Chapter Twenty-One
Darcy sat tall and proud, guiding his favourite pair of sleek bays as they pulled an open carriage. Beside him, Miss Bennet was bundled up in layers of wool and fur, her usual lithe form hidden beneath a mass of winter attire.
After they were well away from the house, he glanced at his companion. “I can hardly see your face beneath all those layers,” he teased. “Are you certain you are warm enough, or shall I fetch another blanket?”
Miss Bennet turned to face him. What he could see of her cheeks were rosy from the cold, and her eyes were bright with both exasperation and mirth.
A few errant curls escaped her bonnet, dancing in the breeze.
She pulled the scarf away from her mouth so she could speak.
“My mother has somehow forgotten I am not five, but lately I find it is best to humour her.” She squirmed, attempting to loosen the wraps.
“Please, no more blankets. I fear if I add one more thing, I will topple right out of this carriage.”
“We cannot have that,” he said with a soft smile.
“While your mother was smothering you in warm garments, I had to promise your father I would return you in one piece.” As he maneuvered them around a bend in the road, he caught Miss Bennet watching him with what he hoped was admiration.
He flexed the muscles in his arms a little more as he drove, just in case.
The road wound along the property, revealing breathtaking vistas of the countryside.
The trees still clung doggedly to the last few golden and crimson leaves, providing a stark contrast against the grey sky.
Miss Bennet sighed contentedly, drinking in the view.
“How beautiful it is at this time of year,” she mused.
“Though winter will be fully upon us soon enough.”
She loved every season. It would have felt rather spare and dull to Darcy were it not for her presence at his side.
“Indeed,” he agreed. He adjusted the reins slightly, guiding the horses around a small bend.
“I suspect it will be a cold one. We may even have occasion to use the sleigh at Pemberley this year.”
Miss Bennet's eyebrows rose in surprise, her curiosity instantly piqued. “A sleigh?” she asked, turning to face Darcy more fully. “Do you know, I have never seen one.”
“Nor have you seen Pemberley, though we have been courting several weeks. We must remedy that,” he declared. After a moment's hesitation, he added, his voice softening, “Perhaps I could invite your family to dinner? Georgiana and I would enjoy hosting you.”
“That is very kind of you.” A gentle smile graced her countenance. “We should be happy to accept. Only it should be soon, for the rest of my family will be arriving next week.”
Her entire family? “Excellent,” he said, his voice carrying a hint of an excitement he could not remember feeling since he was a boy. “You must all come.”
Darcy could see out of the corner of his eye that Miss Bennet was studying his profile. They were on a tricky curve, so he remained focused on the road ahead.
“All of us?” she asked at last, a note of warning in her voice. “I should warn you, Mr. Darcy, my family includes my Uncle and Aunt Gardiner and their four small children, who are often better behaved than my youngest two sisters. We are quite a boisterous group.”
“Even better,” he said, his voice warm and sincere. “It would be nice to have the house filled again. Pemberley has been quiet for too long.”
“You are a brave man, Mr. Darcy,” she said, “to welcome such chaos into your home. I would never have expected you to welcome it.”
Darcy led the bays to the side of the road and stopped the carriage so he could turn to meet her gaze. “Miss Bennet, you fell into my arms when first we met. I find myself welcoming many things I never expected.”
The blush in her cheeks might have been from the cold, but Darcy did not think so.
He rested the reins gently against his knee, turning his full attention to her.
“Meeting you here, in the countryside, was a stroke of luck. There is a sense of peace I find in these fields, these hills—and I am better able to respond to the unexpected.” He took her hand in his free one. “Better prepared for you.”
Miss Bennet glanced down at their entwined hands. “Better prepared for me? Am I so terribly unpredictable?”
He let out a soft laugh, shaking his head. “You are exactly the woman I never knew I needed, and here I could meet you without offending you. In London, I am quite a different man. Stiff, overly proper—some might even say rude.”
Elizabeth’s eyebrow quirked up in amusement. “Rude? You? I cannot believe it.”
Darcy chuckled. “It is the truth. According to my family, London Darcy is a complete bore. He broods, he glowers. Here, though. . . here I was ready to meet you.”
Her playful expression softened as she listened to him.
He loved watching her emotions flit so naturally across her countenance, for he never had to worry about what she was thinking.
