Page 29 of The Duke of Derby (Pride and Prejudice Variation)
The night before Elizabeth’s wedding, she gathered two of her sisters, Jane and Mary, into her room. Each of them sat cross-legged on her bed in their nightgowns.
“I wish to confess something,” she said. “I can only hope that you two will be able to sympathize or at the very least tell me I am not insane.”
Mary simply stared at her while Jane looked at her questioningly.
“I am terrified,” she said. “I am so very scared of tomorrow.”
It was Mary’s turn to appear curious while Jane said, “I know exactly what you mean.”
“I don’t understand,” said Mary. “You are both marrying men you love with all your heart. They are both men who would sooner cut off their own arm than hurt you in any way. Why are you scared?”
“You aren’t scared?” asked Elizabeth. When Mary shook her head, Elizabeth said, “Perhaps it is because your wedding is still a month away. Up until a few days ago, I wasn’t particularly frightened either.”
“It is the same with me,” said Jane.
“Then what are you afraid of?” asked Mary.
“The unknown,” said Elizabeth and Jane nodded.
“I will be leaving my family and going to live in another house forever. I know Fitzwilliam, and I very much look forward to spending every day with him, but I don’t know his house, his servants, or anything about the pattern of his life other than what he has told me.
Even though I am certain I will be happy, I don’t know what form that happiness will take. It is utterly terrifying.”
“It is the same for me,” said Jane, “except I am also terrified of failure. I worry that I will let Richard down or that I will fail in my responsibility to my tenants. There are a million different things that can go wrong, and I am sure that at some point I will fall flat on my face, either figuratively or literally. I am so nervous, I expect I truly will trip on my way to the altar tomorrow.”
“Oh, don’t say such things,” cried Elizabeth.
“Now, I can’t get the image out of my head.
There I will be, dressed in my favorite gown, walking toward my favorite person in the world.
Then, all of a sudden I will be flat on my stomach, face pressed into the floor, after the most elaborate trip known to mankind. ”
“You two are being utterly ridiculous,” said Mary, though she had a little bit of a smile on her face. She had been much more prone to smiling ever since her engagement had been announced. “Even if you tripped in such a spectacular manner, do you think Mr. Darcy would love you one jot less?”
Then Mary turned to Jane. “As for you, there is nothing to fear. If you make a mistake with your responsibilities, chances are that Colonel Fitzwilliam will catch it and help you fix it. The same goes in reverse. If he makes a mistake, you can help him fix it. That’s why you are marrying him in the first place, is it not?
Because the two of you make good partners. ”
Elizabeth reached over and hugged Mary. “You are so good to us,” she said.
When she released her sister, she said, “I promise that, on the eve of your wedding, when you are absolutely paralyzed with fear for some reason or another, I will be there to talk some sense into you just as you are doing for us.”
Jane also reached across and hugged Mary. “I will, as well,” she said.
The three sisters stayed up for at least another hour talking of their futures, both the joy they were looking forward to and the many things they were afraid of until finally, Mary sent them all to bed reminding them that they didn’t want to fall asleep in the middle of their own wedding breakfast due to a lack of sleep.
~~~~~
Happy for all his paternal feelings was the day on which the Duke of Derby gave away his two eldest daughters in marriage. Well, perhaps not all his paternal feelings. There was a bit of sadness in knowing that he would no longer be the primary protector and provider for his little girls.
He observed with joy the overflowing happiness of both Jane and Elizabeth as they said their vows. He watched the grooms carefully to ensure there was no flippancy or lack of dedication as they said their vows.
The wedding breakfast was mostly a simple cacophony to his ears, though he pretended to be grateful for the many congratulations and slaps on his back that he received from the various gentlemen who had attended.
All of the guests, apart from the Gardiners and the Phillips, were peers or relatives of peers that the duke had met within the last few months.
In his eyes, they were still nearly strangers.
Yet, the people his daughters knew best, the neighbors they had grown up around, were not there to witness his girls getting married. They were all back in Meryton.
In a simple eight-month span, his old life had been ripped out from under him and replaced with a completely new life.
In many ways, it was a far better life. His wife was happier and very much more in her element with the ability to decorate and entertain as much as she wished.
His daughters were all happier than they would have been otherwise, including Lydia, who benefitted daily from the dowry he would not otherwise have been able to provide for her.
Without his new title and new wealth, Elizabeth never would have fallen in love with Mr. Darcy, and Jane likely wouldn’t even have met Colonel Fitzwilliam.
Mary, too, had managed to find a gentleman who made her happy despite the fact that marrying him would mean that she would someday be a duchess.
He occasionally glanced at Kitty throughout the course of the party.
Though she was the only one of his daughters who remained unattached, she too was very happy.
She had made a very good friend in Miss Darcy and had created a circle of friends from among her new acquaintances that she got along very well with, especially when they all went shopping together.
Eventually, the breakfast drew to a close, and the two new carriages belonging to the two new married couples drew up to the front of the house. The guests poured out of the front door to witness the departure of the newlyweds.
As Thomas Bennet, Thirteenth Duke of Derby, stood next to his wife on the top step, watching his two new sons helping his two eldest daughters board their carriages, his wife said, “Oh, Mr. Bennet, God has been very good to us.”
He looked over at Mary, who was standing with a content smile on her face next to Lord Appleby.
He looked over at Kitty, who was, even now, chatting animatedly with Georgiana Darcy.
Then he looked back at his wife, still beautiful even after nearly twenty-four years of marriage.
Her eyes were streaming with tears, but she had a big smile on her lips.
He took her hand and simply held it as he turned back to see Jane and Elizabeth disappear into their carriages.
His wife’s expression, both of sadness and joy, said more than he ever could. He replied, “Indeed, He has, Mrs. Bennet. Indeed, He has.”