“So you did, my beloved husband.”
“And then somehow, something astonishing happened, and I won your love sooner than I dared hoped might happen. I have wondered so many times when the moment was that you felt the first touch of affection. There were only a few days between me writing to Bingley and the moment I made half my confession and half my proposal. At times I fear it was too hasty.”
“Do you doubt my love for you?” Her voice trembled with concern.
“Of course not,” he answered, placing tantalising kisses on her face. “I am certain you would not have accepted my marriage proposal if you did not love me. And if you did not love me, your kisses would not be so sweet and your caresses so passionate.”
“I hope there is much more proof of my love than just my kisses,’” she answered, her smile returning to her face.
“I certainly have further proof, but your kisses are my favourite, beyond a doubt,” he teased her.
Elizabeth caressed his face tenderly. “I am quite certain that I felt the first touch of affection when I saw you for the first time with the children and the puppies. Did I not tell you that? I believe I did. I began to love you before I stopped hating you for what I believed to be your cruel and selfish behaviour. I beganto love you before I was even certain of who you really were, Mr. Darcy.”
He turned his head and placed a soft kiss on her palm.
“But I could ask the same thing, Mr. Darcy. When we met at the assembly, you called me tolerable and refused to dance with me. Then you claimed that during that party at Sir William’s, you were already in love with me. There were no more than a few days between those two moments, were there?”
“True. I even admitted my admiration for your fine eyes to Miss Bingley! Can you imagine?”
“Poor Miss Bingley! What a shock she must have suffered when she heard of Charles’s marriage to Jane as well as our marriage.”
“Indeed. Bingley only mentioned they had a huge quarrel, and I requested no further details. I have my own share of quarrels to deal with.”
“So, when did you fall in love with me, Mr. Darcy?”
“I really cannot say. I was in the middle before I even knew it. And I failed to recognise the depths of my affection precisely because I had never felt it before.”
“I wonder,” Elizabeth asked, “if not for those horrible rumours about Mrs. Gilroy, would you have proposed that day?”
“I wonder too. I was eager to confess my love, but I feared I might have misjudged your feelings again, that I might have been too hasty, that I had assumed too much. I hesitated to open my heart to you and even more so to propose so quickly. I do not know what I would have done. I probably would have waited until we met again in London.”
“I was afraid that I might assume too much too. Although I recognised your attention to me, I wondered whether you would take such a bold decision — against your family’s expectations. I am afraid to ask what your uncle and aunt said when you first told them.”
“Well, the first person I completely shocked was my cousin Geoffrey. Just imagine the torment of leaving Rosings and the scandal Lady Catherine created — her screaming that I had betrayed her, that I was the ruin of her and Anne’s lives simply by offering the Gilroys another home, far away from her. She was angry about losing her power over them.”
“I am relieved the Gilroy family is safe,” she whispered in his arms.
“Mrs. Reynolds informed me they are well accommodated at Pemberley. Mrs. Gilroy is working as a seamstress, and she has some clients from Lambton,” Darcy said.
“I am glad the children are well taken care of. I cannot wait to see them — they must be happy there.”
“I hope they are. Tom has expressed a wish to join the army. Once we are home, I shall see how we can better support him.”
Elizabeth looked at him adoringly, touching his face. “So, what were you saying about the colonel?”
“We finally left that madness of Rosings, and about an hour later, out of nowhere, I told him we were engaged. I still laugh recollecting his dumbfounded expression. It took half of our ride to London to convince him I was not joking.”
“Poor Colonel! But he could not have been more shocked than my uncle and aunt, Jane, and poor Charles. Or my own parents. I too needed a long time to convince Papa I was serious. As for Mama, she has been asking me several times a day whether it is true. While you were in London, she was terrified that you would run away and not return.” She laughed.
“I can safely say that your mother loves me as much as you do, though in a completely different way,” he said, joining her in her laughter. “Poor Bingley must feel neglected, as she has not given her affection equally.”
“Do not worry — Charles will be the recipient of my mother’s whole attention from today. In fact, he might have more than hecan handle. I pray he and Jane will have some peaceful days to begin their marriage.”
“Netherfield is large enough to provide them with privacy, and the master suite is quite separated from the other rooms,” Darcy replied, and Elizabeth blushed. “Bingley insisted we should stay for another week, but that was not appealing to a man so deeply in love and so yearning for his new wife,” he answered, kissing her again.
“I am glad we left. I look forward to being alone with you. As much as I love your family, I wish for no other company but yours.”
“So do I, my love.”
