This is for bookbabe68, who suggested I write this in the reviews.
Darcy nervously fingered the phone and briefly considered his options. He could
1) Wait to tell Mrs. Bennet about their engagement until the next time they visited, which would mean that he would have to endure her many effusions in person.
2) Just call her right now, tell her the news, listen to her congratulations and plans for the wedding for a couple of minutes, and then make up an excuse to end the conversation. Or
3) Not marry Lizzie.
An image of Lizzie in a wedding dress appeared in his head, and the third choice was no longer an option (like he ever had a choice when it came to Lizzie). After a couple of minutes of contemplation, Darcy picked #2 and hoped that Mrs. Bennet was in the middle of something. Darcy signed and scrolled through Lizzie's contacts. He stopped at "Mom" and hit call, sticking his tongue out at Lizzie's back.
Darcy cringed as he heard Mrs. Bennet's loud voice. "Hello, dear!"
"Hello, Mrs. Bennet. It's William Darcy."
Mrs. Bennet's confusion and concern was evident in her voice because the last time Will had called Lizzie's family it was to inform them that Lizzie had broken her arm and they were on their way to the hospital. "Will? Is Lizzie all right? Please tell me my baby is okay!"
"Lizzie is fine, Mrs. Bennet. We just have some news and Lizzie thought it would be a good idea if I told you."
"News?"
"Yes. I have asked Lizzie to marry me and she said yes." Darcy pulled the phone away from his ear and flipped through a magazine as Mrs. Bennet voiced her many congratulations.
"Oh that is wonderful news! I knew my Lizzie was not so intelligent for nothing! And she's going to marry such a rich man. And so handsome too! I hope you'll be having a spring wedding. Don't worry about a thing dear. I will plan the whole thing. This wedding will be the talk of the town. We'll discuss the budget later, but I'm sure you will have no objection to any of the expenses. Oh! My Lizzie is so lucky. And you can introduce Lydia to other single, rich men at the wedding. Mrs. Lucas will be so jealous. I suppose you'll want dear Georgiana as a bridesmaid. And Lydia and Charlotte can be the other bridesmaids. I'm assuming Lizzie will want Jane as the maid of honor. The wedding will be so beautiful! We must start looking for the dress immediately. Of course, Lizzie will need my help. And Mrs. Lee (how I love calling Jane that!) can help with the shopping. How many people are you thinking of inviting? Have you set the date yet? When should I be expecting grandchildren?
During this speech, despite the many questions Mrs. Bennet asked, she had not stopped to catch her breath until the last question. Darcy stopped looking at the magazine when he noticed the silence at the other end.
"I apologize, Mrs. Bennet, what did you say?"
"I said, 'when should I be expecting grandchildren?' Jane and Bing have that precious child, Charles. I'm not as young as I look! I would like to see more grandchildren before I die."
Before he could think about his reply, the words were out of his mouth. "Lizzie and I were going to work on that as soon as I was done telling you the news."
Darcy opened his mouth in shock at his own reply. The silence on the other end of the line was threatening to suffocate him and, even though Mrs. Bennet was usually predictable, he had no idea how she was going to react. To be fair, she asked him. What was he supposed to say?
To his surprise, Mrs. Bennet said, "Well, I'll let you go then! Have Lizzie call me later. Congratulations about your engagement! I'll inform the rest of the family. Bye-bye now."
Before Darcy got a chance to tell her that Mr. Bennet already knew because he had asked his permission a week ago, Mrs. Bennet had ended the call. Darcy continued to stare at the phone afterwards. Mrs. Bennet had never been the one to end a conversation first. He had just had a short conversation with Mrs. Bennet, who had told him to have sex with his fiancé. Hmm… I think I can live with that, Darcy thought as he called Lizzie's name. "Lizzie! Your mom told us to make grandchildren! You know I was never able to refuse her anything."