“Oh,” she said as she began to consider that information, but it lasted only a moment as her outrage rose again. “But what is this nonsense of her marrying from Pemberley? This is that Lizzy’s doing. She has taken our children from us and is not even allowing me to plan Mary’s wedding.”
“It is Mary’s choice to marry from Pemberley. Lizzy did not influence her, but it was a matter of practicality. It is too much to expect the vicar to travel all this way for a wedding, and quite frankly, the fact that you have yet to apologise to your second daughter makes the whole situation more complicated. Since Mary has lived with the Darcys, she has greatly appreciated both of her sisters there. If she has to choose between the presence of her sisters at her wedding over that of her parents, she prefers to marry with her sisters present. Also, as she is marrying a vicar, she feels it best to marry where those she will serve one day can watch the ceremony. There is also the matter that travel will be difficult over the next several months, and neither wanted to wait until spring for a wedding. They will travel here in the summer.”
Mrs Bennet scowled. “Nothing is preventing Lizzy’s coming here if she wanted to,” she stated defiantly. “She is doing this to vex me. How can I tell my friends that yet another of my daughters is to marry away from home? Our neighbours will have never even met the gentleman.”
“Except for Lizzy’s promise never to be in your company again until you have apologised for your insults,” he replied. “I saw the letters you sent, Mrs Bennet, and I cannot blame our daughter for not wanting to be in your company until you own up to your actions. Those letters were horrid. And what does it matter that our neighbours have not met Mary’s intended—neither have we. And they will live in Derbyshire.”
She started to defend herself against such, but a moment of reflection made her realise the futility of it. “They were,” she agreed, but it only lasted a moment. “It is the right of the bride’s mother to plan thewedding. Regardless of the relationship between Lizzy and me, Mary should want to marry from home.”
“I have already explained the reasons to you, and I believe Mary conveyed many of the same sentiments to you in her letter,” Mr Bennet replied. “Besides, it is not as though you have ever had a relationship with Mary. I believe you have spoken to her more through letters in the last year than in the five years before that.”
Once again, Mrs Bennet was reflective. Mary flourished under the care of the Darcys, which was evident from the letters sent during the time Mary was at Pemberley. The Darcys opened the world to Mary, encouraging her to trade Fordyce’s Sermons for other texts, forcing her to change her perspective on many things. Under their influence, she became less pedantic and judgemental of those around her. Initially, her letters were full of her blossoming friendship with Georgiana, but those subtly changed to include more and more information about the vicar of Kympton and her growing friendship with him. As Mrs Bennet thought about this, she wondered how she had not seen it before.
“Mrs Bennet?” her husband asked after she was quiet for several minutes.
“I was just thinking, husband,” she replied, sighing. “Mary has changed quite a bit. I wonder if I would even recognise her were I to see her; she seems so changed in her letters. And I had quite forgotten about her praise of the vicar of Kympton long before she went to London. I think she has been in love with him for some time.”
“From what Darcy has said, I believe you are right,” he agreed. “This is why I allowed him to act on my behalf ages ago. Mary has been under their care for some time, and I do not feel it would be right for me to attempt to exert my authority now and insist she marry from home. I have finally felt the weight of my failures as both a landowner and a parent since I have been taken to task repeatedly by a man nearly half my age. Our eldest three daughters have risen above the upbringing we gave them, and our youngest two have been given opportunities to do so as well. Unfortunately,wedid not give them that opportunity, but it was our son by marriage, the one that married the daughter you despised, who enabled our daughters to do so. Do you not feel this weight, Mrs Bennet?”
Mrs Bennet did not immediately answer, only looked at her feet. He recognised that she felt at least of the shame he felt, so Mr Bennet remained quiet as she reflected. He had already written to congratulate the pair and grant his endorsement of the match, finding contentment in the knowledge that one more daughter was now provided for, no longer even remotely under his guardianship. Although Darcy shouldered much of the responsibility for the last 18 months, relieving Mr Bennet of many parental duties, there still lingered an illusion of authority over his unmarried daughters. The prospect of having one more daughter well-situated pleased him, soothing the remaining traces of any perceived shortcomings in his care for the family’s welfare. Now, he only needed to get the youngest two sorted, and with Kitty in London with the Gardiners and Lydia at school, indeed, within the next few years, they would meet their matches, and then all of his daughters would be taken care of with little effort from him in the matter.
Eventually, Mrs Bennet sat down to write her letter to Mary. She began by complaining about the plans for the wedding, but she grudgingly agreed and welcomed her daughter’s proposed visit in the summer. She was pleased to reread that Mr Darcy offered them one of his carriages and the loan of a house his family owned at the seaside for a short honeymoon after visiting the Bennets. While Mr Kingsley was initially reluctant to accept it since it was offered as a wedding gift, he found he could not turn it down, and Mary found it amusing to recount the details of the conversation.
At Pemberley,the following months were spent planning for Mary’s wedding. Both Mary and Elizabeth preferred simplicity in their preparations, and so with little fuss, Mary obtained a trousseau from the dressmaker at Lambton, and all the ladies at Pemberley spent much of the months before the wedding sewing all the linens and other things that Mary would need as the wife of the vicar.
Soon, the wedding was upon them. Since their mother was absent, Elizabeth took the responsibility of ‘mother of the bride’ and reassured her sister and soothed her worries about what married life would entail.Despite these last-minute nerves, the wedding went smoothly, and all too soon, Mary traded the name Bennet for Kingsley.
Mary asked Georgiana to stand up with her since the rest of her sisters were not present at the wedding. In fact, Elizabeth was the only member of the Bennet family there, but that was fine with Mary. She had grown closer to her sisters since leaving Longbourn, but considered Georgiana her favourite sister, despite their connection only through marriage. Despite this lack of family, Mary was exceedingly happy with her choice and looked forward to visiting the rest of her family again.
Chapter Thirty
With spring came yet another trip to London, this time for Georgiana’s presentation. The Darcys would celebrate Alex’s first birthday and their second anniversary while in town. While they would have preferred to celebrate these events at Pemberley, Georgiana’s presentation meant they needed to be in town by mid-March. Work on her presentation gown began in the autumn, and orders for gowns for Georgiana and Elizabeth were placed then, but fittings would still need to occur to ensure all was in readiness for the Season.
Lady Matlock was to sponsor Georgiana for herentréeinto theton. Elizabeth could have done so, having been presented herself just after her marriage to Darcy, but she suspected she was once again with child. The trip was difficult for her, and the Darcys and Matlocks decided that Georgiana would be better served by her aunt’s sponsorship rather than her sister’s.
With Mary and Jane married, Kitty at the Gardiners, and Lydia still at school, Mrs Bennet no longer received news about her second daughter from those sources. However, Mrs Phillips and others in the neighbourhood did speak of the Darcys’ success in theton. Georgiana was much admired and received quite a bit of attention, but it was Mrs Darcy who once again captivated society. As she had the year theymarried, she continued to impress those in society with her style and wit and Mrs Bennet was surprised the daughter that had always given her so much trouble was so celebrated. The gossip sheets were full of news of both Darcy women and their successes. Miss Darcy was praised for her beauty and her sweetness, but Mrs Darcy impressed everyone with her wit and generosity, and both received much praise for the stunning elegance of their dress.
Among the other things Mrs Darcy was praised for was her charitable activities. In these, she was assisted by her aunts, the Countess of Matlock and Mrs Gardiner, who, since becoming linked through the Darcys, had become a rather formidable duo in advocating for London’s less fortunate. Since Elizabeth had not participated in the Season the previous year, her contributions had not been as well known. Still, this year, with her and Georgiana in town for an extended season, Mrs Darcy joined her aunts and spent hours in these endeavours while in London.
“Sister, what do you hear from Mrs Darcy?” Mrs Phillips asked one morning while the two women were sitting in the parlour of Longbourn.
“Umm,” was all she could say. She had received a letter from Kitty a few days prior, and while she did occasionally attend outings with the Darcys, she rarely shared much news from Mayfair. “I owe her a letter, so I have not heard anything new of late,” she finally chanced to say.
“Oh, well, the gossip sheets are full of her and her sister. They apparently have made quite the impact upon theton,and rarely have I heard anyone praised so highly,” Mrs Phillips laughed a little. “Of course, she has those who dislike her, but they are jealous harpies. Do you have an address for Darcy House, sister? I would like to write to Lizzy myself.”
“Yes … I, the address is 45 Park Lane, Mayfair,” Mrs Bennet offered mechanically.
“Do you want me to include any messages from you, sister?” Mrs Phillips asked.
“No, I … um, as I said, I am a letter in her debt,” Mrs Bennet said, her voice firm. “I will write it straight away.” Mrs Phillips spoke another few minutes but quickly took her leave, leaving the mistress of Longbourn contemplating her second daughter.
In a townhouse in Mayfair,the Darcys were also reading the paper over breakfast.
“I despise the gossip columns, Will,” Elizabeth told her husband after several minutes. “Aunt Helen insists that I be acquainted with all of the society news before we appear anywhere in public,” Elizabeth countered. “It is tedious to pretend to care about all these matters. I do not want people to discuss us so minutely, but I am afraid they do.”
Reaching out to caress her hand with his, Darcy replied. “We will make an early departure from town if it becomes too tiring. Georgiana has been seen by society and is sought after, but I do not believe anyone has touched her heart on this trip. I am glad she has been exposed to society, but her heart has not been touched, as she is still too young to marry, regardless of what society might say.”
“But not yet, dear; we have scarcely been in town a month,” Elizabeth replied teasingly. “Besides, even if Georgiana has not found a serious suitor, shehasmade a few friends, and I doubt she would be willing to leave them quite so soon. You know you have enjoyed time with your male relations, including my uncle and friends from school whom we have seen frequently. Several of them have been invited to dinner tonight. The Thorntons and Ashfords will all be in attendance tonight.”
