Page 165 of Mr. Darcy Comes to Town

“I will run through my estate with you, Elizabeth, if only you will call me Darcy,” he said, his heart so full he thought he might expire of happiness right there on the Grecian bench.

“You do not wish me to call you Fitz?” she asked, her expressive eye sparkling again.

“Fitz, if you wish.”

“I think Fitz-darling, might be best,” Elizabeth said lovingly. “In private.”

“In private,” Darcy repeated. He longed to take her into his arms and hold her next to his heart. “When shall we be married?”

“Jane is marrying in May,” she told him. “I want her to have her own day. What do you say to June?”

“We must think of Clover,” Darcy said, turning them to face outward, side-by-side like any two assembly attendees. “By the end of June, the roads will be dryer, but not hard-packed. The grazing will be fine and green. Drovers stop at inns who welcome their trade, and where there are paddocks to hold the animals. Clover must rest and eat well in preparation for the next day. I think the end of June will be perfect.”

“Will that journey be our honeymoon?” Elizabeth asked, sounding eager. “I have no objection to it.”

“Yes, though perhaps once we arrive, and the animals are settled, we might withdraw to my hunting lodge for another fortnight.”

“That sounds heavenly,” Elizabeth assured him.

He stood and drew her up beside him. “If you do not dislike it, I will leave here for a time and go to your father. I will return in time for the supper dance with good news.”

“I do not dislike it in the least.” She frowned in mock fierceness at him. “But we shall not tell my mother tonight, if you please. I would much rather tell her in the morning, in the privacy of my own home.”

“I agree. Private will be better,” Darcy said. He took a deep breath, removed the softness from his expression, and led her back to her mother. He bowed politely and stalked off.

“Well,” Lizzy’s mama muttered with some acidity. “A fine man he might be, Lizzy, but he does not have the open manners I prefer. Perhaps it is as well he does not fancy you, my dear.”

“Yes, Mama,” Lizzy replied sanguinely. She smiled and curtsied to her next partner. I am to be married! To Mr. Darcy! I can scarcely credit it. He loves me. And I love him. Dear Lord, thank you! Thank you so very much.

Though Lizzy thought herself floating across the floor, she made it to her position in the country dance without mishap. She smiled and nodded and chuckled to her partner’s occasional sallies. But her mind was impolitely not on the dance floor. Rather it followed Mr. Darcy through Meryton to Longbourn Village, and from there to her father’s bookroom.

After her set ended, she sought a few minutes of Jane’s company. However, Jane sat with Mr. Bingley, their heads together, their hands clasped. So, instead, Lizzy sought out her dearest friend, who had returned to town yesterday, in time for the assembly today. She found Charlotte in a corner, fortuitously standing alone.

“Have you not been dancing?” Lizzy asked her as she took her arm and hugged it. “You look very nice.”

“I look acceptable, and I have been dancing,” Charlotte promised. “My last partner is bringing me a glass of punch.”

“Then I have very little time,” Lizzy whispered. “You must not show any expression, mind, other than mild pleasure.”

“What is this about, Lizzy?” she asked, her eyebrows high.

“Too much emotion, dearest,” Lizzy admonished, turning them partway toward one wall. “Mr. Darcy left the assembly to speak to my father.”

Charlotte, in an admirable fashion, made no exclamation. Instead, she pithily remarked, “So this is what occurs when I go away for a few days. I can see that everything is settled between Jane and Mr. Bingley as well. I have missed all the interesting events in our society.”

“There is more,” Lizzy promised her.

“Tell me quickly,” Charlotte ordered her. “I will stiffen my spine.”

“Mary and Dr. Oscar Gregg are to be married,” Lizzy revealed.

“Finally,” her friend said, adjusting her shawl so it did not trail on the floor.

Lizzy nodded emphatically. “I completely agree.”

“Your mother must be in raptures,” Charlotte said.

“Say nothing to her about Mr. Darcy, pray,” Lizzy urged. “I do not wish her to know my news until after the assembly. How she would crow if she knew.”