Fibonacci
“Milo, eh? I need to limit your access to Georgiana.”
“Did she tell you about that story?”
“She abruptly decided to put herself into Lady Catherine’s care for some sort of endurance training. I did not see her for some time, but I wrote to Lady Catherine, who told me to mind my own business.”
“That seems… I am struggling between abrupt and typical. What do you recommend?”
They both laughed, and Darcy finally said, “Eventually we met when I visited your sister.”
“More specific, if you please. I have 4, and you spent more time at my home than I have in the last few months.”
“I meant Mrs Collins. I asked Georgie exactly what she was doing, and she said it was her turn to carry the bull for a while.”
“I am happy to hear it.”
“Shall I assume you are responsible for her abrupt change of residence? Oh, and she will be here in 2 days, by the way.”
“I will be glad to see her. I suppose we have arrangements to work out, and no, I did not send her to Rosings. That was entirely her own doing. She is, however, responsible for the ‘Welcome home, Milo’ reference, but I suppose you can pry the story out of her. After she told me about Mr Wickham, we had gone beyond polite conversation. That is all I will say. It is her story to tell.”
“Understood,” Darcy said, reflecting that, naturally Georgie would tell a near stranger about the worst time of her life within hours of meeting her.
They sat in companionable silence for a while, occasionally speaking of this or that minor point. The sun had moved closer to sunset than noon when Darcy said, “I have an idea!”
“Let us have it,” she replied with a slightly nervous laugh.
“I think we should try a new communication method I read about in a book once. It seems radical, but it might be interesting.”
“Why, certainly.” she replied playfully.
Elizabeth had reluctantly climbed off his lap some time earlier, mainly because his leg started to fall asleep, so they sat side by side, perhaps closer than propriety strictly demanded.
Darcy slid off the bench, faced her, went down on one knee, and took her hand tenderly.
“Miss Elizabeth Bennet, love of my life, will you do me the great honour of accepting my hand in marriage?”
Elizabeth giggled. “Plain, unvarnished, unambiguous English. This is unprecedented.”
Darcy cocked an eyebrow at her, so she wagged a finger. “And now we are back to non-verbalism.”
With a smile, she slid off the bench, knelt on the ground, and took his other hand.
“Fitzwilliam Darcy, you are indeed the love of my life, and it would be my greatest honour and pleasure to be your wife.”
They sealed the bargain with another kiss. It lasted just long enough for the rocks on the path to dig into their knees; then both jumped up and, laughing happily, decided to take the long way back to the house.
“Fitzwilliam, that was a brilliant idea, speaking clearly and succinctly.”
“I thought so.”
“A good idea… in moderation.”
They both chuckled and walked some more, speaking of this and that.
When they had passed out of sight of the house and entered a shaded path, Elizabeth said, “Now that we are officially and unambiguously engaged, I suppose we have arrangements to work out.”
“Such as?”
“I suppose we should follow the proper forms by asking my father’s blessing, though it is not really necessary, as I am of age, and to be honest, Uncle Gardiner would negotiate the settlement anyway. Of course, that is aside from your obviously taking my dowry from one ledger page to another.”
Darcy chuckled, but Elizabeth continued, “Speaking of that—when you bought the books, did you know who and what they were for?”
“I did not. Your brother, much to his credit, was careful to keep your confidence. Your sister Mary was concerned about fortune hunters, so all I got was an inventory of titles, publication dates, and condition. I did not recognise the handwriting as yours at the time. I did not work it out until after Hunsford.”
“That makes me feel better. So, the arrangement makes financial sense.”
“A library that has been the work of many generations generates expectations. When I meet my ancestors in the next world, I would certainly like to establish some boasting rights.”
“I am happy to have contributed to your afterlife hubris.”
They walked on, and Darcy said, “About those arrangements. I may be able to simplify.”
“Do tell.”
“Your father told me that, should I ever find myself in want of a wife, I could assume I have his blessing for any daughter whose age is in the sequence. I asked him which sequence, and he said I would know, if and when the time came.”
Elizabeth laughed gaily and slapped his arm. “Pray, tell me you have worked it out by now.”
Darcy grinned but shook his head.
She said, “I suppose you may have forgotten one tiny little fragment of our conversation in Hunsford. I will forgive you this once.”
“Pray, re-enlighten me!”
“It is the Fibonacci Sequence. I calculated its numbers in my head to calm myself in Hunsford.”
The reminder of Hunsford left the mood slightly altered, but Darcy said, “None of that! Hunsford was our turning point. All is as it should be. I am sorry we had to cause each other so much anguish, but I believe we both emerged stronger, and the anguish was necessary for our growth. I will always remember Hunsford fondly.”
“I as well. Shall I continue?”
“Certainly.”
“It is an interesting sequence that shows up quite often in mathematics and nature. It seems related to everything from branching in trees, to the shape of spirals, to the Golden Ratio in painting. Each number is the sum of the previous 2, so the beginning goes 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 18, 21, 34, 55, 89, 1444.”
“Unless I want to wait 13 years, I suppose I am stuck with you.”
“Where did you get 13? Father might have been thinking of 16 or 18 years, since he has two more daughters.”
Darcy feigned horror, while she laughed gaily.
At last, Elizabeth sighed. “That was diverting. I suppose we should discuss arrangements.”
“The wedding is traditionally the purview of the bride, so what do you suggest?”
“I suppose driving straight to Lambton, buying a common licence, and marrying with Mrs Reynolds and Mr Newton as witnesses might send the wrong message. It is too late today anyway.”
