Page 21 of Superior Connections
A fortnight after the announcement of their engagement, Elizabeth and Jane, together with their betrotheds and Lady Rosseford, returned to Meryton.
By that time, Mrs Bennet had recovered from what she called a ‘shockingly happy blessing’, and she greeted the two gentlemen with reasonable composure. If in the case of Mr Bingley she had harboured some hopes that he might return one day, the notion that Mr Darcy would become her son-in-law was a difficult one for her sensitive nerves to comprehend.
The people of Meryton had barely recovered from the unbelievable news that the Bennets had an exceedingly rich aunt when they were hit by the reports of the double engagement. The Bennets were declared the luckiest people that ever breathed in that neighbourhood.
Two important things had happened in Hertfordshire during Elizabeth’s stay in London. First, Mr George Wickham had requested a transfer to a regiment in the North, for reasons and with means that remained unclear. The transfer had been approved, and the officer had left Meryton at the end of January; many ladies regretted him, and many shop owners revealed he had left significant debts, which had later been paid by someone else. When Elizabeth questioned Mr Darcy on the subject, he answered there was no use in talking about things that were already done.
Also, Charlotte Lucas had married Mr Collins in January and moved to Kent, and while she hoped her friend had found peace in her new home, Elizabeth feared her cousin and his wife might become a target for Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s rage.
Lady Catherine had been so angry about her favourite nephew’s engagement that she had sent one vicious letter to him and one more, slightly tempered, to Lady Rosseford.
Mr Darcy had ripped up his letter and refused to share it with Elizabeth, very likely due to its malicious content.
In the one sent to Elizabeth’s aunt, Lady Catherine had applied to Lady Rosseford’s honour to forbid the marriage, declaring Mr Darcy was engaged to her daughter. Lady Rosseford confronted Mr Darcy and, once she discovered the truth, she wrote back:
Lady Catherine, I have not had the pleasure of making your acquaintance, but my nephew Mr Collins, who worships you, has told me all about your extraordinary qualities as well as about the more than sixty windows at Rosings; therefore I feel like I know you. This is why, being of your mother’s age, I shall kindly advise you to cease making a fool of yourself and stop exposing your lovely daughter to ridicule.
You should be content to have the endless veneration of my nephew, and I shall be pleased to have your nephew married to my niece. It should be a situation to the advantage of all.
Be careful not to upset your daughter and other nephews, or you might end up alone one day. Mr Collins might not live near you forever.
Elizabeth believed the letter was too harsh, but Mr Darcy applauded it; hence it was sent.
In March, Stoke Park was completely finished. Lady Rosseford found it too large for her alone, so all five Bennet sisters took their own rooms there, and they split their time between that house and Longbourn.
Being a large estate, Mr Darcy took it upon himself to hire a steward for her ladyship and to assist in the dealings with the tenants to ensure a fair contract on both sides. Mr Bennet and Mr Bingley both assisted Mr Darcy in this, but neither of them possessed the skills or interest for such tasks. In contrast, Elizabeth showed great interest in anything her betrothed was doing, and they spent a large amount of time in the library, where he taught her about his business and she learnt most diligently.
In the first week of April, Longbourn Church hosted the wedding of Miss Elizabeth Bennet to Mr Darcy and of Miss Jane Bennet to Mr Bingley, in the presence of their families and friends. Stoke Park was put to good use, as all the guests were invited back there after the wedding for a celebratory breakfast. The guests from London were also accommodated there, including Lord and Lady Matlock, the viscount and his wife, Miss Georgiana Darcy, Mrs Annesley, the Gardiners, and Colonel Fitzwilliam, who was recently engaged to Miss Anne de Bourgh.
At Netherfield, Mr Bingley’s sisters eventually decided to make peace with their brother and new sister. Rejoicing in their felicity, Jane and Mr Bingley accepted the offer of peace, but Lady Rosseford refused to meet the women until the wedding day.
At Lady Rosseford’s invitation, Miss Darcy and Mrs Annesley agreed to remain at Stoke Park for a fortnight.
On the contrary, Mr Darcy dismissed any suggestion of staying in Hertfordshire longer and insisted on taking his wife to London after their vows had been exchanged. His vehement refusal to remain might have upset Lady Rosseford if she had not known enough about the impatience of a gentleman who married for love.
Therefore, around noon, after a warm farewell, Mr and Mrs Darcy entered their carriage and separated themselves from the rest of the world. The first thing Mr Darcy did was to take his wife in his arms, the place where she fitted perfectly.
Before passion drove them towards another sort of activity, Elizabeth asked her husband, whose lips were already searching hers,
“My love, there is something very important that I have wished to ask you for a long time but kept forgetting.”
“You know I am always happy to answer you, my beloved.”
“On the evening we arrived in London with Lady Rosseford, we went immediately to our rooms. From my window, I admired the view over Hyde Park, and down on the street, among all those people—”
“You saw me?” he interrupted her, gently caressing her face.
She smiled, her soul bursting with love. “So it was you! I thought it was only my desire and my imagination.”
“I knew you would arrive that evening, and I walked up and down the street for a while. I saw you enter the house, then, after some time, I saw you at the window.” His arms pulled her closer to his chest, and she put her head on his shoulder.
“There is something else that I have been thinking about for a long time…something I actually regret,” she continued, and he frowned.
“The day of the accident…you offered to bandage my injury, and I refused you. I only agreed that you could place your neckcloth over my stocking.”
“So you did.” He smiled, his lips tantalising her face.
“As shocking as it might sound, I regretted not allowing you to take off my boot and stocking. I always wondered about the feel of your touch on my skin.”
His lips found hers as he replied, “You are a little minx, Mrs Darcy. You wish to torture me, knowing I must wait a few more hours until I am alone with you in our apartment, in our bed… But you should know by now how my touch on your skin feels.”
“I do know…very much so…which is why I confessed my regret. For waiting so long,” she whispered back.
“I see… I shall try to make you forget any regrets once we are home. And I promise that, by tomorrow, there will be nothing left for you to wonder about regarding my touches, my caresses, my kisses. You will know all about them.”
His lips captured hers again, and she could not answer him — nor did she wish to. She had no doubt that he would keep his promise.