Chapter Twenty-Three #3
Do not blame Jonathan further for his deception. Honor instead the depth of the love that persuaded him to it, for no less than that would ever make him defy you in any matter. Besides, if Miss Tilney is to be our daughter-in-law, you should make a friend of her. I think we shall all be glad of it.
No longer did Darcy need to confer with his wife, for she had sent him all he needed to know. He felt a moment’s impulse to go to Jonathan’s room, to wake him and tell him that consent was given.
But the boy was sleeping. Besides, impetuous young lover that he was, what was to keep Jonathan from returning to Netherfield in the dead of night to propose?
Amused by the thought, Mr. Darcy resolved to go to bed.
Tomorrow, after breakfast, he would delay their return to Derbyshire, take Jonathan aside, and let him know that permission was given.
By the next night, they would be toasting two affianced young couples, rather than only one.
For the moment, though, Jonathan was best left undisturbed.
From such slender threads are our fates woven!
The clock chimed midnight, and Juliet opened her bedroom door to slip downstairs.
It had been a small matter to have her things packed and her trunks brought down, as both the Bingleys and the staff expected her to depart soon anyway. Mrs. Bingley had kindly asked her to stay another week or two, an invitation that, in other circumstances, Juliet would have gladly accepted.
Yet she had instead accepted a proposal, and this acceptance required her to be ready to depart both Netherfield and all the life she had ever known by five minutes after midnight.
Juliet had written a note to her hostess, apologizing for her departure and trusting her reasons would be understood; this note further requested that the Bingleys post the letter Juliet had left for her parents.
In this she had explained her decision, telling them that they no longer needed to oppose General Tilney, but assuring them that she did not wed for their safety alone.
I have accepted Mr. Darcy with the greatest affection and love.
Though our lives may prove more difficult than otherwise they would have been, we will face these troubles together.
How bravely Juliet had written this, and how it contrasted with her trembling upon the stairs! Yet she had faced greater fears than these without quailing, and would not falter now.
Carrying only a candle, Juliet went to the back side door, slowly opened it, then showed the light. A small light flickered back at her: That would be the carriage, waiting at the far end of the drive, so as not to awaken the others. Heart racing, Juliet blew out her candle and set it down.
Within a few minutes, Jonathan had come, along with the coachmen who—having been warned regarding silence—wordlessly took her trunks to be loaded.
“You are certain?” Jonathan whispered to Juliet, taking her hands.
“I am.”
“You are ready?”
Juliet laughed softly. “That, I do not know! But this is the hour, and—”
A third voice said, “I thought so.”
Jonathan and Juliet turned in unison to see Priscilla Allerdyce emerge from the butler’s pantry in nightdress, wrapper and curling-papers, a lamp in one hand.
“Miss Priscilla,” Jonathan said, “I beg of you, please do not alert the others.”
Priscilla raised an eyebrow in consternation, then turned to Juliet. “Here. It is all that I have.” With that, she handed Juliet five pound notes. When Juliet gasped, Priscilla said, “You are eloping, are you not? You will need the money.”
Both of the young lovers were stunned into silence for a moment. It was Jonathan who finally said, “I had believed you intended to marry me.”
“I did, when my mother wished it,” Priscilla said. “She now has very different ideas about matrimony and desires that I should have thoughts of my own regarding the matter. I find that I have no interest in wedding any man who is not equally interested in wedding me.”
“How did you know we planned to elope?” Juliet asked.
“It was not so very hard to guess, for anyone who was truly watching you. I think I am the only person who did.” Priscilla smiled at them both. “In honesty, I find your adventure rather thrilling.”
Juliet could only say, “Thank you.” Priscilla shook her hand, then Jonathan’s, an unlikely sort of friendship finally struck up among them.
Priscilla glanced toward the stairs not so very far away. “Make haste, for there are too many people in this house to be certain of not being overheard. Good fortune to you both!”
With this, Jonathan and Juliet took hands and dashed along the long drive that led from Netherfield to the main road, where the carriage awaited them. Jonathan helped Juliet inside, joined her, shut the door, and thumped it softly. At this signal, the driver began leading them away.
In that moment—when the act had been committed, when the unthinkable had become the irrevocable—Juliet whispered. “I am so frightened.”
“So am I,” Jonathan said. “But you do not wish to turn back?”
Juliet took his hands. “No. We shall not turn back.”