by Lauren King
Inside Georgiana’s chambers, Elizabeth apologizes, “I am sorry you had to hear me be so blunt with your Aunt, Georgie. I cannot abide by anyone being so blatantly mean and ugly about people that they do not even know. I understand why she attacked my family; is William truly promised to his cousin Anne, Georgie?”
“Oh, Lizzy, I am so sorry that my Aunt was so mean and harsh with you. From what I know, she is stern and harsh like that all the time. As for William being promised to Cousin Anne, I do not know. I have never heard of it. They have not told me of it; therefore, I am not certain of the facts. I am sorry, Lizzy.” Georgiana explains apologetically as she holds Elizabeth’s hand.
While the three young ladies speak in Georgiana’s chambers, Darcy is still trying to evict Lady Catherine from his home.
“It is only because you are old and you are a woman that I do not throw you out myself. However, if I do not do it, then my servants will not dare touch you in fear that you might call the magistrate on them for touching a Peer.” Darcy grits through his teeth as he continues. “You need to leave this instant! I will not listen to your ridiculousness!” Darcy is livid; he angrily glowers at Lady Catherine, unwaveringly.
“Darcy, you need to listen to reason. Anne can be a great wife to you. This Miss Elizabeth is not worthy of you. Her and her family will bring shame onto the Darcy name. Moreover, you will have to support that entire family if none of the other sisters marry. What about Georgiana? Do you not want her to have a sister that she can learn from – someone from her similar upbringing and social consequence? This Miss Elizabeth is not from your social sphere; how can she teach Georgiana anything? Do you want Georgiana to learn of their lowly manners? Your Mother wanted you to marry Anne.” Lady Catherine presses.
Darcy breathes steadily to calm himself, so he can be done with his Aunt. “Lady Catherine, this will be the last time I will tell you this. I will not marry Cousin Anne. Neither of my parents has ever told me that I was engaged to Anne. My Father said that I should do what is right for me so that I will have a life filled with love and understanding. As long as I am an upstanding gentleman and my wife can bring me happiness and bring about the respect and longevity to the Darcy name then he knows that I will have chosen correctly. Therefore, Lady Catherine, I know your words are exaggerations to fit your own needs. I am gravely disappointed in you for trying to force me, for lying to me, and for making me feel guilty so I would marry Anne who is sickly.” Darcy abruptly puts his hand up in front of him to stop Lady Catherine from interrupting him. “STOP! I will finish what I have to say to you.” Darcy expels a breath before continuing, and Lady Catherine does not take her eyes off of him.
“I am your own nephew, yet you would see me at a great disadvantage to suit your own needs. You have made me dislike visiting Rosings. I will tell you now; I will no longer visit Rosings or aid you in any way because of your malicious abuse of my betrothed and your uncaring, selfish ways towards me. I will not tolerate anyone attacking Miss Elizabeth, including my family. Miss Elizabeth and Georgiana will always be my first priorities. No one will attack them without facing the consequences of all that is the Darcy name. Now, you will leave my home or else my footmen will remove you.” Darcy scowls steadfastly and forbiddingly at his Aunt.
“Darcy, you are making a big mistake. She will bring shame to your family, and then I will be connected to that shame too! I will not stand for that!” Lady Catherine declares loudly.
Darcy’s face is once again dour when he exclaims, “Leave my house, NOW!” Darcy looks over at Richard and Mr. Brooks; he flicks his head towards the exit before he quits the music room. Darcy does not take leave of Lady Catherine.
Richard holds out his hand in front of him as an indication for Lady Catherine to proceed ahead of him and then he says, “Lady Catherine, please do not cause any more trouble for Darcy. You are completely wrong about Miss Elizabeth. If you insist and persist on your current stance, then I am afraid you will lose Darcy for good. My entire family supports Darcy; we all like and support Miss Elizabeth as Darcy’s wife.”
Lady Catherine huffs before turning to leave on her own. She will handle this herself! Men are stupid when it comes to a pretty face of a woman.
