It is a truth universally acknowledged that a wedding should be the happiest day of one's life, whether that be because of the love it would provide or the income. Elizabeth Bennet could safely say that her wedding fit both categories.
Although her mother only cared about the second aspect, Elizabeth was only interested in the first. Standing beside her was her husband-to-be, Mr. Darcy, a fact which she would have never believed a couple of months ago. How ridiculous that seemed now. Her heart had run off without her permission, but she could not be more relieved that it led her to him.
Equally joyous was the sight of Jane and Mr. Bingley standing beside them. Elizabeth valued her sister's happiness greatly, even more than her own, and she could not be more pleased that after months of confusion and heartache, she was finally going to reach her happy ending too. All they had to do was recite their wedding vows and the two sisters would be ready to start their new lives…
Before the clergyman could conclude his speech, however, a thump resounded through the hall. Elizabeth did not bother turning around, thinking the noise to be inconsequential, until a voice shouted out from behind her: "The marriage cannot go on! I declare the existence of the impediment."
The room became deathly silent. The two pairs slowly turned around to see a man standing in front of the door, his face grim and determined. Meanwhile, the audience members had varying reactions: Mrs. Bennet looked like she was on the verge of either passing out or strangling the man who was standing between her daughters and two of the richest bachelors in England. Caroline Bingley, however, had a slight smirk.
Elizabeth's mind was whirring. What was going on? Was Miss Bingley behind this interruption? How could she even create an impediment of that sort?
Mr. Bingley stared in shock and looked like he was about to speak, but the intruder angled himself towards Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, making it clear that it was them specifically he was referring to. Elizabeth's confusion only increased. Was it perhaps Lady Catherine? Surely she could not have the power to cause a problem like this, but it was certainly more likely than Miss Bingley.
Elizabeth looked to Mr. Darcy for explanation, but he looked even more bewildered. "I…am quite sure that no such impediment exists. May we proceed with the ceremony?"
"We cannot proceed without any investigation," the clergyman replied. "What is the nature of this impediment? Perhaps it may be got over - explained away?"
"Hardly," the intruder said. "It is insuperable."
Elizabeth again replayed the conversation with Lady Catherine over in her head. She knew very well the woman's rage over the prospect of her marriage to Mr. Darcy, but she could not be the cause behind this impediment. Why would she have tried to prevent Elizabeth from accepting the proposal if she could prevent the wedding anyway? Had she gotten desperate?
Anger swelled inside of Elizabeth. What right did Lady Catherine have to once again try to interfere with a happy union? She was about to voice as much, when the intruder's next words threw her off entirely:
"It simply consists in the existence of a previous marriage." He pointed firmly at Mr. Darcy. "This man has a wife now living."
Elizabeth's mind went blank for a second, trying to process what the intruder had said. Even when she understood the words, they still came across like gibberish to her. Mr. Darcy? Already married?
Who could he possibly be married to? He was supposed to marry Lady Catherine's daughter, but they had never gone through with the union. The engagement itself wasn't even official, only a strong recommendation that neither party seemed particularly interested in acting on. Unless…Mr. Darcy lied to her?
One look at him and Elizabeth felt ashamed for ever doubting him. He had gone utterly pale, appearing to be just as nervous as he had been when he proposed to her. Except this was not nearly as joyous of an event. Then again, neither was that first attempt.
The audience had already broken out into protests; even Miss Bingley objected to the idea. Elizabeth did not pay attention to any of their voices, though. She was only focused on Mr. Darcy, who was visibly struggling to come up with how to handle the situation.
Elizabeth decided to speak first. "What is your name, Sir?"
"My name is Briggs," the intruder replied, "a solicitor."
Elizabeth tried her best to keep a level voice. "With all due respect, this is an unwarranted accusation. Mr. Darcy has no previous marriage."
Looking as if he had expected this, Mr. Briggs calmly took out a document. One that looked very official, forming cracks in Elizabeth's heart.
It could not be true. Mr. Darcy would never lie to her about something like this, but who could fake such evidence? She felt as betrayed as when she first read Mr. Darcy's letter, revealing that Mr. Wickham had lied to her about everything. This could not be happening again.
