Posted on Thursday, 29 November 2001, at 1:22 p.m.

Looking out of her window at the crisp dawn, Jane Bennet sighed. Not that she had any particular reason to do so. In fact, she had every reason to be positively, uncontrollably ecstatic. A fortnight ago the man she loved had re-entered her life, and had asked her to marry him. She loved Charles with all her heart. He truly was the only man for her. Only a few more months and she would be a married woman, not out of duty, to which she had always feared she would succumb, but out of the purest, deepest love.

No, the state of her own heart was of absolutely no concern to her. It was her next, and dearest, sister, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was even more determined to marry only for love than she was, for she would never agree to a duty marriage. She had already refused on one such offer, and Jane had no doubt that if another appeared she would repeat the performance.

Jane and Elizabeth had always been close. They were born only eighteen months apart, and had done everything together since Elizabeth could walk. Before their Grandmother Bennet had died, she had undertaken their education, which they knew was the only reason why they had more sense than their younger siblings. They had tried to help the younger sisters, but they were so involved in their own struggles they failed dismally. The only other person in their house with any sense was their father.

This led Jane thinking what would happen to Lizzy once she was married. She could frequently invite her to Netherfield, but she should still be on her own in the tumult. Their father seldom ventured from his study, and Lizzy would never manage with the other females in the family.

Jane heard a scuffling coming from Elizabeth's bedroom next door. She realised how late it was, and with a slight smile on her face, set about preparing for the arrival of her betrothed directly after breakfast.

Breakfast passed with much fussing from Mrs Bennet, for she had just realised that, quite besides the dress and flowers for the wedding, she had to organise a breakfast.

The ladies adjourned to the sitting room to work a little, but before Jane could properly begin her embroidery, Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy were announced. Jane was a little surprised that Mr Darcy had come, for there was no one for him to speak to. If he and Lizzy would put their stupid dislike of each other in its proper place, they would actually get on rather well. But these two were both stubborn, and neither would admit they were wrong, so the situation was not rectified. However, all thoughts of Mr Darcy were promptly removed at the sight of her beloved.

Jane was not quite sure what happened after the gentlemen entered the room, all she knew was that she was now up-stairs with Lizzy getting her parasol. Then, the next thing she realised was that she and Charles were walking, and Elizabeth and Mr Darcy were going down another path. She voiced this observation to Charles, who promptly started laughing.

'Oh, Jane, I do believe that Darcy and your sister can take care of themselves.' Seeing the look on Jane's face, he added, 'And I don't think it will take them so long to return to the house that they will have time to murder each other on the way!'

Jane was surprised to see that the pair had not yet returned when she reached the house. However, any anxiety was avoided when the pair walked in a moment after Jane and Charles. A certain something in Elizabeth's expression caught Jane's attention, and she resolved to get it out of her sister that night, even if it took a pillow fight. She was even more mystified when she saw Elizabeth exchange looks with Mr Darcy not once, but several times, over the course of the evening.

After Bingley left, Jane readied herself for bed very quickly, and went to Lizzy's room. Imagine her surprise when the usually very hasty Elizabeth was still sitting pulling pins out her hair.

"Lizzy, what is the matter today? You have not been behaving at all normally, look how long it has taken you to put on your night gown!' A very strange thought suddenly struck Jane. Without even considering how absurd it was, she said, 'This wouldn't have anything to do with Mr Darcy, would it?'

If Jane was surprised before, it was nothing compared to her reaction to finding out that it had everything to do with Mr Darcy. In fact, everything in Elizabeth's life from that day on would be to do with Mr Darcy, for they would be married.

It took quite a bit of explaining for Jane to see that Elizabeth was in earnest, and even longer to believe her sister. Eventually the message was communicated, and Jane was able to voice her delight.

'Lizzy, but when do you plan to be married? Charles and I are going to London directly after our wedding, and I would hate to miss my favourite sister's wedding! And you have already agreed to be my Maid-of Honour!'

'Well, what you say is true, that I was to be your Maid-of-Honour, and that William was to stand up for Charles. That will still happen. And we had hoped that you and Charles would perform the same services for us. And since it would be unfair to make a newly married man or woman be in a retinue, we came up with the only possibly way to combine everything. What do you say to us having a double ceremony?'

And so it was. They were both married at the end of November. Since the Bingleys had no desire to spend their first Christmas with the Bennets, they spent the festive season with the Darcys. While they were there, William heard about an estate not two hours ride form Pemberley that was for sale, and dragged Bingley off to see it. If Bingley liked Netherfield, he adored Stilewood Manor. Jane and Bingley's move there was a very good thing, because it allowed Elizabeth to attend to Jane when she gave birth to Emma Elizabeth the next winter. And it allowed Jane to perform the same service for Elizabeth that summer when Richard Simon was born. During these two momentous events, Charles and William were able to offer each other comfort and support. Every year on the anniversary of Elizabeth's engagement, Jane would wonder again and again how she could have missed the signs, and then be exceptionally glad that her sister had not.