What if Darcy had proposed before he separated Jane and Bingley in the book, but still after Wickham had told Elizabeth of his "misfortunes"?
"And they lived happily ever after…"
"What did you say, Miss Elizabeth?" asked Mr. Darcy, interrupting Elizabeth's thoughts about Jane and Mr. Bingley as she watched them walking ahead of Mr. Darcy and herself. The smile on her face became an expression of mock concern. "Oh, I did not say anything! Surely you must be hearing things, Mr. Darcy." He looked at her for a moment before glancing away to see in which direction their destination would take them.
Elizabeth had been forced to walk with Mr. Darcy when he and Mr. Bingley came to Longbourn as to let Jane and Mr. Bingley have some time together. Elizabeth was set on her mission and although she hated the man beyond comprehension, she suggested that she and Mr. Darcy could take a more adventurous route to the top of a rather large hill- or a rather small mountain, if you prefer. It boasted a wonderful view of Hertfordshire. He agreed and they set off.
"Miss Elizabeth," he said suddenly halfway through their climb, "I realize that this is very forward of me to ask, but… I have long been transfixed by a woman of my acquaintance and… I should like your advice on how I might discover if her feelings are in the same sense as mine and… what I should like to more than that is how I go about asking her… to marry me." Elizabeth was completely shocked that Mr. Darcy- the Mr. Darcy- was asking her this. "And why on earth are you inquiring of me?" she asked.
He glanced up at her as they continued their ascent. "Well, I should like to ask a lady so that I may know how not to offend. I would ask Caroline Bingley except for the facts that I cannot stand her and that her only goals in life are to hold control over her brother and to become Mistress of Pemberley, so I most certainly would not trust anything she would say." Elizabeth was surprised at his open opinion of Caroline Bingley and she almost laughed at the analysis he gave her. She looked at him as he smiled. Elizabeth had never seen Mr. Darcy smile before and she was completely lost in how utterly handsome he was. She was so enthralled with his smile that she had to look away to hide her blushing cheeks. This did not go unnoticed by Mr. Darcy.
"Well, Mr. Darcy," she said after a moment to think and wait for her blush to fade away, "I suppose I cannot speak for all women, but only for myself. I would suggest that you let your sentiments be known in an open matter and ask the lady in plain and simple words if she would marry you." Elizabeth thought back to Mr. Collins and how he had droned on and on and had never even properly asked her to marry him Based on these thoughts, she added, "And give her some time to think and respond properly." Mr. Darcy nodded and said, "Thank you very much, Miss Elizabeth. I shall keep that in mind."
A few seconds later, they reached the summit and Elizabeth took in the beauty of English hillsides. "It is a stunning view, is it not, Mr. Darcy?" she asked. "Yes it is," he replied softly and although she could not see, he was only staring at her. After a moment, he burst out saying, "Miss Elizabeth, I should like you to know that… that I love you with all my heart and all my soul and it is my dearest wish that you would marry me." At first, she was taken aback by what she had just heard, but then she thought that he was just practicing. Without even turning around, she said, "Mr. Darcy, there is no need for you to practice." She knew that if he proposed to the mystery lady with even the smallest fraction of emotion that he had just used when speaking to her that the woman would agree instantly.
"Miss Elizabeth," he said as he took hold of her hand from behind and looked into her eyes when she turned at his touch, "I am not practicing. I am completely serious." Her expression was incredulous and she took a fleeting look at where their hands touched and quickly snatched back her hand. "Mr. Darcy, I cannot accept!" Mr. Darcy's heart fell at her statement. "Why not?" he asked, taking a step forward. "I-I barely know you- and from what I do know of you and what I have been told of you, you are the last man on Earth that I would ever marry!" she cried. She could not believe that he supposedly loved her! "And what have you been told of me?" he asked.