Oh, she could be perfectly proper in company, but she had not been so with him.
She had not felt the need, and for that, he was grateful.
“Miss Bennet,” he continued, his voice growing more serious, “I have grown fond of the chaos you have brought into my life. So fond, in fact, that I would like more of it.”
“More?” she asked in a whisper.
His eyes sparkled as he leaned just a little closer. “Much more. For I can no longer do without it.” He lifted her hands to his lips and kissed each woollen mitten in turn. “Will you marry me, Miss Bennet?”
She pretended to consider his words, a teasing smile playing on her lips. “Well, Mr. Darcy, if you are brave enough to ask, then I suppose I must be brave enough to say yes.”
“Yes?” Darcy’s breath caught as he met her gaze.
She smiled at him, a bit shyly. “Yes. Though I must warn you—I am not the most chaotic member of my family, and they are sure to make long visits.”
Darcy chuckled softly, his eyes bright with anticipation as he considered Christmases to come. “I would not have it any other way.”
The carriage ride had been brisk and the proposal exhilarating, but the sun, which set early this time of year, was beginning to sink behind the trees as they approached Hollydale House.
When she saw the commotion in front of the manor, Elizabeth considered it providential that Mr. Darcy had already invited her entire family to dinner.
Because they were all here.
Mr. Darcy slowed the horses. Several carriages stood near the front door, their wheels still muddy from the road.
Every footman they had was bustling about, helping passengers down and unloading the many trunks under the stern direction of Mr. Riggs while the cheerful voices of the travellers filled the air.
“Mr. Darcy, look!” she exclaimed, a wide smile spreading across her face. “It is my family!” She turned to her betrothed. “And yours too, soon.”
Sure enough, there were her sisters, Jane alighting gracefully from one carriage while Kitty and Lydia tumbled out of another.
Mary stood with Aunt and Uncle Gardiner, who were helping their four young children out into the cold.
The children, bundled in scarves and coats, immediately began chasing one another across the lawn, their whoops of pleasure at being out of the carriage adding to the festive atmosphere.
Mr. Darcy pulled his team to a halt in front of the house, and before they had even fully stopped, Elizabeth was jumping out, blankets and other warm articles of clothing flying as she ran towards her family.
Jane embraced her first, and both laughed as they pulled apart to take in one another’s winter attire.
“You are a sight!” Jane scolded, rubbing Elizabeth's hands between her own and glancing at the explosion of wool and fur that traced her path. “And I can see you were cold. Had you a pleasant ride?”
“It was wonderful.” Elizabeth’s gaze darted toward Mr. Darcy, who had dismounted with his usual aplomb, and was collecting her things as he walked in their direction. He handed them off to one of the footmen who was helping with the trunks.
A chorus of voices rose around them as her Gardiner cousins raced to embrace Elizabeth, vying for her attention while Lydia and Kitty hovered behind them, just as eager to share every detail of their journey.
As they began to move her inside, she held out her hand to Mr. Darcy, who seemed inordinately pleased to take it and be pulled along with her.
They hurried into the house just as the first flakes of snow began to fall. Uncle Gardiner came in last and looked out the window with a satisfied sigh. “We set off early for precisely this reason,” he remarked. “It seems we have just beaten the weather.”
The warmth of the fire in the grand hall, combined with the joyful energy of her family’s arrival, filled Elizabeth with a deep sense of contentment. Mr. Darcy stood by her side as the introductions began in earnest, and all her relations met him with varying degrees of curiosity and enthusiasm.
Jane’s smile was warm and knowing as she extended her hand. “It is a pleasure to meet the man who holds my sister’s heart.”
“I am likewise pleased to meet you, Miss Bennet,” Mr. Darcy inclined his head respectfully. He then turned to Elizabeth, a playful glint in his eyes. “Our formal introduction has saved me from quite the predicament.”
Elizabeth smiled. “And what is that, Mr. Darcy?”
His smile widened. “I was beginning to think I might have to propose twice just to clarify which Miss Bennet I meant to wed.”
Before she could respond, Elizabeth's family, who had been following the conversation with keen interest, caught on to what Darcy had revealed. There was a collective gasp of realization.
“Proposed?” Lydia shrieked with delight. “Mr. Darcy, you proposed?”
Kitty clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes darting between Darcy and Elizabeth. “Lizzy! You are engaged!”
