Jane's wedding breakfast was to be a much larger affair than Mary and Elizabeth's had been. I wondered why there was so little fuss and bustle about it at Longbourn until Kitty told me Mr. Bingley had offered Netherfield as the location for the breakfast the same day we had left for town. She and her mother along with Jane and Mrs. Hill had worked with Mrs. Nicholls at Netherfield to prepare for the event. With the Darcys away in town Mrs. Evans, their housekeeper and cook, had joined in the preparations, providing several baked items. Lydia had not been left out. She had gone to Netherfield with them several afternoons this past week to help with the decorations.
Mildred had mentioned nothing of this in our brief update. I asked her why later that day and she told me, "They wanted to tell you themselves. They are very proud of what they have done. I was sworn to silence until they had the chance."
Tell me they did. Lydia and Kitty were both excited about all the arrangements they had made with their mother at Netherfield.
"The best part is, even with the larger size of the event, we will still be within our budget!" Lydia said proudly.
I smiled as I asked, "How did you manage that?"
"The biggest cost was going to be hiring extra servants to help out here at Longbourn, both to prepare and to serve the food. Now we have all the people who work at Netherfield both for setting things up and for serving. They are already trained and they are paid their regular wages by Mr. Bingley."
"Mrs. Nicholls was very pleased to help with the wedding breakfast. She told us the servants have needed a project like this to liven them up. With just Mr. Bingley in the house and him spending most of his time here they have had it far too quiet," said Kitty.
"The food was going to be another big cost," Lydia added. "With the limited space here at Longbourn several items would have to be ordered in which is more expensive. With much of the preparation being done in Netherfield's kitchens and several of the baked items being prepared by Mrs. Evans at the dower house, we only had to pay for the raw ingredients which is less expensive than buying the finished product. We will be getting a few specialty items from shops in Meryton, in part because Mama says that is a way to keep the local merchants from feeling insulted or left out, but that will not cost very much extra at all."
Kitty described the arrangements for the ballroom, which would be the main gathering point for the breakfast.
"We will have a buffet set up along one wall, with several small groups of tables and chairs arranged throughout the room, with space between them for people to move around or stand and chat without bumping into anyone who is seated. People will be able to socialize better than if we had a more formal meal."
"I helped plan the decorations," said Lydia. "Instead of ordering big bunches of flowers from a London florist we are using ribbons and streamers. One of the patterns in the embroidery book showed a pretty arrangements of ribbons in a knot. I worked out how it was done and we are using it to make the joins between the streamers."
"The hothouse at Netherfield will provide several lovely bouquets of flowers as well," Kitty added. "We have decided what we would like and Mrs. Nicholls will have them cut and put in place Monday morning so they are very fresh. Mama and Jane are happy with how it is all coming together. Elizabeth and Mary did not really want a big party, but Jane likes the idea of sharing the event with all of Meryton. At Netherfield she can do that."
"It sounds like you have been putting all of your lessons to use – party planning, managing the accounts, even your embroidery," I said with a laugh.
"Yes," said Lydia. "It is fun using what we have learned. I always thought lessons were just to keep us out of trouble, but now I understand they are meant to prepare us to do other things."
I could have cried. She understood!
Kitty happily told me her chess game was improving, though she still lost every match. "I am not making as many simple errors as when I started. Papa is teaching me to look several moves ahead instead of looking just at the choice on the board in front of me. It is hard. I have never had to plan like this before. I always just did whatever seemed like a good idea at the time."
"That is one of the good points about learning chess. To play well you have to plan for several possible lines of play ahead. It teaches you to consider the consequences of your actions and choices."
"I have asked Papa to teach me to play as well," said Lydia. "Kitty and I can practice together and would both have a chance to win against each other once I catch up with Kitty. Until we are good at it neither of us will win against you or Papa unless you let us."
"And letting you win is a form of cheating," I said with a smile. "You gain a false win and we would be playing at less than our best. That would cheapen any future win when you are better because you would never be sure if you won by skill or the win was given to you."
"That is exactly how Papa explained it!" said Kitty, surprised.
"That is how my father explained it to me. I remember how thrilled I was the first time I won a game against him because I knew I had truly won it."
"I want to become good enough to play against you, Papa, Lizzy and Will and have a chance of winning fairly," Kitty announced.
"Me too," Lydia agreed.
"If that is what you want and you put in the practice, then I know you will."
0o0o0o0
Mr. Bingley joined the family for luncheon after services on Sunday. While Jane still appeared quietly serene in the expectation of her impending wedding, Mr. Bingley displayed the excitement of a puppy being offered a treat. He bounced in place when he stood, which was most of the time, for except while eating he seemed unable to sit still.
"Bingley, do settle down man! Go take a run around the house if you need to burn off some of that extra energy!" Mr. Darcy finally said.
"I cannot help it Darcy! I just want to move around. Can you believe it? I am getting married tomorrow!"
"Not if I kill you first. I mean it. Go find Teddy and play a game of ball with him or chase him around the house. Just stop bouncing!"
Mr. Bingley stopped his bouncing for a moment and looked very carefully at Mr. Darcy. Then, without a word, he turned and walked out of the room, presumably to go locate Teddy. We all laughed at that, even Jane.
"I am sorry, Jane," Mr. Darcy said to her, "I simply do not have your ability to remain calm under such provocation."
"Actually, Will," she said quietly. "I was about ready to give him the same suggestion, although I would probably have done so less forcefully. Thank you." She smiled at her brother, who gallantly bowed. We all laughed again.
