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Elizabeth and Mary sat among boxes on the floor of Elizabeth’s bedroom. Less than a week after Patrick revealed the conspiracy between Granville and her mother, she was moving out. It was time to start a new life and stop waiting for a man to complete her. After she’d confronted her mother, a wrath of hostility rained down on her from Mary and her father. Everyone took to ignoring Mrs. Bennet, driving her to drink and make herself invisible. She’d almost felt sorry for her mother. She’d come to the conclusion that Granville was right about one thing: She had to forgive her. More so for Mary and her father. Mrs. Bennet had thrown all pride out the window. She’d promised to change her ways if only given a chance to redeem herself. To Elizabeth’s surprise, she’d even signed up to volunteer at the hospital. There would be much time and effort needed to repair the damage, but it was a start.
“I still can’t believe you’re moving,” Mary said, stacking photo albums and books into a box.
Elizabeth gave her a tight smile. “I was going to move out after the wedding anyway. And the apartment is not too far from here.” She closed a box and wrote on the side of it. “You’ll come visit whenever you like. And we can have sleepovers.”
“Really?”
Mary’s bright smile lightened Elizabeth’s mood. “Most definitely.”
“How about tonight?”
As much as she wanted to be independent, the thought of spending the first night alone in her apartment did not appeal to her. “Why not? It will be quite a mess, but it will be an adventure.”
“There’s still so much to do,” Mary said, glancing around the room.
“Yes, and I will assume Lydia and George will arrive the moment we close the last box.”
“If at all,” Mary added. “And without their help with the furniture, we’ll probably have to sleep on the floor.”
The sisters laughed together, but Elizabeth hid a hint of sadness for a life she had to say goodbye to and not because she was becoming a wife.
***
A gorgeous, balmy day greeted Elizabeth and her two companions as they strolled the grounds of the music festival.
“This is going to be simply wonderful,” Mary said. Her eyes darted in every direction. If she held any disappointment for Patrick’s absence, Elizabeth could not detect it. He’d insisted on giving up his ticket so their father could go. They’d received Granville’s ticket from Patrick as well, but Mrs. Bennet declined, knowing the three would have a much better time without her.
“As long as my feet and my arse hold up,” Mr. Bennet said, looking at a program for the day. “There appears to be a lot of sitting and walking ahead for us.”
“You’re not going to complain the whole time, are you, father?” Mary said.
“Not the whole time.”
The trio discussed the events offered for the day which consisted of various genres of music including classical, folk, and rock. Most of the performances were indoor, but a few were outdoor in the park or in a small stadium.
Mr. Bennet insisted on them making a plan to attend a folk performance later in the afternoon. To Elizabeth’s astonishment, Mary agreed with the choice. Her preference had always been classical music, but Elizabeth assumed Patrick’s influence had her branching out to broaden her horizons.
The day would be the perfect distraction for Elizabeth and a wonderful way to spend time with her two favorite people. They walked, listened, took pictures, and ate. Father dozed off in a dark theatre as they listened to a strings quartet play Bach’s Prelude No. 1. Elizabeth couldn’t blame him, but as she listened to the melody that took her back to the car ride with William after they’d left the club, an ache took over her heart. She hadn’t shaken it away even as they stepped into the bright sunlight.
“What’s wrong, Lizzy?” Mary said.
“Nothing. The darkness just made me sleepy.”
“Was it dark in there?” Mr. Bennet said.
Elizabeth nudged him in the ribs.
He moved to the side and looked at his watch. “It’s time for my pick,” he said, energetically.
Mary rolled her eyes, and the three walked to the venue to get their seats.
The small stadium was only half-full upon arrival, but after they sat, not many others came. At one point, Mr. Bennet, who sat between his two daughters, pulled out a phone and began tapping the screen.
It caught Elizabeth’s discerning gaze. “What’s that, father?”
“It’s a phone,” he said without looking up.
“I know that. But since when did you have such fancy electronics?”
“Since I started with my new position.” The corners of his mouth turned up, but he didn’t dare look to see their faces.
“Father!” both ladies shouted a bit too loud. A few heads turned to look.
“Why didn’t you tell us you got a new job?” Elizabeth said, quietly.
He lowered his hand and gave her his attention. “I just did. Didn’t you recognize my voice?”
“Don’t be daft, father.” She tapped him on the arm. “My goodness, that’s such wonderful news.”
“Yes, splendid. Congratulations, father,” Mary said. “Tell us more.”
He turned his gaze directly to Elizabeth. “William called in a few favors and was able to get me in over at Binkley, Fuller, and Stubbs. It’s a larger firm, and I’ll be making more money.”
“William arranged it?” She could hardly get the words out.
“Maybe he did it to get in your good graces, Lizzy,” Mary said.
“On the contrary, my dear. William and I have been working on this for weeks. I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. William didn’t say anything because he wanted to surprise you.”
