Mr. Darcy stood before Mr. Bingley and Mr. Bennet in the library of Bingley House with Elizabeth at his side.
The two had been found by Mr. Bennet when he had stepped outside to seek refuge from his gossiping wife and silly daughters in the midst of the ball.
Now, he eyed Mr. Darcy and his favorite daughter. Instead of speaking to the man, he addressed Elizabeth. “Do you love this man, Lizzy? In Hertfordshire, you claimed to your mother that you could never be persuaded to dance with him. Now you have fallen in love in so few weeks?”
Elizabeth blushed at her father’s words. She glanced at Mr. Darcy who only smiled serenely and nodded for her to answer her father.
“I do love him, Papa. He is much different from what I first judged him to be. In London, I have come to see another side of Mr. Darcy. He is kind and patient, and a good brother and friend. With me, he has been honest and apologetic for the misunderstandings between us in Hertfordshire. Jane was right and I was wrong,” she turned from her father and looked at Mr. Darcy, speaking to him, “I do love Mr. Darcy, with all my heart.”
Mr. Bennet shook his head. “Well, your mother will be pleased to see you married as he is worth ten thousand and that she may brag about to Lady Lucas and all her friends, but I shall miss you, my daughter. I will be left with Mary, Kitty, and Lydia I suppose, though all three of them together could never equal you. I expect that I may visit at Pemberley?”
Mr. Darcy turned to Mr. Bennet as he held Elizabeth close to his side. “You may live at Pemberley if it pleases you sir, for I do know the place you hold in Elizabeth’s heart. I shall love and protect her, honor and cherish her all my days. If it pleases you, will you allow your daughter to become my wife?”
Mr. Bennet turned to Mr. Bingley. “What say you, son? Can you vouch for your friend? Do you believe he loves my Elizabeth?”
Mr. Bingley patted Mr. Bennet on the back. “Our Lizzy could not have chosen better, sir. He is sometimes a bit pompous and can appear aloof, but once you know him, you will find he is a fine man of principal and character. I have known for quite some time he favored Lizzy.”
Elizabeth gave a surprised look in Mr. Bingley’s direction, her brows raised but he only laughed. “It was plain, little sister. We all saw it, even Jane.”
At this, the library door gave way and in tumbled Mrs. Bennet and Jane and the rest of Elizabeth’s sisters followed by Aunt and Uncle Gardiner. Even Miss Darcy and the colonel ended up trailing in behind with the Matlocks.
Mrs. Bennet hurried to Elizabeth’s side. “Oh, Lizzy, I knew! I knew you would catch Mr. Darcy in the end! Oh, Lady Lucas will be so jealous, I tell you. What is Mr. Collins to Mr. Darcy? You were wise to refuse that silly parson.”
Lydia and Kitty hugged Elizabeth tight and laughed saying how lucky she was and how they too might marry wealthy men with her new connections. Mary rolled her eyes and pulled her younger sisters away from Elizabeth. “Do try and behave as though you have a bit of sense between the two of you.”
To Mr. Darcy, she quoted a bible verse. “May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer — may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.”
Elizabeth took Mary by the arm, “Young lady! I am shocked by your lack of propriety!”
“But it is a Bible verse, Lizzy!” Mary exclaimed.
Darcy’s face turned a deep shade of red. The room was growing warmer and the Bennets overwhelmed him with their antics and provoking bible recitations.
Mr. Bennet took Mary in hand. “There are many subjects in the Bible not suitable for discussion amongst ladies and gentlemen, daughter.”
Elizabeth was grateful for her father’s assistance. She turned and led Mr. Darcy away from her parents and sisters.
The Colonel and Miss Darcy welcomed Elizabeth to the family in a much more sedate manner, but one that was also heartfelt.
“I am pleased at last to have a sister!” Miss Darcy exclaimed as she embraced Elizabeth. Lady Matlock was more reserved in her welcome, but Elizabeth believed they might someday become close.
The earl, with his burly frame, hugged Elizabeth tightly and proclaimed his nephew a wise man for choosing such a handsome and practical wife. “Boy,” he said to Darcy over Elizabeth’s head, “I thought you might marry Dumont’s sister all those years ago. When I saw her in Town again, the worries returned. The lady has a sizable dowry but she is quite a slip of muslin. You have settled my fears for the family with this one.”
This time it was Elizabeth’s turn to blush. Mr. Darcy took her hand, his brows lifted as if to say I have my own troublesome family members.
Mr. Bingley, aware of the discomfort Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were hiding, sent for champagne to toast the happy couples and celebrate the Bingley child that would be born before the end of the year. “We should return to our guests soon, but a private family celebration must be observed.”
The footmen opened several bottles of champagne and flutes were filled for the whole of the library. The Bennets, the Bingleys, the Darcys, and the Matlocks celebrated the happiness that two weddings would bring.
For the rest of the evening, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy danced, announced their engagement to the delight of all gathered, and whispered to one another of their future plans. There would be children and family to fill the halls of Pemberley once more and Mr. Darcy would take her camping.
When the ball ended at last and the Bingleys waved away the last of their guests, Elizabeth stood with Darcy on the steps of Bingley House. She was still in his coat and he held her tightly against him. “I cannot believe you accepted me, Elizabeth. I am the luckiest man in London, in all of England.”
Elizabeth laughed. Her shivers coming now from the way he held her instead of the cold. “I cannot believe you chose me, William. You could have had any lady you desired over the years.”
“None were you, my love. It is as simple as that. Now tell me, where do you wish to say our vows? Will it be here in Town at Darcy House or at Pemberly? Or will we return to Hertfordshire and marry there?” Mr. Darcy inquired as he pulled gently at the hair gathered in pins at the nape of her neck. He wished to see her with it down, to run his fingers through it.”
Elizabeth reached back and expertly removed the pins holding it, shaking the curls free for his hands. “I shall have to think on that, my love. I want only to be married, the place is not so important.”
Mr. Darcy bent, his mouth hungry for the taste of hers. He kissed her with the restrained passion of a man of character, but his kiss conveyed all his feeling for her. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around him, melting into his warmth.
Mr. Darcy moaned and broke their kiss, his hands still in her hair. “I must go before I take leave of my senses, woman. Go back inside and lock the doors.”
Elizabeth took off his coat and offered it to him. He pulled her close and kissed her again, leaving his coat in her hands. “Keep it, and dream of me tonight.”
She watched him walk down the street and stepped inside, her heart melting in her breast. Her lips were swollen from his kisses, but Elizabeth found she did not mind the tingle. Mr. Darcy was to be her husband and her joy could not be contained.
Jane was waiting for her when she turned to make her way upstairs. “Oh Lizzy, I hoped you might marry Mr. Darcy! Charles has said he will not lease Netherfield again and we shall have a home near Pemberley instead. Is it not the best of news?”
Elizabeth took Jane’s hand and pulled her towards the stairs, “Come to my room and let us gossip as we did in our old room at Longbourn.”
The sisters hurried upstairs and lit a lamp in Elizabeth’s room before burrowing beneath the fine coverlet of the bed. Whispers and giggling ensued as Mr. Bingley wandered the house looking for his wife.