“I look forward to hearing all of your excellent advice, but will you not come down to greet my husband?” asked Elizabeth with amusement.
“Oh, yes, of course! Dear Mr. Darcy! Ring the bell, Jane, for Hill. I will put on my things in a moment. And I will go to Meryton, as well, and tell the good, good news to my sister Phillips. And as I come back, I can call on Lady Lucas and Mrs. Long. Jane, run down and order the carriage. An airing would do me a great deal of good, I am sure. Oh! Here comes Hill. My dear Hill, have you heard the good news? Miss Lizzy is married, by the bishop himself and in the cathedral! And Miss Lydia is to be married as well, and you shall all have a bowl of punch, to make merry.”
Mrs. Hill began instantly to express her joy. Elizabeth received her congratulations amongst the rest, and then in order to take refuge from the scene claimed that she must return to her husband. She hurried down to the library where she joined Mr. Bennet and Darcy, who seemed to be enjoying some dry humor when she arrived. She sat down by Darcy and said plaintively, “Well, I have told her. May we go back to Pemberley now?”
Catching her hand and kissing it, Darcy laughed. Surprised to see him so relaxed in the presence of her father, Elizabeth said, “Well may you laugh, sir! She will barely trouble you for a moment before going off to inform Mrs. Phillips, Lady Lucas, Mrs. Long, and anyone else she can find of this astonishing news!”
“I have great faith that she will find some opportunity to corner me in this next week,” he reassured her cheerfully, “and I shall count on you to defend me, Elizabeth.”
“And I can see that I will not dare to emerge from my library except for meals!” grumbled Mr. Bennet, as his wife’s excited voice was heard from without.
Elizabeth raised her eyebrow, unconvinced by this unusual show of amity between Mr. Bennet and Darcy. They had been perfectly civil on the ride from London, which was surprising enough by itself, but to appear as if they were enjoying each other’s company seemed a bit unlikely.
“I have invited your father to visit us at Pemberley this autumn, Elizabeth,” Darcy said, further straining her comprehension, but Elizabeth decided that if they intended to behave as if they were civilized gentlemen, she was not going to interfere.
“That would be lovely. I hope you will be able to join us,” she said with just a hint of mischief in her voice.
“I do not wish to hurry you away from your family, my love, but since Bingley does not know to expect us, I imagine that we should try to reach Netherfield as soon as we conveniently may,” Darcy said, rising to his feet.
“Go on then,” Mr. Bennet said dryly, waving them away. “Desert me to the tender mercies of my family—I feel certain that I will survive it somehow.”
They emerged to accept the congratulations of Mrs. Bennet, which were mercifully brief as she was anxious to reach her sister as soon as possible. Once she had departed, Jane and Mary immediately requested an explanation of the happenings in London, which was provided in brief by Mr. Bennet. Elizabeth decided that he and Darcy must have reached an accommodation on the subject, since no mention was made of her husband’s role in the settling of Lydia’s situation.
Elizabeth could not help but notice that Jane was unusually quiet and looked rather drawn, and before they left she took the opportunity to take her aside. “Jane, you look sad,” she said. “Is there anything I can do?”
Jane made a valiant effort at a smile. “No, of course, I am delighted at how well everything has worked out. You and Mr. Darcy seem very happy together, Lizzy.”
“Jane,” Elizabeth said with warning in her voice, “I am not so easily deceived as all that. Is everything well between you and Mr. Bingley?”
“Of course, Lizzy! I do wish that I could have been at your wedding, that is all, but I can understand why it was important to Mr. Darcy’s family to have it there.”
It had not occurred to Elizabeth that Jane’s feelings might be hurt. She leaned close to her sister with a smile, and said very quietly in her ear, “Do you really imagine that I would marry without my dearest Jane beside me merely to please his family?”
Jane looked at her in confusion. “I do not understand you, Lizzy! Is that not what you said?”
Elizabeth smiled at her mischievously. “Should I have told her the truth instead, that we married quickly because we had to?” she said in a whisper.
Jane’s eyes grew wide. “Lizzy!” she said in deep shock.
Looking amused, Elizabeth turned up her hands helplessly. “Will you not come to Netherfield soon, so we may talk more privately? I have missed you so, Jane, and you cannot imagine how much I wished you were with me in Derbyshire.”
Darcy appeared at her side. “We should be leaving, my love. Poor Bingley does not know to expect us, so we must give him a little time to have preparations made for us.”
She gave Jane an apologetic glance, but her sister appeared to be recovering her equilibrium. After giving her a brief embrace, she bid her adieus to the rest of her family before Darcy handed her into the carriage. As they pulled away from the house, she smiled at him ruefully. “You survived that very well, William,” she said.
“To which part do you refer—the best wishes of your family, or spending the entire day without having the least opportunity to hold you in my arms?” he asked, carefully switching seats so that he could be beside her. “There are altogether too many people in Hertfordshire.” He took her into his arms and kissed her hungrily.
The trip to Netherfield had never been so enjoyable. On their arrival, the butler showed them in, and announced them—incorrectly in Elizabeth’s case—to Bingley. Elizabeth turned to correct him, but he had already departed. Bingley, a broad smile on his face, leaped to his feet to greet them. “Darcy! What a wonderful surprise to see you here! And Lizzy, it is a pleasure, as always! Jane will be so pleased that you have returned. Or is she with you?”
“No, we just left her at Longbourn, but I am hoping that she will visit later,” Elizabeth said warmly.
“Wonderful!” Bingley announced. A look of disturbance crossed his open face as he realized that they were unaccompanied, and he said, “Errr, Darcy… I hardly think this is a time to be violating the proprieties. The talk here has mostly died down, but it would take very little to refuel it.”
Darcy looked at him in confusion, and then comprehension suddenly came to him. He clapped Bingley on the shoulder. “Bingley, my friend, may I have the honor of presenting my wife to you?”
“Your wife?”
With a laugh at the stunned look on his friend’s face, Darcy explained the situation. Bingley shook his head, smiling, and said, “Had I only known that it was the rapid route to matrimony, I would have insisted that Jane and I accompany you to Derbyshire. You do have all the luck, Darcy!”
Darcy looked at Elizabeth warmly. “I certainly do.”
An invitation was rapidly dispatched to Longbourn, and to Bingley’s delight, Jane was able to join the Netherfield party for dinner, although when word of her acceptance arrived, Darcy could not help whispering to Elizabeth that he was surprised her father considered them adequate chaperonage under the circumstances.
“This is Jane,” Elizabeth replied with amusement. “She does not need a chaperone; such wicked thoughts would never cross her mind!” She was a trifle worried herself as to what her sister might be thinking of her own impetuous confession earlier, though she could not imagine what else she might have told her to relieve her hurt feelings.