Chapter 33 #2
“William Alexander Robert Darcy, I have been falling in love with you for longer than I realised. It was only when I asked Mamma, a little before my birthday, how I would know if I loved you that I knew I was already in love with you, and there could never be another for me. I then understood that my love for you was deeper than the deepest ocean and more ardent than anything I could imagine. It was the reason I begged Mamma and Papa to speak to you soon after my coming out because ten seasons, twenty, or fifty would not enable me to find a man other than you with whom I would ever consider joining my life. For me, it was you or no one! That being said, there is nothing I want more than to marry you. So yes, William, yes, I will accept your hand in marriage.”
As much as William wanted to pull Lizzy into his arms and kiss her senseless, he was aware that the ten minutes were up or would be any second.
Elizabeth wanted to experience William’s kisses on her lips as much, if not more, than William desired to kiss her.
Hearing either John or Brian clear his throat from just outside the door told her why William had not kissed her lips.
She liked the footmen-guards very well, except in this instance where she wished they were not quite so good at doing their duty.
With a huff, she pulled the door open, spearing the two giant men with a look of disappointment.
All she elicited were matching grins from the two.
“William, I think we need to go see Papa, and my guess is that Mamma will be in the study with him,” Elizabeth said as she recovered her equanimity. They would find a time to achieve what was denied them now, of that she was certain.
“There is a ring I want to present to you, but it is not here with me, as I did not know that my fondest wish, of your hand in marriage, would be granted today. I will retrieve it from Darcy House when we go and share the great news with my parents,” William stated.
“As much as I appreciate that you want to present me with a ring, as long as I have you, I am contented. I will not refuse it if you insist on gifting me with a token of our engagement,” Elizabeth teased.
“Teasing woman! Never stop.” He offered Lizzy, his affianced, his arm and led her out of the study past the still grinning, hulking men.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Edith had, in fact, joined Paul in the study shortly after William had led Lizzy out of the drawing room, the fingers of the hands being held interlaced. Based on what she saw, she had taken a friendly wager with her husband.
When Lizzy and William entered the study, each had an unmistakable glow of pleasure and something far deeper. Edith took one look at that and knew that had she bet a token or a nominal sum of money, it would have been hers. What she saw before her was not a courting couple.
Holder reached the same conclusion and looked at his wife to say, ‘you had the right of it’.
William stood before the desk, Lizzy next to him as he looked at her parents, both seated behind the desk. “I asked Lizzy to marry me, and to my everlasting pleasure, she has accepted me,” he stated plainly. “We seek your permission and blessings.”
“What happened to the six-week courtship and an engagement of the same length?” Holder pushed.
“We will be engaged for at least twelve weeks. Is not six plus six twelve?” Elizabeth responded calmly.
“If you like, I can go see Jane and ask her to check my addition.” She looked at her father, challenging him to tell her she was wrong.
He did not. “William did offer a courtship. I pointed out it was not needed, and there are many other advantages…” Elizabeth explained her reasoning for wanting an engagement and not a courtship first.
“Elizabeth’s reasoning is sound, and there will be a minimum of twelve weeks before they marry, so for my part, I have no objections,” Edith said. “We knew she did not want to swim in the shark-infested waters of London society, feeling like prey to all the fortune-hunting predators.”
“Truth be told, I suspected this may be the outcome which is why I told William that I wanted a total of at least twelve weeks. Do you two want to select a date for your wedding? Yes, you have our consent and blessings.”
Edith nodded her head in agreement.
The two couples consulted the calendar on Holder’s desk. Wednesday, the final day of May was selected, a few days past the minimum Holder had demanded.
‘At least,’ Edith thought, ‘there is no possible suitor on the horizon for Mary. We will still have one of our girls at home with us.’ As hard as it would be to see Lizzy leave and join William, Edith knew that her middle daughter could not have found a man better suited to her.
“Mamma, Papa, after we share the news with those in the drawing room, may I join William and go to Darcy House to inform Aunt Anne, Uncle Robert, and Anna of our good news?” Elizabeth requested. Surprisingly, it was one of the few days Anna was not at Holder House.
