Truly, she did have a choice, but the alternative was much less pleasant. No matter what Mary did, she would always be under someone else’s control or guardianship, and she would never really be loved in any romantic sense. That sort of nonsense was reserved for the pretty girls of the world, which Mary decidedly was not.
Her choice was to place herself in the hands of this man who would protect and provide for her or to hope that one of her sisters would marry a rich man who could provide for all of them. Otherwise, when her father eventually passed on, they would all have to subsist on Mama’s small income.
When Mary reminded herself of this, the choice was so obviously clear. “I will marry you, Mr. Allen, and I will do everything in my power to be the wife you need me to be,” she said earnestly.
Mr. Allen’s serious eyes softened ever so slightly. “Thank you,” he said.
Mary spent the following six weeks preparing for her new role as the wife of the wealthiest man in the neighborhood. She left all the clothes shopping to her mother, who had much more enjoyment in the process than Mary ever could, but she was busy in many other ways.
She spent hours poring over ledgers, trying to understand the various expenses associated with a large home, what expenses were essential and where economies could be made when necessary. She started with Longbourn’s ledgers. Once she felt she understood them, she asked Mr. Allen if she could study those of Braydon Hall.
He approved and added that should she have any questions about it, she could ask Mrs. Hampton. Mary spent many hours at her future home, asking hundreds of questions and learning everything she possibly could about how it was run. She got to know every single servant, both indoors and out. Since she was there so often, she was also able to oversee the renovation of the mistress’ suite, fine tuning it until she felt it was absolutely perfect.
During these six weeks, Mary grew in confidence as she repeatedly heard approval of her actions from both Mr. Allen and Mrs. Hampton. By the time her wedding day came, Mary was confident she could be the wife Mr. Allen expected her to be.
Chapter 4
Mary’s wedding took place in early September, and her wedding breakfast was the social event of the year. Every member of every family of note in the neighborhood attended as well as a few friends of Mr. Allen who lived a little farther away.
Mary wore the dress her mother chose, and her hair was styled by Elizabeth and Jane who repeatedly asked if Mary was certain this was what she wanted. Despite Mary’s assurance that it was, indeed, what she wanted, Elizabeth and Jane still seemed as though they were mourning her marriage instead of celebrating it.
The memory of Miss Lucas’ comment on how Elizabeth and Jane were hoping for a love match came to mind. For her older sisters, who were everything that could be attractive to a man, Mary could understand their devotion to their ideals. For Mary, however, a life filled with purpose, being cared for by a man who was responsible and reasonably kind, was the best she could hope for.
When Mary entered the church on the arm of her father, Mr. Allen was already standing at the altar waiting for her. She took note of his gray hair and his weathered and slightly wrinkled face. Despite his age he was still a handsome man. Only a slight paunch marred his tall, trim, and upright figure.
For a brief moment, Mary wondered how many ladies had fallen in love with him only to be turned away by hisself-proclaimed unaffectionate nature. She quickly tossed the thought aside, however. It did not matter. She was not marrying this man for love, at least not in a romantic sense. She respected him, and that was enough to accomplish what was expected of her.
The ceremony proceeded, and the vows were said. Mary meant every word she said, and she could tell that Mr. Allen was serious and determined as well. Truly, that was all that mattered.
When it was over, Mary signed her name as Mary Bennet for the last time in the church’s register. From now on, she was Mary Allen. From now on, she belonged to Mr. Allen instead of her father and mother.
As Mary signed her name, she looked at Mr. Allen’s signature and realized that she had not even known his first name, which she could now see was Henry. Henry Allen, her husband.
She took his arm as he escorted her out of the church. They boarded his carriage and proceeded to Longbourn where the wedding breakfast was being held. There was not room inside the house for such a crowd, so Mama had served everything in the garden.
Mary received many congratulations from everyone she had ever known. She tried very hard to maintain her serenity and even reached for gracefulness, but after more than an hour of being surrounded by the celebrating crowd, she was quite fatigued.
Finally, Mr. Allen came for her and said, “I believe we are both quite tired of this celebration. Shall we leave?”
“Yes, please,” Mary replied promptly, and Mr. Allen gave her a brief, rare smile. She then took his arm as they went toMama and Papa to say their farewells. Mary was grateful for her new husband’s way of naturally taking charge, for it meant that they didn’t linger over farewells for very long before they were in his carriage and heading for Braydon Hall.
Many of Mary’s belongings had already been delivered to her new home, so it was very little trouble for her to change out of her wedding dress and into one of her more comfortable day dresses. Her new maid, Anna, helped her put on one of her new mob caps, showing distinctly for all to see that Mary Allen was a married woman.
After that, she wasn’t quite certain what to do with herself. She thought back to everything Mr. Allen had told her, and she remembered he had once said she was to take over running the household from the very moment he brought her home as his wife.
So, Mary went down to the front drawing room and rang for Mrs. Hampton. They discussed what was to be served for dinner as well as meal plans for the next day. When she was done talking to Mrs. Hampton, Mary went into the little office set aside for her use and looked over the household ledgers to see if anything had been added since she last looked.
When she was done, she headed back to the drawing room to see if her husband had come down yet, but there was no sign of him. He had hinted that they would usually only see each other at dinner, so she assumed he had begun as he meant to go on.
Seeking employment, Mary went to fetch the charity basket she had brought with her. She always had some little article of clothing she was working on, so she pulled out a little nightgown for a newborn and began working. After a time, Mary relaxed into the familiar rhythm of sewing. Feeling comfortable in her quiet surroundings, she began singing softly to herself.
She was startled out of her reverie by her husband’s deep voice saying, “That was a pleasant little song. What was it?”
He came into the room and sat in a comfortable armchair nearby. Mary blushed. “It was nothing,” she said, “just a little ditty children sing to remember their numbers.”
“Ah, I thought the tune sounded familiar, but I couldn’t hear the words,” he said. “I have not been around children much in many, many years. Not since my son was young.”
Mary nodded but didn’t know what to say. She had become more comfortable with Mr. Allen, but now that it was just the two of them, she didn’t know what was expected.
