“I would like that. There are no shortages of chaperones in residence so there will be no question of propriety,” Charlotte accepted, glancing out and he followed to see all eyes were on them.
“I am glad to know they are watching out for you and look forward to the time when it will also be my privilege,” he murmured, her look of pleasure causing his heart to pound in hope, her nod at the pre-emptive agreement as it was what she too wanted made it soar. “Until tomorrow morning at ten. I must take my leave now.”
As he said the last, he took each of her hands and placed a kiss on the ungloved back of each, lingering over both as he deeply breathed her scent in and she, for the first time, saw herself as the object of his desires as well as his happiness.
Charlotte’s heart stuttered then started to race, and she was breathless as she watched him walk away, grateful when Darcy guided her to Lizzy who handed her a glass of sherry. In such moments of discovery, sometimes tea was not enough to settle one.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The morning of the ball found Miss Charlotte Lucas excited and giddy as a schoolgirl as she waited in the drawing room for Mr. Elliot to arrive to call on her. She was apparently to have four chaperones: Tom, James, Kitty, and, to her greatest surprise, Georgiana.
Elizabeth had conspiratorially told Charlotte the four would allow them to be out of earshot but be able to see them, thus preserving all of the conventions of propriety but allowing the best chance of growth of an attachment.
At five minutes before ten, Mr. Elliot was announced by the Darcy butler. Charlotte experienced a happiness and excitement she had never before felt when meeting with a member of the opposite sex.
They walked out to the rose garden with the four younger men and women following at a reasonable distance. Mr Elliot brushed the snow off a bench so they could sit, not yet knowing it was the very same bench on which Charles Bingley had proposed to Jane Bennet. The Bennet twins, Kitty, and Georgiana cleared the snow and sat down on a pair of benches with a line of sight to the couple, but far away enough they would not overhear what was being said.
For an hour the new couple discussed a variety of topics including their families, where they grew up, and their likes and dislikes. And as so often happens when physical attraction is in play and genuine respect and honesty are offered, the more they talked, the more both accepted they were beyond just compatible. They had realised at the previous night’s gathering they were starting to develop feelings one for the other, but now they were both sure the other felt the same.
“Miss Lucas, or may I call you Charlotte, and will you call me Patrick?” She nodded her agreement. “I recently turned thirty so I want to preface what I am about to say with the reminder I am not a young man prone to flights of fancy. In these scant hours as I have had the pleasure of getting to know you, I have found a lady who I believe will suit me as well as I will suit her.
“Grace is now five years old and in need of a mother. If my application this day is successful, then you will soon meet her as she is to return anon. I am not going to lie to you and tell you that I love you, but I believe I am well on the way, and I can tell you that I respect and esteem you greatly. Is there hope? Do I have reason to hope you mayhap have similar thoughts and feelings?” Elliot held his breath in anticipation.
“Yes, Mr. Elliot, Patrick, my thoughts and feelings are exactly aligned with yours. Before I met you but yesterday, I believed I was an old maid destined to be a burden on my family which prompted my desire to enter service. That all changed when I met you and felt the…liked you.” She blushed and he smiled with relief because he understood exactly what she meant. She was also attracted to him and that was a relief, because wanting one’s wife more than she wants you is a misery too many men experienced.
“I admit I am relieved you like me as well, Charlotte.” He offered quietly so she was in no doubt of his attraction and her blush heightened most becomingly.
“Like you, I do not believe I am in love with you yet, but I do have tender feelings which I am sure will develop into love soon enough, and I already esteem and respect you greatly by position and how you have described your preferences for your parish. I would love to meet your daughter, Grace, and I am sure I will love her as I would any children I may be blessed with in the future. I will not ask she call me mother, but I will hope to earn the title with both your approvals,” Charlotte revealed, looking down to find her hand in his and not remembering if she had taken his or he hers.
“It pleases me greatly you have never asked me about my financial position, which shows me that you are not interested in me for pecuniary gain. But I want you as a partner in my life as well as the wife I will get to cherish to know my situation. I own a small estate, Riverdale, in Shropshire, that I inherited from my maternal grandmother. I lease the estate out as I have no need for it at present. It brings in a clear three thousand a year.
“If I…we have a son the estate will go to him, but if not, Grace will inherit it as there is no entailment away from the female line on the property. I have a fortune of thirty thousand that I have just invested with Mrs. Darcy’s uncle, Mr. Gardiner. From what I have been told of the success he has had, there will be more than enough to provide for Grace, any future daughters we have with a decent dowry, a legacy for second sons, and beyond.
“In addition, with the three livings I hold, I earn a little more than two thousand a year. I only spend a small portion, and most of the rest goes toward my investments. I hope you can see even if you had no dowry, we would not suffer financially.” He held her hand tighter as he saw her eyes continue to widen.
Charlotte Lucas was flabbergasted; she had not in her wildest dream believed she would attract a man such as this. Yes, he was wealthy, but more than that he was a good man, a man willing to entrust her with his daughter who he obviously adored.
While she was considering all that had transpired in such a short time, Elliot knelt in front of her. “Charlotte Lucas, I do not think we need a courtship.” He smiled as he saw her crestfallen look and went on. “Will you please make me the happiest of men and agree to marry me, to be my wife and a mother to Grace?” he asked hopefully.
Tears pooled and spilled down her cheeks as she heard what he asked, and she nodded vigorously. “Yes, Patrick, I will marry you. Yes, yes, yes! I will, I will be the best of mothers to Grace possible, and she will always feel the love of her family.”
As she gave him the answer he was hoping for, Elliot stood and drew her into an embrace. Both forgetting their four chaperones, she looked up into his eyes in an invitation he did not want to ignore and gave her a light, sweet kiss, which was her first from a man not of her family. Before he could deepen the kiss, they heard an enunciated “Ahem” as the four chaperones approached them.
“I assume this means that Mr. Elliot proposed to you, Charlotte? Please tell me he did, or my brothers are about to defend your honour and I would hate to have to root against them as the hero tries to escape with his lady love,” Kitty teased.
“Yes, he did Kitty. And he has made me so very happy.” Charlotte blushed as she nodded then looked at their chaperones. “Though I do appreciate the willingness to defend my honour,” she smiled sweetly at the four of them.
“Brother said if this happened, we were to bring you to see him in his study.” Georgiana offered.
“Lead the way please, Miss Darcy.” Elliot nodded once in her direction as he held his arm out to his betrothed.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Elliot, with Miss Lucas next to him, knocked on Darcy’s study door. They entered hand in hand, which told Mr. Darcy all he needed to know, though too Charlotte’s look of happiness would have said it as plainly, as did Elliot’s expression.
Darcy had not seen him this excited or happy since before he had lost his wife, though he would never say it to his friend. After some perfunctory questions, he granted his permission and blessing on behalf of Sir William Lucas.
He pulled a chord that would ring a bell to summon Douglas and requested he ask Mrs. Darcy to join the party in the study. As soon as is wife entered and she saw the look of joy on her friend’s face, she hugged Charlotte and congratulated Mr. Elliot.
