(I was never really sure how to continue, so I did my best, making the wedding day and night as true to the story as I could. I had a lot of apprehension in writing a wedding night scene, because I feel these sort of things might jeopardize the sacredness of these characters. I got advice from a couple of people on how to proceed. I hope you like what follows, and if not, don't rake me over the coals too harshly. I have another chapter after this one that I am working on currently. It will hopefully be up soon)
It was nothing lavish, a small affair quietly contained to the garden at his mother's house. Eliza wore her simple white gown holding a new bouquet of roses. The only guests were the Colonel, Mrs. Higgins, and the Bishop. Unfortunately the bishop had taken an immense dislike to Professor Higgins after he had started correcting his grammar during church services. But he held hope that if God could not change Higgins, perhaps a woman would soften him.
Eliza had urged the professor to invite Mrs. Pearce and he begrudgingly complied.
"Oh, Mrs. Pearce. You really don't want to come to this old thing do you?" the professor asked her
"I'd imagine not sir..." she responded, picking up on his intonation.
You must imagine that it was difficult for the professor to profess his feelings for Eliza in front of God and the bishop, let alone the hired help.
He bothered only to change his shirt and tie, wearing his grey tweed suit. There were few chances to discuss details. They hurried out the door so quickly, that none of them noticed Freddy Eynsford-Hill staring sadly at them from down the street. He had made it a point to walk down Wimpole Street at least once a day. He watched the professor assist Eliza into the car with his hand at the small of her back. Feeling defeated, he turned around and headed home
While Eliza freshened up, Mrs. Higgins, the Colonel, and Higgins sat around in the garden discusses the upcoming nuptials.
"What do you plan on saying during the ceremony, Henry" asked Mrs. Higgins impatiently as Henry paced back and forth.
"Oh what the devil, why should I have to say anything? I should just like to sign a legal piece of parchment paper, go home, and read some Milton before I ...get some much needed rest." Higgins continued to pace.
"Surely there must be something you want to say to Miss Doolittle. Or a poem? Keats? Or a Shakespearean sonnet, perhaps? Oh yes..." Pickering rambled.
Higgins stopped. "I daresay sonnet 130 might be appropriate..."
Pickering pondered for a second "Refresh my memory."
Higgins sighed and began pacing in iambic pentameter.
"My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;..."
Mrs. Higgins threw her hands up in the air "Stop. Stop this instant. Oh Henry really, if you cannot do any better than that, I shall disown you and adopt her."
One of the servants bustled into the room "Beg your pardon Mrs. Higgins, but the bishop grows impatient."
Mrs. Higgins sighed "Well I must stall for time until Henry can find some element of romance in his soul. Pickering, would you accompany me to the library?"
"Oh, yes of course..." Pickering followed closely behind.
Higgins sighed. Romantic love was not his specialty. He had read all the love sonnets, but found only the language to be beautiful, not the idea. Why should he have to recite these things?
He sat down and leaned his head against the back paneling. His mind was still racing when he suddenly felt himself drifting off. Eliza crept in, saw him sleeping and very quietly lifted his hat off his eyes.
Higgins opened his eyes, his face close to hers. He groaned sleepily "Oh for heaven's sake, what do you want?"
"Henry, do you really want to marry me? Because this is a very cruel prank if you don't."
"Oh tosh Eliza, if I hadn't wanted to, I wouldn't have asked..."
She sat at his feet and neatly folded her hands in her lap. Without realizing it, Higgins promptly sat his feet in her lap. Eliza looked shocked. His displays of affection were few and far between and when they did occur, she usually initiated them.
"Oh damn," he said sitting up "I probably got dirt on your gown, didn't I?"
With a quick brush of his hand, he swept the imaginary dirt from his shoes off her dress. Eliza blushed. Henry sighed.
"I can't say I know much about courtship, Eliza. I never even gave you a proper proposal."
"Oh I don't require such frivolity Henry. I accept you for who you are...and who you are not."
The two shared a smile and Higgins finally began to feel comfortable.
Mrs. Higgins darted into the room interrupting the moment. "I'm really afraid we must hurry." The bishop was in step behind her and he looked quite frustrated.
Henry stood up and offered his arm to Eliza. She took it gratefully and they walked towards the bishop.
It was a small ceremony, without fuss, and without any declarations. There were no rings to exchange, as it was so spontaneous. When asked if they had their own vows to pledge to one another, Eliza promised Higgins that she would try to not end sentences with prepositions and would watch her verb tenses and Higgins promised to refrain calling her a squashed cabbage leaf or correct her grammar (as often).
And so the bishop, bewildered by the unusual promises of mutual respect, announced Eliza and Higgins, as wife and husband respectively. The ceremony culminated with a small kiss on Eliza's cheek. Mrs. Higgins (now the elder Mrs. Higgins) clasped her hands together and beamed and the Colonel nodded encouragingly.
"Now enough of that," exclaimed Higgins, "Let's supper, I'm famished."
The bishop wondered if Higgins had any element of romance at all in his heart, but as he looked at Eliza, beaming, he felt his heart soften.
The company enjoyed a large meal and Henry decided not to engage the bishop in any theological debate. His mind was busy elsewhere, still processing the fact the flower girl from Covent Garden was his wife.
"Now what?" He wondered to himself
The Colonel yawned loudly "Well good heavens it's almost 11 o'clock. Mrs. Higgins, I'm terribly fatigued after this day, would you mind very much if I imposed and stayed here this evening?"
"Of course not Hugh, You may stay in the guest quarters."
Pickering was no doubt trying to allow Higgins time alone with his bride, but somehow, Henry would have felt more comfortable with Pickering around.
The two walked Eliza and Henry to the door and said their good-nights. The car was waiting to take them home.
The ride back to 27A Wimpole Street was painfully awkward, with neither of them saying a word to the other. Eliza leaned her forehead against Higgins's chin. They arrived home at midnight and the household was dark and quiet. Neither of the two were addressing the elephant in the room.
"I shall have to buy you a ring tomorrow, and one for myself as well." Higgins finally broke the silence.
"Yes, if you must." Eliza quietly responded.
Higgins was thinking too much, wondering what to expect and what she expected of him. The marriage would be consummated and the idea both terrified him and delighted him. She had just recently turned 22 and he in his late forties. She was most definitely inexperienced in the ways of love, her prudery at the beginning of their experiment proved this. He had made love to women in his youth, but it had been years and years since those days.
Eliza, climbing the stairs behind him also had the same fears and had questioned the physicality of the relationship. Women and men sometimes married only for convenience, not for love, and she still had the fear that he married her only to avoid being questioned by her presence. Still, there were moments that she longed to break the barriers between pupil and teacher and have him make love to her. But these were just daydreams.
Lost in her train of thought, Eliza began to open the door to her bedroom.
Higgins stopped "Eliza, where are you going?"
Eliza paused, staring at the doorknob and then back up at him, her mouth slightly open. "I don't know where...I thought that I..." She closed the door with a start "Oh Bloody Hell!" she cursed.
Higgins smiled. He always liked it when she cursed.
Eliza shook her head. "All my things are still down here."
"We'll have Mrs. Pearce bring them up in the morning and then we'll figure out to do with all of it."
Eliza let go of the door handle and timidly followed him up the stairs. She suddenly realized that she had never actually been in his room before. It was quite stately and she felt out of the place. Everything felt out of place, for that matter. Once a threshold is crossed, there would be no returning to normalcy.
Higgins excused himself and prepared for bed. Eliza lay on his bed. It was soft and she felt herself grow drowsy. As he undressed and reached for his robe he replayed their dialogue from a past argument in his head. "I came to care for you, not to want you to make love to me and not forgetting the differences between us, but more friendly like."
"Damned 'more-friendly like', there's nothing 'friendly' about it." He thought to himself. He sighed and finally entered the room, only to be surprised that Eliza was sleeping peacefully on his bed, white dress sprawled around her. She looked peaceful and somewhat angelic. His heart ached and he realized the power she had over him.
