Page 63 of The Riches of a Life Well-Lived

Thursday, December 12, 1811—23 Days after Tuesday

Darcy turned Sisyphus down the lane towards Longbourn and then halted at the turnoff in his customary place. Hopefully, Elizabeth would arrive soon, though he would wait as long as needed.

“Mr. Darcy!” Elizabeth called quietly some ten minutes later, peering into the woods at the edge of the path as she rounded the corner.

Darcy stepped out from a copse and hurried over to her. Taking her hand, he drew her back into the copse and held her in his arms. “Elizabeth.” He tightened his grasp, revelling in the reality of having her here with him. “These past sixteen days have been an eternity,” he said, shifting to look down into her beautiful face.

Elizabeth smiled up at him, her arms clasped loosely around his middle. “I do hope you have not been trapped in another series of repetitions. Three months was long enough for me—I do not know how I would endure an eternity.”

Darcy chuckled. “You know precisely what I mean.”

“I do,” she said, inclining her head. “I have missed you, too.” She carefully extricated herself from his embrace. “It would not do to have anyone see us.”

He bowed. “May I accompany you on your morning ramble, Miss Elizabeth?”

She smiled. “Of course, Mr. Darcy.”

Silence fell between them as they walked towards Oakham Mount, Sisyphus trailing behind as usual. Only the whisper of damp leaves underfoot and the merest hint of a breeze rustling in the trees sounded in the quiet morning as they walked side by side, occasionally smiling at one another.

“How is Miss Darcy?” Elizabeth asked finally.

Darcy cast her a grateful look. “I do not know. Better, I think. We had much the same conversation that we have had previously; however, I hope she can move forward now that she will remember it. I also apologised for ignoring her part in the elopement and told her that if she wishes to be treated as an adult, she must take responsibility for her actions. She seemed better when I left, and her appetite appears to have returned.” He carefully stepped around a puddle. “Talking with her is still a bit like walking this path: there are various small obstacles to be edged around, but it is traversable.”

“I am glad she is doing so much better. It certainly makes a difference having people recall the conversations one has with them.”

“Indeed. What of your time with Miss Bennet?”

Elizabeth’s steps slowed. “The repetitions were so difficult for us; I did not consider that the effects might be difficult for others.”

“How so?”

The muscles around her eyes tightened as though she were holding back tears. “It pains her. Jane and I have always been close and now.... She said that she can no longer predict my reactions.”

Darcy took her hand and squeezed it. “I am sorry, my—Elizabeth.”

“ She is still the same, whereas I have grown and changed, and I cannot explain precisely what has caused those changes. Tracing back the shifts in my behaviour is like trying to retrace my morning ramble from a year ago. I do not even recall precisely where I went or why I went there. I have tried to tell her what repeating Tuesday so many times was like, but she does not really understand it.”

Darcy nodded. He had experienced similar things with Bingley and his aunt and uncle. “I am not sure she ever will. However, she still loves you and you still love her. She is not withdrawing, is she?”

Elizabeth hesitated. “Not that I have noticed. She has been a bit quieter than usual, but I attributed that to Mr. Bingley’s absence.”

“Then I imagine you will regain your closeness eventually. After all, you have far more shared experiences than unique ones and, provided you continue to work at your friendship, that will continue to hold true.”

“I suppose you are right.” She smiled up at him. “I am glad you are back.”

“As am I. Being in London, going out in society again, only made me wish you were there with me. You know—you must know—that you make every event better with your mere presence.”

Elizabeth chuckled. “I believe, good sir, that you may be slightly―”

“Besotted?” he suggested. “I may be. However, before Tuesday ever occurred, you fascinated me, in part because you are like the sun—others come to warm themselves at your fire and you give it freely.”

Elizabeth blushed. “I am quite certain that you were not that taken with me before Tuesday.”

Darcy pulled her to a halt and held her gaze. “I was that taken. I was just too much of a fool to recognise it. My aunt expressed concerns you might have difficulty navigating a London drawing room―”

“I might.”

Darcy shook his head. “I doubt it. You are so unwittingly kind and engaging that you will only have to be yourself for others to be drawn to you, just as I was. Regardless, I would rather navigate any London drawing room with you by my side than continue on alone as I have been.”

Elizabeth searched his eyes for a long moment and then looked at the ground. “And if I fail to navigate London society well?”

Darcy pulled her close. “I will be there to assist.”

