Falling for Mr. Darcy (41 page)

Elizabeth thought about it a moment. She looked up at him and said, “Very well, William.”

Darcy had not imagined that hearing his name fall from her lips would have such an effect on him. Unconsciously, he placed one hand on the small of her back as he brushed the other through the hair at her ear, coming to rest upon her cheek. He looked down at her and could not help himself. He whispered, “Forgive me, Elizabeth,” before lowering his head and pressing his lips gently against hers for the first time.

His lips were warm and she nearly melted in his arms at the touch. All too quickly, he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shaky.

Elizabeth was just as affected by the kiss but managed to say, playfully, “I will forgive you, sir — only if you do that again.”

Darcy smiled before again gently brushing her lips with his. After another too short moment, he pulled away and leaned back to take in a deep breath.

“Sir?”

Elizabeth laughed breathily and said, “It is now you who must forgive me. I am afraid this will take some time to get used to,
William
.”

Darcy laughed and swooped in to kiss her cheek quickly before sitting up, thrilled to be able to do so.

Elizabeth looked at him with an arched eyebrow as she said impertinently, “Am I to expect this reaction every time I say your name, my love.”

Darcy’s smile widened significantly at her endearing appellation. “I am afraid you may have to depend on it, madam.”

His bright smile transfixed her for a moment, and she hesitantly raised her hand to his face. She paused briefly just before her hand made contact, and she looked at him as if to say, “May I?”

Darcy nodded, and Elizabeth touched her hand to his face. She brushed the tips of her fingers lightly over his eyebrows and down the side of his temples to trace the dimples she loved and then finally to cup his jaw. She said in wonder, “I have wished to feel your face since we were last here in this grove.”

Darcy reached his hand up to cover hers and leaned into it. “If you had, then I am sure I would have scared you away, for I do not think I could have helped myself from doing this.” He turned his face to kiss the inside of her palm and then her wrist.

A soft murmur came from her throat at his caress, and she pulled her hand away from his face in embarrassment. Darcy recognized his own slipping self-control and said, “Elizabeth, may I walk you home? I should like to speak to your father as soon as possible.”

“I think that would be wise.”

Darcy gently guided her fingers back into the warmth of her glove before putting on his own and standing to assist her. He retrieved the reins of his horse and came back to offer her his arm. She smiled brightly as she tucked her hand in the crook of his arm.

“I cannot believe my good fortune, Elizabeth, to have received your acceptance.”

Elizabeth smiled playfully at him. “Can you not, sir? I should have guessed you would know I would accept. For how can I do anything else when I love you as I do?”

Darcy stopped as they both realized it was the first time she had voiced her love to him. He looked at her so tenderly that she could only smile sweetly in response.

“Elizabeth . . . ” he whispered.

She squeezed his arm and indicated to the road ahead. “Shall we?”

He nodded slightly, drew in a long breath and took her hand to place a kiss on her fingers before resuming their walk. After a few minutes of quiet reflection, he turned to her with unexpected nervousness.

“Elizabeth, there is something I wish to speak to you about.”

She looked at him with concern at the edginess in his voice.

He looked ahead, trying to fix his words, and finally said, “I wonder whether you would be willing to marry me soon. When I was traveling through London, I procured a special license. I thought, perhaps, we could marry in a double wedding with Jane and Bingley. I feel like I have waited so long already, and I did not want to wait any longer.” He paused to see she was surprised and hastened to add, “But, Elizabeth, if you wish to wait longer, I will understand. I do not want to rush you.”

Elizabeth turned towards him, and the smile on her face did much to take away his worry that she was upset at his presumption. “Do not trouble yourself, dear. I was only surprised by your request. When I left this morning, I had no thought of coming back engaged, and now, to think I will be married in a fortnight . . . It is all a little astonishing, that is all.”

“If it is too hasty for you, my love, I can wait. If I try very, very hard, I am sure I can even smile while doing so,” he teased.

Elizabeth laughed. “You mistake me, William. I believe I should also like to marry soon.”

“Hmmm,” he groaned, “perhaps it is a prudent choice, for if you are to call me ‘William’ now, I do not think any further delay would be wise.” He winked at her.

She blushed beautifully, and they walked quietly for a moment. By the time they reached Longbourn, though, they were laughing as they discussed various aspects of their future together. Their playful banter continued until they reached the entryway to the house.

* * *

Mr. Bennet heard Elizabeth’s laugh through the window of his study, and he stood up from his chair to see its source. He smiled serenely, with only a small amount of sadness, when his gaze rested upon his daughter being escorted on the arm of Mr. Darcy. Their level of familiarity was obvious, and he suspected that he shortly would be granting the man an interview. He watched as they walked up to the house and strolled over to his study door to receive them.

Just as they reached the door to his study, he startled them by pulling it open. “Mr. Darcy, sir, Elizabeth, won’t you both join me for a moment?”

He smiled with amusement as he watched them look at each other with surprise and then a bit of nervousness before nodding to him as they entered the room.

Darcy led Elizabeth to a chair adjoining his near her father’s desk. Mr. Bennet took his seat at the desk and laced his hands across the expanse of his chest as he leaned back and smiled mischievously.

“Thank you, sir, for inviting me — us — into your study. I was actually coming to request a moment of your time when you opened the door. There is a matter I would like to discuss with you.” Darcy spoke with a smile and a quick look at Elizabeth, who blushed and took a sudden interest in her hands on her lap.

Mr. Bennet pressed his lips together and chuckled. “I should imagine so. Tell me, did my Lizzy make you beg?”

Elizabeth’s father laughed aloud as he watched both heads of the young people in front of him snap up in surprised alarm. His daughter gave him an endearing frown before laughing herself. At her reaction, Darcy’s apprehension faded, and he, too, began to laugh.

