Page 20 of Superior Connections

T he ride in the park was different since Lady Rosseford joined them, so they walked very little and spent most of the time in the carriage. It was a bright winter’s day, and Elizabeth was delighted to see her aunt enjoying herself with no concerns. However, less than an hour later, the lady seemed tired and wished to return home, but she insisted that the girls continue their ride.

Such lovely weather was not to be wasted, so after taking Lady Rosseford home, the three of them returned to the park and strolled along the Serpentine, then stopped at their usual place for a rest, where they had the pleasure of meeting Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy, who had just completed their business. They walked together for a little while, chatting, admiring the scenery, and talking about the forthcoming dinner.

To her amazement, Elizabeth heard Mr Darcy whispering her name. “Miss Elizabeth, I was wondering… There is something of great importance that I would like to talk to you about. I have been waiting for the right moment since before the Netherfield ball, but I have not found it. Would you be so kind as to offer me a few minutes of your time?”

She looked at him, surprised and breathless, without daring to guess what was obvious.

“Now?”

“No…privately.”

“Oh…” she whispered, with increasing joy and anxiety.

“I mean, we could take a few steps away from the others and talk…but there are things that cannot be said in the park.”

“I understand. So…will you come to our house? We can find a place to speak alone.”

“Or you could come to my house. I am sure Georgiana would like to have some tea after this long walk.”

“I would like that too,” she whispered, overwhelmed with emotion.

“Thank you… Miss Elizabeth, I hope you can guess the reason for my application.”

“I believe I can…” she replied, casting a look at him. “In truth, I have been a little confused that you have chosen to speak so little to me in the last month.”

“It was not a choice but a struggle with my own desires. I feared my presence might ruin your pleasure in making new acquaintances. You surely remember that Lady Rosseford told me very clearly of her plan for you and Miss Bennet. I thought you needed time to rejoice in the superiority of your connections.”

“I am amazed that people give so much importance to connections and so little to a person’s true character. I do not believe that anything could change me in essentials. Just as I hope that you, Mr Darcy, in essentials are the same kind and generous man, even when your manners are horribly proud and arrogant.”

“Regarding you, I am certain that is the case. As for me — I hope I have changed in those areas that needed improvement.”

“There is something I must ask, even though we are in the park…”

“Of course.” He turned to her, waiting.

“You told us about talking to Miss Bingley about my fine eyes,” she said, blushing. “Did that happen at Lucas Lodge? So long ago?”

“Yes,” he immediately replied with an open smile. “Almost at the beginning of our acquaintance. I soon discovered the superiority of your character and your mind, but at that time I was too concerned about the inferiority of your connections.”

“I see. That matter was resolved when Lady Rosseford entered our lives. But you should know, Mr Darcy, expensive gowns and jewels notwithstanding, I shall always be myself, with a few qualities and many faults. I enjoy balls and parties as much in Meryton as in London, and I am happier with my uncle and aunt Gardiner than with most titled people I have met recently.”

“I know that. And it is your most valuable quality, Miss Elizabeth. One that I discovered on the day of the accident before I met Lady Rosseford. It was not her appearance that changed my mind but my own understanding of what is truly important.”

The weight of the last sentence touched Elizabeth’s heart deeply, and it began to race. She did not doubt his words, nor his tender gaze that enveloped her.

“Brother, is everything well?” Georgiana enquired, approaching them.

“Yes, very much so,” he answered. “Perhaps we should return home. It has been a long walk, and it is very cold. Would you offer Miss Elizabeth and Miss Bennet a cup of tea?”

“Yes, of course. I would like that very much.”

“Excellent. When we arrive home, I shall steal Miss Elizabeth for a little while as there is a private matter we must discuss.”

“Of course,” Georgiana replied with obvious confusion.

Elizabeth had been in Mr Darcy’s house several times before, but her feet were trembling when she stepped through the door this time. There were no surprises, no doubts left after their conversation in the park, and she should be happy, but she was more disquieted. He immediately invited her into the library and offered her a chair; then, instead of talking, he only looked at her, paced the room, and looked at her again. And she laughed.

“This is an unfortunate beginning to this last part of our conversation, Mr Darcy.”

He laughed too, clearly nervous. “I have repeated so many times in my mind what I wish to say to you, but now words are spinning in my head. The only clear thing is how ardently I love and admire you and how much I desire…how much I hope that you will agree to be my wife.”

“My thoughts are not much clearer, sir. I have been waiting to hear such words since that evening at the theatre, and I feared they might never come.”

He sat next to her, holding her hands in his. “Do you still have the neckcloth?”

She blushed and indicated her reticule. He slowly stood again, went to his desk, opened a drawer, and took out the gloves. She laughed, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.

“We are two ridiculous fools, are we not?” she asked.

“There is nothing I would like more than to be a fool for you — and with you, my dearest, loveliest Elizabeth,” he answered, retaking his seat next to her.

She took off her gloves, then gently touched his face with trembling fingers. He turned his head, and his lips rested in her palm.

“Since the day I carried you in my arms, I have dreamt about doing it again every day and every night,” he said. Then slowly, gently, allowing her time to object, he closed his arms around her. Her hands shyly encircled his neck, but this time their faces were close, their lips almost touching as they spoke.

“I have dreamt about you holding me in your arms too many times to even count,” she replied, a moment before his lips finally captured hers. But before the first kiss of her life had truly begun, he pulled away.

