Darcy and Mrs. Collins were approaching the house when the Baron and Jane joined them. Elizabeth knew from her sister's smile that something important had happened. "Jane, tell me your news. I can see by your smiles that you have something to tell us."
"Oh, Lizzy, I could not be happier. James … I mean His Lordship asked me to marry him and I said yes."
Elizabeth immediately ran to her and hugged her. "Jane, I could not hope for a better gentleman for you. I know you will be a perfect couple."
While the sisters were holding each other, Darcy went to the Baron and shook his hand. "Glenwood, I could not be more pleased. I was hoping this would happen. Miss Bennet is a wonderful lady. You will be very happy."
Just then, the four young ladies joined them and added their congratulations to the happy couple. When they all went in to the house, the youngest girls could not restrain themselves and blurted out the news to the Baroness and Mrs. Bennet before the newly betrothed couple could say a word. Their news was the only topic of discussion for the next while. Mrs. Bennet kept commenting on how her daughter would be Lady Jane, Baroness Glenwood.
The Baron wanted to make sure he had Mrs. Bennet's approval, so he asked, "Mrs. Bennet, Miss Bennet is of age, but I would like to receive your blessing. In addition, should I request the same from anyone else, such as Mr. Philips?"
"My Lord, you certainly have my blessing and best wishes. My brother Philips is the trustee for Longbourn and the guardian for my daughters and Tommy, but you will not need his consent as Jane is of age. You will need to speak to him about her dowry and any legal complications that might arise. He will also want to talk to you about the marriage settlement."
Mrs. Bennet asked if they had decided on a date for the ceremony, which they had not, so this caused some controversy as she insisted that she would need several months to organize such an important event. The Baron actually wanted to be married as soon as possible so he could show his new wife their estate. The Baroness ended this discussion when she suggested that six weeks would be sufficient as she offered to help her with all the preparations. Mrs. Bennet did not dare disagree with this.
Of course, over the next few days, Mrs. Bennet insisted on taking Jane on her visits to all their neighbours to brag about how she would be a baroness. Darcy managed to go to Longbourn almost every day to see Elizabeth; his admiration for her was increasing with every visit. However, he was still uncertain about her so he was careful not to talk about any possible future with her. This left her confused as to his intentions as their conversations increasingly bordered on personal topics such as their hopes for the future. He even made sure to spend time with Tommy every chance he could.
Whenever he went to Longbourn, he brought Georgiana so she could be with the youngest Bennets. Darcy had been a bit worried about this at first as he did not want their overexuberance to affect her unduly, but the young ladies seemed to have only a good influence on each other. Georgiana became livelier and Kitty and Lydia were more ladylike, at least while in her company.
The Darcys' week in Hertfordshire went by quickly and the day of their departure for Derbyshire soon arrived. As the Baron had asked Darcy to stand up with him at this wedding, they knew they would be returning in just a few weeks. Before they left, Darcy found another opportunity to speak to Elizabeth when they were supposed to be chaperoning the betrothed couple.
"Mrs. Collins, when I was in town, I spoke to your Aunt and Uncle Gardiner about the possibility of their visiting Pemberley whenever they were able to visit your aunt's home town of Lambton. Your uncle told me that he has been so busy with his work that he has not been able to take much time off from it for the past several years. However, he mentioned that he hoped he would be able to take your aunt to Derbyshire later this summer.
"He mentioned that you might be able to go with them if your presence is not needed so urgently here. I hope that you will be able to go as I assume you have not had a vacation from your duties here for quite some time. Knowing how much you like the outdoors and nature, I would like to show you some of the highlights of Derbyshire, including Pemberley. I believe that you will like the area as the estate has extensive woods with many excellent trails that I know you will want to explore."
Darcy knew that he had to be more specific about his invitation. "Of course, my invitation applies to your mother and sisters as well if they go with the Gardiners. I would be pleased if all of you would consider staying at Pemberley while you are there. It is a convenient base for seeing many of the sights in Derbyshire and is only five miles from Lambton." While he had not mentioned to the Gardiners that he would extend his invitation for them to stay at Pemberley, just the thought of being able to show his home to Mrs. Collins made him make this decision. For a brief moment, the thought of her being with him there on a more permanent basis flashed through his mind.
