A wide grin appeared on his face. “I am elated to know that. In fact, the knowledge may prevent me from getting much sleep tonight.”
A quiet chuckle escaped Elizabeth at his words. Still holding his gaze, she thought about how much she admired him. She knew he was the sort of man she could come to love and respect.
“Mr. Darcy?”
“Yes, Miss Elizabeth?”
“My answer is yes.”
He brought her hands to his lips again, the smile on her face matching his own.
“Thank you, Miss Elizabeth.”
Chapter 24
Elizabeth could see he was relieved, and so was she.
“I know we are only courting, but would you be agreeable to calling each other by our given names in private? I admit that I always think of you as Elizabeth, and many times I have nearly addressed you as such.”
She laughed. “I do not mind at all. What would you like me to call you?”
“Fitzwilliam.”
“It is interesting that your given name is your cousin’s surname,” she said.
“Yes, it is a Darcy tradition to give the firstborn son his mother’s family name.”
“What a lovely gesture.”
“I am glad you think so,” he said, his tone and smile both teasing and insinuating.
Elizabeth smiled and quickly lowered her eyes as heat suffused her face.
“Before I go to your uncle, I want to explain about Bingley. I knew the decision he made to not pursue your sister was difficult for him. Therefore, I was reluctant to confess my own feelings for you. Bingley truly admired Miss Bennet, but he was uncertain in his choice of her. Because of that uncertainty, I cautioned him about being so free with his attentions to her. I believe he gave it further consideration and ultimately decided it was best to cease his attentions to her.”
“Was it her lack of dowry? I neglected to mention . . . but I assumed you knew that I do not have much of a dowry,” Elizabeth said, her brow creased with worry.
Fitzwilliam squeezed her hands with his own. “I did, Elizabeth. I knew that. I appreciate your diligence and care on my behalf, but it is of no concern to me, and I do not want you to be concerned with it either.”
Elizabeth held his gaze with soft, glowing eyes. He was so considerate! She could have cried in that moment at his thoughtful words. Instead, she squeezed his hands in return.
“In answer to your question, I do not believe it was that simple,” Fitzwilliam said. “Bingley’s late father desired to raise the family’s social status. He had acquired wealth, and his next step was to purchase an estate. Since he died before accomplishing that, Bingley has been taking steps in that direction. His father also had matrimonial aspirations for his children. He wanted them to make advantageous marriages as high in society as they could manage. Miss Bingley has every intention of doing just that. Bingley wants to do his part to fulfill his father’s wishes, but he does not want a cold, society marriage. Though he found what he wanted in a wife in your sister, it was difficult for him to go against his family’s expectations.”
“I see.”
“So, while we were in Hertfordshire, Bingley was unaware of my interest in you. And since we returned to town, he and I have not been in each other’s company except for twice now that our paths have crossed briefly in public. However, I do mean to inform him right away that we are courting.”
Fitzwilliam smiled and kissed her hands again, drawing a smile and another blush from Elizabeth.
“This brings me to another important matter—Miss Bingley.”
“Yes,” Elizabeth said, her brow wrinkling, “I believe she thinks you belong to her.”
He sighed. “I believe you are correct. I have decided to drop all association with her, which is another thing I shall inform Bingley of right away. And I think we should be on our guard with her. I plan to explain the situation to your uncle, but I wanted to tell you first.”
“Are you certain you wish to drop the acquaintance?” Elizabeth asked.
“I am. I will not tolerate such treatment of you, Elizabeth. It will also send a clear message to her that she should cease all hope of becoming the next mistress of Pemberley, since I do not even wish for her to speak to me. I will let Bingley know that if she does attempt to speak to either of us or anyone in my family, she will receive the cut direct whether we are in public or not. It galled me to stand there and let that happen yesterday. I did not wish to usurp Bingley’s place as her brother, and I did not have an official relationship with you. However, that has changed now. If she causes you anymore problems, I will not hesitate to step in, nor will I defer to Bingley.”
