Vol 2, Chapter 15
The three-week courtship seemed to fly by for the couple involved, for they spent as much time as they were able in one another’s company. As the month of July waned, both were looking forward to the promise of August.
Darcy found he enjoyed spending time with Mark, who had turned twelve in May.
The boy did not care about his rank or the family’s wealth; all he cared about was he was out of the nursery and had been placed in a suite near his parents.
His tutor was also given leave to use the second bedchamber of the suite so Mark would have someone nearby if and when needed.
The boy was intelligent, and like his father, Elizabeth, and older brother, he was a bibliophile.
Elizabeth found the attention Darcy paid to her little brother endearing.
She glowed with pleasure as she considered how well it boded for the days when they had their own children.
Not for the first time, Elizabeth reaffirmed her decision; William was the only man in the world that she would agree to marry.
Darcy, knowing all too well what it was like to be hunted by fortune hunters, was thankful by the time they departed for Longbourn, he would be betrothed to his beloved Elizabeth.
When the party decamped for London, the Ton would have had almost two months to assimilate the fact Lady Elizabeth Bennet was not available for any who were vying for the opportunity to get their hands on her enormous fortune.
He chuckled because he knew when word of Bennet’s decision regarding the Dennington Lines reached the ears of the Ton, there would be much gnashing of teeth that another Bennet had slipped through their fingers.
Darcy ruminated on the evening the Duke had asked all the family to gather in the family sitting room a fortnight earlier.
Darcy had felt the compliment that he and Gigi were routinely included in family meetings like the one that had occurred.
“Priscilla and I thank you all for attending without knowing what we wanted to address,” Bennet had stated.
“It is my intention to inform you of a decision we, my wife and I, in consultation with Aunt Rose,” Bennet had inclined his head to the dowager duchess, “have taken regarding the ownership if the Dennington Shipping Lines and related shipyards.”
“When can we sail on The Rose like Jane and Andrew did?” Mark asked his youthful exuberance coming to the fore.
“Soon, Son, but that is not what I am discussing today. We have decided ownership of all of the shipping related concerns is to be split between the five of our children,” Bennet related quite nonchalantly, considering the enormity of the news, even a little amused at the stunned silence.
“Papa, no! That is far too much! After the massive dowries you and Mama have given us, what do we need with more?” Elizabeth asked, three of her siblings nodding their agreement while Mark was flummoxed as to the meaning.
“The family is rich beyond all reason, Lizzy. Even without the income from the shipping line our income exceeds one hundred thousand pounds per annum. What could we do with even that amount in multiple lifetimes? The profits from the yards and the line are a little more than one hundred thousand pounds per annum, and, as such, each of you will receive a distribution of around twenty thousand pounds a year. Spend it, give it to charity, invest it, or keep it for your future children’s benefit.
It is yours to do with as you wish,” Bennet laid out the possibilities in hopes they could quickly see the benefits.
“Would you deny your father and me the pleasure of gifting this to our children?” Priscilla asked. “You will see once you have your own children that you will want to do as much as you can for them.”
“You should know there will be an entail, of sorts,” Bennet stated. “You will not be allowed to sell your stake in the company to anyone not a relation by blood to us. Like Longbourn and Netherfield Park were protected, the same is being put in place here.”
“Do any of you have any questions?” Priscilla asked.
“So I am part owner of The Rose?” Mark asked carefully.
“Yes, Son you are,” Bennet chuckled.
“Then may I not sail with her any time I like?” Mark pressed.
“While technically true, Scamp,” his mother smiled at her youngest, “it is not that simple. You have your lessons and we our duties, but your father and I promise when we leave for Longbourn, rather than go by carriage, we will leave a little sooner, travel to Liverpool, and sail to London. How does that sound?” Priscilla asked.
The youngest Bennet had lit up with pleasure.
The meeting had ended soon after. If Darcy was not a more secure man, he may have felt emasculated by the fact his wife’s income from the shipping line exceeded all of his income from the three estates the Darcys owned, which had once made him the catch of the ton.