“I’m, er, just so happy for you, father.” Her voice quivered by the time she’d made it to the end of that sentence. All the horrible thoughts and words she’d had for William, and he’d been doing this brilliant thing she had no idea about. She swiped at her eye and swallowed her regret. It was so incredibly thoughtful...but it did it erase how he’d treated her? She fought to keep the emotions from taking hold of her.
Elizabeth leaned away from Mr. Bennet just a bit and pulled a compact from her purse. She checked her makeup, noticing a smudge of mascara under her damp eye. She grabbed a loose tissue from her bag and rubbed at it when she heard laughter roll through the stadium. She closed her compact and gazed around, noticing several concert goers pointing and laughing and something to the side of the stage.
“Elizabeth, look,” Mary said, pointing.
Her eyes followed in that direction until they connected to the source that caused the ruckus. She gasped, and her hands flew to her mouth. “Is that...” She looked at her father whose shoulders shook, and a fist covered his mouth.
“It couldn’t be,” she said.
“Oh, but it is,” Mr. Bennet said.
“Did you know about this?”
He shrugged, her face flushed with heat and anticipation as her gaze traveled back toward the stage.
William marched at a slow pace holding a short rope. The rope, it appeared—unless her eyes were playing tricks on her—pulled behind him a donkey.
“What in God’s name is he doing?” she said to herself.
William led the donkey up a ramp that headed to the top of the stage.
“No...” Elizabeth said, though a smile found its way to her face.
“Over there,” Mary said, pointing again.
On the side of the stage William had just come from, sat a small burger van. A man inside was handing wrapped burgers out to another man who was passing them out to the audience.
“Could I have your attention, please?”
Elizabeth slouched down in her seat. When and where had William picked up a microphone?
His eyes shot across the small arena and landed on hers. “Hello...my name is William Darcy. I’d like to thank you all for being here today. I know you’re anxious to hear the splendid music you came for, and I assure you, it will happen momentarily. But first, I must use this stage for a very important purpose. You see. I met the woman of my dreams...and I’d planned to marry her. But as men often do, I acted like a tosser.”
Laughter erupted; Elizabeth sat up in her chair and scooted to the edge. Her heart ached at seeing him again, and somehow she hurt for him and his pain.
“But I learned the error of my ways. And I want to be a better man for my Lizzy.”
The audience reacted with a collective, “Aww.” William walked to the very edge of the stage. “So I came here today, to beg for forgiveness.” He got down on one knee, still holding the roped donkey. “And ask my dear, sweet love Elizabeth for another chance. We were to be married, you know.” His tone turned anecdotal for that sentence. “And if she agrees, I’ll do whatever it takes to become the man she deserves. I will support her, and love her, and be the best husband I can be.” He reached his hand in her direction. “I love you, Lizzy. Will you forgive me?”
A hush fell across the crowd for a few beats. Then a random voice shouted, “Marry the bloke, Lizzy!” Then a chant started, “Marry him, marry him, marry him.” Even Mr. Bennet and Mary joined in.
Elizabeth’s heart pounded so wildly, she thought it would burst from her chest. A teardrop fell onto her wrist, and she stared at it in awe. Before she knew what was happening, she leapt from her chair, maneuvered through the row of chairs, and ran down the aisle. It took a full minute for her to make it to William where he waited on bended knee. When she reached the ramp, he stood and released the rope. She ran to his arms, and he lifted her in an embrace. “My life is nothing without you, Lizzy,” he whispered.
“I’ve missed you so, William.”
“I was wrong...about everything, and I’ll never try to control your life again. I just can’t be without you. Please say you forgive me.”
A tearful chuckle escaped her, and he set her down. “I do,” she said.
Cheers came from the audience, but she couldn’t imagine they’d heard her quiet words. Then she noticed someone standing behind them. William gestured to the man dressed in the ceremonial white robe. “As you can see, we have everything we need for the perfect wedding.”
She laughed and covered her mouth as she glanced from the donkey to the burger van to the man on stage. And just as she was about to respond, Elizabeth noticed something. She squinted over at the man. “Wait a minute. That’s Bradley from your office.”
William sported a wide grin. “True...but he is ordained to preform weddings.”
Bradley shrugged and waved.
“I don’t know what to say,” she said, completely overwhelmed by it all.
“Say you’ll marry me, and the rest doesn’t matter. We can do it now, later, here, or somewhere else. We can eat burgers...” He took a double take on Brad who was now eating a burger and holding the rope. “Or we can have a simple ceremony wherever you like.”
Elizabeth eyed the donkey. “As long as you don’t make me sit on that thing...I will marry you, William Darcy.”
A standing ovation ensued as William picked up Elizabeth in his arms and carried her across the stage.
“I’m going to spend the rest of my life making you deliriously happy, Miss Bennet.”
He kissed her deeply before setting her down.
“That’s Mrs. William Darcy to you.”
* The * End *