Chapter 38
“Where are we going?” she asked.
He was walking at such a pace that she scarcely had time to observe anything, and besides, she had no desire to release his hand. It was curious how much pleasure their joined hands gave her, almost as much as a kiss.
“To your apartments,” came his reply, and she immediately obliged him to stop.
“Mr Darcy, the ‘discussion of bodies’ is not for now.”
For what must have been the tenth time that day, he burst into laughter.
“My dear Miss Bennet, I am old-fashioned. I shall become acquainted with my wife only on our wedding night.”
And it was her turn to laugh, “You spent an hour kissing me senseless, and now you sound like a bishop writing a conduct manual,” she teased him, yet in truth, she breathed more easily.
That morning, she had still been uncertain he would appear during her visit, let alone have an opportunity to speak with him, and only a few hours later, she was engaged to him, the man she loved and she tremendously happy.
More bewildering still, he had kissed her in an embrace that had stirred every one of her senses.
It had been too much.
She wanted quiet, peace, time to think. She needed events to proceed at a pace she herself could understand, for she wished to remember every moment.
He opened the door to the drawing room, and once inside, she felt she wished to live at Pemberley and be merely a visitor here.
“What has happened?” he asked when at last he looked at her properly.
“I am overwhelmed,” she admitted, honestly and, in haste, he drew her into his arms, gentle and protective.
“Forgive me. We shall go slowly. You must have time to grow accustomed to everything.”
“Do you read my thoughts?” she asked, her face hidden against his chest.
“I hope not only the respectable ones.”
“I have no others,” she confessed.
He kissed her forehead and, looking directly into her eyes, replied,
“You will, my dear.”
Elizabeth slipped gently from his embrace, eager to explore the room, to examine every object. She ran her fingers across the silk that covered the walls and marvelled at the elegant fragility of the furnishings.
A large Chinese vase overflowed with roses, and she suspected that fresh flowers were brought to the room every day.
“Elizabeth, this will be your apartment. You may do whatever you wish here. Throw everything away and replace it with only those things you like.”
“I like everything, but it is all so beautiful and valuable that it feels almost like a stage set.”
He said nothing, though he appreciated her honesty immensely. He was certain she would soon become accustomed to it all and, before long, would be exactly the mistress that house required.
“Mama largely refurbished the house twelve years ago, and it was undoubtedly one of the most elegant and fashionable residences in London. And this is not a brag but a reality. Papa felt the same, even if she did not touch his apartment and the library.”
Then an idea occurred to him.
He summoned the housekeeper, Mrs Forbes, who entered with an air of complete ease.
The moment she saw Elizabeth, however, her expression altered.
Surprise was impossible to conceal, and perhaps there was even a little apprehension, for she had undoubtedly guessed who the lady accompanying her master must be.
Elizabeth smiled when Darcy presented his housekeeper, but Mrs Forbes managed only a curtsey and a strained smile, which vanished altogether when Darcy announced,
“Mrs Forbes, Miss Bennet is my fiancée.”
If the apartment intimidated Elizabeth a little, the relationship with Mrs Forbes and the rest of the household did not concern her in the least. For years, she had been the one who mediated the frequent disputes between her mother and the servants.
For the moment, however, the housekeeper’s uncertainty only increased when Darcy instructed her to remove shawls and bonnets from the wardrobe in the bedchamber and scatter them about the sitting room.
He opened several books and left them upon the tables, took a few roses and arranged them in a smaller vase beside the tea table, and before long, the room looked entirely different.
“Is it better now?” he asked with a smile as soon as Mrs Forbes had withdrawn.
Elizabeth nestled against him and sighed. “It is perfect.”
He then invited her into the bedchamber. Still, before she could say a word about the room, he took off from the drawers, jars and fancy small boxes, placing them upon the dressing table, along with brushes with gilded handles and perfume bottles.
“You may throw them away when you come. They have been there for ten years,” he said with a touch of melancholy. “But I brought you here for something else.”
With a slight pressure, a concealed panel in the wall opened to reveal an iron safe.
Before her astonished eyes, he began removing boxes of every size, some covered in velvet, others in silk. One after another, he opened them and spread their contents across the bed.
“What is all this?” she asked.
“My mother’s jewels. Which is to say, yours. These are what I forgot to mention when I was listing what I bring to the marriage.”
