Soon, the town she had spent her life in was behind her. Like Longbourn, she was certain she would never see Meryton again.
As she settled down for what she had been told would be a six day carriage ride, her thoughts were about the one who had been the bane of her existence: Miss Lizzy! If only the Duke had chosen Jane like he had been supposed to do! Everything would have been as it should be, and she would not be on her way to some godforsaken place in the middle of the sea.
Fanny never noticed the self-same daughter, accompanied by two of her massive guards, standing andwatching the conveyance as it passed the Red Lion Inn, where she had taken all of the rooms for her sojourn in Meryton.
John Biggs had found a good group of men who had been employed as guards, more than enough for two men to be assigned to each of her sisters, the four men who would be living in Lerwick to make sure Mrs. Bennet never attempted to return to England, and some additional men to be placed as needed.
Two of the men had departed as soon as Mrs. Bennet accepted her fate, the other two were travelling with her.
Elizabeth watched until she could no longer see the back of the carriage. Mrs. Bennet was out of their life forever. The money Elizabeth had added to restore the woman’s dowry had been well spent.
Knowing how extravagant Mrs. Bennet tended to be, she had insisted the woman not have access to the principal. If she wanted to waste her money each quarter and not have enough to live on, that would he her choice and problem.
She smiled as she thought of the upcoming meeting at Uncle Frank’s offices. The purchase of Longbourn would be final. A few days after that, Netherfield Park would be hers as well. Her intention was to reunite the two largest parts which had been one before a dissolute ancestor had lost so much of the Bennets’ land. The Gouldings, Lucases, and Purvises had no interest in selling their estates, which would have restored all historical Bennet lands.
The enlarged Longbourn would be presented to Mary as part of her dowry. Mary had the most emotional ties to the Meryton area. Only on her marriage to one she loved and respected, and who felt the same for her, would the estate be signed over to Mary.
The same was true for her other sisters. Castlemere would of course be Lydia’s. Jane and Kate would be allowed to choose from the other six estates when they married.
Knowing Jane’s future husband had a large estate, and would one day have all those which belonged to the Matlock earldom made it less urgent to inform Jane. Elizabeth was sure Jane would turn down the estate, and she would not try and press too hard if that indeed happened to be the case.
With John Biggs and Brian Johns escorting her, Elizabeth made her way to Oakham Mount. The sun was already above the horizon when she arrived, but that was no matter to her.
John had gone up the path to verify no one was on the summit. On his return, Elizabeth had walked up to the flattened top of the hill. Everything was as it was the last time she had been here. That was beforehehad caused her to leave the neighbourhood.
She twirled around laughing with pleasure at being back in a place she had believed she would never see again. The stand of four oak trees, the benches below them, and the boulders at various points were all exactly as she recalled. She touched the boulder in the eastern corner of the summit reverently.
How many times had she escaped from Mrs. Bennet and sat in this very spot to contemplate her life and watch the sun greet the new day. In a few hours, with some signatures and money paid, it would all be hers. Oakham Mount was on Longbourn’s land.
As Elizabeth sat there, she realised the only thing which would have made her enjoyment complete was if William had been here with her. She missed him when they were apart. In fact, it was as if a part of her heart was not in her chest. She knew where the missing piece resided—it was with William.
For a little while, even while acknowledging she loved him, Elizabeth had thought about never again placing herself at the mercy of a man.
She had quickly realised if she allowed the bitterness of being married tohimto govern her future choices, thenhewould still be controlling her. That was something she would never allow! The best and total repudiation ofthat manwould be for her to marry. Not just to remarry, but to marry a man she loved and respected and who felt the same way about her.
William was that man. As she sat and looked out over the rolling land to the east, Elizabeth knew one thing for certain. If William asked her to marry him, she would accept without a moment’s hesitation. That she would gain a wonderful mother and father only added to her desire to marry the man she loved. It did not hurt she would be gaining a fifth sister she already loved dearly as well.
All she needed was for William to propose. She already knew William was a very careful man and more than likely would not do anything unless he was sure she was receptive. In that case she would need to give him a subtle hint, if subtlety did not work, she would be a little more direct in her approach.
As soon as the decision was made, Elizabeth felt a lightness she had not experienced since before meeting the vile old man. If things went according to the way she thought they would, she would be gaining two more brothers soon enough and Charlotte would become her cousin.
With a renewed spring in her step, Elizabeth made her way down the path to where John and Brian awaited her.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
William Darcy felt like he was in a daze. He could not concentrate on anything. How was it he had become such amooncalf of a man? All over a slip of a woman who he was missing terribly.
Why had he not thought to ask if she wanted him to join those travelling into Hertfordshire? If he had, he would not have been missing Elizabeth the way he was.
He missed smelling her delightful lavender scent, the gleam in her eyes when she knew she was about to win a debate, her wit, her intelligence, her compassion—he missed everything about her. It was as if she held his heart in the palm of her delicate hand. His heart was with her in Hertfordshire, and William had no desire for her to return it to him…ever.
He did not know if he possessed her heart the way she owned his. He hoped it would not be many more days before Elizabeth returned to London. When he was in her company he felt pulled to her as if by some invisible force.
If she did not desire to have him as her husband, his heart would forever be lost in a wilderness of sadness, but above all else, he wanted her to be happy—even if that meant her happiness rested with another or not marrying again. After her experience with her first marriage, he would have been able to understand her never wanting to once again be someone’s wife. With her having been blackmailed into marrying the bastard, he never wanted her to feel pressured to accept him—or any other—if that was not her free will.
Based on her request that her unborn child could take the name of the man she married—if she remarried, William had hope that is what she wanted. The fact she had looked at him as she had said that was encouraging. And if she did, his prayer was he would be the man she desired to have as her husband.
As soon as he knew Elizabeth was back in London, he needed to see her and try and divine her feelings for him. Perhaps he would receive some sort of sign.
