After accepting wishes for their future felicity, Lizzy, William, Mary, Anna—who would not be left at home—and Mrs Annesley boarded the coach for the short ride to Berkeley Square. To say that Jane and Richard were ecstatic about the engagement was an understatement. That their estates were less than ten miles one from the other was especially good news to the sisters. Now, Richard and William, who had always felt more like brothers than cousins, would in fact be brothers through marriage.
From there they made for Portman Square, where they descended on Hadlock House first. The reception and reaction to the news were no less enthusiastic than it had been at Darcy House. Charlotte and Jamey confirmed they would be at the dinner.
As they were only a few doors down, and little John was sleeping under the watchful eye of one of his nursemaids, Marie and Andrew called at Hadlock House after seeing the Holder equipage arrive. They too were very pleased by the news and happy to welcome Lizzy and William as their newest sister and brother. When informed of the dinner, the Hilldales said they would attend, as they had no prior engagements.
The final stop was at the Gardiners’ in Gracechurch Street. It was almost four miles from Portman Square to the house, so it was close to an hour later.
Maddie welcomed the callers with glee, which only increased when they shared the news. While Elizabeth’s and Mary’s two youngest sisters and her own children expressed their pleasure for the couple, Maddie sent a note to Edward’s office.
He arrived home in less than fifteen minutes and added his words of congratulations for his niece’s and soon-to-be nephew’s union. The Gardiners also accepted the invitation to join the celebration that evening.
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The day after the engagement, an invitation arrived from Buckingham House to invite the ladies of Holder House to tea with Her Majesty the next day.
On their arrival at Buckingham House, Edith and her two youngest daughters were shown into a drawing room where the Queen, a few of her daughters, and the ladies-in-waiting sat. After curtsies to Her Majesty, the three callers were asked to be seated. A lavish tea service was brought in and two of the ladies-in-waiting poured tea and made plates of some of the mountain of delectable treats. They, as would be expected, served Her Majesty and the princesses before the guests.
When the tea service was cleared away, the Queen looked at Lady Mary expectantly. “We would be gratified if Lady Mary played for us,” Her Majesty invited.
Mary sat at the grand pianoforte and placed some of the sheet music she had brought with her on the holder. Elizabeth took a seat next to her sister to turn the pages. After a nod from the monarch, Mary began to play. As she always did, she was soon lost in the music.
When Lady Mary completed the complicated piece, there was silence for some moments before Her Majesty stood and began to applaud with great enthusiasm. As soon as she did so, the princesses and ladies-in-waiting joined in.
“Lady Mary, you are a virtuoso. We look forward to hearing you play again in the future. We thank you for allowing us to experience this excellent performance,” the Queen gushed, and she never did so publicly. Her Majesty turned to Lady Edith. “All three of your daughters are diamonds of the first waters. You have much over which to be proud.”
“Your Majesty is too magnanimous,” Edith replied after standing and sinking into a curtsy.
The Queen and her daughters stood. They received curtsies from their guests, and then Her Majesty led the princesses and her ladies-in-waiting out of the drawing room.
Edith, Elizabeth, and Mary followed a major-domo back to the entrance through which they had entered. After donning their outerwear, they departed.
Chapter 34
Holder sent the announcement to the papers with more than enough time for it to appear in Tuesday’s editions.
The evening of the engagement saw a large and happy group at the celebratory dinner held at Holder House. There were many toasts made to honour the newly engaged couple. During the separation of the sexes, William had to suffer a fair amount of ribbing from the men in attendance, some of it on the ribald side, although no one crossed any lines with Lizzy’s father seated at the table with them.
Darcy and Holder agreed to send notices to the holders of the livings in their parishes so the banns would begin to be called and would be completed long before the date which had been decided for the wedding.
In the drawing room, a subject Elizabeth would have rather not have participated in, was being discussed. Mamma and Mother—as she had been asked to call Aunt Anne—were discussing all the shopping Elizabeth would need to undertake with Aunts Elaine and Maddie. Marie, Charlotte, and Jane were adding suggestions as well. She knew the purchases were all necessary to add to her trousseau, but that did not mean that Elizabeth needed to enjoy her least favourite activity.
The plan decided upon was that between visits to the modiste and all the other stores, Elizabeth would attend someTonevents so that no one could accuse her and William of hiding away from society. The advantage of being at some balls, even one evening at Almack’s, was that Elizabeth could dance the three significant sets with her William. The more men, either family or close friends who attended, the fewer sets she would have to suffer men who would think they would have a chance of drawing her away from William. Not even a royal would be able to convince Elizabeth to break with her beloved affianced.
In early April, they would go to Netherfield Park so that those in the neighbourhood could wish the engaged couple happy. They would remove to Holder Heights after mid-April, Edith hope with enough time because Charlotte was due to deliver in April or May and she would be at Hadlock. She would communicate with Mrs Steveton by epistle regarding the arrangements for the wedding. She prayed that her first grandchild would not be born before they departed for Holder Heights.
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The next day there were many groans when the notice of the engagement of Lady Elizabeth Carrington-Bennet to Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy appeared. Most of those moaning over a lost opportunity were not ladies lamenting the engagement of the Darcy heir; they were men vexed at losing a chance with Lady Elizabeth and her extremely attractive dowry.
When Lady Elizabeth was seen at the modiste accompanied by her mother, future mother-in-law, the Countess of Matlock, another lady, rumoured to be another aunt, Lady Jane and the Viscountess of Hilldale, it was understood that they were shopping for her needs once she married. Word had reached theTonthat the only reason the Viscountess of Hadlock was not with the entourage was that she was not in London and large with child.
By the time the Carringtons, Fitzwilliams, and Darcys attended the first ball after the engagement, other than two men who needed an infusion of funds to prop up their failing holdings, the other men retired from the field graciously. Thankfully all Elizabeth’s sets were taken before either man could secure a set. During the ball, both men were invited to meet Lord Holder. Standing behind him were Biggs and Johns, looking like they were hungry, and the two fortune hunters were their aperitif. The two were told that their situations were well known, and if either of them approached Lady Elizabeth in any way, the nextmeetingwould be with the two huge footmen and some of their men.
The two never came near Lady Elizabeth again.
For both Elizabeth and William, the highlight of that first ball after the betrothal was of them dancing the first, supper, and final sets together.
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