Her aunt looked across at her husband, and he quieted. “What will you write to your father, dear?” Mrs. Gardiner asked. “We have not spoken yet, but the last we spoke of Mr. Darcy, I remember you rather disliked him and thought him arrogant. You will need to account for your changed opinion somehow.”
“He and I have been at cross-purposes, perhaps, but I have always felt strongly about him,” Elizabeth admitted. His comments at the assembly last October gave me a reason to dislike him, and then I naively listened to George Wickham and his lies, which further coloured my opinions of him. But after I understood a different side of his character and learned the truth of his dealings with Mr. Wickham, I started to reflect differently on our interactions—starting with our time in Hertfordshire and continuing into Kent.
“Mr. Darcy injured my vanity that first night in Meryton, and after that, I looked for opportunities to think ill of him. When I stopped doing that, I was able to honestly look over our entire relationship and find many admirable things in him. And at some point in there, I discovered that those intense feelings had turned into something very different, something I did not recognise right away. When I saw him today, and he was gentle and kind, I realised those feelings had shifted into love.” She stopped for a moment as she thought about how and when those feelings had changed.
“Uncle, umm, I must tell you that this is not the first time he has proposed to me. He asked me in April when I was visiting Kent, and I refused him then rather vehemently. We quarrelled about several things, some related to the way he addressed me and some related to those misconceptions I had about his character. After that, he acquainted me with the truth of Mr. Wickham, and that was also when I started to adjust my views on him.”
“Well, Lizzy,” Mr. Gardiner began. “That is quite a story, and it appears that you have been rather sly in your dealings with the man. So, you have discovered that you love him in return and have accepted him willingly this time? Of course, I know you are not avaricious and would not accept a man for his wealth alone, but are you certain of your regard for him?”
Elizabeth looked at her hands. “I am, Uncle,” she said firmly. “I do love him. While I do not doubt we will not always see eye-to-eye, I believe we will always find a way to work things out. I look forward to spending this next week in closer company with him to know him even better. But I am utterly convinced that he is the most suitable man for me in all of England.”
She turned to look at her aunt. “Aunt, I told him of your idea of me returning to London with you. If Papa is agreeable, I would like that very much, but we will also need to discuss that plan further with Mr. Darcy. The biggest difficulty will be Mama. I do not want some grand, elaborate affair. I prefer to present her with afait accompliregarding the wedding and wedding date with as little time as possible, so we might forestall her more elaborate ideas.”
Mrs. Gardiner cautioned, “I think we could accomplish that, but it may take some careful coordination with your father. You know your father is an indifferent correspondent, which might help us in this case, but an express rider will draw attention thatyou may not want. We may want to revise our plans for how to share this information with him.”
Elizabeth considered that. “When Mr. Darcy comes in the morning, we should discuss these ideas. It may be best to send the letters by post instead and just inform Papa of our plans rather than asking for his permission. I will write my letter tonight but leave it open so we can add details about the wedding date and other pertinent details after we have had a conversation with Mr. Darcy.”
“I will do the same,” Mr. Gardiner replied.
With that, they arrived at the inn. Mr. Gardiner stepped down and helped Mrs. Gardiner and Elizabeth down from the carriage. The three went inside to their rooms and readied themselves for their dinner with an old friend of Mrs. Gardiner.
Chapter Three
Dressed and ready for dinner with her aunt’s friends, Elizabeth sat in her room at the inn, attempting to write the letter to her father that would adequately explain her decision to marry Darcy. Despite her status as his favourite daughter, Elizabeth rarely discussed with him any personal information or anything regarding her feelings. Most often, their conversations had been limited to books and estate and tenant issues but rarely ventured into the personal. She was uncertain how to write a letter telling him how her view of Mr. Darcy had changed over the last several months without mentioning the failed proposal in Kent or the letter he had given her the following day. As she considered all of this, she realised needed to write a more detailed letter to Jane explaining how this came about as well.
After several minutes of contemplation, she found herself writing a different sort of letter altogether. Once, Mr. Darcy had sent her a letter, and now that they were engaged, it was fitting for her to respond by writing to him. Shyly, she began a letter telling him how glad she was to have come across him that afternoon and expressing how her feelings had changed toward him. She conveyed some fears she had regarding their return toHertfordshire and how her mother might behave in light of their engagement, apologising in advance for the mortifications they would no doubt experience. She ended the letter telling him once again how much she loved him and how she looked forward to this period of getting to know him more here in Derbyshire and London.
Elizabeth signed and sealed the letter and tucked it into her reticule. She hoped to be able to pass it on to someone who could deliver it to Pemberley before they left for their night out.
At Pemberley, Darcy had similar thoughts. In an attempt to figure out how to request permission to marry his proclaimed favourite daughter, he was contemplating the best approach to approach his future father-in-law, a man he only knew as an idle landowner and disengaged father. He imagined how he would feel if it were Georgiana, and a man he barely knew was requesting his permission and blessing to marry her and take her far away from him. Reflecting on his behaviour in Hertfordshire, he shook his head and came to the realisation that the man only had limited knowledge of him, and what he knew was likely negative—largely because of his own actions and the arrogance he had shown there. Running his fingers through his hair, he thought about Elizabeth. Once, he had written her a letter, but not one he would want her to remember. Postponing his letter to her father, he took a fresh sheet of paper and began again.