“I do not believe I have asked you to be my wife yet, Elizabeth. Or if I have, you have not answered.”

“You would have had your answer if you had not stopped, Mr Darcy,” she teased him. “I am not certain whether you asked, but I shall say yes nevertheless.”

The expression of heartfelt delight on his face warmed her heart almost as much as the heat of his embrace, which became even tighter. And if her words were not enough, he took his answer directly from her lips, timid at first then growing more daring, turning the sweet tenderness into ardent love.

It was a while before they finally left the library and returned to the others, who met them with enquiring glances. However, nothing was disclosed yet, as they still needed to speak to Lady Rosseford and then write to Mr Bennet — both actions that Mr Darcy wanted to complete that day.

∞∞∞

An hour later, Elizabeth and Jane returned home, escorted by Mr Darcy. While Jane went directly to her chamber, the others remained in the drawing room.

“It seems you had a lovely time,” Lady Rosseford said.

“We did, Aunt,” Elizabeth replied. “Very much so. And there is something very important we must tell you.”

She paused, looking at Mr Darcy, who cleared his throat.

“Well?” the lady asked impatiently.

“Lady Rosseford, it is my great pleasure to inform you that earlier today I asked Miss Elizabeth for her hand in marriage, and she granted it to me. I have come to plead for your acceptance and your blessing before I write to Mr Bennet.”

He spoke with such solemnity that Elizabeth could not suppress a smile. Lady Rosseford gazed at him with a stern countenance, blinking a few times.

“What do you mean?” she finally asked.

“What do I mean? Miss Elizabeth and I are engaged to be married as soon as we have your and her parents’ blessing.”

“You are engaged? But why? What happened?” she asked further, seemingly dumbfounded.

Elizabeth laughed heartily at her utter disbelief.

“Nothing happened, dear aunt. We have been in love for some time, but apparently Mr Darcy needed a while before he finally proposed. I feared he might never do so.”

“What are you talking about, Lizzy? You cannot be in love with Mr Darcy! I know how much you disliked him, and I know he did not find you tolerable enough to even dance with!”

Elizabeth continued to laugh, while Mr Darcy looked disconcerted.

“You know nothing of the matter, dear aunt! That is all in the past and must be forgotten. In such cases as these, a good memory is unpardonable. This is the last time I shall ever remember it myself.”

“But how? When? I never noticed anything of the kind!” the lady continued.

“You did notice Mr Darcy’s attentions and even mentioned them to me,” Elizabeth answered. “You just misinterpreted them. You assumed he was making an effort to please you, in order that you might forgive that painful incident at the Netherfield ball.”

“Oh…” the lady whispered, glancing from one to the other. “So I have been a fool all this time?”

“No more than I was a fool when I misinterpreted Bingley and Miss Bennet’s feelings for each other. Three months have passed since then, and I am now certain that Bingley’s affection is not shallow, and he knew his heart better than I thought.”

“Apparently, neither of us is as clever or perceptive as we prided ourselves on being, Mr Darcy.”

“I realised that about myself a while ago,” he answered. “I would not dare express an opinion about your ladyship.”

“A very wise answer, Mr Darcy. You seem to have mastered wise answers almost as thoroughly as Mr Collins has mastered silly compliments.” The lady laughed. Then she shook her head, repeating, “Well, well, well… This is quite a surprise. A shock, I would say. Of course I give you my blessing, though it is not even my duty to do so. You know, Mr Darcy, I told Elizabeth long ago that you would be precisely the sort of man best suited to her. But she rejected such a notion.”

“I rejected it because I did not believe it possible,” Elizabeth answered. “But I agreed with it from the moment Mr Darcy carried me in his arms back to my room,” she concluded with a teasing smile at the gentleman.

“A perfectly sound reason,” the lady said with good humour. “I need a glass of port to calm my nerves. Just imagine your father’s response and your mother’s nerves at hearing such news.”

Elizabeth offered her a little bit of port, and while sipping it, the lady said, “You should not write to your father yet. Allow me another day to talk to Jane and then to Mr Bingley. Who knows? We might share two engagements and one big shock in a single letter.”

∞∞∞

This time, Lady Rosseford’s cleverness and perceptiveness did not fail her. Mr Bingley needed only a little encouragement for a marriage proposal that Jane accepted with an open heart and tearful smile. Therefore, Lady Rosseford wrote to Mr Bennet, concluding as follows:

I have taken so much trouble bringing Elizabeth and Jane to London to find them excellent husbands, best suited to them, when I could have very well stayed in Hertfordshire and rested with the same happy outcome.

I attach to this letter some spices recommended by an excellent doctor. I am sure Fanny’s nerves will greatly benefit from them. You may try a cup or two yourself.

Your loving aunt and daughters.

Mr Bennet’s letter containing both his amazement and his blessing arrived the next day, and by the time the long-planned dinner party took place that evening, Mr Darcy had also informed his own relatives about his engagement. The Matlocks were as stunned as Lady Rosseford, and their approval came reluctantly, though Darcy neither needed nor requested it. Georgiana was beyond joyous with happiness, and her opinion was the only one that mattered to Darcy.

The dinner ended up more formal and more significant than had been planned as it became an engagement party for both couples. And it definitely proved to be the worst dinner ever for Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst, who received the news before the first course was served, completely ruining their appetite for that evening and many more to come.