Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a restful and healthy holiday season. We are well and healthy here, and looking forward to a wonderful 2022! Let's just dive into our story, shall we? :-)
The rest of the day, the evening, and the next morning passed in a blur of activity. There was so much to do and to decide in a short time. Trunks were strewn in every direction throughout the home as servants hurried up and down the stairs, following Mrs. Gardiner's constant guidance. They packed some items to be shipped to England later, while Mrs. Gardiner directed other things to be divided among them. Still other household furnishings would be abandoned entirely. There were notes to write out and accounts to settle. The house was in an uproar and there was hardly a place to sit down, but it was a relief to be doing something at last.
By ten the next morning, thanks to Mrs. Gardiner's thorough directions and hardly any sleep, everything was as ready as could be under the circumstances. Jane and Elizabeth were changing into fine new silk dresses, which Mrs. Gardiiner had somehow managed to have delivered from her husband's best warehouse. "Even if this is not the wedding you planned, we will make it as festive as possible," she told her nieces, fussing over the tucks and pleats of their outfits. "I wish we could have flowers for you to carry, but the servants were not able to find any in the limited time they had to look."
"This is not a formal wedding." Elizabeth protested, as her dress was lowered over her head. "Flowers would be lovely, but we will be just as married whether we carry them down the aisle with us or not."
"There is another crowd going by," Rosalie, Jane's maid, commented from her post near the window. She closed and locked Jane's trunk even as she spoke. "They are louder than ever today."
It was true. Since dawn there had been a steady flow of people past the house, on foot and in carriages. The king's verdict would be announced sometime today, from what the family had heard, and Parisians were flocking to hear it whenever it might be pronounced. The uneasy, turbulent feeling in the city had increased to an unimaginable level. The tension was nearly palpable.
"Are you nervous, Jane?" Elizabeth asked, smoothing a wrinkle from her sleeve.
"I do not quite know how to feel," Jane replied, as their aunt fussed over a stray thread. "It is strange to think that in a few hours, we will be married women."
"I haven't been able to eat a thing," Elizabeth confessed. "I keep trying to imagine how we will leave the city. How can we make a discreet escape with such crowds on our doorstep? We are sure to be noticed! Anyone passing by will know that we are leaving!"
"Trust Mr. Darcy," her aunt soothed. "I'm sure he and Mr. Bingley have already thought of a way."
"Here they are now!" Rosalie exclaimed. "Both of them looking so very handsome! And there is another man with them I do not know, a short man with a long dark coat."
"That will be the priest, I'm sure," Mrs. Gardiner answered. "Girls, stay away from the window! It is bad luck for your groom to see you before the ceremony. Rosalie, Jeanette, you can finish the ladys' hair now." She left the room in a swish of silk and lace.
"Bad luck is the least of our worries! I for one am not the least bit concerned about Mr. Darcy seeing me ahead of time," Elizabeth declared as she and Jane sat down in front of their mirrors. "Who could have predicted such an outcome to all of mama's worries about our marriage prospects?"
"How mama would love to see us being married!" Jane's voice was wistful.
"But not papa. If we were being married from Longbourn he would probably stay in his study until the last possible moment."
"He would be so proud to see you, Lizzy. He will be disappointed that he could not give us away."
"But I think he will understand once we have a chance to explain. Perhaps he will even be relieved to have things settled with so little trouble to himself."
There was a knock on the bedroom door. Rosalie opened it to admit Mrs. Gardiner and a short, dark man with a tonsure haircut. "Father Pierre wants to meet you before the ceremony," Mrs. Gardiner explained, "and your gentlemen have asked me to give you these." She smiled broadly as she handed each sister an extravagant bouquet of flowers- red roses for Jane and pink lilies for Elizabeth. "They suit you both beautifully."
"Red roses for love." Elizabeth accepted her bouquet, her heart melting at the thoughtful gesture. "The roses are perfect for Jane. But what do lilies stand for?"
"Perhaps you should ask Mr. Darcy that, after the wedding," her aunt answered. "But first the ceremony has to take place. After Father Pierre speaks to you, I will send Amelie to let you know that everything is ready. Then you may come down as soon as you wish."
Father Pierre was a jovial man who looked at both women with a twinkle in his eye. "So! These are the two mademoiselles who are to be married today! I can see why Darcy and Bingley are so eager to wed!"
The sisters exchanged embarrassed glances. "Pay no attention to me, mademoiselles! I can see I am not the sort of priest you expected; I admire the ladies greatly and speak my mind far too freely. I would have married if my family had not been so determined for me to join the church. But I am a priest and I can carry out the ceremony for you. First I have to ask you both a question: is it your sincere desire to be married in this irregular way? Can you confirm that you are taking vows today of your own free will, not under compulsion? Darcy and Bingley have assured me that all is well but I need to hear it for myself."
"Certainly," Jane agreed at once. "I am very happy to be marrying Mr. Bingley today."
"Excellent! And what about you, mademoiselle?"
