Jane had only smiled and said gently, “Mama must feel useful somehow.”
And so Elizabeth submitted herself to the chaos.
Mrs. Hurst, to everyone’s mild surprise, offered the use of Netherfield for the wedding breakfast, which Mrs. Bennet seized upon with grateful enthusiasm. With so many guests expected, and the Gardiners bringing all four of their children, Longbourn would have been stretched well past comfort.
At last, the morning of Monday, December twentieth came, and it was time to greet Mark and the Gardiners.
The sun was bright but pale, and the air crisp with frost. The lane had been cleared, but patches of white clung to the hedgerows and sparkled on the tree branches overhead. The Bennet family stood bundled outside the house, breath puffing visibly, all eyes fixed on the turn of the lane.
“I canseemy breath,” Lydia announced dramatically. “If they do not come soon, I shall perish of frostbite.”
Kitty let out a sharp cough.
“That is enough,” Elizabeth said gently, drawing her sister’s shawl tighter. “Back inside with you, before that cough becomes something worse.”
Kitty scowled but obeyed, and moments later, the distant crunch of wheels on packed snow made them all turn.
“There they are!” Jane said, her voice alight.
The Gardiner carriage rolled into view, little Joseph and Harriet’s faces already pressed against the windows. Elizabeth’s heart swelled at the sight. Mark leapt out the moment the door opened, grinning and wind-tousled, carrying Joseph in his arms while the girls tumbled out after.
“Cousin Lizzy!” cried Harriet, flinging herself at her.
Elizabeth caught her with a laugh, staggering slightly as Harriet’s legs wrapped around her waist.
Behind them, Aunt Gardiner stepped down gracefully, cheeks pink with cold. Uncle Gardiner followed more sedately, brushing snow from his shoulders and lifting his hat to Mr. Bennet.
Georgiana had come to the door to watch, her expression radiant. “So many!” she whispered with delighted awe. “And all at once!”
“Do not get used to it,” Elizabeth said, squeezing her hand. “Chaos is only delightful in short bursts.”
Lydia, however, was not to be left out.
“Lizzy,” she said brightly, “once you are married and respectable, you must host me in London. I wish to go to parties and balls and visit Bond Street at least twice a day.”
“We shall consider it,” Elizabeth said dryly, “depending on behavior.”
Georgiana laughed softly, leaning against the post. “I have two whole years until I come out. I cannot decide if I am pleased or horrified at having to wait.”
“Pleased,” Elizabeth assured her. “I promise.”
Inside the house, pandemonium reigned. Coats and cloaks, hats and bonnets flew in all directions, the Gardiner children ran shrieking down the corridor, and Aunt Gardiner attempted, in vain, to wrangle them into something resembling civility.
Mark, of course, only egged them on.
“I think your brother is more trouble than the little ones,” Mr. Bennet said to Elizabeth with a resigned look.
∞∞∞
The following day brought another arrival—their cousin, Mr. William Collins.
The tone in the household shifted subtly the moment his carriage was seen. Jane straightened her spine. Mrs. Bennet pulled her shawl tighter. Even Lydia stopped chattering.
But Mark strode forward and embraced the stiff young man with genuine warmth. “William! At last. How fare you in Kent?”
“I have been most blessed,” Mr. Collins replied solemnly. “The patronage of Lady Catherine de Bourgh is the crown of my ministry.”
Darcy’s brows lifted ever so slightly. He turned to Elizabeth with a murmur.“Heis your father’s cousin?”
