Chapter Sixteen #3
“I … I never meant to harm you,” she stammered.
“If I had not been blinded by my own prejudices, I would have seen the man you really are. Our pride and our prejudice are a dust from the past. A dust to be wiped away, leaving a clean surface where we will make our mark. You have spent your life ignoring others. I have spent mine constantly censuring them. We will learn and offer forgiveness to each other.” She gently stroked his jawline.
“May we not speak of something more pleasant?”
Darcy conceded easily. They would have a lifetime to vanquish their ghosts.
They unknowingly had walked several miles, and upon looking at his watch, he realized it was time to return to Longbourn.
Elizabeth looked around sheepishly. “I completely forgot about Jane and Mr. Bingley. They will wonder where we have gone. Tell me true, Mr. Darcy, did you provide Mr. Bingley permission to court my sister again?”
“Bingley does not require my permission,” he claimed his innocence. “What I did provide him was my sincerest apology for interfering in his life.”
“Did he forgive you?” Elizabeth teased.
“His letter announcing his engagement to your sister told me I was forgiven.”
“Then you have changed your mind about Jane?”
“I knew I was wrong last April. Your insights allowed me to see Miss Bennet as I had never seen her before. Then Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner spoke of your sister’s affable nature.
What could I do but to rescind my judgment?
How could I keep Bingley from Miss Bennet and justify my feelings for you?
I simply told Bingley he could wait or he could offer his hand.
Either way, the result would be the same.
I watched Miss Bennet in your home, and I knew her regard for Bingley had not diminished. ”
“I must remember how easily you manipulated Mr. Bingley,” she teased.
As they neared Longbourn, Darcy reluctantly released her.
He must wait until he could secure her father’s consent before he could openly claim Elizabeth before her family.
They paused at the top of the path, and Darcy felt her conviction as he moved up behind her.
He rested his hands on her shoulders. He was captured by her nearness as Elizabeth turned towards him.
“Mr. Darcy, are you as happy as I?” Her fingers traced his lips.
He caught her hand and kissed her fingertips.
Darcy’s eyes danced with the passion he could no longer conceal.
“I am. Elizabeth, you have given me the world.” They walked beside each other the rest of the way to Longbourn.
There was no need to touch to be connected.
Their love was there. That was enough for now.
Entering Longbourn, Jane asked, “My dear Lizzy, where have you been walking to?”
“Yes,” Kitty added, “we feared something happened to you.”
“I am sorry to have plagued your sensibilities. We wandered about until I was beyond my own knowledge.” Darcy noticed how she blushed, but no one else took note of her nervousness. Elizabeth shot Darcy a quick glance, and he returned a reassuring smile.
Dinner awaited them, but he and Elizabeth purposely sat at opposite ends of the table.
Neither could look at the other without betraying the love now openly declared.
Darcy, seated beside her father, turned his attention to the man.
“Mr. Bennet, I understand from your daughter you are considering some changes at Longbourn. I am also addressing concerns at Pemberley. What methods do you examine?”
Mr. Bennet’s interest increased. “Well, Mr. Darcy,” he began, “I believe I would hear from you first.”
“A four-crop rotation is one of the prevalent changes my steward, Mr. Howard, and I have put in place. It is widely used in Scotland and the Americas.”
“A four-crop rotation, you say?”
Happiness did not take an open path in Darcy’s nature, and although he was bursting with glee, others would not notice. There were still several obstacles to overcome: her father’s permission and a change of opinion of Elizabeth’s family and friends.
“Are you up for a game of billiards?” Bingley asked when they returned to Netherfield.
“Truthfully, Bingley, I would prefer conversation. That is if you have anything left to say after spending the day with Miss Bennet,” Darcy teased.
“She is the most beautiful woman. Do you not agree, Darcy?”
“I am afraid I prefer someone with a little darker coloring, but Miss Bennet is perfect for you, my friend.”
“A little darker coloring, you say?”
“Yes, I do say.” Darcy avoided the question as he watched Bingley pour them both drinks.
“You are being mysterious this evening, Darcy.” Bingley handed him a glass of port as they found chairs across from each other in the drawing room.
“I noticed you and Mr. Bennet had what appeared to be an enjoyable conversation at supper. Thank you for being cordial to Jane’s family. You are a dear friend.”
“The conversation with Mr. Bennet was enlightening, but I must admit it was not totally for your benefit.”
“Do tell.” Darcy’s words had piqued Bingley’s interest.
