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Chapter 33

The wedding of Elizabeth Bennet to Fitzwilliam Darcy was everything they both wanted. It was not the most important thing, but the wedding was not a spectacle. It was small and intimate with just family and close friends in attendance. None of Elizabeth’s sisters were there but she did not allow their absence to overshadow the day. Georgiana stood up with her while the Colonel was Darcy’s best man.

As she had walked slowly up the aisle, she and her uncle mutually supporting each other, Elizabeth knew that this was her perfect wedding, at least in material matters. As she approached the alter she felt elegant in her simply adorned dress. The fabric was rich, shimmering in the morning sun, but it was not overly fussy. Lady Maria listened to her and there had been no disagreements of note. Where she had an idea, she presented it in her usual quiet manner and Elizabeth had incorporated several of her suggestions. But there had been a total lack of drama, no screeching demands, it truly was her day. By the middle of the afternoon the wedding breakfast was over and Elizabeth and her new husband were in their carriage for the short journey to Grosvenor Square. To start their married life.

It had fallen to Claire Smith to give Elizabeth the wedding night talk. Her mother was not available; there had been several giggles as they imagined that talk. ‘Lie back and it will soon be over.’ None of her sisters were married, and again were not present. Lady Maria was a mother figure to Elizabeth but was still a maiden herself, there could be no help from that quarter. Elizabeth could have asked her Aunt Agatha, but they did not have that kind of relationship. There were no barriers between them it was just the way they were. And Mrs. Mallory, as she had been before her remarriage, had never had children.

Lady Susan was briefly contemplated but her age and position, her lack of a familial connection to Elizabeth, ruled her out. It was left to Claire. Having grown up in the country around working farms, and with her experiences while assisting her uncle, Elizabeth was not completely unaware of the secrets of the marriage bed. Claire therefore emphasised other matters.

“Miss Elizabeth, one of the best pieces of advice I received was from Mrs. Brewer, your uncle’s housekeeper. She told me not to go to sleep mad with your husband. Talk with him, and when the roles are reversed listen to him, and do not let disagreements fester. She told me that the marriage bed is a great way to distract you both from issues that you disagree about. Bob and I rarely fight but there is truth to what Mrs. Brewer told me.

“The other key thing she said is perhaps even more important, even although it requires an instant change in attitude. In a darkened room, under the covers, performing as man and wife for the first time, it is only natural that there will be a degree of fumbling, how can there not be. Up until this very night, maidens are forbidden from thinking of matters of the flesh. Yet the very next evening they have their wifely duties. You need to talk with your husband, help each other. I do not wish to embarrass either of us but Mr. Darcy is a tall well-built man. He could inadvertently squash you, and he would be horrified to discover he had hurt you. From my own experience that change does not happen immediately but it is necessary. In less than a day you will be allowed to think, talk and act very differently from how you have been commanded to up until this point. It is that change in thinking that takes time to settle down, to become comfortable without immediate turning into a blushing maiden.”

18 hours after that speech Elizabeth Darcy lay beside her husband, her head resting on his chiselled chest. Claire had been right, this was such a change from life as Miss Bennet.

“I swear I can hear your mind turning. What are you thinking? Are you in discomfort?”

It seemed natural to kiss his chest and Elizabeth was less concerned about the act of kissing her husband and more the sensation that it was natural.

“You are right my dear husband.”

She delighted in saying that, and Darcy gently squeezed her in appreciation.

“I was contemplating what Claire told me last night. How everything that was forbidden knowledge for a maiden last night is now expected behaviour of a wife. Here we are, it is 5.00 in the afternoon and we are lying naked in bed. My discomfort was momentary, as I had been warned, and so my mind is flitting about.”

“I see what you mean, it is quite the change to go from the innocent maiden of this morning to now.”

Despite herself, Elizabeth fought a blush.

“I do not know how to ask this in a manner that is not intrusive. Was it different to the other times? No, stop I do not wish to be compared to other women, sorry William I should not have asked that.”

Darcy pulled her up his body and kissed her gently.

“When it comes to experience with the act of love, I am only one encounter ahead of you.”

Elizabeth shifted to look him in the eyes.

“Truly?”

“Yes. I was all but forced by my father to go to an establishment which catered for gentlemen in my situation. I was 20 and she was perhaps five years my senior. But I did not avail myself of such women again. I saw too many acquaintances catch the French disease. Some were trapped into loveless marriages. Then there were my own circumstances, suddenly the guardian of my 10 year old sister. If I had made it a priority then it would have been easily managed but I chose not. Here we are eight years later and we are going to learn to be man and wife together.”

