Elizabeth. She looked radiant. I felt my nervousness leave
me as she joined me, taking her place next to me as Jane
took her place next to Bingley.
The service was simple but it touched me deeply. As
Elizabeth and I exchanged vows I thought there could
not have been a happier man in all England.
We left the church, and as I looked down at Elizabeth
I knew she was now Mrs Darcy.
‘Mrs Darcy!’ said her mother, echoing my thoughts.
‘How well it sounds. And Mrs Bingley! Oh! If I can but
see my other two daughters so well married I will have
nothing left to wish for.’
We returned to Longbourn for the weddingbreakfast, and then Elizabeth and I set off for a tour of
the Lake District. Jane and Bingley went with us. We
stopped for the night at a small inn and I am making the
most of the opportunity to write my diary, for there will
not be time later. I am looking forward to this evening.
After dinner, our true marriage will begin.
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Tuesday 11th November
Today we returned to Pemberley, after our honeymoon
by the lakes. Elizabeth looked well and happy. I watched
her as the carriage rolled up the drive, seeing in her face
her delight at her new home.
The carriage pulled up outside the door.We went in.
Mrs Reynolds had assembled the staff, and they welcomed us. Mrs Reynolds, I know, is delighted to see a
mistress at Pemberley again.
We went up to our rooms. I went into her suite with
Elizabeth. It was the only set of rooms she wanted
altered, and it had been decorated just as she wished.
‘Do you like it?’ I asked.
She looked round her appreciatively. ‘It is perfect.’
I went over to her and kissed her.
‘Do you like it?’ she asked, looking round at the room
again.
‘It does not matter if I like it or not.’
‘I think it does,’ she teased me.‘After all, you will be a
frequent visitor.’
I smiled and kissed her again.
It was some hours later when we went downstairs.
‘Are you sure you do not want any of the other rooms
redecorated?’ I asked her, as we entered the dining-parlour.
‘No, I like them just the way they are. They remind
me of my first visit to Pemberley.’ She walked over to the
window and looked out. ‘It is a beautiful prospect.’
I agreed. The wooded hill was lovely, and the river
sparkled as it wound its way through the valley. I love
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every tree and every blade of grass, and it warms me to
know that she loves it, too.
‘What did you think when you first saw it?’ I asked her.
She smiled mischievously.‘That I might have been the
mistress of all this, if I had accepted you!’
‘And did you regret it?’
‘For a minute – until I remembered that I would not
have been allowed to welcome my aunt and uncle here.’
‘I cannot believe I was ever so proud. If not for your
aunt and uncle, we might never have met again.We will
welcome them any time you wish to do so.’
I put my arms round her.
‘We must have them to stay soon. I have promised my
aunt she can ride round the park in a phaeton and a pair
of ponies.’ She turned in the circle of my arms and
stroked my cheek. ‘But we will not invite them just yet.’
Tuesday 18th November
We have been at Pemberley for a week, and Elizabeth
and Georgiana are getting on together as well as I could
have hoped. Georgiana is starting to lose some of her
shyness through her nearness to Elizabeth, and although
she is not as playful as Elizabeth, she has ventured to tease
me on one or two occasions.
I finally feel I can be a brother to Georgiana again, and
not a father and mother. She is growing up now, and
with Elizabeth to guide me, I no longer worry that I do
not understand young ladies. If I am ever in doubt, I have
only to ask Elizabeth.
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Life is a great deal easier for Georgiana, too, because
she has a confidante as well as a sister in Elizabeth.
Thursday 20th November
Elizabeth received a letter from Lydia this morning, asking for help with some bills. I came upon her by chance
as she was reading it in her bedroom. She looked up
guiltily as I walked in.
‘Secrets?’ I asked.
She looked rueful.
‘It is from Lydia. She is so extravagant that she has
exceeded her income again. She writes to me that it
must be nice to be so rich, and she asks for my help.’
‘You will not give it to her?’ I saw her face.‘You will.’
‘She is my sister, after all,’ she said.
‘Let her ask Jane.’
‘She has already asked Jane,’ said Elizabeth, her playfulness returning. ‘I feel she means to ask us each in turn.’
‘You should say no.Then she will learn to manage.’
‘Not Lydia! She will run up bills until the shopkeepers demand payment, and then she and Wickham will
change lodgings and start all over again. Think of it this
way, I am not helping Lydia, I am helping the shopkeepers she is cheating.’
With this she knew I would agree.
‘I never cease to wonder how it is that you and Jane
turned out so well, when your other sisters turned out
so ill,’ I said, going over to her and kissing her on the
cheek.
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‘Kitty is not so bad,’ said Elizabeth. ‘I was thinking of
having her to stay with us. After our Christmas party
next month, I am going to invite her to stay on. Some
superior company will do much to influence her for the
better.’
‘If you must, you must. I would rather have you to
myself.’
‘She will not be indoors all the time. She will go for
long walks
