"Elizabeth Bennet. Will you do me the honour of becoming my wife? Will you resolve to tolerate me for the rest of our lives?"
Elizabeth looked down at him, at the fear in his eyes, and the love reflected in their depths. She thought of the man who saved his sister, who rode to Longbourn in the cold to speak with her father, and the man who apologized to her for saving her sister from an unworthy man.
"I will not tolerate you, Fitzwilliam," she said, her voice choking with tears.
His face fell.
"I will love you," she finished, dropping to her knees in the snow beside him, heedless of her silk gown. "I will love you fiercely. Every day. For every year."
"Yes?" he whispered.
"Yes," she said. "Yes, yes, yes."
He let out a sound that was half-laugh, half-sob. He pulled the ring from the box—a stunning pink diamond—and slid it onto her finger. Then he pulled her into his arms.
He kissed her. It was cold air and warm lips, desperation and promise. It was the end of pride and the beginning of prejudice's demise.
And as they kissed, kneeling in the snow, the bells of St. George's began to toll.
One. Two. Three.
"Happy New Year," he murmured against her lips.
"Happy New Year," she replied.
They stayed on the terrace until the bells finished ringing, wrapped in each other's arms, ignoring the cold. Her head was resting on his chest, exactly above the spot he used to rub because it hurt. When she pulled back, she looked down at her dress and laughed.
"Your dress," Darcy noted, pointing at the wet hem of her ivory silk. "It is ruined."
"It is christened," she corrected. "It has a story now."
"We should go inside. Before Robert sends out the hounds."
"Or before Lady Catherine comes to check my posture."
They walked back into the ballroom. The atmosphere had shifted. Inside the supper room, the guests were mingling, toasting, celebrating the arrival of 1812.
As they entered, heads turned. It was impossible to miss them. Darcy looked dishevelled and triumphant. Elizabeth looked radiant and wet.
Robert spotted them first. He marched over, Jane on his arm.
"Well?" Robert demanded. "Did you do it? Or did you just roll around in the snow?"
Elizabeth held up her hand. The pink diamond caught the candlelight.
"Finally!" Robert shouted, grabbing Darcy's hand and shaking it violently. "Welcome to the club, Cousin! We are all mad here!"
"You proposed first," Darcy accused, lookingat Jane's hand.
"I panicked," Robert admitted cheerfully. "But she said yes, so it worked out. Congratulations, Miss Elizabeth! You have taken on a terrible burden, but the estates are nice."
"I am very happy for you," Jane hugged Elizabeth, tears in her eyes. "Oh, Lizzy. We are to be cousins."
"Sisters and cousins," Elizabeth hugged her back. "It is a tangled web."
The families converged. The Earl was beaming. Lady Matlock looked smug with an"I told you so"expression. Mrs Gardiner looked proud.
Georgiana ran to them, abandoning all decorum.
