She leans forward, starting the camera, and then sits back down on the bench beside him.
"Hi, my name is Lizzie Bennet, and I'm going to marry William Darcy."
There's a moment of silence, and then Darcy says, "Isn't there supposed to be a little melody now? The intro. You know…" He hums the theme song to her vlog.
She rolls her eyes. "Charlotte puts that in later. We can just, you know, start talking. And then we'll edit this out later."
"Oh. Okay. What are we talking about again?"
Lizzie bumps him playfully with her shoulder. "Us, silly. I just said to the viewers that we're engaged. They'll want details."
"Right. Well, um, hello… viewers." Darcy waves awkwardly at the camera. "Lizzie is right; we're going to be married."
"How did this all start, you ask? Well, let us tell you," Lizzie says. "As of the last video, Darcy and I had confessed our love." She turns to her fiancée, smiles, and reaches for his hand. "I told Jane that I was in love with him."
"And I told Bing," adds Darcy.
"So the next day, when Bing and Darcy came over for lunch…"
"Costumed theater time?" Darcy says.
"I was just about to say the same." Lizzie reaches out of the frame and grabs her floppy blue hat. "You can play my mother; here's your script."
He raises an eyebrow, mouth dropping open slightly. "I am sorry, Lizzie, but I'm not sure I can portray-"
"Darcy, I'm kidding. I'll play her. You can play me."
Darcy puts the blue plaid shirt on. "These are my lines? Er, your lines."
Lizzie puts on the hat, shawl, and earrings. "Right. In character now." Then, in the southern accent reserved for her mother, she says, "Elizabeth, darling, I know it was terrible for you to distract that horrible Darcy the other day so we could give Jane some alone time with her strapping young boyfriend. You might think of inconveniencing yourself again today, Elizabeth, and taking Darcy for a nice walk. You could ignore him, but anything to get that man out of our house."
"She actually said that?" Darcy asks.
"You've met my mother, what do you think? I didn't complain, of course, because it's not like it's an inconvenience to spend time with you. Now stay in character."
Darcy grumbles something about mother-in-laws, but Lizzie slips back into character.
"Anyway, Elizabeth, as I was saying, as annoying as he is, you'll have to spend some time with Darcy again today." She drops the accent. "Aaand… that's your cue, Darcy."
"William."
"What?"
Darcy runs a hand through his hair. "I wish you would call me William."
"But everyone calls you Darcy."
"You're not everyone. You're… special."
"Will, then. William's too formal."
"No one calls me Will."
"I'm not no one."
"That's a double negative."
"Shut up and get back in character… Will."
He rolls his eyes. "I am not sure I can capture you."
"Just give it a shot."
"All right, Mom, as difficult as it is to spend time with Darcy, I'll sacrifice for Jane's sake. Did you really say that?"
"You're terrible at this costumed theater thing, Da- Will."
"Practice makes perfect." She starts to take off her costume. "But it was fine. The viewers will like that, I think."
"I did all right?"
"We can cut the parts where you break character. Anyway, I just thought it was a funny moment. My mom thought it was such a problem, but really, it was rather ironic. Of course, she changed her mind once we told her the news."
"And I enjoyed the chance to spend time alone with you," Darcy says, taking off the plaid shirt.
"Don't say stuff like that, the viewers will wonder. They ship us hard enough already."
"I don't understand. They ship us? As in a metaphorical boat on which we-"
"Nevermind." Lizzie rolls her eyes, then turns back to the camera. "So that's how Will and I ended up with hours to kill on our own. Of course, when we came back, he went to talk to my father. I've got to say, my father was surprised, but after I talked to him, it was all right."
"What did you say to him?" Darcy furrows his brow.
"I just… He was surprised, of course, because he thought I hated you, and marriage is a bit out of the blue when we haven't even been dating. But I explained how and why I love you, and that I was ready to spend the rest of my life with you. It's time I moved out of this old house anyway."
They meet each others' eyes, and for several seconds neither of them speak. Finally Darcy casts his eyes downward. "I- I am flattered by your praise."
"You know I mean it. Anyway, after that my father was okay. My mother freaked out for a while. I don't think we need to act that out, I'm sure all you viewers can imagine. After all, my fiancée is rich-"
"Handsome," says Darcy (he's seen the videos too; he knows the mantra).
"-and single!" she finishes, jazz hands and all. "Well, not anymore. I mean, he was, and that's why she- but now, I mean- well, you know what I mean. Point is, my folks are okay with it."
"Of course, I'll have to tell my aunt." Darcy shudders, then turns to Lizzie. "I always thought your impersonation of her was quite excellent, by the way."
"Oh God, you saw that?"
"I watched all your videos. And although you were less than nice, I cannot help but agree with you. My aunt is… Well, perhaps I won't tell her about us."
"You'll have to. Or when I tell Charlotte, she'll tell Mr. Collins, and he'll tell her. Get it over with."
"Perhaps I could get away with an email." He pulls out his phone and quickly types away a message. "Dear… aunt… I am marrying Elizabeth Bennet. Best wishes, your nephew, William Darcy."
"You should say more than that."
"Why on earth would I? The less she knows, the better. Sent!"
"And you should call Gigi."
"You're right, I completely forgot." Darcy dials his sister's number, then puts the phone to his ear. "Hello, Georgiana. Yes. Yes, I am well. And you? Good. I hope to be home soon. Yes, Lizzie will come as well. Speaking of that, we're getting married."
He holds the phone a foot away from himself as Gigi starts screaming. Her words are impossible to make out, but they're effervescently excited. Darcy and Lizzie sit like that for a few minutes, listening to Gigi fangirl, before Darcy quietly hits End Call.
"That was… something. I will call her again once she's gotten over the initial shock."
"At least she's happy about it."
"I believe she and Fitz have been hoping for this since you first came to Pemberley Digital."
"I miss your sister."
"You'll be seeing her soon. Living near her, in fact." He hesitates. "You do want to come live with me in San Francisco, right?"
Lizzie laughs. "What are our other options, you coming to live here? Your house is beautiful and far away. What could be better?"
"I am glad you think that. And maybe you'll consider a job at Pemberley Digital."
"You don't think it would be awkward to be married to my boss?"
"I think it would make my work much more worthwhile," he says with a small smile.
They hold eye contact for a few more seconds, then Lizzie turns back to the camera.
"So, that's it for now. Jane and Bing are dating happily, Will and I are engaged."
"We'll be living in San Francisco, and hopefully Lizzie will come to work at my company. My sister is crazy as always, as is my aunt."
"Charlotte is still working for Mr. Collins. Lydia and Wickham are… well, that's another story. My mother's gotten rid of all her daughters. It seems like everyone's gotten a happy ending. I'm moving on with my life, getting a job, and yes, getting a husband."
"And I'm getting a wife," he says, "whom I love very much."
"So that's all, folks. I guess without all the drama, there won't be much to vlog about anymore, but I'll probably send a few updates your way in the future. And Will's sure to be there as well. Signing off, this is-"
"Wait, Lizzie." Darcy coughs and straightens his tie.
"What is it?"
"Just, er. You don't think the viewers would want a… I don't know, a kiss? It seems they're rather invested in our relationship. And if we cut it off without giving them anything… I think maybe just one kiss, for their sake-"
Lizzie grabs Darcy by his damn suspenders and kisses him before he can finish. It's a short kiss, but it's enough. Enough to send the viewers crazy, she knows.
Then she turns off the camera.