Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll Page B

but a miserly triumph, for she only managed to deflect him upon her good friend Charlotte Lucas. (Charlotte may well have been plain, twenty-seven and not of romantic sensibility, but Elizabeth believed even those desperate straits were not enough for her to sacrifice herself upon the altar of insipidity.)
    Hence, it was with little compunction that Elizabeth disencumbered her toadying cousin of the considerable vagary that he would read them their vows.
    “I thank you, Mr. Collins. You are very good to offer. But we did not wish to impose upon you, as a member of the family, any other duty than that of honoured guest. Bishop Peel shall perform the ceremony.”
    Thus Mr. Collins could boast (and did regularly, as he was always in need of a new boast) that he was passed over only for a clergyman who sat in the House of Lords.
    * * *
    A festooned high-flyer took them from the church to a commotion-filled wedding breakfast at Netherfield. Mr. and Mrs. Darcy bade their farewells that forenoon.
    The Bingleys were to honeymoon there in the bosom of his family, the Darcys to travel first to London, then make an early start for Pemberley the next day. That was as one would have foretold. Mr. Bingley wanted to share his happiness; Mr. Darcy sought to enjoy his in privacy. Hence, for the trip to town the sporty open carriage was exchanged for a closed Landau, brandishing two postilions, two footmen, six horses, and a fully laden boot.
    * * *
    It was early evening when the resplendent coach arrived at the Darcy London townhouse. The newlyweds’ egress from it was appropriately consequential, but for a courtship so rife with unrequited passion, it had been a strangely torpid trip.
    Forasmuch as their simmering desire had seethed into a teeming boil at Netherfield, one should anticipate that once the union had been blessed by God, there would have been at least a minimal exchange of affection. That occurrence would have been quite unobjectionable to Mrs. Darcy.
    That amorous juncture did not occasion.
    Howbeit Mr. Darcy held her hand tightly and even kissed it several times, her glove was not removed. What little conversation occurred betwixt them originated from her. So barren of passionate inclinations was their journey, she concluded (a little petulantly) that marriage evidently stifled both her allurement and his abandon. Little time did she have to nurse injury, for they were whisked to a lavish supper.
    Pemberley was certainly a stately home, but its grounds and gardens were not -formal. The townhouse was swimming in recherché glory. Much in want of appreciating the distinction of the meal, Elizabeth had not the means.
    Once again, her appetite had vanished. The only consolation for her disquiet was that Darcy was afflicted as much as she. They sat in reserved acceptance of the soup and fish, but partook little. By the time the second entrée made its appearance, he waved the rest away. Had there been other guests that would have been scandalous. As it was, she issued a silent prayer of thanks. They rose from the table, her hand upon his forearm, and from thence, he forsook her to the stewardship of a maid.
    Her heart beating resoundingly in her ears, Elizabeth followed the plump lady-maid to her dressing room like a dutiful schoolgirl. There she found the night-dress she had meticulously embroidered carefully arranged. Upon it lay a silver-encrusted comb, brush, and hand-mirror. As it was unknown to her, she premised it another wedding gift from Darcy. It bore no note. Without invitation, the maid plucked her hairpins out and set about putting the brush to good use. Elizabeth watched the doings in the looking-glass and dearly wished she could talk to Jane.
    For all her self-possession, she suddenly felt a strange longing. In the cavernous house, her body and soul entrusted to a man whose nature she had not a notion of unravelling, she missed her home. Or at least Jane.
    The leap from fiancée to bride seemed a little too