This resulted in a somewhat awkward conversation between the brothers. Fitzwilliam had escorted his intended and her relativesto their carriage and had sought out his brother when he returned to the house. George Darcy was sitting in his study, and George spoke before Fitzwilliam could speak. “I believe you have found an extraordinary lady, Fitz.”
Fitzwilliam hesitated to speak for a second, his anger not quite evaporating but at least tightly controlled. Seeing his brother’s face, George said again. “Do not think me arrogant, but I have seen women turn their interest from you onto me when they meet me. Bingley’s sister would not hesitate to respond to my overtures were I to appear interested in her and would throw you over in a heartbeat. Your Miss Bennet did not do that, and I believe I actually offended her this evening with my flirtatiousness. I did see your obvious anger pointed in my direction, and while I may not be an ideal brother in many ways, I did want to be assured your Miss Bennet had the right motive for pursuing you.”
For a moment, Fitzwilliam was taken aback by this knowledge. “While I appreciate you looking out for me, Brother, I could have told you the result without you making Elizabeth uncomfortable. Elizabeth is certainly not interested in me for social standing or anything of the sort. Although we have not known each other long, I know she truly loves me for the man I am and not for what I or my family might own. The fact that I am heir presumptive to Pemberley does not figure in at all to her desire to marry me.”
“Perhaps you would have been correct, but at least you can be assured of her faithfulness to you,” George retorted.
“That was never a question, George,” Fitzwilliam insisted. “I know the reason Elizabeth is marrying me, and it is for genuine love. Do you know she almost refused me when I spoke of marriage before she was ready? A woman seeking a fortune orconnections would have leapt at the prospect regardless of how quickly it happened. A woman of Caroline Bingley’s ilk would not hesitate to accept you upon a first meeting, as she would see marriage as nothing more than a business venture. I know you have spoken to our uncle about brokering a match for you, as Mother has persuaded you it is time to marry, but that was never what I wanted. I am thrilled to have the chance to marry for love.”
“I would wager you learning you would inherit an estate upon marriage was not a deterrent to your decision,” George countered.
Fitzwilliam shook his head before replying. “I was unaware of the legacy until I decided to marry Elizabeth. Perhaps we would not have wed quite so quickly, but we would have wed. When I spoke to Mother about Elizabeth, she helped me realise I had already made up my mind and told me as a way to encourage me, I think.”
George had merely shaken his head at his brother, and the conversation had ended there.
The nightbefore the wedding was the first time Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth had been afforded any time alone, and they took advantage of it. He had arrived at the Gardiner home a little early for dinner and had been permitted to speak with Elizabeth privately while the Gardiners tucked their children in. Fitzwilliam quickly embraced Elizabeth and engaged in severalpassionate kisses, but he ended these before things went too far. He held her as they spoke about a few matters related to the wedding.
“I believe I told you, dearest, that Mother offered us the cottage on Lake Windermere for our wedding trip,” he began. At Elizabeth’s nod, he continued. “My uncle also suggested we stop by both of the estates mentioned in my grandfather’s legacy on our way so we might decide which one we prefer. He has made arrangements so we might stay at each before deciding which we prefer. We can then decide what changes need to be made to the estate we choose, and those can at least begin to be made while we are away. Hopefully, when we return from our wedding trip, the house will be ready for us to settle there, and we can spend the rest of the year learning to manage the estate.”
“Will we stop at Pemberley as well? I know how much you love your family’s estate, and now that your brother is in town, I wondered if we could visit there briefly?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes, we will make our way first to Cheshire to visit Foxwood Hall, then over to Dovedale to Oakridge Manor, and finally to Pemberley before we make our way to the Lake District. It will take a fortnight to make our way to the cottage this way, but we will stay for a few nights at each estate. The housekeeper at each home has been notified of our intentions and approximate arrival dates and will be prepared for us,” Darcy replied.
“I had wondered, Fitzwilliam, do you … do you think it would be possible for us to stop at Longbourn as we make our way north? I am not suggesting we stay the night, but perhaps … we could drop in for tea? I hate the thought of completely cutting off all contact with my family. However, I supposed future connection with them should depend upon this visit and their reaction to our marriage,” Elizabeth haltingly asked.
Fitzwilliam drew in a deep breath. “Gardiner mentioned you had made a similar comment to him. I am happy to do it if it is your wish, dearest, but I will not tolerate your family insulting either of us, particularly you, while we are there. I will end the visit immediately if they do so,” he told her seriously.
“I do appreciate your willingness, as I know what you have heard about my family has been uniformly terrible. At my aunt’s suggestion, I have written letters to my family informing them of our wedding on the morrow and hinting at the possibility of us stopping there at some point. I have not posted the letters yet, as I intended to do so in the morning, so none of them can do anything about our wedding then. I intend to leave them with the impression you are still a barrister and will not mention your inheritance or my dowry to them unless it becomes necessary,” Elizabeth replied.
“When will you tell them I am a landed gentleman with an estate?” Fitzwilliam inquired, amused at her subterfuge.
“After we have chosen an estate, and perhaps we are settled there,” she teased, then spoke seriously. “However, my uncle believes it is best if my mother never learns of the actual amount of my dowry and suggests we say nothing about the dowry whatsoever. My father is aware his mother left the balance of her jointure to me in the care of my uncle, but he has never known how much it was, nor do I think he knows my uncle invested it on my behalf.”
