This is the book that was never planned in this series… but when I sat down to write what I wanted Book 3 of the series to be, Elizabeth Bennet had other plans . . .
XOXOXO Elizabeth Ann West
Chapter 58 - The Whisky Wedding, a Pride and Prejudice Variation8
THE DOUBLE WEDDING of two Bennet women to the cousins Fitzwilliam Darcy and Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam surprisingly packed the sanctuary of St. George’s. It was rumored that some came back to London just to see for themselves if the famously rich bachelor would indeed marry or if the gossip had been false. And like it was planned in the parlor of Darcy House weeks ago, not a word was said about any scandal. Only the romantic notion of an elopement for the younger generation and a complaint amongst the older patrons for the lack of respect of their elders.
For those who did wake early on the thirtieth of July to make the nine o’clock ceremony, the surprises began when Mr. Bennet escorted not just one daughter down the aisle, but two. At the altar, Fitzwilliam Darcy, dressed impeccably in a midnight blue coat in contrast to his cousin’s robin-breast red Regimentals, stepped to the side to allow Richard Fitzwilliam an equal space before the Archbishop of Canterbury.
In the front pew, Regina Fitzwilliam plastered a fake smile of cheer as she leaned over to her husband and urged him to do something, immediately.
“Look, Richard is going to marry the other sister!” she hissed in a whisper.
Garland leaned over to his wife, pretending a wish to watch the processional with greater care. “Yes, Richard came to me last week. He has my blessing.”
As the ceremony began, Lady Matlock would not give up.
“Why was I not consulted?”
Garland patted his wife’s hand as the Archbishop began the service and Mr. Bennet took his seat after declaring he presented his daughters. They neared the section where declarations of impediments were asked and Lord Matlock squeezed his wife’s hand. He glared at her to impress she was not to say a word.
The congregation looked around and Jane fretfully looked to Elizabeth. Though the Bingleys came to the ball the previous evening and she and Richard had endured some embarrassment when Charles asked her to dance, it did not appear that either Mr. Bingley or Miss Bingley came to the wedding.
The silence sufficient, His Grace continued,
“Richard Louis Bartholomew Fitzwilliam, wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony?”
Chapter 58 (continued) - The Whisky Wedding, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
Jane held her breath as the Archbishop continued, her weight slowly shifting more and more to her toes as her anxiety heightened. But to her relief, Richard responded:
“I will.”
Then it was her turn, and though she felt she had sounded like a mouse, the congregation scarcely held back a chuckle when Jane Bennet loudly proclaimed her will after the Archbishop’s question.
When it came time for the Darcys, Elizabeth was not called by her married surname, but by her father’s name, as a declaration that the Scottish ceremony no longer stood valid. Their declaration came swift and sure, with the couple looking directly at one another, lost to the world around them, as a direct consequence of their increased familiarity.
The large bells tolled in jubilation as the two couples signed the register and the wedding breakfast was hosted at Darcy House. Mr. Bennet kept his word to his brother-in-law and Lydia Bennet, while present for the ceremony, was quietly driven away to the Gardiner household to miss the festivities, much like she had not been permitted to attend the ball the previous night.
Kitty, Mary, and Georgiana found they shared a solidarity in the crush of people so wholly focused on Jane and Elizabeth and their husbands. Most sought out to congratulate the happy couples and wish the Fitzwilliams safe travels.
“Do you enjoy sketching?” Kitty tentatively asked Georgiana as the three girls sat together and ate their cake.
“I have not much experience,” Georgiana answered truthfully, but when Kitty appeared crestfallen, she took it upon herself to offer kindness. “But I would very much like to practice.” As Kitty smiled, Mary braved a question of her own.
“And you play the pianoforte?”
At this, Georgiana heartily nodded and soon she and Mary began conversing about sonnets. Kitty did not mind only observing the conversation around her, the artist in her found occupation watching the subtle exchanges between her sister Elizabeth and her new brother, Fitzwilliam. She made note of her sister’s smile that she had never before seen so wide, and the mostly somber man in her presence rival her sister in his expression of joy. Kitty stared and forced the memory to implant in her mind with hope of capturing the sentiment that evening in her sketch pad.
