After breakfast, Darcy went to the parsonage to talk to the parson. He was greatly surprised to greet his patron, and, of course, was eager to do whatever he was asked. They arranged for the license and set the wedding date in two days. Darcy decided that he needed this extra day to allow his relatives to come. When the parson asked, Darcy told him that he was allowed to let word of his wedding be known.
As soon as he was back home, he told the ladies, who were waiting expectantly, that he had arranged for the license and that the ceremony was set for two days. He then invited Elizabeth into his office. He first wrote a note to his uncle, inviting them to come to Pemberley as soon as they could. Darcy called a footman to have it delivered by one of the grooms. Elizabeth said she would warn Mrs. Reynolds to have rooms ready for them. Darcy said that they would likely come the next day.
"The other thing we need to discuss is the marriage settlement. Normally, of course, this would be done with my solicitor before the marriage, but I will have it drawn up in line with what we decide. There are several complications: your previous marriage and the three children. I am very willing to accept them into my home and raise them as our own. I have no problem with that. It will be wonderful to have children again in the halls of Pemberley. There have been no children here for many years.
"I was thinking of settling ten thousand pounds on you immediately, plus a reasonable annual allowance. I will look after all expenditures for the children.
"Did Alcott's will provide for them?'
"Yes, if I retain custody of the children, I will receive one thousand pounds each per year for their maintenance. However, if I remarry, Lord Billingsley has the right to decide if I will retain take custody of them. As he already has three daughters, I doubt he would want to look after them as well. That might be another bargaining point for your uncle."
Darcy replied, "That thousand a year each will be plenty for them until they are older. We will invest any excess and hold it for them."
"Another clause in the will is that I will receive a thousand a year from the estate for life, even if I remarry. All the remaining income from the estate is to be held in trust in the Barony until William reaches the age of majority."
Darcy was listening closely. "I am quite worried about how Billingsley will act as trustee for the estate. I do not trust him to act in the best interest of your son. I will suggest to my uncle that he try to have me play a role in this. I will also suggest that I have some role as a guardian for William. We have a lot to discuss with him when he gets here.
"By the way, I am curious why you called your son William. Was that at the wish of Lord Herbert?"
Elizabeth blushed. "No, it was not. It was completely my decision. Let me just say that I named him after a person that I had been thinking of."
Darcy then sat back and sighed. "I am glad that we met in town when we did. Think of what we would have missed if we had not met then." He then smiled at her with a knowing smile. He was especially loving to her that night, much to her complete satisfaction. She was finding that being with Darcy was much better than when her husband had come to her.
The Earl and Countess arrived the next day. The Earl soon asked to meet with Darcy and Elizabeth. He asked her a lot of questions to make sure that he knew all the facts. After he was quite sure that he had all the information he needed, he said that he would go to meet Langford soon after he returned home after the wedding. He assured her that he felt confident that he could convince Langford to do almost all that they wanted as he felt that his position was strong as he would be Elizabeth's uncle.
That evening after dinner, Georgiana and Elizabeth entertained everyone on the piano. Their guests were impressed at how proficient they both were. While Darcy and the Earl talked, the Countess spoke to the ladies.
"Lady Alcott, you probably know that Georgiana will come out this season. I will be sponsoring her in her curtsy to the Queen and introduce her into society. Have you or Miss Catherine been presented to the Queen?"
"No, neither of us has. Our father did not think that this was important for any of us as we spent little time in town."
"Would you like me to organize that for both of you? That will be important for you as the wife of Mr. Darcy. I will also introduce you both with Georgiana into society."
Elizabeth looked at Kitty, who looked incredulous at the Countess's very kind offer. They had certainly not considered that she would do this for them.
"My Lady, that would be very kind of you. I do not know how we could refuse such an offer. I know there is a lot of work involved in getting ready for that curtsy, with the court dress and rehearsals. We would be very pleased if you would do this for us."
That night, Darcy did not go to Elizabeth as they decided it was too risky with his relatives there. Instead, he kissed her very passionately at the door of her room, and then reluctantly left to go to his own empty bed.
The next morning, the ladies all helped Elizabeth dress in the finest gown that she had brought with her, and then they rode to the church. They brought the girls with them and Kitty and Georgiana tried to explain to them what was going to happen.
"Are we going to get a new Papa?" Alicia asked.
