Seeing everyone look at him expectantly, Col. Fitzwilliam said, “I imagine you have been discussing and speculating why she and I disappeared. We decided, given our ages and our immediate attraction to one another, that there was little reason to have a courtship. Therefore, I asked her to marry me, she accepted, and we are requesting that we be allowed to marry at Pemberley with Darcy and Lizzy.”
There were several gasps in the room, followed by Lady Matlock saying, “You decided to marry after knowing each other less than two weeks?”
“That we did.”
Elizabeth went to Jane, took her hand, and looked her in the eye, as she asked, “Jane, are you sure about this – no doubts or reservations?”
“Of course, there are doubts, but I am willing to believe you had a few doubts when you accepted William after several weeks. We believe the only doubts we have are ones that can only be erased with time living together as man and wife. There is no way they can be erased with just conversations, no matter how many we have. We are strongly attracted to one another; we both want to start a family; and we seem suited to one another.”
Elizabeth had rarely seen Jane so serious and so determined and could feel the strength of her conviction that she was doing what was best for her; therefore, she put her arms around Jane and said, “Then you have my congratulations and best wishes, and I assure you, I will be pleased to have a double wedding with you.”
Darcy, at the same time Elizabeth had gone to Jane, went to Col. Fitzwilliam. “I see a determination in you I have never seen regarding a woman, Richard; therefore, I will not question you at all, but I will tell you that I will be pleased to have you marry with us at Pemberley.”
Doubts were expressed by Lord and Lady Matlock, but they were turned aside by the Col. Fitzwilliam and Jane, and eventually all congratulated the newly engaged couple and discussions were started about plans for the coming weeks. Col. Fitzwilliam would travel to Pemberley with Darcy, Elizabeth, Kitty, Georgiana, and Jane, where, as Darcy and Elizabeth, they would have the banns read in the Kympton church – the church for which Darcy supplied the living. A few of Col. Fitzwilliam’s fellow officers would be added to the invitation list, but it was unlikely they would choose to attend the wedding so far from London. Also, since Col. Fitzwilliam intended to ask Lord Gladney to stand up with him at the wedding, it would ensure that Lord and Lady Gladney would attend the wedding. Lord Gladney was quite fond of his brother and would not want to miss his wedding, even if his brother’s wife was not of the upper-class.
******
As planned, on January 3, 1812, at the altar set up in the ballroom of Pemberley, Darcy and Elizabeth, along with Col. Fitzwilliam and Jane, were joined in holy matrimony by Mr. Meredith, the pastor to whom Darcy provided the living. The floor of the ballroom was filled with invited family and friends, which included many of the local gentry and some of Col. Fitzwilliam’s officer friends. Staff and tenants were invited to attend and sit in the balcony of the ballroom. The wedding ball was also held in the ballroom that evening and was especially pleasing to those of the local gentry who attended, because they were assured that the new Mrs. Darcy would hold at least one, if not two, or even occasionally three balls each year.
Darcy and Elizabeth spent their honeymoon in their suite at Pemberley, intending to take a second honeymoon to Ireland and Scotland when the weather allowed, so that Elizabeth could see those properties and become familiar with the staff at each location. Col. Fitzwilliam and Jane returned to London with the Matlocks and Gladneys, and spent their honeymoon at Darcy House, until Col. Fitzwilliam returned to France to take his new assignment on the general’s staff. Jane then moved into Matlock House, where she and Lady Alicia became as close as true sisters, and Lady Matlock enjoyed taking her in hand and introducing her to those in their circle of society.
Bingley never did become the gentleman his father wished him to become. On his return to Scarborough, he became more involved in the running of his mills, found he quite liked that activity much better than managing an estate, and eventually married the daughter of a local banker. However, he and Darcy did maintain their friendship, and the Bingleys and Darcys managed to get together most years at least once; however, Bingley and Jane never saw each other again.
Lady Catherine lived until 1814 in the dower house in Hunsford, when she suffered a fatal stroke. Anne, of course, took over as mistress of Rosings Park and, with much help from Darcy and Lord Matlock, ensured it remained a profitable estate. She invited Col. Fitzwilliam and Jane to visit her often and eventually made Col. Fitzwilliam her heir. When she died in 1818, Col. Fitzwilliam retired and he and Jane and their two children moved to Rosings Park and Jane became what she had always wished to be – the mistress of an estate. Of course, Darcys and Fitzwilliams remained close their entire lives, as would be expected of two almost brothers who married two very close sisters.
The End
About the Author
Don Miller is a retired scientist with a Ph.D. in Mathematical Statistics. He served in the Navy, taught at the university level for a few years, and then worked in the private sector doing scientific research. Besides writing, he is an avid golfer, reader, and computer user, having been the webmaster for his church’s website.
This is the seventeenth Pride and Prejudice variation Don has written, most of which are available in the Kindle Bookstore. Those available are listed on his Amazon author’s page. The author may be reached at [email protected].
The Lady of the Mount and Patience Rewarded: Two Stories of Darcy and Elizabeth Page 38