Darcy locates Elizabeth, Georgiana, and Jane in Georgiana’s bedroom chambers. Georgiana instantly hugs William and asks for reassurance that everything is all right with their lives and that Lady Catherine will not be disturbing them anymore. Darcy assures her of it. Georgiana goes to stand by Jane so that William can speak to Elizabeth. Darcy looks over at Elizabeth and they both hesitantly approach each other. Elizabeth is worried that William may be upset with her because his Aunt yelled at him about Elizabeth’s poor connections and ill-behaved family. Maybe Lady Catherine is prominent enough to forbid his marriage to Elizabeth. God, she hopes not. Elizabeth will be completely desolated if he should end things with them now.
“Dearest, are you well? I am sorry that you had to experience Lady Catherine’s invectives. That was unpardonable of her. You will not ever have to hear her again. She will no longer be welcomed to anything relating to the Darcys.” Darcy says reassuringly as he holds her hands.
“Darling, maybe we should go back to the sitting room so that Georgie and Jane will not have to stand at the door over there.” Elizabeth suggests considerately.
“All right.” Darcy offers Elizabeth his arm as they walk to the sitting room. He is glad that she does not seem upset at him because of his absurd aunt who he can no longer bear.
In the sitting room, Darcy and Elizabeth sit next to each other on the same sofa with the door wide open while Georgiana, Jane, and Richard sit in the music room across the hall. Darcy explains what was said.
Darcy explains and reassures Elizabeth. “Dearest, I am not promised to my cousin Anne. I am not interested and have never been interested, at all, in marrying her. I will not ever marry Anne. I am engaged to you. I will marry you on January 31st as we have planned and have announced privately and publically. I will love only you, Lizzy – only you.” Darcy kisses Elizabeth’s lips gently several times, and she responds affectionately just as he wishes for. He knows that she wants to discuss this with him, so he releases their warm passionate kiss. He would really rather be kissing her, but he knows that they have to finish discussing this or else Elizabeth will begin to think awful things about their relationship.
“Do you have any concerns or questions, Lizzy?” Darcy asks caringly as he caresses her hands.
“You do not have any official understanding with your cousin Anne?” Elizabeth asks softly as her eyes turn downward.
With great care and gentleness, Darcy lovingly cups her cheek in his hand, caresses it, and tilts her head up so she looks directly at him as he replies, “No, dearest; only with you.” .
“Can Lady Catherine force anything upon you?” Elizabeth asks warily as her eyes glisten.
Darcy answers confidently, “No, I am the head of the Darcy family; no one has any say over me. Even if anyone did, I would not give you up for anyone or for anything.” Darcy kisses her forehead and then kisses her hands.
“Are you certain you want to continue something that may cost you your reputation and your family? I would understand if you retreated; there still is time. I just ask that you tell me sooner than later.” Elizabeth says with the utmost sincerity; she tries to repress her sadness and her tears so William will not be influenced into making a decision which he does not want.
“I will never retreat unless you tell me that you do not want me.” Darcy states unambiguously. “Is that what you want, Lizzy?”
Without any hesitation, Elizabeth replies, “No, never! I love you so much, that it hurts my heart just to contemplate that you may want to change your mind about us.” Her eyes fill with tears, but she suppresses them by blinking rapidly and turning away from William.
Darcy refuses to let Elizabeth feel bad about this; he gently cups her chin and guides her face back to look at him. “Just as I love you. Please,
do not cry. I cannot and I will not back away from our relationship because it will eat away at me until I am but a shell of a man living without your love. I will not let that happen.” Darcy leans in to kiss her cheeks and then her lips ardently as her tears fall.
“I love you; that will never change. I could not love anyone else.” Elizabeth affirms openly as William gently dabs her tears away with his handkerchief.
“You took the words right out of my mouth.” Darcy passionately kisses her lips again and pours into it all the love that he feels for her. He wants to caress the rest of her body, but he does not want to frighten her; hence, he settles for holding the nape of her neck while he kisses her, fervently. After he is satisfied with his expression of love for her, he slowly pulls away so that they are not seen by anyone. They reassure each other of their love and devotion before joining the others in the music room.
