December 1813 – February 1814
During the months' Darcy was at Pemberley he thought very little of his future wife, but he only dreamed of Miss Bennet a few times. He corresponded with his fiancée every two or three weeks, and every two weeks with Georgiana. Three days before Georgiana's wedding, Darcy returned to London.
His sister's wedding was well attended, the bride and groom were beaming and seemed very much in love; the succulent wedding breakfast was at the Matlocks'. The only one absent was his cousin Richard since he was not in England.
Lady Maria was happy that Darcy had finally returned since some of her acquaintances commented it was strange that Mr. Darcy had become engaged to her and subsequently left... Furthermore, Darcy was so handsome and several of her friends and acquaintances envied her good fortune. As a symbol of their engagement, Darcy gave her the ring that had belonged to his mother, and previously to his paternal grandmother and great-grandmother.
In the months leading up to his wedding, Darcy attended a few parties, and even though he did not like to dance, he did his duty and danced with her fiancée.
Two weeks before the wedding, Darcy drafted the marriage settlement with his solicitor and was shocked when he spoke to his future father-in-law and learned his fiancée's dowry was not what he thought...
"…I never said that my daughter's dowry was £30,000. Besides, you never asked me."
"But you know very well that several Ladies of the Ton said it was £30,000," Darcy said with annoyance.
"Do you have a tendency to believe all the gossip you hear?" he responded sarcastically.
"No, but I remember when I commented that my sister's dowry was the same as your daughter's, you did not contradict me."
"Why should I contradict you? I didn't know what your sister's dowry is, and I didn't care either. It was your and her future husband's business." He paused, "My daughter's dowry is £10,000. Also, I remind you that socially my daughter is superior to you. She is the daughter of an earl and you are simply the son of a gentleman. My daughter is lowering herself by marrying you, and not the other way around..."
After the tense conversation with his future father-in-law, he was forced to add £10,000 to the marriage settlement as Lady Maria's dowry. Pemberley's coffers were short of money as he had to give Mr. Stevens the £30,000 of Georgiana's dowry. It was going to take him more years than he expected to recover so much money.
March 1814
Finally, in the first days of March, the wedding of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Lady Maria was held in one of the main churches in London, which was attended by several families from high society. Lady Maria was very pretty in an ivory gown and Darcy was very handsome. They both said their wedding vows in a clear voice, but without particular emotion. It was a marriage like so many in high society: connections and convenience.
Of Darcy's relatives, the only ones not in attendance were Lady Catherine and Anne. Lady Catherine was visibly offended by her nephew, and Anne didn't want to contradict her mother or bother going to London.
Their wedding night was spent in London at Darcy's house, and it was an unsatisfying experience for both of them. Until then, Darcy had never been intimate with a maiden, and while he wasn't innocent, he was not very experienced. For her part, Lady Maria at her mother's suggestion lay down and let Darcy do what he wanted with her...
Two days later they left for Pemberley. The intimacy between them did not improve with the passing of time. Within a few weeks a routine formed: they only saw each other at lunch - sometimes Darcy stayed in his office – and at dinner. Furthermore, Darcy visited Lady Maria in her chamber twice a week, and never slept with her.
Perhaps it could be said that the main problem between them was the lack of communication and common interests, others might say it was the lack of love and passion, or perhaps the lack of interest that both had in having a different marriage than the one their parents had...
Both were aware that their marriage was a marriage of convenience. He would never have married her if she had been the daughter of a minor gentleman, and she would never have married him if he had not been rich...