A Half-hour in the Library #2
“I consider myself fortunate to have stumbled upon you before you met another,” he said with a smile, which she returned with a blush. “Had I arrived a month after your sister married Bingley, I would have been too late.”
She stared at him a minute, then plucked up her courage.
“I suppose we must now discuss the disagreeable state of my family. My mother is a woman of mean understanding and uncertain temper. She is a loud, crass, matchmaker, who speaks every thought that appears in her head, with little regard for propriety, politeness, or kindness. She will make a misery of our courtship.”
“Are you speaking of your mother or my aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh,” he asked insouciantly.
“We all have relatives that put us to the blush. I will not even start on my cousin the viscount, or my uncle the earl. I will find your mother a hardship, but not an insurmountable one—and the hundred fifty miles to Pemberley will mitigate things.”
Elizabeth smiled at that, then sighed resignedly.
“The last impediment is my two youngest sisters. They are loud, obnoxious, greedy, flirts, with not a thought in their head save bonnets and red coats. I am deathly afraid one of them will run off with an officer and ruin the whole family.”
“You cannot imagine I have any room to criticise?” he asked in a sardonic tone that reminded her slightly of her father, though without his bite.
“I suppose not, but you prevented your sister’s disgrace. She knows better now, so that episode is in her past. Based on what you say, she made an innocent and ignorant mistake, while Lydia will ruin us deliberately without a single thought for the consequences. That is a problem for the future.”
He thought a minute, and asked, “What prevents your parents from correcting her?”
“My mother believes we all need to catch husbands, which is at least somewhat true, since the estate is entailed and we will be homeless when our father dies. Nobody has said so explicitly, but I also believe she used similar methods to catch my father. She does not know her own actions make her success less likely, but the fact that at least one of us needs to marry well is perfectly obvious. If Lydia goes to her ruin, it will be with my mother’s encouragement. ”
Darcy cringed. “And your father?”
“He is indolent at a level a conscientious man like you cannot comprehend.”
“Would he accept sending them to school at my instigation and expense?”
“You would do that?” she gasped.
He reached over and took her hands. “Elizabeth, understand this. I am a very deliberate man. I would never ask to court you unless I thought it would lead to a proposal and marriage. A man of my status must be incredibly careful about such things because it would be easy to destroy your reputation. If we are to be married, I would do anything to ensure our happiness and the protection of our family. To be honest, the expense of a school is trivial in the grand scheme of things. The same can be said for setting aside a sum for your mother’s comfort on your father’s passing, which might do wonders for her nervousness.
I could even buy her a cottage in Meryton, both to relieve her anxiety and ensure she never gets it into her head to live with us. ”
She just stared at him in wonder. Here was a man who would do anything, while her father would not even bother to spend thirty pounds a year to hire a governess.
She asked with some trepidation, “If you are so certain a courtship will lead to a proposal, why ask to court me?”
“To give you time to know me and be sure of my character. There are no more consequential decisions for a woman than her husband, and we have time.”
“And yet, you had to be sure of my character before you even asked.”
“It is the difference between how men and women are treated by society. Bingley can show his open admiration for your sister within reason for weeks, but for her to do the same would bring censure. It is incumbent upon me to be careful with the power I wield. Power should be accompanied by responsibility, though it is obviously far from universal among my sex.”
She thought about it a minute, and finally said, “If you are certain, then my answer is ‘yes’ to whatever question you are prepared to ask. I have had the same time to study you as you have with me. I cannot imagine a better man and would frankly rather not experience the dubious pleasure of courting in the Longbourn parlour under my mother’s supervision while anxiously awaiting a proposal. ”
“You would agree to marry me right now?” he stuttered nervously.
“I would if you asked,” she replied with a nervous smile. “But I would also happily accept a courtship, providing it is not protracted.”
He took a knee in front of her chair and took her hands in his.
“Miss Elizabeth Bennet. You must allow me to tell you how much I admire and love you. I would be the happiest man alive if you should consent to marry me.”
“I return your feelings with equal fervour, and it would be my greatest honour and pleasure to agree.”
The moment was tender and sweet, and he very politely asked permission before sharing their first kiss.
That was similarly sweet, loving, and about half-full of passion.
It may well have gone on the rest of the day, had it not been interrupted by a scream that would wake the dead, and the rather incongruous sound of a loud thump, followed by the unappealing sight of Miss Caroline Bingley fainted dead-away on the floor in the corridor. That part was definitely suboptimal.