Page 49 of The Shades of Pemberley
THE PREVAILING SENTIMENT among those of the neighborhood was that it was about time that William and Elizabeth married, though neither was surprised to be the subject of a few words questioning the timing.
As in all other things, they were determined not to listen to the naysayers and so ignored any such comments as beneath the need to respond.
There was little enough time for them to visit all four and twenty families in the district, so the newlywed Darcys contented themselves with visiting a few dear friends and allowed the rest of their neighbors to offer their sentiments at the wedding ball.
The day before the event, Colonel Fitzwilliam arrived in the company of his parents.
As Darcy, Elizabeth, and Mrs. Darcy had made the earl’s acquaintance already, meeting the countess was not as intimidating, and they soon found her to be lovely and amiable.
Even Mr. Bingley, who had yet remained unacquainted, and of a much lower social standing than anyone else in the room, acquitted himself well.
That evening, they sat down to discuss certain topics of interest.
“You have heard nothing further from Catherine?” asked the earl, turning to the primary source of interest at once.
“I have not,” agreed William. “In truth, I suspected her of biding her time and waiting until our wedding ceremony, hoping to disrupt it. That was a factor in our decision to marry at once and without fanfare.”
The earl shook his head in disgust. “You are correct, I will warrant.”
“Catherine is of such supreme confidence,” added the countess, confirming she was no more enamored with her sister by marriage than her husband, “that she might have expected to carry her point on the strength of her objection.”
“Throwing her from the church would have carried its own benefits,” said William, “but I would prefer not to endure such a disruption. Elizabeth and I both felt the reality of our union far exceeded the trappings of the event.”
“If anything, I suspect we have gained much,” said Elizabeth, taking no trouble to conceal her mirth. “When we are old with grandchildren, we can regale them with tales of how we married on a whim.”
“What whim do you call it, Mrs. Darcy?” asked William, feigning astonishment. “By my account, our wedding was delayed by two months!”
“Now do you see?” chuckled Colonel Fitzwilliam. “Did I not tell you they belonged together?”
“That you did, Anthony,” said the countess. “For once, your perception appears to match reality.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam pouted, but no one paid attention to him.
“I shall be interested to see the results of your gambit, Darcy,” said the earl. “If she does not expire from apoplexy, I am certain she will not quite know what to make of it.”
“I have no intention of making her aware of it. By the time of our scheduled wedding day, Elizabeth and I will be enjoying a brief wedding tour.”
The earl eyed him and nodded, though with considerable reluctance. “Perhaps you have the right of it. Before you go, you had best take care to warn your parson about the potential for trouble, for as you have suggested, I suspect Catherine will go to the church expecting to stop the wedding.
“Now, what of Mr. Bennet and this business of the entail?”
“I have requested that my solicitor investigate,” said Darcy.
“He returned my letter with a request for more information, which I have passed on to Mr. Bennet. There is, I suspect, an excellent chance of success should Mr. Bennet pursue legal action, but I understand his need to weigh his options before deciding.”
The earl shook his head with some disgust. “The way this cousin behaved when he came to Hertfordshire may offer some further substance to Mr. Bennet’s claim. It is not the behavior of a man of the cloth—his bishop now knows of the incident and is conducting his investigation.”
“Will that lead to disciplinary action?” asked Elizabeth.
For a long moment, the earl eyed her before responding.
“I sense a hint of concern in your question, Mrs. Darcy, which is to your credit. Should the bishop decide Collins acted improperly, he will almost certainly be removed from the parsonage at Hunsford, which is a desirable outcome. Any rector who will obey his patron without question, especially those actions of moral depravity, has no business serving as the spiritual guide to a parish.”
The earl shrugged. “It is possible that Collins will lose the parish and be sent to another place where he can learn and toil under a parson who has orders to observe his behavior and attempt to teach him. If the church believes he has gone too far for redemption, they may defrock him altogether. I suspect the former is more likely, for though Collins behaved abominably, my sister’s influence in the matter is a mitigating factor. ”
“Is there any way to remove Lady Catherine’s influence?” asked William.
