A/N: Just to clarify for everyone, I am writing this for fun and therefore am not doing extensive research into the laws of Regency England. I am trying to operate within the society and laws as I understand them through Austen's novels, but I'm not going to spend hours trying to figure out if any of this would/could have really happened this way. I have no pretensions of becoming a real author and don't want to mislead anyone into thinking that this is anything more than a what-if about fictional characters in a book that I love (but sadly did not write) that deals with several topics that are important to me.
That being said, this chapter is mostly fluff that I probably could have skipped to move the story along, but really wanted to write anyway. ;) Enjoy!
2 weeks later...
Fitzwilliam Darcy found it difficult to believe that he was eloping. Running off to Scotland for his wedding was one experience he had never imagined his life would hold. On the other hand, he mused, what choice did they have? Given the circumstances, he didn't see much of an alternative. What truly matters is the person I wed, not the place, he thought as he gazed tenderly down on the sleeping young woman at his side.
They had begun their journey properly situated, with William and Lizzy beside their respective guardians, though the arrangement had been short-lived. Lizzy had fallen asleep quickly and William sadly recalled the tremors that had wracked her when she had been unable to escape her nightmares alone. Once Mr. Gardiner finally succeeded in rousing her, they were alarmed to see that she continued to tremble in wakefulness, tears slipping down her cheeks. At least until William took her hands in his and she promptly clambered into his lap. His shirt was still wet where he had cradled her head against him.
Given the more-than-adequate chaperonage of the young couple, the two guardians had decided that it might be wiser for Lizzy to sit beside William, rather than on him. Now she slept quietly at his side, his arm draped across her shoulders and her cheek pressed into his chest.
He dropped a gentle kiss on the top of her head, humbled once more that this wonderful woman loved him and trusted him to care for her, enough that she would agree to this far-fetched plan, enough that she found peace with him when not even her beloved uncle could comfort her. He knew that whenever they were reunited, whether in 2 years or 5, an annulment would only occur if it was her wish, as his would always be for her at his side.
Lizzy stirred sleepily, nuzzling him in her efforts to return to consciousness. He rubbed gentle circles where his hand rested on her arm, glancing up to see his father and Mr. Gardiner conveniently occupied with the scenery outside the carriage windows. He chuckled softly as he drew her tighter to him.
Her dark eyes blinked softly up at him, before she turned her face back into his chest, breathing in his scent.
"I love waking up to your face," she murmured into him, so softly that he almost missed it.
He pressed his face into the curls atop her head and replied just as softly, "Someday, you'll be able to do so every day if you wish."
She pulled back and met his gaze once more, now fully awake. "Do you doubt me?" she said fiercely.
Gently drawing her back into his arms and kissing her temple he explained that, while he was certain of his own heart, it would be presumptuous in the extreme to take such a gift as hers for granted. Exasperated at his overblown sense of chivalry and propriety, but pleased that his comment had stemmed from that rather than from a lack of faith in her constancy, she settled back against his side and enjoyed the view of the countryside through the window.
"When will we arrive in Scotland do you think?" she asked some time later.
"Not long now," her uncle replied. "Another two hours at most."
A shiver ran down her spine at his words. In just a few hours, she would be Fitzwilliam's wife - in name, if not in deed. They would belong to each other. The prospect thrilled her, and looking up at him, she knew it did him as well.
…
When they finally arrived in Scotland that afternoon, it was warm and sunny, a perfect day for a wedding.
Just after the party had crossed over the border, they had passed by an ancient oak tree, it's trunk so wide that Lizzy was certain she could never compass it, even with the addition of William's arm-span, and she had sighed to herself. What a beautiful memory it would be - to be married in such a place. William, hearing her sigh, had glanced out the window as well and filed away Lizzy's reaction for later reference.
Once rooms had been secured at the inn, discussion between the two guardians turned to where the ceremony should take place. No one truly desired the young couple to be wed "over the anvil", but Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Darcy were having difficulty proposing a different locale when Fitzwilliam caught his father's ear with a whispered suggestion as Lizzy slipped inside to use the privy.
"Well my dear, are you ready to marry this fine young man?" her uncle asked when she emerged.
"I am Uncle. Have you found somewhere to hold the ceremony?"
"We have. It is some 10 minutes by carriage - just this side of the border - but I believe you will be pleased," he teased.
"I will be well pleased with anywhere, so long as it is William I marry," Lizzy declared, and the young man's heart raced at the words.
