“You can show me off to your parishioners as the fallen woman you were generous enough to save,” said Elizabeth with a knowing smile.
“Yes — I mean, that is not —“
“And I suppose the fact that you would expect me to be forever grateful to you is also a temptation.”
“Well, I think you need to acknowledge my generosity in asking for you even though I knew what you had become.”
“If Elizabeth is ruined, I suppose her options are that she must stay single or she must marry someone who will overlook her sin,” said Darcy.
“Yes, exactly —“
“Alternatively, she could marry one of the men who compromised her reputation. That would be an acceptable solution.” He looked down at Elizabeth and raised an eyebrow. Elizabeth smiled as she nodded her permission.
Mr Bennet stepped forward. “What do you mean, sir?”
“I mean Elizabeth can marry the man who was with her and shut away with her.”
The room fell into silence. Mr Bennet frowned.
“What are you saying?”
“He is saying, Father, that he was taken with me when we were kidnapped. He intervened to save me from them, but then they discovered both of us. And I would not have made it through without him.”
“Nor I without Elizabeth.”
“I do not —“ Mr Bennet shook his head while his wife gasped. “Why did you not tell me?” He shot an accusing glance at Darcy. Elizabeth spoke first.
“Because I insisted no one find out so we would not be forced into marriage.”
“And I have a particular quirk about not wishing women to be forced into marriage against their will,” said Darcy dryly with a look at Mr Collins, who squirmed.
“Then how did this come about?” Jane asked. She gestured between the two of them. “You do not need to marry. Most people believed you. Or were at least willing to pretend they did.”
“Because I could not be without her, so I returned as soon as I could,” said Darcy.
“And I missed him so terribly that I knew I wanted to be with him no matter what,” said Elizabeth.
Elizabeth’s family stared at them in shock. Mr Collins groaned and buried his face in his hands.
“Lady Catherine will be distraught,” he cried. “She will blame me for this.”
Darcy looked over Elizabeth’s head at Mr Bennet. “I beg your pardon for the deception, sir. I was more than happy to marry Elizabeth, but I did not think she wanted to marry me, so I wished to spare her from a future I thought she would have hated.”
Mr Bennet still looked shocked, but he waved his hand.
“It is alright,” he said. “I know what Lizzy is like. And can I assume you both really want to marry one another now?”
Elizabeth and Darcy nodded firmly.
“There is nothing I want more,” said Elizabeth.
Mr Bennet’s face creased into a smile. “Then I am most happy for you, my dear. I could not have parted with you for anyone less worthy.”
Mr Collins gave an anguished cry of protest yet again, lamenting the dreadful calamity that had befallen Lady Catherine.
Mr Bennet grinned at him. “You may console Lady Catherine as well as you can, sir. But if I were you, I would save my best wishes for the nephew. He has more to give.”
31
Eighteen Months Later
Elizabeth stood in the nursery at Pemberley, her sleeping son in the cradle at her side. She had pulled the cradle to the window so she could sit on the seat and admire the view, but her gaze more often fell to the perfect face before her. No matter how tired she was, one look at little Master Darcy could still steal her breath away. His mop of dark hair, so like his father’s, fell over his forehead while he slept with contented snuffling noises. When he woke later, he would reveal eyes Darcy insisted he inherited from his mother. He swore he could already see them filled with life and mischief. Elizabeth was convinced they were as sweet and mild as Jane Bingley’s, but Darcy would hear none of it. His son had the same beautiful expression in his dark eyes as his mother, and there was no persuading Darcy otherwise.
A movement near the door tore Elizabeth’s attention away from the baby. Darcy leaned against the door frame, his arms folded and his eyes soft.
“What a beautiful sight,” he said.
Elizabeth smiled and pressed a finger to her lips and motioned him closer. Darcy cautiously approached the cradle. Elizabeth stood up, and he wrapped his arms around her as they gazed down at their son with adoration.
“I cannot believe you convinced him to sleep,” Darcy whispered. “I was sure he would be as stubborn as he was last night.”
Both parents’ eyes were rimmed with dark shadows from the night before. Though they had staff to tend to him, neither of them could resist rising when they heard their baby in the night.
“It took some persuading,” said Elizabeth softly. “I was about to despair when he finally drifted off.”
Darcy smiled and leaned closer over the crib. “He looks so peaceful.”
