“Just you wait and see,” Anna promised.
Mary was then given a tour of Darcy House, and her mouth fell open many times. “To think you are mistress of all this!” she said to her sister, again and again.
“Wait until you see Pemberley!” Georgiana exclaimed. “Darcy House is nothing to Pemberley!”
“When I see all this, I wonder that you were willing to be our friend,” Mary said. “You have so much, and we have…” she trailed off.
“You have each other,” Georgiana said, firmly. “Do you not think I would trade all thisstuff, all this furniture, all these portraits, all the silver, to have sisters like you?”
“Well, you have no need to make any trades,” Mary replied, staunchly. “You have all thisandyou have sisters like us!”
Georgiana opened her arms and enfolded the two Bennet sisters. The three of them stood together, feeling one another’s warmth and closeness for several minutes. Finally, Georgiana broke away, tear streaks on her cheeks, and exclaimed, “But you must see the pianoforte, Mary!”
What was left of the day was spent in the music room.
***
While the Bennet sisters were enjoying their reunion, Mr. Darcy ventured out to his club to get a sense of what the gossipswere now saying about the Darcys. As luck would have it, the first gentleman he saw upon entering the main room was Lord Hilton, the baron who had snubbed him months ago. Mr. Darcy tensed, waiting for the man’s reaction, but Hilton waved him over and offered him a brandy.
“Heard you got leg-shackled,” he said. “Shall we toast your bride?”
Two other gentlemen came up and sat down to quiz Mr. Darcy as to how it was that he had gotten married so quickly, and with so little notice! Mr. Darcy spoke glowingly of Elizabeth, and he was amused to see eyebrows shoot up.
“So, a love match, then?” Lord Archer enquired.
“Most definitely. For what is the point of all our wealth and property, if we cannot wed someone we love?”
“Humph,” Lord Archer muttered. It was well known that he and Lady Archer barely tolerated one another. “All very modern.”
“Yes, and a good thing, too,” Sir Hilton said, staunchly. “I have been thinking of matrimony myself.”
“Then let us drink to your future bride,” Mr. Darcy said, agreeably, motioning to the waiter.
Three more gentlemen crowded in, and soon everyone was quite happily drinking excellent brandy, paid for by Mr. Darcy, and raising their glasses to the new Mrs. Darcy and the future Lady Hilton, whoever she might be.
“M’wife will go to meet yours,” Lord Archer hiccupped.
”And mine as well,” another gentleman said.
There was then a chorus of gentlemen stating that their wives were desperate – nay, dying! – to meet the new Mrs. Darcy!
It was quite evident that the Countess had been right; the arrival of a new Mrs. Darcy was far more interesting than the possible almost-elopement that might or might not have happened last summer.
Chapter Seventy-Four
The next morning, the Countess drove up in her elegant carriage. Elizabeth and Mary were still at the breakfast table, but they were all but pulled out of their chairs by the impatient Countess. “Come, come,” she said, sharply. “We have a good deal to do, and not a good deal of time in which to do it!”
Neither Elizabeth nor Mary were prepared for what followed. They were driven to Bond Street, where they alighted; the Countess had two footmen follow them up and down the street to carry packages. Elizabeth soon lost count of the number of modistes, milliners, glove makers, cobblers, bootmakers, and so on that they visited. Shawls, reticules, fans and other necessary items were not neglected.
Mary ordered nothing in brown or grey; she gravitated to blue and rose hues, with the Countess’ approval and encouragement.
The Countess spent as much time with Mary as she could. Mary did not have Elizabeth’s easy manners and effortless charm, but she was thoughtful and likely a deep thinker; she might be good for Richard.
Richard had never shown the slightest interest in a young lady before, and the Countess was not minded to disapprove of any reasonable choice her son might make. She had always known that no society woman would do for him; he had seen too much of the world’s evils, and needed a different sort of woman entirely.
All in all, she was disposed to think well of Mary Bennet.
***
