“Well,” said Mrs. Bennet, as soon as the family settled themselves at Longbourn after the wedding breakfast, “what say you to the day? I think everything has passed off uncommonly well, I assure you. As for my dear Jane, I never saw her look in greater beauty.”
“It went very well indeed,” agreed Mrs. Gardiner. “It was a testament to your fine planning, Mrs. Bennet.”
Mrs. Bennet, who was in very great spirits, was not to be suppressed. “Next it shall be your turn, my dear Lizzy! We must begin our planning soon—there is so much we must do!”
Darcy glanced at Elizabeth, who was feeling uncommonly anxious about the discussion, well aware that her mother would take her news neither well nor with dignity.
“Well, we have not wished to distract you in any way from your planning from Jane’s wedding, knowing how much depended on you,” Elizabeth temporized. “We have been proceeding with our own planning in the meantime, however.”
“Without any input from me? I see no reason you could not have waited!”
Elizabeth cast a helpless look at Mrs. Gardiner. “We could not wait because we plan to marry very soon, in fact, tomorrow,” she said, bracing herself. She wished that Darcy were not present to see the mortifying explosion that was sure to come.
“Nonsense, nonsense! Lizzy, I swear you delight in vexing me! I know you must be teasing me!”
Darcy decided it was time to come to Elizabeth’s rescue. “I assure you she is doing nothing of the sort, madam. We will be married tomorrow; the plans have been set,” he said in a voice that brooked no argument. Elizabeth glanced at him gratefully.
Mrs. Bennet, who was still sufficiently in awe of her future son-in-law to be taken aback, especially when he spoke in such a manner, said weakly, “But… your trousseau, you cannot be married without your trousseau! Oh, Lord! And there are many guests to invite, and planning…”
“We want only the immediate family present, and, as we will be going to London directly after the wedding, I can address the question of a trousseau then,” Elizabeth said placatingly.
“You cannot do that after the wedding! It must be before, it must! Oh, you have no compassion for my nerves, Lizzy!” Mrs. Bennet turned to her husband, whose attention was deep in a book, and cried, “Oh! Mr. Bennet, you must help me! Lizzy wants to marry Mr. Darcy tomorrow! You must make her change her mind!”
Mr. Bennet raised his eyes from his book, and fixed them on her face with a calm unconcern which was not in the least altered by her communication. “My dear, I thought that you wanted Lizzy to marry Mr. Darcy.”
“You are trying to vex me! I do not want them to marry tomorrow!”
“Well, I cannot see why they should not. I am perfectly at leisure tomorrow.”
“Mr. Bennet! How can you allow this?”
“My dear, it would seem to me that if two young people insist on marrying in a hurry, perhaps it is best not to question too deeply. Now, madam, I shall be in my library where I may be assured of some peace.”
As Mr. Bennet retreated, Georgiana and Kitty were doing their best to stifle giggles, Mary looked disapproving, and Elizabeth was biting her lip in an attempt to disguise a smile. Darcy, less willing to be the subject of this kind of humor, especially in front of his sister, said, “Mrs. Bennet, may I speak with you privately for a moment?” He sent an amused glance to Elizabeth as he ushered her mother out of the room.
“Mrs. Bennet,” he began in a severe manner, every inch the Master of Pemberley. “I fear you may be subject to some misunderstanding on this matter. The decision on the date was mine. I am not a patient man, and your daughter has kept me waiting a very long time, and I have no intention of waiting any longer. The frank truth is that it is tomorrow or Gretna Green. Do I make myself quite clear?”
Looking most flustered, Mrs. Bennet said, “Of course, Mr. Darcy… I am sorry if I… it is only that Lizzy can be so headstrong at times, and I thought… pray forgive me, but I had assumed that you would want a more proper wedding, but you prefer this… of course, as you wish!”
With a gleam in his eye that Elizabeth would have recognized instantly, he responded, “Had your daughter seen fit to accept me last April, matters might have been arranged differently, but, as you say, she can be quite headstrong.”
Mrs. Bennet’s eyes grew wide, and she said faintly, “Last April… Lizzy… I cannot understand…”
“Well, madam, I am glad that we understand one another. Shall we return to the company?”
As Darcy held the door for her, he shot Elizabeth a triumphant look over Mrs. Bennet’s head. “Well, now that we are all in agreement, are there any other matters that must be addressed?”
Mrs. Gardiner, seeing the stunned look on her sister-in-law’s face, determined that the time had come for some soothing of nerves. “My dear Mrs. Bennet, I hope that you will not think this too presumptuous of me, but in my concern for the many demands placed on you this week, I took the liberty of speaking with your cook myself about the wedding breakfast. I know she is most anxious to go over the arrangements with you, and perhaps this would be a good time.” She gently steered Mrs. Bennet from the room.
Elizabeth eyed Darcy with some suspicion, but also with pride for his confident handling of her mother. “What did you say to her?”
He glanced significantly at the corner where Georgiana, Mary, and Kitty sat. “We discussed our points of view.”
Kitty whispered something in Georgiana’s ear, then, with a look which indicated she thought them both spoilsports, said, “I can tell when we are not wanted.” She swept out of the room, followed closely by the other two girls.
Mr. Gardiner also stood and made to join the exodus. “I think it must be time for me to take my leave as well, unless you want a chaperone,” he said, with a twinkle in his eye. Elizabeth, smiling, shook her head, and he departed.
She stared at Darcy expectantly. He said, “I told her that it was tomorrow or Gretna Green.”
“But that is completely ridiculous. You would never elope!”
“You know that, as do I, but I doubt your mother is sensible of it! Also, I gave her something else to worry about as a distraction.”
“What do you mean?”
He smiled teasingly. “I told her you had refused me in April. She may never forgive you.”
“I’m sure she will not!” cried Elizabeth feelingly. “It is a good thing for my safety that we will be departing tomorrow!”
“It is a good thing for my peace of mind, that much is for certain!” He took her hand and pressed a light but lingering kiss in her palm.
Elizabeth, distracted by the exquisite sensation his casual gesture produced in her, attempted to look composed, but Darcy’s observant eyes did not miss her reaction. With a slight smile, he repeated his action, then continued his attention by touching his lips lightly to the sensitive skin inside her wrist. His gaze growing intent, he murmured, “You may have dismissed your uncle too soon, my dearest, for I fear you may have need of a chaperone after all.”
“His question was not if I needed a chaperone; but whether I wanted one,” she said demurely.
His smile grew. “I see we are back to provocative remarks.”
“Is that a complaint, sir?”
“Not at all,” he said, punctuating each word with another kiss inside her captive hand. He turned his attention to her fingers one at a time, never taking his eyes off her. Elizabeth, astonished by the degree of pleasure she was deriving merely from the touch of his lips on her hand, leaned toward him, expectant that he would kiss her, but Darcy, with a glint in his eye, continued his tantalizing exploration until she shivered visibly in response. He moved nearer and finally answered her need by capturing her lips with his own, and, taking advantage of the moment of distraction as his desire met hers, drew her toward him and into his arms.