“Pemberley was quite sufficient,” she replied playfully.
“Yes, only my mother possessed an extraordinary collection of jewels. Many were her own, whilst many others had been inherited from both her family and mine.”
“And Georgiana?”
Darcy stepped closer and kissed her forehead without a word, once again struck by the woman he was about to marry and grateful for his good fortune.
“Georgiana possesses nearly as many,” he replied, attempting to imitate her lightly teasing tone.
“Put them back,” she ordered.
“Not before I give you something to mark our engagement.”
He did not permit her to choose. He searched quickly, clearly knowing exactly what he wanted, and eventually found it: a close-fitting necklace of a continuous row of emeralds.
He removed the cameo, then fastened the magnificent necklace about her neck and led her before the enormous mirror that dominated one wall.
Elizabeth smiled at him in the reflection and lightly touched the green stones, whilst he kissed her long swan-like neck.
At last, he invited her to leave, but Elizabeth began replacing the jewels and closing the boxes.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I am putting my jewels away,” she replied.
There was not the slightest trace of playfulness in her voice.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, Elizabeth Bennet was becoming Elizabeth Darcy.
∞∞∞
No words were necessary for the colonel to understand what had happened.
Georgiana had not revealed the secret in her short message, yet the moment he entered the library he understood.
Without a word and with complete informality, he embraced Elizabeth and said, “Welcome to the family, dear cousin!” Then he embraced both Darcy and Georgiana.
“You may congratulate me. I am the one who proposed to Miss Elizabeth,” declared Georgiana with a mischievous but happy smile.
Mrs Cooper and Kitty were greeted by general laughter as Georgiana was telling her story, and the tale had to be repeated from the beginning.
“Mr and Mrs Gardiner send their apologies, but they cannot come.”
“They must be guarding Lydia,” Kitty burst out resentfully.
Elizabeth looked at her in vain, attempting to calm her, but Darcy stopped her by taking her hand.
“It is not something we shall be able to conceal.” Turning to Georgiana, he said in a tone intended to be calm, “Miss Lydia, Miss Bennet’s youngest sister, is to marry Wickham.”
Georgiana gave a small “Oh!” which none of them quite knew how to interpret.
But Elizabeth immediately saved the situation and restored the peace, “We shall amply speak of that, but not today,” whilst Mrs Cooper reinforced her words with a smile directed towards the young lady, who appeared genuinely bewildered.
“Today we only celebrate this engagement, nothing else,” declared the colonel. “And it appears we shall soon need a schedule, for weddings in this family are becoming increasingly numerous.”
His cheerful tone failed to make everyone happy, for Kitty spoke in a tragic voice, “I have vacated the day. Someone else may have it.”
In an instant, both Elizabeth and Mrs Cooper were beside her.
“Do not talk nonsense,” said Elizabeth firmly. “It is only a delay. After Lydia’s wedding, yours shall follow.”
But Kitty no longer believed it, and the happiness surrounding her only increased her regrets.
“Miss Kitty, pray look at me,” said Darcy.
Kitty raised her face whilst Elizabeth gently wiped away her tears.
“This is how it shall be. In a few days, Miss Lydia’s licence will be issued. They will marry and then travel to take leave of Mrs Bennet, for Wickham must rejoin his regiment in Scotland immediately afterwards. And I am confident we shall hear nothing of them for quite some time.”
Elizabeth looked at him in surprise. These were details she had not known; he made a small indifferent gesture and shrugged slightly.
She understood at once that everything had been arranged and that the matter of Lydia and Wickham was now closed.
Nothing would be permitted to overshadow that day or those that were to follow.
“It is a matter of only a week,” he continued. “I promise you.”
“Just enough time to finish the trousseau,” said Mrs Cooper.
Darcy nodded.
“Then we shall all travel to Meryton to announce our engagement.”
He looked at Elizabeth, whose gaze rested upon him with such trust that he took her hand and placed it upon his arm, where it belonged from that moment forward.
“Now let us review recent events. Your family resides at Netherfield. Your youngest sister, to be married in less than a week, is departing northwards with her husband. Your eldest sister is to marry a wealthy gentleman from London. And this young lady beside me, your sister Elizabeth, is to marry me, the nephew of Lord Matlock—”
“And let us not forget Pemberley,” interrupted Elizabeth in the same playful tone her fiancé had adopted.