The night before the wedding, Richard joined Darcy at the Red Rooster Inn in Meryton. Richard did not need to sleep elsewhere, as his bride was not residing in the same house, but he did so to keep company with his cousin. As they were standing up with them, Andrew and Bingley rounded out the party staying at the inn.
The four men had departed Netherfield after everyone retired. Elizabeth had just prepared for bed when there was the inevitable knock on her door. “Welcome Mother. I was expecting you.”
Madeline took a seat on the bed with her eldest daughter and then commenced her talk. “Let me start by telling you there is nothing to fear…” She went on to explain that the act of love was enhanced when the couple were in love, as Elizabeth and William were. She explained about the giving and taking of pleasure. She assured Elizabeth although there would be a little pain or discomfort, and more than likely some blood, the first time, it would still be a pleasurable experience if she allowed herself to relax. “Do you have any questions, Lizzy dearest?” Madeline asked when she had completed her talk.
“No, Mother. I thank you for putting me at ease. I want to thank you and Father for being the best of parents while I have lived under your protection. Without you and your love, I would have been lost when I was banished,” Elizabeth told Madeline.
“You know how much your father and I love you and all of our children, regardless of whether they are of my body or not. That love will not stop when you marry on the morrow. We will always be here when you need us for anything,” Madeline told her eldest.
The two hugged, then Madeline let herself out of Lizzy’s bedchamber. On the morrow Elizabeth would be leaving her home, but this time it would be very much her choice.
Chapter 29
The last Friday of February 1811 was a clear but cool day. Elizabeth had barely slept, given the excited energy she felt. When her mother and Mary entered her bedchamber with tea and pastries, they found Elizabeth sitting in the window seat, with her legs curled beneath her, staring towards Meryton—where her groom had spent the night.
Mary would stand up with Elizabeth while Maria would do the honours for Charlotte. “I am far too excited to eat,” Elizabeth greeted her mother and sister.
“Trust me, Lizzy, I know from past experience you should eat something now. It will be many hours until the wedding breakfast. I would not have you faint from hunger while you are reciting your vows,” Madeline stated firmly.
Elizabeth rose from the window seat and followed her mother and Mary into the shared sitting room. As soon as she sipped some tea, Elizabeth realised how thirsty she was. The same was true when she took a nibble of an apple pastry. By the time she was sated, she had finished two cups of tea, two pastries, and a scone with jam and clotted cream.
“I did not know how hungry I was until I took the first bite,” the sheepish bride said to her mother, who gave her a knowing look. As Elizabeth had not gone to London to shop before the wedding, she would wear one of the new gowns her parents acquired for her not long after she came to live with them.
The gown was an off-white silk. It was simple in design but highlighted Elizabeth’s darker colouring, especially her mahogany tresses. Rather than a bonnet, Elizabeth chose a gossamer veil with small pearls sewn onto it.
After a bath, her mother and a maid assisted Elizabeth. She was about to ask for help putting her garnet cross in place when her mother returned with a velvet-covered box.
“A present from your groom. He asks that you wear them today,” Madeline told her daughter as she opened the box. Inside was the most beautiful pearl necklace Elizabeth had ever beheld. In the centre of the necklace was a very large emerald. There were matching earbobs as well; each one had three strands of pearls descending from a central point below the clip. There were three small pearls with a small emerald at the base of each descending strand.
“I will feel like a princess when I wear these,” Elizabeth exclaimed, looking at her reflection.
“William mentioned there is a matching tiara, but I felt it would be a little too much,” Madeline quipped.
When she was dressed, her brothers and the rest of her sisters, accompanied by Tiffany and Giana, came in to greet Elizabeth. May lifted her hands to be picked up and her mother explained her sister could not oblige her at the moment, but her new brother William would be at the house soon enough and he was always willing to pick her up.
Once everyone had admired the bride, Mrs. Annesley, the Gardiner’s governess, and a nursemaid shepherded the group to the carriages waiting to take them to the church. The Matlocks and Hilldales, after greeting Elizabeth, followed in their coach.
Gardiner looked at both Lizzy and Mary in wonder. One was leaving his protection today, and he believed it was but a matter of time before Mary married her own suitor. Mary and her mother helped Elizabeth into the carriage. Once the ladies were seated, Gardiner boarded and they were off.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Lord Hilldale and Bingley organised a light breakfast in a private sitting room between two of their chambers at the inn. They too had to convince their respective groom they were standing up for to eat, but in the end they prevailed.
Both Richard and Darcy were up with the sun; one was used to rising early from his time as an officer in the regulars, and the other had the habit of rising early ingrained in him by his father before he was ten years old.
The four men ate in quiet companionship. Darcy stood first and went to bathe; Richard was not far behind. Richard’s loyal batman had followed his colonel out of the army and was now his valet and assisted his master to don his suit.
St. Alfred’s was a five-minute walk from the inn, but the grooms had been given clear instructions to be inside the church no later than a quarter after the hour of nine so they would not see their brides arrive.
Not long after the clock in the common room of the Red Rooster Inn chimed the hour, the four men walked to the church, ensuring they were in place well before the time they had been told to be there.
Although it was early, by the time the men entered the church, it was already almost full.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The Gardiner coach arrived at the church only a minute after the Lucas carriage came to a halt. Sir William looked as pleased as Punch. He was normally a jovial man, but on this day when his Charlotte was marrying a man who loved her, he was having a difficult time containing his joy.
Neither the brides nor their families noticed Bennet standing in the shadows—almost in the same spot where he had watched Elizabeth deal with Wickham. His heart was heavy when he saw the love in his daughter’s eyes for Gardiner. He knew he had forfeited the right for her to look at him like that, but it did not stop his regret.