Elizabeth shook her head, trying to keep her eyes from showing her amusement. "I cannot say that there is no compulsion, sir."
"What?" the priest looked startled. "What is this? I cannot marry you unless you are willing."
"I am most certainly under compulsion. I am compelled by the strongest possible affection for the one who will be my husband!"
"Aha! L'amour!" Father Pierre smiled broadly. "Brilliantly spoken, Miss Elizabeth! Darcy has chosen his bride well. And never fear- I would not try to keep two people apart when their hearts are so plainly united already. I just had to be certain that all is as it should be. I will perform the ceremony and then we will address the other issue of the day, that of the little boy. But first things first! I will leave you now, and meet you again downstairs!"
Father Pierre left the room, accompanied by the maids, and now it was just Jane and Elizabeth in the room, waiting anxiously. "Do I look all right?" Jane nervously ran her fingers over the pins holding her hair in place.
"You have never looked more beautiful, as I am sure Bingley will tell you himself in a few minutes."
"Oh, Lizzy! Our whole lives are about to change forever! I cannot quite believe this is real, and that I will leave this house as Jane Bingley!" Her face, so serene all morning, had suddenly turned pale.
"Mr. Bingley is a good man and he loves you very much. You have nothing to fear!"
"How can you be so calm? I am afraid that I will make some silly mistake during the ceremony, or do something to embarrass myself!"
Elizabeth laughed. "how strange! My nerves were quite on edge, but now that the time has come I find that I am entirely at ease. Soon enough we will be married and we will look back and laugh at how we felt this morning!"
Jane smiled weakly, but before she could speak there was a knock on the door and Amelie announced, "Everything is ready, mademoiselles!" The sisters embraced each other one last time, then filed out of the room and down the stairs, Jane in the lead. Elizabeth followed her into the parlor, carefully holding her bouquet of lilies, and gasped when she saw the room.
The furniture in the room had been pushed to the side. The servants had all gathered in the parlor and were arranged to form a clear path down the middle of the room. The faces of the dozen or so men and women were filled with curiosity and good will. When Jane and Elizabeth appeared they murmured in approval.
At the other end of the room stood Father Pierre, nearly obscured by Bingley and Darcy, both of whom were watching intently for their appearance. Bingley smiled broadly when he saw Jane. Darcy was not as impulsive as his friend, who could barely restrain himself from stepping towards Jane. The only hint of a smile on his face was the slight lifting of the corners of his mouth. But his eyes shone with joy and pride, and Elizabeth could sense his happiness even across the room.
She had barely noticed her uncle at the bottom of the stairs but now she became aware of him next to her, extending an elbow. Jane was already on his other side. She took the proffered arm and walked the short distance slowly, shyly to meet her groom.
She kept her eyes on Darcy as she moved forward. She knew she would remember everything about this event for the rest of her life: the admiring servants, her aunt standing where the bridesmaids normally would be, the sounds of the street outside, and her heart's pulse galloping in her chest. Yet at this moment and in this place nothing mattered but the man she was about to marry. Their wedding might be a small and hurried affair, there might be no decorations, and her parents and sisters were mostly absent. But none of that was important. She and Darcy were about to be bonded together forever.
"Who giveth these women to be married to these men?" she heard the priest ask.
"I do." Gardiner's strong voice belied the suspicious shine in his eyes as he kissed each of his nieces, both a blessing and a farewell. Darcy stepped forward to claim Elizabeth's hand and she placed her hand in his without hesitation. She felt his fingers intertwine with hers as she took her place next to him. They faced the priest together
The ceremony was short. She heard Darcy's words of affirmation and pronounced her own in return. Next to them, Jane and Bingley were doing the same. At the proper time Jules stepped forward to offer a small gold ring to each groom. "In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit," Darcy lightly touched each of the fingers of her left hand with the brilliant band. "Amen." He slipped it onto her ring finger where, mercifully, it fit perfectly. "With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow." His words, spoken triumphantly, resonated throughout the hushed room.
The priest asked them to kneel for the blessing. When both couples had followed his instructions he blessed them as solemnly as if they were in the finest cathedral in the land. He finished with, "Those whom God hath joined together, let no man put asunder," and Elizabeth's heart gave a great leap as she realized it was done. The union had taken place; all that remained was the priest's solemn declaration, which he made when both couples rose to their feet. "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your brides."
Darcy turned to Elizabeth. He drew her gently into his arms and kissed her reverently, decorously before them all, the way a groom should at his wedding. Nevertheless Elizabeth flushed furiously and she knew her face was red when they turned and faced the room. The servants clapped, Jules threw his arms around Darcy's legs, and Mrs. Gardiner laughingly embraced both brides. Even Cozette showed her approval by twining between both couples, rubbing against all of them as she mewed loudly.
And so they were married.
So now that they're married, all their problems are over, right? Not even close! This is where the real fun of the story begins, and I hope you join me for all the angst yet to come! But in the meantime please let me know what you thought of this chapter. I love reading your thoughts! Have a super weekend and I'll see you back here again in three weeks. -Elaine Owen