Page 37 of Longbourn’s Son (Pride and Prejudice Variation #22)
“Have you been to Hyde Park before, Miss Elizabeth?” Darcy asked. He and Richard had called on the Gardiners as early as was remotely appropriate, and gained permission from Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner to carry Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth off to Hyde Park in the Darcy carriage.
Elizabeth looked around and drew in a deep, rapturous breath. “Indeed I have, though not quite this early in the year. I adore the smell of early spring, and it is marvelous to see the leaves unfurling and the flowers pushing their way out of the earth.”
“I too always enjoy spring,” Darcy agreed calmly, though his heart was hammering within him. Would she accept his offer of marriage? Even now, he was not entirely certain.
Ahead of him, Jane was walking with Richard, who was, Darcy knew, quite as nervous as he was.
“Oh, look at the geese!” Elizabeth exclaimed, turning her steps towards the Serpentine, the lake which separated Hyde Park from nearby Kensington Gardens.
Darcy happily followed her to the shore, where numerous birds were squawking and swimming and diving for food. For a moment, the pair stood side by side, Elizabeth gazing out happily at the shimmering waters and Darcy screwing up his courage to speak.
“Miss Elizabeth?”
She turned on him with a clear eyed gaze and a warm smile. “Yes, Mr. Darcy?”
“I hope all is well at Longbourn?”
She nodded with satisfaction and said, “I received short letters from both Lydia and Kitty yesterday; there are, of course, minor adjustments which need to be made with Louisa and Christopher moving into the house, but for now, all is very well indeed.”
“I am glad.”
“So am I,” Elizabeth said. “My father and mother were, regrettably, not well matched; he is a great thinker and reader, you know, and my mother was not. Louisa has matching interests to my father and is a very sensible lady; I am delighted that she was willing to join herself to my father, and by extension to our merry menagerie.”
“While I do not pretend to know the new Mrs. Bennet’s heart, I am confident she can see the great love you have for one another, and that your love will expand to include her little son.”
“Indeed it will, Mr. Darcy. Lydia and Kitty cherish Christopher, and I think Luke is delighted to have another male in the house. Before we left, he was expressing a desire to teach the little one to ride a pony when he is old enough.”
“I remember teaching Georgiana when she was only four years old,” Darcy mused. “It was a special time.”
“I suppose she is now an excellent rider?”
“She is. Do you enjoy riding, Miss Elizabeth?”
“I do not,” Elizabeth admitted. “My father never permitted us to buy horses specifically meant for riding, as he was fearful that Luke, who does adore all manner of equines, would act irresponsibly and injure or kill himself. My father is finally softening after Luke’s mature response to the Wickham and Williamson situation, but I am rather set in my ways now.
In any case, I enjoy walking very much.”
Silence fell again for another minute and then Darcy began again, “Miss Elizabeth?”
“Yes?”
“I feel I should explain some things regarding that most unfortunate interaction with Lady Catherine de Bourgh.”
“You need not, Mr. Darcy. I assure you, I was not discommoded in the least by her ranting.”
A laugh escaped the gentleman, and Elizabeth’s heart beat more rapidly. He was a remarkably good looking man, but when he laughed, he was the most handsome man she had ever beheld.
“Indeed, you were not, Miss Elizabeth,” he said when he recovered himself. “I believe that my aunt had never been quite so confounded in all her life. She thinks very highly of herself as she is daughter of an earl, and mistress of the large estate of Rosings in Kent.
“Does she have a son to inherit?” Elizabeth asked curiously.
“No, she has but one child, my cousin Anne, who will gain control of the estate on the day she turns five and twenty. However, Anne is not a healthy woman, and no doubt my aunt will continue to oversee the estate until my cousin marries.”
“And you, it seems, were the gentleman she chose to be husband to her daughter.”
“Yes,” Darcy agreed with a frown. He and his companion were wandering slowly along the Serpentine now, and his expression softened at the sight of a nest in the rushes where a female goose was no doubt sitting on her eggs.
It brought peace to his heart that in midst of uncertainty, the seasons continued on their endless cycle.
“Yes,” he repeated with a sigh. “I am not certain why Lady Catherine was so insistent on our match. One estate is quite enough for a man, after all. I would have found it difficult to care for both Rosings and Pemberley.”
“Based on my brief interaction with your aunt,” Elizabeth mused, “I wonder if she wished for you to sweep her daughter away to the north so she could continue to be mistress of Rosings.”
