Mr. Darcy Takes the Plunge (21 page)

"Not just yet, my love."

They had stopped dancing but held their positions. Fitzwilliam Darcy prepared in the highest spirits for the conquest of all that remained unsubdued of her heart, trusting it was not more than might be won in the course of the next few moments. He smoothed her wayward curl back into place, and then his hand slid down to cup the side of her face.

"I grow impatient with this drawn-out courtship, Elizabeth. I need to know, for certain, you will forever be mine. You were quite right earlier today. I
have
been courting you for the past fortnight; and although it may be somewhat unconventional, those elapsed two weeks shall have to serve as our official courtship. Since parting with you this afternoon I have struggled to find a perfect way to propose, yet words utterly fail to express what I feel for you. You deserve the sentiments of a poet, but I refuse to employ another man's words." He roguishly smiled at her and continued, "Although I did toss around the idea of discovering what a certain army officer said during his failed offer and then saying the complete opposite. I thought that way I might be assured of a positive response."

"Oh, Mr. Darcy! Sir, how dare you bring up the thought of another man during such an intimate moment; and you were doing so splendidly up until that point."

"I was?" His other hand had found its way to her face as well, and his long thumbs caressed her rosy cheeks. "Then please immediately forget that nonsense. You must allow me to continue in the previous vein and tell you how ardently I admire and love you. For love you I do, Elizabeth Bennet, with all my heart and soul, and always will. You are the most beautiful woman, both physically and intellectually, I have ever beheld. I love your wit, your joie de vivre, your kind and caring nature, and the way you look at me ... like you looked at me on the lawn at Pemberley, and the way you are looking at me right this moment. Please say it means you return some measure of what I feel. Please say you will make me the happiest of men by consenting to be my wife and the mother of my children. Elizabeth, my one and only love, please say you will marry me."

Elizabeth moved even closer, raised her right hand to his face, and dazzled him with the full force of her smile. "I return equal measure of what you feel, Mr. Darcy. In fact, my cup runneth over with love for you. We must be the two most fortunate people in the world to have formed such a strong attachment in so short a time, and I truly do not know what I did to deserve such happiness. Most matches are made for wealth or connections; so I can scarcely believe my fondest wish of marrying for love is coming true, for love you I do, Mr. Darcy."

The gentleman reminded himself to remain a gentleman and settled for a chaste kiss on her forehead. She felt his lips curve into a smile against her skin as he said, "Answer the question, please, Elizabeth."

"Oh, but Mr. Darcy, if you will review your
engaging
proposal, which I shall probably spend the rest of my life doing, you will find there was no actual question. Perhaps you should have consulted the book for advice on how to make an offer."

"I am almost afraid to ask. What book, madam?"

"On Bended Knee by the author Neil Down."

"God, how I love you, you impertinent little minx!" Fitzwilliam Darcy lowered himself and, on bended knee, gazed up at her, and said, "Miss Elizabeth Bennet, will you please marry me?"

"Yes, Mr. Darcy, I would very much love to marry you and be your wife; and if you can bear my teasing, I shall most willingly bear your children."

1
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) ~ Poor Richard's Almanac (June 1746)

C
hapter III

The Night Their World Whirled

The general consensus of the Quality guests at the lavish ball given by the esteemed Darcy and Fitzwilliam families was that the extravagant event was going extraordinarily well. Matlock Manor was done up in Town bronze; and it glittered with candlelight, crystal, and costly gem-encrusted jewelry that adorned the ladies. Attendees were fashionable, musicians superb, dancing refined, supper delectable, and conversation sophisticated. Miss Anna Darcy had played the pianoforte brilliantly, and her proud father had happily announced to the assemblage the engagement of his elder daughter, Miss Georgiana Darcy, to Mr. Ellis Fleming. There had been warm rounds of applause for both the sweet young performer and the handsome couple; and then anticipation grew as most of the company eagerly awaited the grand finale, which was to be the controversial new dance, a waltz.

Behind the scenes, pandemonium ruled as the manor's servants pandered to guests' requests, some mannered and others ill mannered. Young pages were paged to assist footmen, who were run off their feet with many servile feats. The butler whined about the wine cellar's rapid depletion as attendees were wined and dined; and he was glad the ball would soon wind up. After supper was served, the chef, his assistants, and their tempers finally stopped steaming, stewing, and simmering. Unfortunate scullery maids would labour until daylight before they were all washed up.