A smiling Uncle Gardiner replied, "As true as that may be, we have found a location that I believe will enhance your memories of this day rather than detract from them."
Lizzy laughed and allowed him to hand her back into the carriage, settling in beside her bridegroom once more.
…
When they drew near what Lizzy presumed to be the chosen location, she was surprised to see the gentlemen drawing the shades, and then to hear Fitzwilliam telling her to close her eyes before he lifted her from the carriage.
"William!" she laughed when he set her on her feet but neglected to release her waist.
"I can't have you injuring yourself in a fall before we wed now, can I?" he teased. "You might not be able to say your vows." She laughed again and his breath caught in response to the warm sound.
William carefully led his bride across the field to stand beneath the great oak. He took his place before her and clasped her hands in his before quietly telling her to open her eyes.
Her reaction was everything he could have wished, her brow crinkling in confusion, then smoothing again as a dazzling smile lit her face as she realized where they were. Finally, with tears in her eyes, she met his tender gaze once more.
"How did you know?" she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.
He shrugged and said simply, "I heard you sigh and saw you smile, and when I looked out the window, this is what I saw. I knew you would like it better than a blacksmith's shop."
"It is perfect," she said fervently.
"I love you, Lizzy," William said. "And I want to show you that every day of my life. I want to make you smile and laugh. I want to dry your tears and chase away your nightmares. I want to hold and protect you for the rest of forever. I know that it's impossible, circumstances being what they are, but I promise you that I will always be true to you, that I will come when you send for me, and that when you do, I will spend every possible moment cherishing you for the incredible woman you are. You are everything to me," he finished, reaching out with reverent fingers to trace her cheekbone, their hands still entwined.
"Oh, William," she sighed happily. "I loved and admired you as a boy, but now it is so much more! I still do love and admire you - both the boy you were and the man you've become - but I also respect you, and I trust you implicitly. When you hold me, pain fades and I feel protected, safe. When you look at me, the rest of world fades away and I do not wish it back. You are my anchor in the worst of times, even in the years we were apart. I love you. You are the best man I have ever known and my dearest friend besides. I hope someday to be your partner and your helpmeet, to share your burdens and lighten your heart. You are my life, my hope and my future."
Her words moved him, and William prayed that he could truly become the man she saw in him - because at this moment, he knew without a doubt that he was utterly unworthy of her hand and her devotion.
Lizzy swallowed hard, biting back the emotion that threatened to overtake her and prayed that she could be everything he would need in coming years - because at this moment, she knew without a doubt that she did not deserve this man, nor the adoration in his eyes.
The moment dragged on, the young couple wrapped in a vibrant world of their own, until Mr. Darcy began to cough violently.
Fitzwilliam immediately dropped her hands and rushed to his father's side, alarmed at the wet sound of it. "Father?!" he cried in a panic, moving to support George before noticing that Mr. Gardiner already bore his weight.
Mr. Darcy waved him off, saying between coughs that he was well, merely overtired from all the excitement of recent days, and surreptitiously tucking the crimson-spotted handkerchief he held back into a pocket.
When the spell ended, Mr. Darcy proclaimed them man and wife saying that, though it may not have been their intent, the promises they had just made were finer wedding vows than many he'd heard in his time, and, as Scotland required nothing more than an exchange of such personal vows before two witnesses, they'd best head back to the inn and record the marriage.
And so they all piled back into the carriage, though not before Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth turned back to carve their initials into the tree beneath which they'd pledged themselves to each other.
…
4 years later...End of August, 1815
Fitzwilliam Darcy stared down at the innocuous letter in his hand, a deep sense of foreboding imitating (quite accurately) the nauseous feeling from last winter's illness.
He hadn't heard from Lizzy in 4 years and had begun to hope that they might just make it to her birthday. His only consolation after last month's fiasco with Wickham and Georgiana was that Elizabeth must still be safe - or as safe as she could be in that madman's house - for she had yet to contact him. But here was a letter, written in her hand, and he almost wished to leave the seal intact in order to continue in blissful ignorance of whatever ill news her missive was sure to contain.
Never opening it will not change her reality, only your delusions, Fitzwilliam. Pull yourself together and prepare to uphold the promises you made under that tree.
With a deep breath to steady his nerves, if not his shaking fingers, Fitzwilliam broke the seal and opened the letter he had received by express.
Dear sir,
I fear he seeks to take by force something that is mine alone to give. Please come quickly.
Forever Yours,
- E.
