CHAPTER 25 Elizabeth and Darcy
“I would be happy to hear what you have to say,” said Elizabeth, “but…would you allow me to speak first?”
“Yes, of course. Pray, do.”
“I apologise for believing Mr. Wickham…and for mistrusting you.”
He blinked, looking surprised. “Miss Elizabeth, there is no need…”
“Oh, but there is a need, Mr. Darcy. And I wished to say this because it has been heavy on my mind since I last saw you.” Now she turned more fully towards him.
“I do not know what happened between you and Mr. Wickham, but I realise now that he was wrong to tell me something so personal and on so short an acquaintance. And there were other inconsistencies in his behaviour, for example how he said he could never betray you out of consideration for your father. And yet he did that very thing…which he said he would not do. He was good at flattering me. And indeed all the ladies I knew in Hertfordshire. His flattery was almost indiscriminate. He also began to court Mary King sometime in the late winter but only after she became an heiress with a dowry of ten thousand pounds. In short, Mr. Darcy, I have come to realise what a responsible and honorable gentleman you are, and how Wickham is the opposite…and simply wished to tell you this.”
She took a deep breath, now feeling a little self-conscious, and turned away from him.
“Elizabeth.”
“Yes?” she said, still looking at a patch of daffodils by the side of the road.
“Will you not look at me?”
She turned to face him and was surprised by the intensity of his gaze.
“So, you think better of me, then?”
“Yes…I do. Of course I do.”
He nodded, and it appeared as if he were gathering his thoughts. “And so you no longer…dislike me?”
“Oh no, not at all,” she hastened to say. “Not in the least.”
After another pause, he asked, “And do you think you could ever…care for me?”
“Care for you, but...” She blinked, feeling a little breathless. “I am not too late, then?”
“Too late…what do you mean?”
Elizabeth still could not believe her good fortune. “So you have not become engaged to Diana?”
“No! Why would you think it?”
“Because…she is beautiful, intelligent and kind. Not to mention that she is the daughter of an earl, and has a dowry of fifty thousand pounds. How could I ever compete with that? It seems to me that she is everything you could ever want in a wife.”
He chuckled and took her hand. “Elizabeth,” he said deliberately, “I would never become engaged to Diana. How could I when I am in love with you?”
She let out a long sigh, bewildered by the sudden turn of events.
“I love you,” he continued. “I have since last autumn. And I sincerely regret that I never bothered to explain myself to you…”
“No, it was my fault. For your insult at the assembly coloured all my subsequent interactions with you. I was driven by nothing more than prejudice and am heartily sorry for it.”
“Elizabeth, please do not say that. I insulted you and never should have done it, especially since it was a lie. I think that you are beautiful. Even more so than Diana.”
“But Diana…”
“Diana is like a sister. We are too much alike to fall in love. Too reserved, too proud. Too critical, and too mistrustful of others. You do see that, my love, do not?”
Elizabeth nodded and smiled inwardly at how he had addressed her. She was beginning to understand his point.
“So,” he said, “do you think you could ever care for me?”
She responded quickly, not wishing for him to suffer another moment of doubt. “Yes, I could. I could - and do - care. I love you.”
She felt herself pulled suddenly against him and realised how cold she had been before. She closed her eyes against the warm dimness of his chest.
“You really do love me?” he asked.
“Yes, desperately.”
He laughed now, then placed a kiss upon her hair. “And will you allow me to court you?”
She was surprised that he would ask for a courtship instead of marriage.
“I wish to court you,” he said, answering her unasked question, “for you deserve to be courted. I wish to call on you and take walks with you. And tell you things about myself, and have you tell me things about yourself. I wish for us to be honest with one another, and for there to be no misunderstandings between us.”
She regarded him shyly. “I wish for the same thing…Darcy.”
He gave her a brilliant smile, then leaned in and touched his lips to hers. She felt a sudden jolt of longing, precipitated by his closeness. He kissed her again, with mouth slightly open this time, and she felt herself becoming giddy.
At length he pulled back and studied her. He removed his coat and placed it over her shoulders.
“Are you well now, darling?”
“I am - much better.”
He took up the reins and the horses began to move forward.
“But why were you crying earlier?” he asked a few minutes later. “And do not prevaricate for I saw the tears in your eyes.”
Elizabeth shrugged. “I was crying because…because I thought I'd lost you.”
He stopped the horses again, then turned to face her. He kissed her on each eyelid, embraced her once more and smiled. “That was perfectly silly of you, my love.”
It was still early when they arrived at the parsonage and, after being kissed by Darcy several more times, Elizabeth went inside and took herself back to bed.
She smiled as she began to close her eyes, hardly able to believe what had happened in the past few hours.
She had left before dawn to make her apologies and now returned, assured of his love.
She fell asleep, wondering if she would think it a dream when she awakened again later that day.
“Lizzy, wake up! Wake up, Lizzy!”
She opened her eyes to the sight of her mother hovering over her. She noticed that the sun was now higher in the sky.
“What time is it, Mamma?”
“It is nearly eleven, Lizzy. And you must get dressed as Mr. Darcy is downstairs, wishing to see you.”
“Mr. Darcy…” she said with a besotted smile, recalling their interlude from just earlier that morning.
“Yes, Lizzy. What is wrong with you? Will you not get up and begin to dress?”
“I am sorry, Mother. I did not fall asleep till…late.”
But Mrs. Bennet had already thrown open her closet doors and began to peruse her dresses.
“I believe the white muslin with green ribbon will do. Do you not think, Lizzy? You look quite fetching in that. And perhaps - though they are so well-matched - you can still persuade Mr. Darcy not to enter into an engagement with Lady Diana. Perhaps he has become interested in you, Lizzy. You were, after all, sitting in the garden with him when I first arrived. I do not think it is too late at all, or even completely hopeless. You must fight for him, my dear. Do not give up.”
Elizabeth giggled and said, “I shall most certainly not give up, Mamma.”
Once she had begun the process of dressing, Mrs. Bennet addressed her.
“I shall go down now, Lizzy, and try to stop Mr. Darcy from leaving. Jane has already gone into the garden with Bingley and Charlotte and Mr Collins are going about their day. But you must hurry, Lizzy. The early bird catches the worm, as you know. And you are unpardonably late.”