Darcy briefly explains that Lady Catherine made spiteful comments and delusional wishes that he will never entertain. Georgiana and Jane are relieved that Elizabeth’s and Darcy’s relationship will not be negatively affected.
Richard and Darcy speak with each other in his study for a little bit; Richard says that he will inform his parents of Lady Catherine’s visit and her harangue. His Father will definitely support Darcy and not his Aunt’s delusional demands.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 6th
Elizabeth is sadly surprised again to see Mr. Morgan with the same young lady here at the pastry shop. They seem to be talking quietly with each other, and the young lady happily giggles at something Mr. Morgan just said. Once again, Mr. Morgan does not see Elizabeth and William. Elizabeth quickly pulls William’s arm to leave the shop. She says that she does not want to run into Mr. Morgan and have an awkward encounter. William advises that they do face Morgan so he is aware that they know what he is doing to Jane.
“That way he will put an end to this farce or situation and not hurt Jane any longer with his uncertainty.” William quietly and sensibly asserts.
“But I already feel uneasy, and I do not want there to be any lies uttered by anyone. Please, darling; I do not want to confront him.” Elizabeth counters impatiently.
“All right, we will not face Morgan if you are that uncomfortable.” Darcy gives in, and they leave the pastry shop.
Once home, Elizabeth tells Jane who she and William saw at the pastry shop. Jane is saddened, but she tries to harden herself to the news. To some extent, she expected this. Though it is hard to hear from others, she is glad that it was Elizabeth and William who saw Mr. Morgan and not someone else that could mock her.
Mr. Morgan is a worthy, eligible gentleman with a good family background and is, in his own right, a good catch for many decent young ladies. He has much to offer, especially to that one young lady who he has been seen with, twice now. Jane has to learn to accept that she and Mr. Morgan are not meant to be. She thought that they were doing so well, and she listened to his sweet words. She has come to realize that he must have been saying them to the other young lady as well – how utterly disappointing. Well, at this point, it is clearer that Mr. Morgan is more inclined towards the other young lady. Jane will release him from their courtship so that it is not dragged out unnecessarily. Now, she has to wait impatiently until Friday to let him know. She wishes she could just write him a letter to release him so they will not have to uncomfortably face each other, but she knows it is improper for a young lady to correspond with a man other than her Father, brothers, or immediate male relatives.
Elizabeth apologizes, “I am sorry, Jane. But….it is fortunate that only a few people know of your early courtship with Mr. Morgan – the bright side of that is it will limit a questionable reputation for you. I doubt Mr. Morgan will let it be known that he was courting you at the same time he was courting another young lady.”
Jane states in a subdued manner, “Well, there is that; I guess that is something to be thankful for.”
“I think Mr. Bingley is the only other person other than our family that knows of your courtship. William had to tell Mr. Bingley when he was pleading with William about getting you to talk with him. I also doubt that Mr. Bingley will gossip about your courtship with Mr. Morgan.”
“I understand, Lizzy.” Jane says gloomily while many thoughts of Mr. Morgan run through her mind. She was wrong about Mr. Morgan; he deceived her quite adeptly.
Elizabeth does not know what more to say or to do for Jane except to give her some time and space to think about her situation. Elizabeth is not worried that Jane will not have other admirers, but Jane really does like Mr. Morgan. By the way Mr. Morgan talked and behaved, she thought he returned Jane’s feelings. He probably did like Jane – just not as much as the other young lady. Why did he ask Jane for a courtship before he discontinued with the other young lady, then? Was he simply greedy and wanted to assure that he was able to ‘tie’ Jane into a relationship so that she was not available to other gentlemen? That would be very calculating and conniving if Mr. Morgan did such a thing. Elizabeth does not think she could respect Mr. Morgan if she found out that he did that to Jane.
Elizabeth comes back to the drawing room afterwards; she tells William that Jane is saddened and resigned to the discontinuation of her courtship with Mr. Morgan.
“I feel bad for Jane. I am surprised at Morgan for behaving this way. I did not think that he was this type of gentleman, but I guess one never knows anymore. This is plainly ungentlemanly of him. If it is true, then I will not consider him a friend any longer. Whether he courted Jane before or after he knew this young lady, it is still unacceptable gentlemanly behavior.”
