The party continued after the couple had departed but Mr. Bennet had no stomach for it. He went to the library and sat near the window with a book he had read to Elizabeth as a child. He got no further than the first few pages when he let his grief take him and shuddered as a sob tore through his body. He let his sorrow have its head for several minutes before pulling himself together and wiping his eyes. He stayed near the window, looking outside but seeing nothing, his mind filled with a bright-eyed little girl, her chestnut ringlets tied in a shiny blue bow, proudly showing him the flowers she had picked or the letters she had managed to write or the wobbly curtsy she was learning to master.

“My darling girl, be well. Be happy. Find your courage and learn to love him. You’ll be better for it.”

~

Elizabeth was tired. In fact, she was exhausted. The last week had been nothing but travel and shopping and dinner parties and anxiety. Now, it was all over and the truly exhausting part was to come. She now had to live with Mr. Darcy. All the time. In the same house with adjoining bedchambers. She felt like she was having an attack of her mother’s nerves and had the strangest desire for smelling salts.

Why was she so upset now? Had she not made peace time and again with the idea of marrying Mr. Darcy? The idea of doing something and actually doing it are not the same thing, she thought.

Now here she was, sitting in her new room in her new house, brushing out her hair. She was worried about so many things. Would she be a good mistress to the Darcy properties? Would she like his family and friends and would they like her? Would she like Pemberley? Must she be presented and if so, when? What was wrong with her father and if she wasn’t there to watch him, who would? Was it possible for him to sink further into whatever was plaguing him and be seriously ill before anyone noticed? Would she ever see him again? She swallowed down a lump at the thought and tried to remind herself that nothing was certain. He may be perfectly well and live many years more.

Her maid left at her request and she wondered if she had made the right decision there. The most immediate concern was for her wedding night. They arrived early in the evening and neither had wanted food. Darcy requested a tray in their sitting room some time later, but she knew not when that would be. When would he come? How would he behave when he did?

Stop thinking about this, Lizzy! She chided herself. You’ll know soon enough.

~