There was nothing else in the world she wanted.
She smiled. “Yes, I will.”
His smile grew wide, and he stood to gather her into his arms. For a long while, they stood in the tiny drawing room, holding each other. Elizabeth had the sense that she was home. She finally understood that it was not a place that made up thefeeling or even the idea, but the arms of her beloved. Wherever he was, she would find that sense of belonging, now and for the rest of her life.
He pulled away slightly. To Elizabeth’s mingled astonishment and delight, his eyes lingered on her lips.
They were engaged, after all. Mr Darcy might justly claim a kiss. And oh, how she wanted him to!
Suddenly, Mr Darcy chuckled. “I do hope your publisher will not be too upset with me.”
Elizabeth caught her breath, looking down at her hands as she rested them gently on his chest. “Because he is losing a writer?”
“Losing a writer? Certainly not. I meant only that I fully intend to take up a great deal of your time. You will have less time for writing once I take you back home to Pemberley.”
Elizabeth frowned. “You do not wish me to quit?” she asked in astonishment. Her love was justly proud of the place he held in society. Surely his pride could not admit Mrs Darcy, the mistress of Pemberley, to concern herself with writing Gothic novels.
It was his turn to frown. “Do you wish to stop writing?”
“No,” Elizabeth admitted. She let out a long breath. “How strange it feels to say that! I have so often felt almost frantic over a deadline, writing until my hands cramp. Or lost sleep over how a book might be received, knowing that my family needs the royalties my books bring. But I thought it only a wild dream that you would love me as I love you, that you would wish to marry me. And if that were possible, I had assumed that burying Mrs Laurence forever would be the price.”
“Never that,” Mr Darcy told her softly. “First, because Mrs Laurence is a part of you, and second, because she brings a great deal of beauty and meaning to the world. Your books are lovely, Elizabeth, and they are important. I should be doing the world a great disservice if I made you stop.”
She closed her eyes, her heart so full of love for him she half-thought it might burst. “Oh, how I love you,” she murmured. “Can this really be happening? Can this really be true?”
Mr Darcy pressed his forehead to hers. “It is true, beloved. I love you, and I want you exactly as you are,” he whispered, sending tingles down her spine.
She was almost too weak at the knees to stand. “I cannot believe it,” she said, a laugh bubbling up from deep inside her.
He leaned away and smiled down into her face. “Besides, Georgiana would be furious with me if I made you quit your writing.”
They shared a laugh, and he took her hands in his, enveloping them in his warmth. He lifted her hands and kissed her knuckles.
Tears spilled over onto her cheeks, and she finally felt able to take a deep breath. At last, she knew what it was to be fully accepted and completely understood. And not only that, she would enjoy this understanding and acceptance from the man she loved and who loved her in return.
She reached up and touched his cheek. “I have loved you for what felt like ages, Mr Darcy. And now, I am afraid to believe you are mine, afraid that I might wake from a dream.”
He reached up and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. “It is not a dream,” he assured her. “I will love you until the day I die. And maybe even after that,” he chuckled.
“And I will love you far beyond that,” she said. She smiled up at him, rejoicing to see his eyes shining with affection and desire.
“Let us marry as soon as the banns can be read,” Mr Darcy proposed. “I should like to go home and start our life together at Pemberley without delay.”
“I suppose I can wait for the banns to be read,” Elizabeth joked. “Just barely.”
“Just barely,” Mr Darcy echoed her softly. His gaze fell to her lips, and he drew in a quick breath. “As we are engaged now…Elizabeth, may I kiss you?”
The answer was on her lips even before she could think. “Yes. Please.”
Mr Darcy lowered his lips to meet hers in a tender kiss. Slowly at first, warmth spread through her middle, awakening her heart and mind to sensations she had never felt before. He deepened the kiss, and when she felt she might lose her breath entirely, he pulled back for a moment, then kissed her again, more passionately still.
How did I write about kisses before?Elizabeth thought wildly.I did not know the first thing about them.
“My goodness! What is this?”
Elizabeth and Mr Darcy turned swiftly. To Elizabeth’s chagrin, she saw that not only had her mother returned home earlier than expected, but all four of her sisters stood with mouths agape.
Elizabeth stepped forward to explain, but Mr Darcy held an arm up, effectively shielding her.
