Page 76

After a moment of stunned immobility, Darcy expressed himself as sensibly and warmly as a man violently in love can be expected to do. Drawing her into the circle of his arms, he kissed her hair, her forehead, her cheek, again and again, as he had longed to do for months.

Leaning away, his eyes were drawn to her slightly parted lips but he feared that once he tasted their sweetness, he would never remember to ask the question that promised so much happiness for them both.

“My love for you has only grown… the feelings I spoke of in Kent seem like such pale things in hindsight. My heart recognized its other half but I did not know you… or myself… well enough to know what true love felt like.”

Taking her hands in his own, Will knelt before her. “Elizabeth Bennet, I love you more than life itself and I cannot imagine going through this world without you at my side to share it… in good times and bad, in sickness and health. Will you grant me the very great honor of being your husband?”

By now, tears were running freely down Elizabeth’s cheeks but she paid them no mind.

“Dearest Fitzwilliam… the honor would be mine.” She tugged at their joined hands until he rose to stand before her again.

The look of heartfelt delight that diffused over his face became him and she pulled her hands from his grip so that she might rest them on his chest.

“My dearest, loveliest Elizabeth…” was all Will could say before brushing her lips with his own. Tender kisses grew heated as their passion flared and soon he could feel her hands around his neck and in his hair as his own wrapped around her waist and pressed her to him.

There was no telling how long their ardor might have lasted had not a pair of geese suddenly erupted into flight almost beneath their feet.

As it was, the splashes and honking surprised the couple greatly; Elizabeth nearly leapt away from the low stone wall she had come to lean against, though Darcy would not let her leave the circle of his arms.

When they realized the cause of the disturbance, both blushed and Elizabeth giggled. “Are all of your wildlife such good chaperones, sir?”

Fitzwilliam spoke before thinking; “I sincerely hope not.” Then he blushed even redder and Elizabeth’s peals of laughter rang though the woods. Still somewhat stunned by the volatility of their combined passions, he took several deep breaths and attempted to bring himself under better regulation.

As much as he might like to go directly to Mr. Gardiner and present their new understanding, he knew that he was not currently fit to be seen in company.

Looking more carefully at Elizabeth, he realized that she was in no state to be returned to her relatives, either.

Her lips were kissed red and swollen and, though he could not remember doing it, her hair had been loosened from its pins and the maid’s careful work was threatening to tumble down her back.

Elizabeth noted the direction of his eyes and reached up to discover what had caught his attention.

Stepping back and turning away, she blushed slightly and began removing her hairpins.

Fitzwilliam stooped to retrieve one that had fallen to the ground and then watched wide-eyed as her long chestnut curls fell down her back unbound.

“I had no idea your hair was so long,” he said breathlessly.

Setting the pins on the stone ledge and using her fingers to comb out the tangles before beginning to re-braid it, Elizabeth responded, “Oh yes, I finally had to cut some inches off after Christmas. It was getting so heavy that it hurt my head when I put it up. And in summer it is so hot… I began to think of cutting it much shorter.”

Fitzwilliam reached out to brush a loose curl behind her ear. “Please don’t.”

With an amused but affectionate look at him, Elizabeth proceeded to pin up her hair in a simple style she often favored for precisely the reason that she could manage it herself without need for a maid. “Very well, if that is your wish, sir.”

As much as he wished to remain in their current position (or resume the previous one), Will recognized that they had a better chance of remaining relatively chaste if they were walking.

Looking about him, he chose a direction and offered Elizabeth his arm.

Accepting it, she rested her head on his shoulder for a moment before stepping off and leaving the lovely bridge behind them.

They strolled in silence for some minutes, hearts too full to speak. The path led them to a picturesque lane that curved through some woods and Darcy explained that it was little used but for some of the estate’s groundskeepers.

Ambling along the track arm-in-arm, Fitzwilliam’s mind had moved beyond the initial amazement that she had accepted him and begun to plan.

Should he leave immediately for Longbourn to finalize their engagement with Mr. Bennet or might he indulge himself by enjoying Elizabeth’s company at Pemberley for the remainder of her visit, though it was not quite proper for him to do so?

