All adult members and those out in society of the four and twenty families in the area were invited, as well as a good number of residents of Meryton, regardless of station. At the other end of the scale, there were three Dukes, seven Earls, two Barons, four Baronets and a number of Knights and their spouses. Given the distance from town, there would be no Royal presence, although Queen Charlotte had sent the bride and groom best wishes and an extravagant gift of a Ming Dynasty vase from the Royal Family.
An hour later the receiving line duties were complete. The Earl of Longbourn signalled the conductor to have his musicians play a few bars to announce the first set which was led by Jane and Richard, followed by their parents and then the rest of the dancers. Both Darcy and Elizabeth found that this dance in Hertfordshire was far more pleasurable than their last contentious dance in the same shire.
Lady Lucas felt bad for Charlotte, who had stayed home for the mourning of a man she had neither loved nor respected. She almost had to pinch herself as she and Sir William followed the steps of the quadrille. There were even more peers here than had been at the tea that she attended but a few days before.
Fanny had made sure that there would be a good balance between the genders as she was determined that her ball would not be populated by wallflowers. The second dance of the supper set was a waltz. The bride and groom revelled in the closeness of the dance, as did Darcy and Birchington as they danced with the women they were courting. Harold Smythe had never enjoyed a dance more and he ignored the stares and whispered comments made behind fans by matrons of theTonpresent.
Lord Harold Smythe, Earl of Granville, had truly enjoyed his dances with Lady Sarah Ashby. At supper he was seated beside her with Anne de Bourgh, Ashby, Ashby’s brother the Viscount and his wife, and Lord and Lady Ashbury. The conversation was very convivial, and both her daughter and the man that she had danced the supper set with were appreciative that Lady Ashbury was not a matchmaking mama who would try and force the issue. She would allow her daughter to make her own choice when the time came. Even though she would do nothing to interfere, Lady Ashbury was not blind. ‘I have never seen Sarah so enamoured with any man before. Many thought that Granville was a confirmed bachelor; perhaps they were wrong. True he danced the first and the supper set with my daughter, but we will have to see how things play out. He is as wealthy as we are, so I have no concern that he is a fortune hunter,’ the Countess thought to herself approvingly as she looked upon the budding couple.
Not knowing that the other felt the same, both Elizabeth and Darcy had enjoyed the before supper waltz excessively. Because it was a waltz, the feelings elicited at the closeness to one another that the dance demanded were exhilarating. He was thinking about how much he loved her and she had finally realised the same. Admitting how she felt even to herself made her feel warm all over, but she decided to wait until she was at Pemberley to see him in his natural habitat to share the revelation with him. For his part Darcy sensed there had been a change, but he refused to speculate. She had told him that she would give an indication and he would not rush her, no matter how long it took.
At supper all six of the Bennet sisters, the three men, Lord Westmore, and the girls, including Lily Gardiner who had comported herself with credit, sat and ate together. After supper, the girls not yet out said their farewells and were shepherded out by their companions to retire for the night.
All three eldest Bennet daughters danced the last set with their betrothed or suitors, and to their pleasure and excitement it was another waltz. Mary, who had never danced a waltz before this ball, felt warmth suffuse her body as she danced this second waltz of her life with Hugh as she had when he had drawn her into him during the first. ‘I never want to dance this particular dance with anyone other than Hugh. I hope that he asks for my hand the very day the courtship period that Papa imposed is over,’she thought as her partner expertly led her around the dance floor. Darcy and the bridegroom too revelled in dancing a second waltz with their ladyloves. Darcy had drawn Lady Elizabeth a little closer than propriety allowed but she did not seem to object, rather a light pink blush was evident. Her suitor saw her reaction and the fact that she did not draw back from him, was a sign that his love would not be unrequited for much longer. He did not know that it was already requited.
The bride and groom, who were the reason for the ball, were floating on a cloud thinking about the fact that in less than two days they would be joined and would never have to be parted again.
Fitzwilliam still felt that he needed to pinch himself that one such as the beauty in his arms would accept a ‘broken down’ ex-soldier such as himself. He had never believed he was capable, or deserving, of the love that he felt for, and received, from his betrothed. He was often caught off guard by the strength of his deep, irrevocable and all-consuming love for his Jane.
If Bingley was still in the Kingdom, Richard would have sought him out to thank him for being such a spineless fool, as Bingley’s loss was most definitely a gain for Richard Fitzwilliam. He shuddered as he thought that had things been slightly different, Jane Bennet would have been out of his reach forever. And for as much as he stared at her with love, he did not miss the love that was reflected back in her eyes when she looked at him which made him pull her in even closer.
Lord Granville had come very close to requesting a third set from Lady Sarah Ashby but had restrained himself. It was not because he did not want to dance with the lady again, he most certainly did, but he was afraid to unnerve her if his attentions were too marked too fast. He was gratified to see that she had declined all requests to dance the final set and was sitting next to her parents talking amiably with her mother.
‘I will ask to call on them at Ashbury House in Town. Andrew told me that they will be in town for a week before they return to Surrey for the summer. When I see her again, if I still feel as I do now, I will request a courtship and I am reasonably sure she will grant my request,’ Lord Granville promised himself.
The ball concluded close to four o’clock in the morning. It was somewhat later when the last of the heads finally found a pillow at Bennet Fields. The following morning and for long after, the Bennet pre-wedding ball would be the only ball anyone mentioned, until the Bennets held another event for their neighbours. It was an unintended consequence that the previous ball that had been held in the area faded into history but such is the way of all society.
