“That is as it should be, my dear, that is as it should be. I am glad, as it bodes well for the happiness I wish for you.” Her Mama had patted her hand then squeezed it.
Mother and daughter hugged, and shared some tears of joy, and after kissing her oldest daughter on both cheeks Lady Longbourn had slipped out of her daughter’s chambers. Lizzy visited after their Mama had left and tried to pry about what Jane had been told. Jane just told her that the information was very helpful and to wait her turn.As if her thoughts had conjured them, her mother and her next oldest sister entered her bedchamber after a perfunctory knock on the door.
“Jane,” exclaimed her sister, “you always look like an angel but today you look truly ethereal. Richard is a very lucky man. I only hope that William can keep him calm until you walk down the aisle,” Lizzy teased her sister into a smile.
“Lizzy has the right of it, Jane,” her mother’s tears held both joy and sadness for the impending departure of her oldest from her household. “I used to concentrate on the wrong things and talk about your beauty as if that was all you were, but today Jane, you are glowing and look like you will take flight on the wings of love.”
“Papa is waiting for you at the bottom of the stairs. If you are ready, let us descend. Our sisters are waiting to see you before they walk to the church. In just a few hours your family name will no longer be Bennet, but you are marrying a man who will worship the ground that you walk on so I suppose we shall let him because it is what you want,” Elizabeth offered playfully then looked away wistfully as she admitted to herself that the man who loved her would too lay down his own life to protect her as Jane’s Richard would for her.
“I am ready Mama, Lizzy, let us not make Papa wait.” Jane smiled sweetly, and led her mother and closest sister, who was also her best friend, down the stairs.
She truly was a vision to behold as she descended the stairs. Once she reached the entrance hall, the sunlight shining in from windows and the open front door hit the diamond and sapphire chips in her hair and on her dress. The effect was to create an explosion of brilliant reflection that played on the walls and ceiling while Jane walked toward her father surrounded by a halo of light.
‘My girls are all grown up, or very nearly so.’ He looked upon his four youngest girls, feeling forlorn that it would not be long before they too would be young ladies themselves and no longer girls. ‘My Jane is much more than just her looks, but today she really looks like the angelic gift from heaven she has always been to us, as though she had a halo of light around her. Today is Jane’s turn, and soon it will be Mary and Lizzy. It is the way of things I know, but it will not be the same without them. All the wealth in the world will not replace seeing them each day.’
“Papa, Papa! Where were you,” Kitty shook him out of his reverie. “We have been trying to get your attention.”
“I am here Kitty. I was wool-gathering.” A single tear escaped his eyes as he blinked away the evidence of his emotions. “A man surrounded by eight such beauties cannot but be moved to tears. Are we ready to walk to the Church?” He offered his arm to his Jane.
Inside the retiring room of Longbourn’s Church, just to the side of the altar, the groom was pacing back and forth while his brother, cousin, and father all tried to help him get his nervous excitement under regulation.
“I do not deserve such a woman. She will tire of me. I love her with all of my heart and would do anything to make her happy, even set her free.” The groom was babbling as his nerves and insecurities got the best of him.
“Son!” The Earl used a commanding voice that had the added benefit of halting the pacing. Richard shut his mouth making an audible clack and stood to attention as if he was back in the army on the parade ground and had received the order to do so. “Even a blind man can see that Jane loves you with a fierceness that equals or exceeds your love for her, so enough of this nonsense you are spouting!”
“I love you, brother,” Andrew told him as he put an arm around Richard’s shoulders, “but William here can confirm that Bennet women do nothing unless they want to, and that if they have an opinion that differs, you willknowit,” Andrew teased both suitors, one soon to be rewarded by his prayers being answered, and one fervently praying it would be him pacing one day soon.
Darcy chuckled at Andrew’s jest as he thought about the enigma that was Lady Elizabeth Bennet, the woman that he loved and came so close to losing, and those thoughts warmed him like the morning sun.
“Do not let your insecurities get the better of you Richard. Andrew has the right of it. No Bennet sister will ever agree to that which she does not want to do. Look at the way that your Jane put a flea in Bingley’s ear as she sent him away. When she was with him, I was unable to see the signs of her regard. When she is with you, or talks about you in your absence, even one as blind as I once was would be able to see the deep and abiding love that she harbours for you. Remember that she does not need to marry any man for her security. Theonlyreason that any of the Bennet girls will marry is irrevocable love and respect. Search your heart, cousin, and you will see the truth and banish your unfounded insecurity, as today is to be the happiest day of your life to this point,” Darcy added to aid his cousin’s sense of reason.
