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CATHERINE DE BOURGH's fingers trembled around her cane as she clutched it. Unbeknownst to every beloved member of her family, her frailty was an act. If they believed she was a feeble old woman, doddering and delicate, they did everything for her. Despite being well into her dotage, she was a secret picture of health.
Lady Catherine addressed her youngest niece, who was watching Darcy take aim at a quail. “Make no mistake, Georgiana, I am glad you are out of that dreadful room! I hated how you cloistered yourself!”
When Darcy missed, her spectators winced. For a third time in a row, the bird escaped her bullet. The ladies had retreated to the woods of Rosings, where some practiced their shooting. Their hunting party included Lady Catherine, her nieces, Bin Li, Wilhelmina Collins, and a few favorite members of Darcy's crew. So far, no one hit a target. Bin Li was most dire. Darcy's best friend barely knew how to load a bullet, let alone, fire a gun.
It was the day before the Bennets' triple wedding. While the men fussed with their hair and discussed their attire, the ladies immersed themselves in smokes and sport.
“I am glad as well, Aunt Catherine,” Georgiana replied. “Every day, I'm utterly grateful to have Lachlan in my life. If not for him, I might never have found my bravery.”
“Mmm. Lachlan. Yes.” Judging from Lady Catherine's tight-lipped smile, she was less than impressed by her niece's choice of husband. “That boy is very young and silly, though.”
Georgiana gasped at the observation. “He is not!”
“Yes, he is! He is as silly as silly gets! I would blame it on his youth, but if you ask me, all of the Bennet boys are prone to silliness!” Lady Catherine was simultaneously insulting the fiances of Darcy, Bin Li and Georgiana, so she wasn't surprised to see them scowling at her. “Do I really need to explain myself? Any of them could have married the genius, Wilhelmina Collins! I still believe they're all fools for rejecting her.”
Behind Lady Catherine, Wilhelmina Collins indulged herself in an approving nod.
Darcy spoke up, “Well... I, for one, am glad they all rejected her.” She raised her pistol and waited for another bird to take flight. “No offense, Miss Collins, but if Elisander hadn't rejected you...”
“You needn't explain yourself, Captain Fitzwilliam. I understand perfectly,” replied a sighing Wilhelmina. She would likely be haunted by the Bennets' rejections for the rest of her life. Despite their cruelty, she occasionally caught herself pining for them.
When Darcy's next shot missed a low-flying mallard, Lady Catherine grumbled at her failure. “Darcy, what on earth is wrong with you?” the lady shrieked. “I thought you were supposed to be a superior shot, but you never hit the mark!”
“Perhaps I'm having a bad day,” Darcy supposed. “Perhaps I'm nervous about the wedding.”
Clapping a hand on Darcy's shoulder, Bin Li asked, “But why would you be nervous? You're marrying a wonderful man.”
“Indeed. However, I believe it is quite common for a lady to suffer from nerves on the day before her—”
Lady Catherine suddenly raised a rifle and fired at a bird. Her participation silenced everyone, and they were equally awed when the bird dropped from the sky.
“That is how you do it.” Lady Catherine pushed a button on her rifle, turning it back into a cane. “Good gracious, Darcy, you should at least be better than me!”
* * *
“OUT OF ALL OF US, WHO do you think is happiest?” Lachlan posed the question to his four brothers. The ceremony was only hours away, and none of them were quite ready. Their wedding at Rosings was to be grand and well-attended. If they were to fit in with the rest of the guests, they had to be dressed to the nines.
When no one responded to his query, Lachlan continued, “I would argue that I am the happiest, of course. After all, I am the only man who gets to spend his life with the lovely Georgiana. She has changed my life. Truly. I never imagined I would marry at the age of sixteen! Am I not lucky to have found my soulmate at such a young age?”
“Very lucky,” agreed the eldest brother, Joseph. “I am ten years older, as you well know. Father was in such a panic over my unmarried state. He was convinced that I would never marry, so when Miss Li finally proposed, he was hilariously relieved.”
