Mrs. Bingley’s Sister (The Austen Novels)

Chapter 44

Darcy called on Sedgwick House the next day, and after being caught kissing in the garden, Bingley had insisted on he and Jane chaperoning them from then on. He had addressed this privately with Darcy the night before.

"You know I am as happy for you as can be, my friend," Bingley had said when the ladies withdrew from dinner, leaving the two of them with their cigars and port, "But you can't be out in the garden or on the terrace or wherever else in this house, whipping Elizabeth up into a frenzy. Innocent kissing is one thing, and I shall admit, Jane and I might have stolen a kiss or two at Longbourn, but what nearly transpired in the garden yesterday was very improper, and I daresay you very well know it."

Darcy didn't look at Bingley, keeping his eyes on his cigar as he pulled it to his lips and puffed from it. He heard Bingley let out an exasperated sigh and say further, "Come now, Darcy, don't act like I am the villain here!"

Darcy couldn't help but smirk and look up at this, and he saw Bingley's worried face break out into a more relieved expression. The man feigned an exaggerated sigh of relief.

"Your expression is so stern!" Bingley exclaimed with a laugh, "You have made me nervous to give you such a talking to! I do not enjoy chiding anyone, you know, especially not one of my most respected friends."

Darcy shrugged and then smiled sheepishly. "I know you are only doing what is right, my friend. Be not alarmed. I shan't hold it against you." He paused and then admitted, "But it is true, I do not like being chided, anymore than you enjoy doing the chiding."

They looked at one another for a moment before they laughed, and Bingley shook his head at Darcy and finally said, "Honestly, Darcy, for as long as you have been in love with Elizabeth, it is indeed a wonder you haven't stolen her virtue right here under this very roof—"

"Bingley."

"—I am only observing that your restraint is admirable, that's all!"

Darcy shook the memory of that conversation from his mind as he and Elizabeth strolled in the garden, with Bingley and Jane following a little ways behind them. He glanced down at her on his arm, and he couldn't help but admire her: her hair shined in the sun, an auburn hue when the light hit it just so; her cheeks were pink and flushed from the exertion of her morning walk; and her lips, red as they were, looked very inviting, especially whenever she absentmindedly bit her bottom lip—as she was doing that very moment.

She looked up and caught him staring at her.

"Yes?" she asked teasingly, raising an eyebrow at him, "What is on your mind, Darcy?"

"Oh! It's Darcy now, is it?"

She laughed. "Jane always says 'Bingley.'"

"And you have resolved to say 'Darcy?'"

"Perhaps. Which do you prefer? William or Darcy?"

He thought on this a moment before answering, "Georgiana calls me William. My close friends and family call me Darcy. I know propriety says you shall call me Mr. Darcy after we are married, around others, of course. But I think I would like to hear my true Christian name on your lips."

"Fitzwilliam?"

"I rather like the sound of it," he said with a smile, "When it is just you and me, of course."

"Fitzwilliam," she repeated, seemingly trying it on for size, "Fitzwilliam, Fitzwilliam, Fitzwilliam. It is a mouthful of a name, you know."

"I know. But I like hearing you say it."

"Well, perhaps I shall become used to saying it, then. You truly prefer it to William?"

"I think I do. No one has ever called me by my true Christian name."

"Not even your parents?"

"They called me William."

She nodded thoughtfully. "I see. Well, Fitzwilliam it is, then. But I may still call you Darcy, though."

He smiled and put his hand over hers while they walked. "That is just as well. And what shall I call you?"

"You have called me Elizabeth, have you not?"

"You do not wish me to call you Lizzy?"

"No. My sister still does, and so do my other sisters and Mama, but Lizzy, to me, is our goddaughter's name."

"I prefer Elizabeth, to be truthful."

"And I prefer Darcy." She winked at him.

He chuckled and heard Bingley call out, "What is so amusing to the lovers before us, eh, Darcy? Elizabeth?"

