Page 47 of Such Persuasions as These (Pride and Prejudice Variation)

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

E lizabeth kissed the cheek of her dear friend Frederick and made her way to the ballroom directly.

How could she have doubted Mr Darcy? The ball gown?

The goat willows? Sending her these things at all was far beyond the office of a friend, so why should she believe that he had a previous understanding that would bar their attachment?

No, he loved her, she knew—a fact confirmed by her precious Frederick.

I must have more faith in him.

“Elizabeth,” Jane exclaimed as she saw her wandering through the crowd. Enquiring of Jane whether she had seen Mr Darcy, her sister told her of their conversation, and as soon as Elizabeth had heard the words ‘a quiet refuge’, she knew just where to look for him.

“I have done it this time, old man,” she heard Darcy say from inside the library.

Tiptoeing past the open door, she watched in adoration as the tall, strong Master of Pemberley kissed, cooed, and whispered to the Master of the Netherfield Library, nuzzling his face against the furry monster’s forehead.

The sight brought back to her mind her beloved’s words of those interminable days ago when she first saw him in the same posture.

“Oh, to be a cat,” she finally spoke,“to be nuzzled and kissed by the worthiest of creatures…”

“Elizabeth,” he uttered as he rose, the cat falling unceremoniously onto the carpet below.

She walked over and stood before him, the gold flecks in his eyes glittering in the firelight. “Mr Darcy,” she curtseyed before giving him a stern look. “This is twice in one evening you have attempted to evade my company.”

“I assure you, nothing could be further from the truth, Miss Elizabeth.” A silence overtook the couple for several moments before Darcy stepped nearer and reached out his hands to take hers.

“In point of fact, there is no one whose company I desire more.” He lifted her hands and pressed them to his lips, his eyes closing as if revelling in her closeness.

“And if I had my way, I should be blessed to have you near me every moment of every day.”

Elizabeth responded to this earnest declaration, not with impertinence or wit, but with a single tear falling from a shining eye.

“Elizabeth, my truest friend,” he implored, lowering her hands to clutch them over his heart, “how I have longed for you. It was deplorable of me to accuse you, to impute such ignoble motives to your pure heart. You have given and sacrificed and suffered for my ease, and I vow to you now that, if you will have me, I shall spend the rest of my life doing the same for you. You shall have every comfort, every luxury; indeed, I could never give you enough to demonstratehow dear you are to me. ”

“I do not want them,” she finally found her voice, “I do not want the jewels and fine carriages. You must know that.”

“I do know, my darling, I do know. Then, may I offer you,” he asked in quiet tones as he lifted one hand to her face, his fingers slipping into the hair behind her ear while his thumb caressed her blushing cheek, “the constant and unalloyed affection of a most devoted husband?”

It was everything Elizabeth had expected, everything she had wished for, and yet, being here in this moment, it was so much more than she could have imagined.

He loved her. He loved her and treasured her and wished to have her at his side forever.

She did not feel a fluttering in her stomach, nor a lump in her throat, which thoughts of him had up till now conjured in her psyche; rather, she was overcome with a calm contentment.

This was simply so right.

She had vowed that nothing but the very deepest love would induce her into matrimony.

At one time, she had feared she would never find it, nor recognise it if it came.

As his mouth found her own and they shared their first expressions of affection in that dimly lit book-room, however, she wondered why she had ever worried.

It had found her— he had found her—and she determined at that moment that they should always be perfectly happy.

When the pair re-entered the party, they discovered that the throng of guests was heading towards the dining room. Could all of this have happened before supper?

As soon as his companywas seated, their host stood and clinked his glass with a silver knife. “My esteemed guests, I thank you for joining me for our little gathering this evening,” he began .

“Crush, more like,” came Frederick’s laughing voice, followed by snickers from about the room.

Bingley good-naturedly chuckled along with the crowd before continuing, “You, the kind people of Hertfordshire,have made this incomer feel very welcome, like a genuinepart of the neighbourhood. Your fine hospitality has been very appreciated. In my short time here, Ihave made many new friends; ones I hope to keep through the years. But, there is one person,” he said, his eyes falling upon Jane, sittingserenelyto his right, “who has made me see my future in Meryton.”

