David and Goliath, who had never seen their master kiss, inched forward and kept watch, and they had to do so for quite a while.
Chapter 12
Darcy made a mental note that when Elizabeth and he were married David and Goliath would not be allowed in their bedchamber. It was obvious that the dogs were wary of Elizabeth, and while he had been kissing her, they had inched closer and closer to the point where they were now at his heels. It was damned annoying, and he would have to speak to them about it. However, Lizzy was grateful for the distraction because she was quite overwhelmed by Mr. Darcy’s ardor, and his annoyance at his pooches presented her with an opportunity to wiggle free of his embrace.
“William, why do we not find Anne and Georgiana and share our good news with them?”
Knowing that Darcy could sense even the most subtle changes in her, Lizzy did not want to give him the impression that liberties could be taken, that is, until they were married. After they were wed, well… and she gave him a quick glance to see if he had noticed the glint in her eye. He had.
“There is only one thing that would please me more than sharing our joy with my sister and cousin,” Darcy told her, “and that is for you to agree to travel with me to Gretna Green so that we might marry immediately. The Castletons have an estate in nearby Carlisle, and we could stay at their manor house. I know that the family is in London, so we would have the place all to ourselves.”
“Gretna Green? My understanding is that the wedding ceremony is performed by a blacksmith, which is why they are called ‘anvil marriages.’ Please tell me you are not serious.”
“No, I would never ask you to do such a thing. We shall grab a parson from Carlisle and take him with us.”
As far as she was concerned, going to Gretna Green was no different from the Welsh custom of jumping over a broom. They might as well go in search of a broom and save themselves an arduous journey to the Scottish border.
“My family would be very upset if they were not present when we exchanged vows,” she said with great emphasis.
“Please forgive me. I am not explaining myself very well. What I meant to say is that we shall marry in Gretna Green and remarry in the village church in Meryton in view of all our friends and family.”
“My love, you have not thought this through,” Lizzy said, shaking her head. She knew why he was in such a hurry. While he had been kissing her, she had felt the reason for his haste pressed against her leg, but she would never consent to such an ill-advised and, to her mind, immoral plan. “Please understand that such a scheme was used by Wickham to convince Lydia to leave Brighton with him. The idea is repugnant to me.”
“Of course, you are right. I was not thinking about that at all.” In fact, he had done very little thinking since he had carried her to the sofa and had felt her move beneath him. It had lasted but a moment, but, oh, what a moment! But, then again, he did not want to frighten her either. “There is another solution. I shall send word to my solicitor to take all necessary steps to procure a special license as quickly as possible.”
“Special licenses are very expensive.”
“I have a few pounds in the bank, Elizabeth. You need not concern yourself about such matters.”
“My preference would be to have our banns announced for three weeks as Charles and Jane did, and I might add, as almost everyone else does, and to have our wedding breakfast at Longbourn.”
“That is not possible,” he said in a tone of voice that showed he was becoming annoyed. Why wasn’t she as eager to marry as he was? “That will take us right up to the full moon. As my wife, you must adapt to living by the lunar calendar.”
“Which I shall do when I am your wife and have had time to learn everything that is necessary to adapt to our situation,” she said in a tone matching his own. “However, marrying a week or two after the full moon will take us only to mid-December. That is not so far in the future, especially when you consider that you called on me for six months without my having any idea as to whether you would ever propose. I have waited for you; now you must wait for me.”
“Do I have a choice?”
Lizzy kissed him and whispered, “Not really.”
Anne and Georgiana had no doubt of the outcome of Darcy’s proposal and were expecting a jubilant suitor to join them in the study, but when Darcy entered the room, he was wearing a frown because he had not prevailed in his wish to marry as soon as possible. Nevertheless, as soon as he saw Georgiana’s smile, he could not hold back his own, and when she ran to her brother, he picked her up and spun her around.
“You see, I was right,” Georgiana said, addressing Lizzy. “I told Will months ago that you would marry him no matter what, but he kept hemming and hawing, traveling back and forth between London and Longbourn or Pemberley and Longbourn.”
“But that is now behind us,” Anne quickly interjected. “Are we free to share your good news with others?”
“Not yet,” Lizzy answered. “I would like for William to speak with my father before any announcement is made. He will gladly give his consent, and it is merely a courtesy on William’s part, but I would appreciate it if we observed this particular formality.”
“Of course,” Anne said. “But that does not mean that we cannot have our own celebration. I anticipated your happy news and have asked Mr. Jackson to bring us the best wine from Pemberley’s cellar so that we may wish you joy. Am I correct in assuming that you will marry in six weeks after the full moon and the banns have been announced?”
Darcy made a face and looked at Anne and then back at Lizzy. “I see evidence of collusion here.”
“No, you do not, sir, and I hope you are not this suspicious when we are married,” Lizzy said. “Anne and I have discussed nothing about a wedding. Her statement is based on how one would proceed—logically.”
“Oh, never mind. I shall not allow anything to dampen my spirits. This is the best day of my life.” After taking Lizzy’s hands in his, he added, “Up to this point.”
Chapter 13
When the manor house of the Earl of Granyard came into view, Elizabeth could hardly believe it. Granyard Hall was actually larger than Pemberley. For the most part, the architecture was Jacobean with some later additions that, to her mind, gave the house a busy, cluttered look. She much preferred the symmetry of a Georgian manor house, and from the look on her face, Darcy correctly interpreted that her preference was for Pemberley over this rambling abode.
Elizabeth had been nervous about going to a reception for the daughter of a member of the aristocracy, but once she had been accoutered from head to toe by Georgiana and Anne, she felt more at ease. With so many prominent guests in attendance, she anticipated that once she went through the receiving line, no one would pay any attention to her.
The earl was married to his third wife and had children from each of his marriages, and it seemed as if all eight were present. His Lordship was flanked by his eldest daughter, Lady Helen, and the young lady who would shortly be coming out into society, Lady Elaine. She and Georgiana were great friends, and Georgiana had delayed her own debut so that they might be presented to the queen at the same time.
As pretty as Elaine was, it was her older sister who was garnering the lion’s share of the attention. She was the most beautiful woman Lizzy had ever seen. Dressed in an exquisite mauve silk gown and weighed down with jewels, she had all the men gawking at her, that is, every man except Mr. Darcy. Lizzy found this to be most curious. Not looking at the beautiful Lady Helen was like trying to ignore the existence of the sun.
After making her way through introductions of all the siblings, Lady Elaine, and His Lordship, Lizzy was
