Chapter Sixty-One
Mary’s first appearance in a blue gown with dark blue ribbon trim caused a bit of a stir at Longbourn. Jane and Elizabeth offered warm admiration, trying to strike the right balance between approving Mary’s new look without letting her think that she had looked poorly before.
Predictably, Kitty and Lydia were outraged that Mary had been given money for clothing and they had not. Happily, Mrs. Bennet had been warned by her husband as to the circumstances of this change, and she delivered a quiet but effective lecture to the two youngest girls that quieted them at once.
Georgiana hugged Mary and whispered, “You look beautiful, Mary!”
Soon enough, everyone adjusted to the new Mary, and life went on.
***
Longbourn was visited by the Darcys and Mr. Bingley almost daily. Georgiana spent her time with Mary, Kitty and Lydia, allowing her brother to be alone – well, almost alone – with Elizabeth.
Elizabeth, no longer believing that Mr. Darcy was above her reach, began to open her heart to him.
In return, he told her more about himself than he had ever disclosed with anyone before.
She learned about his childhood, his friendship with George Wickham, the eventual death of that friendship as a result of Wickham’s character, his education, the difficulties he had surmounted in learning to be the master of a large estate while still quite young, his self-doubt when it came to being mother, father and brother to his young sister.
She had always been attracted to him; now she genuinely admired him.
That admiration soon grew to love. She found ways to touch his hand when passing him a teacup, astonished at the shiver that went through her body.
She found herself staring at his mouth, wondering what it would be like to kiss him!
And his hair – oh, how she longed to run her hands through those thick dark locks!
She had never expected to have physical sensations such as these, and was every day more astonished at herself.
In turn, Mr. Darcy was, each day, more and more entranced with Elizabeth.
They played chess together, and he worked hard to win a draw from her.
The depth of her learning astonished him; he had had the opportunity to go to university, while she had learned her languages and the classics only with the help of her own father.
Her mind was quick, her manner easy and playful.
Her opinions were her own; she could be stubborn, but she would change those opinions when more information was presented.
He learned that she was a loyal and steadfast friend, that she would always speak out against injustice of any sort.
He went rather quickly from admiration and attraction to ardent love.
He kept himself in constant check when with her, not allowing his imagination to wander too far, lest his body betray him. She seemed to enjoy touching him, just little brushes of the hands, and those touches were both delight and torment! How long must he wait for her?
Jane and Mr. Bingley had decided upon the fourteenth of January as their wedding date. Mr. Darcy believed that Elizabeth would very much like to be married at the same time as her sister; surely, surely, it was not too soon to ask for her hand? He could think of only one way to find out.
***
Minded to observe the formalities, Mr. Darcy first approached Mr. Bennet. He got out not a word before the older man said, “I suppose you are here to ask for my Lizzy’s hand in marriage.” His tone was not happy; it might even have been described as surly.
“You are correct, Mr. Bennet.” Mr. Darcy hesitated. “I can understand your unhappiness in parting with her. I can only assure you that you will be welcome at Pemberley at any time. And, given the entail…” He trailed off, uncertain as to how to approach what must be a sensitive topic.
“Yes?” Mr. Bennet’s tone was now downright hostile.
“I promise you that your wife and your daughters will lack for nothing.” Mr. Darcy spoke softly. “I will be personally responsible for their welfare; you may rest easy.”
Mr. Bennet sighed. “I thank you for that, Mr. Darcy. The entail has been a problem for my family ever since Lydia’s birth.”
“Ah. When it was clear that there would be no son?”
“Precisely.”
“The law is unfair in excluding females from inheritance,” Mr. Darcy said, thoughtfully.
Mr. Bennet chuckled. “I see you have been speaking with Lizzy.”
“I reached that conclusion on my own, Mr. Bennet.”
“Indeed.” Mr. Bennet steepled his hands. “For my family’s sake, I wish the law agreed with you. In any case, I thank you for your reassurances regarding my family. It will comfort me to know that they will not be destitute.”
“Then I have your permission to ask Miss Elizabeth to marry me?”
“I suppose so.”
Mr. Bennet’s lack of enthusiasm made Mr. Darcy smile.