He lay down beside her, unsure of what to do, so he picked her up in his arms. She opened her eyes and blushed when she realized she had fallen asleep.
"Oh, I'm sorry Henry. I must have ..." she said shyly.
"The strain of the day has made you tired. I'm compelled to tell you something, Eliza. I'm not quite sure how to say it."
"Yes?"
"I do believe I love you."
Eliza smiled drowsily "I believe you do Henry."
He looked baffled "Surely that's not the proper way to respond."
"No of course not, but you must know I love you as well, else I wouldn't have returned to you."
Higgins sighed. The declaration had not been as painful as he had anticipated. He kissed her softly.
They made love in an exploratory manner, learning each other, memorizing the other. Eliza was not ashamed to have him dote on her in such a manner. She held on to him tightly and once the two finally collapsed, they spoke not a word to each other. Eliza secretly felt triumphant and Higgins finally succumbed to his fate as a man who loves his wife (secretly he enjoyed the idea of being able to do that with Eliza whenever he pleased).
As dawn arose, the servants noticed Higgins was noticeably absent from breakfast, as was Eliza. The women of the household sniggered and giggled amongst themselves, for they all knew what events had passed in the night.
After the night had faded and the servants stirred throughout the house, Higgins lie awake, not wanting to awake Eliza who slept peacefully beside him. He had been awake most of the night, pacing about in his robe wishing he could smoke a cigar or drink a glass of port. He looked at her with hair sprawled over the pillow, mouth slightly open, and arms draped over her stomach. He dreaded the thought of having to face the household staff. His pride would be terribly wounded if they looked at him differently.
She began to stir, stretching her cream colored arms above her head. Her eyes fluttered and suddenly she realized where she was and her current state of being, disrobed and in the final throes of romance. In a moment of panic she pulled the covers up to her chin, prompting a chuckle from Higgins.
"Too late for that my dear."
She blushed. "Well now what?"
Higgins sat down at her feet "I suppose breakfast might be the next sensible move. Though it's nearly noon."
Secretly he was as fearful as she, but he refused to show it.
Eliza reveled in the reality of what had just taken place in the past 24 hours. She could not stop herself from blushing like a schoolgirl. She did, however, find his nonchalance to be irritating.
It then dawned on her that she had no garments, other than those she had worn the day before.
"Henry?"
"Yes?"
"I have no robe, or anything else..."
Higgins stopped for a moment. "I do believe I have an extra one lying around." He vanished into his wardrobe and came back with an ornate robe of red silk. He held it open for her.
Eliza paused, knowing she would have to walk across the room to him. She sat up but wrapped herself in the large blanket and began to walk towards him.
Higgins sighed "Tosh Eliza. Don't be such a prude."
She sighed, dropping the blanket in front of her and stood before him. He draped the robe over her shoulders and tied it in the front. Higgins absorbed how beautiful she was, with her pale skin and dark brown eyes, like a renaissance painting. Eliza began to wind her hair on top of her head finding hair pins all over the floor. She felt disheveled.
"I must go get dressed." She stated awkwardly
Eliza crept down the stairs, in order not to be seen by the household staff. She made it to her former room and ducked safely inside, only to be surprised the Mrs. Pearce was already there, straightening Eliza's bureau.
Both women were surprised by the other, not knowing how to respond.
Mrs. Pearce recovered first. "Good morning Mrs. Higgins. Did you sleep well?"
Eliza paused, not used to her new name and unsure of how to respond, for in truth she had not slept well at all.
"Yes, very well and please, you may still call me Eliza. I haven't changed just because..."
Mrs. Pearce smiled, grateful at Eliza's humility. "I suppose you'll want me to run you a bath and help you dress..."
Eliza nodded "Yes please."
Meanwhile Higgins dressed quickly and bolted out the door. He hoped to return from the jewelers before Eliza was finished.
