by Leenie Brown
Darcy whipped around. “Collins proposed to you? What was he thinking?”
Elizabeth gasped and drew back as if slapped. “I assure you, Mr. Darcy, that though I am unsuitable for you, I am not unacceptable to everyone.” Tears began falling down her cheeks again.
Darcy shook his head and swallowed. “I did not mean you were unsuitable for him. He is not your equal, but it is not because of any deficiency in you. You are far superior to him.” He dipped his head. “And to any lady of my acquaintance.”
Elizabeth rose from the piano. “Stop it.”
“Stop what?” he asked, concern etching his features.
“Speak your meaning.”
“I am.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “You said I was unacceptable because my portion was small, my family was ridiculous, and my relatives are in trade. Yet, you offer to reunite Jane and Mr. Bingley, and you dare to say I am superior to anyone? These things do not agree. Tell me which is true and which is false. What is your opinion of me?”
Darcy’s stomach knotted. Had she heard him speaking to Richard? “When did I say you were unacceptable?”
Elizabeth turned away from him. It would be easier to admit where she had heard it if she did not have to see his face. “Yesterday. In the library.”
“You heard that?”
His question was soft and anxious, causing her to turn toward him. “I did.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. Then, he crossed the room and taking her by her elbow led her to a seat. “I know that you may not believe me, but I said those things because I was jealous.”
Elizabeth blinked. Of what was he jealous?
“You seemed to welcome Richard’s attentions, and he seemed to be falling under your spell. I wished to dissuade him from pursuing you further.”
Her head tipped, and her brows furrowed. “Because it would be an embarrassment to your family?”
He shook his head and grasped her hands. “No, because I wanted you for myself.”
Her eyes grew wide, and her lips parted. It was a charming expression and one that required he smile. “I admit that they are arguments I used in an attempt to discourage myself after I left Netherfield. And they worked well enough to keep me from climbing on my horse and returning to you as I wished to do each and every morning, but they have not discouraged me completely.”
Her expression did not change except for a flutter of lashes. “I promised myself that if our paths should cross again without my arranging it, I would not leave you without pressing my suit as far as you would allow it.” He smiled and squeezed her hands. “Each point of my arguments to myself can be reasoned away. What do I need with an heiress? My fortune is substantial, and my estate is not failing. Am I not already connected to trade through Bingley? Another connection would do little harm. And have you not met my aunt — we all have relations that are in one way or another ridiculous.”
He released her hands and dared to lay a hand on her cheek. “I cannot speak more plainly than this. I love you, most ardently.” He brushed a tear away with his thumb. “I would be honoured if you were to choose me as your husband, but I fear your opinion is such that it will never be.” He drew a breath and removed his hand from her cheek. “And as much as it would pain me to see you with another, I would not place my wishes above yours.”
Elizabeth stood and paced to the piano and back to the couch before returning to the piano and leaning on it as she turned to face him. “You love me?”
He nodded. “Most ardently.”
“How?”
Darcy shrugged. “I do not know. I was in the middle of it before I knew I had begun.” He waited as she considered what he had said, hoping against hope that he had some chance of winning her heart.
Chapter 7
Elizabeth drew and released a breath. Her brows furrowed. “You must be mistaken.”
“I am not.” His heart clenched. She was going to refuse him.
“But I am merely tolerable.” She raised her shoulders and allowed them to fall. “You looked to find fault, did you not? Is that not why you wore such a serious and critical expression when at Netherfield?” Had she misunderstood his actions?
He stood and joined her at the piano. It was impossible to speak to her of his heart when she was so far from him. “I cannot explain away the first charge. I spoke harshly. There were reasons, but they do not justify my words. I was wrong. You have never ceased to tempt me. I found it challenging to conceal my interest. I wished to hear your thoughts, to see you smile, and to have you debate and challenge me, but there were others who would not allow it to pass unnoticed.” He smiled sheepishly. “I spoke unkindly to those people in an effort to hide my feelings just as I scowled when I wished to worship.”
Elizabeth laid a hand on her heart and reminded herself to breathe. He had not been critiquing and criticizing her every movement? “Miss Bingley holds no place in your heart?”
He chuckled. “Only as the sister of a friend because she must. I find her trying, at best.”
Elizabeth tilted her head. Her brows were still furrowed. Was there anything she had accurately deciphered about Mr. Darcy?
“There is only you,” he added, stepping just a half step closer to her.
She shook her head. “I do not know you.” She gave a half shrug. “I thought I did, but I do not.”
“What do you wish to know?” He clasped his hands behind his back to keep from touching her.
Her gaze dropped to the floor, and she shifted uneasily.
“You may ask anything.”
She peeked up at him. “It does me no credit.”
He smiled encouragingly. “That does not signify. My actions have not done me a great service either.”
“I…I….I was speaking with Miss de Bourgh.” Her hands twisted nervously. “There were stories I had been told regarding you, but something she said has made me doubt their veracity.”
Darcy’s jaw clenched. He was nearly certain he knew the tales she had heard and from whom she had heard them. “Wickham.”
It was only one word but spoken with such loathing that Elizabeth took a small step to the side.
