With his sister pointing these things out to him, Darcy felt rather sheepish. There he was jumping to conclusions again after doing that previously had only led to heartache for both himself and his Elizabeth. “You, Gigi, have grown in both wisdom and maturity,” Darcy observed. “You, sister of mine, have the right of it. I should not have allowed my mind to go to dark places based on my own thoughts and without anyevidence to support it.”
Gigi smiled warmly. “It is good that you are willing to consider my opinions and do not treat me like a delicate young girl any longer,” she said.
Now the question became, if his dearest, loveliest Elizabeth was in the area, where was she? Why had he not considered they may not be at the Rose and Crown Inn? It was then that Darcy remembered that Mrs Gardiner had many connections in Lambton, and she, her husband, and nieces may well be being hosted at the home of one of her local friends. He would have to trust that Gigi would receive a note from Elizabeth as soon as possible.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As the hour of eleven approached, Elizabeth felt like she could not sit still in one place. With a smile of understanding, Jane rubbed her back.
“You will see Mr Darcy soon, Lizzy; you have nothing about which to be nervous. It is not like you need to divine his feelings for you thanks to the correspondence you two maintained through Gigi,” Jane said to calm her sister. “And no, I have not shared that with Aunt Maddie, Uncle Edward, or even Andrew. It is your story to tell.”
Just like they always did, Jane’s words had the effect of calming Elizabeth greatly. “I was being a silly goose, was I not?” She asked.
“I will not disagree with you,” Jane teased.
The jest had the intended result; Elizabeth smiled as she playfully knocked her shoulder against Jane’s. “It still amazes me how I went from hate to love with William,” she stated.
“Lizzy, you know that love and hate are two sides of the same coin, do you not? Both require deep emotions, so it is not so strange to me that you went from one to the other. I couldtell, even if I said nothing, that you were affected by Mr Darcy’s slight at the assembly, far out of the common way. Admit it, you were never indifferent to him,” Jane opined.
“I believe that you are right,” Elizabeth owned after she thought about her sister’s words for some moments. “It seems that I am not the only Bennet sister who is adept at character sketches.”
“As acknowledging what I saw about people more often than not did not fit with my old way of seeing everything and everyone as good, I pushed what I saw in other people’s characters from my consciousness,” Jane admitted. Just then Andrew approached and Jane turned her beaming smile on her affianced.
“The Darcys are on the estate and on their way to the house,” Hilldale reported. “It will be less than ten minutes.
Elizabeth felt an involuntary twist of her stomach as the nerves returned. Jane’s squeezing the hand nearest to her allowed Elizabeth to calm once again. She realised that it was not dread she was feeling, but rather, great anticipation. It had been too long since she and William had been in company.
Aunt Elaine and Uncle Reggie remained in the drawing room and did not make their way out to the drive. Elizabeth remained with the rest of the party, no matter how much she wanted to burst out of the house and throw herself into William’s arms.
Like Elizabeth was thinking of him, Darcy’s mind was very agreeably engaged thinking of her. So much so that when the coach was drawn to a halt, and Thompson, his rather burly footman, had the step retracted and the door opened, Darcy still sat looking off into nowhere. It was only when a giggling Gigi tapped his knee that he was snapped out of his pleasant reverie. He looked up and saw they were in the drive opposite the double front doors leading intoSnowhaven’s manor house.
It was his day for sheepish looks as he shot one to his sister and alighted before turning and handing her out. As the siblings walked towards the front doors where the butler awaited them, Thomson closed the door and stowed the step. He followed the coach towards the stables and coach house.
“Welcome, Mr Darcy, Miss Darcy,” the butler intoned. “The family is waiting for you in the main drawing room.
As they knew their way around this house as well as they did their own, the two Darcys walked to the drawing room without being announced. When they entered, they both froze. They had just discovered where the Gardiners and their nieces were being hosted.
“Lizzy! Jane!” Gigi squealed, throwing decorum to the wind.
As he looked upon the face of the woman he loved more than life itself, Darcy’s face was split with a wide, dimple-revealing smile.
Chapter 28
It took an elbow to his ribs from Andrew for Darcy to snap out of his stupor. He had stood there smiling at Elizabeth like a simpleton while saying not a word. She was looking at him with an arched eyebrow. He willed himself to speak.
“I see that there was a broader meaning to ‘in the area’ than I had first thought. On the way here, I stopped at the Rose and Crown Inn to leave a message of welcome for all of you,” Darcy shared. “Now that you are here, would you be willing to grant me a private interview?”
“William, before Lizzy replies, there are some announcements to be made,” Matlock interjected.
As they had expectedanannouncement about Jane and Andrew, the Gardiners, Jane, Andrew, and Elizabeth could not fathom whyannouncementswas said.
As much as he enjoyed seeing the looks of confusion on everyone’s faces save his beloved Elaine, Matlock did not want to keep them in suspense for too long. “First, the one of which everyone, excepting Gigi and William are aware. It is my honour to inform you that Jane will be our daughter, as she has agreed to accept Andrew’s hand in marriage.” Matlock saw the questions forming from both his niece and nephew. “Once I have made the next disclosure, I am sure Jane and Andrew will be more than willing to explain all to you.”
Darcy and Gigi both held their questions at their uncle’s statement, and like the rest in the drawing room who wereignorant of what was to come, they wondered what they were about to be told.
“We,” Matlock indicated his wife, “received an express from Richard. It seems he is not willing to allow Andy to have all the glory because he too is engaged to be married.” He looked at the Bennet sisters. “We will rely on Jane and Lizzy to tell us more about her, as we believe you are very good friends…”
“Charlotte!” Elizabeth exclaimed before Uncle Reggie could say the name.