Above and beyond the overworked servants, a few other occupants of Matlock Manor had not exactly enjoyed the night's proceedings. Lady Anne Darcy had collapsed outside the library; and Miss de Bourgh had summoned Lady Rebecca's efficient French abigail, a pretty maid by the name of Mademoiselle Frances Atwarre, who brought the English patient around with smelling salts. Miss Anna Darcy had fetched her uncle; and after his sister recovered from her swoon and related the sordid story of Richard and Miss Jane Bennet, the Earl dispatched an express message to a home several blocks away. Lady Anne left her brother to deal with his youngest offspring while she headed back to the library and an ordeal involving her eldest.

A sheepish Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam was escorted to his mutton-chopped father's study, where he was raked over the coals and lambasted for unseemly behaviour and its ramifications. As a soldier, the officer was used to standing in formation to receive information; so with the best intention, not to mention apprehension, without pretension he stood at attention to defend his own contention.

Jane had been taken aside by Miss de Bourgh, and Anna soon joined them and tried to comfort her friend while the raised voices of her uncle and his son filtered down the hall from the vicinity of the Earl's study. Miss Bennet was absolutely mortified, guilt-ridden over her shameless conduct, and torn between wanting to flee and the need to take a stance with Richard while he faced the music, even if she did not particularly care for the tune. "Oh, Anna, I am so sorry for causing such turmoil; and I believe it would be preferable for me to leave now. I should fetch my sister from the library; and regardless, we really must warn Mr. Darcy and Lizzy before ... "

Anne de Bourgh interrupted, "No, Miss Bennet. Please do not go in there. I have every reason to suspect you would barge into the middle of a marriage proposal. At least I
think
that is what Fitzwilliam and your sister are doing behind closed, locked doors ... although Aunt Anne has just returned and obviously has visions of another sort of engagement." Three heads turned to watch a determined Lady Anne Darcy as she fumbled with a large ring of keys confiscated from her disgraced nephew. She finally found the one to open the locked library, and it soundlessly turned in the keyhole.

There had been uproar at another London townhouse when a messenger arrived with a dispatch requesting the immediate presence of Mr. Thomas Bennet at Matlock Manor.

"Thomas, you are not leaving without me! If something has happened to one of our precious girls, they would want their mother in attendance. Oh, my dear, what do you suppose is the matter? We should never have permitted Jane and Lizzy to attend that ball without a chaperone."

"Come along then, lovey, but do not agonize yet over the reason. Our daughters are in good hands with our Darcy friends. Whatever has transpired, I am confident it must not be of a serious nature." His face underwent a change as he muttered, "However, if even one
hair
on their beloved heads has been harmed, I may become quite
barbarous
."

As they hurriedly entered their carriage, Mrs. Bennet had dramatic visions of the last legion of handsome barbarians plundering and pillaging at Matlock Manor.

The anxious Mrs. Bennet might have been comforted had she known that in Matlock Manor's library at least one handsome barbarian was not engaged in any plundering or pillaging; and although Mr. Bennet felt confident his beloved daughters were in good hands with their Darcy friends, he might not have been comforted had he known where one of those hands had touched Lizzy during a waltz run-through. In fact, 'run through' might very well have been the action taken against the young man. Said fellow was actually making a valiant attempt to keep himself under good regulation by maintaining a safe distance from the temptation of his fetching fiancee while he enjoyed the pleasure of her exclusive company. Darcy searched the shelves for a book of sonnets by Shakespeare, in love with the idea of reading one or two to his future wife. As he ran his hand along the spines, the title Lost Empires, by Zan Tium, diverted him until Elizabeth reclaimed his attention.

"Mr. Darcy, I wonder why Jane has been delayed for such a stretch of time. What now seems ages ago, I opened the door to this room seeking a moment of privacy; and my sister was supposed to meet me here directly. With her help, I need to repair ... something ... before I am able to return to the ballroom."

"Elizabeth, may I be of assistance?" He walked over and stood toe-to-toe in front of her.

How can a man look so divine, smell so heavenly, but have such a devilish twinkle in his eyes?
"Good heavens, absolutely not, sir! I mean, no thank you, Mr. Darcy."

"Dearest, loveliest Elizabeth, we are betrothed now. Could you not call me Fitzwilliam rather than 'Mr. Darcy' or 'sir' whenever we are alone?" She nodded; and he continued, "We have been fortunate to have this time in private. However, we really should return to the ballroom now. I would certainly not want to miss the opportunity to finally waltz with you after agonizing all evening about doing so. What may I do to help you?"

