“No, he does not. In his case, it is a good thing,” Jane opined.
“How so?” Andrew asked.
“Because his feelings for Lizzy developed before he knew she is a princess and one of the wealthiest women in the realm,” Jane explained.
“I suppose…wait, did you say you want to accept a courtship with me?” The realisation hit Andrew like the kick from a horse.
“Yes, Andrew, I most certainly do accept your offer for a courtship for I love you already. If you need a courtship, then so be it but…” Jane never finished what she was going to say as Andrew pulled her into an embrace. He was about to kiss her when he remembered he had missed a critical step and dropped to one knee.
“Jane, I am in love with you too, and have been for some time now. Rather than a long flowery speech, will you accept my hand in marriage as you are my one and only love?” Andrew asked hopefully as he held Jane’s hands.
“Yes, Andrew, Yes, yes, yes, YES!” Jane responded effusively.
Andrew stood and drew Jane into his arms again. She looked up at him, the marked difference between this time and the ones before when her heart would speed up was shocking, now it was racing as he closed the distance between them until Jane felt his lips on her own, which felt right, so very right.
The first kiss was nice, but then Andrew deepened his kisses, and Jane was thankful her arms had snaked around his neck as she went weak at the knees from the pleasure.
Neither one of the newly betrothed couple wanted to stop the moment they were sharing, but they knew they must. After one last lingering kiss, by silent mutual agreement they both took a step back.
“Does this mean the revelation about Lizzy does not change anything between us?” Jane teased her love.
“Not in the least, just like it changed nothing for you with the way you see her as a sister,” Andrew stated firmly. “She is not the one to whom I am betrothed.” Andrew waggled his eyebrows. “I think I need to talk to your father.”
“Wait here; I will ask Papa to join you.” Jane kissed her betrothed’s cheek and was gone.
Not many minutes later, Bennet joined him in the study and took a seat behind his desk. “I presume you have a question for me, Andrew?”
“I do, Mr. Bennet, Uncle Thomas,” Andrew began. “Jane did me the greatest honour in accepting my hand in marriage, so I now request your consent and blessing to marry her.”
“I thought you were requesting a courtship,” Bennet asked with raised eyebrows.
“So did I, until she informed me that a courtship was superfluous,” Andrew informed Bennet.
“Rather than run afoul of my eldest, you have both, Son. Welcome to the family.” Bennet rose and offered his soon-to-be son his hand and the two shook hands heartily.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
William Collins had graduated the seminary and taken orders. He could not understand why no one at any of the livings he applied for would offer him more than a trial curacy, for he felt he was better than a curate.
His dearly departed father, who had passed away two years previously, had always told him this, which bolstered his belief that it was true. He intended to try one more parish, as he had read a notice that Longbourn church was interviewing clergymen to fill a vacancy upcoming after the incumbent who held the living retired.
He debated for some time, as the living was in the parish attached to the estate that his father told him had been stolen by the Bennets when they had a son. In the end, two things drove his decision to apply for the position. First was his need for a position and second, since his father’s death he had started to realise that many of the elder Collins’s pronouncements were less than factual. With the resolve taken, Collins started the journey from Loughborough, where he failed to win a position. He finally realised he would have to start with a curacy; he could not expect to be awarded a living until he proved himself.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Jane looked at her beloved Andrew when he and her father entered the drawing room. Andrew was grinning from ear to ear, which told Jane his petition had been granted. Bennet allowed them a moment to communicate silently while he looked at his wife and conveyed the situation the same manner. He asked Jane to join him and announced, “It is my pleasure to tell you Andrew has requested Jane’s hand in marriage, and she replied in the affirmative. We congratulate both of you as we know you will be happy together.”
“I know you could not be such a wonderful person for nothing, Jane,” Fanny told her as she enfolded her daughter in arms and kissed her on each of her cheeks.
“At last, I will not be the only brother,” Tommy exclaimed.
“You could not have chosen a better woman for your betrothed,” Elizabeth told Andrew as she hugged him. He was mobbed by Mary, Kitty, and Lydia as soon as Elizabeth moved aside.
“Jane, you are gifting us with such a good and honourable new brother,” Elizabeth told Jane as the sisters hugged one another tightly.
“Have you two decided on a date for your wedding yet?” Fanny asked.
“That is not a discussion we have had yet,” Jane acknowledged.
