Page 66 of When Elizabeth Said Yes

Once he had seen his wife settled, Mr Gardiner left to wait at the back of the church, for he would be walking Elizabeth down the aisle in place of her departed father.

Mr and Mrs Collins had sent their regrets, which nobody had been very surprised about, considering Lady Catherine's view on the whole marriage. But Lady Catherine had not deigned to say whether or not she would be attending, and so that matter would be a surprise.

"You look rather pale, Darcy," Bingley said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Nervous?"

Darcy forced a smile. "Something like that," he said. "I don't like being the centre of attention."

There was that and the fact that he'd had no sleep, but no one was to know that except Elizabeth.

And then the church door opened and Mrs Bennet and four of her daughters hurried in.

Darcy gulped.

This was it.

They took their seats in a front pew, the girls all smiling at him, and he tried to smile back, although he wasn't sure it looked very convincing. He was more nervous than he'd thought he would be.

Well, it was a momentous event, tying your life to another person, wasn't it?

The organ began and everyone stood and the doors opened – and Lady Catherine de Bourgh, her daughter Anne, and Mr and Mrs Collins, who had sent their regrets, walked down the aisle.

There was a gasp. Surely they had passed the bride on their way in?

Anne and Mrs Collins at least had the decency to look embarrassed, but his aunt Catherine and Mr Collins looked like they had every right in the world to be there.

"Please take your seats," the vicar said loudly. "The ceremony has begun."

Not looking at all chastened, Lady Catherine found a pew as far forward as she could and took her seat, with her little followers joining her.

Darcy gritted his teeth. He would not let her spoil the day.

She was here, and that had to show some approval of the match. Well, an acceptance of it at least. And yes, she was late, but as long as that was all, he would forgive her.

The organ started back up, the door opened, and finally in walked his Elizabeth on the arm of her uncle, a vision in blue. He realised he had only seen her in mourning colours for so long that he had forgotten just how beautiful she was, the paler colour setting off her eyes, making her look lighter, happier.

Or maybe that was because it was her wedding day.

He hoped she was happy.

That was all he wanted – for her to be happy.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

The walk down the aisle seemed interminably long. All eyes were on her, and never before had she felt so under scrutiny. The church was far busier than she'd expected. Although she tried to smile at familiar faces, she was rather worried she might trip. Not that she made a habit of doing so, but being under so many watchful eyes made one think about what could go wrong.

And then she looked up properly and her eyes found Darcy's and she smiled.

There he was, waiting for her, strong, steady, in love with her, and her nerves disappeared because she knew she was making the right decision.

She might not have accepted him for the right reasons initially, but she was confident now that this marriage was the right marriage for her.

They reached the front of the church and her uncle put her hand into Mr Darcy's, and she had a moment of sadness that it was not her father there to do so, to see this moment.

But then she focused on her future, because this man in front of her, he was the future.

"Please be seated," the vicar said, and with that, the ceremony was underway.

Even though she had been nervous about standing in front of everybody and being watched, when she reached the front of the church and her uncle placed her hand in Mr Darcy's, everything else melted away. He was there, steadfast, his eyes calm, his shoulders set.