At the (elder) Mrs. Higgins's house, the lady and Colonel Pickering shared breakfast, they discussed many things but finally settled on talking about the newlyweds.
"When do you think he decided he loved her?" she asked
"Oh who can say really?"
"Well I hope he realizes how lucky he is. Eliza could have had her pick of suitors, I'm sure."
"Indeed, but it seems to have all worked out for the best. I just hope he doesn't bully her too much. Oh dear, it is getting quite late in the afternoon my dear. I hate to inform the newlyweds, but I must be returning home to India quite soon to continue my work. It has been nearly a year now since I left.
Mrs. Higgins touched the Colonel's hand "You won't stay away long Hugh, I pray?"
The Colonel himself blushed. "No, of course not my dear Mrs. Higgins. There's no need to rush off quite yet." And he kissed her hand.
Mrs. Higgins smiled "Of course not"
Higgins felt entirely out of his element in the jewelry store. He cursed himself for not bringing Eliza with him.
"Might I help you sir?"
"Yes, I need a set of wedding bands, one for myself and one for the lady?"
"What size is the lady sir?"
Higgins groaned. They had her ring in Brighton fitted, but he failed to note the measurements. He spotted a lady of Eliza's stature nearby and he pointed.
"About her size. I'd wager?"
The clerk paused and pulled out a set of regular gold bands "These are our most standard set"
"Oh no. I need something more unusual for the girl."
Higgins combed through the rings, picking out a silver one for himself. The clerk insisted upon matching them, but he thought better of it. Surely he could find something that would suit her.
"AHH! Yes! There it is..." He pointed to a band of silver with blue amethyst and white diamonds encircling it. It was not ornate, but unusually beautiful.
The clerk nodded and grasped the band and placed it in small box.
After he had been paid, the Clerk looked at Higgins "That's an awfully unusual ring, most women want the standard sir."
"She's an unusual girl..." Higgins held the box up in the air and darted out in the street.
Once Eliza had discovered Higgins's absence, she began to panic, wondering if he had changed his mind about the whole thing. She decided to investigate the library, because chances were if all his books were still there, he would return home. She was relieved to discover the study as it had been. She sighed, grabbed a copy of Keats and rested upon the couch.
She heard the door swing open.
"ELIZA!"
Higgins shouted as he burst into the room. Startled she stood up, but she released the breath she had been holding and was glad to see he had returned.
"Where on earth did you go?" she asked, setting down the book she had been holding.
Higgins said nothing but indifferently tossed the box towards her, and began sifting through the papers on his desk. Eliza opened it, staring at the ring inside. And despite her strong exterior, she suddenly began to choke up and began to sob.
"What on earth? What's the matter?"
"It's too much, I can't..." she tried to cover her mouth to keep the sobs from coming out
"Oh blast, Eliza, don't cry for heavens sake. I shall never buy you anything again silly girl." She expected him to berate her more but instead he took a handkerchief and dabbed her cheeks with it. He slid the band above her small ring from Brighton. Then he nonchalantly pulled his own ring out of his pocket.
"What's that?" she said, still sniffling.
"Oh this. I picked out one for myself as well." He nonchalantly slipped the ring on his finger.
She grabbed his hand and looked at the plain band "That is the most unromantic thing I've ever heard."
"Perhaps, but I suppose it had to be done. I daresay I should've taken you with me, but I wanted to be..."
"...Spontaneous" she finished his sentence
"Just so. Now you get back to whatever you were doing. I've got work to do."
Higgins walked off into another corner of the study and Eliza picked up her copy of Keats she had been reading. She sighed and pretended to be fascinated, but her eyes continually gazed to Henry. She enjoyed looking at him, hard at work. She couldn't keep the smile off her face. He suddenly felt her eyes upon and he stopped what he was doing. He sighed and walked over to her. Henry offered her his hand. Eliza put down the book and grasped his hand intertwining her fingers with his. He led her out the door and up the stairs. Eliza wasn't sure where they were going, but suddenly he grinned like a young boy and pulled her, laughing, through the door to his chamber.