Darcy had often considered kissing Elizabeth senseless. Now his own sanity started to slip away under her passionate kisses. 12 minutes later Elizabeth’s head was once again resting on his chest, a sheen of perspiration upon his body.

“May I ask you when you started to think about this moment?”

“You mean imagining myself in your arms?”

“Yes.”

Remembering Claire’s admonition to talk to her husband Elizabeth thought about the question.

“Let me take it much further back. I am not going to endlessly recount my experiences while assisting my uncle, but I do think they had an impact on me. By the age of 18 I knew more than any maiden should about the physical act. Or at least I had heard more. Yet at the same time I became more and more disillusioned with men due to their unthinking dismissal of me just because I was a woman. By the time I returned to Longbourn last year I only respected two men, my two uncles. This is the starting point for our courtship. And it may explain my part in not realising that we were courting. For more than two months I enjoyed your company, I looked forward to it. But it was your respect, intelligence and good looks in that order that I enjoyed. Even at Easter I did not imagine myself in your arms. You would not look at me as your bride and I did not think any man would respect me enough.

“But then your aunt turned up shouting from the rooftops. The two of us were a well laid fire just waiting for a spark, and she was that flame. But from there things started to change for me. I do not know when but I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun. One day you hugged Georgie and I found myself jealous. The idea of being embraced in your arms held great appeal.”

Darcy laughed loudly.

“I can confess to the exact same emotion and with the same person. I too was jealous of Georgie for having the freedom to hug you without censure.”

Elizabeth joined in his laughter.

“That was the start of it. For the last month, this evening has been on my mind. Not constantly but it was a daily consideration.”

She stopped for a moment.

“May I confess something and you not think me wanton?”

Darcy’s squeeze of support and comfort strayed close to a caress. Precisely the right response.

“For the last month, I have admired your physique.”

Given Darcy had been admiring Elizabeth’s physique for eight months this was hardly the most scandalous admission.”

“There is nothing wanton about that.”

“Thank you for that William, but it confuses me. When I watched the tournament when I thought about the men it was words like strong, or skilled, or nimble. Yet in the last month I found myself staring at you and admiring your broad shoulders. Yes, you are strong, but that is not the word I thought of. Maybe it is too much time with my younger sisters but suddenly you had rugged and manly shoulders.”

“You found me physically attractive?”

“Yes. But it seems so different to how I had viewed men before that point.”

“Is it just a more gradual example of how you are expected to change from one night to the next? Is it your mind starting to prepare you for this moment?”

“Oh. Once we were engaged how I perceived you changed?”

“It is my immediate response. Like you, I had never considered it before.”

“Did your admiration change William?”

Elizabeth’s head was buried on his chest and Darcy ruefully smiled. Time to confess some sins.

“Please do not think ill of me Elizabeth but I have admired your physique for many months.”

Her head popped up.

“Really?”

“Elizabeth, you are an incredibly attractive young woman. The reason I love you is the wonderful combination of your intelligence, wit, humour and joy but it is also for your looks and body.”

Darcy watched his wife blush before his eyes.

“I am sorry to have embarrassed you but you deserve the truth.”

“I am more surprised than embarrassed. It is amazing to hear yourself described by someone else. Did you admire me when you were in Hertfordshire?”

It was Darcy’s turn to blush as he nodded.

“Mr. Darcy!”

His head popped up to see his wife’s mischievous face. He had to laugh and kissed the top of her head.

“If I am confessing all my sins then you should know that for the last month I could no longer wear breeches in your presence.”

“Why ever not?”

In response Darcy gently took her hand and led it down his body. Her gasp was worth it.

“You provoke that reaction in me. It was impossible to be a gentleman in breeches.”

“Oh my.”

“Precisely. If you had been able to read my mind you would have slapped my face every day.”

It was Elizabeth’s turn to crawl up his body and kiss her husband.

“Yet you were the perfect gentleman with me, and I am now your wife.”

She bit her bottom lip and peered up at him from under her eyelashes.

“Will you show my what you were thinking, husband dear?”

Elizabeth’s squeal was stilled by her husband’s mouth. Their passion was ardent, romantic yet hot and steamy. Minutes later they flung themselves apart, lying panting side by side. The sheet on the bed covered their lower halves but neither made any attempt to pull it higher.

“You thought of me that way every day for the last month?”

“I did. Although my imagination was a poor substitute for the real Elizabeth Darcy.”

Elizabeth returned to her position that was already becoming familiar.

“We should ring for some food, given how much energy we are expending.”

“William!”

To Elizabeth’s shock, although it quickly turned to delight, Darcy rather than try to reach over her, slid out of bed and walked round to ring for his valet.

