Dis: the storyline, new character development, new events, and new characters are my intellectual property. Glorioux Glorioux
An Eventful Wedding - Guests and Ghosts
Jane's sorrow -the bad husband
Mr. Bennet, Mary, and Kitty arrived the night before the wedding. Jane came alone since Charles said he was aghast Lizzie was marrying again.
Charles wasn't upset; that was an excuse because he had already planned to visit his mistress that week, and he wanted to stay with her for a few days. Jane was old news since he tired of women after a while and didn't care who was hurt. Moreover, Charles deemed Jane too tame for him, forgetting she did whatever he asked. Charles was a charming, selfish, and spoiled man who discarded whatever bored him. However, he was sure he'd like Jane again when he was ready to have children.
Jane was forlorn, aware of how much she detested Charles and their marriage. Recently, Jane had heard her sisters-in-law talking; apparently, they were unhappy with Charles. It would seem they knew Charles was visiting a widow he had met two years ago when they were practically newlyweds. They blamed Jane for Caroline's not finding a husband, reasoning that everyone knew about their brother's marriage difficulties, and, unfairly, blamed Jane for not making Charles happy. Caroline's problem was different; nobody would ever measure to Mr. Darcy, so she ignored a couple of good catches trying to court her.
Jane also heard her sisters-in-law saying they wished Charles had stayed married to the young lady who was their governess. It seemed their guardian had paid the governess to leave and change her name. Now, they were afraid of the scandal sure to come. So, once again, they blamed Jane for enticing Charles into marrying her.
Jane held Lizzie when she saw her, "Charles is with his mistress. I know he married someone when he was around 18, and his guardian signed the document."
William was furious with Charles, "What a double face; I never cheated on Lizzie. Is he a bigamist? If Charles comes by, I will tell him what I think of him."
Guests and Ghosts
His father said, "Poor ladies, so pretty and mistreated, ahem." He cleared his throat. Though William said nothing, they heard a short applause, agreeing. William ignored it because he knew there was a ghost looking at him, but he had no idea of the ghost's identity, so it was best to ignore whoever.
George Darcy hoped William wouldn't find out who was there. What an atonement for that person, keeping William out of eternal misery; that person had warned George Darcy to come to stop William's misdeeds several times.
Richard's parents also arrived that same night. They came with their son, Bartlett, but not with his wife, who was increasing. She had wanted to stay with her parents. Bartlett was sorry he married her, and the feeling was mutual. Her parents had forced her because she had a forbidden love, and they knew about it. He should have chosen a Bennet, but he was foolish, thinking they were not good enough; ha, they were beautiful and nice ladies, each one of them. A short scandal would have been preferable.
Lucky Richard, he envied him. He wished it was him marrying Lizzie, but it was impossible. He saw Jane and sighed unhappily, thinking she was so pretty and looking so sad; he reproached himself, thinking she was another wife he could have married instead. He stared on and off, admiring her beauty and curious why she looked so sad. He also wondered where the lady's husband was. If he were married to her, she would never leave his sight.
Lord Hurst, the gentleman who was courting Mary, was there. Mr. Hurst also came along with his cousins, Richard's friends, but not with his wife. One of the cousins, a baron, wanted to court Kitty, but she wasn't sure, even less when she saw someone she had liked for a while.
Right before Richard and Lizzie's small wedding at the Pemberley's private chapel, Lady Catherine arrived. She came with a solicitor to take the Darcy baby away. When William saw her, he worried.
"Son, you see the danger. She wants to stop the wedding to take your son away." George Darcy told William.
When Richard's father saw her, he went to her and whispered, "Catherine, see who is here? Didn't you know that he is her father? You didn't bother to find out who he was, or maybe you knew, but you were too angry because Thomas married someone else. He married after you were already married. Our parents didn't think he was good enough, but he'd asked for you and cried when my father told him never to come back. Let my son be happy."
Lady Catherine answered, looking distressed, "Be quiet; when he saw me, he pretended he didn't know me. He didn't even greet me."
"No, he didn't say hello because you turned your face away from him; I saw it. How do you know how he felt? After all, you married somebody else. I want you to know Thomas cried for days, and I had to stop him from taking his life more than once." Her brother, Lord Matlock, told her. Thomas Bennet was once again his best friend, and he knew Thomas had never stopped loving Catherine.
"I didn't want to marry, but my father made me. What he did to force me was despicable. Do you think I was happy with that old man? No, I wasn't. I also cried for years." She answered, not for years, but she still did. She had never stopped loving Thomas, and she never talked to her father again.
