They kissed for endless, enthralling moments; whenever they thought they might part, they discovered that separation was more difficult than either could bear.
In the end, however, Darcy was the one who drew away, despite her protests.
“Open your eyes, Elizabeth,” he whispered.
She obeyed and looked directly into his.
“The discussion concerning your body…”
“It is yours,” she said with a languor entirely foreign to her usual nature.
“I have not yet asked you to marry me.”
“Then ask me at once,” she commanded. “But—” She paused and looked at him.
They returned to their former seats, for if they were to speak, they needed to see one another clearly, and any further closeness seemed dangerous. In a moment, words might easily be forgotten in favour of kisses.
“But what?” he asked.
He hesitated only briefly before asking; there were no more fears or misinterpretations between them. Elizabeth Bennet had told him she loved him. That was enough.
“But I think you must also tell me why I ought to accept you.”
“Quite right,” he agreed at once and added in haste, “Because I am elegant.”
“That I cannot contest,” Elizabeth said. She had admired his elegance and refinement even when she detested him. “I shall not be obliged to provide your trousseau. Anything else?”
“Because your family will never be in need of anything again.”
Elizabeth hid her face in her hands, and he was kneeling beside her chair, trying to see what had happened.
“Please do not cry. In the end, it was concern for your family that led to your refusal, and I believe this is the first thing I must do if we are to be happy together.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
She caressed his face with both hands, but he rose immediately, for the temptation to kiss her again was too great whenever he stood close to her.
“Except Mrs Wickham. I do not yet know what is to be done with them, and in that matter you must not interfere.”
“I shall not,” she promised, strangely relieved.
“What exactly is in your purse?” he asked unexpectedly, unable to conceal his curiosity.
“The cameo.”
She removed it from the purse and handed it to him.
Darcy opened the case with a smile Elizabeth had never seen before. Perhaps it belonged to the young man who remembered his mother.
“I should never have given it to you if somewhere in my heart I had not hoped you would one day become my wife.”
“You still have not proposed to me, Fitzwilliam Darcy!” she exclaimed with faint irritation.
“Have you obtained everything you wished for?”
Elizabeth considered the question for a moment.
“Pemberley, this house, and everything else you own will still be yours. It is, after all, the law,” she said. “But I need toknow that you will care equally for all our children. I do not wish what happened to the colonel, or to us, ever to happen to them.”