"Perhaps you could locate my sister and send her to me, sir, ... Fitzwilliam."

"Sir Fitzwilliam? I do not believe you are entitled to bestow that title, my love."

"Teasing man!"

"Never fear, milady. Sir Fitzwilliam, the advocate for missing sisters, shall set forth immediately on a quest for his true love's lost sibling." Darcy kissed Lizzy's forehead again, purposely strode across the room, and yanked at the doorknob. "What the ... ?"

"Oh, I completely forgot. I do believe your cousin locked us in on his way out."

"We are locked
in
? That insolent, insufferable instigator and his insupportable interference!"

"Yes, how insupportable. Instead of leaving, you loitered and got locked in the library with Lizzy. Lousy luck, hmm?"

Darcy quickly returned, slid his hands around the column of her graceful neck, gently stroked his thumbs against her smooth skin, and gazed into her fine eyes. "Elizabeth, time alone with you has been priceless and precious; and I suspect I shall have to thank Fitz for it. Nevertheless, until your father has sanctioned this betrothal, we must be circumspect. You are the best thing that has happened in my life so far; and were I to circumvent propriety and give in to my lustful, licentious longings, lady, your lovely, luscious lips would be long-lastingly locked with mine in a lascivious, lingering, loving kiss."

"Oh, my! Well, then. Yes, I do see the point of your alliterative circumlocution, sir. Under the circumstances, we must certainly not circumvent propriety but instead should practice circumspection. In order to circumscribe limits, perhaps we should retreat to the circumference of the room to avoid circumstantial evidence should we be discovered. Oh, where is that insufferable, interfering instigator with the blasted key; and what has detained dear Jane? Regardless, before we are rescued, Fitzwilliam, would you please avert your eyes while I attempt to repair my ... "

"Are you sure I cannot be of assistance in the repair of your ... ?"

Lizzy closed her eyes and grew dizzy as she envisioned Darcy's long fingers slowly and sensually smoothing her stocking up along her calf, stroking her sensitive skin, and taking their time to tenderly tie the garter's broken ribbon around her trembling leg. When her wayward thoughts reached a fever pitch, she teetered on the edge of reason and breathlessly replied, "N-no, th-thank you. It would be more prudent if I tend to this myself. Now turn around please, Fitzwilliam."

The gentleman most willingly complied. Lizzy raised her skirt and fumbled with a frayed knot on the broken ribbon. When the door unexpectedly burst open, she faced her future mother-in-law and was caught, red-handed, securing her garter, with the right side of her gown hiked up to her thigh while Fitzwilliam Darcy stared intently at the proceedings in the mirror over the mantle.

As the two young ladies entered the ballroom together, Anne de Bourgh glanced at her cousin, frowned, and said, "Anna, were you not supposed to have retired to one of the guest chambers by now? In fact, your mother and I were escorting you there when all hell ... er, when we encountered Richard and Miss Bennet."

Her younger cousin giggled and replied, "Yes. With all the mayhem and trauma, Mother has conveniently forgotten my curfew."

"Well, as your slightly older and much wiser relative, I suppose I should probably remind you it is long past your bedtime, young lady. That said, I shall not mention it if you do not."

"Thank you, wizened old wise woman. With such aged wisdom in your possession, can you foresee what betides Fitz and Jane? I admit their situation worries me, Anne. What do you suppose will happen?"

"I am sure the details are being hammered out amongst the occupants of our uncle's study as we speak. However, I have every reason to suspect you will very soon gain not only Mr. Fleming as a brother, but also Miss Elizabeth as a sister, and her sister as a cousin. My goodness, our family is growing by leaps and bounds."

"Oh! Speaking of leaps and bounds, I have recently heard from Pemberley that my rabbit, Herr Stewart, is actually a fraulein. Still, it is merely haresay until she produces babies. Would you like one if that happens ... or should I say
hoppens
?"

Miss de Bourgh rolled her eyes and sighed. "You really do need to go to sleep, Anna. You are obviously overtired. But I shall indulge you and play along. You know Mother would pull her
hare
out if I brought home a pet."

"What would Aunt Catherine do if you brought home a certain handsome, blonde-haired, blue-eyed pet? Look, Anne, he is coming our way."