Her brother said, "Catherine, doesn't Lizzie look much like her father? She could have been your daughter, maybe on time she could be, who knows?" He turned away after saying, "She could learn to love you."
But William and his father heard the conversation. So, they decided to go to Richard's room and talk loudly. As soon as they arrived, they started talking.
"Son, I remember Thomas Bennet was good friends with Richard Sr.; their estates were nearby. Cathy fell in love with Thomas when she was 19 and he was 17. Though Thomas was a third son with a high pedigree, he had no money, and Cathy had a large dowry and land. Richard Sr. saw their father talking to his wife, looking very upset. His father said that Cathy, his daughter, deserved a rich husband, and one of his friends wanted young Cathy. Her mother begged him, reminding him her mother's dowry was meant for Cathy, in addition to her dowry, along with the land, but he refused to let Cathy marry Thomas. Richard Sr. told me he was unsure how, but their father forced Cathy to marry. So, I think she hates Elizabeth and any of the daughters." George Darcy told his son.
Richard heard them and tried to figure out how to soften his aunt. Remembering the gossip he had heard long ago, he thought how sad it would be if it were true. Thus, he said aloud, "I wonder if the gossip about my aunt carrying a child when she married was true. And if so, where is the child? Because the child couldn't be Anne since she was born two or three years later."
William whispered, "Let's find the lovechild; maybe my aunt's nasty husband gave the baby away."
A dramatic wedding and a mad woman.
The small group in the chapel sat; the only ones there were family and the Hurst. Darcy's cousins, the twins from Scotland, were there, but their sister was ill. All the men wore dark formal attire, like the groom, and the ladies wore elegant black gowns; their Gardiner aunt had them made for her nieces to attend funerals. The gowns were demure but elegant. The Chapel was decorated beautifully with white flowers for the wedding; however, the occasion was poignant since many were sad, mourning William, but also glad because they were also celebrating a wedding.
Richard waited for Elizabeth; his brother stood by his side and whispered, "Lucky you, I wish it were me. If I were single, I would have tried."
Darcy heard and growled. He disliked Bartlett because he was arrogant. A case of the pot calling the kettle black. He might not want Richard for Lizzie, but Bartlett, who was titled and arrogant, was a worse choice. Richard loved Ricky, and he wasn't sure if Bartlett would love him. Thank goodness Bartlett was married.
That day, the two Darcy ghosts that William had met came out of hiding after they heard there was a wedding. They came to see it. Both smiled for the first time in many years when they looked at the beautiful Bennet sisters. "She looks a little like Judith," one pointed at Jane, "but a lot nicer. Lucky is her husband." They saw she was sad, and they wanted to know why. They were still meddlesome, though this time their intentions were good or fairly good.
"The bride is also a beauty. Lucky is her husband. No wonder our cousin is upset about losing her." The other said, sighing.
Lizzie came in with her father, who was still fit and handsome. Fitzwilliam Darcy, William, noticed how Lady Catherine blushed and looked softer. "Father, I think she still loves him; maybe we can do something. How can we find out if there was a son? I never noticed, but she is quite pretty. She is what, 48 or 49?"
"Yes, she married when she was 19. It was an awful wedding; the groom was fifty or maybe older. I am not so sure we can do anything; we cannot intervene, but let's pay attention. Though maybe I can ask your mom. Besides, Richard heard us; let him investigate." His father answered.
Lizzie was pale, looking sad yet lovely in an elegant black wool gown suitable for a formal occasion. The gown with velvet trimmings had a modest scoop neckline, which she covered with a black silk fichu brought by Miss Erika. Lydia fixed Lizzie's hair up, weaving a black ribbon. For adornment, she wore an onyx and pearls set Richard gave her.
Darcy was about to scream, looking at the bride and groom, but he started to let it go because the other possibility was Lady Catherine, who was fighting to take his son away. Or, perhaps, someone like Bartlett, wanting to marry Lizzie. He saw too much of himself in Bartlett but was wrong. Bartlett often criticized how badly William treated Lizzie. Now, William was certain that nobody would love Ricky as Richard did. He wanted to ask his father about being with Lizzie again when she passed, but not too soon because he wanted Ricky to have a mother. He was thinking about the child his aunt maybe had, growing up without parents. And he wanted his son to grow up with two loving parents, and who was better than Richard? Nobody, Richard was the best, William knew it.