"Take the lesson from your brother, Jane," said Mr. Bennet. "Sometimes it works best to hit a man over the head with a verbal plank in order for us to understand what you want of us."
"Is that the lesson I was supposed to learn?" she asked. "I am glad you explained it."
"Yes, Jane," said Elizabeth, "I have found I get much better results if I simply tell Will what I want. He does not always understand my hints."
"I just want to be sure I am right and that I have your message clear." he answered.
"Very wise," she said with a smile.
"What I want to know is if you were able to speak with Colonel Fitzwilliam yesterday evening as you planned," said Mr. Bennet.
"I was able to speak with him and I confirmed that he will attend the wedding and breakfast tomorrow. He is still working through his investigation. The good news is the investigation team now has a clear idea which members of the unit were working with Colonel Mallow's unit, which probably knew what was going on but were not actually involved in the smuggling and which were not involved in any way."
"That is excellent news," Mr. Bennet said.
"The men who were directly involved will face charges. The problem is how to deal with the middle group. They took no actions that prove they were involved, but they also did nothing to stop the problem or alert Colonel Forster. These are the individuals the investigation is currently focusing on. In an ideal situation Richard would be able to get rid of those men and retain only the ones he is certain are trustworthy. However, this is the militia and they have to take what men they can get. I am not sure how he will end up handling the situation."
"I wish him luck with it however he decides to resolve it." I agreed with Mr. Bennet's wish, as did the rest of the company judging by the nods.
When Mr. Bingley returned an hour or so later he looked very wild and blown about, but was also much calmer. He took a seat next to Jane and managed to stay there for a while.
"Did you enjoy your game with Teddy," Mr. Bennet asked with a smirk.
"I did," answered Mr. Bingley. "He is very good at catching the ball. He has a pretty good throwing arm as well." Jane gave him a smile and took his hand in hers. They sat quietly there together while the general conversation flowed around them.
0o0o0o0
Monday morning strained even Jane's nerves. Mrs. Bennet was in full flutter and worry mode. Nothing, it seemed, could calm her. Kitty and Lydia assured her that everything was well in hand, but still she worried. Mrs. Hill confirmed she had a note from Mrs. Nicholls that all was in readiness and according to plan. It was not enough. The handkerchief fluttered and she fussed. I was tempted to suggest a game of ball with Teddy, but I knew that idea would not be well received.
Elizabeth, Mary and Georgiana arrived early to help Jane dress and make her final preparations. Kitty and Lydia joined them, all six young women crowding into Jane's tiny room. Mrs. Gardiner did her best to keep Mrs. Bennet from popping her head in to fuss over Jane's dress or hair every few minutes. Without Mrs. Gardiner's help the morning would have felt even more chaotic.
Finally, though, it was time for us all to board the carriages for the short ride to the church. Elizabeth stayed with Jane and her father in the anteroom, while the rest of us went to take seats. I found a place a little back from the rest of the family and had just sat down when I heard a familiar voice ask, "May I join you?"
I looked up to see Colonel Fitzwilliam standing in the aisle. "Of course," I answered, moving in a little to give him room. He moved into the pew and sat down next to me. He looked exhausted. I was glad he was taking enough of a break to attend the wedding and hoped he still intended to join us at Netherfield for the breakfast. I smiled at him and he responded in kind, but it did not seem the moment to start a conversation. I was happy to have the company.
I saw Sir William and Lady Lucas enter and sit nearby. I noticed that when Charlotte sat down Lieutenant Andrews came up and asked to join her. She caught my eye as he sat down and we gave each other small nods of approval. The colonel noticed the interaction and looked to see what had caught my attention. He chuckled.
"Do you approve?" he asked quietly.
"Very much," I said simply. We said no more until after the ceremony.
Jane was radiant with joy as she was joined in marriage to Mr. Bingley. He had stopped bouncing but could not stop the grin that brightened his face from the moment Jane entered the church on her father's arm. I was delighted to see two people so happy to be joined together as husband and wife.
In no time at all, it seemed, the ceremony was over and Jane was married. As we stood to leave the church, the colonel offered me his arm. He walked me to the carriage I would be riding in. "I will see you at Netherfield," he said as he handed me in.
"I will count on it," I answered. We seemed to be having very brief conversations that morning. I hoped we could find a little more to say during the breakfast. He handed Kitty and Lydia into the carriage with me. Then Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner got in as well, for it was theirs, and off we went.
"Did you see Charlotte Lucas sitting with Lieutenant Andrews?" Kitty asked.
"He had to sit somewhere," I said. "Why not next to Charlotte?"
"He is clearly on the colonel's trusted list," said Mrs. Gardiner. "What do you know of him?"
"The colonel told me Lieutenant Andrews is the second son of a landed gentleman from Derbyshire, near Pemberley. He may inherit a small estate of his own from an uncle but nothing is certain yet."
"He could be a good match for her then. I remember a family called Andrews from when I lived in Lambton. I wonder if the people I knew were his family. It was some time ago. I will have to ask him if there is an opportunity to do so without interrupting any time he has with Charlotte. I am glad the colonel allowed the lieutenant to attend."
"I am glad they are both attending," I said. "The colonel looks tired. He needs a bit of a break from his work."
I was also glad no one chose to tease me about sitting with the colonel or walking out with him. Kitty and Lydia did exchange significant glances, but otherwise remained silent. I now had more to look forward to at Netherfield than just seeing all the decorative work my charges had arranged.