NEW RELEASE
For the Love of a Bennet
What if Elizabeth Bennet traveled with Lydia to Brighton?
A reimagining of Jane Austen’s most beloved tale, Pride & Prejudice, join author Elizabeth Ann West as she writes the romantic adventure story she always wanted! When Lizzy and Lydia arrive in Brighton, it’s very clear that the younger Bennet sister came with very serious plans towards Mr. Wickham. Thankfully, an old ally is also in town, with problems of his own to solve. After Mr. Darcy, himself, is summoned to Brighton to hopefully solve two dilemmas with one wealthy member of the gentry, the whole militia is thrown into an uproar by Wickham’s most dastardly deed, yet. Together, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy have to save Lydia from her own undoing, or it will mean more than just mere reputations are ruined.
For the Love of a Bennet is a novel length story, currently being posted chapter by chapter on Elizabeth’s author site. This story was originally conceptualized in 2019 as a part of the All Go to Brighton challenge.
Chapter 58 (continued) - The Whisky Wedding, a Pride and Prejudice Variation
But Kitty did not have to wait until evening. By noon, the party had dispersed with Jane going to Matlock House with her husband, a final separation of the two eldest Bennet sisters that made them linger in the hall. Jane’s room at Darcy House now held the trunks of Kitty and Mary, a change made by the servants during the wedding ceremony, and Catherine Bennet began her sketch of love in haste.
The piano keys tinkled with duets as Kitty rubbed her eraser over her sister’s penciled eyes for the third time. She had not quite seized the proper angle of Elizabeth’s delight. And though she had begun that morning with anxiety over the plan to move her to Pemberley with her sister Mary and her married sister, Elizabeth, Kitty found a contentment in the peace and quiet her new situation bestowed.
Elizabeth Darcy had checked on her sisters and found them satisfactorily situated before taking refuge in her room. She had not spent much time with Fiona in removing the jewels and pins before her husband came to call.
“We will not need your services the rest of the day, Fiona,” Fitzwilliam said with a smile that his wife returned, but she scolded him for his declaration.
“That is not true! We will take dinner with our sisters and I will see you at four to prepare.” Elizabeth Darcy spoke with the confidence of her position as mistress.
Darcy growled. “Please relay a similar sentiment to Mr. Stewart.”
Alone with his wife, Fitzwilliam lifted Elizabeth easily across his arms and carried her to her bed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed at his singular mission.
“Mr. Darcy, it is the middle of the afternoon!”
“So it is. And I have a wife to love.”
“Sir.”
“Madam.”
“You are impossible,” she said as he laid her gently upon the mattress and supported her neck with his left hand as he expertly extracted the pins in her hair with his other hand. Each pull relieved Elizabeth of a tiny strain on her nerves and replaced it with a gentle massage of his fingers on her scalp. She closed her eyes and gently moaned, submitting herself to his attentions.
Carefully, her husband leaned down to kiss his reposed beauty, his fingers feeling the scar formed from her accident that landed her into his arms.
“And you, Mrs. Darcy, are irresistible. Like a fine glass of whisky.”
You’ve been reading The Whisky Wedding
When Elizabeth Bennet of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice learns of her sister’s elopement before leaving for the Peaks District, she and her aunt are off to Scotland to chase the wayward couple. Inn after inn, there is no sign of Lydia or Mr. Wickham, but Elizabeth won’t give up. A foolhardy decision to continue to search on her own lands Elizabeth right into the arms of a familiar face . . . Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.
Join author Elizabeth Ann West in a tale of carriage accidents, amnesia, and a forced marriage, but happy endings for all. Well, maybe not Mr. Wickham!
The Whisky Wedding
a Pride and Prejudice novel variation
Release Date: December 28, 2016
514 pages in print.
+ 23 additional Pride & Prejudice variations are available at these fine retailers . . .
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A Jane-of-all-trades, mistress to none! Elizabeth Ann West is the author of 8 novels and 11 novellas, 18 of which are story variations of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice.