Page 119 of A Most Beloved Sister
Mr. Bingley’s shoulders sagged as he buried his face in his hands, his heart wrenching with the pain of loss. Dr. Carson, his own gaze heavy, wrote a few final words, then closed the notebook for the last time.
In the dim light of the room, surrounded by the two people she loved most, Jane Bingley had slipped away from this world, her gentle spirit finally at peace after her body’s long and valiant struggle.
Chapter 32
The day of Jane’s funeral was a dismal one. One would think that April would be ushering in the warmth of summer—as it had for Kitty’s wedding day—but instead, a freezing rain pelted the ground beneath dark clouds that roared in anger.
It was as if God decided to match the weather to Elizabeth’s feelings.
The three days of sitting watch over Jane’s body in vigil had been exhausting yet healing. Almost all the residents in Meryton and its surrounding environs came to pay their condolences and share their fondest memories of the beautiful young woman who had died too young.
Throughout the entire affair, Darcy and Georgiana proved their friendship time and again by providing comfort, calling for tea, and offering support. A few people who had not yet met Georgiana were taken aback by her appearance, but in devotion to her future sister, Georgiana bottled up her feelings until she could release them in the privacy of her chambers.
When the time came for the funeral, Elizabeth, Louisa, and Georgiana watched from the front parlor windows as the gentlemen boarded the carriage that would take them to the church. Jane’s body was to be transported in a hearse, which wasunusual for Meryton, but Bingley had insisted that the specially designed carriage be used.
Invitations to join the funeral procession had been extended to Longbourn, of course, as well as Lucas Lodge, the Phillips residence, and other close friends. Their carriages and horses joined in behind, and Elizabeth raised a hand, pressing it to the cold glass. She wished she could join in saying farewell to her sister; then the image entered her mind of Jane’s body closed in a casket, being lowered into the ground and covered with dirt, and she shuddered.
“Come, let’s warm you by the fire,” Louisa said in a gentle voice, interrupting Elizabeth’s musings.
Elizabeth allowed herself to be pulled away from the view of her sister’s dead body being carried away, and numbly sat down and accepted the tea Georgiana offered.
It would be a long day of waiting. And then Darcy would leave.
∞∞∞
Darcy exited the carriage and nodded his gratitude at the footman who held an umbrella over their heads. As they walked towards the chapel, Dr. Fields’s rich baritone sang the familiar refrain to meet the body at the entrance of the churchyard.
“‘I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord:
he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
I know that my Redeemer liveth,
and that he shalt stand at the latter day upon the earth.
And though after my skin worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself,
and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.
We brought nothing into this world,
and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away;
blessed be the Name of the Lord.’”
Once all the mourners had taken their places in the pews, Dr. Fields made his way to the pulpit. He opened his Bible and read aloud Psalm 39, which he then followed with Psalm 90. Darcy was surprised, as most clergy tended to read only one or the other, but Dr. Fields spoke each word with sincere conviction.
After he had finished the Psalms, the priest then turned to chapter fifteen of the first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians and began reading from verse twenty to the end.
Darcy listened as the familiar words poured over him, reviving memories of funerals from his past: his father, his mother, his uncle Lewis de Bourgh, Pemberley tenants, and so many others. He closed his eyes and saw their faces, reliving different memories one by one as the holy words were spoken.
“‘O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?’”
