first night she had found the whole ritual to be embarrassing and that she had insisted Mr. Bingley extinguish the one candle that had been left burning so that she would not bang into something if she needed to use the chamber pot during the night.
“I would rather have had a bruise the size of a goose egg than for Mr. Bingley to see me without any clothes on.” With that statement, the giggling began. Jane assured Lizzy that although there was some discomfort, the deed was done in just a few minutes. “But I should warn you that the scene was repeated during the night and again in the morning. You could say that the sun and Mr. Bingley rose at the same time.” The sisters collapsed onto the bed laughing. “By the time I got out of bed to see to my toilette, I was an old hand at it.”
But Jane’s laughter ceased when Lizzy informed her that Mr. Darcy and she would leave Netherfield Park immediately after breakfast on the twenty-fifth, and her response was exactly as anticipated.
“But why must you depart on Christmas morning? Is it absolutely necessary for you to leave for Pemberley the day after you are married? I do not understand the need for such haste.”
“Mr. Darcy promised his aunt Marguerite, who lives near Leicester, that we would visit. Lady Ashton is the elder Mr. Darcy’s sister and the only one left from that generation of Darcys.”
“That is all well and good, but why must you see her at this time?”
“Because Mr. Darcy wishes it, and I am agreeable to it, and that is all there is to be said.” Lizzy said this in a harsh tone, but it was necessary for her sister to know that this was not a subject open to discussion. “Jane, if Mr. Bingley had asked you to do this on the day after your wedding, you would not have said no. I do not wish to begin our marriage by denying my husband the first thing he has asked of me.”
“Well, I hope that Mr. Darcy will allow you to return to Longbourn when I am near my confinement,” Jane said with a catch in her voice.
“Oh, Jane, please. I would not miss the birth of Baby Bingley for anything. I shall be here. I promise.”
But Jane was now clearly unsettled. “Please forgive me, Lizzy, but there is something I must say, even at the risk of offending you. I have thought for some time that there is something unusual about Mr. Darcy. I cannot put my finger on it, but he has a tendency to stare. When he does, it is almost as if he knows what a person is thinking. The other night, just as I was about to ask Mr. Bingley to bring me a cup of tea, Mr. Darcy went and poured a cup for me, saying that he could tell that I was thirsty. Another time, he retrieved my fan because he knew that I was overly heated when I had said nothing about it. It was very kind of him, but I swear he sensed…”
“I understand why you have that impression,” Lizzy said, interrupting, “but contrary to what you think, Mr. Darcy is not staring at you but through you. I have mentioned this to him, and he is trying not to do it. But old habits are hard to break. I think part of the problem is that you are comparing Mr. Darcy’s quiet nature to that of Mr. Bingley’s more animated disposition, but one should not be criticized for being overly attentive to another’s needs.”
“You do understand that I only want what is best for you.” Jane began to cry, which was something she was doing quite frequently now that she was in her sixth month.
“Then your wish has been granted as I
“Only half?” Jane said, smiling, and she went in search of Charles just as Darcy came looking for Lizzy.
“If you are beginning to think about what you will need for our journey,” he whispered, “make sure you have your gloves, muff, boots, extra stockings…”
“Sir, you have told me what to expect, and I shall pack accordingly. You should really take your own advice and stop worrying. Since my mother has turned our wedding breakfast into a spectacle to rival a harvest festival, I plan to enjoy myself.”
By this time, Georgiana had come downstairs, accompanied by Kitty and Mary. The siblings had already received an invitation from Mr. Darcy’s sister to come to Pemberley in the spring.
After seeing the Bingley carriage turn out of the drive, Lizzy pulled her shawl tightly around her and looked up into an obsidian sky punctured with a thousand points of light and a waxing moon poised over a distant wood. Although Mr. Darcy had told her that in time the rising of a full moon would not merit a second thought from her, she knew differently. The welfare of her husband and her family depended on her being acutely aware of the moon’s every phase.
Chapter 31
“Thank you, Mama,” Lizzy said as her mother tightened her stays, “but Jane and I have already had this conversation.” She could hardly believe that her mother had chosen the morning of her wedding day to have “the talk” with her daughter.
“But you might encounter a very different situation than Jane’s as Mr. Bingley is of a slight build when compared to Mr. Darcy, so…”
“Mama, at this point, there is nothing to be done, and I wish to enjoy my wedding day without thinking apprehensively about my wedding night.” Lizzy gave a silent prayer of thanks when Kitty arrived and handed their mother a letter.
“Oh dear!” Mrs. Bennet said after briefly scanning its opening paragraph. “It is from Lydia. She will not be coming to the wedding after all, as there are no funds to pay for her coach fare. It is too bad that she did not write sooner as there is nothing to be done now.” She continued perusing the letter. “Oh, goodness me! There is more news. Lydia is to be a mother, and she expects to be delivered of her child in midsummer. How wonderful! I shall be a grandmother twice over in the new year.”
Lizzy made no comment. Her sister’s announcement that she was with child should have been joyfully received, but how could it be when it was coupled with the news that she did not have enough money to pay the coach fare to come to her sister’s wedding. As her father had so succinctly put it at the time of Lydia and Wickham’s marriage, “Lydia has married one of the most worthless men in Great Britain.” No good could come out of such a union, and the letter proved it.
But then Mrs. Bennet burst forth with the happy news that Lydia would shortly be coming home, as Mr. Wickham’s regiment was to go to fight in the Peninsular campaign. With Wickham gone, there was no point in Lydia remaining in Newcastle. Although her mother was happy that her youngest daughter would be coming back to Longbourn, Lydia’s sisters were not, not even Kitty, who had learned a lesson from her sister’s mistakes. Everyone understood that with Lydia’s arrival the house would be topsy-turvy once again. But this gray cloud did have a sliver of a silver lining for Lizzy: Mrs. Bennet had left the bedroom to share the good news with Mr. Bennet, and all discussion about Mr. Darcy’s size had come to an end.
Darcy had been up since dawn, and with Mercer gone to see to the arrangements for their journey, he had to dress himself, which was no hardship, except for the damn neckcloth, and he enlisted Bingley’s assistance in tying the knot.
“We are all fools to have that peacock, Beau Brummel, dictate fashion,” Darcy complained. “This thing around my neck is little different from the bows that Georgiana wore in her hair when she was a little girl. Why must it be so complicated?”
“Calm down, Darcy. You know that this has nothing to do with your neckwear. You are a nervous bridegroom, and there is no need to take your frustration out on poor Mr. Brummel.”
“You mock me, Bingley, and having been in my position, what, seven or eight months ago, you should be more sympathetic.”
“I do not recall being this nervous—certainly not about the ceremony. Perhaps you are looking past the festivities to your wedding night.”
“Why do you say that?” he asked anxiously. “What do you think will happen? Will it be unpleasant?”
