A few minutes later, the door opened, and Davidson stepped out, pulling the door closed behind him. “Why are you here, Mr Collins?” Davidson demanded in a tone which indicated he was not pleased to see the man calling on him.
“There has been a gross miscarriage of justice…” Collins began but closed his mouth when Mr Davidson raised his hand.
“Quite frankly, after what you have done, you are lucky His Grace did not excommunicate you. What were you thinking to object to a marriage for pecuniary gain? Did you learn nothing from me or at the seminary? It seems that your obsession with the lies your father and his father poured in your ears has become the driving force in your life. It certainly is not serving the Church of Christ and those who worship in it like you pledged to do when you were ordained.” Davidson pinched the bridge of his nose. “You may not have threatened violence like your late father did, but you are no better than he was. I worry for your mortal soul if you do not change the path you are on.
“Never return to this house, all connection between us is severed.” With that, Davidson turned and entered his house.
Collins stood, his mouth hanging open as he watched his former mentor, a man he thought had promised to help him. Was that not what his late mother told him on her death bed?
In shock at the treatment he was receiving, Collins made his way back to the carriage.
“Where to, guv?” The coachman asked.
“I care not; just away from here,” Collins mumbled. He climbed back into the cabin of the carriage and fell back against the squabs. He refused to believe that his late honoured father and grandfather had told him untruths. He pushed the knowledge aside of how his father used to beat him and his mother.
This situation was perfect for the coachman. He needed to be somewhere in a few days, and it would mean two nights in an inn, but he would have his passenger, the buffoon, pay so he would earn while going where he needed to go anyway.
Collins was told how much extra it would cost him to be conveyed out of Kent; he turned over the additional coin without a complaint.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On Saturday, the day after the wedding, those staying at Netherfield Park went for a nice long ride—the Bennet sisters’ horses had been delivered to the estate’s stables during the wedding ceremony Friday morning. They spent the rest of the day relaxing. On Sunday, rather than attend St Alfred’s, the church in Meryton normally attended by the residents of Netherfield Park, they chose to attend services at St Hugh’s, the same church where Bennet and Louisa had been married two days previously.
To the Bennet sisters’ delight, as well as that of the two Bingleys’, Mr and Mrs Bennet had been at the service.
Hildebrand’s every wish for her girl’s felicity was confirmed when she noted how much Lulu was glowing with contentment and felicity. Although she had known her niece was marrying the right man for her, what she saw was so much more than anything she had hoped for her daughter of the heart.
None of his daughters had missed the way their father’s head was floating among the clouds. The Bennet sisters had seen Papa happy before, but nothing like he was now.
Lulu and Bennet had debated missing services and instead remaining in bed together, but both being devout, they had decided to go.
For Bennet, it was the longest he had been separated from all of his daughters since their births. Even when he would travel to London to visit Gardiner to review his investments, there would be one or more of his daughters with him. However, he could not repine the separation, not when he had his beloved wife at his side. Besides, the girls would be home in less than a fortnight.
At the end of the service, there were many hugs, kisses, shaken hands, and backslapping shared between the Longbourn and Netherfield Park parties. Lulu invited them all to enjoy the after-church meal with her and Thomas, but those from Netherfield Park followed Mr Pierce’s lead in refusing diplomatically.
Instead, Mr Pierce accepted an invitation to dine at Netherfield Park. He was about ten years Bennet’s senior and for the last four years had been a widower. As his children were all grown and living far away, he appreciated being included in invitations to dine with members of his parish. Unless he had a reason to travel to see them, he had to wait to see his familyuntil Christmastide when his son, daughter, their spouses, and his grandchildren would be hosted at the parsonage. It was lucky that for a parsonage, the house was on the larger side.
Lulu and Bennet watched their family and friends enter the coaches to return them to Netherfield Park and began the walk back to Longbourn.
“Thomas, am I wicked that I was relieved when the invitation for others to join us after church was refused? It was sincerely issued, but I prefer to be in your exclusive company for the nonce,” Louisa admitted.
“If so, I am wicked as well because I too was very pleased,” Bennet admitted. “We are not evil, just very much in love and newly married.”
Being with Lulu made Bennet feel like a young buck again. Like her, he wanted nothing more than to return to their bed and continue the very pleasant activities they shared there.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Both Fitzwilliam and Darcy decided to wait for a few days before approaching the Bennet sister that each was interested in to make their relationship official. So it was on the Tuesday morning after the wedding that the former requested a private interview with Miss Mary, after he had ridden into Meryton to gain Phillips’s permission to ask.
Mary agreed as a blush rose in her cheeks. She had hoped that Colonel Fitzwilliam felt about her as she felt about him, but as it was the man’s prerogative to speak first, she was not certain. “Yes, Mr Fitzwilliam, I will hear what you have to say,” she granted.
“Fitzwilliam, you may use my study. You have no more than ten minutes and Biggs and Johns will be close by,” Bingley stated.
By the time Fitzwilliam led Miss Mary into the study, the two aforementioned guards were present, one on either side of the door. They glared at Fitzwilliam, letting him know they would not tolerate anything but the strictest propriety. Even had Fitzwilliam been that type of man, he would have been afraid to do anything untoward.
He pushed the door three-quarters of the way closed and led Mary to the settee. He sat while maintaining a very proper distance between them.
“Miss Mary, I have never before felt enough to want to offer a lady an official courtship, but my feelings for you are very tender, and I know I respect you completely. What is shocking to me is the speed at which my feelings for you came. I am not an impetuous man, so even though our acquaintance is not of a long duration, you must know that I considered everything before reaching this decision to ask what I want to ask. I am sure that it will not be much longer before my feelings become those of love. Do you feel anything like that for me?” Fitzwilliam began tentatively.
