“Yes, sir. So long as we remain together, nothing else signifies. I should be happy as your wife even if you were a poor farmer eking out a living. I would labor alongside you.”
The look that passed between them carried such ardor that Georgiana lowered her eyes to grant them a measure of privacy.
When they reached the Beaumont townhouse, he handed Elizabeth down from the carriage and led her into the side yard. He lowered his head near hers.
“Elizabeth, I have missed you terribly. We shall have very little time alone together. My aunt shall see to that. Pray do not allow anything she says or does to turn you against me. In two months we shall marry, and afterward we shall travel to Pemberley, where all shall be well between us.”
“Fitzwilliam, what does she have against me?”
The words had scarcely left her lips before she laughed.
“No, do not answer, sir. She entertained lofty ambitions for you, but you have settled upon a simple country girl, and she cannot reconcile herself to it. I will not hold anything she says against you. Instead, I shall remember how happy I was in your company while in Kent and look forward to our life together in Derbyshire.”
“May I kiss you, Elizabeth?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
He bent near and kissed her. His soft whisper brushed against her mouth. “Your lips are very sweet, darling, soft and red and untouched by malice. I have missed being with you, Elizabeth. You differ so greatly from the sly and calculating women my aunt intended for me.”
He kissed her once more before releasing her.
“Come, my dearest, loveliest Elizabeth. I must not keep you any longer lest I commit some further impropriety. Georgiana and I shall collect you tomorrow at half past eight.”
He lifted her hand to his lips and afterward remained where he stood until she entered the house and disappeared from sight.
When he settled into the carriage beside Georgiana, she said, “Fitzwilliam, Aunt Helen is exceedingly angry with Elizabeth. I heard her say that you never stood a chance.”
He looked at her sharply. “I never stood a chance?”
“She told Lizzy that it was fortunate she possessed beauty and a fine figure, which made dressing her less of a chore. Then,beneath her breath, she said, ‘Fitzwilliam never stood a chance.’ I have never known Aunt to be so displeased. It was almost as though she believed Lizzy had schemed to entrap you. I do not believe she ever set her cap at you, did she?”
“No, she did not. She knew her place and never sought to encourage my attentions. And you say Elizabeth took no offense?” The two Darcys spent the remainder of the journey discussing their aunt’s opinions and came to understand more fully how much they would owe her for the success of Elizabeth’s introduction into society.
The following day, Elizabeth sat at a front window awaiting Mr. Darcy’s arrival.
“Lizzy, is something amiss? Has Mr. Darcy begun to entertain second thoughts now that he has returned to his elevated circles?”
“No, he loves me, Jane. I harbor no fears concerning his affections. But after spending the day with his aunt, I fear I may become an embarrassment to him, much as Mamma has been to us.”
“Mamma? Whatever do you mean, Lizzy? Your character does not resemble Mamma’s in any respect.”
“I dread the possibility that I shall unknowingly commit one social blunder after another within his elevated circle. I may give offense at every turn and never realize it.”
“I do not know how I may help you, Lizzy. Perhaps Miss Bingley conceived a dislike of me because of my provincial manners. I am grateful that Gareth cares little for the London seasonand prefers hunting and fishing to dancing and conducting flirtations.”
“Is he only here because of the smuggling ring?”
“Yes. He wishes us well removed from it and intends to remain in town until Colonel Fitzwilliam advises that the customs officers have completed their work in the neighborhood.”
Chapter 36: Silk And Deportment
“Mr. Darcy feels the same. After we are married, we will travel directly to Pemberley and remain for the rest of the year. I look forward to learning all about my new home and neighbors, but heaven knows when I shall see you again. You reside in the south, while I shall live in the north.”
“We will do very well, Lizzy. We may travel to visit one another if not on Easter then at Christmastide, after the harvest has ended and people enjoy more leisure.”
“Yes, of course. I shall miss you, Jane. Already, I feel the distance growing between us, for the men in our lives have come between us.”
“Lizzy, you grow too melancholy. It is only natural that we should fall in love, marry, and leave home. Can you imagine the alternative? Remaining spinsters beneath the same roof for the remainder of our lives with Mamma and our cousin Mr. Collins? No, my dear. I could not be happier on this side of heaven than I am with Gareth.”
