The two couples consulted the calendar on Holder’s desk. Wednesday, the final day of May was selected, a few days past the minimum Holder had demanded.
‘At least,’ Edith thought, ‘there is no possible suitor on the horizon for Mary. We will still have one of our girls at home with us.’ As hard as it would be to see Lizzy leave and join William, Edith knew that her middle daughter could not have found a man better suited to her.
“Mamma, Papa, after we share the news with those in the drawing room, may I join William and go to Darcy House to inform Aunt Anne, Uncle Robert, and Anna of our good news?” Elizabeth requested. Surprisingly, it was one of the few days Anna was not at Holder House.
“As long as Mrs Annesley and, if she wants to join you, Mary travels in the coach with you, yes, you may go,” Holder allowed.
With Jane’s marriage to Richard, a real familial link had been forged with the Fitzwilliams. When Lizzy married William, the same would be true of the Darcys. As she walked with Paul, her newly engaged daughter, and William back to the drawing room, Edith remembered that William no longer lived at Pemberley but rather at Rivington. It was farther away from Holder Heights than Pemberley; however, it was very close to Rosings Park, which meant that Jane and Lizzy would be near one to the other when at their estates.
Mary and Mrs Annesley were the only ones left in the drawing room. As soon as her parents, Lizzy, and William walked in, Mary arched an eyebrow in question.
“William asked Lizzy to marry him, and she accepted. Your mother and I gave our permission and blessed the union…” Anything else Holder was planning to say was lost when Mary gave an unladylike squeal of pleasure and surged towards Lizzy to hug and congratulate her.
“Mary, will you join us, and Mrs Annesley, of course, when we make the short carriage ride to Darcy House?” Elizabeth requested after her younger sister had expressed her approbation for the union to herself and William.
“I would love to. I can only imagine Anna’s face. Kitty and Lydia missed this when they returned to Gracechurch Street this morning. Also, we must go to Matlock House to tell Aunt Elaine and Uncle Reggie, then to Fitzwilliam House to inform Jane and Richard, and to Portman Square to see Charlotte and Jamey, as well as Marie and Andrew,” Mary gushed.
“Yes, to all of them, and you forgot to mention the Gardiners and most of the Phillipses. We will go to Gracechurch Street before we come home. It is good Aunt Agatha and her children remain even if Uncle Frank needed to return to Meryton this morning,” Elizabeth responded. She turned to her parents. “May we invite everyone to join us for a family dinner this evening, or do Mrs Fenster and Cook need more time to prepare for a large party?”
“I will speak to the housekeeper and Cook and then, as soon as I know when it will be, notes will be sent to all of the family inviting them for dinner. I have a feeling that today will not be a problem for them, but I will not make that assumption,” Edith replied.
“While you do that, I will send a notice to the papers,” Holder stated.
William had walked, so a Holder conveyance was called for, and soon those going to Darcy House were on their way.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“William, Lizzy, and Mary, this is a very welcome surprise,” Lady Anne enthused when the three entered the music room where she had been superintending Anna’s practice on the pianoforte. Mrs Annesley followed behind her charges. Lady Anne could see that something had changed between Lizzy and William, but she did not want to pre-empt them from telling her what it was.
“Is Father in his study?” William enquired. His mother nodded, informing him that he was; William rang for the butler. When Killion entered, he was asked to have Mr Darcy join them in the music room.
“Summoned about in my own house,” Darcy grumbled good-naturedly.
“Mother, Father, and Anna, it is my pleasure to tell you that Lizzy and I will marry at the end of May.” William just managed to get the words out when Anna flew into Lizzy’s arms, and his mother wrapped her arms around him.
“Lizzy, you will be my sister! I am so happy; I will have so many sisters!” Anna gushed as she held Lizzy tightly. “Mary, it is the best of news that we will be sisters!”
“We have always counted you as a sister; now it will be official,” Mary said.
Elizabeth was so busy accepting hugs and kisses from her soon-to-be parents-in-law she did not see when William slipped out of the room. He returned before she could notice his absence.
“Lizzy, will you join me in Father’s study? There is something I would like to present to you,” William requested when he returned.
“I think we can allow you two ten minutes, but the door will not be closed all the way. Mrs Annesley,” Lady Anne turned to the companion, “will you take a seat in the hallway outside the study?”
“Of course, your Ladyship,” Mrs Annesley replied.
Their fingers interlaced again, William led Lizzy to the study with the companion following them. She sat near the door and made a point of looking at the grandfather clock in the hallway.
William closed the door and left it open just an inch or two. He took a velvet-covered ring box from his father’s desk and opened it. Inside was a ring with a gold band and diamonds. There was a large, rose-cut stone in the centre surrounded by smaller stones. On either side, set into the band, were three hogback[10]diamonds.
Elizabeth watched with fascination as William slipped the ring into place on the relevant finger of her left hand. She stood before him and lifted her head expectantly. This time they still had most of the allotted time left.
Seeing the way his betrothed invited his kisses, William could do nothing but comply. The first kiss was no chaste one but a deep, lingering kiss which expressed their pent-up desires which had been interrupted at Holder House. The kisses deepened, and William almost lost control when Lizzy let out a mewl of pleasure.
Knowing their time was almost up, they pulled back a little and stood panting, breathing in one another’s breath with their foreheads touching. A minute later, Mrs Annesley cleared her throat. When the newly engaged couple exited the study, they were almost entirely put to rights.
On their return to the drawing room, they found Aunt Elaine and Uncle Reggie present, summoned by a note from Lady Anne. The latter informed them a note had arrived from Holder House inviting them to a dinner that evening.
