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But she would have her friends with her, even if it meant that their mother had decided to make the most of a trip to London, and join her daughters in shopping for their trousseaux.

The Gardiners would be notified of the Bennet ladies’ plans first thing in the morning, though Caroline promised that they were welcome at her brother’s home if the Gardiners could not house them on such short notice.

When all the guests had left the house, Richard sought Caroline out to thank her for her resourceful planning.

“You were born to be a countess, for you managed everything, and spared me what worry you could. I am so grateful for your love, and in awe of how you rose to the occasion so magnificently.”

“I hope you know that I mean to always be the wife you require - and deserve,” Caroline said with smug satisfaction.

She stroked his face affectionately. “I have come to love and esteem you so well; I believe I thought not at all of anything but my wish to be your wife in whatever haste we can manage, with our friends to witness us and to condole with you.”

He tugged at her glove, and when she pulled her bare hand free , he kissed it gently. “I shall think myself a lucky man every day, Caroline; hopefully in happier times soon to follow this ordeal.”

***

The caravan of carriages to London was itself quite an ordeal.

Despite Mr. And Mrs. Bennet’s protests, they had been persuaded that only Jane and Elizabeth should be brought to London, and their younger sisters left at home.

Two carriages conveyed them and their friends from Netherfield, followed by another laden with trunks, including several empty ones that would soon be filled when Mrs. Bennet had her pick of the finest fabrics her brother’s warehouses could offer for her daughters’ new wardrobes.

For three days, Elizabeth divided her time between shopping with her mother, sister, aunt, and Caroline, visiting Mr. Darcy and his relations in mourning, and enjoying the company of her Gardiner cousins. On the fourth day, Caroline Bingley was to wed Richard Fitzwilliam, the Earl of Matlock.

When Elizabeth and her relations arrived at the church, Georgiana hurriedly informed her that Lady Catherine had arrived at Darcy House that morning, demanding that the new earl wed her daughter at once.

“It was a ghastly scene,” Georgiana said.

“She was cross that Richard had denied her entry to Matlock House, and I was very sorry to have let her into my brother’s home.

Of course, I thought she meant to mourn the loss of her brother, not to…

well there was a great deal of yelling between her and William, and the Dowager Countess. ”

The new earl had sent his stepmother and sisters to Darcy House, so that he might have privacy with his bride on their wedding night.

Elizabeth had been apprehensive at the supercilious Fitzwilliam sisters sharing a roof with Mr. Darcy, whose engagement they had not responded to with anything like congratulations.

As if sensing Elizabeth’s worry, Georgiana said, “My brother and I removed to Mr. Bingley’s house yesterday.

I am glad of it - William says our aunts might vex one another until one or both depart for elsewhere, though he fears they shall tear the house apart.

Though they both favor the match between Richard and our cousin Anne, they have never gotten along amicably. ”

“I hope they will not attempt to interfere with the wedding ceremony,” Elizabeth said.

“William would not tell them where it is to take place, and we took a circuitous route through town so that they could not pursue us.”

“What an auspicious beginning for the bride and groom,” Elizabeth drawled. “But is the wedding breakfast not to take place at Darcy House?”

Georgiana gasped. “Oh dear! Richard was sure his step-mother would not dare misbehave, now that she is rather at his mercy, for she is not satisfied with what was settled upon her by my uncle. But with Lady Catherine present….”

“I suppose it is too late to alter the arrangements. Surely Mr. Bingley might act as host instead, to avoid any further unpleasantness? Even the Gardiners might open their home, through Mr. Bingley’s house is closer.”

But there was not time for such matters; the bride arrived and the wedding proceeded, and Elizabeth was relieved that this, at least, had gone off smoothly and beautifully.

Caroline and her husband exchanged tender vows, their eyes glistening with tears of love, and afterward received hearty congratulations from the few fortunate enough to attend.

After the ceremony, they all went to Darcy House for the wedding breakfast, which was to be a small and subdued affair for less than a dozen guests.

However, upon arriving at Darcy House, they were informed by the harried butler that Lady Catherine had suffered a stroke, and though the meal was ready to be served, the ladies of the house were all in uproar upstairs, despite the physician’s attempt to dose them all with laudanum as soon as he answered the summons to attend Lady Catherine.

She was in grim condition, but expected to survive her ordeal, though her health would never again be what it once was.

William was determined to resolve the situation himself so that the newlyweds might enjoy the meal and the company of their friends, but Lord and Lady Matlock were ready to join him in battle.

Elizabeth could only remain at William’s side and soothe his agitation, even as she marveled at how he championed his cousin.

Caroline, too, was ready to valiantly defend him in managing everything, for Lord Matlock was now the patriarch of the family.

Jane, Georgiana, Mrs. Bennet, and the Gardiners all waited patiently for three quarters of an hour to begin the meal, once the ladies of the house had been subdued.

Caroline and Elizabeth had endured considerable derision from Lady Catherine on their first - and hopefully last - meeting with the lady.

Her daughter, Miss Anne de Bourgh, was surprisingly pleasant, if different than Mr. Collins’ flowery description had portrayed her.

She had no wish to marry either of her cousins, or anybody at all, and apologized profusely for her mother’s intrusion into the bittersweet felicity of the day.

When the meal was served, Miss de Bourgh graciously asked to join in the celebration, and Richard’s eldest sister, Lady Rosamund braved her stepmother’s vitriol to join the party, as well.

It was an odd experience to meet the woman Elizabeth had once believed would marry Mr. Darcy, but Miss de Bourgh was civil to Elizabeth, and indeed behaved very amicably toward everybody.

She declared that her gift to the newlyweds would be to remove the dowager countess, as well as Lady Renata and Lady Regina to Rosings as soon as Lady Catherine was well enough to travel.

“If we may trespass on your hospitality a while longer, Cousin Darcy, I shall keep our relations well occupied at Rosings. I believe it is time that I become mistress of what has long been mine, though I have always preferred the indolent convenience of allowing my mother to run Rosings. There will surely be an influx of de Bourgh relations coming to call when it becomes known that I have taken on the role of mistress, and my aunt and cousins may be useful in keeping the single gentlemen of my father’s family at bay. ”

“I am at your disposal if you require any assistance in matters of business,” William told her. He made the same offer to his other cousin, and both admitted that they were likely to rely upon him a great deal in the coming months.

When it was time for the guests to depart, William sought Elizabeth out for a moment of privacy, and apologized for the duty to his family that would hinder his ability to court her for the remaining months of their engagement, for they had agreed to wait to wed until after three months of mourning for his uncle.

Elizabeth would not hear of it. “I am proud of you, my love, for being such a man that your relations can rely on in their time of need. My admiration and respect for you this day have only deepened my regard. And I believe my mother can be counted upon to extend our stay in London a while longer.”

In this conjecture Elizabeth proved as prescient as her sister Jane.

Mrs. Bennet trespassed on the Gardiners’ hospitality for a fortnight complete, and though Mr. Darcy was often wanted by his relations, he managed to make time for Elizabeth nearly every day of her stay in London.

She saw enough of Georgiana and Miss de Bourgh to grow fonder of them both, and though she saw little of Lady Matlock during what ought to have been her honeymoon, Caroline and Elizabeth exchanged notes daily between Mayfair and Cheapside.

The Earl and Countess were as happy as they could be during such a period of sorrow, and Caroline offered Elizabeth every reassurance that beginning a marriage amidst such tribulations was not without some advantages in promoting intimacy.

Elizabeth took comfort in knowing that her friend was happy, and that she and William had much to look forward to.