Chapter XXXIV #2
As he made his way towards the drawing room, he heard the murmur of several female voices and the occasional sound of laughter.
He slowed his step. The door had been left open, and from the hall he could see that the room had been transformed since he had left that morning.
Elizabeth stood before a mirror, surrounded by lengths of fabric, while open boxes and several gowns in various stages of preparation occupied the tables and chairs around her.
Two ladies were attending to her, one adjusting the fall of a pale silk gown while the other examined the sleeve with a critical expression.
Georgiana sat nearby, watching with evident interest, while Lydia had apparently appointed herself an assistant and was offering opinions with considerably more confidence than expertise.
Darcy stopped at the doorway.
No one had noticed him.
For several moments he simply watched.
Elizabeth was laughing at something Lydia had said.
One of the ladies moved behind her and gathered the fabric at her waist, while the other stepped forward to pin something near her shoulder.
The sight was so entirely domestic, so strangely intimate, that Darcy found himself reluctant to disturb it.
He had seen Elizabeth in many circumstances by now – amused, angry, anxious, proud, frightened and tender.
He had seen her arguing with him, teasing him, and looking at him with that particular expression which suggested she had already thought of an answer he would not enjoy.
He had seen her laugh freely, and he had seen her shyly look away when his attention became too direct.
Yet the sight before him stirred a memory from another time.
He remembered the milliner’s shop at Lambton, and Elizabeth standing beside Georgiana as they considered bonnets and ribbons.
He had watched them then with an emotion he had scarcely dared to name.
There had been something about seeing Elizabeth so naturally attentive to his sister, laughing with her and encouraging her hesitation, that had awakened a hope he had believed himself too sensible to entertain.
At the time, it had been only a possibility – a foolish, fragile glimpse of a life that could never be his.
Now he stood in the doorway and watched Elizabeth surrounded by women preparing her gowns for her new life.
Not a hope.
Not an imagined future.
Reality.
His future.
Their life.
A smile appeared upon his face before he could prevent it.
The movement must have caught Georgiana’s eye, for she looked towards the door. Her expression brightened. “Fitzwilliam.”
At once every head turned.
Elizabeth looked over her shoulder. For a moment she seemed almost embarrassed to find him watching. “You are home.” She went to him.
“I am.”
He remained where he was, his eyes travelling once more over the room.
“I see I have returned at an interesting moment.”
Lydia grinned. “We have been dressing Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth looked down at the gown. “I am afraid they have been working very hard upon me.”
Darcy’s gaze softened. “I can see that.”
One of the seamstresses smiled discreetly and returned to her work.
Elizabeth glanced towards him. “Did everything go well?”
“It did.”
She searched his face.
“Your father gave his consent.”
Her face brightened immediately. “Then we are officially betrothed.”
“We are.”
“And Mama?”
Darcy’s mouth twitched. “Your mother was considerably more enthusiastic than your father.”
Elizabeth laughed. “I can imagine.”
“She has a son.” Darcy looked at her for a moment. “Those were her exact words.”
“Bless her. It must have been a shock to her.”
“I do not believe it was, actually; when I left, she said something to the effect that she knew I could not resist you.”
“Really? When did she… Perhaps she saw something when you took us home.”
“Perhaps. She also filled the trunk as you had asked.”
“Oh, thank you.”
His eyes rested upon the gown again. “You look very beautiful.”
A faint colour touched her cheeks. “I am not certain I look like myself.”
“That may be the difficulty.”
She raised an eyebrow. “What difficulty?”
“I may have become accustomed to looking at Miss Bennet.”
Elizabeth smiled. “And now?”
Darcy looked at her for a long moment. “Now I must become accustomed to the thought that you will soon be Mrs. Darcy.”
The seamstresses exchanged a discreet glance.
Lydia, however, had no such restraint.
“You had better become accustomed to it quickly.”
Darcy looked at her. “I shall make every effort.”
Elizabeth laughed softly. The sound seemed to please him more than the gown itself.
One of the ladies stepped forward. “Mr. Darcy, if you would permit us, we should like Miss Bennet to try the blue silk next.”
Darcy inclined his head. “Of course.” He looked at Elizabeth. “I shall leave you to your transformation.”
She reached for his hand before he could turn away.
He looked down at their joined hands.
“I am glad you are home.”
His fingers closed gently around hers. “So am I.”
For a moment neither moved.
Then Darcy bent his head and kissed her fingers. “Do not let them exhaust you.”
Elizabeth smiled.
“I shall endeavour to survive.”
“I have every confidence in you.”
He released her hand reluctantly and turned towards the door.
Then he paused.
“I shall see you in half an hour? Your mother gave me plenty to eat on the road, but I wanted to dine with you. Are the Gardiners joining us?”
“No, not tonight. It is just us four.”
“Will you sing for me?”
Lydia laughed. Georgiana smiled, and even the seamstresses struggled to conceal their amusement.
Elizabeth crimsoned but agreed.
Darcy gave Elizabeth one last look before leaving.
As he disappeared into the hall, Elizabeth watched him go, her fingers still warm from his touch.
She looked down at the gown surrounding her.
For the first time, the clothes no longer seemed like something being prepared for a role she had yet to understand. They were simply another sign that her life had changed.
And, rather astonishingly, she found that she did not wish it otherwise.