Several days later, Mr. Tower again came for tea. Elizabeth found that her presence was needed elsewhere, so she left them alone after looking pointedly at Mary. She thought that, where most people would need only about ten minutes to settle things, she gave them thirty. Before re-entering the sitting room, she peeked in and saw that they were sitting close together and that he was holding Mary's hand. They were smiling at each other. Elizabeth cleared her throat noisily and then went in. She saw that Mr. Tower hastily let go of Mary's hand.
"Lizzy! Mr. Tower just made me the happiest woman in England! He asked for my hand and I have accepted him."
"Mary! That is wonderful news!" Lizzy went and kissed Mary on the cheek, then shook Mr. Tower's hand. "I am so happy for both of you. Mr. Tower, Mary is of age, so no permissions are needed. If it means anything, I give you my blessing wholeheartedly. Have you set a date? If not, I would suggest that you may not want a long engagement. Christmas is just a month away and we are expecting that all of our family will be here then. Perhaps a date just before or just after would be quite convenient for our family. What about your family? Will they come for your wedding?"
Mr. Tower's ears turned red. "Miss Elizabeth, thank you for your suggestions. I will talk to Miss Mary about the date. As for my family, my parents will likely be in town over Christmas and may be able to come here then. I will certainly invite them. Now, I should be going back to the manse."
Elizabeth was pleased to hear that he had immediately said that he would consult with Mary before deciding on a date, as that implied that he would treat her as a partner in their marriage.
"Mr. Tower, before you go, I would also suggest that you speak to our uncle, Mr. Philips as he is one of the trustees of the estate. He is the person with whom you will need to hear about the marriage contract and Mary's dowry."
"Thank you for telling me this, Miss Elizabeth. I will do that. Now I really must leave."
Elizabeth allowed Mary to show him to the door. When Mary returned, Elizabeth said, "Mary, tell me how you went about it."
"Lizzy, I have to thank you for your suggestions. I did just what you said and asked how I could help him with any of his ecclesiastical duties. I told him how I admired him and said that I thought I could be a good helpmate for him. That phrase must have made him think of God's promise to Adam to provide him a help 'meet' for him. I could see that he was trying to say something, but he only turned very red. I remembered what you said and I found the courage to take his hand in mine. I told him that I thought that he was the best man that I knew and that I hoped that he would not be assigned to go somewhere else as I would miss him so much.
"Then he said that he admired me as well and he asked if I had ever thought about being the wife of a parson. He did not actually ask me to marry him, but I smiled my best at him and said that I would be very pleased to be his wife. That is when you came in."
Elizabeth laughed and was soon joined by Mary. "Mary, I am so glad that I was able to help. I was afraid that he would be too shy to ask you, and I was right."
"Do you think that I was too forward with him?"
"No, heavens no! He obviously needed a slight push and it sounds as if you did it just right. Would you like to go to Netherfield to tell Jane? She will be so happy for you."
They ordered the carriage and had Tommy made ready to go. Needless to say, Jane was ecstatic to hear the news and she also laughed when Mary told him what she had done. "Mary, I am so pleased for you. I know that you will be happy with Mr. Tower and that you will make the perfect wife for him. Now, you may have to guide him in many different ways as he is so shy. I hope that I do not shock you when I say that I have found that I have had to guide Mr. Bingley in several ways but he has never complained about it. I am not even sure if he is aware of what I have been doing.
"Mary, before you marry, I will talk to you about your wedding night. If I do not tell you what to expect and what to do, your marriage may not be as happy as it could be. Lizzy, sorry, but you cannot hear this yet. When your time comes, I have a feeling that I will not need to talk about marrying a man who is as shy as my husband was about these things or that Mr. Tower is likely to be. I was lucky as Aunt Gardiner gave me some of the best advice that I have ever received. If I had listened only to Mama, I know that my marriage would not have been as happy as it has been. I still laugh at what Mama told me to do."
The three sisters had a merry visit and allowed Tommy and Anna to run freely while they talked. The only cloud was the realization that Lizzy would be the only sister not married and that she would be living alone with Tommy at Longbourn. They all knew that this situation was not looked on as being proper by society, so they talked about finding a mature companion to stay at Longbourn with her. As long as Mary was living there, their situation was minimally acceptable, but one unmarried lady living alone was just not done. Jane and Mary both again wondered what they could do to find her a husband. Jane felt that something was holding Lizzy back from accepting any man's attention, but she was not sure what it was. While she had long known about Mr. Darcy's proposal at Hunsford, she knew that they had never met since then, so it could not be that Lizzy was still longing for him.
That Christmas of 1815 was again very merry for everyone as there were now two babies for the sisters to hold and spoil, two toddlers to chase, and a wedding to anticipate. Mary and Mr. Tower had decided to marry on December 27th as both families could all be together on that day. The Elfords came to Meryton and again stayed with the Longs. Mr. Tower's parents and oldest brother came on the 26th for the wedding and stayed at Netherfield with the Carters and Ropers. His other brother could not get leave from the army even though the war with the French was now over. The Gardiners stayed at Longbourn as they usually did. Everyone, including the Philipses and Elfords gathered for dinner at Netherfield on the 26th, so it was quite a large group that evening.
When Mr. Roper's younger brother arrived at Netherfield and Jane found that he was unmarried, she made sure that he sat next to Elizabeth at dinner. He proved to be personable and not unattractive, so Jane had high hopes for her sister. After dinner, he again sat by Elizabeth until she was asked to play several pieces on the piano after Mary had showed her talents. Jane found an opportunity to speak to her Aunt Gardiner about inviting Lizzy to London after the wedding and trying to get her to meet with Mr. Roper while she was there. Neither Jane nor her aunt had seen that Lizzy had shown any special interest in him, but they decided that they would try to get them together to see if she might show him any attention. They wondered if his also being involved in his father's business was an impediment to Lizzy for her being interested in him.