While Fitzwilliam was busy arranging their lives, Elizabeth turned to him and spoke but the only part of her pert inquiry that he could focus on was the ending. “Is that how it is, Mr. Darcy?”

“Will you not call me by my Christian name, love?” She had long done so in his dreams and he hungered to hear the syllables pass her lips. She directed a teasing smile at him.

“Shall I call you Fitzwilliam, then? I fear that shall take some practice; at present it makes me think of your cousin, the Colonel.”

Glancing around to make sure that no one was there to see them, Darcy caught her up in his arms and spun them about in a circle, laughing with the simple joy that she allowed him to do so.

“Well, I certainly would not want that! My closest family has always called me Fitzwilliam or Darcy, except when my sister calls me Brother, or Will.”

With her feet back on the ground, literally if not figuratively, Elizabeth looked up into his dark eyes, warm with love and devotion. “Very well, then; Will it is.” And received a happy kiss as a reward.

As they turned and began to walk again, she pondered. “Fitzwilliam Darcy. So Fitzwilliam is for your mother’s family?”

“Yes; the Darcy tradition is to name the heir for his mother’s family.

My father was lucky enough to be named after the Georges, but my grandfather was Worthington.

” Seeing her smirk, he laughed aloud. “Yes, another mouthful. I once heard that the boys at school called him “Worty.” Grandmother would tease that he married her for her surname, so that his own son would not have to endure similar teasing.”

“So Bennet will do quite nicely,” said Elizabeth before coloring when she realized what she had just intimated.

“Yes. Bennet Darcy will do superbly, amazingly, wonderfully well,” said Darcy as he again picked his fiancé up and spun them around in a circle, both laughing in the sheer joy of their new understanding.

Upon setting her down, they heard noises of a cart approaching from around the bend in the road, so collected themselves and walked forward again, this time on the grassy verge so that the vehicle had room to pass.

The man was an old tenant of Pemberley, hauling hay to the stables. As he passed, he raised his cap to them. “Hullo there, Mr. Darcy. Beautiful day to be alive, ain’t it?”

“Hello Mr. Martin! It is indeed. Good day to you, sir!”

Their exchange was near rote, repeated at many such encounters before, but today Fitzwilliam felt the full truth of the statement. He tucked Elizabeth’s hand around his arm and smiled down at her as they continued their walk.

They wandered far and paid little attention to their direction but luckily Pemberley’s park was ten miles around and its master was familiar with every inch.

Had Elizabeth not noted how low the sun was in the sky and prompted them to check their watches, the new lovers might have continued walking until the moon rose.

They spoke of their past and their future, of likes and dislikes, of friends and family and, most importantly, of their mutual joy in their new understanding.

Fitzwilliam was full of plans and wished for Elizabeth’s input on everything.

Lizzy found the realization of their love after so many obstacles and angst nothing short of amazing, and highly deserving of laughter.

Will attempted to apologize again for all the mistakes he had made but she only shook her head and reminded him to follow her philosophy; to remember the past only as it brought him pleasure.

When the couple finally reached the house, they had barely enough time to return to their respective rooms and change for dinner. Before parting on the stairs, Will stole a last kiss. “Shall we inform the others this evening or keep it our secret for now?”

Elizabeth smiled up at him, wondering how she had ever mistaken Mr. Darcy for a cold, unfeeling gentleman. “My love, I do not believe we could hide our happiness from our relations tonight if our lives depended on it.”

Such a statement surely merited another kiss and it was only by the sheerest luck that the couple had drawn apart before a footman appeared in the hall. Before he could distract her again, Lizzy curtsied and teased lightly, “Thank you kindly, Mr. Darcy, but I believe I can find my way from here.”

If the servants had observed the Master standing frozen, watching his guest’s light figure tripping down the hall and entering the chamber assigned to her, he would not have cared, for he was rewarded with a happy smile from his beloved just before she disappeared behind the door.

After a further moment of stillness, he shook his head and laughed out loud; he was acting like some love-struck puppy.

Even so, by the time he had gained his own chambers he had already decided to skip his bath and change quickly so as not to miss any time in Elizabeth’s company.