Mr. Bennet pursed his lips and then relaxed back into his chair, sighing. “You will, I hope, recall this moment when some – some man comes to take away your own beloved daughter.”
“I need not wait that long; some man will doubtless come to take away my sister.”
“True enough. Go on, then, talk to my Lizzy and leave me to contemplate Longbourn without her.”
Mr. Darcy left Mr. Bennet’s study with joy in his heart. He understood Mr. Bennet’s feelings, certainly, but daughters leaving their parents was the natural order of things.
***
Mr. Darcy found Elizabeth in the parlour, sitting with her mother and sisters. He addressed the matriarch. “Mrs. Bennet, I have been given permission to address Miss Elizabeth in private.”
The smile that spread across Mrs. Bennet’s face showed Mr. Darcy how lovely she must have been in her youth. No wonder Mr. Bennet had been smitten! “I am delighted to hear it, Mr. Darcy,” she said. “Come girls, let us leave Mr. Darcy and Lizzy alone.”
“Might we not walk outside?” Elizabeth asked at once, all too familiar with her mother’s propensity for listening in at the parlour door.
“Of course,” Mr. Darcy replied.
Once outside, Mr. Darcy escorted Elizabeth away from windows, hoping to achieve some actual privacy, no mean feat in a full house.
Finally, he turned to her. “Miss Elizabeth, I had quite a speech prepared for you, but now that we are here together, I find that I prefer just to tell you what is in my heart.”
He paused. Elizabeth’s heart was pounding; she remained silent.
“I love you, Elizabeth. I adore you. I am utterly entranced by you, by the music of your voice, by the beauty of your walk, by the shape of your eyes. I cannot imagine a life without you at my side. I hope, I pray, that you will agree to be my wife. Dare I hope that you might feel the same?”
She stared up at him, momentarily silenced by the intensity of his words and the passion in his eyes. Finally, she whispered. “I do. I feel the same. I love you. I will be your wife.”
He moved forward to take her in his arms, but then paused. “Elizabeth, you do understand that the Darcy name is tainted?”
“I do understand, yes, and it does not matter to me in the slightest! I will be honoured to share your name!”
Mr. Darcy could no longer resist; he took his beloved Elizabeth into his arms and held her close, hearts beating together.
He kissed the top of her hair, gently, careful not to frighten her, but his restraint was overcome when she raised her face to his, stood on tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.
His hunger for her had been fueled by the weeks of waiting, and her action prompted him to pull her in hard, fisting his hands in her hair, and all but devouring her mouth with his own. Her passion rose to meet his, and they remained locked together…until they heard a throat being cleared.
They leaped apart and whirled about to find Jane staring at her sister, eyes wide. “Mama sent me to find you, Lizzy.” Jane’s voice was laced with amusement. “And I suspect it was well that she did.”
Elizabeth straightened her hair and her gown as quickly as she could, and then followed her sister into the house, Mr. Darcy trailing behind.
“I take it you said yes,” Jane murmured.
“I did,” Elizabeth said, her heart still pounding.
“Good.”
Jane whispered to Elizabeth, “Might we share our wedding day?”
Elizabeth replied, also in a whisper, “I am certain that we will not want to wait.”
Based on what she had witnessed outside, Jane was equally certain.
Once inside the house, Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth were congratulated by Mrs. Bennet and Mary.
Mrs. Bennet was not as easy with Mr. Darcy as she had been with Mr. Bingley; she found his more formal comportment rather forbidding in comparison with Mr. Bingley’s relaxed, friendly manner.
But she understood that he was a very eligible suitor, so she was genuinely happy to welcome him to the family.
Mary was very happy for her sister. But she also understood Mr. Darcy to be cousin to Colonel Fitzwilliam; having Lizzy married to him meant that she might be permitted to see the Colonel from time to time. That fact made her congratulations to Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth particularly warm.
Kitty and Lydia were delighted to think that they would soon be Georgiana’s sisters, and they were perhaps a touch overly excited by this fact. Mrs. Bennet finally had to ask them to keep their voices down.
Only Mr. Bennet remained sour on the subject, and he refused to be coaxed into a better humour.