Very soon the three couples created some separation from the group, leaving the twins, Georgie, and Kitty to act as ineffectual chaperones.
Having a long understanding with Mary, Richard was less hesitant so was the first to speak. “Mary, you know I have loved you for many years now, not as a friend or like a family member, but as a man loves a woman. I had agreed with your parents to not request a courtship of you until you turned nineteen.
“Yes, I know it is next week, but I cannot wait any longer. I love you more than anything and could not imagine living my life without you by my side.” He watched her, elated his Mary was blushing becomingly, so he felt encouraged to continue. “Considering the length of time we have already waited, I would ask for an engagement now, but I know your parents desire a six-month courtship.
“As much as I love you, I would never ask you to go against your parents by offering you an engagement already, though know my intentions are what others call honourable, but I call inevitable. If I have any say they will end only when you let me marry you. Mary Anne Bennet, will you grant me the honour of a courtship?” Richard asked gently, tenderly, only with the barest hint of a tremor detectable in the rich timbre of his voice.
Mary, who had been longer in love with him than he with her, did not have to think before she answered in the affirmative. Richard and Mary turned back toward the house so that Richard could finally request consent from Mr. Bennet.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The next pair to pause and face one another were Jane and Bingley. Though he was still a little unsure if he would be accepted by the Bennets, he knew he would never forgive himself if he did not at least try to win the happiness he was just only starting to comprehend.
“I know I am a mere tradesman’s son, and one who must claim a sister that leaves much to be desired. She has, in fact, insulted your estimable and genteel family at every turn, but I would never be able to forgive myself if I do not at the very least ask...”
The normally serene Jane cut him off with a loud inhaled breath which stopped Bingley’s speech. There was a definite glint of anger in her eye that those that knew her best would have identified as her about to defend those she held dearest.
Bingley did not have that experience with her, so he feared he was sunk, and his shoulders hunched with dejection as he deflated.
“Mr. Charles Bingley do not dare to so denigrate yourself! Firstly, and we haveALLtold you this, we do not hold you responsible in any way for the actions of your sister. You took resolute and immediate action to deal with her. Secondly, do you not see and realise that we Bennets judge people by the content of their characters, by how they behave and treat others, not by where they come from or the size of their bank account?
“My beloved Uncle Edward is in trade, as you well know. My Uncle Philips is the local solicitor in Meryton, and my own esteemed mother is the daughter of a solicitor. Would it not be hypocritical of us to reject one with roots in trade?
“It is time you come to terms with those facts and accept them as truths. If you do not, that means you do not trust those I love or me,” Jane challenged, her eyebrows arched as she let him work through his astonishment at her speech. Jane could read the truth in his eyes, he believed her. “Now, Sir, if you were about to ask me what I suspect that you were, I suggest you start again without reference to your social position or the actions of your sister!” Jane instructed with a steely disposition.
Bingley let out a breath he had been holding for the length of her speech as he felt a feeling of relief wash over him. “Miss Bennet, from the moment I met you, from when your father introduced us that fateful, perfect day I called on your family for the first time, I have been falling in love with you.
“Your kindness, charitable works, your accomplishments, and the love I see in your family all tell me you are a woman that for me personifies all goodness. I find it hard to believe I can deserve one as good as you, but I would like to try and see if we fit as well as I believe we will. Would you do me the greatest honour and grant me a courtship so the world will know you are the woman I hope to earn the love of as you already have mine,” Bingley requested with ever-increasing confidence as Jane’s serenity returned but for a light blush.
After a minute of silence, in which Bingley’s insecurities made him think portended bad news, Jane offered her reply. “Mr. Bingley, although I may not love you today, I do esteem you above any man of my acquaintance and I too find you to be a very honourable man. I can easily see you are everything a young man should be. The fact you were able to stand up to your sister speaks very well of your resolve. However, I will not pretend an emotion I do not yet fully possess. So therefore, it is with pleasure I agree to your request for a courtship.” Jane smiled a smile which to Bingley rivalled one he expected to see on the angels on High.
At hearing the response he had dreamed of but had not allowed himself to hope for, Bingley too lit up with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. Even if she did not love him yet, he would do everything in his power to be worthy of earning her love during the courtship, that is, if Mr. Bennet granted his permission.
He gently took her hands, after she nodded her permission, and bestowed kisses on her gloves right over her pulse. As he did Jane felt a warmth and a stirring she had never felt before. This set a second couple off toward the house to request an interview with Mr. Bennet.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
And then there was one couple left. After being lost in each other’s company and not seeing anyone but themselves, they looked around and saw the other two couples, as well as Kitty and Georgie, had all returned to the house and it was just them and the twins, who were out of earshot, in the park.
“It seems we have been all but deserted,” offered Lizzy in a teasing fashion as she looked around the park for her missing sisters and their gentlemen.
“So it seems,” Darcy agreed. He determined there was no better time than this as if it had been a request he had personally made of the Fates. “Miss Elizabeth, you are too intelligent to have not noted my marked attention toward yourself, and too good to trifle with my affections,” he began, overjoyed when Miss Elizabeth nodded for him to continue.
“When I arrived in Hertfordshire, I was in a very dark place. Georgie has shared what almost happened to her this summer in Ramsgate, correct?” Lizzy nodded again. Darcy continued, “However, that all changed when I met your father, your family, and especially you.”
Now Lizzy was blushing from her hairline to the top of her gown. This reaction told him she was not unaffected by or indifferent to him, so he continued on his path, feeling much encouraged. “I have always scoffed at the notion of love at first sight, or at least I had until that first time I saw your countenance and your very fine eyes assessing me as you sat in your drawing room.” His colour heightened with the intense way she was looking into his eyes. Elizabeth worried her lip and blushed into an even deeper shade of crimson.
“From that moment on I could feel my melancholy lifting. The process had started when I had spoken to your father and felt comfortable enough to confide in him and telling him the tale lightened the load on my shoulders. However, when I saw you that first time it was like you had lightened the burden on my soul.
“I must inform you that I am usually a very private person who does not like to lay his actions bare for others to see. Your father helped me understand what others had tried to tell me, that I was taking blame for the actions of others, that I had taken on blame not mine to take.” Darcy paused and looked introspective for a moment. “Now that I have been able to lay the blame where it truly belongs, I find I can live with a positive outlook again, but as I look forward, I know my life would be empty and incomplete without you in it.
“You make me feel whole. You complete me. It is as if I have been only surviving until I found you, and now I am anxious to live again. I have never wanted someone who would just defer to me, and you have demonstrated time and time again in our lively debates that you have a very sharp mind of your own. Nor do I want a mindless trophy wife who mindlessly clings to my arm.
“What I want, no, what I need like I need the air I breathe, is you. My life without you would be meaningless and empty, would be bleak, and having existed in that state, I know what it means and will do all in my power to avoid such a fate. Without you, my life will be empty and devoid of pleasure.
“With the intellect and vivacious wit that you have honed, you will challenge me and not back down when needed, I hope you will continue to debate with me even if sometimes you take opinions not your own, and you have said you too will be as happy with a good book in front of a fire rather than so-called polite society in London.
“My life will always be full and interesting with you in it. You are my soul mate. Everything I have seen here tells me that you would not hesitate to be my partner in every sense of the word.