“It is funny you picked those two in particular.”
“Oh?”
“Kep is ready to be first coachman, and I planned to lure the elder away from Bingley.”
“For what purpose?”
“To be your coachman, of course. I suspect he has courting Mrs Reynolds in mind, but it is not my business.”
“What leads you to think I need my own coachman?”
“Perhaps we should put off the wedding arrangements a little longer, and speak of what follows. You are aware that Pemberley has been without a mistress for well over 15 years?”
A sinking feeling took her, but she nodded.
“Our position in society has eroded, and it will be up to us to correct it. Some of that repair must fall to us together, but I fear a certain amount will fall to the mistress. That is the way of it. I assume this is no surprise to you?”
“No, I considered it… briefly.”
“You will have a great deal of visiting and shopping to do both here and in town. I will shield you from what I can, but —”
“Do not concern yourself. I know what I am getting into.”
“I should also mention that the Oakley estate is but 40 miles away.”
Elizabeth laughed openly. “Mr Newton will have his work cut out for him.”
“I should also mention that the Langston estate—” He pause and pulled out his watch. “We must wait 5 minutes before I can complete that sentence.”
Puzzled, Elizabeth decided that if they had a few minutes to spare, they might as well employ them to advantage; she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him within an inch of his life. The time came and went, with neither party the wiser.
After some time, Darcy said, “I hope you are not inclined towards a long engagement.”
“Not for the world, but let us finish one sentence before we start another.”
Darcy consulted the watch again.
“Ah, right… Correction! The Jameson estate is but 30 miles away, and in a direction about 45 degrees off, with the three points forming something close to an equilateral triangle. That means you, Mrs Jameson, and Mrs Oakley will be just about equidistant from us and from each other.”
Elizabeth was so happy she removed her bonnet, threw it in the air, and danced about singing.
Then she took Darcy’s hat and threw it after the bonnet, grabbed his hands, and set him dancing with her like a pair of children.
That naturally led to a certain other kind of dance involving hands and lips, which was not traditionally performed in ballrooms.
At last, if they wished to reach the house before supper, they had to move.
Their search for hat and bonnet revealed Darcy’s hat hung in the branches of a tree, and Elizabeth’s bonnet making its way along a branch, dragged by a particularly vicious-looking squirrel.
They both laughed and set off walking again, sans headwear.
“Any more surprises for me?”
“I believe the parson in Kympton might be looking for a pension.”
“Oh my, it seems all we will be missing is Kitty and Lydia to make our life complete.”
“There have been developments along that front as well. I suspect we would need our best horses, and both Newtons to pry them out of Rosings. It appears Lady Catherine did not find Miss Lucas sufficiently challenging. She did not even make it through half a season.”
Elizabeth shook her head in wonder, no longer trying to make sense of the world.
“That leaves us with the wedding. What do you think?”
“As appealing as getting a common licence sounds,” she said with a sigh, “I do not think that would be the best way to establish ourselves in society—unless, of course, you plan to leave me alone in the mistress’ chambers for a month, to ensure adequate time between the wedding and any other announcements. ”
Darcy choked and sputtered, but much to his credit as a sportsman, he did not stumble or faint at the idea.
“I think a moderate courtship sounds about right. Perhaps a month?”
“That should suffice. We have already courted for half a year.”
“I suppose we must pick a venue.”
“While I would love to have it here, I do not think it would be quite the thing.”
Darcy frowned slightly. “Meryton, then.”
Elizabeth frowned with him. “It took all Jane’s patience, together with my father, Lady Catherine, and Anne, to keep my mother under control for her favourite daughter. Imagine what it would be like if her least favourite daughter married a man of considerably more consequence.”
Darcy shuddered at the thought, but gamely continued.
“Pemberley is too far, and Meryton too close. I suppose you have worked out the optimum location and are cleverly waiting to surprise me with it.”
“I believe I have. It needs to be far enough to keep our sanity, but close enough and central enough to make it possible for those I wish to attend, assuming you will provide all the conveyance necessary.”
“Of course. So, what is the optimum distance?”
“I suppose I must quote a wise old sage. ‘And what is 50 miles of good road? Little more than half a day’s journey. Yes, I call it a very easy distance.’”
Darcy laughed gaily. “You have a sensible sister and parson in Kent, so I suppose Lady Catherine and Mrs Collins will arrange everything to your satisfaction. Miss Catherine and Miss Lydia are already in residence, so we need only go to Meryton, let your mother parade us around for a few days, and bring them to Kent just barely in time for the ceremony.”
Elizabeth was so enamoured with the plan that she dragged him to a halt and kissed him again before taking his arm and dragging him back to the house. She was eager to start planning her new life. This awkward phase had outlived its usefulness.
As they walked on, happy and content, a disquieting thought occurred to Elizabeth, which, as usual, did not remain long unspoken.
“Fitzwilliam, I have something I want to say,” she said, nervous now, and dragged him to a halt once more.
He smiled at her, easy and unsuspecting. “I am all yours.”
“That is entirely the point,” she said with a soft smile.
“I now have no idea what all the fuss was about. I find that once I let go of my fears and opened my heart, it all became clear. I love you, with all my heart, right here, right now, and I am so very happy. I am happier even than Jane; she only smiles, I laugh.”
“Well, then, it is settled between us already that we are to be the happiest couple in the world.”
“Yes, my love… yes, we are.”
~~~ Finis ~~~