“I reached that conclusion on my own, Mr. Bennet.”
“Indeed.” Mr. Bennet steepled his hands. “For my family’s sake, I wish the law agreed with you. In any case, I thank you for your reassurances regarding my family. It will comfort me to know that they will not be destitute.”
“Then I have your permission to ask Miss Elizabeth to marry me?”
“I suppose so.”
Mr. Bennet’s lack of enthusiasm made Mr. Darcy smile.
Mr. Bennet pursed his lips and then relaxed back into his chair, sighing. “You will, I hope, recall this moment when some – somemancomes to take away your own beloved daughter.”
“I need not wait that long; some man will doubtless come to take away my sister.”
“True enough. Go on, then, talk to my Lizzy and leave me to contemplate Longbourn without her.”
Mr. Darcy left Mr. Bennet’s study with joy in his heart. He understood Mr. Bennet’s feelings, certainly, but daughters leaving their parents was the natural order of things.
***
Mr. Darcy found Elizabeth in the parlour, sitting with her mother and sisters. He addressed the matriarch. “Mrs. Bennet, I have been given permission to address Miss Elizabeth in private.”
The smile that spread across Mrs. Bennet’s face showed Mr. Darcy how lovely she must have been in her youth. No wonder Mr. Bennet had been smitten! “I am delighted to hear it, Mr.Darcy,” she said. “Come girls, let us leave Mr. Darcy and Lizzy alone.”
“Might we not walk outside?” Elizabeth asked at once, all too familiar with her mother’s propensity for listening in at the parlour door.
“Of course,” Mr. Darcy replied.
Once outside, Mr. Darcy escorted Elizabeth away from windows, hoping to achieve some actual privacy, no mean feat in a full house. Finally, he turned to her. “Miss Elizabeth, I had quite a speech prepared for you, but now that we are here together, I find that I prefer just to tell you what is in my heart.”
He paused. Elizabeth’s heart was pounding; she remained silent.
“I love you, Elizabeth. I adore you. I am utterly entranced by you, by the music of your voice, by the beauty of your walk, by the shape of your eyes. I cannot imagine a life without you at my side. I hope, I pray, that you will agree to be my wife. Dare I hope that you might feel the same?”
She stared up at him, momentarily silenced by the intensity of his words and the passion in his eyes. Finally, she whispered. “I do. I feel the same. I love you. I will be your wife.”
He moved forward to take her in his arms, but then paused. “Elizabeth, you do understand that the Darcy name is tainted?”
“I do understand, yes, and it does not matter to me in the slightest! I will be honoured to share your name!”
Mr. Darcy could no longer resist; he took his beloved Elizabeth into his arms and held her close, hearts beating together. He kissed the top of her hair, gently, careful not to frighten her, but his restraint was overcome when she raised her face to his, stood on tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.
His hunger for her had been fueled by the weeks of waiting, and her action prompted him to pull her in hard, fisting his hands in her hair, and all but devouring her mouth with his own. Her passion rose to meet his, and they remained locked together…until they heard a throat being cleared.
They leaped apart and whirled about to find Jane staring at her sister, eyes wide. “Mama sent me to find you, Lizzy.” Jane’s voice was laced with amusement. “And I suspect it was well that she did.”
Elizabeth straightened her hair and her gown as quickly as she could, and then followed her sister into the house, Mr. Darcy trailing behind.
“I take it you said yes,” Jane murmured.
“I did,” Elizabeth said, her heart still pounding.
“Good.”
Jane whispered to Elizabeth, “Might we share our wedding day?”
Elizabeth replied, also in a whisper, “I am certain that we will not want to wait.”
Based on what she had witnessed outside, Jane was equally certain.