Elizabeth was not sure what to make of this invitation. For one thing, she was certain that he did not invite many people to stay there, except for his relatives and closest friends, such as Mr. Bingley. For Mr. Darcy to include her whole family in his invitation was much more than she ever would have expected. Was there something more to it? Their acquaintance had not begun on a promising note last autumn and he had not even hinted at his interest being anything other than as a friend. While his attentions to her had been much friendlier this visit, nothing he had done or said had suggested that he had any serious intentions with her. She began to wonder if she was missing something. However, now she knew how reserved he was.
She was not sure how to respond. "Mr. Darcy, that is very generous of you, but it will be completely up to my aunt and uncle to decide as I would be just going along with whatever they decide. If it were up to me, I would accept as I have heard nothing but the best about Pemberley. I would love to see if the grounds are as wonderful as I have heard them described. May I request that you formally make this invitation to the Gardiners? I must also remind you that my uncle is still not sure if he can get away. As for the rest of my family, I believe they would rather visit the Baron's estate to see where Jane will be living. My mother does not like to travel for long distances, so even going to Warwickshire might be too far for her; Derbyshire is even farther. However, I know that she desperately wants to see the Glenwood estate."
Jane and the Baron had neared them and heard part of this conversation. The Baron assumed that the invitation applied to him as well, so he said, "Darcy, that is very generous of you. However, if your invitation includes us, my intended and I are planning to stay at my estate all summer so she can learn her new duties and meet the prominent families in the area. My mother is counting on staying there with us until the autumn when she will take up residence in our town house to leave us to get settled by ourselves."
They spoke about their summer plans as they returned to the house.
When Elizabeth mentioned this invitation to the rest of her family, Mrs. Bennet talked about going to Warwickshire but no farther. She said that she knew that Jane would need her assistance in remodeling the manor house. The Baroness was not enthusiastic about this plan as she was well aware that Mrs. Bennet's tastes were much too flamboyant for the refined remodeling that she had undertaken for their manor house. However, she was quite sure that she would be able to forestall her more outrageous suggestions. From what she knew of Jane, she was also quite sure that her tastes were not at all similar to her mother's.
Georgiana was enthusiastic about her brother's invitation had been extended to the youngest Bennets as she was enjoying their company so much that she hated the thought of being parted from them. She tried her best to convince them to come and even suggested that a Darcy carriage could be used to convey them to Pemberley if they were already in Warwickshire. She had not even checked with her brother before she made this offer, but she saw that he smiled and nodded at her to show his approval. Mary said that extensive travel did not agree with her, so she was planning to go no farther than Warwickshire.
After the Darcys left for Derbyshire, Mrs. Bennet was busy finalizing the wedding arrangements under the gentle restraints of the Baroness. The remaining weeks until the wedding passed by quickly. In spite of Mrs. Bennet's insistence that she and Jane should go to London to shop for a whole new wardrobe, the Baroness managed to convince her that this shopping should be delayed until the autumn or even winter as the styles would likely change in the interim. She assuaged Mrs. Bennet's concerns by saying that the summer's entertainments in Warwickshire were not formal, so the shops in Meryton and Warwick could supply her immediate needs. This suggestion meant that several days were spent shopping, mainly for Jane, but Elizabeth convinced her Uncle Philips to give each of her sisters additional funds so they each would have new outfits for this important wedding.
The whole Gardiner family arrived at Longbourn several days before the day of the wedding, so Elizabeth was busy meeting with her two uncles going over problems she had encountered in her management of her son's estate. They approved of everything that she had done, showing the confidence they had in her. Mr. Gardiner indicated that he was becoming more confident that he would be able to get away this summer and confirmed that they were anxious that she come with them. Her Uncle Philips assured them that he could look after any difficulties that might arise while they were gone.
Elizabeth had one concern that she had to discuss with her Aunt Gardiner. "Aunt, we had planned to leave your children here with Tommy if we were able to make that trip up north. However, now Mother, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia will not be here as they have decided that they will go to Warwickshire as soon as Jane and the Baron get there from their honeymoon trip. The children are far too young to make such a long trip in the carriage, so taking them is not an option. What can we do with them while we are gone?"