Mrs. Bennet’s reaction was, predictably, the loudest. “Oh, heavens!” she cried, clasping her hands together dramatically before she opened her fan and began to vigorously employ it. Only Mamma would carry a fan when it was so cold out. “Mr. Darcy and my dearest Lizzy!”
Her sisters all stopped speaking to look at their mother with varying expressions of shock and surprise before her father, his smile wry but affectionate, added, “Well, Darcy, your little jest has caused quite a stir. And you have my blessing, of course, though we shall have to discuss the particulars over Mrs. Bennet’s Christmas punch. ”
Jane, the most composed, stepped forward and took Elizabeth’s hands, her eyes shining with joy. “Lizzy, is it true?”
Elizabeth, laughing at the unexpected wave of excitement, nodded. “Yes, it is true. Mr. Darcy has asked me to marry him.”
With her accustomed bluntness, Mary inquired, “Did you accept him?”
“Of course!” Elizabeth exclaimed.
The room erupted into a cacophony of congratulations.
Lydia threw her arms around Elizabeth in a tight hug, Kitty hopped up and down with excitement, and Mamma kept exclaiming that she knew how it would be.
Jane, quieter than her sisters, watched them all and smiled with a serene joy that touched Elizabeth’s heart.
“Congratulations, Mr. Darcy,” Jane said when the furore had died down. “I do not believe I have ever seen Elizabeth so happy. I shall always be grateful to you for that.”
Mr. Darcy appeared slightly overwhelmed by the enthusiastic reactions of her family, but he smiled as he nodded to Jane. “Thank you, Miss Bennet.”
As the room buzzed with laughter and congratulations, Uncle and Aunt Gardiner stepped forward, their expressions warm and affectionate. Aunt Gardiner, always perceptive and caring, enveloped Elizabeth in a strong embrace, her voice soft and brimming with emotion.
“My dearest Lizzy, this is wonderful news. We could not be happier for you,” she said, pulling back to smile up at Darcy. “Mr. Darcy, you have chosen very well.”
Her intended inclined his head, clearly moved by her kind words. “Thank you, Mrs. Gardiner. I consider myself most fortunate.”
Mr. Gardiner stepped up to speak but before anyone could say more, Lydia, who had been impatiently bouncing on her toes, exclaimed “Lizzy! You did not tell us how grand this place is! Look at it!” Her eyes widened as she spun around, her voice carrying through the room. “This is all yours, Lizzy?”
Elizabeth smiled at her sister’s exuberance. “Yes, Lydia. It is all mine.”
“I wish someone would leave me an estate,” Lydia said with a sigh.
Kitty opened her mouth, no doubt to begin an argument about who deserved it more, but before she could, Mr. Darcy blurted, “What?”
All eyes turned to him.
Mr. Darcy sputtered, “You are . . . Hollydale House is . . . yours?”
Elizabeth was slightly taken aback by his outburst. “Mr. Darcy,” she said, a teasing but uncertain lilt in her voice, “you are teasing me. You know Hollydale House is mine.”
He stared at her, clearly still agog. “I—I did not know. I thought it was your father’s.”
Before anyone else could react, Mr. Bennet seized the moment. “You proposed to my daughter, and you did not know she was an heiress?”
Mr. Darcy, still appearing dazed, simply shook his head. The room erupted into laughter—except for Elizabeth, who thought she might cry. She touched Mr. Darcy’s arm and looked up into his face. “You truly did not know?”
His cheeks were quite ruddy now. “You must think me quite the fool.”
She could feel the tears coming now. “Not at all, Mr. Darcy.”
His brows pinched together in confusion.
“You wanted me more than you wanted anything I could bring to the marriage.” She blinked the tears back. “I think you quite the best man I have ever met.”
Her mother, who had been caught up in the laughter, clapped her hands, drawing everyone’s attention. “We must have a toast!” she exclaimed, her eyes bright with excitement.
“I believe I have my orders,” Papa said.
He called Mr. Riggs in to pour drinks for everyone, and soon the entire family was holding a glass, even the youngest Gardiner children, who held small cups filled with more water than wine.
Mr. Bennet raised his drink, his voice carrying warmth and affection as he spoke. “To Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy,” he said.
The room echoed with the clinking of glasses, and Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy exchanged a smile.