~~PoP~~
Christmas cheer
At the beginning of December, Mr Bennet and all his children made a brief trip to London for any last-minute shopping for Christmas and to order some more dresses for Elizabeth, as she would need warmer clothing to wear in Derbyshire.
The Bennets were to stay at the Ashcroft townhouse, while the Colonel stayed with Darcy, as the two of them accompanied the family.
Darcy had been concerned about the meeting between the two most important women in his life. Inviting the Bennets to Darcy House for tea, gave Darcy the perfect opportunity to introduce Elizabeth and Georgiana.
He need not have worried.
Elizabeth knew that the young girl was extremely shy and as soon as they met she immediately set out to put Georgiana at ease. 'I can hardly wait until you can show me your home.'
'My home?' Georgina squeaked in surprise.
'Did you not grow up at Pemberley?'
'I did, but I was not certain that you would want me with you.'
'Of course, I want you with us. It is your home after all. Also, I am used to having a sister and having to leave behind one sister, I was exceedingly pleased with William to be gifting me with another.'
'I always wanted a sister,' Georgiana gasped and as a huge smile spread over her features, she threw her arms around Elizabeth. 'I just know that you will be the best sister anyone could wish for.'
Elizabeth returned the embrace as she laughed, 'If you wish for references as to my suitability as a sister, you will have to apply to Mary.'
James and Mary had watched the interaction and commented, 'She is adequate I suppose… for a girl. But she is also stubborn.'
'Impertinent,' added Mary.
Not to be outdone, James said, 'Opinionated.' The siblings looked at each other and alternated. 'Kind.' 'Too intelligent by half.' 'Witty.' 'Accomplished.' 'Competitive.' 'Teasing.'
They had gone on for some time while Georgiana stared at the spectacle.
'Are you quite certain you want more siblings?' Elizabeth teased quietly.
Georgiana, coming out of her daze, returned her attention to Elizabeth. 'Yes. More than ever,' the girl enthused.
'I will remind you of that whenever you complain.'
~PoP~
Being in London gave Darcy the chance to arrange for the marriage settlement with his family solicitor.
Darcy's solicitor was shocked at the conditions of the marriage articles. 'You cannot mean to allow your wife control of her estate!' the man exclaimed.
'As you said. It is her estate, and she has managed it rather well for quite a few years. But no matter what you think, that clause is not negotiable. Even if I did not agree with it, which I do, the lady would not marry me if I did not treat her as my peer.'
'What is the world coming to,' lamented the solicitor. 'Women wanting to be treated as equals.'
'I do not know about women in general, but ladies deserve to be treated with respect,' Darcy said firmly.
The solicitor sighed but had to be content, after all, Darcy was the client, and he was paying for this ridiculous contract.
~PoP~
~PoP~
The family returned to Longbourn in time to welcome William Collins. It was pure coincidence that Charlotte Lucas happened to be visiting at the time of his arrival, much to the delight of Collins.
'How is your patroness,' enquired Bennet once the greetings were complete and they were having tea in the parlour.
'Miss de Bourgh is everything that is gracious and charming. She was most understanding of my not offering for my cousins, and she even provided me with a carriage to come hither and to ensure my bride's comfort on our return,' enthused his cousin.
'Should I be jealous?' asked Charlotte with a teasing smile.
The question nonetheless flustered her intended. 'No. I just meant that Miss de Bourgh is an excellent person. You are gracious and charming yourself. You are–'
'Stop. All is well. I did not feel slighted. I only meant to be teasing,' explained Charlotte.
'Oh. Forgive me. I am not used to teasing.' Collins explained but immediately went on to say with a rather shy smile, 'But I believe that I shall enjoy learning to be teased.'
'That is excellent. You will fit right into the family,' Bennet informed Collins.
They chatted for a while before Collins offered to walk Charlotte back to Lucas Lodge.
Even though Collins was staying at Longbourn, the family hardly ever saw him, as he spent most of his time with Charlotte and her family.
On Tuesday, Sir William hosted a dinner for a few friends instead of the customary wedding breakfast the next day, because the couple were planning to leave immediately after the ceremony, which was scheduled for eight o'clock, to allow them to return to Hunsford by nightfall.
Due to the early hour, the attendance at the wedding ceremony for Charlotte Lucas and William Collins was small, but the wishes for their happiness were most heartfelt. The new Mrs Collins fairly glowed having attained the married state and with a better husband than she had expected.
~PoP~
It was the afternoon of Christmas Eve, and Longbourn rang with laughter as the youngest generation busily decorated the house with the greenery they had collected in the morning.
The three Bennet siblings were cheerfully assisted by Colonel Fitzwilliam and two Darcys.
Lord and Lady Matlock had arrived the previous day to stay at Purvis Lodge and had brought their niece Georgiana Darcy with them. Because Georgiana was to be in company with her family as well as the Bennets, her companion, Mrs Annesley, was given the opportunity to spend the festive season with her own family.
As Darcy was the tallest of the men, he was called upon to place the bunches of mistletoe in strategic places.
It just so happened that he considered his pocket a strategic place for a single sprig. It came in very handy whenever he encountered Elizabeth, particularly when they happened to be alone for a few moments.
The first time he pulled the sprig from his pocket and held it above Elizabeth's head, she blushed, and her lips formed a perfect 'o', which of course was utterly irresistible to Darcy. He bent down and placed a gentle kiss at those tempting lips. After a moment Elizabeth's eyes closed and she relaxed into his arms and returned the kiss with fervour.
Fortunately for them, Darcy had maintained just enough awareness of their surroundings that he heard approaching footsteps and reluctantly broke the contact. He mentally cursed that he had agreed to wait another week to marry Elizabeth. He now reasoned that they could have spent Christmas with her family as a married couple.
His thoughts were echoed by Elizabeth who whispered, 'Why did we agree to wait until after Christmas to marry?'
'Because it pleased our families.'
'I love my family but sometimes I wish…'
'Me too,' he said in shared understanding.
After that it became a game how many kisses they could steal without getting caught. They were very pleased with themselves over the number of opportunities they managed to find, never realising that their families conspired to provide them with the opportunities.
~PoP~
Colonel Fitzwilliam's Christmas present to his mother was the promise that immediately after the new year, he would go to London to resign his commission.
It had taken him some weeks to come to that decision as the army had been his life for all his years as an adult. But the lure of a gentle lady had given him the incentive to learn how to manage an estate.
Bingley offered to give up the lease on Netherfield to Richard as soon as he became a civilian. The offer was too good to resist.
~PoP~
On December thirty, Elizabeth and Darcy married.
They survived the wedding breakfast but took their leave as soon as they could and went to Darcy House in London, where the knocker was kept off the door for two whole weeks.
Nobody's prurient curiosity about this period will be satisfied… although they were.
~PoP~
~~PoP~~
A Plethora of Peers (working title) by Sydney Salier, Copyright © 2023