"Mr. Wickham has told me the nature of your rela-" "Mr. Wickham! You would trust that man?" he interrupted, truly hurt that she had fallen for Wickham's charms. "Yes, Mr. Darcy, I would and I do," she said, stinging Mr. Darcy almost as much as if she had slapped his face. His heart fell down, no, it tumbled down. Her denial hurt him, but not nearly as much as the knowledge that her opinion of him was one given by Mr. Wickham and that she held Wickham in a higher place than himself. He was unable to speak another word. Elizabeth began to run past him and return home- with him, without him, it did not matter; she would not talk with the presumptuous man anymore. As she tried to slide past him she slipped on the wet, dew covered grass and started to flail her arms in order to maintain her balance and not fall forward, down the steep slope. Before she knew it, Mr. Darcy reached out and caught her waist, pulling her to him and to safety.
Elizabeth looked into Mr. Darcy's eyes again and almost forgot that she had just rejected his offer of matrimony. "Thank you," she whispered. He nodded as his arms reluctantly released the woman that he loved so ardently. He turned away from her when he too slipped on the grass and began tumbling down the hill, a visual representation of what his heart had gone through minutes earlier. Elizabeth watched in horror as Mr. Darcy continued to roll down the steep slope. She ran after him as swiftly as she could without falling down after him.
The pain that Mr. Darcy felt in his body was nothing compared to the feeling that his heart still held. He could easily ignore the aches and pains in his muscles and bones, but there was no escaping the throbbing of his heart. It was only amplified when a quiet voice whimpered, "Mr. Darcy?" and he opened his eyes to see Elizabeth's face above his, flushed from running. "Are you alright?" she asked. He tested his muscles and discovered that aside from some cuts and bruises, he was fine physically, but not emotionally. "No, I am not," he groaned, his heart still aching for the angel hovering above him. He was able to sit up and Elizabeth helped him to a place where he could prop his body up against a tree. They sat in an awkward silence while Elizabeth tried to tend to a cut that presented itself on Mr. Darcy's forehead. He could barely stand having her so close, yet so far away.
"I need to tell you the truth about Wickham," he said all of the sudden. After unwinding the tormenting tale and struggling with the ever patient Elizabeth to reveal what dreadful things Wickham had done in regard to Georgiana and how that affected Georgiana's countenance and his own, Elizabeth could not believe that she had ever fallen for Wickham's tale. When he was done, Mr. Darcy found that he had to wipe tears from his face and for once in his life, he was not ashamed. "Mr. Darcy," whispered Elizabeth, "I am… I am so sorry." There was a moment when they realized that during the course of their conversation they had begun to hold hands, but neither one wanted to let go. "And Elizabeth," he added, "I should tell you one more thing." He paused and flashed his heart-stopping smile. "I've fallen for you." He started to laugh lightly before his ribs began to ache and Elizabeth smiled and rolled her eyes, "I cannot believe you are joking right now."
Mr. Darcy's heart had grown lighter as he had shared his family's secret with and laughed and cried freely with Elizabeth. He still loved her- now more than ever- and she knew it, too. She could see it in Mr. Darcy's eyes as he gazed at her and she saw a lovely expression grace his features. It made her blush. Suddenly, they realized how late it had become and they began to walk back to Longbourn. Elizabeth had to help Mr. Darcy walk by supporting one half of his body as he put his arm around her shoulders. They took a long time in getting back and discovered that they had been missing for almost the whole day.
When they could see Longbourn as a speck at the end of a field, Mr. Darcy stopped and said to Elizabeth, "I… If… My offer still stands, should you change your mind." Elizabeth was full of a new emotion for Mr. Darcy, now that he had opened up to her and revealed such closely guarded things. It was not the sharing of this information that made Elizabeth say yes to his second offer, but the man that had been revealed through the insight that it gave. No one saw as Mr. Darcy carefully lowered his head and kissed his beloved lightly.
When they arrived back at Longbourn, everyone was in a fuss over Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy's disappearance. After giving the explanation that Mr. Darcy had simply fallen down the hill and was unable to walk for a while, the house calmed considerably. Elizabeth had not wanted to leave him alone in his injured state, so she had stayed with him until he could move comfortably. Once Mr. Darcy was pronounced healthy and fit move by a doctor that had been called, he glanced at Elizabeth who smiled furtively and nodded at him with the slightest of movements. He then excused himself to speak with Mr. Bennet. With the exception of Elizabeth, everyone expected that their conversation was to be about paying the doctor for his services or something of the sort.