My dearest, loveliest, Elizabeth.
In his letter, he poured out his love and adoration for her and shared how much he enjoyed simply being in her presence. He thanked whatever power had brought her to Pemberley that day and had made him ride ahead of the others to arrive in time tomeet her in his gardens. There was much he would like to say, but he ended the letter telling her how happy he was that she had accepted his proposal and once again expressed the depth of his love for her and how it had grown in the months since they had been together in Kent. Feeling more confident, he signed and sealed the letter before asking a footman to deliver it to the inn as soon as possible.
At the inn, Elizabeth managed to hand the letter to a maid as they left for their dinner, and shortly after that, the maid noticed a footman in Pemberley livery arrive. She took the letter to him and asked if he would be returning to the estate that night. When he said he was, she handed him the letter, and thus, both parties received their love letters that very evening. When the footman arrived back at the estate, he took the note directly to Mr. Darcy, who was pleased to see that their thoughts had been running in a similar direction.
Somehow, the assurance of her letter and knowing her feelings made it easier for him to write his letter to Mr. Bennet, and it was with renewed determination he wrote his letter, beginning by apologising for the offences he had caused in the past and finally expressing his desire to marry Elizabeth. He asked for his blessing on the marriage and informed him of his intention to apply for a licence when he returned to London. Since his aunt was sure to protest, loudly and without justification, he related that it would simply be easier to be married with a common licence rather than by calling the banns to avoid any theatrics from that quarter.
He signed this letter but did not seal it, wanting to talk to Elizabeth about his ideas before sending it to Mr. Bennet. There were several things they needed to talk about—including the claim Lady Catherine de Bourgh made about his ‘cradlebetrothal’ to his cousin. Neither he nor Anne wished for such a marriage, but he needed to ensure Elizabeth and her family knew that. Darcy also considered what Elizabeth said in her letter about not informing her mother just yet and wondered if he needed to add anything about that in his letter.
Darcy went to sleep that night happier than he had been in months. He planned to ride to Lambton immediately after breakfast in the morning to talk with Elizabeth and her relatives before returning to greet his other guests when they arrived. At some point tomorrow, Elizabeth would arrive at Pemberley to visit for a week—or perhaps longer. He wondered if her aunt and uncle would agree to let her stay longer and allow him and Georgiana to escort her to London at the end of the month. Darcy also briefly wondered if there was some chance of them simply obtaining a common licence and marrying from Pemberley. However much that idea appealed to him, he realised almost immediately that he would not wish to deny her the pleasure of her family’s presence at her wedding.
Elizabeth received his note after returning from dinner, where she had heard much good spoken of Darcy as the master of such a grand estate. She felt a strange sense of pride as she listened to the many compliments from those in attendance. When she read the note, she laughed at their similar turn of minds and realised his note helped her to know what to write to her own family and found she could easily write the note to her father. She determined to leave it unsealed so she could include details about the wedding date and her plans for travel after they all spoke the next morning.
Her letter to Jane was both easier and more challenging to write. In it, she related the tale of coming across Mr. Darcy in the garden, of their conversations, and finally, his proposal.She shared the idea of them going directly to London to begin shopping and her concerns about how her mother would react. Elizabeth encouraged Jane to talk to Papa privately about all of this and asked her to reassure her father that all was well. This letter she also left this open so she could include the necessary details after they had been discussed and finally readied herself for bed.
The next morning, both Elizabeth and Darcy woke early, as was their custom. Elizabeth dressed quickly with the maid’s help and asked her aunt and uncle for permission to take a short walk before breakfast. They gave her permission but asked her to take a maid with her since she was unfamiliar with the area. As she walked escorted out of the inn, Elizabeth heard horses approaching and looked up in time to see Mr. Darcy dismounting from the curricle in front of her.
“Good morning, Mr. Darcy,” she called, beaming at at him.
“Good morning, Miss Elizabeth,” he answered, smiling back.
He tied his horses to a hitching post in front of the inn and offered Elizabeth his arm. “I received your note last night,” he began. “Somehow, that was the impetus I needed to write my letter to your father. I was struggling with what to say, and after I read your words, it was so much easier to write my own.”
“Your note had the same effect on me,” she said, looking up at him, suddenly feeling shy in his presence. “I have written my letter but left it open so we can include any additional details about our wedding or travel plans once we have discussed them.”
“I left mine open as well because I wanted to speak to you about it before I sent it,” he said. “I suggested I might obtain a licencewhen we return to town instead of calling the banns. You have met my Aunt Catherine—she will inevitably protest the marriage with her claims about of an engagement between myself and my cousin. While there is no truth to it—it has only ever been in her own mind—she could make a pest of herself if the banns were called. Both Anne and I have told her often enough that we would never marry, but she insists that my mother wished for it. While I was only fifteen when my mother died, she told me she wanted me to marry for love, as she and my father had done.”
