“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 notallhis 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 hadgrown 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.”
Epilogue
Kitty’s Story
February 3, 1816
Kitty lightly skipped down the steps of her father’s townhome, headed for the double drawing rooms where the duke’s guests, many of whom were politicians, were certain to be gathering for a night of cards.
Though the Duke of Derby had resisted politics at first, he quickly became interested in the intellectual and philosophical debates that sometimes took place in the House of Lords. Kitty could never tell whether he found more amusement at the frequent stupidity of his peers or more intellectual stimulation from the occasional intelligent comment.
In the end, it mattered little to her. What mattered was that her father had taken his seat in parliament seriously, much to the surprise of everyone who ever knew him. Because of this, Kitty spent every winter and spring in London. Fortunately, so did a great many of her friends as well as three of her four sisters.
She relished these months for the opportunities to socialize and to shop as much as she wished, but she always found relief at Lockwood in the summer and autumn. It was quieter there, but not so quiet as to be boring, especially when Mama hosted one of her famous house parties.
The reason Mama’s house parties were famous was because they were unusually relaxing. Most house parties had activities scheduled in the morning, afternoon, and evening of every day, making them far too busy and often stressful. Mama, however, always said that the country was for relaxing. So, she simply made the house and its grounds, along with every possible entertainment she could acquire, available to her guests openly, and each person could decide for themselves what they would like to do.
She had only hosted three so far, but after the last one, she had been inundated with requests from every acquaintance she had to be invited to her next one.
Both Mama and Papa occasionally spoke of retiring to Longbourn to be closer to their old friends, but Kitty was certain that at this point it was all hot air. They had visited Longbourn a couple of times, and each time Papa complained of being bored, and Mama complained that there simply weren’t enough servants in a house that small.