She chuckled. “You? Assist in a drawing room?”

“I will have you know that I danced several times over the past two weeks with many people,” he said, puffing himself up in mock annoyance as he released her.

Sisyphus snorted, and Darcy glared at him.

Elizabeth giggled. “I am glad to hear it.”

“My aunt and uncle were speechless the first time I asked a young lady to dance.”

“I imagine they, too, were not quite sure what to make of the changes in you,” she said.

Darcy nodded, gesturing to the path ahead. “They are attributing such changes to you,” he said as they continued their walk.

“To me?” Elizabeth frowned. “Why me? You are the one who changed your behaviour.”

“Only because you pointed out how inconsiderate I was being.”

Elizabeth huffed. “I still maintain that you are too good of a man not to have recognised your folly, eventually.”

“And I shall continue to assert that I would have remained stupidly ignorant without a certain Miss Elizabeth Bennet to challenge me.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “Were you not a good man already, you would not have changed your behaviour, no matter who disclosed the effect your manners were having.”

“Let us agree to disagree.”

“Very well. Other than their surprise over your changed behaviour, was your time with the Matlocks pleasant?” Elizabeth asked as they turned and began climbing Oakham Mount.

“Pleasant enough. I suppose it is similar to your experiences with Miss Bennet; they still do not know quite what to make of this new William, yet they love me and I love them. I do not know if I will ever tell them of the repetitions, but I believe we may yet mend the distance between us.”

As they reached the crest of the hill, Darcy tethered Sisyphus to a tree. Elizabeth stepped over to stare out at the view, and Darcy admired the picture she made, her cheeks rosy and the gentle breeze playing with her curls. Gradually, however, he grew aware that the line of her shoulders was taut and she was biting her lip.

“What is it?” he asked, moving to stand next to her, nearly elbow to elbow.

“You said your aunt and uncle expressed concerns about my ability to navigate society; does that mean you told them about me?”

Darcy nodded. “I did. They are the closest thing I have to parents, so I wished to share this most important change in my life. In addition, I desired to set your mind at ease; my conversation with them did not at all change my position.”

“Were they upset?” Elizabeth asked.

“They were surprised. As I said, they do not fully understand the changes I have undergone, and though my values have changed considerably in the past months, theirs have not.” He took a deep breath. “They wish for me to be happy and to succeed. They are concerned that marrying you might accomplish the former, but not the latter. However, they recognise that I am capable of making my own decisions. As I mentioned, they believe the changes in me are a direct result of my interactions with you and thus they are curious. They desire to meet you before we wed.”

“Meet me?” Elizabeth squeaked, turning to face him.

He took her hands and smiled down at her. “You have only to be your own self. I do not wish for you to feel pressured to behave in any certain fashion.”

“What if they still dislike me?”

Darcy shrugged. “Then we will still wed and they will eventually adjust. They love me and I love them, but I am my own man. We would not be without support anyway as my cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, will welcome you with open arms. Regardless, I told you: being in society only made me miss you more. I long to have you by my side.”

“I feel the same way,” she admitted. “When you were gone, I missed you dreadfully. Trying to manage my family would have been much easier with you around.”

“How has your family been? Miss Lydia seemed a bit antagonistic yesterday,” Darcy said, hoping to get to the bottom of why Elizabeth appeared so drawn.

Elizabeth sighed. “I do not know. Thank you for speaking so kindly to Mama though.”

“It is no trouble. You know that I love your family.”

“I do.”

Unfolding the events of the previous few weeks to someone who cared was more cathartic than Elizabeth would have dreamt. Mr. Darcy knew her family and celebrated the progress that had been made in ways that Jane seemed incapable of. Perhaps because Jane had not spent weeks attempting those same shifts over and over again. It was good to be reminded that progress had occurred even though her mother was still anxious and resentful, Lydia was angry, and her father remained wilfully oblivious.

At the end of the recitation, Mr. Darcy took her hand. “I am sorry it has been difficult. It sounds like you have done the best you could under the circumstances.”

She smiled ruefully. “If I had done better, I might have discovered what is wrong with Lydia.”

“Perhaps. Then again, I spent months thinking that I knew what ailed Georgiana. Your willingness to admit that you do not know may be what does the trick. Besides, as far as I am aware, you have not been trapped in any further repetitions, which means you have had a limited opportunity to speak to your sister.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Jane said she would ask again, but Lydia is being surprisingly closemouthed, even with Kitty.”

