“I am desperately in love with you,” he whispered in her ear, sending chills up and down her spine. In the next moment his arms fell away, and when she glanced over her shoulder at him, he was once again standing impassively, watching her mother and sisters with what she once would have supposed was disdain. Knowing him as she had come to, she understood his expression meant he was not seeing them at all.
“Oh, look, they are returning,” Kitty cried. “So quickly!”
“He does not take her arm,” Lydia noted. “He is very red in the face.”
Mrs Bennet waved this off. “You cannot possibly see such particulars from here. His hat is casting a shadow, that is all.”
“They are walking at least three feet apart.”
“You exaggerate, Kitty. I am certain the gap is half that,” Mrs Bennet insisted. She and her two youngest daughters began bickering about the exact distance between the couple.
Darcy drew Elizabeth against him again, his hands at her shoulders. “How soon can we marry?” he murmured.
“Are you not eager to learn the state of Mary’s romance?”
“What I am eager for is so wildly inappropriate in our current setting, I can hardly believe I have the temerity to remain in this room.”
She blushed, but the truth was, she wished for the same things. “You know Jane and Mr Bingley set their date for mid-March, to give Mama the time to make it as splendid a celebration as this neighbourhood has ever seen. I suppose we need not have a double wedding, if you do not wish it.”
“You would be willing that I should get a licence and be married within a week?” he asked hopefully.
Laughing softly, she turned to face him. “I was hoping that my wedding clothes would be finished before I became your wife.”
“I will hire a dozen seamstresses to make it so.”
She reached up to touch his cheek, delighting in the feel of it as his hands briefly tightened on her shoulders. “When Mr Bingley and Jane announced their betrothal, it was Mama who decided when it would be. They are both too kind to overrule her. Perhaps you would be willing to persuade your friend that he does not wish to remain unwed for quite so many months as that? You could fetch your sister here for Christmas, and we could be married in two weeks’ time and bring in the New Year together as man and wife.”
He covered her hand with his. “That would be agreeable beyond anything. I will persuade Bingley, whatever it takes. Will you be able to convince your sister?”
“Oh, please. I suspect she might love Mr Bingley almost as much as I do you,” she replied smilingly. “She cannot be anything except happy to wed him sooner.”
“Where could they be going?” Mrs Bennet cried so loudly that Darcy and Elizabeth turned their attention back to the windows.
Mary and Mr Collins were disappearing down the drive in the direction of the village.
“Perhaps they wish to see Aunt Philips?” Kitty suggested. “Or they could be going to purchase her wedding clothes.”
“That makes little sense,” Lydia protested. “Why would she announce her betrothal to our aunt before us? Bringing him shopping with her would be even stupider.”
“My poor nerves!” Mrs Bennet moaned. “No one ever considers them!”
At that moment, Jane and Mr Bingley re-entered the room; Lydia quickly apprised them of the mystery.
“Oh, my,” Jane said. “I cannot imagine what Mary is doing.”
“I believe I know,” Elizabeth interjected. “I think she is bringing Mr Collins to Lucas Lodge.”
All six of her companions looked at her with varying levels of curiosity.
“She intends to introduce him—or re-introduce him—to Charlotte,” Elizabeth explained.
“Why would she do such a thing?” Mrs Bennet demanded. It took just a moment for her to understand what Elizabeth was implying. Her expression darkened, and she cried, “No! She cannot! I must stop her!” Mrs Bennet stepped towards the door as though she meant to chase the couple down.
Speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear, Darcy said, “Bingley, would you and Miss Bennet be willing to advance the wedding date, to, let us say, two weeks from today?”
The question had the immediate effect of diverting Mrs Bennet’s attention away from Mary and Mr Collins.
The resulting commotion filled the room with exclamations and excitement. Mrs Bennet forgot her intention of wresting Mr Collins to the ground and forcing a different answer from her daughter once both gentlemen assured their future mother-in-law she need have no worries for her future, regardless of Mary’s decision. By the time the discussion was settled, Elizabeth was not quite sure her mother remembered a proposal and its refusal had taken place, and the new wedding date was secured.