“I agree,” Darcy said. “For many years, I felt a certain obligation to marrying my cousin. In my view, my aunt is not a good administrator of Rosings. She clings to old ways of farming, and does not care enough for her tenants’ needs.
Anne has neither the strength nor the will to counter her mother’s plans, and thus. ..”
He trailed off and Elizabeth nodded wisely. “I do understand. It pains Luke very much when tenants refuse to use modern methods of agriculture and husbandry. It must be difficult to know that you could marry Miss de Bourgh and solve the problems you observe at Rosings.”
“But I will not marry Anne,” Darcy declared, stopping and looking down into Elizabeth’s lovely face.
“Richard helped me see that I was carrying a burden not meant for me. Indeed, there is no reason to think that Anne wishes to marry me, either. We are both taciturn, silent creatures. We both would benefit from ... from a more lively companion for life.”
Silence fell between them, and Elizabeth’s heart beat with hope. Could it be?
“Miss Elizabeth?”
“Yes?”
“When we danced at Netherfield, you told me at the time ... well, I gathered from your conversation that you felt it incumbent upon yourself to live within easy distance of Longbourn for the sake of your younger sisters and brother. Do you ... do you still feel the same way?”
She shook her head, her clear gaze fixed on his dark eyes. “No, Mr. Darcy, I feel very confident that my new stepmother will be a good mistress, and good mother to my siblings. My role has changed. I no longer feel bound to Longbourn.”
He smiled in open relief and reached forward impulsively to take her gloved hands in his own large ones. “Miss Elizabeth, I have admired and loved you for many months, though I am certain I have not showed my adoration appropriately. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “You truly have loved me for months, Mr. Darcy?”
“Indeed I have,” he vowed. “Your liveliness, your intelligence, your commitment to your family captured my heart last autumn, though I was not wise enough to act on my attachment to you. How I missed you this winter! Please, do make me the very happiest of men and accept my hand!”
She smiled tremulously and said, “You are quite certain you are at peace with my uncle in trade, and my uncle the solicitor?”
“That matters not at all,” he declared. “Yes, even a year ago, I was fool enough to believe that such things mattered a great deal. I know better now.”
Tears of happiness spilled from Elizabeth’s eyes, and she tightened her grip on Darcy’s hands. “I love you as well, Mr. Darcy. I accept your proposal with joy.”
His breath rushed out of him, and he fell quite light headed with relief and joy. “Miss Elizabeth...”
“I believe you can now safely call me Elizabeth, Fitzwilliam,” she said daringly.
“Elizabeth,” he murmured. “My dearest, loveliest Elizabeth.”
She smiled up at him mistily, then pulled him a little closer and rose onto the tips of her shoes, whereupon she kissed him firmly on the lips. He welcomed the kiss ecstatically and was inordinately disappointed when she moved away a few inches.
“We will be happy together,” she announced.
/
“Miss Bennet?”
Jane, who had been enjoying the warm rays of the sun as they reflected off the stones of the pathway, turned to look up at her companion. “Yes, Colonel Fitzwilliam?”
Richard Fitzwilliam cast one quick glance around, noting with satisfaction that no one was nearby; Darcy and Miss Elizabeth were the closest, and they were currently wandering along the edge of the Serpentine.
“Miss Bennet, I have come to love, admire, and adore you. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
For a moment all was silent and Richard, who had been feeling hopeful, felt his heart sink. The lady looked surprised, yes, but also disturbed.
“Why do you wish to marry me, sir?” she finally asked.
“Why? Because I love you, of course; you are an excellent sister, and devoted daughter, kind, gracious, serene, and gentle.”
The lady’s brow, which had been marred by worry lines, smoothed at this answer. She asked, not coquettishly but seriously, “Do you think I am particularly handsome?”
The colonel stared down into her lovely visage and asked, “Is that your concern, Miss Bennet, that I have fallen in love with your beauty, not your person?”
“Yes,” the lady said simply. “So many men have admired my face and ignored my character.”
“You are beautiful, of course,” the colonel said, picking his words with care, “but it is your commitment to your family, your kindness, your good heart, which has won mine.”
“My dowry is a small one, Colonel.”
He shook his head urgently. “A year ago, I thought a substantial income was vital to my happiness, but no more. I have an allowance of five hundred pounds a year, settled on me for life, and Darcy has offered to employ me as overseer of one of his subsidiary estates in Lancashire. It is rather far north and the climate is not particularly salubrious, but it would mean I could leave the army...”