Richard fixed his eyes on the cup in his hands and quite unnecessarily stirred the coffee. He had wanted an opportunity to speak to the lady but was uncertain how to start this conversation.
Mary waited patiently while he gathered his thoughts. When at last he spoke, the words were not what she expected.
‘In light of how I complained about Bingley’s behaviour towards ladies, I feel like a complete hypocrite. Just like him, I have been attentive towards you without an official courtship, although my intentions were with an eye towards matrimony.’
‘You speak as if those intentions are in the past…’
Richard took a sip of coffee. He sighed and pressed his lips together has he placed the cup on the windowsill. Looking out the window he said, ‘Miss Mary, you deserve so much better than an old soldier who needs an heiress.’
‘Do I not get a say in this?’ Mary asked quietly.
Suddenly he whipped around to face her. ‘I cannot go through with this. You are too fine a lady.’
‘Why did you suddenly develop scruples?’ Mary persisted. If her heart was to be broken, she needed to know exactly why.
Fitzwilliam squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as if in pain. He owed Mary an explanation no matter how much it hurt him. He opened his eyes and said, ‘Because I have come to care for you. I want you to have the best of everything. I want you to be happy. I love you too much to…’
Richard got no further.
The power of speech was denied him by a pair of lips pressed to his, as a pair of hands held his face captive.
Richard’s mind was too stunned to consciously move for several moments which allowed his body to respond appropriately. His arms slid about Mary’s slender waist as his lips returned her kiss with increasing fervour.
~T~
As it happened, the duchess was looking in the direction of Mary and Richard when Mary initiated that kiss.
She smiled and announced, ‘It seems that Mary and the Colonel have just sealed their engagement.’
All eyes turned to the couple and before they could get too carried away, Darcy walked over to them and loudly cleared his throat. When the couple separated from their kiss, he said with a grin, ‘I gather that congratulations are in order?’
Richard, somewhat discombobulated, briefly glanced at Darcy and coloured. ‘Ah… hmm…’ He looked at Mary. ‘Are you quite certain?’ he asked, undecided if he hoped the answer was yes or no.
When Richard had said that he loved her, Mary simply had to act. That silly man was too honourable to let him get away. ‘Let me be quite clear. Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, I love you too. Will you marry me?’ Mary said with a determined look.
‘Yes, it would be my honour to marry you,’ he replied with a soft smile.’
Darcy raised his brows and could not resist teasing, ‘Richard, you appear to have muddled things. The correct sequence is, you propose, the lady accepts and then you kiss. Not… you kiss, the lady proposes, and you accept.’
His cousin, who was still holding Mary, turned his head and said with a grin, ‘How would you know? You are not engaged. I am.’
‘Deveril, help me out. You are engaged. What is the correct sequence?’ Darcy asked as the rest of their party came to congratulate the couple.
‘I suppose it is an individual choice. While I am conventional, it appears that Fitzwilliam is not,’ Deveril replied with a grin and a shrug.
Darcy looked at Elizabeth and wondered if it was too soon to be conventional. As he was woolgathering, he missed hearing that Richard promised Mary that he would quit the army.
~T~
That evening Lady Matlock was thrilled when her son informed her that he was to be married to Mary Bennet.
‘I am excessively pleased to hear that you will be so well settled, but I hope that you will now resign from the army. You would not wish for the young lady having to fear becoming a widow as soon as she is married.’
Richard reassured her. ‘Never fear. Mary made me promise to sell my commission and I confess that I shall be glad to do so. Ten years ago, it seemed like a glorious adventure fighting for my country. Over the years the gloss has worn off and I shall be glad to turn my back on the bad food and the mud as well as the people who want to kill me.’
Lady Matlock fiercely embraced her son. ‘That is the best pre-Christmas present you could possibly have given me,’ she said with a smile while her eyes glistened with unshed tears.
~T~