Kitty responded. "Yes, you are. Mr. Darcy will be your Papa, but your Mama will still be your Mama." She was not sure if the girls really understood, but she saw that the thought of their having a new Papa made them happy.
They were surprised at the number of people who were in the church to see them marry. Darcy realized that the parson had spread the word among the locals. As well as local residents and tenants, Darcy had given permission for any Pemberley staff members who were available to go as well.
The ceremony did not take long; it seemed to be over before the two principals even noticed. After they had signed the register, they received very warm congratulations from all the people who had come to see them wed. They realized that everyone was pleased to see that Darcy had finally found a wife.
The rest of the day was a happy time for everyone. As it was a sunny day, they spent hours out of doors, just enjoying themselves. They allowed the girls to run all over the lawns, while they playfully chased them. Mrs. Reynolds organized a picnic in the gardens for everyone. Darcy and Elizabeth never left each other's side all day, much to the amusement of their family. Dinner was also lively as the good mood persisted. Elizabeth did not think about her Langford problem all day. After dinner, Georgiana and Elizabeth again entertained everyone on the piano until Darcy said that he was ready to go up. When he said that, everyone smiled at his enthusiasm, even the two maidens.
The next morning, when the newlyweds came down to the breakfast room, everyone there stopped eating and just looked at them with smiles. Darcy and Elizabeth both could not stop the blushes that covered their faces. Darcy was glad that Richard was not there or he would have really embarrassed them with his comments that would have resulted from his broad sense of humour. As it was, the knowing smiles were bad enough.
The next day, the Earl and Countess left to return to their estate. Darcy and Georgiana spent a lot of time showing Elizabeth and Kitty through all parts of the house and around the estate. Elizabeth was pleased that he included the young girls in many of their excursions, especially when they went out in his open carriage. The girls were energetic, but the others enjoyed their excited expressions of delight.
Elizabeth spent as much time as she could with the housekeeper, Mrs. Reynolds, learning the duties of being the mistress of the estate. Mrs. Reynolds was very pleased that her master had finally married, especially as she quickly found that his new wife was intelligent and eager to learn. Elizabeth was much busier than she had expected, as everyone seemed to want her time—her new husband, her sisters, the girls, her baby, and Mrs. Reynolds. They all noticed that she smiled a lot, but did not realize what these smiles resulted from. She tried not to compare her joinings with Darcy to those she experienced with Lord Herbert, but she could not help but do it. With Lord Herbert, she had found their sessions not unpleasant, but now, every night she soared to unimaginable heights of ecstasy. She could hardly wait to be with her new husband.
Several days after their marriage, Elizabeth was surprised to receive a message that was brought by a groom from Castle Alcott. It was from her butler and this is what it said:
'Lady Alcott, the situation here is becoming intolerable. Viscount Smithson is becoming more demanding on all the staff and has been pestering the maids. He keeps asking where you are and when you will be returning, but I only say that you are visiting friends and that I am not sure when you will be back as you did not give me leave to tell him where you are. He keeps insisting that he be given the Master's suite and demands that we all give him due deference as our new Master. He has been drinking heavily and the young maids are already afraid to be anywhere near him. What shall we do? I ask if you can return as soon as possible.'
Elizabeth was horrified when she read this. She ran to find her husband, who was busy in his office. She barely knocked on the door before she entered. He saw the look on her face and said, "Elizabeth, what is the matter? What happened?"
"Please read this. I cannot believe that he would be as bad as this."
Darcy read the note and was disgusted. "I knew how audacious he was, but this is simply incredible. I cannot believe that he would be as daring as this. He obviously believes that you were going to marry him, so he simply assumed that he will be the master of Castle Alcott. The conditions at Carlisle's estate must be even worse than I imagined.
"We have to do two things: first, get this note to my uncle so he can use it against them. Second, we have to go to Castle Alcott to get him out of there. I will write a quick note to my uncle to let him know what we are doing, and then I will have it sent to him by one of my grooms. Will you be ready to leave right away? We had better not take the girls with us, but they will be safe here with our sisters."
Elizabeth agreed with his plans, so he called for a carriage to be made ready. His valet and her maid were told to pack a few clothes for them. After telling their sisters where they were going, they left. Darcy told his coachman to go as fast as possible, so they made good time.