Jane blushed and demurred before accepting his proffered hand and standing up to join him before the party.

“And this evening, Miss Jane Bennet has given me the singular honour of accepting my proposal and has agreed to become my wife.”

Gasps and applause filled the room as Mr Bingley kissed the hand of his betrothed before them all.

None was more vociferous than Mrs Bennet, whose cry of joy and relief cut through the utterances of all those about her as she rushed towards her eldest daughter.

Falling upon her neck with kisses and an eager embrace, she declared, “I knew you could not be so beautiful for nothing.”

Darcy, now standing at an appropriate distance from his unacknowledged affianced bride, exchanged a look of sheer delight with Elizabeth before striding towards his friend with an outstretched hand of congratulations.

Bingley shook it heartily as Darcy gave him a firm pat on the shoulder.

“Well done, my friend,” Darcy told him, “I know you two will be very happy together. And I could not be more pleased for you.”

“Thank you, Darcy. That means more than you know,” he told him seriously before turning his attention back to his blooming betrothed and the crowd’s many wishes of felicity.

Elizabeth, who had been standing in the doorway searching out her seat, made her way over to Miss Bennet, and the two squeezed one another with such warmth that no words were needed. They regarded one another at length while the revellers again began to reclaim their seats.

The cheerful commotion had not subsided before another knife was heard being tapped against another glass.

The elegant guests of Mr Bingley’s ball turned their attention towards the Bennets’ austerely attired cousin, who was standing halfway down the dining table.

Elizabeth and Jane both gasped, evidently horrified at what might come out of the pompous parson’s mouth, but there was no stopping him now.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Mr Collins began in a nasally projection.

“First of all, as a near relation to Miss Jane Bennet, I should like to offer my sincere compliments to herself and her betrothed on behalf of all her family, and, if I may be so bold, on behalf of my noble patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. I am sure she would approve of your choice, Cousin Jane, as Mr Bingley is perfectly well set-up without being too far above your station, a situation a lady of rank such as Lady Catherine cannot countenance. And so I feel free to wish you every felicity in your marriage.”

Darcy’s eyes drifted heavenward as the man went on about his patroness, as if that woman had, or indeed desired to have, anything at all to do with the couple at the head of the table.

At the clergyman’s deep bow, Bingley rose to thank him, but Mr Collins put his hand to his lips in a silent command to hush his host before continuing, “Many of you have no doubt noticed my marked attentions towards another young lady by the name of Bennet, and I should like to take this opportunity to declare before you all the violence of my affections and to beg my fair cousin, Mary,” he said, dropping to his knees before his rosy-cheeked maiden, “to make me the happiest of men and consent to be my helpmeet and life’s companion. ”

This passionate proclamation was met mostly with silence as Mary appropriately nodded and covered her mouth in surprise.

As the couple looked over their audience, obviously expecting similar applause to the previous announcement, the friends and neighbours of the young lady slowly began to clap and call out kind congratulations.

Mary, ever one to accept the smallest of encouragement as the greatest compliment, could not have been more satisfied with this reception of her happy news.

And her partner, looking upon his answer to Lady Catherine’s clear directives, could not remove the smile from his face.

At this, both Miss Bennet and Elizabeth approached their younger sister and embraced her tenderly.

Mr Collins bowed low in acceptance of their good wishes, and they curtseyed before returning to the head of the table where Elizabeth and Darcy were assigned for supperalongside Miss Bennet and Bingley.

Darcy and Elizabethshared many conspiratorial glances and smiles as the meal wore on, but neither would speak their joyful news.

Though they had not discussed it, it seemed they both felt the need to allow Elizabeth’s elder sister to have her moment as the star of the evening.

She would stand up with Bingley for the closing set, and she would accept the handshakes and embraces of all who knew her and wished her well.

His beloved’s elder sister would float through the room the happiest of creatures—closely followed by Bingley in both bliss and proximity—and Darcy and Elizabeth would keep their secret andearnestlyrejoice with them.

If anyone took note of the gentleman from Derbyshire sharing two more sets that evening with the second Bennet daughter, no one seemed willing to comment on it.