“William, do not ring the bell just yet.”

He turned to her and despite a blush she smiled.

“I had another thought. We have talked about this night but it is moments like this that I never envisioned. In my mind, I jumped from the wedding breakfast to being under the covers with you. On occasion, I would bathe in preparation but moments such as this never entered my mind. I had started to admire your physique but it was always clothed. The man before me is a statue of Adonis come to life.”

It was Darcy’s turn to blush but he understood her initial point. He had stepped out of his marriage bed, only his wife was there, he did not feel the need to slip into his banyan. He had a complementary thought and walked over to stand in front of the unlit fire.

“Would you join me please Elizabeth? Adonis’ lover was Aphrodite. I wish to see my goddess brought to life.”

Darcy had no idea what went on behind the closed doors of other couple’s bedrooms. But he doubted that many new brides would do as he asked. But he had married a woman beyond compare. She threw the sheet back and walked over to join her husband. Brave, proud and very naked. Fitzwilliam Darcy knew he was the luckiest man in the world. He leaned down and kissed his wife before unexpectedly leading her to the small bookcase in the corner of the room. He reached up to the very top shelf and took down an old book with a plain cover.

Returning to their bed Darcy shifted the pillows around and then sat with his back against the headboard. He laughed at Elizabeth’s gasp as he patted the space between his legs. Gingerly she shuffled into place and then leaned back against his chest.

“Another situation I had not imagined.”

Darcy’s hands were safely around her waist but both were very aware that she was naked in his arms.

“Would I be correct in saying that you love learning new things, gaining knowledge of the world?”

“Most certainly. To me it was a way that my uncle would show me respect.”

Darcy put the book in her lap.

“Would you like to learn with me what this book teaches?”

Elizabeth opened the first page and dropped the book in shock. Her squeal of ‘William’ was stifled as she had her face in her hands. He waited for her to gather herself.

“William, I only got married seven hours ago. This revelation seems like the sort of thing to save for the second day of marriage.”

Darcy laughed at her amazing composure. They spent the next hour flicking through the copy of the Kama Sutra. Neither of them read Sanskrit so they were reduced to looking at the pictures.

“You bought this when we became engaged?”

“I did. I had heard of this book at the club. The first versions were written more than 2,000 years ago. It is famous, or maybe more accurately notorious. I bought it six weeks ago and I put it up on that shelf out of the way.”

“You did not read it?”

“No. Remember, only one more experience than you. I thought about how you love to learn and so I decided to buy this for us. We will learn together.”

They never did eat dinner and were completely starving when they finally awoke the following lunchtime.

Three nights and days of marital bliss came to a sudden halt when Mary’s letter arrived at Darcy House. The groom from Longbourn told the butler that he had been instructed to hand the letter to Mrs. Darcy by Miss Mary herself. He in turn understood the urgency and notified the couple. The expected arrival of her courses meant that Elizabeth and William were dressed and reading in the library when they were notified on the arrival of a groom from Longbourn. Elizabeth opened the letter with dread, only happy that there was not a black border to the note. Her head sank when she read it and wordlessly passed it to her husband. She had the unchristian thought that she was glad she had not known of this the week previously. It would have been typical of her family to ruin her wedding. She shook her head and thought of how to deal with the matter. Fixing it seemed beyond her at present.

“William, what is the phase of the moon?”

Startled at her question Darcy thought for a moment.

“The full moon was three nights ago.”

“So it is bright enough for the groom to continue to Brighton?”

Darcy saw what she was thinking.

“We will send an additional groom with him, both for security and to ensure he does not doze off. They should reach Brighton by first light.”

“Good. I will write an additional note to my father telling him to pack and immediately return to Longbourn. With an early start, he should reach there late into the evening but will avoid being delayed by the ban on travel on the Sabbath. Can we leave early tomorrow morning?”

“Of course we can. We should be at Longbourn before lunch.”

Once the groom from Longbourn was fed he departed on a fresh horse, accompanied as Darcy had outlined. They had money to rent rooms for the weekend allowing the horses and themselves to rest before returning on the Monday morning. Elizabeth’s new maid and Darcy’s valet were packing ready for the journey in the morning. Finally, the couple had a chance to consider the message and the consequences.

“If what your sister writes is true then there is some deceit at play here. They did not elope to Scotland and she does not have your father’s permission. There may be the appearance of a husband and wife but I do not believe it to be legal.”

“Why would an officer take such a risk?”

“A question I cannot answer. As Miss Mary writes they are on a ship to Spain. There is nothing anyone can do. The marriage will have been consummated and he could be in Spain for years. It might have a shabby beginning but when they return there will be nothing to gain by examining their courtship too closely.

