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Chapter 3
Darcy pulled back from the woman breathless, "Elizabeth-" he blushed, "I mean Miss Bennet. I apologize."
"For what, Mr. Darcy?" The girl was far too charming for her own good and it was all Darcy could do not to take her in his arms again, and ravish her.
"I should not have been so forward, Miss Bennet. It was not proper."
So now I'm Miss Bennet, now? What happened to Miss Elizabeth? "Mr. Darcy, considering I am the one who initiated it, it is I should be apologizing."
"A gentleman always bears the burdens for the lady."
Elizabeth stepped back a bit so she could clearly see his perfect face. "I fear that I have imposed far too many burdens on your person already. I feel that it was unfair, and I apologize. I should not have said the things I said to you that day. Especially since most of it was unwarranted, and untrue."
"What did you say that I did not deserve? I spoke of love, while condemning those who loved you. Miss Bennet, would I could take all those hateful remarks back, but I cannot."
"Why can you not, Mr. Darcy?"
"Because, I fear that every time you see my face, those words will come back and haunt you. Those words you said to me, were no more than I deserve. I actually deserve so much worse."
"No," she stepped forward, her hand cupped his cheek. "No. I did not know you then. I wanted to hurt you, as you had hurt me. How is that not the same? How could I accuse you of not being a gentleman, when all you have was acted as one in front of me. I accepted the attentions of another, not because he was a good person, but because he soothed my vanity. No, Mr. Darcy, what of forgiveness?"
"You forgive me, Miss Bennet? After all I did?"
"As long as you forgive me. And am I not Miss Elizabeth anymore," she teased. "I much prefer that to Miss Bennet. That way I know you are not confusing me with my sisters."
"Never," his voice was deep, and raspy, "I could never."
"I was teasing you Mr. Darcy."
His smile was magnificent in response. "You should smile like that more often, it makes you seem not so frightening"
"I fear, Miss Elizabeth, that should you continue to feed me compliments, I shall never need to feed my ego again."
"I shall be more than willing to comply, Mr. Darcy," Elizabeth laughed.
"You mean that?"
"I do."
"Then you will allow me to begin again?"
"If that is your wish, or you could pick up where you left off."
Darcy was beside himself. He wanted to take her in his arms, demand her to marry him, here at Pemberley. Then she would never have to leave him again. But his Elizabeth deserved more than that. "I want to marry you Elizabeth. I want you here with me. But you deserve so much more, so much more than I can give you. These last months," he bit back a laugh. "These last months, even more so have tormented me. So often I wondered if I were ever to see you again, if you had accepted the hand of some other gentleman. And yet even then, I realized that if that were to happen, I could not let you go. I would have to find a way to be in your life. Even if it meant that it was watching from a distance. I set out determined to make you pay for rejecting me. No one has ever denied me anything. I am terribly spoilt. My mother means well, but she is doting, I wanted for nothing. Everything, my whole life was handed to me on a silver platter. Imagine my surprise, when I was prepared to set wedding plans into motion, and preparing to introduce Pemberley to a new mistress, I was denied the one thing I wanted dearly."
"How you must have suffered." Her voice was soft as she reached for his hand. "I truly did not mean to torment you."
He shook his head vigorously, "You made me look at myself, Elizabeth. You were absolutely right. I suppose in the back of my mind my behavior, I knew, was off putting. But I never realized," he looked down at their joined hands, "I never realized that my lack of social decorum, no matter how much I criticize others more overly rambunctiousness socially, mine could be a failing. I figured that if I could become the man that my parents raised me to be, if I could become a man who actually deserves you. And only then when, and if you could ever accept me, then I would know I truly earned your esteem."
"Your mother," Elizabeth laughed.
"Is worse than your mother in the art of matchmaking."
Elizabeth's laugh could be heard across the grounds then, and brought a smile to the whole party. "She is more of a concealing nature."
"She is not," he laughed.
"What she must think of me."
"She thinks you a bewitching woman, who captured, and broke the heart of her darling son. Though when she heard the details, she was quite swayed in your favor. Especially when I told her of Bingley. She hit me."
"She struck you?" Elizabeth was astonished.
"It has been a while since my mother has struck me. Since I was boy at least. She told me that I should be happy that it was simply a rejection, and not something far worse, as she wanted to do."
She giggled at that. "I shall have to thank her."
"There is hardly a need," Lady Anne's voice startled Elizabeth, who looked amused as her son dropped hands with the young woman, and the blushes spread across the two lovers faces. "Am I interrupting something."
Darcy had to hide his groan. He loved his mother, but sometimes she could be embarrassing. He could imagine that Elizabeth was feeling the same thing.
Lady Anne took the silence as a message. "Very well then," she turned to her son. "Do not linger long. Or your lunch will be there no longer. You know how your sister loves strawberries." And with that she went off.
Elizabeth could not contain her giggles any longer, Darcy joined her, his rich baritone laughter filling the air.
"Miss Elizabeth, do you think it possible," he cleared his throat, "do you think that." He looked down at his hands and watched her tiny hand take his again. DAMN! "Do you think we could start anew? That is..." her hands were distracting him most pleasurebly.
"I love you Mr. Darcy."
His eyes widened. "Truly?"
"I do. I am sorry it took so long for me to realize."
"Oh Elizabeth," his elation shown through his eyes. "You will marry me then? Really?"
"I thought you would never ask."