“As long as Mrs Annesley and, if she wants to join you, Mary travels in the coach with you, yes, you may go,” Holder allowed.
With Jane’s marriage to Richard, a real familial link had been forged with the Fitzwilliams. When Lizzy married William, the same would be true of the Darcys.
As she walked with Paul, her newly engaged daughter, and William back to the drawing room, Edith remembered that William no longer lived at Pemberley but rather at Rivington.
It was farther away from Holder Heights than Pemberley; however, it was very close to Rosings Park, which meant that Jane and Lizzy would be near one to the other when at their estates.
Mary and Mrs Annesley were the only ones left in the drawing room. As soon as her parents, Lizzy, and William walked in, Mary arched an eyebrow in question.
“William asked Lizzy to marry him, and she accepted. Your mother and I gave our permission and blessed the union…” Anything else Holder was planning to say was lost when Mary gave an unladylike squeal of pleasure and surged towards Lizzy to hug and congratulate her.
“Mary, will you join us, and Mrs Annesley, of course, when we make the short carriage ride to Darcy House?” Elizabeth requested after her younger sister had expressed her approbation for the union to herself and William.
“I would love to. I can only imagine Anna’s face.
Kitty and Lydia missed this when they returned to Gracechurch Street this morning.
Also, we must go to Matlock House to tell Aunt Elaine and Uncle Reggie, then to Fitzwilliam House to inform Jane and Richard, and to Portman Square to see Charlotte and Jamey, as well as Marie and Andrew,” Mary gushed.
“Yes, to all of them, and you forgot to mention the Gardiners and most of the Phillipses. We will go to Gracechurch Street before we come home. It is good Aunt Agatha and her children remain even if Uncle Frank needed to return to Meryton this morning,” Elizabeth responded.
She turned to her parents. “May we invite everyone to join us for a family dinner this evening, or do Mrs Fenster and Cook need more time to prepare for a large party?”
“I will speak to the housekeeper and Cook and then, as soon as I know when it will be, notes will be sent to all of the family inviting them for dinner. I have a feeling that today will not be a problem for them, but I will not make that assumption,” Edith replied.
“While you do that, I will send a notice to the papers,” Holder stated.
William had walked, so a Holder conveyance was called for, and soon those going to Darcy House were on their way.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“William, Lizzy, and Mary, this is a very welcome surprise,” Lady Anne enthused when the three entered the music room where she had been superintending Anna’s practice on the pianoforte.
Mrs Annesley followed behind her charges.
Lady Anne could see that something had changed between Lizzy and William, but she did not want to pre-empt them from telling her what it was.
“Is Father in his study?” William enquired. His mother nodded, informing him that he was; William rang for the butler. When Killion entered, he was asked to have Mr Darcy join them in the music room.
“Summoned about in my own house,” Darcy grumbled good-naturedly.
“Mother, Father, and Anna, it is my pleasure to tell you that Lizzy and I will marry at the end of May.” William just managed to get the words out when Anna flew into Lizzy’s arms, and his mother wrapped her arms around him.
“Lizzy, you will be my sister! I am so happy; I will have so many sisters!” Anna gushed as she held Lizzy tightly. “Mary, it is the best of news that we will be sisters!”
“We have always counted you as a sister; now it will be official,” Mary said.
Elizabeth was so busy accepting hugs and kisses from her soon-to-be parents-in-law she did not see when William slipped out of the room. He returned before she could notice his absence.
“Lizzy, will you join me in Father’s study? There is something I would like to present to you,” William requested when he returned.
“I think we can allow you two ten minutes, but the door will not be closed all the way. Mrs Annesley,” Lady Anne turned to the companion, “will you take a seat in the hallway outside the study?”
“Of course, your Ladyship,” Mrs Annesley replied.
Their fingers interlaced again, William led Lizzy to the study with the companion following them. She sat near the door and made a point of looking at the grandfather clock in the hallway.
William closed the door and left it open just an inch or two.
He took a velvet-covered ring box from his father’s desk and opened it.
Inside was a ring with a gold band and diamonds.
There was a large, rose-cut stone in the centre surrounded by smaller stones.
