Page 107

Mrs Bennet raised the special licence which Mr Darcy had entrusted to her care, and regarded its seal fondly. “No one else in the neighbourhood has required the direct intervention of an archbishop to be married. Lady Lucas may have an engaged daughter, but she does not have a document of this quality.”

“Charlotte did not require one,” Elizabeth reminded her.

“Charlotte is marrying at Hunsford in January. Lady Catherine may prevent candles entirely.”

Mrs Bennet returned to the letter. “‘My daughter Anne has received this intelligence with a degree of composure which I must attribute to shock.’ Naturally. Everyone knows Mr Darcy was intended for her.”

“Mr Darcy did not know.”

“That was unfortunate, but it can no longer be helped. Lady Catherine concludes by warning that you will find Pemberley impossible to manage, Derbyshire too cold, and her nephew’s character resistant to correction.”

“The last point may contain some truth.”

A smaller sheet slipped from the pages and fell into Mrs Bennet’s lap. Elizabeth recognised a different hand and took it before her mother could begin another public reading.

Miss Elizabeth Bennet,

My mother’s account of your engagement has left me convinced that you have courage, determination, and a resistance to intimidation which my cousin has long required in a wife. I wish you both every happiness. You have also secured me several peaceful hours each day, since my mother cannot discuss your marriage and supervise me at the same time.

Anne de Bourgh.

Elizabeth folded the note before Mrs Bennet could demand its contents.

“Miss de Bourgh sends her congratulations.”

“Very proper of her, considering the disappointment.” Mrs Bennet gathered Lady Catherine’s pages, left them on the bedside table in a neat pile, and rose. “Hill, the gown must be pressed once more. Jane, do not permit Lizzy to touch the veil. Her hands have never understood lace. I must inspect the cold meats before your aunt Philips arrives and eats the arrangement under the pretence of tasting.”

Hill followed her mistress out, the gown in her hands. At the threshold, Mrs Bennet turned back to her daughters. Excitement had kept her moving since dawn, but now her eyes settled on Elizabeth in unguarded emotion.

“You will be very far away.”

The lament was quieter than any praise she had offered to Derbyshire.

“Not always.” Elizabeth rose and kissed her cheek. “We shall visit, and Jane will still be here until spring.”

“Jane will be at Netherfield every day, which is hardly the same as being at home.” Mrs Bennet caught Elizabeth’s face between both hands. “You must write. Mr Darcy may have ten thousand a year, but Longbourn can afford the postage just as well. You must also eat before you dress. Brides who faint during the service are remembered for the fainting rather than the gown.”

Mrs Bennet embraced her with fierce haste, released her, and resumed shouting for Hill, who was standing two steps behind her.

Jane watched the empty doorway and closed the door. “She is happy.”

“She is bereaved, triumphant, and concerned about cold meats. Mamma has never permitted one state to interfere with another.”

A knock followed, and Mr Bennet entered carrying a narrow packet sealed in red wax. He inspected the travelling trunks, the stockings on the bed, and Lady Catherine’s abandoned letter.

“I see that marriage has begun as it means to continue. Your possessions have multiplied, your relations are outraged, and your mother has taken control of everything.”

“Have you come to rescue me?”

“I have come to borrow you. Rescue would require a carriage.”

He offered his arm and led her downstairs to the study. The shelves had been rearranged according to her father’s system since her investigations into vampires. Calmet stood on the highest shelf again, safely beyond Mr Collins’s reach.

On the desk lay a document bearing a broken black seal. The writing belonged to the same ancient language Elizabeth had seen burning around the punch bowl.

“The judgement arrived yesterday.” Mr Bennet lifted it between two fingers. “Mr Collins carried it here this morning and requested my opinion on the translation.”

“Did you give him one?”