Mrs. Gardiner smiled. "I was also worried about what to do with them, so I spoke to my sister Philips. If it is all right with you and Fanny, she is willing to come to stay here at Longbourn to look after them while we are gone. I thought she would readily agree as she likes to be around children. We will be bringing their nurse with us from town, so with your maids and Tommy's nurse, they should be well looked-after. I would much rather have them here so they can enjoy the country air and all the open grounds for them to run off their energy." She knew that one of her sister Philips's great disappointments in life was that she had not been blessed with any children of her own.
With that problem settled, they began to speak of other things.
Darcy and Georgiana also returned to Netherfield several days before the wedding and they quickly resumed their friendship with Mrs. Collins and her sisters. They finalized their plans for their visits later in the summer, with Darcy renewing his offer to send his carriage to Warwickshire to take the youngest girls on to Pemberley. They planned the timing of this trip so that the girls would be at Pemberley when the Gardiners and Elizabeth would be there.
Mrs. Bennet insisted that she would not go all the way to Derbyshire as Jane would need her help to get settled into her new estate. The Baroness just smiled when she heard that. Mary also stated that she would much rather not extend her trip any farther than Warwickshire as riding any distance in a carriage always made her ill.
While Elizabeth had hoped that Mr. Darcy would clarify the reasons why he had invited her to visit his estate in Derbyshire, he said nothing about this even though he saw her almost every day. Several times they even managed to walk quite separated from the others. While their conversations were always lively and entertaining, he did not talk about anything too personal. Elizabeth was beginning to hope that he would and she expected that they would talk about the future while she was at Pemberley. She had to admit to herself that she was beginning to admire him in spite of her vows to herself that she would never again consider remarrying. She almost smiled when she thought that she had already received serious interest from two eligible gentlemen; then she thought that both of them may have been more attracted to her estate rather than herself. Thinking of them made her realize that Mr. Darcy's attentions to her made him the third gentleman who had been paying a lot of time with her. She began to think of him more seriously and paid more attention to his intelligence and good looks.
The wedding went very well. The Baroness held a large dinner for all the leading residents of Meryton the night before, but she also assisted Mrs. Bennet with her plans for the wedding breakfast. With her assistance, both events went very well. Mr. Gardiner walked Jane down the aisle, with Elizabeth leading them. As she walked, her eyes were only on the Baron and Mr. Darcy waiting by the altar. She immediately noticed that both gentlemen were smiling, but each of them was smiling at a different sister. Elizabeth could not help but return Mr. Darcy's smile, which made him smile even wider. He was certainly handsome when he smiled.
As soon as politeness permitted, the newlyweds left for an unknown destination for a month before they would go to Warwickshire. The now Dowager Baroness Glenwood returned to Glen Crossing to make sure it would be ready for the new mistress. Her main hope was that their honeymoon would be blessed as she desperately wanted grandchildren.
After the wedding, Elizabeth found that she missed her favourite sister even while hoping for the best for her. She knew that she should not assume that every marriage would be like her own, but she simply could not shake off that lingering worry, the memories were still so painful. She was certain that the Baron was nothing like William Collins; then her thoughts drifted to Mr. Darcy. She could not help but wonder what he would be like; could she see herself being able to give herself to him without that deep-rooted fear? She blushed when her thoughts turned that way.
The weeks until their planned departure for the north went by quickly. Elizabeth found that while she missed Jane's company, she was spending more time with her son and her younger sisters, which kept her busy. Her mother continued to visit her friends to brag about her daughter, the Baroness, and their upcoming trip to their estate in Warwickshire.
It was just a week before they expected the Gardiners to come to bring their children to Longbourn. They would only stay two nights before they left on their trip north with Elizabeth. Their trip would take them on an easterly route as Mr. Gardiner wanted to visit Cambridge, which he held in fond memory from his time there. On their way to Derbyshire, they would visit as many interesting sights and great houses as they could. The Bennets' carriage would take a more westerly route to Warwickshire and would leave a week after the Gardiners and Elizabeth departed.
One afternoon, all the Bennet ladies were in the sitting room after luncheon when a visitor was announced by Hill. "Colonel Fitzwilliam to see Mrs. Collins."