Elizabeth expected Kitty to get up and join the rest of the family, but she still sat there twisting her hands in nervousness.
“Is there something else you wish to discuss?” asked Elizabeth.
“Um, well, I hope you won’t take this as selfish,” said Kitty, “but I just wanted to know. Since you will be getting married soon, will you still arrange for us to go to London as you promised?”
Elizabeth chuckled. “The house will be available, and the money will be available. As for whether Papa will consent to go after all the changes that are taking place, only he can say. However, I will do what I can to ensure he keeps his promise.”
Kitty’s face lit up with a smile and she said, “Thank you so much, Lizzy! Thank you!”
With that, Kitty went to join the rest of the family at the card table. Elizabeth simply watched them and pondered her own thoughts for quite some time.
~~~~~
Mary and Jane shared a wedding date in the middle of December, but Elizabeth’s wedding was delayed until the end of the month due to the complexities of creating a suitable marriage contract regarding her vast and complex wealth.
The six weeks which passed between her engagement and her wedding were both beautiful and very trying for Elizabeth.
During that time, she learned how very flirtatious and affectionate Mr. Darcy could be, but such lessons created even more impatience for her wedding day. Still, each meeting, each small kiss, each meaningful look, and each thoughtful gift he gave her showed her a little more of what her life would be like after their wedding.
After Jane and Mary were married and had departed on their wedding journeys, the wait became even more intolerable. Kitty was genuinely trying to become more sensible, but she was still young, and there was little the two sisters had in common.
Elizabeth’s focus was almost entirely on those times when she was in Mr. Darcy’s company. The rest of her time was spent preparing for her wedding and for her new life which would follow.
Finally, the day came. She stood at the altar and promised to love him and remain faithful to him for all her days, and he promised her the same.
The wedding breakfast which followed was a blur of conversations that didn’t matter and congratulations which were superfluous to her happiness. Still, she did her best to be kind and attentive, since it was the last time she would see many of these people.
When the newlywedded couple finally left Longbourn in Mr. Darcy’s carriage, heading for Netherfield, where they would spend the first two nights of their marriage, they both sighed in relief. Then, upon hearing the other do the same, they looked at each other and laughed.
Mr. Darcy pulled Elizabeth onto his lap, and she went willingly. He then kissed her. This kiss bore little resemblance to the gentle and occasional kisses they had shared over the last six weeks. This one was possessive and full of fire.
Eventually, he pulled away, but he still said nothing. He simply stared at her.
His expression was like nothing Elizabeth knew, and without thinking, she said, “I wish I knew what you were thinking.”
The corner of his mouth tipped up, and his eyes twinkled, though they didn’t lose the fire that was there due to their kiss. Altogether, it gave him a rather mischievous look.
“I can tell you, if you like,” he said. “They are thoughts not suitable for a maiden’s ears, but you will not be a maiden much longer. However, if it would make you uncomfortable, it can certainly wait.”
“As you say, I will not be a maiden much longer,” said Elizabeth, though she was rather nervous to say so aloud. “I truly would like to know your thoughts, since you are always so difficult to read.”
He then told her what he was thinking in enough detail that the conversation lasted until they reached Netherfield.
Elizabeth’s mind was opened to an entirely new world in those few minutes. She realized that it was, in truth, a very good thing that Jeanie had not allowed Elizabeth to hear all of Mr. Darcy’s thoughts. Ideas such as those she was now exposed to would have frightened her away early in their acquaintance.
Now, however, though new and a little strange, they were entirely appealing.
~~~~~
As the years passed, Elizabeth frequently repeated her wish to her husband that she knew what he was thinking. Gradually, she forgot that there was any significance to the request. She forgot that she had ever been able to hear his thoughts at all.
She learned that sometimes he was thinking something specific. If he was, he would share his thoughts with her, no matter what those thoughts were. Quite often, however, hewasn’t truly thinking anything at all. Elizabeth learned that his mind simply was not as busy as hers.
She came to realize that it was this quality, his ability to rest his mind, that she had always found so comforting and relaxing.
Mr. and Mrs. Darcy shared many long years together, most of them very happy indeed. Through it all, Elizabeth never lost the feeling that, no matter where they were or what they were doing, Mr. Darcy’s side was always where she felt most at home.
Epilogue