On either side, set into the band, were three hogback[10] diamonds.
Elizabeth watched with fascination as William slipped the ring into place on the relevant finger of her left hand. She stood before him and lifted her head expectantly. This time they still had most of the allotted time left.
Seeing the way his betrothed invited his kisses, William could do nothing but comply.
The first kiss was no chaste one but a deep, lingering kiss which expressed their pent-up desires which had been interrupted at Holder House.
The kisses deepened, and William almost lost control when Lizzy let out a mewl of pleasure.
Knowing their time was almost up, they pulled back a little and stood panting, breathing in one another’s breath with their foreheads touching. A minute later, Mrs Annesley cleared her throat. When the newly engaged couple exited the study, they were almost entirely put to rights.
On their return to the drawing room, they found Aunt Elaine and Uncle Reggie present, summoned by a note from Lady Anne. The latter informed them a note had arrived from Holder House inviting them to a dinner that evening.
After accepting wishes for their future felicity, Lizzy, William, Mary, Anna—who would not be left at home—and Mrs Annesley boarded the coach for the short ride to Berkeley Square.
To say that Jane and Richard were ecstatic about the engagement was an understatement.
That their estates were less than ten miles one from the other was especially good news to the sisters.
Now, Richard and William, who had always felt more like brothers than cousins, would in fact be brothers through marriage.
From there they made for Portman Square, where they descended on Hadlock House first. The reception and reaction to the news were no less enthusiastic than it had been at Darcy House. Charlotte and Jamey confirmed they would be at the dinner.
As they were only a few doors down, and little John was sleeping under the watchful eye of one of his nursemaids, Marie and Andrew called at Hadlock House after seeing the Holder equipage arrive.
They too were very pleased by the news and happy to welcome Lizzy and William as their newest sister and brother.
When informed of the dinner, the Hilldales said they would attend, as they had no prior engagements.
The final stop was at the Gardiners’ in Gracechurch Street. It was almost four miles from Portman Square to the house, so it was close to an hour later.
Maddie welcomed the callers with glee, which only increased when they shared the news. While Elizabeth’s and Mary’s two youngest sisters and her own children expressed their pleasure for the couple, Maddie sent a note to Edward’s office.
He arrived home in less than fifteen minutes and added his words of congratulations for his niece’s and soon-to-be nephew’s union. The Gardiners also accepted the invitation to join the celebration that evening.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The day after the engagement, an invitation arrived from Buckingham House to invite the ladies of Holder House to tea with Her Majesty the next day.
On their arrival at Buckingham House, Edith and her two youngest daughters were shown into a drawing room where the Queen, a few of her daughters, and the ladies-in-waiting sat.
After curtsies to Her Majesty, the three callers were asked to be seated.
A lavish tea service was brought in and two of the ladies-in-waiting poured tea and made plates of some of the mountain of delectable treats.
They, as would be expected, served Her Majesty and the princesses before the guests.
When the tea service was cleared away, the Queen looked at Lady Mary expectantly. “We would be gratified if Lady Mary played for us,” Her Majesty invited.
Mary sat at the grand pianoforte and placed some of the sheet music she had brought with her on the holder. Elizabeth took a seat next to her sister to turn the pages. After a nod from the monarch, Mary began to play. As she always did, she was soon lost in the music.
When Lady Mary completed the complicated piece, there was silence for some moments before Her Majesty stood and began to applaud with great enthusiasm. As soon as she did so, the princesses and ladies-in-waiting joined in.
“Lady Mary, you are a virtuoso. We look forward to hearing you play again in the future. We thank you for allowing us to experience this excellent performance,” the Queen gushed, and she never did so publicly.
Her Majesty turned to Lady Edith. “All three of your daughters are diamonds of the first waters. You have much over which to be proud.”
“Your Majesty is too magnanimous,” Edith replied after standing and sinking into a curtsy.
The Queen and her daughters stood. They received curtsies from their guests, and then Her Majesty led the princesses and her ladies-in-waiting out of the drawing room.
Edith, Elizabeth, and Mary followed a major-domo back to the entrance through which they had entered. After donning their outerwear, they departed.