Chapter 19
The moment they entered the carriage, Darcy gave Bingley the news of his engagement. His young friend’s response was at first one of complete disbelief, then of utter puzzlement.
“Marry Miss Elizabeth? How is it possible? You despise her, and she hates you!” he exclaimed.
“That is rather inaccurate, Bingley.”
“Inaccurate? You advised me to be prudent and patient in regard to Jane, even though I confessed my admiration for her from the first day we met! You refused to even dance with her sister! You said she was tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt you!”
He paused for a moment, then continued before Darcy could respond.
“You have always expressed your disapproval of the Bennet family! You did not even want to dine with them, until the admiral almost forced you to!”
“Now that is accurate,” the admiral interjected, obviously amused.
“Are you marrying because of this scandal? Is Miss Elizabeth forced to marry you?”
“Bingley, I assure you I have long come to admire Miss Elizabeth, and I proposed to her because I wished to. And Miss Elizabeth accepted me without anyone forcing her to do so.”
“So…so you are determined to marry?”
“Yes. I shall procure a licence, and I hope to marry seven days after I obtain it.”
“So soon? You mean now, before Christmas?”
“Hopefully, yes. I just wished to inform you as soon as I had Mr Bennet’s blessing.”
“I cannot believe this,” Bingley whispered, as they entered the colonel’s house.
Colonel Forster was expecting them and welcomed them with apparent embarrassment, apologising again for his men’s despicable actions.
Denny and Pratt asked for the favour of speaking to Darcy and begging his forgiveness again. However, it was the admiral who spoke first.
“I am not sure what punishment would be suitable for these miscreants,” he said sharply.
“I am still talking to Darcy about it. I want to see them crawl in front of the Bennets. I want to see them on their knees, begging for forgiveness. Of course, Mr Bennet does not care about them, and Miss Elizabeth cannot bear to see them ever again. So, I must think of something else, something that will affect them for the rest of their lives.”
Denny attempted to interject, but Darcy intervened and silenced him.
“The problem is, your error was more serious than you know, and the offence you caused much greater than you are aware of. There may not be a legal punishment for being a fool, but I must have my satisfaction.”
He watched them for a moment, enjoying the expression of distress on their faces.
“You see, I have long admired Miss Elizabeth, but until recently she did not return my affection. I proposed to her, but I needed time to court her and to persuade her into accepting me. You have not only harmed an honourable young woman, the daughter of a gentleman, but also my future wife, since we are to be married very soon.”
The news seems to petrify the two guilty, dumbstruck officers; even the colonel looked incredulous, staring at Darcy with a frown and apparent doubtfulness.
“So put yourself in my place. I seek revenge, and I have the means to obtain it. I am in no hurry. I have plenty of time to plan it properly.”
A deep silence fell over them; the colonel seemed willing to speak, but no words were heard.
“Mr Darcy, we did not know…we did not mean…it was a poor joke,” Pratt mumbled.
“We were fools,” Denny admitted in a low voice. “We have no real excuse for it.”
“Well, this must be a truth universally acknowledged,” the admiral concluded.
“I believe this conversation has come to an end for now,” Darcy said. “There is still another one we must have, though. One that will be even more disagreeable.”
With that, the pair were dismissed. The colonel offered his guests a drink, and then Wickham was sent for. When he entered, Darcy noticed that the insolent expression on his face had returned.
Darcy informed him that he would have to sign a settlement, then he would receive a ticket and a fair amount of money for him to settle into a new life.
But Wickham raised an objection. With disgust, Darcy heard the scoundrel complain that moving to the other side of the world was an extreme decision which required much preparation and extensive expense.
Darcy silenced him instantly.
“Wickham, let us be clear. These are my conditions, for which you should kiss my boots. I am giving you more than you deserve, when you should be rotting in prison or facing transportation.”
“Yes, but—”
“The ship will depart in eight days. My men will wait for you on the dock. You will sign the settlement and will be handed the ticket and the money the moment you set foot on the ship, not a moment sooner. The captain will supervise you until the ship is out on the sea.”