Darcy drew in a great breath and released it slowly. “What did he tell you? That I refused him the living that he had previously rejected?”
She nodded as her brows furrowed. Wickham had told her about a living that was refused. He had not, however, mentioned having rejected it.
“Wickham is unfit for such a position, but that is not the sole reason for my refusal. Did he tell you that I had already given him three thousand pounds in lieu of the living and that he had wasted it in gambling and licentious living?” He briefly told her of his father’s regard for Wickham.
Her eyes grew wide. “Three thousand pounds?”
“And the additional thousand my father had left him, all gone within a very short time.” He was certain there were other things that had been told in half-truths and veiled lies. “That is not the worst of it.”
“It is not?” Darcy’s expression was grim, and Elizabeth feared what else she might hear.
“He preyed upon my sister’s tender heart.”
Elizabeth gasped.
“Come. Sit. I will tell you the tale, but I must caution you that it is not pretty.” He took a seat next to her on the couch and, gaining her assurance that what he shared would be heard in confidence, he began telling her about how Wickham had duped Georgiana into believing she was in love and about their planned elopement. “Had I not arrived when I did and had my sister’s heart not been as soft as it is, she would have been lost to me.”
“Is he truly so rapacious?” Elizabeth’s emotions fluctuated between fury at Wickham’s duplicity and disappointment in herself for accepting his tales so readily.
“He is.” He could not resist taking her hand any longer. “He is also a practised deceiver, and not even I am capable of ferreting out every cheat. If I were, Mrs. Younge would have never been hired as my sister’
s companion, and Wickham’s scheming would have come to naught before Georgiana was injured.”
Elizabeth gave the hand that held hers a comforting squeeze. He was not as unreasonable as she had deemed him. Nor was he unable to acknowledge his own faults. “When did this happen?”
“Last summer.”
She covered his hand with her free one. “It is your reason for speaking harshly.” His sheepish smile and slight nod assured her that she was correct. She gave his hand a pat and then withdrawing both of her hands from his, she stood.
“Very well, Mr. Darcy. You are forgiven for your harsh words and grim looks.” She cocked one brow impertinently. “I do hope you can forgive me for listening to such horrid tales and thinking so ill of you.” She was rewarded with a smile. “I will take that as a yes. Now, where does that leave us?”
He cast a glance around the room as if puzzled and then with all seriousness replied, “I believe that leaves us locked in this sitting room.”
Her eyes grew wide, and a small giggle escaped her. “You tease?”
“Though I am not as skilled at it as my cousin, I am capable of occasionally teasing, and contrary to the decrees of Miss Bingley, I am not averse to being teased by those I love.” The way her lips pursed delightfully and her eyes sparkled, he was certain that he could learn to tease more often for such a reward.
Elizabeth turned and walked toward the window. He was not at all what she had thought. His character was noble and little wanting. His heart was soft and generous, and he was not without a sense of humor. He was very likely the exact sort of gentleman who would suit her best. “Besides your limited ability to tease, what else do you have to offer.”
“Besides my heart?” He chuckled when she rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I have an estate and a sizeable income, but I think, you are already aware of that.”
She nodded and leaned against the wall next to the window. “My mother may be silly and lacking in decorum, but I assure you that when it comes to a soiree or the eligibility of a gentleman, she is shrewd. I knew your status almost before I knew your name.” She shrugged. “She has five daughters to see well-married.” Her lips curled playfully. “My mother does not like you.”
Darcy’s hand flew to his chest, and his eyes questioned the truth of her statement.
“I am not her favourite, but even her least favourite daughter cannot be slighted without reproach.” Elizabeth crossed her arms and lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. “Your fortune, as well as your willingness to relieve her of a daughter — not to mention your seeing to the reunion of my sister and Mr. Bingley — will smooth any feathers you have ruffled. However, my father may not be so easily swayed. I am his favourite.”
Darcy, who was crossing the room to her, stopped a few steps from his destination. “Are you accepting me?”
Elizabeth could not help the grin that spread across her face. A joyful bubbling was growing in her chest. “I am considering it.”
He inclined his head in acknowledgment. He dared not completely hope that his greatest desire was nearly fulfilled. She could still change her mind, or her father could refuse. This thought caused his brows to furrow and a frown to form on his lips for a moment before a smile replaced it. “I have a library — two actually — one in town and another at Pemberley. They house thousands of books.”
Her eyes grew wide again, and her lips parted slightly. “Thousands?”
He nodded. “They are all at your disposal, and your father’s as well when he visits. There may even be a book or two with which I might be willing to part.”
She shook her head and laughed. “A fortune for my mother and a book for my father — you, sir, are not without sense.”
He stood directly before her. “What else must I do to convince you to accept me?” He placed his hands on her elbows and drew her a step closer to him. “All that I have is yours — body, mind, soul, and possessions.”
“You will allow me to debate and read?”
He nodded. “With pleasure.”
“You will not scold too often? I will make mistakes and act foolishly.”
“I will attempt to be understanding.”
She bit her lip and studied his face. “You will love me.”
“With my dying breath. Will you love me?”