“I know,” said Elizabeth fondly. “No one would ever believe he was capable of being heard all the way to Lambton. And now look at him. Like an angel.”
The new parents sighed. Master William stirred and made a little wailing sound. Elizabeth and Darcy gasped and backed away from him as though he were an unexploded firearm. With a little mewl, he soon settled back down to sleep. His parents sighed with relief.
“Come,” said Darcy. He took Elizabeth’s hand and gently pulled her away from the cradle. “There is something I need to tell you.”
“I suppose William will make himself known if he needs anything.”
“We can depend upon that.”
Darcy drew Elizabeth to a small room next to the nursery. He smiled down at her.
“Perhaps we should accept your mother’s offer to stay with us and help with the baby. She did raise five children.”
Elizabeth shuddered. “With much complaining. She constantly tells us she barely survived with her nerves intact. I think we will do far better by ourselves. She wants to make the offer, but she would feel extremely ill-used if we accepted it.”
“I defer to your superior knowledge.”
“Besides, with the two of us, the staff, and Georgiana, we have all the help we need.”
“Very true.” Darcy looked distracted.
“What is it?” Elizabeth asked.
Darcy drew Elizabeth to a silk-covered couch and sat beside her, keeping her hands in his.
“I received a letter this morning, my love.” Darcy hesitated. Elizabeth was puzzled by her husband’s manner.
“Who is it from?”
Instead of answering, Darcy reached into his waistcoat pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Elizabeth took it, feeling nervous. She unfolded it and went straight to the end to see the name. She gasped.
“He learned how to write.”
Darcy nodded his eyes on Elizabeth. She returned to the beginning.
“My dear Mr and Mrs Darcy,
I write this letter with some hesitation. It would not be unreasonable to assume you would never want to hear from me again. But I have started this letter and stopped so many times, only to take it back up again, that it clearly demands to be written.
I can only extend my humblest apologies for what I put you through. I regretted it almost as soon as we took you, but it felt we were too far along to go back by then. I am sure you guessed I did not send Mr Darcy’s letter to his cousin. The more I came to know Mrs Darcy, the harder it felt to continue. Harper was not happy about it. I dealt with him accordingly, and he will never trouble you again.
I did not pursue you when I knew you had escaped. In fact, I discovered you escaped when I returned to your room prepared to release you. I suppose my grandmother had something to do with it? She looked pretty pleased with herself the following day, and she would never tell me how you got away. I suppose we all must have our secrets.
I do not kn
ow if it means anything to you, but my life is very different now. I have entered a trade, and before Mrs Darcy asks, yes, it is an honest one. More or less. I own several warehouses, and Farlow still works for me. He asks me to send his best wishes.
My new business means I have the means to restore my home to its former glory, and work began last month. I would invite you to see it, but I fear that might be a step too far. I only hope the workers I employed are more honest than we were. Mrs Darcy will say I deserve my apprehension.
I saw the notice of your wedding in the paper, as well as an announcement about the birth of your son. I offer you my congratulations, and I wish you all the love and happiness in the world.
Now, I must end this letter. As excellent as your nursing was, my shoulder still aches when I demand too much of it.
Yours,
John Lawson.
Elizabeth read the letter again, a small smile touching her lips.
“He seems happy,” she said. “I am glad of it. I always knew he could be better than he appeared.”
Darcy smiled and touched Elizabeth’s face.
“It is strange. I am happy he is doing well, but I cannot forget the danger he put you in. But, if it were not for him, who knows how long it might have been before we were married?”
“You are so sure we would have been together at all?” asked Elizabeth with a teasing smile. “Remember, you only married me to save my tainted reputation.” She batted her eyelashes innocently, making her husband laugh.
“Of course, we would be together,” he said. “Anything else would have been impossible. We were always meant to be together.”
“Ah, but you were so prideful that you should not have lowered yourself to marry me without a mighty struggle. I should think you would have run away from Hertfordshire and only come back again when my manifold attractions proved far too much for you to resist. But who knows how long that might have taken? We might have been apart for years.”
“Never,” said Darcy. He drew Elizabeth onto her lap and kissed her so thoroughly that Elizabeth was not inclined to argue with him a moment longer. They did not break apart until an indignant cry from the other room interrupted them. With rueful but contented smiles, they went to tend to their son.
Rescuing Elizabeth Bennet: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Page 19
