“Did you write to him?” Elizabeth asked eagerly. He had shared many stories about himself and Richard as children with her over the past few days.
“I did,” he assured her, “and the missive is on its way to him as we speak. I asked that he bring my sister with him.”
“Oh, dear,” Miss Elizabeth pulled the corner of her lower lip between her teeth as a look of concern furrowed her brow.
“Should I not have?” Darcy asked. Had she not assured him yesterday that she was eager to meet his sister? Had something changed on that front?
“Do you not remember how my younger sisters offered to buoy her spirits?” she asked in reply.
He nodded. He remembered that conversation quite well, for that was the day on which a surprising source – Mrs. Bennet – had made him reconsider his definition of what an accomplished lady truly should be. “I am certain no ill will befall Georgiana from the experience.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “I do hate to be the less agreeable one of the two of us, but I am not entirely certain that you are correct in that.”
Darcy knew that Elizabeth’s youngest sisters tended to be silly, but Georgiana would not be without support to remind her of how she should behave.
“You must remember,” he argued, “that I will be here, you will be here, my cousin will be here, and Mr. Bingley and Miss Bennet will be here. Therefore, I feel I can say with great confidence that all will be well.”
“I agree with Mr. Darcy,” Miss Bennet inserted.
“How can you say so when you know how trying our sisters can be?”
“Have you considered that, perhaps, Miss Darcy will present an example for them to follow?” Miss Bennet’s tone as she presented her argument was all that was cheerful.
Elizabeth’s response was to roll her eyes and shake her head.
To Darcy, watching this dispute between sisters was much more pleasant than any of the disagreements Bingley’s sisters had ever had in his presence.
Then, again, even those had been crafted and staged in such a way as to attempt to draw him along as a possible match for Caroline.
Here, however, there was no pretense. This was just two sisters debating with no thought for anything other than the resolution of the disagreement.
“Darcy can always lock his sister in her room, if need be,” Bingley suggested with a laugh. “But truly, she has weathered a friendship with my sisters; therefore, I think that Georgiana will survive two more trying sisters with aplomb.”
“I would love nothing better than to be proven wrong in my assessment,” Elizabeth said. “However, if I am, instead, proven right, do not be disgruntled when I remind you of this conversation.”
Darcy chuckled. “Does she always point out when she is proven right, Miss Bennet?”
“I wish I could say she does not. However, that would be a lie.” A playful smile graced Miss Bennet’s face. It was a comfort to know that she was capable of teasing and being teased. It would stand her in good stead when it came to dealing with Bingley.
“It would be very poor of me not to see to your proper education by refusing to point out your error, dear sister,” Elizabeth defended playfully with a laugh.
“Fear not, sister mine, my education in such things is not lacking. However, yours may be.”
If he had not seen it with his own eyes, Darcy would not have thought it possible for Miss Bennet to look so sly as she turned her full attention to her sister. There certainly was more to her than he had first assumed.
“Yes, so you have said.” A faint blush stained Elizabeth’s cheeks.
Darcy found it to be a most intriguing response, and he would dearly love to know the story behind the exchange.
“Darcy plans to speak to your father, Miss Elizabeth, and I would like to put my petition forward at the same time, if that is acceptable to you, Miss Bennet? Ow!” Bingley rubbed his arm – the one Darcy had just soundly thwacked with his elbow. “Was I not supposed to mention that?”
“No, you were not.” Darcy shook his head in exasperation. This was not how he had planned to present himself to Elizabeth.
“Then,” Miss Bennet said, “we shall pretend that we did not hear a thing.” She smiled sweetly while a twinkle of amusement danced in her eyes. It was an expression which was very reminiscent of her younger sister.
“I will perpetrate no such ruse –” Elizabeth began.
“I had hoped to ask you, before we entered Longbourn, if it would be acceptable to you for me to do so,” Darcy inserted over top of whatever Elizabeth was attempting to say.
“I know when we canvassed this topic yesterday, it had been as a future possibility, but I find I do not wish to wait.” He blew out a breath.
The rhythm of his heart matched the beat of his horse’s hooves on the ground when racing through a field.
“If you will allow me to speak…” She fluttered her lashes and waited for him to give a nod of his head.
She was smiling. That was a good thing, was it not?
“As I was saying,” she continued, “I will perpetrate no such ruse, sir, for I do not wish to forget this moment.”
A crease formed between his eyes. Why would she want to remember this moment?
“It would be a sad thing indeed to forget the eagerness of a gentleman to secure my hand, would it not be?” she explained.
“Especially, when I have come to admire him greatly and when his eagerness matches my own.” She lifted one shoulder in a small shrug.
“Is it not a dizzyingly curious feeling how rapidly one’s opinion can be swayed and firmly set in a completely opposite direction? ”
He felt the same way. How quickly had he moved from disapproving of not only her, but also her whole family, to wishing to tie himself to both her and, by extension, her relations?
Dizzying was the perfect word for the rapidity of the change, and yet, it was not an unpleasant sort of dizzying feeling.
In reality, it was rather thrilling. “Then, you do not mind if I speak with your father?”
“Not at all.”
“It is not too soon?”
“Do not talk yourself out of it,” Bingley grumbled.
“I am not talking myself out of anything. I am only making certain that Miss Elizabeth does not feel pressured to answer positively because I was forced to present my plans in a public fashion.” He gave his friend a withering glare.
Not that such an expression ever did much good where Bingley was concerned.
Still, his annoyance needed to be made known.
“I assure you that it is not too soon for either of you to speak to our father,” Miss Bennet inserted. Her eyes were fixed on her tightly folded hands.
Bingley leaned forward and covered her hands with one of his. “Then, I will join my friend.”
“And I will be twice as happy as I now am,” Miss Elizabeth added.
Darcy held her gaze and allowed his own happiness to show in his expression as the carriage slowed before turning into Longbourn’s drive.