“If he had been posted somewhere in Britain, or had been an officer of the Militia, then we would have more choices. But as I stop and think about it, they are married, or so they will claim, and the marriage will still be consummated. For better or for worse, your sister Lydia is married.”

Elizabeth absorbed her husband’s words and slowly nodded.

“The Army believe they are married and so there must be.”

She stopped.

“I see what you mean about deceit. The parson must have been hoodwinked somehow.”

She shook her head, trying to shake the thoughts from her memory.

“We have told my father to return, they couple are long gone from Brighton. He will return hopefully less than 12 hours after our arrival. That leaves my mother.”

“Do you wish me to engage a doctor to accompany us?”

“Let us see what we find when we get to Longbourn. Mr. Jones is only an apothecary but he knows my mother well, having dealt with her ‘nerves’ all my life.

--

Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy arrived at Longbourn before lunchtime as predicted. Mr. Bennet was in no rush to return to his estate and so rested at an inn in London before arriving at lunchtime on the Monday. He was met with a black wreath on the door.

Elizabeth did not rush out the front door when his carriage pulled up, she left that task to Jane. She had to help her shocked father out of the carriage and into the house. But then the situation got even worse. Mr. Bennet thought his youngest daughter had died. Neither Mary’s nor Elizabeth’s letters had made reference to Mrs. Bennet’s collapse. They just demanded that he return home immediately. It was only sitting in the parlour that Mr. Bennet found out that it was his wife of 23 years that had died the previous day. If he had been more diligent in travelling on the Saturday he would have been with her at the end.

Once told he sat in catatonic silence for many minutes.

“I hate this cursed estate. Another death.”

And with that he stood up and retreated to his study. The door being closed in such a manner that all knew to leave him alone. Eventually Darcy broke the silence with his question.

“Cursed? Another death?”

It was Jane that explained the scarlet fever epidemic that had wiped out three generations of Bennets resulting in their father unexpectedly becoming the Master. Silence reigned once again, everyone afraid to break the sepulchral atmosphere. Suddenly Elizabeth almost jumped to her feet and walked to the study. She knocked on the door but did not wait for an answer, she just walked in. Less than a minute later she returned with the ledgers for the estate.

“Lizzie? What are you doing? I know the ledgers need updating but this is hardly the time.”

“I know Mary. I am reviewing them for another purpose.”

She leafed back over several years looking at quarterly and year end figures.

“William, will you accompany me to the garden for a moment. Excuse me, I will be back shortly.”

This last was said to her sisters before the Darcys left.

“Elizabeth are you well? Has the shock of your mother’s death affected you?”

“I am well as can be expected as this time. That my mother is dead is a shock but I do not know how to deal with my feelings. I keep thinking that I need to act more upset, like Jane and Catherine. But the truth is I do not have those feelings. She wanted to sell me off to Mr. Collins and was happy to banish me to London. She treated me poorly for years, ignored me when I was in London and then discarded me when I refused to do her bidding. It will take me weeks and months to sort out how I feel about Mrs. Bennet. I did not wish her dead, everything else is a tangled web in my mind.

“I did not ask you to accompany me outside to discuss her. We are married and I want your honest opinion on an idea that came to mind less than 30 minutes ago. I wish to deal with my family once and for all. I would like you to agree that Mary and Catherine accompany us to Pemberley when we finally depart, in a week’s time I would guess. I will suggest to Jane that she permanently reside with Uncle Gardiner in his new townhouse. I think Mary will be very happy at Pemberley but do not know Catherine well enough to make a final determination. She may want to stay with us or join Jane in London.

“I was reviewing the ledgers to remind myself what my father spent on himself, both books and port. That amount is approximately £750 a year. I propose to lease Longbourn from him for £1,000 per annum and set him up in a small house in Cambridge. He has never been happy here, and based on his only comment this morning, he has no good memories of the estate. I cannot buy Longbourn but we can lease it for as long as he lives.”

Elizabeth looked expectantly at her husband, worrying her bottom lip.

“It is not appropriate at this time to remind you of my promise to kiss you senseless whenever you were brilliant. You have my mark to redeem at some point in the future. That is truly brilliant Elizabeth. And do you know what will make it even better? I own a small house, only three or four rooms, in Cambridge from when I attended the University. It has sat empty for several years but is in the centre of the town and within easy walking distance of the Colleges.

“Come, let me accompany you while you make the offer to your father and then discuss the future with your sisters, my sisters now that we are married.”

