes! We shall have two weddings—two!—and they must be splendid, both of them.”
Mrs. Bennet turned at once, her mind already moving forward with astonishing speed. “Yes, yes—two weddings. But not too far apart. It would be quite impossible to endure the suspense of one while awaiting the other.”
Elizabeth glanced at Jane.
There was amusement in her sister’s expression, and something more thoughtful beneath it.
“Why should we await it at all?” Jane said gently. “If it would suit Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, we might share the same day.”
The room stilled for a moment.
Then Lydia gave a delighted cry. “Oh, that would be perfect!”
Kitty nodded eagerly. “Perfect!”
Mrs. Bennet pressed her hands together. “Two daughters married on the same day—what could be more agreeable?”
Elizabeth felt Darcy’s gaze upon her.
She turned to meet it.
“What do you think?” he asked.
Elizabeth considered only briefly.
“I think,” she said, her smile returning, “that I should not wish to be parted from my sister on such an occasion.”
“Nor I from my friend,” Darcy replied.
“Then it is settled,” Bingley declared at once. “We shall be married together.”
Mr. Collins, who had remained strangely silent through this exchange, now stepped forward with renewed animation.
“A most excellent arrangement,” he said. “Most excellent. I cannot but observe that such a concurrence of events reflects great credit upon the management of this household, which I have always endeavored—”
“Yes, Mr. Collins,” Lydia said brightly. “We are all very grateful.”
The conversation that followed extended well into the afternoon, carrying with it all the necessary discussions of dates, arrangements, and practical considerations that such occasions required. Elizabeth participated as she must, answering when addressed, offering her opinion when it was sought, though her attention returned again and again to the simple fact of what had been decided.