“But Darcy, eight days? I cannot leave in eight days! I must prepare—”
“There is no negotiation, Wickham. If you are not there on the precise date, you will be arrested and sent to prison. Until then, you are free to go where you want and do what you want.”
“But could we not—”
“No!” Darcy interrupted him. “This is my proposal. The choice is yours. Colonel, we shall leave now. I believe we have wasted enough time on this matter.”
While Wickham’s insolence and confidence seemed gone, Darcy turned to him one more time.
“Speaking of proposals, you will be pleased to hear that I have proposed to Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and we shall marry very soon. Just as soon as you leave England forever. I now have two reasons for joy and celebration.”
The expression of dismay, shock, and panic as understanding struck Wickham was so satisfying for Darcy that it almost made all the distress worth it. Almost. He was eager to tell Elizabeth about it and hoped she would be equally amused. Or at least content.
After all, even though he had disturbed the Darcys’ lives so many times and abused their trust and their affection, in the end, Wickham had apparently contributed to Darcy’s future happiness.
Finally returning to Netherfield, Darcy hoped for a little rest, since he had had two sleepless nights in a row, as well as many restless others since Elizabeth Bennet had invaded his mind.
“Darcy, I appreciated the way you worded the news of your engagement,” the admiral said as they walked together to their rooms in the guest wing.
“It sounded like you had long pursued Miss Elizabeth, and it was a mere coincidence that the engagement happened to occur now. This will surely be helpful for Miss Elizabeth’s reputation. ”
“If we look at the situation from a certain point of view, it is the truth,” Darcy said.
“Seeing things from the right point of view is always important,” the admiral joked. “You should rest now. I have to say you look very tired. It is no wonder, considering how much you have accomplished in less than a day.”
“I shall not deny that,” Darcy admitted, allowing a smile. “This morning, I was despondent over my rejected proposal, and now I am betrothed, with my engagement approved and announced. Quite a day, indeed. I only hope Miss Elizabeth is not already regretting it.”
“Speaking of the announcement, you still have an important one to make here at Netherfield, and you will need all your strength to do it. I look forward to seeing how Miss Bingley takes the news.”
“I am not looking forward to it at all, sir. Especially since I must remain polite, out of consideration for Bingley. But I shall consider it good preparation for the confrontation with the Fitzwilliams and Lady Catherine.”
The admiral laughed, but Darcy was too tired to be amused.
He found solace in his room and lay in bed, thinking of Elizabeth.
He was still incredulous that she had accepted his marriage proposal, and a slight worry that she might change her mind lingered in his head.
No, not that she might change her mind; she had made a promise and entered into an agreement that he trusted she would keep.
The worry was in regard to her feelings — that she might regret her decision.
He would do everything in his power to avoid that.
He would not have much time to court her properly, since he would be gone for most of the brief engagement and would barely see her till the wedding.
But afterwards, he would make up for everything she had missed out on due to the haste of their nuptials.
As he had already told her, he had no intention of consummating their marriage, not before he was certain of her complete acceptance, of her complete willingness to be his wife.
He would be patient, regardless of the time needed.
What he had not confessed to her, and barely dared to acknowledge to himself, was how strong his feelings for her were, how powerful his love was, and how it made him lose control over his heart, mind, and body. A love for which he found no better word than ardent.
Being patient would be a sweet torture, but she was worth waiting for.
He did not allow himself to think about the moment when she would truly be his wife; it was too soon to even consider it.
But he had the right to at least dream of it, which he did in the short yet restful sleep that claimed him soon afterwards.
His preparations for a confrontation with the Bingley sisters at dinner proved to be unnecessary.
Apparently, Bingley had already informed them, and their response had been as Darcy anticipated, but Bingley had forbidden it from being publicly displayed.
Therefore, the sisters chose to have dinner on a tray in their rooms, as well as the following morning’s breakfast.
A dinner with just four gentlemen — with Hurst more voluble and involved in the conversation than usual — was a pleasure they all shared.
Hurst even congratulated Darcy on his engagement and mentioned that Miss Elizabeth seemed like a delightful and charming young woman.
He sounded genuine, and Darcy thanked him while hoping Mrs Hurst did not hear him say so, or else the poor man would not hear the end of it.