At the church, walking up the aisle on Mr. Bennet’s arms, the two brides saw nothing but the beaming faces of their grooms waiting for them. It was not until they were pronounced husband and wife – and husband and wife – that Jane and Elizabeth turned to face the attendees and discovered that the Earl and Countess of Matlock, Anne de Bourgh, the Viscount and Viscountess Worthing had all come to see them wed!
They were doubtless staying at Netherfield, so Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy had surely known, but had kept it secret.
***
The wedding breakfast at Netherfield Park was everything elegant. Mrs. Hurst had ordered flowers from London hothouses, and everywhere one looked, there were vases overflowing with out-of-season blooms. Confections had been ordered from London as well, and everyone was eager to sample the marchpane that had been shaped into tiny fruits.
Mr. and Mrs. Bingley were to travel to Brighton for a fortnight before taking up their lives at Netherfield. They would be back to Meryton almost before anyone had time to missthem, so their leave-taking was rather less dramatic than that of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy.
Elizabeth scarce knew where to turn her attention. She was excited at the idea of being alone with Mr. Darcy, but that would have to wait. She found herself quite engrossed in hearing all about Anne’s new life in London and Charlotte’s luxurious life in Derbyshire. She had eaten almost nothing before the wedding and so she was hungry, but too enraptured by her surprise guests to make a move toward the feast.
Seeing the situation, Mr. Darcy brought her a plate filled with delicacies and insisted that she eat something. “Elizabeth,” and here he paused, savoring his newfound right to call her by her first name. “You must eat, my dear. Darcy House is a full three hours away.”
Mr. Darcy was more than ready to be alone with his bride in his London townhouse. Georgiana and Mrs. Annesley would head directly to Pemberley in the carriage they had arrived in, so he would have her all to himself in London for as many days as they chose; but he accepted the fact that Elizabeth’s leave-taking would not be swift. She was saying goodbye to her entire family, and who knew when they would see one another again?
This thought provoked an idea. He murmured to Elizabeth, “Let us invite all the family, yours and mine, to Pemberley for a midsummer celebration. I will send carriages to anyone who cannot manage the journey otherwise, so you will see all your family in just a few months!”
Chapter One Hundred
There was, of course, a good deal of communication between the Darcys, the Bingleys, the Bennets, the Fitzwilliams, and Anne de Bourgh before the much anticipated midsummer reunion.
Elizabeth had long wondered, with some concern, as to how Jane would manage Miss Bingley, or Caroline, as she was now to be called. The very thick letter she received at Pemberley shortly after she and Mr. Darcy returned after their sojourn in London, made her laugh out loud at the breakfast table. She read it aloud to her husband and Georgiana, both of whom were already smiling in anticipation.
Dearest Lizzy,
I do not doubt you have imagined all sorts of scenes here at Netherfield when picturing me learning to get along with Caroline! So let me put your imagination to rest to tell you how it went. You must sit down, as this will be quite a long letter.
I was determined, of course, to take my position as mistress of Netherfield Park immediately upon our return from Brighton. I spoke of this to Charles, and he assured me that he would back me no matter what.
I began by informing Cook that we would be observing country hours henceforth, and that I wished dinner served at five in the evening, rather than seven. She agreed at once, of course. When I informed the rest of the household of this change, of course Caroline had to disagree at once, saying, “This seems quite unnecessary to me. In society, we would not dream of dining so very early!”
I replied, “I understand that. But we are not in society; we are in the country. And even five is a good deal later than when most families in the area enjoy their evening meal. At Lucas Lodge, the evening meal is served at three in the afternoon.”
Charles agreed, saying that we must accustom ourselves to country life if we are to live in the country. And then he added that those who do not wish to live in the county were free to move elsewhere! I held my breath, hoping that Caroline would offer at once to re move herself to Town! But alas, she did not.
Then I announced that I wished to discuss what responsibilities Caroline and Louisa would take on for the tenants. Louisa said that she would be happy to continue visiting the tenants to see what was needed, but once again, Caroline objected, saying, “Is that not your responsibility, as mistress of the estate, Jane?”
I explained that it was my responsibility to see that those duties are performed, not necessarily to perform them all myself. If Louisa was to perform the tenant visits, then I needed Carolien to assist me with the necessary plain sewing for them.
She stared at me as if she had never heard such words before, and repeated, “Plain sewing?”
I said, “Yes; the making of everyday garments. The tenants do not need fancy work such as embroidery. They need work shirts, work trousers, aprons, and so on.”
“I will not do it,” she said. And she folded her arms across her chest and stuck out her chin, exactly the way Lydia does when she is being stubborn!
Everyone at the table was silent and looking at me to see how I would respond. Then I remembered you saying that I should pretend that I was you instead of me, and then I felt very bold indeed, for I said, “Then I suppose you do not belong on an estate, Caroline. For living off the income provided by the tenants comes with responsibilities, and if you are not willing to shoulder them, you should very likely be living in Town.”
Not at all understanding me, Miss Bingley threw her hands up in the air and said, “This is what I have been saying all along! We do not belong in the country; we belong in Town!”
All faces turned to me again; I said, “No, Caroline, you belong in Town; the rest of us belong in the country.”
She was shocked speechless and just stared at me, so I continued. “I understand that you have a dowry of twenty thousand pounds, In the four percents, that is eight hundred pounds a year, which is certainly enough to maintain a townhouse in London.”
She turned white and began to stutter that she could not live alone! She looked at Louisa to get that lady’s support, but Louisa stared at her plate and would not meet her sister’s eyes!
And then I thought that you would offer her a way out! So I said, “And it would be a shame, truly, Caroline, because I have observed that ladies who play the piano perform plain sewing faster than anyone! Why, Mary would astound all us girls as to how rapidly she could sew a garment, simply because her fingers were trained to move quickly. I have no doubt that you, with your London training, would be an example to the neighbourhood in that regard!”
Then she stammered out that she did not doubt that she would excel at such a thing!