Mr. Bennet expected this, too, and he was thoroughly astonished at Mr. Darcy's words. He had been admitted entrance and after Mr. Bennet had looked at him for a while, he finally said, "Mr. Bennet, forgive me, but I have come to ask for your consent to let me marry your daughter. Miss Elizabeth." Mr. Bennet sat in silence and stared at the young gentleman with a quizzical expression. "Has my Lizzy consented to such an arrangement?" he asked quietly. Mr. Darcy answered in a tone almost as soft as the one that had questioned him, "Yes, sir. She has."
It seemed outrageous that his daughter, his Lizzie, would ever enter an engagement with Mr. Darcy! She had been determined to loathe him and now he knew not what to believe. At first Mr. Bennet felt confusion for situation that presented itself to him. Then he felt sorrow that his favorite daughter could be taken away from him. This sorrow quickly morphed into anger at Mr. Darcy for being the cause of his emotional distress and for wanting to whisk his daughter away on some adventure. For Mr. Darcy was a gentleman that was welcomed in the highest circles, and here he was, asking for the hand of a simple, albeit intelligent, girl from the country!
Mr. Darcy sat in the proffered seat and waited patiently while Mr. Bennet thought. Mr. Bennet was a man who jumped to conclusions very quickly, so it was not surprising that he inquired of Mr. Darcy a rather ridiculous question. "Mr. Darcy, you and my daughter were gone a long time, were you not- almost the whole day," it was more of a statement rather than a question, "Is there any particular reason that you should wish to marry my daughter? Any reason that would… force you into matrimony? Have you…?" Mr. Bennet stopped speaking when he saw the appalled look on young man's face. "No, I would never do that to Elizabeth! Or to any lady, for that matter!" The older gentleman was surprised at the use of his daughter's Christian name on the lips of Mr. Darcy. He summoned his daughter to the study so that the three of them could speak together.
Elizabeth stepped in gently and her father called out his concerns that she was rushing into this and questioned her love for him. Elizabeth confessed the real happenings on the Mount that morning- Mr. Darcy asking for her opinion and then using it to ask her to marry him. When she told her father that she had refused Mr. Darcy, he was utterly surprised. "And then, as I tried to leave, I slipped on the wet grass and almost fell down the hill except that Mr. Darcy caught me," she said. She did not know if she could continue much more of the story and knew that if Mr. Darcy did not wish for Mr. Bennet to know of the scandal involving Wickham that she would stop right then and there. Mr. Darcy's resonant voice continued the story. "I was ashamed of myself when she thanked me so gently for catching her, sir. I was ashamed that I had ever thought I was worthy of her. I then moved to leave when I slipped on the same dewy grass."
Mr. Bennet nodded, "That is how you sustained your injuries." A nod from Mr. Darcy confirmed this. "Elizabeth ran after me and asked me if I was hurt. I replied that I was, although in my mind I meant that it was only my heart that was hurt. Your daughter helped me to a place where I could lean against a tree and we began to talk. I assume that you, Mr. Bennet, are aware of Mr. Wickham's accusations against me. I feel that not only as one who wishes to be in your family, but also as one who is personally acquainted with the desperate measures that Mr. Wickham resolves to use that I should tell you the truth of my connection with Mr. Wickham." And so he did. Mr. Bennet listened on in amazement and his eyes, too, were opened to the real Mr. Darcy.
An hour after they had all entered the study, Mr. Bennet, Elizabeth, and Mr. Darcy exited to make a family announcement. Only a few days later Mr. Bingley found himself in the study of Mr. Bennet, only the consent was much more readily given to him as there had never been any faults found in him or concerns for any part of his person. Only two months later were the ceremonies held, full of joking, laughing, and smiling.
While visiting Hertfordshire, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy were often found walking together on the dew covered grass of a rather large hill- or a very small mountain, if you prefer. They usually came back with swollen lips and poorly hidden smiles. Over the years, they began to be chased up the slope by small, dark haired children full of their parents' energy and enthusiasm. They were happy, and all was good.