“Elizabeth.” He spoke her name with reverence andwonder. “I wish I had a more romantic nature. I wish I could find the words to describe what you mean to me adequately. I wish I could create a setting to match the poetry of this moment.”
Laughter bubbled up. “Are you serious? This is romance at its finest, my dear man. The two of us are on the sea at sunset, surrounded by the most beautiful scenery imaginable and a crew who are not even making a pretense of ignoring us.”
She reached up and again touched the cameo at her throat, drawing his attention to it. “Do you see how the sky tonight matches this perfectly? The same coral and gold as that magical evening on Pincian Hill when you gave this to me? It was then that I knew my feelings for you were deeper than mere regard.”
Understanding dawned, and he recognized the significance of the parallel she had drawn. “That evening, everything changed between us.”
“Exactly,” Elizabeth confirmed. “What we have found together is precious.”
Darcy entwined his fingers with hers. Her breath caught.
“Elizabeth Bennet…” Despite the formality of his address, his warm voice made the traditional words entirely personal. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
“Yes.” Her answer radiated certainty and joy. “Yes, with all my heart!”
The rightness of the moment settled around them like a blessing as he leaned down to kiss her, their first as an officially engaged couple. The sunset, the gentle rocking of the ship, the knowledge they had been testedin every possible way? all combined to create a proposal scene beyond Elizabeth’s most romantic fantasies.
When they pulled apart, both grinning with pure, unadulterated happiness, she said, “I promise to love you forever, Fitzwilliam.”
“As I will love you, my Elizabeth.”
When they went below and shared their news with the others, Darcy produced a bottle, and Elizabeth gasped in delighted recognition.
“Chianti from Rome!” she observed with wonder.
“I thought to save the bottles I purchased for special occasions,” he admitted with a devastating smile. “And I cannot imagine a more perfect time. We will celebrate our engagement with wine from the city where we first began to understand what it means to truly love.
The atmosphere around Cook’s meal that evening was the perfect blend of intimacy and festivity. Sitting at the table surrounded by the others who had shared their adventure, Elizabeth gratefully basked in the close connection she had with each of them. The dinner had all the conviviality of a family celebration.
Darcy reached for her. This man?this wonderful man?was her future. Wherever they were in the world, her place would be forever by his side.
38
Two months later, theMary Catherineentered the estuary of the Thames. The return journey had not been completely uneventful. For ten days, the wind had failed to blow, stopping their forward progress, and the crew and passengers had sweltered under the unrelenting sun. Before they got to Gibraltar, Richard proposed to Prudence. When the ship reached the Atlantic, everyone in Elizabeth’s party had expressed bittersweet emotion at leaving the Mediterranean behind.
Elizabeth pulled her shawl from the wall hook and wrapped it around her shoulders. Sitting on her father’s bunk, she sorted through the letters that had been waiting for them in Portugal. Learning that the Bingleys were anticipating the arrival of a babe in months to come, that Mary and Kitty were thriving at Miss Peabody’s, that their mother was a changed woman, and that Lydia had survived schooling was joyous.
However, it was a letter from Tommy that touched herheart. She knew her father had received one from the ship’s boy, too. Unfolding the scrap of paper, she recalled Tommy’s hesitancy when he had handed it to her before they entered the Thames.
“I wrote you a letter, miss. My very first proper letter. I was hoping you would wait to read it when I’m not here, if you don’t mind.”
Dear Miss Elizabeth,
I hope you remember me. I am Tommy from the ship. I can write now!
Most of the others do not like women on board, so I thought you would be trouble, but you are nice. You helped me learn. I like reading now. Kind of.
Captain Morrison says if I keep learning, I can be a captain someday. That would be very good.
When I get my own ship, I will call it the Elizabeth Bell. That is for you and Mrs. Bell because you are both very smart and were good to me.
Thank you and your father for teaching me. Now I can write letters. I never thought I could do that before. Mr. Darcy helped me a little bit.
Your friend,
Tommy Briggs
The sightof Uncle Gardiner waiting on the dock filled Elizabeth with joy. When she descended the gangplank and felt his warm embrace, months of accumulated emotions threatened to overwhelm her.
