Chapter 1 #3
Elizabeth flushed and looked down at her hands. “I would like to meet Miss Darcy very much. I have heard much about her.” She looked up at him, and catching his eye, smiled cautiously. Their eyes locked for a long moment before they both turned away.
“Did you have a chance to view the library earlier?” Mr. Darcy asked in a sudden change of topic.
“We did not,” Mrs. Gardiner answered.
“May I show it to you when we finish our tea?” Mr. Darcy continued.
“After Miss Bingley praised it, I would very much like to see it, if I may,” Elizabeth offered.
“I would prefer to sit and rest for a few more minutes before we go,” Mrs. Gardiner said. “If you would like to see it, Lizzy, I will allow Mr. Darcy to escort you there. Mr. Darcy, can you arrange for a maid or a footman to serve as a chaperone?”
Mr. Darcy agreed and rang for a maid to attend to them. He and Elizabeth both stood after finishing their tea, and he offered his arm to escort her. She placed her hand in the crook of his arm, and he revelled in her light touch.
They were both quiet as they walked through the house. Finally, he opened the library doors with a flourish and waved her inside.
Elizabeth was in awe. The room was enormous—two stories of bookshelves covered three walls—the fourth wall was a wall of windows overlooking the gardens, riotous with colours.
A large fireplace was set into the middle of the bookcases on the opposite side of the room, with several settees and armchairs placed in groupings around the room.
The room held an impressive collection of books, numbering in the hundreds, possibly even thousands, and Elizabeth had encountered nothing quite like it before.
“I think I could stay in this room forever,” she said, then coloured brightly. “I did not mean …”
He chuckled. “Think nothing of it,” he said, smiling gently at her.
“Miss Elizabeth …” “Mr. Darcy …” they said simultaneously.
Holding her eyes with his, he took a step closer and took her hand in his.
“Elizabeth,” he breathed. “Do I have a chance of winning your heart? I am not above bribing you with my library if that is what is necessary,” he teased lightly, then turned serious again.
“One word from you will silence me forever, but please tell me if my hope is in vain.”
“This library is definitely an inducement,” she teased. “But Mr. Darcy, I must correct you on this misconception you seem to have.”
He stared at her, his heart in his eyes, waiting for her to continue.
“You have asked twice now if you have a chance of winning my heart. I am quite afraid, sir, that you already possess it.” Elizabeth told him, returning his gaze and blushing at her daring.
He stared at her. “What …? How …?” He stammered.
“I admit, I read your letter several times that day before I could return to the parsonage,” she told him.
“At first, I wanted to doubt its veracity. I wanted to believe you to be in the wrong. The more times I read it, however, the more credence I gave to it, and by the time I returned to the parsonage that afternoon, my heart was beginning to change. I began reviewing all our interactions in my mind, both in Hertfordshire and in Kent. My initial dislike of you—based on the comment you made at the assembly in Meryton—had coloured all of my interactions and made me far too willing to judge you all too harshly.”
“Wait, what comment?” he interrupted, a blank look revealing his confusion.
“‘She is tolerable, I suppose, but not handsome enough to tempt me …’” she quoted in a deeper than normal voice in an attempt to imitate his own.
Darcy groaned. “That was you?” he said, his face turning ashen.
“I vaguely remember saying something to Bingley because he would not leave me alone about dancing that night. Despite wanting to be in London with Georgiana, my aunt and Richard believed I needed to give her some space, resulting in my foul mood that night. I told Bingley before we even arrived that I had no intention of dancing that night, but he kept at me anyway. I wanted to be left alone to brood.”
Frustrated, he ran his hands through his hair.
“No wonder you hated me in Hertfordshire. I deserved your ire and more. That was a part of your reprimand in Kent about ungentlemanly behaviour, was it not? I was so wrong even to think that, so much more so to say that out loud about you or any other woman. My behaviour was abominable. Can you ever forgive me, Elizabeth?”
“You are forgiven, sir,” Elizabeth said. “Can you forgive me for my harsh words in the parsonage?”
“Again, dearest Elizabeth, there is nothing to forgive,” he said.
“I required your reproof. You must know I find you lovely … and far too tempting for my own good. Your eyes … there are no words to describe what your eyes do to me. No woman has ever before captured my attention the way you do. You alone hold my heart, Elizabeth, and you will have it forever.” He captured her hands again and brought both hands to his lips for a kiss.
He kissed the knuckles on both hands before turning her hands over and placing kisses on her palm and the inside of her wrists.
“Elizabeth, I love you. I would like to ask you for your hand in marriage, but if it is too soon for that, might I ask for a courtship? Can your uncle give permission in your father’s stead?” he enquired.
“Whichever you ask for, Mr. Darcy, the answer will be the same. You may ask whichever question you wish. And yes, you may ask my uncle for permission, but you might be interested to know that I came of age last month, sir,” Elizabeth told him archly.
Mr. Darcy examined Elizabeth closely. “Are you saying that whichever question I ask, I would receive the same answer?”
“Yes, Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth answered, smiling mischievously.
He dropped to his knees in front of her and, again, kissed both of her hands.
“My dearest, loveliest Elizabeth. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife? Of loving me and letting me love you for the rest of our lives? I will do everything within my power to make you happy for all of your days. When I asked before, I was utterly foolish, focusing entirely on the wrong things. Much of what I said that night is not important and should not have even been considered, much less uttered. Since April, I have striven to be a better man, to be kinder to those I have encountered, and to take seriously the reprimand you gave me. You, dearest Elizabeth, you have made me a better man. I hope I have become a man who is kinder to those around him and more understanding. Not only do I love you, but I also need you, Elizabeth. I need your joy and your kindness in my life.”
He paused to take a breath and to press another kiss to her hands.
“For the twenty-eight years of my life, I have been a selfish being, thinking of myself alone. When I proposed in April, I considered only my wishes. Elizabeth, I will spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you and how much I treasure you, if only you will accept my proposal and grant me your hand in marriage.”
Tears streaming down her face, she laughed. “Yes, Mr. Darcy, I will happily marry you.”
He stood and caught her into his arms, embracing her to him, and then, briefly, oh, so briefly, touched his lips to hers.
“How soon can we marry?” he asked, suddenly impatient, as he released her.
She laughed. “Let us go speak to my aunt and uncle and make what plans we can. We can send an express to my family this afternoon if you would like.”