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His longest letter was to Elizabeth. It was full of his love and ended with a plea that she trust him entirely.
∞∞∞
The next morning, Darcy found Mr Bennet waiting outside the church, eager to learn how the matter had been resolved.
“I do not care if you must hurry to Gretna Green, so long as Elizabeth is happy,” he said.
Darcy smiled, imagining himself twenty years hence, fiercely protecting his own beloved daughter from every harm. She would have Elizabeth’s eyes and smile, but she would also love riding and swimming. She would look at him with the same affection Elizabeth showed her father.
Mr Bennet waited patiently, allowing him to follow his thoughts to their end. The young man’s smile was enough to assure him of his happiness, and that was what Mr Bennet wanted to see. Darcy appeared to have settled their difficulties and was ready to marry Elizabeth.
“Mr Bennet,” Darcy said at last, “Elizabeth is my confidante and ally as well as the woman I love. We have considered every possibility, and she has agreed to marry me, whether at Pemberley…or Gretna Green.”
A slight apprehension troubled him as he spoke, for he realised that he was taking this man’s daughter away.
Mr Bennet nodded. He was sad to lose Elizabeth, but content to entrust his treasured daughter to such a man. He no longer concealed his partiality towards Lizzy and could now face her departure for Pemberley with confidence.
“Well, my dear boy,” he continued as they waited for Elizabeth, “I have found a way to console myself.”
Darcy looked at him in surprise. “Anything, sir!”
“A week alone in the library of your London house might be enough to restore my happiness!”
They were still laughing when Elizabeth approached, looking anxiously from one to the other.
“When she looks at you like that,” Mr Bennet told Darcy, “take your horse and go hunting for half the day!”
Their laughter continued, much to Elizabeth’s annoyance, and she left them to join her sisters.
“You understand that if you marry at Gretna Green, your family and acquaintances may refuse to receive you afterwards.”
Darcy nodded, his expression firm.
“Mr Bennet, it may sound presumptuous, but wealth can persuade people to overlook a great deal. I believe my fortune will help London society and my relations forget the matter remarkably quickly.”
∞∞∞
During the Sunday service, Mr Walters reached the reading of the banns with a hesitation that his congregation did not miss.
“I publish the banns of marriage between Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy of the Parish of Lambton and Miss Elizabeth Bennet of this Parish. If any of you know cause, or just impediment, why these two persons should not be joined together in Holy Matrimony, ye are to declare it. This is for the third time of asking.”
“I object to this marriage!” called a voice from the back of the church.
A murmur spread through the congregation, and everyone turned towards the speaker. Elizabeth and Darcy looked back in astonishment and saw Lady Catherine, accompanied by her daughter, Miss Anne de Bourgh.
“Pray, madam, tell us who you are and on what grounds you object,” the vicar requested.
“I am Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr Darcy’s maternal aunt,” she proclaimed. “Shortly before her death, my dear sister, Lady Anne Darcy, added a codicil to her will declaring her wish that her son, Fitzwilliam Darcy, should marry my daughter, Miss Anne de Bourgh. I ask you to record my objection and refuse to marry him to Elizabeth Bennet.”
Mr Walters appeared at a loss before his congregation.
“I have never encountered such a difficulty in this parish. Since your ladyship has chosen to make the matter public, Mr Darcy must have an opportunity to answer. We shall hear him after the service.”
A troubled silence followed. Were the Bennets to suffer another scandal?
Mrs Bennet sought her husband’s hand, feeling on the verge of fainting. Lydia’s elopement had already given Meryton enough to talk about. Now Elizabeth’s marriage was being challenged before their closest friends.
“Compose yourself, my dear. Nothing dreadful will happen,” Mr Bennet whispered, though he was shocked by Lady Catherine’s conduct. He had expected to settle the matter privately, with Mr Walters and Darcy’s solicitor present.
