Page 163

“I suppose that is the official line, but in truth, my purpose is of a more selfish nature.”

“Oh?”

“Indeed. The true reason I am here is to see you. I had to come as soon as I learned the truth. I needed to say the words that I have longed to say to you—the words I meant to say when you were at Pemberley.”

Darcy moved closer to Elizabeth, erasing any remaining distance between them. “When we last talked on the day before you left my home, I spoke to you of destiny. I asked you to wait for me. You do recall, do you not?”

Her eyes told him that she did, which was sufficient encouragement for him to continue his speech.

“You are too generous to trifle with me. I pray you will tell me that my being here is not in vain. I pray you will tell me at once—have I a chance? Tell me the wounds inflicted by Miss Bingley’s poison pen did not cut so deeply that all hope for something meaningful between the two of us is gone.”

The silence that accompanied Elizabeth’s warm smile encouraged Darcy to take her by the hand. Raising it to his lips, he bestowed a lingering kiss. “Elizabeth,” he began at length. Turning her hand over, he kissed her palm.

“I hope you do not find what I am about to say too forward, even untoward. What I have to say is so very important. I do not want to waste another moment of my life without telling you.” He kissed her hand again and then gazed into her eyes. “I love you—most ardently. Please do me the honor of accepting my hand in marriage.”

“Mr. Darcy, I—I do not quite know what to say.”

“Say yes.”

“But—but what do the two of us really know about each other?” Elizabeth cried. “Do you not think you ought to wait until you have had the pleasure of meeting the rest of my family—my mama, my three younger sisters, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia, and even my aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Phillips and my aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, before committing yourself in such a manner. I assure you that except for the latter two, my relations are nothing at all like my papa and my sister Jane.”

Gathering both her hands in his and resting them on his chest, Darcy said, “I very much wish to meet all your family, to spend time with them, and to get to know each and every one of them in their turn. But I assure you that whatever the result of such familial engagements, it will change nothing. From this day forward, I wish never to be parted from you again.”

“With so many uncertainties, how can you possibly be so confident?”

“My love, ever since I learned the truth, I have thought of little else other than the possibility of the two of us sharing our lives as one. By reason, by reflection, by everything, I mean for this to be my last day on Earth without you.”

CHAPTER 35

IRREVOCABLY GONE

The sun slowly springing forth on the eastern horizon, birds singing a familiar song—awakening the countryside and welcoming it to a new day—and the crisp, fresh air, all conspired to make it the perfect morning for two young lovers walking hand in hand.

Elizabeth’s high spirits would not allow her to stick to the established path, and thus she chose an adventurous route crossing field after field, jumping over stiles and springing over puddles with a particularly amused Mr. Darcy, her intended, by her side.

Not giving a great deal of care to their appearance, only one thing was needed to commence establishing the plans for their future felicity, and thus the purpose of their urgent trek.

“I have a great deal of respect for your father,” Mr. Darcy began in response to Elizabeth’s teasing him for wanting to venture to Longbourn at the break of dawn, “which is why I want him to be the first to know I have asked you to be my wife. Obtaining his blessing on our union is of vital importance to me.”

“My father has always held your family in the highest esteem. I can find no reason he might possibly object,” she said in a manner which belied her own unvoiced concerns.

“Even after we inform him that we shall be married by special license, and I intend to carry you off to Pemberley in under a fortnight,” Darcy said in reference to their mutual agreement to a hasty wedding. His agreement to help his friend Bingley with estate management matters notwithstanding, as the new master of Pemberley, Darcy had his own concerns too.

“Even though I now reside at Netherfield with Jane, I suppose the thought of my being separated from all my relations so soon as a fortnight might require getting used to. However, it is my mother who will suffer mixed sentiments regarding the timing.”

Embarrassing thoughts of all her mother might exclaim upon hearing of the engagement flashed through Elizabeth’s mind: “Oh! My sweetest Lizzy! How rich and how great you will be! What pin-money, what jewels, what carriages you will have! A house in town! Everything that is charming! Oh, and what a charming man! Your Mr. Darcy is so handsome—so tall!”

“Oh?” Darcy responded.

“Indeed. Once Mama learns of our engagement, she will throw herself into a frenzy planning the most spectacular wedding breakfast this part of the country has ever seen. Until this day, she laments not having the opportunity to oversee Jane’s wedding preparations. Who is to say when either of my younger sisters will wed?

“No, I am afraid we will be the beneficiaries of all her hopes and dreams of what the perfect wedding ought to be.”

“Then, I suppose I shall have to speak with your mother after I have obtained your father’s blessing and assure her that I shall make every resource I have at my disposal available to her, so she might have no cause to feel discontented.”

“You would do that, Mr. Darcy?”

“Trust me, my love, there is nothing in this world that I would not do for you so long as it is within my power.”