“All will be well. I see the truth in your words and will banish my feelings of inadequacy.” The groom hugged his cousin, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. “I knew there was a reason I asked you to stand up with me, William. Andrew, I pray that you know that I did not slight you.”
“There was no slight inferred or taken Rich. Remember, I was there watching as you two grew up and took comfort at knowing you and William were like inseparable twin brothers, and thankfully that has never changed. Rather than envy it, I was, and am happy for the bond that you share. I never lost my brother; I gained one more.” Andrew hugged his brother tightly as they slapped each other’s backs. The Earl too felt a swell of emotions as he watched the interplay between his sons, two by the grace of God, one because of God’s grace.
“Time to take your places at the altar, you two,” he said in a gruff voice thick with emotion. “Andrew, you and I need to go sit before our wives think that we have gotten ourselves lost.” With a hug to both men, Lords Matlock and Hilldale returned to their seats and the groom and William made their way out of the receiving room to take up their positions facing the congregation.
Archibald Darcy shook Richard’s hand and greeted his cousin Darcy with warmth. Richard saw the Bennet matriarch and five of her daughters take their place in the Bennet pew in the front row to his left. As soon as they were seated, he looked to the doors that led into the church from the vestibule.
Lord Longbourn, with Jane on one arm, and Lizzy, who was standing up with her sister, following behind, waited until the door to the church was closed behind his wife and other four daughters before the three entered the vestibule. He took a moment longer with them and looked at his two oldest daughters. How he would miss them, but he did not begrudge them the love of good men, as he thanked God every day that he had been accepted by his Fanny.
“Jane, you will be a very happy woman,” he said as he covered her hand on his arm with his other hand. “I know that both you and Richard will never let anyone take advantage of you and things will be resolved quickly and with all sense and fairness. You will never come close to exceeding your income, and I pity anyone who tries to cheat you!” he teased then continued in a more serious tone. “You are loved, my daughter, and always will be. I hope that you know how proud we feel when we see the young woman you have become.”
“Papa,” Jane admonished him lightly, “it would not do for the bride to enter the church crying. You and Mama are the best parents that I could have wished for. I love you all and always will.” Then she turned, releasing her father’s arm and took both of her sister’s hands in her own. “Lizzy, you are not just my sister but my best friend, my confidant, and my North Star. I will miss our nightly talks. Today I become Mrs Richard Fitzwilliam, but nothing will ever break the bonds of sisterhood that we share.” Elizabeth could not stop the tears that coursed down her cheeks as she squeezed her sister’s hands.
“I love you, Janie, and I wish you all the joy in the universe.” It was all Lizzy could manage, and it was more than enough for two whose hearts were so closely bound.
With that, Bennet nodded to the attendant who opened the doors, which signalled the start of the melodious strains from the string quartet. Lizzy led off and walked down the aisle toward the waiting groom and his attendant.
‘Good Lord, how could I have ever called her “not tolerable enough”? She is a vision and the handsomest woman of my acquaintance!’ A thunderstruck Darcy berated himself yet again as he watched his beloved woman make her way up the aisle to her position opposite him.
The doors had closed after Lizzy had started up the aisle, and once she was in place the music changed, the doors opened again, and the congregation rose as one. On her father’s arm, the bride stepped into the church and there was a collective gasp from those assembled. It was not just Jane’s beauty or the incredible wedding dress that had been created for her, what had caused such a response was the light show that the gems on her dress and in her hair caused. The sunlight had graced her after but two steps down the aisle and it was as if someone had just placed crystal chandeliers in the church. White and blue refractions projected onto every surface and person gathered.
Richard Fitzwilliam was agog at the ethereal beauty that was making her way toward him. It took a tap on his back from his cousin for him to manage the closing of his mouth, which had involuntarily fallen open at first sight of his betrothed. It took him the length of time until her father kissed her cheek and placed her dainty hand on his arm to regulate his breathing. At the contact Richard felt a jolt as if he had been struck by lightning, ‘It is true, she really loves me. God always help me be the man that is truly worthy of her affection.’
At last they stood together in front of the Archbishop who, after indicating that the congregation sit, commenced the wedding liturgy.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation…”