They both turned their heads and looked in time to see Jane giving Bingley a look. Bingley laughed and said, "I do apologize—Jane is castigating me with her eyes for interrupting your time together."

This made Elizabeth laugh and say, "Dearest Jane! She can do no such thing, my angel of a sister."

Jane merely smiled and tugged on Bingley's arm, the couple coming to a halt. Jane gave them a glance and said to Bingley, "Dearest, let us turn back, for I am weary. They may take a turn about the garden for just a little while longer, however. Right, Lizzy?"

Darcy glanced at Elizabeth and saw her blushing and nodding as she said, "That is right, Jane. We shall not be long."

Darcy stifled a chuckle as Bingley gave him a stern look before turning around with his wife and going back the way they came. Darcy felt Elizabeth tug on his arm, and he turned back toward her as they resumed their walk.

"Finally, privacy," Elizabeth said. Darcy reddened a little, thinking of Bingley's admonishments yesterday.

"We cannot be gone too long, Elizabeth," he warned in a more somber tone. She looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Did you get in trouble yesterday?"

He laughed. "Something like that."

She laughed too and said, "Jane gently warned me that Bingley was concerned. He takes his duties as master of the family very seriously indeed, I should think. But I am hardly a girl anymore."

"You are still a maiden, though," Darcy said, reddening more to be speaking on such a subject, "He is within his rights to admonish me for my improper behavior."

She merely tightened her arm around his. "I do not dislike your behavior, improper as it may be."

"Elizabeth," he warned, a slight smile on his lips. He desperately hoped she wasn't about to try and kiss him, because if she did, he wasn't sure he would be able to abide by the trust Bingley was putting in him. Elizabeth slowed her walking to a halt, and he did the same. She turned to fully face him, and she stood on her tip toes, placing a small kiss on his lips. He froze, thinking about propriety and the risk of it all—

"Elizabeth," he said after her lips left his. She was frowning.

"You do not wish to kiss me?"

His eyes widened, and he looked away. "It is not about what I wish to do—it is about what I should do."

"You should kiss me," she said very quietly. He turned and looked at her, and seeing the slightly saddened look in her eyes did him in. He quickly bent his head down and kissed her lips, but before he could pull away, her arms had wrapped around his neck, and she was kissing him with a sudden intensity which he could not fight nor resist—the next thing he knew, his arms were wrapped around her too, and he was kissing her back with a passion.

Bingley's warning rang in his mind, but it was a very distant, nearly nonexistent voice, being muffled out by a more prominent sense of desire that was beginning to overwhelm him—they kissed and kissed, and their hands roamed over one another's arms, shoulders, backs, pulling each other in closer and closer, until they finally stopped.

They pulled apart, breathing heavily, Elizabeth's lips red and puffy, and her cheeks flushed, her hair slightly fussed up, loose strands falling about her face, her bosom and decolletage heaving up and down as she breathed—it was all too much, and Darcy pushed himself away from her as if burned by a fire.

"Mr. Darcy—I didn't—I'm sorry—"

"No, no, Elizabeth please, do not apologize," he said quickly, shaking his head, "It is not you who should apologize, it is me, for losing control. I have been unable to restrain myself around you, and kissing you just—it just—"

"You needn't say it," she said, some concern in her voice. He looked at her, seeing the worry in her face, and he couldn't resist coming back to her and pulling her into his arms for an embrace.

"Please do not feel wrongly over any of this," he whispered into her hair, "We shall be married soon, and all of this—it will not be so..."

"Forbidden?" she offered, completing his thought. He chuckled into he hair and nodded.

"Indeed. It feels very forbidden right at this moment. But we shall be married soon, very soon."

And so they held each other for another moment longer before pulling away and standing apart, and they agreed to walk back together, but not upon one another's arms. After that afternoon, they resolved to not be alone together anymore, for they were unable to resist kissing one another when no one was around to check their behavior. Darcy hated it but knew he needed to oblige by it, and thus, they both counted down the days to their wedding, which would be upon them before long.