It was morning.
Elizabeth felt different.
It was later than her usual wake time, judging by the sunlight. Her hair was loose instead of braided. She was a touch sore in odd places. Her bed felt firmer, her pillow fluffier. As awareness increased, so did her confusion. She was… undressed? And what was in her bed with her?
Of course; she was married now! She smiled and snuggled closer to the warm body behind her.
"Good morning, Mrs Darcy," he mumbled into her neck and threw a heavy arm over her waist.
"Good morning, husband," she said as she turned over to face him. "Shall we go join everyone for breakfast?"
"No." He kept his eyes closed.
She laughed. "We cannot stay here all day!"
"Yes we can, and in fact we should." He played with her hair that was draped over her shoulder.
"But… everyone will know what we are doing," she began to blush.
He finally opened his eyes, which showed his amusement at her modesty. "Everyone else has gone to the Peaks for a couple of days. We have Pemberley to ourselves."
"But… the servants will know."
He chuckled and shrugged. "They are paid well enough not to gossip. But if a few households in the area hear that we loitered in bed the day after marrying, what of it? They will learn that we are in love, which is hardly a secret. It is better than having them believe you married me for nefarious reasons."
He pressed kisses against her face, neck, shoulder.
"You are quite persuasive," she said as his lips and hands continued to travel. "It is not my desire to rise, I only thought we ought to."
"We ought not. We would not want people thinking you a fortune hunter, would we?"
"Definitely not," she whispered as he rolled atop her.
"Then we must stay exactly where we are. For the sake of your reputation."
#
Two Darcy carriages trundled north through Derbyshire. One contained Mrs Bennet with Jane, Mary, and their husbands, and the other was filled with Mr Bennet and the three youngest girls. They had departed quite early in the morning, and their inn was several hours away, so in the second carriage Kitty and Lydia slept while Georgiana and Mr Bennet read their books.
"Miss Darcy," Bennet said quietly to avoid disturbing his daughters, "it only occurred to me now that I have not seen Mrs Annesley since we arrived."
She giggled lightly. "With so many visitors, we felt her service as companion was not needed this month. We sent her to visit her daughter nearby, with full wages of course."
"That is very generous of your brother. I do not know him well but he is clearly a good man."
"Oh yes," she nodded earnestly. "He is highly respected by all our staff and tenants, and I could not ask for a better brother."
"I did not doubt any of that, but I am happy to hear it regardless."
He looked back to his book, intending to read again, while Georgiana studied him thoughtfully. She glanced at the other two girls who were still sound asleep.
"Mr Bennet, may I ask you something?"
"Certainly, Miss Darcy."
She hesitated, rather uncertain how to broach the subject that confused her.
"Mr Collins said my aunt is angry with the match my brother made with Elizabeth, and that is understandable because she wanted him for my cousin Anne, but I am concerned at hearing my uncle is very upset as well. I understand that they would consider your family too low - not that my brother and I do - but is it truly so bad?"
"The class structure in this country is a complex business. Mr Darcy is a gentleman and Lizzy is a gentleman's daughter, so they seem equal enough, but they are not. He has a place in high society, he is grandson of an Earl, and your family has a very old and respected name, besides your considerable coffers. I have none of those things."
She looked expectantly at him, hoping for more, so he continued.
"Most marriages, at least among the aristocracy, are for convenience. They are business arrangements to benefit families rather than to advance the happiness of the couple in question. So besides our comparative inequality, your uncle is also lamenting the lost possibility of beneficial alliances to himself."
"Does he not want my brother to be happy?" Georgiana frowned.
"Possibly he does, but as a secondary concern. That is one way in which it is better to be born slightly lower, like me. I only hope for love matches for my daughters and I rejoice that it has happened more often than not so far."
"Would you allow one of your daughters to marry a steward's son if they were in love? - just as an example," she hastened to add.
He raised his eyebrows. He remembered that Wickham was handsome, charming, and son of the Darcy family's former steward. That was interesting.
"I would not," he said simply. "We can make some allowances for love, as your brother did, but I also need to see my girls properly cared for. You are of an age with these two," he nodded at the slumbering bodies beside Georgiana. "All three of you are too young to determine who is an appropriate match. A charming exterior does not make a man necessarily suitable."
"No, it does not," she answered solemnly.
"That is why suitors require permission from fathers or guardians. We have the experience to identify the rakes and rogues. As mature and worldly as many young girls like to think of themselves, they simply do not have the life skills to marry without guidance."
"Even one year ago I thought I knew what was best in many matters," she agreed. "Now I know better. I am grateful for my brother's care and guidance. I do not know where I would be without him." She shuddered.
"I worry about my daughters constantly. I cannot watch them every minute of the day, and I fear some scoundrel taking advantage of them. I am certain your brother feels the same about you."
"He does."
"You are a good girl. Until you are old enough to know these things for yourself, it is better to be overly suspicious and chase a man off than to have too much misplaced trust. There will always be another gentleman who comes along, and there is no hurry to marry."
"Thank you, Mr Bennet." Georgiana looked out the window, reflecting on this conversation. She supposed it was not much she did not already know, but it was good to have the reminder that she was not ready to think about marriage.
Lydia was awake. The first conversation, about Mrs Annesley and Mr Darcy, had woken her but she pretended to still be asleep in case she heard anything interesting. She got her wish.
She wondered why her father never spoke so to her. She realised that, actually, he had given her some variation of this speech many times in the months since Jane's marriage. It was only that she brushed him off as trying to control her and spoil her fun. She was the stupid naive girl that her father was thinking of while speaking.
She had heard it all before, but in this carriage she felt she truly heard her father for the first time. He told someone else, while believing she could not hear, that he worried about her and only wanted her to marry someone who loved her. That must make it true. Even Georgiana, who seemed so mature and refined, acknowledged that she did not know how to choose a suitor.
