Ewan turned to me with that half-exasperated, half-amused look he wore so well. “Ye see, lad? I told ye she’s a bonny, canty lass, an’ nae mistakin’. Got fire in her, she does, an’ a fair sight more spine than ye’ll ever muster.”
“Thank you for noticing,” I retorted dryly. “But you are right about her. I suppose you knew that all along.”
“An’ ye’ve still nae clue o’ any of it, have ye, lad?”
“Yes, well, I’m still in the dark, if you must know. For once, perhaps you might tell me what’s expected of us—without any more riddles.”
Ewan sighed, looking heavenward as if I were a particularly dense child. “Och, I’ll lay it oot plain fer ye. All ye need tae do is what ye were fated tae from the start—just make yer pledge tae her, lad. That’s all it takes.”
Elizabeth glanced at me, her brow furrowing. “Pledge…?”
“Aye,” Ewan said, nodding to her. “A ‘dùrachdan’—your vow, spoken in earnest, wi’ all your heart.”
Elizabeth blinked. “I… I don’t understand, Mr. Darcy. What vow? And what is a… doorak… I don’t even know what that word was.”
“Adùrachdan, lass,” Ewan said softly, “is a love fated by the very bones o’ the earth—bindin’ ye tae each other in this life and the next.”
Her face flushed and her chest started rising rapidly as she sent a shy glance my way. “Oh,” she said softly.
“Ye cannae deny it, lass. The brooch kent it, long afore ye did. Go on, Darcy—tell her what ye came here tae say.”
I blinked, staring at him, uncomprehending. “That’s all? I’ve endured everything—from my windows rattling at ungodly hours to utter humiliation—and now you’re telling me I just… saythat?”
Elizabeth, who was trying to stifle a grin, gave me a nudge. “Rather dramatic, whatever it is,” she murmured.
I gave her a slightly exasperated look, but the truth was, my heart was pounding, the words already crowding at the edge of my mind. If I had to make this vow—to make her mine now, tonight—I’d do it gladly.
Turning fully to her, I took a deep breath. “Elizabeth,” I began, “I—”
“Not yet, ye daft fool! Ye’ve got tae wait till the stroke o’ midnight!”
All the pent-up urgency in me collapsed as if a pin had pricked a bubble in a rising loaf of bread. “You havegotto be joking,” I growled.
“Not a whit o’ it!” Ewan grabbed the watch from my waistcoat pocket and raised his hand in the air. “Fifteen more seconds.”
“Are you s—”
“Nae, lad!” he bellowed with laughter. “I just wanted tae see if ye’d go through wi’ it. Go on, then.”
I sucked in another breath and determined to do it right this time. On my knee—that was the only way to make a pledge like this to the woman I loved. I sank down, clasping her hand, my voice trembling despite my resolve.
“I...” My voice shook, but I found my footing. “Elizabeth Bennet, be it in this life or the next, I will always come back to you. Will you—will you marry me?”
There. The words hung in the cold air between us, solid and irreversible.
I hadn’t planned this, not here, not tonight—but Heaven and earth, it felt right. Every hesitation, every doubt that had plagued me for weeks—months—had evaporated the moment I spoke. I realized then that I had been preparing for this for far longer than I’d known.
Elizabeth stood frozen, her breath caught, and then she laughed—soft and breathless, a sound I wanted to wrap myself in forever.
“I—Mr. Darcy...”
She was stunned. I had stunned Elizabeth Bennet. But I saw it—the warmth creeping into her eyes, the incredulous smile on her lips, as if she couldn’t believe this was happening.
I couldn’t believe it myself.
Her smile wavered for a moment, and I felt my heart lurch in my chest. What if I’d been wrong? What if—?
“Yes,” she whispered, her voice barely more than a breath.
