“Biggs and Johns are near the horses, and they will also be able to see us,” William added. Seeing a nod from the companion, William led Elizabeth to the western side of the hill.
“The house looks almost like a toy from a mile away,” Elizabeth observed. Then she pointed. “The dower house looks even smaller, as it is almost a mile beyond the manor house. You are not lonely there, are you? Unlike before Jamey married Charlotte and Richard married Jane, you are the only single man who needs to sleep away from the house.” She paused. “I am very grateful that after we marry on Wednesday morning, we will never need to separate again and sleep in separate houses. As much as I like Mrs Annesley, I will not miss having a chaperone everywhere we go.”
“Do you see how well the mountains look bathed in the sun’s rays as they are now?” William pointed out. He paused as he considered her previous words. “Yes, Lizzy, I too cannot wait to be married. It may be too early to speak of this, but I hope you will want to share a bed every night. I do not want us to be one of thosepropercouples who live separate lives.”
“Yes, my darling William, I very much want to follow our parents’ examples and share a bed with you.” Elizabeth blushed deeply when she said the last. “You know Jane said something before she married Richard, and I want to ask your opinion of it.” She desperately needed to change the subject before she blushed some more.
“Ask away; you know if I am able to comply, I will never deny you anything.”
“Jane said she wondered if our birth mother had not abandoned us if she would have met and married Richard. I suppose I am asking you the same question about you and me.”
“Lizzy, that is not even a question. Mother says we were formed for one another, and I agree with her. That being said, God would not have made us perfect for one another only to keep us apart. Hence, my dearest, loveliest Elizabeth, I am certain we would have met, fallen in love, and married. Nothing would have stopped that. The path to happiness might not have been as easy as it was with the closeness between our families, but easy, difficult, or nigh on impossible, we would have found each other.”
“I believe that as well,” Elizabeth said as she wrapped her arm about William’s, and she leant her head until it was resting on his strong shoulder.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The next few days passed by as if in the blink of an eye. The ball had been very enjoyable, and Elizabeth had loved once again dancing three sets with William. During supper, she and William had sat at a table with Marie and Andrew and Jane and Richard. The final couple at the table was Mary and Lord Winston. The two debated music and pieces on the pianoforte the whole time during the meal.
Edith had called two waltzes for the final set, something Elizabeth appreciated greatly.
Once the ball was behind them, there were the last few items to be made ready for the wedding. Elizabeth’s belongings were packed up—except for the wedding gown and anything she needed for the final two days as a single woman—and by the day before the wedding, a cart was on its way to Rivington.
The night before the wedding, Elizabeth receivedthe talkfrom her mother. After hearing what Mamma had to say, it was much easier to understand some of what Jane would not discuss with her before and after her wedding.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Edith was in the same seat in St Mildred’s Church as she had been when Jane married less than a year previously.
As much as she would miss Lizzy, she was as happy for her daughter as it was possible to be. She was bursting with pride as she looked towards the altar. Lizzy and William stood before Mr Clayburn as he conducted the ceremony. To Lizzy’s left stood Jane as her matron of honour, with Mary and Anna as her bridesmaids. To William’s right stood Richard.
His duty done, Paul was seated next to Edith; on the other side was Jamey and then the Phillipses, with the Gardiners behind her.
Seeing Edward Gardiner watching his nieces with love in his eyes reminded Edith of how selfless he had been in putting the girls’ comfort and wellbeing ahead of any of his personal desires. She would always be thankful to him for his signing his rights as guardian over to Paul.
All too soon, the ceremony was over, and Lizzy was Lady Elizabeth Darcy. Edith and Paul were the last two to leave the nave of the church before the newlyweds boarded their open chaise for Holder Heights.
As she walked, she lifted her eyes to the heavens. ‘Mr Bennet, we never knew you, but I pray you approve of the way we have raised your daughters. My hope is that you have been able to forgive your former wife for abandoning our shared girls in Hyde Park. In the end, she was not the same woman who abandoned Jane, Lizzy, and Mary. She became someone who was willing to sacrifice her life for her two youngest daughters, and she did admit to all of her errors. If you are both in heaven, I trust you can see we raised your daughters to the light.’
She linked arms with Paul and made for the coach which would take them to the wedding breakfast.
Epilogue
April 1812
The ever-expanding family was in Hertfordshire to celebrate a most unexpected double wedding.
Kitty, or as she had asked to be called since she turned seventeen two years past, Kate, was marrying Charles Bingley, and even more shockingly, his sister Caroline was uniting her life with Franklin Lucas.
After his sister turned one and twenty in September of 1810, Bingley had sought an estate to lease to see if the life of a landed gentleman was for him. The decision had been his, and his alone. Since giving up her aspirations to rise in society, Caroline had not attempted to pressure him to do anything he did not want to do. She also had no desire to return to London or partake in any high society events.
Through his friends, Bingley learnt that Mr Phillips had a smallish estate he would lease out. As he had long held a hidden interest in Miss Phillips, and she was now older than eighteen, Bingley took the lease hoping to discover if there was in fact something between them. Caroline had come with him to act as the mistress. Bingley had been impressed that his younger sister had been determined to learn all the duties of the estate’s mistress. He had known she had changed; however, seeing the respectful way she interacted with the servants and tenants was the most vivid proof of the changes his younger sister had made.
Once he was resident in the neighbourhood, it had not taken long to discover that Miss Phillips, Kate, had long held him in tender regard. She had not believed anything would come of it because she was aware she was on the plain side and most men did not look at her twice. The more time Bingley was in the area, the deeper the feelings between them became. He requested and was granted a courtship in June 1811. They had become engaged in October of that year and had planned to marry in February 1812.
While Bingley’s relationship with Miss Phillips was deepening, Caroline Bingley had grown close to the Phillips girls and, through them, others in the area, one of them being Maria Lucas. Even though she was four years older than Maria, they became very close, although that had nothing to do with the fact Maria’s older sister was Viscountess Hadlock.
After a few months of being friends and calling on Lucas Lodge, Caroline had begun to speak with the Lucas heir. That he was only one generation removed from trade or that Lucas Lodge earned less than a thousand pounds annually did not cause Caroline to think any less of him.
