“Yes, I most certainly do, more than anything else in the world. That is why I requested a courtship to start us on the path which will lead to our wedding.”
“As I want only you to be my husband. What is the purpose of a courtship?”
“To find out if the couple are compatible and … if they want to move forward to the next step.”
“Exactly. Are you unsure of your love for me, or that you want me as your wife? Because I have no doubt in my deep and abiding love that I have for you or the fact that I want you to be my husband more than anything else.” Elizabeth paused and stared into William’s deep blue eyes. “If we agree on all this, then pray tell, why do we need a courtship?”
“Your father stipulated a courtship of six weeks followed by an engagement of equal time,” William explained.
“So, if, for argument’s sake, you proposed to me and we set the wedding twelve weeks in the future, would that not satisfy Mamma and Papa’s time stipulation?”
It was then William remembered towards the end of their meeting, Holder had said something to the effect of ‘as long as it is at least twelve weeks total’. Perhaps Lizzy had the right of it. Could it be that they would approve an engagement without an official courtship under those circumstances?
“I would not say this unless you were the only man I would agree to marry, but an engagement will offer me more protection from the sharks circling around my dowry. Many express the opinion that a courtship is nothing, so they proceed with their plans. However, with an engagement in place, especially if the marriage settlements are signed, that argument becomes moot.”
Not only did Lizzy’s suggestion align with his heart’s desire, but William also understood the logic behind her reasoning. The decision made, he dropped onto one knee before her. He reached up and gently took her hands into his own. Before he spoke, he turned each hand over in turn.
His lips felt warm and soft on the underside of her left wrist, and if that were not enough, William repeated the action on her right wrist. Elizabeth felt frissons radiate out from first one wrist and then the other. At the same time, her breathing sped up, and her heart began to hammer in her chest. When he withdrew his lips from her right wrist, Elizabeth felt bereft of the feeling of his lips.
“Lady Elizabeth Rose Carrington-Bennet, I could search the known world for ten lifetimes and still not discover a woman as well matched to me as you. I grew to respect you, your abilities, and intelligence before I came to love you. However, since I have admitted, until now only to myself, that I love you, my love for you has only deepened. If it were only the abilities I mentioned before, they would be enough for me to love you, but there are so many more reasons. You are compassionate and you never make those with less intelligence than yourself feel that they are inferior to you. You are very generous and liberal, and you treat servants as people and not chattel.
“From almost the first day you met Anna, you have welcomed her into your heart and treated her as another sister. Anyone who knows you can see just how fiercely you love your sisters, and my sister is not treated any differently than your by-blood sisters. Your love and friendship have given my sister a confidence that she might otherwise have not had, and the little girl, who was on her way to being shy and reticent like me is nothing like that. And that my beloved Lizzy, is mainly due to you.
“My parents have loved you more as a daughter than an honorary niece from the day they met you. I would not marry a woman just to satisfy them, butifyou accept me, I know they will be beyond pleased.” William paused and looked into the emerald-green eyes of the woman he loved more than any other. “As you are correct, with the way we feel about one another a courtship would not suit, Elizabeth Rose, will you complete me, make my heart whole, and agree to be my partner in life by marrying me?”
“William Alexander Robert Darcy, I have been falling in love with you for longer than I realised. It was only when I asked Mamma, a little before my birthday, how I would know if I loved you that I knew I was already in love with you, and there could never be another for me. I then understood that my love for you was deeper than the deepest ocean and more ardent than anything I could imagine. It was the reason I begged Mamma and Papa to speak to you soon after my coming out because ten seasons, twenty, or fifty would not enable me to find a man other than you with whom I would ever consider joining my life. For me, it was you or no one! That being said, there is nothing I want more than to marry you. So yes, William, yes, I will accept your hand in marriage.”
As much as William wanted to pull Lizzy into his arms and kiss her senseless, he was aware that the ten minutes were up or would be any second.
Elizabeth wanted to experience William’s kisses on her lips as much, if not more, than William desired to kiss her. Hearing either John or Brian clear his throat from just outside the door told her why William had not kissed her lips. She liked the footmen-guards very well, except in this instance where she wished they were not quite so good at doing their duty. With a huff, she pulled the door open, spearing the two giant men with a look of disappointment. All she elicited were matching grins from the two.
“William, I think we need to go see Papa, and my guess is that Mamma will be in the study with him,” Elizabeth said as she recovered her equanimity. They would find a time to achieve what was denied them now, of that she was certain.
“There is a ring I want to present to you, but it is not here with me, as I did not know that my fondest wish, of your hand in marriage, would be granted today. I will retrieve it from Darcy House when we go and share the great news with my parents,” William stated.
“As much as I appreciate that you want to present me with a ring, as long as I have you, I am contented. I will not refuse it if youinsiston gifting me with a token of our engagement,” Elizabeth teased.
“Teasing woman! Never stop.” He offered Lizzy, his affianced, his arm and led her out of the study past the still grinning, hulking men.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Edith had, in fact, joined Paul in the study shortly after William had led Lizzy out of the drawing room, the fingers of the hands being held interlaced. Based on what she saw, she had taken a friendly wager with her husband.
When Lizzy and William entered the study, each had an unmistakable glow of pleasure and something far deeper. Edith took one look at that and knew that had she bet a token or a nominal sum of money, it would have been hers. What she saw before her was not a courting couple.
Holder reached the same conclusion and looked at his wife to say, ‘you had the right of it’.
William stood before the desk, Lizzy next to him as he looked at her parents, both seated behind the desk. “I asked Lizzy to marry me, and to my everlasting pleasure, she has accepted me,” he stated plainly. “We seek your permission and blessings.”
“What happened to the six-week courtship and an engagement of the same length?” Holder pushed.
“We will be engaged for at least twelve weeks. Is not six plus six twelve?” Elizabeth responded calmly. “If you like, I can go see Jane and ask her to check my addition.” She looked at her father, challenging him to tell her she was wrong. He did not. “William did offer a courtship. I pointed out it was not needed, and there are many other advantages…” Elizabeth explained her reasoning for wanting an engagement and not a courtship first.
“Elizabeth’s reasoning is sound, and there will be a minimum of twelve weeks before they marry, so for my part, I have no objections,” Edith said. “We knew she did not want to swim in the shark-infested waters of London society, feeling like prey to all the fortune-hunting predators.”
“Truth be told, I suspected this may be the outcome which is why I told William that I wanted atotalof at least twelve weeks. Do you two want to select a date for your wedding? Yes, you have our consent and blessings.”
Edith nodded her head in agreement.