“I like your way of thinking,” quipped Colonel Fitzwilliam.
With a grin at his son, the earl considered the question.
“Rosings is not Catherine’s, though she rules over it with an iron fist. In Lewis de Bourgh’s will, he left the estate for Anne when she came of age.
As Anne is now two and twenty, she owns the estate.
The question is whether Anne has the reserves to defy her mother. ”
“Anne is of a delicate constitution,” said Lady Susan by way of explanation. “She is a good girl, but her indifferent health makes her cautious.”
“It does, but she will not endure Lady Catherine forever,” said Colonel Fitzwilliam. “Anne has a stubborn side; should my aunt push her too far, she will discover it.”
“Then that may be for the best,” said the earl. “With Catherine removed from control over the estate and Collins gone, perhaps we can influence the selection of the next parson and install an appropriate man in the living.”
William nodded, but he eschewed response, for it was not their concern.
Now that she and William were married, Elizabeth had no more fear of anything Lady Catherine could do, not that she ever thought the lady would carry her point.
Though he had said nothing, Elizabeth suspected her father anticipated Lady Catherine’s appearance and hoped she would come to Longbourn should she find no one at the church.
How likely this outcome was, she could not say, and Elizabeth could only laugh at her father’s whimsical sense of humor.
No one else of her acquaintance would take such enjoyment from the absurdities of others.
THE FOLLOWING DAY WAS Elizabeth’s marriage ball, and everyone in the community attended.
That the presence of a peer of the realm overwhelmed some was beyond dispute, though the earl and the countess did what they could to mitigate the disruption of their presence.
Lady Susan even put Mrs. Bennet at ease, complimenting her on the arrangements she had devised with Mrs. Darcy’s assistance.
If Mrs. Bennet’s beaming smile dimmed at all the rest of the evening, Elizabeth saw nothing of it, for her mother was incandescent with happiness to receive the approval of so prominent a woman.
As Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Darcy were serving as the hosts of the evening, Elizabeth was free to enjoy herself, and that included the opening set with her husband of less than a week.
William looked so handsome as he stood across the line in the position of honor that Elizabeth thought her heart might burst. Then the music began, and they moved across from each other as if they had always been designed as a partnership.
“Well, Mrs. Darcy?” asked he at the first pass. “Are you content, or do you wish we had stuck to our original plan?”
“Not at all, William,” replied Elizabeth. “Whatever regret I felt—which, if I did, was so minute that I did not even recognize it—departed the moment we met before the altar.”
“Then you confess I was correct to insist we move our wedding forward.”
The laughter, free of any care, came easily to Elizabeth’s lips. “Yes, I cannot but suppose you were correct. Do not take it to heart, for I would not suggest that my husband is a perfect man.”
“Not perfect to be certain. I hope you own that I am perfect for you.”
Elizabeth’s heart melted at his words. “That is without a doubt, William.”
“Fitzwilliam and Bingley tease me for my besotted state.”
The heavenward glance was a testament to Elizabeth’s feelings. “Mr. Bingley has no room to throw a shade, considering his obvious interest in my sister.”
It was the truth; they were nearby, and if Mr. Bingley had attention to spare for anyone else in the room, Elizabeth could not see it. Elizabeth was pleased for her sister, for she knew Jane liked Mr. Bingley very well. Though it was still early, it was a most promising inclination.
“As for Colonel Fitzwilliam,” said Elizabeth, “he is far too glib by half.”
“That he is,” agreed William. “Then we shall disregard their witticisms.”
“Yes, we shall.”
After Elizabeth finished her opening dance with William, she shared dances with the earl, Colonel Fitzwilliam, her father, and many other men of the district.
As the belle of this ball without question, Elizabeth never sat out, regardless of the typical scarcity of men at such events.
Not even Lydia could make that boast, though Elizabeth knew the girl would do so regardless.