“I really thought he was a true gentleman,” says Elizabeth while she slowly shakes her head back and forth in disbelief.
“Jane should get the truth from Morgan and then move on if he really is deceiving her. She should not regret a man that is so ungentlemanly; it is not worth it. She is kind and good – plenty of gentlemen will gladly want to court her.” Darcy expresses openly.
“Well, he will be calling upon her this Friday; she is impatiently waiting to see him to get it over with. Goodness, I do not know what I would do if this was you, darling.” Elizabeth sighs and then looks at William.
Instantly Darcy firmly says, “Lizzy, I refuse for you to think about such ridiculousness and then worry about it being me. I refuse, Lizzy.”
Elizabeth quickly says, “Darling, I was only going to say…” She is interrupted by a serious looking William, so she knows that he does not like what she was going to say – well, well, well; he knows her rather well. Elizabeth is joyous at how close they are.
“No, I refuse for you to even think of it, Lizzy. No, more.” Darcy stays undeterred.
“All right, darling; I was only teasing.” Elizabeth declares good-humoredly as she tries to distract William with her coy smile while caressing his cheek lovingly.
“No, you were going to actually think up an entire scenario involving us and then discuss it, after which you would get disconcerted over it.” Darcy feigns annoyance at Elizabeth.
“All right, darling – all right. You know me well, it seems.” Elizabeth smiles innocently so that William will not find her out.
“I know you well enough, dearest, and I am serious that I do not want you to do things like that. I do not want you bothered by such nonsense. You make me feel as if you do not truly understand me when you think such things about us.” Darcy remains firm with his words so Elizabeth knows that he is very serious, but he is not upset.
Elizabeth holds William’s hand up to her cheek and rubs it back and forth to divert him. “I am sorry, darling; I do understand you. I was…my mind was just over thinking. I will not do that anymore. Do not be upset with me, please?” Elizabeth bats her lashes at him coquettishly, and then she boldly places her hand on his chest and caresses where his heart is. “Please, darling? I love you. I love that you will not be upset at me.” Elizabeth smiles ingenuously and impishly bats her lashes some more to get her way.
&nbs
p; Oh Lord, she is caressing his chest; he needs to stay calm. She does not know her innocent gestures make him crave her more. He just wants to devour her mouth, press her body tight up against his, and then run his hands all over her…kiss every inch of her body. Lord! All right, all right; breathe, calmly; breathe.
Of course, he cannot be upset with her. Look at how adorable and lighthearted she is. He was not upset; he just wanted her to know his position on that subject. He knows that she is sensitive about such things; therefore, he does not want her to even fathom that he would ever be with another lady while he was with her. He would never allow that to occur.
“I am not upset with you, but you heard my request, did you not?” Darcy asks, feigning solemnity.
“Yes, I did.” Elizabeth continues to caress his chest lovingly.
Darcy grasps her caressing hand, brings it to his mouth, and he sucks on the inside of her wrist. He makes certain that she can clearly see his suckling and she can hear the kissing sound. He stares directly at her while he engages in this act, and he sees that she is fascinated by his actions. She blushes and seems drawn to it with much curiosity and acceptance of what he is doing. He is glad; he intends to show her more of what is done between loving, caring, serious, devoted, affianced couples. Darcy slows his suckling, and then he hurriedly kisses her lips opened-mouth. While kissing and talking intermittently Darcy says, “I love you so much, Lizzy.” He thoroughly suckles her lips and tongue with pleasure before releasing her mouth. “I want to show you so much more, and I will. Are you frightened by my fervent ardor for you, dearest?”
Elizabeth is still flushed from his actions, and she cannot seem to find her voice, but she manages to shake her head and say softly, “No.” As she pulls herself out of her befuddled state, she is bashful about looking directly at William because he is so open about his love for her. However, she is getting used to it more. It is obvious that he loves her intensely; therfore, she is not fearful of experiencing the powerful love that he has for her. In return, she wants to learn how to please him. She feels that they will be very passionate with each other in their married life.