“Bingley,” he began, not certain if he dared say the words, “I have asked Miss Elizabeth to be my wife.”
“Darcy, this cannot be! I saw how you showed her preference at Pemberley, but at Netherfield last autumn, you two would be nearly in an altercation. You seem always to be in contention rather than in love.”
Darcy laughed. Bingley’s assessment of his relationship with Elizabeth Bennet was accurate. “I cannot explain it. I have been in constant turmoil since I beheld her at the Meryton Assembly.”
“But you refused to dance with Miss Elizabeth!”
“An act for which I will always owe her an apology.” Darcy chuckled ironically. “I have been a fool in love. Everything about the woman went against my principles, but, much to my chagrin, I found Elizabeth was exactly what I required. She is the only woman who dared to challenge me—to humble me.”
“Remarkable!” Bingley exhaled loudly.
“That is a true estimation of Miss Elizabeth—remarkable!”
“Tell me more. When did this love begin? She did accept you. Of course, she did,” Bingley reasoned.
“I wish I could tell you when it began. First, I noticed her. After all, in your pursuit of Miss Bennet, you kindly threw the two of us together.” Bingley laughed lightly as he recalled his early infatuation with Miss Jane Bennet.
“I thought Elizabeth to be a diversion for the lack of society I found in Hertfordshire; but then, I found, I could think of little else but Elizabeth Bennet. I concocted ways to engage her in conversation—what you interpreted as our verbal battles. Think about it—in all our time in Hertfordshire, other than your sisters, to whom did I show any attention other than Elizabeth?” Again, Bingley chuckled with the realization.
“And Miss Elizabeth has accepted my proposal of marriage this time.”
“Wait! This time? I do not understand, Darcy.”
“I proposed to Elizabeth last April at Hunsford, and she sent me packing.”
“Darcy, you jest. She refused you?”
“Most emphatically! I treated her poorly, and she rewarded me with her disdain. In reality, my interference in your life, as well as Mr. Wickham’s deceit colored Elizabeth’s opinion of me.
All my wealth could not persuade her otherwise; but her understanding of the real situation has allowed her finally to love me. ”
“This explains the changes I have observed in you, Darcy. Elizabeth Bennet allowed you to be the man I always saw as your friend, but rarely viewed in public.”
Darcy took a sip of the port as the changes came slowly but predictably to mind. “I will ask for her father’s consent tomorrow so, until then, please do not say anything, Bingley.”
“I may tell Miss Bennet, may I not, Darcy?”
“If I know Elizabeth, your Jane knows by now. Elizabeth and Jane are more than sisters, and now, Charles, we will be more than friends. We will be brothers.”
The joy on Bingley’s face was evident. “We shall be brothers, Darcy,” he laughed aloud. “What say you to another walk in the country tomorrow, brother? This time you and Miss Elizabeth may legitimately become lost.”
“Bingley, you read my mind perfectly.”
The rest of the evening was spent in intimate conversation, each man extolling the merits of his prospective bride.
As they prepared to retire for the evening, Bingley said, “Darcy, may I have the pleasure of telling my dear sister Caroline not only am I to marry Miss Bennet, but you are lost to Miss Elizabeth? It will be a fitting revenge for her intrusion into my private affairs.”
“I would not want to be in the room with Miss Bingley when she receives that letter,” Darcy weighed. “I pity the poor servants.”
“After you receive Mr. Bennet’s consent, I will write a most legible letter to her. I would not want my renowned poor handwriting to keep this important news from Caroline.”
Entering Longbourn the following day, Darcy’s eyes went immediately to Elizabeth, and she rewarded him with a purse of her lips and a smile.
Yet, he could tell from her expression his appearance had vexed Mrs. Bennet, and the remark uttered by her mother had pained Elizabeth.
He also realized his earlier behavior would be hard to explain away to Mrs. Bennet and the others.
Bingley, evidently, could not control his enthusiasm, for upon their entrance, he looked at Elizabeth so expressively and shook hands with such warmth, she knew immediately Darcy had informed Bingley of their engagement.
Bingley suggested, “Mrs. Bennet, have you no more lanes hereabouts in which Lizzy may lose her way again today?”
Mrs. Bennet laughed lightly at his humor. “I advise Mr. Darcy, Lizzy, and Kitty to walk to Oakham Mount this morning. It is a nice long walk, and Mr. Darcy has never seen the view.”