Lachlan had no interest in discussing his brother's age, so he returned to the previous topic. “Personally, I think Elisander will be the least happiest. Captain Fitzwilliam is so dour, after all. Is she really as humorless as she seems?”
Elisander shook his head. “No. When we're alone, Darcy is always pleasant.” A valet was endlessly fussing with his hair. It was tiresome, so he leaned away from the stylist's unflagging fingers. “Why, Lachlan, do you find it necessary to discuss who is happiest and who is not?”
“I don't know.” The youngest brother hitched a shoulder. “I thought it would be an intriguing topic. Are you not intrigued? Of course, if we include all of our brothers, Kier and Matthew would be in contention for the title of least content. Kier seems happy with his books, and Matthew will be miserable without me, so I think Matthew is least happy.”
Matthew, who had been silently sulking over Lachlan's marriage, moved his chair closer to Elisander. “Actually...” Matthew whispered into his brother's ear, “I... met someone.” Elisander was the only brother aware of his scandalous preferences, so he could only share the news with him.
“Really?” Elisander gasped, keeping his voice low. “Who?”
“I've been spending time with a young man who works for Lady Catherine,” Matthew quietly confessed. “For now, I shall say no more than that.”
The brothers were glad when the ceremony began. Not only were they marrying the loves of their lives, they were spared from further inane speculation by Lachlan. As the eldest brother, Joseph was first in line to tackle the aisle. As he made his way to Bin Li, who waited at the aisle's end, his gaze momentarily flickered to Wilhelmina Collins. His cousin was dabbing her eyes, and likely a bit embittered by his choice to marry another. However, her sad eyes were not nearly as expressive as the small, shrewish eyes of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who studied the Bennet brothers with a distasteful scowl.
As soon as Joseph was reunited with Bin Li, it was Elisander's turn. He kept his eyes on Darcy, never once glancing at the rows of gaping spectators. He adored Darcy's face, for none other filled him with more strength or gave him such comfort.
As Lachlan made his way down the aisle, his eyes only drifted once—first to Kier, then to Matthew. He was getting married before two elder brothers, and nothing gave him more pride, apart from having Georgiana as a wife.
When all couples were together and the priest began his speech, Lady Catherine expressed her disgust with an audible snort. She was too old and too esteemed to receive a lecture from anyone near her.
“I'm losing two nieces to a shoddy family like the Bennets!” Lady Catherine hissed into Wilhelmina's ear. “To capture wives so far beyond their station, they must be enchanters!”
“Normally, my lady...” Wilhelmina whispered her reply, “I would be inclined to agree with you. However, the Bennets are my family, and I will not slander a single one of them!”
Lady Catherine snorted again, quieter than before. She could never forgive the Bennets for their low birth.
“They should have married dukes!” Lady Catherine went on, ignoring Wilhelmina's discontent. “Instead, my beloved Darcy and Georgiana are stuck with a pair of country boys who are barely better than swine.”
“Goodness!” Wilhelmina was offended, but she still managed a chuckle. “You have some very strong opinions, my lady.”
“I do.” Lady Catherine crossed her arms. “Indeed I do.”
“I am surprised you let them marry at Rosings, hearing how vehemently you disapprove of this.”
“The least I can do is give the girls a grand wedding... even if their husbands are less than grand,” Catherine said. “I suppose, in time, I will have to accept it. If nothing else, at least Georgiana looks happy again.”
For the first time in two years, Georgiana's smile stretched across the entire length of her face. She never expected to find a man as accepting and adoring as Lachlan Bennet.
Similarly, Joseph's smile would not be suppressed. The rest of his life would be spent with Bin Li, and nothing thrilled him more.
Even Darcy Fitzwilliam was smiling at her Bennet. Elisander had awakened a part of her she never knew existed.
As the ceremony concluded and the couples kissed, six hearts overflowed with boundless joy.