They all sat down to a game of whist and drank their wine, beginning with idle chatter, as if determined not to speak of the romantic spectacle William had orchestrated. Kitty wished to speak of it, for it had been wondrous, but she suspected that Mr. Bingley would parlay that into some talk of his own gesture of apology, and she was not yet ready to end his misery.
In truth, she was determined that she would not be the first to relent, after promising her sister so faithfully that she was just as appalled by the gentlemen’s deceit as Elizabeth. She grit her teeth and restrained her remarks to the civil, tepid chatter of Miss Annesley and Mr. Chasuble. They played two rounds of whist, and Mr. Bingley looked ready to burst for wishing to woo her; Kitty began to grow quite smug.
Taking a third glass of wine, Mr. Bingley eventually asked Mr. Chasuble, “Do you do many baptisms, sir?”
“Oh, yes; after weddings, baptisms are one of my favorite duties to my parish.”
“I do not suppose you baptize many adults, though… is it even permitted?”
Miss Annesley looked mildly affronted by Mr. Bingley’s question, but the vicar smiled placidly. “It is not a distinction I have yet had, baptizing an adult, but it is a perfectly canonical practice.”
Mr. Bingley grinned, then winked at Kitty. “Excellent, I am very relieved to hear it. You see, I have no recollection of having ever been baptized. I think I ought to do it – just to be safe, you know. And if it is permitted, might I make some small adjustment? I wish to be christened William Charles Bingley Darcy….”
Mr. Chasuble began to stammer his perplexed answer, but Miss Annesley shook her head with disapproval. “At your age? Sir, the idea is grotesque and irreligious! It is an affront to Mr. Chasuble’s good works.”
Kitty’s lips twisted into a reluctant smirk and set her empty wine glass down rather hard on the card table. “There is no need to be baptized every time I am cross with you – I am sure it shall happen again, since you delight in wickedness as much as I do.”
The vicar and the governess shared a querulous look, but Kitty and Mr. Bingley stared one another down intently. Her gaze was one of challenge, and his eyes twinkled with a readiness to please her. Mr. Chasuble cleared his throat, and suggested that if there was any remaining discord amongst the family at Wildewood, he should be honored to lead them all in a prayer that it might be resolved expeditiously.
Miss Annesley was so full of praise for this venerable notion that they had no time to set about their prayer beforeElizabeth flounced into the parlor, her hair a little disheveled and her lips red and swollen. William followed close behind her, looking happier than anyone present had ever seen him.
“Kitty, do come and dance with us in the garden. That is – have you…?” Elizabeth’s gaze flicked to Mr. Bingley, whose expressive countenance managed to convey surprise, triumph, curiosity, and ardor all at once as he kept his gaze fixed on Kitty.
Kitty felt relief wash over her; clearly everything had been put right for Elizabeth and William. She let out a long sigh. “Oh, very well. I shall forgive you, if you prove a tolerable dancer.”
Mr. Bingley took her by the hand at once, and William entreated Miss Annesley to come out to the garden to play for them on the old instrument. She resisted until even Mr. Chasuble agreed that it was completely innocent for her to accommodate the two couples. He was delighted by their felicity, and he stood at Miss Annesley’s side as she played a jig, clapping his hands and tapping his foot as the two couples danced together.
Mr. Bingley truly was a splendid dancer, and Kitty was easily swept up in the merriment of the music and the happiness of her companions. They danced a second set together, and Kitty was tempted to exchange places with her governess so that Miss Annesley might stand up with the vicar. However, their frivolities were brought to an unceremonious end when one of the poorly constructed paper lanterns set the shrubbery on fire and William was obliged to put it out with the buckets of water from the fountain. It was one of the most delightful evenings Kitty had ever known.
***
The next day, Elizabeth and Kitty resolved to be idle and content. The sisters were not ready to part with one another, andso Elizabeth agreed that she and William might postpone their elopement until the following morning. The two happy couples passed the day entirely at leisure together; William and Mr. Bingley’s combative attitudes had cooled into a playful contest of who could share the most embarrassing and amusing anecdotes of the other, and Elizabeth and her sister found this mode of entertainment exceedingly gratifying.
They finally had a chance to all dine together, along with Miss Annesley and the ever-present vicar, who seemed peculiarly fixated on the notion of baptizing Mr. Bingley under his newly prized alias, now that William had promised to give it up. Miss Annesley made a few polite inquiries about whether any of Kitty’s other relations – and perhaps a respectable chaperone – might be visiting to celebrate the engagement and the courtship that had lately been agreed upon.
Elizabeth had persuaded her dearest William to allow the courtship of his friend and his ward, and had made sure Kitty was informed of every true particular about Mr. Bingley’s situation in life. Kitty was far from objecting to hearing of his wealth, delighted that he cared nothing for her own lack of fortune, and piqued at the challenge presented by his tedious and tiresome sisters; Elizabeth was pleased that her sister was again so contently enamored, though sorry that they would likely be soon parted.
When Miss Annesley retired and the vicar departed, the four companions began to plan. Elizabeth knew that Rebecca could not hold Lady Catherine off forever, and she suggested she and William could no longer delay their departure for Scotland. It would be several days’ journey, but Elizabeth might celebrate her birthday as a married woman, and they would certainly return in time for Jane and Rebecca’s weddings.
“You must be my olive branch, Kitty, for I am sure Jane will be cross with me for deceiving Mamma and running off as Idid, but she will be so very pleased to meet you again after nearly a lifetime of separation.”
“And I am looking forward to it, absolutely – only you had better not go tomorrow morning. It is the Summer Solstice fair in Markby, and I should be sorry if you missed it.”
Elizabeth and William exchanged a look. “Itisone of the few family traditions we have, Kitty and I. Perhaps we might attend for a few hours? It is the longest day of the year, after all – we shall have plenty of daylight for travelling, if we leave in the afternoon.”
“Very well,” Elizabeth agreed. She hesitated yet, for she really feared it could not be much longer until her relations came looking for her, but there was such delight amongst her companions that she relented, electing to believe that fate would yet again smile upon her.
Later that night, however, Elizabeth jolted awake. Her hair and night rail were matted with sweat. Pleasant dreams of William’s kisses had turned to dark and hazy nightmares of her mother’s anger and betrayal when she learned of the elopement.
Elizabeth shakily threw off her coverlet and stood, pacing for a few minutes before lighting a candle from the dwindling fire in her room, and changing into a new night rail. Then she paced a bit more, conflicted by her passionate love of William, and the love and gratitude she felt for her stern but devoted mother. And it was not only her mother. Her actions affected Jane, and even Georgiana, whom she had left in the dark. And though Rebecca had consented to help her, she risked the fury of their relations and possibly even her engagement to the marquess. Elizabeth had every faith in her favorite aunt, Lady Anne – surely of all people, she would understand what Elizabeth had done, what she still meant to do.
But after disobliging so many people she loved, Elizabeth would have to face them, to tell them that her husband’s name was something entirely different than what they had been told. And that she had married him even after his deceit. She did not regret forgiving him, but she knew she could not expect the same from all her family.
And then there was Kitty. Was that enough to cast some blessed silver lining on her elopement? She had, through her own natural levity, raised Kitty’s hope already, but what if she had in fact utterly dashed her sister’s chances of a bond with Jane and the others?
Tired of pacing, Elizabeth sat down at the ornate escritoire by the window, placing her candle to one side as she drew pen and paper before her. She took a deep breath and stared at the page as she considered what to write. She stared at it for a long time, her head full of incoherent hopes and fears. It was dawn by the time she began writing, and in the end she only penned a single paragraph. A sense of relief washed over her.
Elizabeth sealed the letter and left it on her dressing table so that she might remember to send it when she awoke again, and then she slept blissfully, her dreams again agreeable.