“We will stay in London for a few days after our wedding. My uncle has opened the house left to him by his father-in-law, which had been leased until recently. He had offered to keep it open for us should we return to London for this or any other Season. When we are ready to begin our journey north, perhaps a sennight after we are wed, we will stop at Longbourn on ourway. We can send an express the day before or the morning of our trip so they will know to expect us, and we will only remain as long as you are comfortable,” Fitzwilliam told her.
The Gardiners returned from tucking their children into their beds, and they all went into the meal. Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth shared the plans they had finalised for the days after their wedding, including the news of Lord Matlock offering a home for them to stay in while in London. Lady Anne and Lady Matlock would host a ball celebrating their wedding a sennight following the event, and the Gardiners were looking forward to it. Fitzwilliam also shared about meeting with his friend Mr Bingley, who had met Elizabeth and the Gardiners once. Given Miss Bingley’s attitude toward Elizabeth that night, Fitzwilliam had hinted rather directly to Bingley any invitations sent in the future would be for him alone and that Miss Bingley was not a welcome visitor in any house where Fitzwilliam was in residence. That included invitations to the wedding or the wedding ball. While he did not go so far as to say Miss Bingley would be turned away, it was made clear she was unwelcome.
Regarding the plans for informing Elizabeth’s family, she shared her intention of posting letters to her father, Jane, and Mary on the morrow to tell them of the wedding. The letters would arrive too late for any of the Bennets to come for the wedding, and they did not give the address of the house in town where Elizabeth would stay until the ball nor the address of any of the places the couple would stay on their wedding trip.
Gardiner also disclosed his plan to dispatch an express just before the wedding to Mr. Bennet, announcing the marriage. In the letter, he would remind his brother he had entrusted him with the guardianship of Elizabeth, and circumstances had made it more convenient for her to marry from town. Hewould mention in his letter that Elizabeth and her new husband intended to visit soon but would refrain from providing any details about the marriage settlement or Fitzwilliam’s change in status.
“Will your letter also request Papa send Mary to London now, or will you wait a bit before asking?” Elizabeth asked her uncle.
“I offered to send my carriage for Mary as soon as she would like to come, and, I confess, I made it seem as though we needed her rather urgently, hoping Bennet would not deny his permission. Given what he told me about being happy to have another daughter ‘off his hands’, I would not be surprised if I received a letter soon offering to let her stay with me. I hope she can come to London before you go to Longbourn,” Gardiner said. “I am afraid if she does not come before, Mrs Bennet will try to insist Jane come, either in addition to Mary or instead of her. If Mary is already here, it will be harder for Mrs Bennet to adjust the plan.”
Elizabeth nodded her agreement. “I doubt Mama will care so much about Mary’s being gone, but she might want you to introduce Jane to other men, similar to my Fitzwilliam,” she said with a sly smile at her intended. “Although she still believes you are a barrister, perhaps she will not. The fact that you are so handsome will be envied, but I will not be envied for marrying ‘no proper gentleman, as he must work to eke out a living’.”
“Has someone said that, Lizzy?” Mrs Gardiner asked.
“It was in the letter from Jane after I told her of meeting Fitzwilliam at the theatre. I have not mentioned him again in my letters to her and have only mentioned him in passing to Mary. I do hate keeping Mary in the dark, but I would not put it past Mama to demand to read any letter I send,” Elizabethreplied. “I have written more to my friend Charlotte Lucas and hinted to Mary she should visit Lucas Lodge. I encouraged Charlotte to find a way to quietly inform Mary of my plans while deflecting any questions Mama or Jane might ask. Charlotte was unsurprised at this request, which makes me wonder if she has seen what I had not.”
Mrs Gardiner patted her arm. “You love your sister, so of course, you looked for the best in her. It would not have occurred to you to look at Jane suspiciously.”
“Thank you, Aunt,” Elizabeth said. “I will be more careful in forming impressions of people in the future and will rely on Fitzwilliam to help guide me. I will also have Lady Anne and the two of you to assist me.”
The dayof the wedding dawned bright and clear. A maid helped Elizabeth to bathe before Mrs. Gardiner joined her in her room. She was accompanied by a maid who carried a tray containing a pot of tea for the two of them and some toast. Mrs. Gardiner encouraged Elizabeth to eat what was brought, as it would likely be difficult for her to eat at the wedding breakfast. After the maid left, Mrs. Gardiner spoke with Elizabeth about what to expect that night. Although her aunt had approached the matter calmly and straightforwardly, Elizabeth was still blushing profusely when her aunt finished the explanation and asked her if she had any questions. She nodded to indicate she did not and then listened to her aunt’s parting words.
“Now, my dear, it is nothing to be afraid of, and you know Mr. Darcy loves you very much. He will try to ensure you find pleasure and seek to minimise the pain. There will be some, but only the first time, and you should try to relax and enjoy the marriage bed. Trust your husband, Lizzy, and be open about what you like. Do not listen to others who might claim the marriage bed is not to be enjoyed by the woman, for that is absolutely untrue. Now, get dressed, for you have a wedding to attend,” she concluded.