"I affirm and can prove…" Mr. Briggs read out loud. Elizabeth felt like she was hearing him from underwater. "That on the 20th of October A.D., Edward Fairfax Rochester-"
The confusion sparked by this statement abruptly returned Elizabeth to reality, even more so by Mr. Darcy's next statement: "I am sorry to interrupt, Sir, but there is no Edward here."
Mr. Briggs furrowed his eyebrows. "Is…is this not the wedding of Edward Rochester and Jane Eyre?"
Elizabeth stared. She had never heard those names in her life. "No, not at all."
Mr. Briggs's eyes widened. He turned towards Jane and Mr. Bingley, as if assessing whether or not they were the people he was supposed to target.
"There is a Jane Bennet here," Mr. Bingley offered, seeming to have recovered from his surprise. "But no Jane Eyre."
"Then…" Mr. Briggs went slightly red. "My…my sincerest apologies, everyone. It appears that I have…I have come to the wrong wedding." He backed away, clearly mortified. "There was this man who had a wife that he kept locked up, and he was trying to marry someone else…" He seemed to notice that everybody in the room was staring at him like he'd lost his mind. "It's true, I promise you!"
Someone giggled. It sounded like Kitty.
"I must be…going now. Oh, I hope I can reach the actual wedding before it's too late…"
Without warning, he turned around and walked out of the building. He moved slowly at first, but when he presumably thought that he was out of sight, he started scurrying for dear life.
The room was even more silent than it had been when he first entered, everyone looking with wide eyes at the clergyman to see what would happen now. Elizabeth's own eyes were fixed on Mr. Darcy's face, taking the situation in. It happened so fast. Could it really have been a mere mistake?
"Well then," the clergyman said. "Nobody here has a secret wife, is that correct?"
Mr. Darcy nodded fervently, and even Mr. Bingley decided to confirm that he was clear as well. Elizabeth sagged in relief, though she had not even noticed how tensed up she was.
"And neither of you," the clergyman looked at Jane and Elizabeth, "have a secret husband?"
The eldest Bennet sisters nodded when all of a sudden Kitty laughed loudly from her seat. Mary shushed her, but she kept going. Elizabeth's instinctual reaction in these situations was always mortification, but somehow, she found herself wanting to laugh too.
To imagine such an event! A secret wife, somehow kept concealed from the entire world, dramatically revealed on the day of the wedding. Elizabeth could not help but be relieved that Lydia was unable to make the trip to the wedding, because she knew that her youngest sister's reaction would have broken every barrier of self control she had.
Mr. Darcy appeared to misinterpret Elizabeth's feelings, which he tended to do quite a lot. He rested a hand on her shoulder, seemingly under the impression that the mistake had caused her distress.
Elizabeth let her smile widen, and Mr. Darcy raised an eyebrow.
"What's so funny?"
Elizabeth just shook her head, but when she noticed all of the conversations that had sprouted amongst everyone, she felt safe to talk without being overheard. "I cannot imagine you hiding a secret wife. Knowing you, she'd accidentally escape within a day. You couldn't have kept such a secret even if you wanted to!"
Mr. Darcy smiled. "But I am sure you could if you wanted to. Are you sure there is no secret husband I should be aware of?"
"None at all." Elizabeth beamed, especially after making a cursory glance at the crowd. Mrs. Bennet appeared to be much more distressed by the event than Elizabeth; she was frantically fanning herself, afraid that the precious ten thousand pounds a year were now out of reach. Mr. Bennet sat beside her, making half-hearted attempts at comfort while he rolled his eyes.
"Now, we must finish the ceremony," Elizabeth said. "Because if we are not married within the next five minutes, I think my mother will pass out from her poor nerves."
Mr. Darcy smiled again, and it filled Elizabeth's heart to see him so at ease. But of course he was acting this way - today was to be the happiest day of their lives, unexpected visitor or not. Nothing was going to stop her from becoming Mrs. Darcy.
That poor Jane Eyre, though, Elizabeth couldn't help but think. I would not want to be in her shoes right now!