Something was changing inside Darcy; he remembered when he made the will; at the time, he thought nobody would be better than Richard. He had been sure Richard would take care of his wife and son, and perhaps he had made a good decision.
Meanwhile, someone else had just arrived at Pemberley, Elizabeth's mother. She had disobeyed and decided to come to the wedding. She asked the footman who opened the door to take her to the wedding, explaining she was late. Carefully, she hid her hand inside a pocket.
Unfortunately, the footman didn't wonder why she dressed in a bright blue ball gown with too much jewelry and big hair adornments, while everyone else wore mourning clothes. Besides, she was pale, her eyes looked dilated and rather odd, and she didn't look well at all.
Richard stood waiting; he was beyond happy because he was marrying the person he had loved for so long. However, he wanted to find out if William was around and was going to create problems, worrying because he had no idea how to stop his cousin. At least Bartlett was there and stood by him.
Jane was sad looking at Richard, seeing he loved Lizzie, and wished for someone to love her. Charles hadn't been on her bed for over a year; it made her wonder what was wrong with her. She had enjoyed the marriage bed, did all he wished, and then he changed. Jane kept drying tears on and off, feeling sad for herself.
Lizzie stood there, looking ready to cry; she couldn't help it. She was afraid of another bad marriage, so she hadn't looked at Richard. She had been thinking she might have loved George Wickham, who ran away with Lydia. She had such bad luck with men, so what if Richard would change and treat her like William did? Her mind just wasn't there; she felt that something bad was about to happen, probably getting married. The vicar said a few words and asked Richard, "Lord," but couldn't complete the questions because Lady Catherine stood up.
She said, "He cannot marry her. My nephew just died, and he's still warm in the grave; this is an abomination; this must stop right now."
Her brother stood up, went to her, took her arm, and said, "Cathy, sit down, and please, don't make a scene. William wanted them to marry."
"Ha, if he did, I want to read where he said that. You must know our sister wanted me to raise William's children if anything ever happened to him. I have her letters from her here. She knew I probably couldn't, never mind." She said imperiously.
Her brother said, "But Cathy, Anne didn't control William."
"Look at this woman; she is a hussy. I know that for a fact, who else would marry somebody else just weeks after her husband died? I don't want my nephew's son to be raised by somebody like her." Lady Catherine didn't lower her voice.
Richard turned around and told her. "I want you to leave this chapel right now; I don't care whether or not you're my aunt. And if you say one more word about my bride, I will never speak to you again." Though he stood straight, dressed in his formal wear, he looked every inch a warrior going into war.
Everybody was talking at the same time when Thomas Bennett surprised everyone, stepping next to Lady Catherine. He whispered and while he talked to her, the vicar finished the marriage.
"Cathy, my dearest, why are you doing this? Why don't you let them be happy. Haven't we been miserable with our tragic and sad lives?" He asked her, softly; his eyes caressing her.
His daughters were looking at each other, wondering what was going on with Lady Catherine? She was looking down at her shoes and obviously sad, but blushing. And what was up with the look on their father's face? They guessed his father cared for the lady, because it looked like love to them.
In the midst of all of this chaos, they didn't see Mrs. Bennet walking into the small chapel, looking like a mad woman. She pulled out a knife out of her pocket and ran to the front with the knife up, ready to strike, hoping to kill Elizabeth.
At the same moment, two ghosts appeared in the chapel, wearing period clothes. The ghosts, who looked a lot like Mr. Darcy, seemed solid enough but very pale, stepped just ahead of Mrs. Bennet, facing her.
"Stop," both yelled, startling Fanny Bennet, and paralyzing people with fear.
"Leave your daughter alone, she has the right to happiness. You must repent while you can, or you will be dammed for eternity."
William also jumped in, but he didn't know how to appear solid. Nevertheless, he tried to push Mrs. Bennet; but she didn't seem to be scared. Though some thought she didn't see any of the ghosts, she did. Unfortunately, she didn't care, not until Lord Bennet was quick and jumped in front of her, spooking her. He tried to stop his wife, along with Lady Catherine, who was right behind him, but Mrs. Bennet stabbed him twice. All was happening simultaneously, in seconds.
The vicar had already married them, when Richard heard a voice,right before the other ghosts appeared. He knew whose voice, but it was hard to hear, "Coming…stop…kill my Lizzie..." At once he moved to push Lizzie behind him, but not fast enough.
a/n around two more chapters-there is hope for Mr. Darcy-