“No, thank you, Mr Bennet; I had some with my parents before I left Darcy House.”
“So formal, Will. Have I not been Uncle Thomas for a while now?” Bennet asked dryly.
“You have, but I am here to ask the most important of questions, so I felt that formality is appropriate,” Will explained.
“The floor is yours.” Bennet sat back. Will knew that Uncle Thomas was aware of his purpose, but he could see that the older man would not make things too easy for him and respected that. He wanted to go through the process of asking, and an edge of uncertainty reassured him that while Lizzy was his alone, he had to be worthy of her in all ways.
“My purpose today is to request the honour of your daughter Elizabeth’s hand in marriage. If you have no objection, I have Andrew’s leave to ask her to become my betrothed today,” Will’s words were a steady stream, but when he had stated his request, he took a long, deep breath and held it as he waited for Bennet’s reply.
“It would be easy to toy with you and ask you inane questions like do you love her, can you support her, or will you be good to her, but I know the answers to those questions, so I only have one. Why Lizzy? Why do you want to marry her and not someone else?” Uncle Thomas asked.
As was his wont when considering a weighty issue, Will took his time to answer.“It is because I cannot imagine my life without her in it, and I do not mean as a cousin. She challenges me, never blindly agrees with what I say like so many women looking to marry in the Ton do, and never has an issue correcting me.
“Some would tell me that it is not a good idea to marry one who is far more intelligent than you, but her intelligence is one of the things that has always drawn me to her. I assume you know the story of when she was about seven, and I became infatuated with her mind and the mess I made of things at the time?” Uncle Thomas nodded, allowing that he had heard the infamous story.“Her mind was the first thing to captivate me; it was not until she was around fifteen that I was captivated by the rest of her.
“Elizabeth had always been one of, if not the, most beautiful woman in any room, but as she got older, her beauty has only increased for me. She is outwardly exquisite, but who she is inside is what is most important to me. She always puts other’s needs ahead of her own and is one of the most caring and compassionate people that I know. In short, she is theonlywoman I could ever marry. If she were to refuse me, I would not marry at all.
“Knowing that Elizabeth wants to marry me as much as I want to marry her means unless you refuse me, I will marry her,” Will concluded the speech.
“If I were to refuse you, which I have no intention of, I would lose my daughter again, and there is nothing that will induce me to be the cause of that. I may be older, but I am not blind; I see how she adores you and how besotted you are. I could not have parted with her again to a man less worthy. Yes, Will, you have my hearty consent and blessing. I know you will make her happy,” Uncle Thomas concluded.
Finally, the day was here. Will was so happy he almost floated down the grand stairs. His parents were in the breakfast parlour—his father with a steaming mug of coffee while his mother sipped her tea.“Where are you off to so early, Will?” his mother teased him.
“Yes, son, sit and relax. I cannot imagine why you would want to rush out at such an early hour,” George followed his wife.
“I have waited longer than I would have liked to for this day to arrive, so before some other buffoon gets it in his head to try and compromise my love, I think it is time to walk to Matlock House,” Will informed his parents.
“I assume you will bring my future daughter to receive our well wishes after you are betrothed, will you not, Will?” Anne asked.
“It may be after Bennet House, but yes, mother, we will be here this morning, and when we arrive, Lizzy will be wearing Grandmama Darcy’s ring.” Will waited impatiently while Killion helped him into his outerwear, then he bounded down the stairs that led to the square and his destiny awaiting him at Matlock House.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The five Fitzwilliams were about to conclude breaking their fasts when Will was announced. The four older family members had to fight breaking into laughter at seeing Elizabeth wanting to jump out of her chair, her good manners only just checking her from doing so.
“Welcome, Will,” Andrew intoned,“are you here to join us in breaking our fasts? I am afraid as we are almost finished, you may have to return tomorrow,” he ribbed his cousin.
“Andrew!” Elizabeth shouted.
“Yes, Sprite?” Andrew asked innocently.
“You know very well why Will is here this morning!” Elizabeth huffed.
“To wish you a happy birthday,” Richard pilled on.“He could have waited until the party this evening; there was no need for him to run across the Square before calling hours.”
“Richard Fitzwilliam, you arenotfunny,” Elizabeth scowled at her bothers.
“If you two are done making sport, mayhap you will allow Will to tell us why he is here,” Elaine looked at both her sons, who were sporting huge grins, happy that they were able to discompose Will and Lizzy at the same time.
“Thank you, Aunt; I am here to request a private interview with Elizabeth,” Will stated, relieved to finally be able to say the words. It had seemed like forever, but, on some level, he had to admit he would have been disappointed had his cousins not teased him, which would be a sign of change in their regard.
“Why would you need…” Richard started to say, stopping when he received a sharp, unladylike kick on his shin from his sister, who gave him a warning look. He raised his hands in surrender.
“My little Reggie behaves better than you two sometimes, and he is not yet two!” Marie rolled her eyes at the antics of her husband and brother.
“I assume that you spoke to Uncle Thomas?” Andrew asked, and Will nodded.“You may use the small parlour. I will give you ten minutes, and the door will remain partially open with Mrs Annesley sitting outside,” he stipulated.
Elizabeth jumped out of her seat like she had been shot out of a cannon, which resulted in a guffaw from the direction of her brothers and some soft tittering from ladies at the table—she cared not a whit.“It seems that there is something that you have to say that our Lizzy wishes to hear,” Marie smiled sweetly, her eyes as knowing as everyone else and well-remembered her own excitement.