She nodded her head. “I think I will.” Indeed, she felt she already might if the heady feeling of elation at his devotion to her was any indication.
“Will you marry me, whether or not we are discovered as we are?” He slid his hands up her arms to her shoulders and drew her even closer.
Darcy opened his mouth to continue speaking, but Elizabeth placed a finger on his lips. They were soft and warm, and for a moment she nearly forgot what she was going to say. She had never touched any man in such an intimate way. Her cheeks flushed, and she pulled her finger away. “I am not choosing you because I am forced to do so. I am choosing you because I wish to.” Her heart fluttered at his smile and the look in his eyes.
Darcy cupped her face in his hands. “Thank you,” he murmured before he kissed her. The touch of her lips against his nearly undid him. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, pressing her to him.
Elizabeth did not resist. Instead, her arms found their way around his neck, and her fingers wove their way through his hair. So delicious was the sensation of him that she did not hear the door to the room open.
Mr. Collins stopped, frozen at the door. His mouth hung open but silent as if the words of greeting he had meant to share had been snatched from his throat. Richard nudged the poor shocked fellow from behind, causing the parson to take a stumbling step into the sitting room and freeing the rarely silent man’s tongue.
“Cousin Elizabeth! What are you doing to poor Mr. Darcy? Unhand him at once!” Mr. Collins’ voice broke through the haze in Elizabeth’s mind, and her hands released their hold on Darcy. She attempted to pull away from him, but Darcy merely smiled and held her tightly.
“She is pleasing me — excessively.” He smiled down at her and dropped a kiss on her forehead before loosening his hold. “She has done me the great honor of accepting my proposal,” he continued.
“She has done what?” Mr. Collins, having found both the use of his tongue and his legs, had hurried across the room and stood next to Elizabeth, so that he was facing Darcy.
“She has agreed to be my wife.”
Chapter 8
Richard leaned against the door frame, watching the scene before him unfold. He would interrupt if necessary, but for now, he was content to just observe. Anne stood beside him and would have entered the room, but his extended arm blocking her path and a shake of his head forestalled her.
Mr. Collins shifted his gaze from Darcy to Elizabeth and then back to Darcy once more before turning disapproving eyes on Elizabeth. “What have you done?”
The question was asked quietly, but, to Elizabeth, there was no mistaking Mr. Collin’s displeasure. She was about to tell him that she had done nothing, but he was not pausing to allow it.
“Do you not know your place?” He took Elizabeth by the elbow and attempted to draw her away from Darcy. “Your father will have to be told, of course, but no one else need know. There is no need for a man such as Mr. Darcy to marry you. My mother has a sister in Edinburgh. You can go stay with her.” He shook his head. “Trapping a man in his home. You are as wayward as your mother.”
Darcy tightened his grip around Elizabeth’s waist, pulling her towards him and away from Mr. Collins. “Mr. Collins!” The coldness of his voice caused Elizabeth to shiver, and Darcy paused for a moment to look down at her and smile. She was not the object of his displeasure, and he did not wish for her to feel as if she was. “Miss Elizabeth has not trapped me. I do not offer to marry her unwillingly or because of any imagined indiscretion.” He waited for the flapping of Mr. Collins’s lips to cease. “And you would do well not to speak of her mother in such a fashion.” He smiled again at Elizabeth’s upturned face. “It is
entirely rude and unbecoming a man of your station.”
Mr. Collins took a step towards Elizabeth, but a raised brow from Darcy halted him. Richard pushed off the door frame. Things were about to get ugly if there was not some sort of intervention. Darcy was wearing his nothing shall move this mountain expression, and Richard feared Collins was not bright enough to heed such a warning.
Richard gave his coat sleeves a tug to straighten them and, then, cleared his throat, drawing attention to his presence. He nodded to Darcy and Elizabeth before addressing Mr. Collins. “Was there a reason, sir, that you were seeking my cousin and yours?”
Mr. Collins looked blankly from Richard to Darcy and back again. Richard shook his head and sighed. How his aunt had managed to select this buffoon as her parson was beyond him! “I believe you mentioned tea when I met you in the hall.”
Mr. Collins blinked. “Yes, yes, that is correct. Lady Catherine had asked me to tell Cousin Elizabeth that her presence was required.” He turned to Elizabeth, a dour expression on his face. “Come along. One mustn’t keep Lady Catherine waiting.”
Anne stepped around Richard. “I will see that Miss Bennet finds the correct room.”
“But it is my duty –”
“You would deny me?”
Anne’s voice was so full of indignation and sounded so much like her mother’s that Richard had to cough to cover a laugh. He could tell by the slight upward tilt of her lips that she also found amusement in the current proceedings.
“My mother would be distressed to hear such a thing. I am certain she would be much better pleased if you were to tell her that I requested the privilege of escorting our guest to tea and you, knowing your place,”–Richard saw her lips twitch as she attempted to keep her features serious– “thought it best to oblige me.”
“But my cousin…” Mr. Collins looked at Elizabeth.
“Is there something wrong with your cousin?” asked Anne, tipping her head and studying Elizabeth before turning wide questioning eyes at Mr. Collins. “She looks well to me. My cousin, on the other hand, could use some work.”