Lydia wondered if perhaps she should listen to her father more often.
#
Bingley awoke feeling happy and refreshed. His tension had melted away almost immediately after his return to Netherfield, and he was certain it was the country air. Well, perhaps part of it was being away from his sisters for the first time in many months; he loved them, but they were not the easiest company.
Now, several days into his stay he had received calls from some neighbouring gentlemen, whom he recalled from the autumn, and was already feeling settled back in. He remembered that he and his party were to dine at Lucas Lodge that evening. He had wondered on his arrival if people would keep their distance after he had seemingly courted and abandoned one of their own, so he was pleased with his welcome.
This time Netherfield held a party of four gentlemen: he was joined by a couple of longtime friends, Mr Herrington and Mr Allen, as well as Caroline's erstwhile suitor, Mr White, with whom he had become quite friendly. He chuckled a little as it finally occurred to him that the neighbourhood's warm reception at his return was due to the number of single gentlemen now in their midst. He had no interest in searching for a wife until Caroline was settled, but his friends were welcome to the abundance of pretty girls he knew were in the area.
He rose and went about his day. The gentlemen had a leisurely breakfast, went for a ride, and spent the afternoon in individual pursuits, until it was time to prepare for their dinner engagement.
A few miles away, Lady Lucas was quite pleased with herself. For the second time, the handsome and wealthy Mr Bingley had entered their neighbourhood, and for the second time, hers was the first family to entertain him. Her elder daughter, Charlotte, was becoming quite advanced in age for a single young woman but perhaps this time he would notice her. Him or one of his friends - it mattered not. One of them may even become interested in Maria, as well. Mrs Bennet is not the only one with marriageable daughters, she thought.
The bell rang, indicating her guests had arrived, and she hurried into the parlour where the rest of her family was seated. The rest except for John and Mary, who were at Pemberley; that remembrance brought a smile to her lips. Perhaps she could even count on Mr Darcy to introduce gentlemen to Charlotte, since he would soon be brother to John and married to Charlotte's intimate friend. In this moment her daughter's prospects actually seemed quite good.
"Welcome, Mr Bingley!" she cried as he entered the room. "How good to see you again after all this time."
"It is a pleasure to be back," he said with his charming smile. "May I introduce my friends?"
Sir William had already met all the gentlemen but they were introduced to Lady Lucas, Charlotte, Maria, and the younger son, fifteen-year-old Alex.
"I understand Mr John Lucas has married the former Mary Bennet and they are at Pemberley with the rest of her family," Bingley said to the group at large. "Congratulations on your son's marriage."
"Why, thank you," Sir William replied. "We always hoped he would make a marriage in that family, did we not, my dear? And Mary has quite blossomed in the past months, indeed since her sister Jane's marriage last September; it is no wonder John took to her."
"Ah, yes, I had heard there was a fifth Bennet sister who married shortly before I moved here. My friend Darcy met her in Kent while he was courting Miss Elizabeth Bennet," Bingley smiled.
"Did he indeed? It is a small world, is it not?" said Lady Lucas. "Jane was a famous beauty in Hertfordshire, but of course we are quite pleased with John's choice."
Privately, Bingley wished he had been able to meet the woman he had heard described more than once as the most beautiful lady in the county, but wisely kept those thoughts to himself. Instead, he said, "All of the Bennet sisters I have met are lovely, and the Lucas ladies too, of course," with a nod towards Charlotte and Maria.
As the party awaited the dinner bell they broke into separate conversations. Bingley and Allen spoke with the three ladies about the weather and their activities since they arrived in the country, while Herrington and White discussed the war with Sir William and Alex pretended to listen intelligently. Gradually, Charlotte paid more attention to the men's conversation and finally felt herself moved to speak.
"Mr White, do you truly believe that France will invade Russia when they are already so occupied in the Peninsula? That is certainly a bold stance."
"I believe it is imminent," he replied energetically. "Napoleon has been considering it for some time. He refuses to see Poland reunited, which could occur under Russian influence." He and Charlotte debated this and his other reasons until came the call for dinner.
"We have informal seating tonight, so please sit wherever you like," Lady Lucas smiled. She had not missed the interactions between Mr White and Charlotte, and was very pleased when he chose to sit next to her at the table.
"Miss Lucas, as interested as I am in your opinions on the subject, war is perhaps not appropriate dinner conversation," he said as the first course came out. "What are your other interests?"
She blushed lightly. No man had ever asked her that before.
"Well, I am interested in drawing, but I do not believe I am particularly talented at it."
"Nonsense," he declared. "I would be honoured to see your work when dinner is over, if you will allow me."
The two had an agreeable discussion at dinner, but the Netherfield party did not linger very long after the meal ended. Charlotte was sorry to see him go.
"Well, my dear," Lady Lucas said happily to her daughter, "there is hope for you yet!"
This was hardly the worst comment she had ever heard from her mother, and she merely smiled in response. She would not get her hopes up, but she did like him.
"You seemed to like Miss Lucas," Bingley said to his friend on the carriage ride home.
"You could certainly find more handsome or endowered ladies, you know," Allen interjected.
"You two are as bad as women! I merely had a conversation with the girl," White replied.
In fact, he had quite enjoyed himself. The last time he had prioritised beauty and dowry over character had resulted in a humiliating rejection from Caroline Bingley. Miss Lucas, with her informed opinions and her hobbies, had much more depth. He would be cautious, but he did like her.
Herrington wanted to continue their discussion about the war while they were having a nightcap back at Netherfield. When he made the same point Charlotte had made a few hours before, Mr White smiled.