The morning of the wedding saw all her sisters, her mother, and her two aunts arriving at Longbourn to help Mary dress for this most important day of her life. In spite of all this help, she was ready to leave for the church on time. She had asked her Uncle Gardiner to give her away, so he came in his carriage to take her and Elizabeth to the church. Everyone in attendance saw that Mary looked her very best and that she made a beautiful bride. Of course, what bride is not beautiful on her wedding day?
After the ceremony, everyone went to Longbourn for the wedding breakfast. The newlyweds were planning to spend their first nights at the manse, so they stayed to see the last guests depart. When they were finally alone in the manse and were ready to go up, Mary thought about her talks with Jane and Aunt Gardiner. Both had similar advice, and described what she should expect from the actual first coupling. Mary had not noticed that neither Jane nor her aunt expected that much would happen that first night as the newlyweds were both so shy. However, Jane was more explicit and stressed how Mary must not be overly afraid of guiding her husband to ensure that they both found their maximum enjoyment from the most personal marital act. She told Mary not to be bashful in telling him how much she wanted to be a good wife to him and that she was looking forward to loving him in every possible way. She said that Mary must tell him how much she trusted him and loved him, even if she were not sure how deep her feelings actually were. She told Mary to keep telling him that he was the greatest gentleman that she had ever met to build up his confidence. She said that they must kiss, even if Mary had to take the initiative and to allow him to explore her body, even to offer herself to him for his exploration. She should keep asking him to be gentle with her, but to expect that the very first time that he would not be able to be patient and that it would not be as satisfying to her as it would be in later joinings. When that happened, Mary must not express even the slightest disappointment in him but had to tell him how wonderful he was, no matter what. She said that Mary must encourage him to repeat the act as soon as possible after the first time, even if she had to wait for the second night for this, and that the second time he would be able to be more patient and that she should not be shy in gently guiding him to do what felt best for her.
Mary tried to keep all this in mind and she found that it happened just as Jane had said that it would. The first time was indeed much too quick for her to raise her passion to the ultimate level that Jane had described, but she praised him and encouraged him to repeat his efforts. She cuddled very close to him and kissed him shyly. As he did not seem to be resistant to her attentions, they soon were kissing inexpertly but passionately and he was again exploring her body, much to her delight. This second time she guided him more and she began to feel the unbelievable feelings that Jane had promised were possible. However, he was once again just a bit too quick for her and she knew that there was more to come for her. She felt that she had almost made it. Mary decided to determine if a third try would be possible, so she slowly and surely encouraged him to make the effort. This time, he took much longer and she soared to the heavens with him. Then she allowed him to fall asleep, which he did very quickly. They both went to sleep with smiles on their faces.
Jane had said not to let him leave her to go to his own bed, but to just to hold him all night. This she did and was pleasantly surprised to be awakened even before the sun rose by his gentle ministrations to her person. Her welcome reception of her husband's attentions again resulted in their complete and mutual enjoyment. Before they fell asleep again, she decided that she would thank Jane for her advice and that she might even feel forward enough to follow Jane's last piece of advice and to repeat their embraces when they were not encumbered by any nightwear. Was it just yesterday that she had doubted that she could possibly do what Jane had recommended? Now she knew why some wives and husbands seemed to be so happy with each other, and she pitied those who did not seem to share such wonderful delights.
The sun was high in the sky when they finally rose. Mary, being very bold, said, "My husband! It is so nice to be able to say that. Did I tell you how much I love you? You are a wonderful, loving husband. You are the best man I have ever known. How is it that I am so lucky to have you as my husband?"
"Mary, my loving wife! When we first spoke of marriage, I thought that you would just be my helpmate. Now I know that a wife is much more than that. I did not expect to find heaven on earth, but I did." They embraced warmly before they went to break their fast, hand in hand. The staff at the manse smiled to see them so obviously happy.
If the residents of Meryton noticed that the Reverend Tower seemed to be taller after his marriage, was seen to walk more upright, preached his sermons with more vigour, was less shy among strangers, and looked more directly at people, they gave credit to Mrs. Tower's influence. They were correct in this assumption, but not precisely in the way that his wife had affected his self-assurance. How was anyone to know how she built up his confidence with her gentle encouragements every night? Certainly, the content of his sermons improved, their wording enhanced, and their delivery made livelier; these were the result of her assistance. It was not long before Tower was confirmed as the new parson of the parish. Mary was rightly very proud of him and her standing in the area was greatly enhanced.
The days after the wedding saw the departures of the various guests from Meryton. Elizabeth had decided to accept her aunt's invitation to go to London with them, so she left Tommy at Netherfield where she knew he would be well looked after. Her own carriage was a welcome extra conveyance as her four cousins were growing, so the extra room was needed with the seven of them, plus their lady's maids.
Mrs. Gardiner had spoken to Mrs. Roper about getting together in town, and she was pleased to receive an invitation to dine with them shortly after they arrived back home. When they went to the Ropers' home, they found that it was a quite nice townhouse in a decent area. This dinner greatly disappointed the Gardiners as Mr. Roper, as they had known, was indeed unmarried but he was at the dinner with a young lady that he introduced as his intended. Elizabeth did not seem to be very unhappy when she heard this.
The Gardiners did take Elizabeth to several public entertainments and they held several dinners where they invited a number of guests. These guests always seemed to include unmarried young men, but none of these interested Elizabeth. She stayed only two weeks in town, then returned to Longbourn. However, she promised to come back at Easter and to bring Tommy with her.