After dancing with the women that they loved, three men, one who would meet his beloved at the altar in less than four and twenty hours and the two courting said lady’s sisters, all had long, detailed, and very explicit dreams throughout the early morning hours.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The morning after the ball, the three gentlemen separately chose a very long sunrise ride to expend some of their pent-up energy. On their return from three different directions there were sheepish looks shared as they dismounted and entered the house to have their valets help them change and bathe so they could look respectable, even if thoughts of their ladies were far from pure. Each gentleman would have been relieved to know that the ladies were just as uncomfortable having their own dreams that maidens should not have, and for them there was no relief. They were possibly more anxious to marry than their men. When presentable, the men descended the stairs to join the large group that had already assembled in the breakfast room to break their fasts.
Charlotte Collins had stayed home to keep up the illusion of mourning. She was already packed and ready to depart with Eliza and the Gardiners the day after the wedding. She was very much looking forward to being able to relax and not have acquaintances judge the depth of her mourning or whether she displayed the right amount of sorrow for her ‘dear’ departed husband. She had no regrets that it would be a long while before she returned to this place where she no longer felt at home.
Chapter 26
Monday, the fifteenth day of June in the year of our Lord 1812, dawned crisp and clear. The day would be momentous in Lady Jane Bennet’s life. It was, after all, her wedding day! The night before the Bennets had transferred to the new family chambers at Longbourn as Jane would marry from the Longbourn Church and wanted her last night as a single woman to be in her childhood home. Mrs Nichols helped make sure that everything ran smoothly though the house was still partially under construction. The builders had been given two days off so there was relative privacy for the family. The ceremony was to begin at ten o’clock in the morning, though the doors would open a full hour earlier for those that would witness the blessed event.
Jane was gratified that Mr Paisley Hastings, Longbourn Church’s parson of ten years, did not take it as a slight that he would not perform the nuptials for the oldest Bennet daughter. He assured her it was equally an honour to assist The Most Reverend Willowmere, by Divine Providence Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England and Metropolitan, Archibald Darcy as he performed the rituals. It was not every day that a parson such as he came to the notice of the head clergyman in the Church of England.
As Jane was dressed by her lady’s maid, she thought back to the information that her mother had imparted the previous night, joining her just after she retired.
“This is your last night as a daughter living under our roof my Jane. Tomorrow your Richard will have the honour, and I dare say pleasure of your protection. He really understands you Jane, and your father and I are filled with happiness that your marriage will be filled with love and respect. Tomorrow night will be your wedding night and I need to talk to you about what to expect in the marriage bed.”
With a blush rising in her cheeks Jane had nodded for her mother to proceed.
“The intimacies of the marriage bed are not something to be feared, especially not with someone who loves you the way that your Richard loves you. When there is love like the two of you share, the marriage bed will be a wonderful, I dare say pleasurable, experience for both of you. Anyone that tells you to ‘lie back and tolerate’ the coupling between man and woman has no idea of what they speak. Do not be afraid to tell him what you like and do not like, and let him know that you want to know the same about him. Just like you want your marriage to be a true partnership, it is true of the marriage bed. My wish for you is that you will discover that it is as pleasurable to give as to receive. Never be ashamed of the relations that you will have with your husband. A good relationship in the marriage bed will only enhance your marriage as a whole.
“I will not lie to you my dear daughter; there will be some pain and blood the first time when the marriage is consummated. It is only the first time that this should happen. The pain will last but a moment as you become a woman in every sense of the word. Richard cares about you so if you need to stop for a moment, I am sure that he will understand. He is a man that will never force you to do that which is unacceptable to you. That is why telling each other what you enjoy, and do not enjoy is so important.
“Never think of your relations with your husband as a chore to be ‘borne’ and they will never be so. No matter what anyone else may say, both the husband and wife deriving pleasure from the marriage bed is a good thing and in no way makes you wanton. Even though you are thought of as serene, at heart both you and Richard are passionate people. I believe with all of my heart that you will both take much pleasure in your marriage, both out of and in the marriage bed.
Never be afraid to be spontaneous and night time is not the only acceptable time for relations with your beloved husband. Whenever the two of you have privacy and you both desire the same thing, it is never wrong. I want to reiterate, my dearest Jane. You are of a passionate nature though you are able to contain it far better than most. Never be ashamed of what you share with your husband, which will only deepen in pleasure so long as you are both honest about what pleases you. I want you to remember that we are who men need to be complete, and they us. Whatever that means to you both, there will be joys that are only possible with him, and only if there is absolute trust.
“When you are with child, there is no reason to stop having relations with your husband until you feel it is too difficult for you as you near your confinement. In a good and equal, respectful and felicitous marriage, the shared experience of love, passion, and pleasure is very fulfilling. Do you have any questions for me Jane? If you feel the need, I can summon your aunt Maddie to see you and talk to you as well.”
After she calmed down at the thought of the pleasure and experiences that she would start to share with her husband starting on the morrow, Jane shook her head. “No, Mama, I have no questions. I always love to talk to Aunt Maddie, but your talk was very thorough, so I have no need for more information at this time. Thank you, my dearest Mama, you have helped me relax and I admit I am looking forward to the marriage bed with pleasure and not fear.”