“Then I suspect you know why I am here. Thankfully, Mr. Bennet, she did not make me beg, though I assure you, I would have if she felt it was necessary,” he said playfully.

“Papa, you are incorrigible.” Elizabeth laughed.

“Well then, as we all know why you are here, Mr. Darcy, why do you not begin by telling me why I should grant you my blessing to marry Lizzy?”

Mr. Darcy’s smile faded into one of passionate feeling as he resolutely declared, “There is no other man in the world, sir, including yourself — if you will forgive me — who will dedicate more of their life or can promise you more definitively to love and honor your daughter better than I. That is why, sir.”

Mr. Bennet leaned back into his chair, impressed and, with a smile, turned to his daughter who was blushing at the declaration made by her betrothed. “And you, Lizzy, why should I allow this man to take you away from me to the wilds of Derbyshire?”

Elizabeth, at first startled to be addressed, and still a little surprised to have been invited into attendance for such an interview, looked at her father and said, “Because I love him, too, Papa.” Smiling playfully, she continued, “And because Pemberley, I am told, has a very impressive library in which, I can assure you, you will be welcome at any time.”

Darcy chuckled and was pleased to hear her speak of Pemberley as her own. He reached for her hand and confirmed, “You will be as welcome as any, sir.”

Mr. Bennet laughed. “Well then, how can I refuse my blessing or the chance to visit your library, sir?”

They all laughed softly, and while Elizabeth and Darcy were caught momentarily in their own little world of happiness at having their wedding condoned by Mr. Bennet, he pulled out a paper from his desk and, for the second time in as many months, filled out the form and signed it. With satisfaction, he began to address his daughter and her new intended.

“Mr. Darcy, Lizzy, there is one thing you ought to know.” Mr. Bennet handed the paper to his son-in-law-to-be and began explaining its import. He told them about his wish for his daughters to marry for love and the extent to which he saved and thereby provided them the opportunity to do so by pretending diminished wealth. He expressed his gratification to Darcy and Elizabeth for choosing this course for their future life and thanked Darcy for loving his daughter well enough to overlook her lack of fortune. He finished with his requirement of their secrecy and watched as astonishment and disbelief played across their faces.

Elizabeth stood and circled the desk to embrace her father. “Thank you, Papa!” she said, through tears.

Darcy folded the paper and placed it in his pocket. “Mr. Bennet, I, too, wish to thank you; however, you have already given me so much in granting the hand of your daughter. I understand the reasoning behind your motives and secrecy, and I commend you for your bravery. You have quietly endured censure amongst your neighbors for your apparent poor management of your estate. You have my respect, and if I may be so bold to say” — he paused and looked back at his betrothed as she held her arm around her father — “I am honored to become your son. It has been many years since I had a father, and I feel fortunate to have garnered one so wise.”

Mr. Bennet hid the warm feeling that swelled in him at Mr. Darcy’s statement and calmly responded, “I appreciate what you have said and wish only to add that you are a most welcome son to me.”

Both men then cleared their throats to dispel the sudden tenderness they felt, and Elizabeth chuckled to herself as she watched the two men she loved most in life pretend indifference to the bond they felt.

“Well, you can at least shake hands; nobody will question your masculinity with such a gesture,” she teased them.

They laughed with chagrin at her jest, and each reached to shake the other’s hand.

Chapter 20

Elizabeth sat at her dressing table and watched as their ladies’ maid, Ruth, put the final flower at the base of her neck. She looked in the mirror and tried to convince herself that today she would, indeed, marry William. The previous two weeks had seemed as much a dream as the day he proposed. After having received her father’s consent, they announced their intended wedding date. Elizabeth could tell that her father was a little unhappy with the early date but only because she knew he wished to keep her home longer.

Elizabeth had then gone to her mother’s room and told her the news in private while Mr. Darcy stayed with her father in the study. She was worried about her mother’s reaction to the news but, instead, found something totally unexpected.

“You are joking, Lizzy! Engaged to Mr. Darcy? No, no I do not believe it!”

“Oh, this is a retched beginning, indeed! I am depending on you, Mama. Nobody will believe me if you do not,” Elizabeth laughed.

Now, reflecting back to that conversation, Elizabeth smiled again at her efforts to convince her mother that she was actually engaged to Mr. Darcy.
Perhaps I was too convincing in the beginning when I told her he did not care for me.
Her mother’s reaction was nothing like Jane’s, though, who sat stunned and quiet for some time before exclaiming excitedly how happy she was and how Charles would now be a brother to his best friend. She was ecstatic about the double wedding, which had initially worried Elizabeth. The two spent some time in conversation while Elizabeth finally told her sister of her long-held feelings for Mr. Darcy and how they had come about.

Elizabeth turned her head to examine her maid’s work. “It is beautiful, Ruth! I have never seen this style before. Where did you learn of it?”

Ruth patted a straying curl back into place and replied, “Thank you, mum. I’s seen it once in one of Miss Lydia’s London magazines.”

Elizabeth turned her head side to side to better view her coiffure. Ruth had twisted her curls into a cord on either side of her head; coming together to create a bun at the base of her neck where she placed many tiny beads and flowers. Her veil, she could see, would pin directly behind it to flow down her back.

“It is absolutely perfect, Ruth. Thank you.”

At that moment, Jane and Aunt Gardiner came into the room. Elizabeth’s aunt had already helped Jane into her dress, and Elizabeth turned in her seat to look at her. Ruth had styled Jane’s hair elegantly as well, with a silky braid around her hairline and the rest of her hair stacked beautifully in curls. A soft yellow ribbon woven through the braid matched Jane’s dress, which was white with embroidered yellow flowers cascading down the length of it. The bodice was white silk accented only with a thick yellow ribbon beneath her breasts.