“You were certain I would accept…everything you proposed,” she said, amused, marvelling at how much she had changed. She would never have allowed anyone to determine her future before, yet everything he proposed aligned with what shehad hopelessly dreamt of—except for his departure, which she now did not know how to endure.
“I was sure you were as I had discovered you to be all this time, but I did not know how much you…hated me,” he said.
“My God, I never hated you. I said we should forget everything. We do not have time for such matters. There is only one thing I want.”
“Anything,” he said simply.
“My family will never come here, except for my aunt Mrs Gardiner, who will come tomorrow so I may explain the situation.”
“Elizabeth—” he tried to speak.
“Please, let me finish. This is not the moment to discuss my family. There is only one person about whom I wish you to change your opinion, here and now, trusting solely in my word—Jane. Never have you been so mistaken as in her case. In everything you have said about us, there may be a greater or lesser degree of truth, but Jane is exactly like Georgiana—”
“I believe you,” he said with the utmost seriousness, looking into her eyes.
“I shall ring to see if your guests…our guests have arrived,” she said.
He thanked her with a smile while saying, “They have not arrived yet. They will be brought directly here. We still have time to talk. I have not told you anything about my plans. After my uncle and godfather have been, our solicitors will come to draft my will, which I shall sign after we are married. You must know what it will contain.”
But Elizabeth dismissed his words with a gesture. “I am certain you have thought of every detail.”
“Perhaps you wish to negotiate…”
“I would have done anything for either of you without asking for anything in return.”
“And I was determined to lay everything at your feet in Kent. Now, that is no longer possible, but I want to be certain that your life will be as you have dreamt.”
As she looked at him, her heart tightened painfully. A troubling thought that was impossible to stop invaded her mind: if she had accepted his proposal in Kent, perhaps he would not be in this situation.
“Do not be foolish, Elizabeth Bennet, soon to be Elizabeth Darcy. These games of ‘what might have been’ are pointless.”
But at once, another thought struck her like a bolt of lightning, jolting her from that relative composure she had managed to gain.
“Wait, we cannot marry. I have not yet reached the proper age—”
But Darcy silenced her with a gesture and a smile. “I have written to your father, requesting your hand. You will explain the situation to him, and he will find a solution together with my uncle.”
“You have written a letter?” she asked, her surprise evident, anxious and slightly indignant that he would take such a risk.
“I dictated it. Do not scold me.”
“I am not scolding you,” she said with a sweetness he did not know she possessed, her voice barely above a whisper. “I am merely concerned about you moving despite the physician's orders.”
“But you are,” he replied. “Not only because you believe I would have written the letter myself but also because I sent it before knowing your answer.”
“Because you are arrogant—”
“Because I am a man who dared to hope you would say yes.”
And suddenly, she was utterly confident that she had made the right decision by sayingyesto this man who could see into her soul and read her thoughts. She did not love him with that feeling she had always imagined, yet something she had never felt engulfed her soul, making her wonder how many kinds of love existed in the world.
“One more word before they arrive. I lied a little to my family… I did not tell them the whole truth about what happened in Kent,” he said hesitantly, and it was her turn to understand instantly.
“You scoundrel! You told them I accepted you. But then, why did you wait for me to come and only afterwards ask them to make the wedding arrangements?”
“Given what happened—”
“In your imaginary story.” Elizabeth smiled.