--

Mrs. Bennet was laid to rest in the Bennet plot of Longbourn Chapel with most of Meryton in attendance. Young Edward Gardiner came in place of his father but found the whole experience to be extremely trying. The heir to Sir Edward Gardiner, Bt. was a prize, and the solemnity of a funeral was not going to stop some of the local mothers and their daughters from making his acquaintance. He escaped back to London as soon as was polite.

Elizabeth and Darcy left the other Bennet sisters to act as hostesses at the start of the wake while he stood with her in front of Mrs. Bennet’s grave. She confessed that evening that she could not still her mind enough to allow her to grieve her mother, she had precious few positive memories of Mrs. Bennet. Instead of trying to understand her feelings for her mother Elizabeth threw herself into resolving her family issues once and for all.

She invited her Uncle Philips to Longbourn and explained the proposed transaction. Mr. Bennet had not considered the offer for even a second before accepting it. All of the family were shocked as to how eager he was to leave Longbourn. To avoid questions the estate was leased to Fitzwilliam Darcy but all four people involved knew that it was Elizabeth Darcy that was going to run the estate.

Thomas Bennet left Hertfordshire without a backward glance. He did not announce he was leaving and he made no round of farewells. He packed up his study, together with some of his clothes and left for his new abode in Cambridge. Again, his daughters were shocked at how young and vibrant he appeared as he departed.

“Papa really hated Longbourn.”

It was a statement but everyone could tell Catherine’s underlying question. It was Jane who responded.

“It is only as he is leaving that it became so clear. But remember he called the estate cursed. Both his parents, both his brothers, their wives, and five children, all dead. What is that? Eleven people. He had never expected to become Master of the estate and clearly did not want to. Then there was the entail which meant that none of us could inherit it. He was just biding time until Mr. Collins would inherit.”

“Why have you leased the estate then Mr. Darcy?”

“I will remind you again that you may call me William. As to why? A deeper understanding of entails is the main reason. Everything bought by your parents since they inherited is their personal property. That is why your father took most of the books from his study and why the four of you can share your mother’s jewellery. None of it is part of the estate. It is the estate that is entailed not everything on it. The manor house will be maintained, my steward may reside here with his wife and the few servants that stay. He will run the home farm as well as the tenant farms using the most modern practices and ideas. The money made from the estate is mine. The estate will be well managed and well maintained but that is all that your father has to do. Mr. Collins has no say in any aspect of the Longbourn estate until your father passes. Something we all hope will be many decades in the future.

“My steward at Pemberley has two sons and both have been trained to manage an estate. His second son will be offered the chance to manage Longbourn. We will be here regularly to visit with your Aunt and Uncle Philips.”

It took longer than they thought, or wished, but at last the Darcys and Bennets were ready to leave. Darcy and Elizabeth had been extremely firm with the servants, there was to be no gossip in the neighbourhood until they had left, especially to Lucas Lodge. Every single personal item was removed from the manor house; clothes, fancy dishes, saddles and riding gear, it was all crated up and sent north to Pemberley.

Mark Hayworth, the second son of Pemberley’s steward, had grasped the opportunity with both hands. He arrived at Longbourn a week before their final departure with his new wife. This position allowed him to support a family and the two of them were happy and grateful for the opportunity.

As the two carriages pulled away Darcy turned to Elizabeth.

“How long do you think it will take for the neighbourhood to find out your plan?”

She smiled.

“I think Aunt Philips will be round every house in the area before the end of tomorrow.”

“What will be the reaction?”

“Surprise at first, but as people think about it they will see that it makes sense.”

“And the Lucases?”

“They will look at it through the lens of their daughter who is married to the man who will ultimately inherit. But it is no different than the situation with Netherfield Park. The Uptons still own the estate but lease it out. Papa still owns Longbourn and is leasing it to you.”

“He is leasing it to you.”

Elizabeth smiled and kissed her husband, unconcerned that Claire was sitting opposite them. Darcy in turn smiled as he remembered his wife’s reaction to his plan.

“You talked about wanting to learn about managing an estate. How you understood the numbers but never got the chance to put your ideas into practice. As Longbourn is the estate you know the best what do you say to this idea? I will pass on the instructions to Hayworth, but they will be your instructions. Unless what you suggest is going to cause a huge loss I am not going to amend any of your instructions. You and I will be working together at Pemberley so I will be helping you learn. At the end of each year we will review how Longbourn has done. I will not stop you from earning £2,400 a year even if I think the estate could make £2,600. We will talk about it as part of the review. Longbourn is yours to manage without interference, other than to avert a catastrophe. You finally have the chance to put all your ideas into practice.”

The approach that was guaranteed to unleash his wife’s passion more than any other was to do nothing more than treat her with respect and as an intelligent person.

Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy spent more than 55 years as a happily married couple.

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