Darcy had requested a copy of the settlement Andrew used and had already asked his solicitor to prepare a copy along the same lines as his cousin’s to present to both the Duke and, he hoped, his soon-to-be wife’s review.
After the meeting, he had also sent instructions to account for her added income from the shipping concerns, so any wealth she brought to the union would remain under her control.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As he had three weeks earlier, Darcy was in the Duke’s study requesting a private interview with his second daughter. “This seems awfully familiar to me Darcy. Has it been a full three weeks since I granted your request to court my Lizzy?” Bennet asked sardonically.
“It is a few days past the time limit you set, and now I seek permission to propose to your daughter—Elizabeth.” Darcy was familiar with the Duke’s wit and did not want to give him an easy opening to make sport.
“I have no doubt you are my Lizzy’s choice, Son.
Please make sure you always make her happy,” Bennet said with resignation as he saw his second daughter leaving his homes sooner rather than later.
At least Pemberley was but a few hours from Longfield Meadows as Yorkshire and Derbyshire shared a border.
And it did not hurt that Darcy’s library rivalled his own in the quality of its contents.
“I will summon her; you know the requirements for meeting with her do you not?” Darcy nodded.
Elizabeth entered on her own without her father.
“Elizabeth, you have known of my love for you for some time now,” Darcy said as he dropped to one knee her hands in his.
“I know of your love for me, so rather than waste time on speeches, if your feelings are what they were the last time we met in this room tell me now, for my wishes and affections are unchanged, or if they are, it is that they are stronger!”
“William, my love for you also deepens by the day, you are the only man I would ever agree to marry, so if that is what the next question is to be, then let me help you save your breath to cool your porridge. Yes William, I will marry you, yes, yes, YES!” Elizabeth promised, with the love she felt for the man kneeling before her fully evidenced in her gaze.
Darcy rose, and from his inside pocket he produced a ring with a large emerald in the centre surrounded by a ring of small diamonds and emeralds alternating one after the other.
“When I saw this among the Darcy jewels, I knew that it was the perfect ring for you, my dearest, loveliest Elizabeth,” he said as he slid the ring onto her ring finger.
“William, I love you with all that I am,” Elizabeth said as he stood in front of her and gently tilted her head up.
“You own my heart, Elizabeth,” he murmured just before their lips met.
This was no brush of the lips as their first kiss had been.
Darcy captured her lips with his own and in a demonstration of how a kiss between lovers should feel.
The kisses became sensual, deeper, slower, softer, and awoke the passion of both.
Elizabeth felt the passion rush through her, all the way to the pit of her stomach then all the way to the tips of her toes.
She returned the kisses with a sensuality which made Darcy ache for more of her.
They tasted each other for the first time when William slowly applied some pressure to Elizabeth’s lips with his tongue and she opened her mouth to allow him access as her heart raced.
If Darcy had not been supporting her with his arms around her, and her arms were not so tightly wound around his neck, Elizabeth was sure her legs would not have held her up as she went weak at the knees.
She could not get enough of him so constrained as this, and it was obvious by the way he pulled her in tighter he too needed more of her, each frustrated and revelling at the promises of how happily matched they would be.
Knowing they were closing in on their limits, time and others, and despite neither wanting to, they pulled back from each other.
Neither spoke, but their eyes were locked as they took short, quick breaths to slow their racing hearts, the beating of which could be heard anywhere in the house, they were certain.
There was a knock at the door, and, after a pause, Elizabeth’s parents entered. “Elizabeth, you accepted, William!” Priscilla exclaimed as soon as she saw the magnificent ring on a finger of her daughter's left hand. “You will be very happy together, I am sure.”
“It seems I have no choice but to bestow my consent and blessing, as my wife has already done so,” Bennet stated with mock exasperation.
“Your father told me he has asked for a two-month betrothal, which I agree is reasonable. Will you call me Mother Priscilla now, William?” Priscilla requested hopefully.
“And as I have no doubt you will treat our Lizzy with the love and respect she deserves, I shall only ask you to allow me to be as much a mother to you as I am to Lizzy. And if our Gigi will allow it, I will have gained a son and a daughter.”