“Well, once I have dealt with Wickham, I will turn my full attention to assisting you.”

Elizabeth seated herself on a rock. “When do you plan to have him arrested?”

“Today. I have already spoken to Bingley―”

“Oh, thank you for your message, by the way. Mr. Bingley faithfully relayed it to me,” she said with a small smile.

Mr. Darcy walked over and sat on a nearby fallen log. “I am glad.”

“He is aware of the repetitions?”

Mr. Darcy nodded. “I told him while we were in London. He is my dearest friend, but perhaps I ought to have spoken to you first.”

She shook her head. “I do not wish to share the repetitions with everyone, but you experienced them, too. You should tell whomever you wish.”

“There is no one else whom I desire to tell.” He cleared his throat delicately. “I thought it might be better for him to know, should he decide to pursue Miss Bennet.”

Elizabeth pursed her lips. “There is doubt? He has been quite forward if he is still uncertain of his own feelings.”

“I cannot speak for Bingley, but I believe he is trying to divine Miss Bennet’s feelings. However, let us leave the matter to them.”

Elizabeth smiled. After weeks of trying to meddle in other people’s lives, it was a relief to take a step back. “Agreed. I suppose, were they to marry, it would be good for him to know of the repetitions. In addition, Jane has not had anyone with whom to discuss it.” She frowned. “Perhaps I should suggest she speak to him, especially as it is affecting her in ways I had not anticipated.”

Mr. Darcy shrugged. “As you desire.”

Elizabeth shifted, searching for a slightly more comfortable position in which to broach an uncomfortable topic. “Mr. Wickham has begun bandying about the story of you withholding his inheritance. Uncle Phillips told my aunt that the story was inaccurate, but I do not know if it made any difference.” She hesitated. “Even Jane initially argued that there might be some misunderstanding.”

“People find him eminently credible.”

Elizabeth scoffed. “People do not look beyond his gentlemanly appearance to the black heart underneath.” She stood and walked over to him, settling on the log next to him, unable to tolerate the forlorn look in his eyes. “It is not your fault.”

He smiled at her. “Thanks to you and Mrs. Engel, I know. I am merely—grieved that Wickham has had so few checks to his behaviour.” His jaw tightened. “But that stops today.”

“I am glad to hear it. I hope that people have heeded my uncle’s warning, but I cannot guarantee it.”

As Darcy gazed down into her compassionate eyes, his heart swelled. How had he been so blessed as to meet her? How had he been so blessed as to gain her love?

“Elizabeth, you are too kind to trifle with me—I must ask, how much longer? When will you consider us readjusted?”

Elizabeth ducked her head. “Jane asked me the same thing.”

“And?”

Elizabeth gripped the folds of her skirt tightly. “She asked me what exactly I was expecting and pointed out that, though I needed to relearn how to live in linear time, I will never again be the person I was before Tuesday, nor can I regain those relationships.” She pressed her lips together. “I will never see my father in the same way. There will always be something in my life that Jane cannot understand. I cannot return to the way things were.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I wanted my old life back, but I am learning that readjusting means accepting the way things are now.”

He gently brushed the tear away, rubbing a hand across her cheek.

Elizabeth held his hand to her face. “Not that I regret Tuesday’s repetitions. I am immensely grateful for the ways we grew and changed on Tuesday and for Mrs. Engel including me. You have become my dearest friend, the first person I wish to share my thoughts with, the person I most want nearby.”

“And I you.” He rubbed his thumb across her cheek. “Does that mean I may renew my offer now?”

She nodded.

“Elizabeth Bennet, you are my dearest friend. I do not know what I would have done without you. You saw into my heart when I was blind. I love you. I want to be with you every day of your life, to be your ally in every difficulty we face, to have you by my side whether we are riding horses together, spending time with our families, or navigating the ton. Marry me, please.”

Her eyes overflowing, Elizabeth nodded. “I would be more than happy to marry you, Mr. Darcy.”

“William,” he corrected.

Elizabeth took a deep breath. “William. I love you, too. I cannot imagine anyone with whom I would rather have spent Tuesday, and I am tired of being apart. If you are certain that you wish to marry me, relations, poor dowry, and all, yes, with all my heart.”

“What are connections or dowry compared to the wealth of a wife like you?”

“Then a thousand times, yes.”