Oblivious to any of the drama up at the house, Darcy had escorted a quietly subdued Elizabeth out to the summerhouse. They had enjoyed cold salmon patties and a crisp side salad and were currently consuming a light lemon soufflé to round off the meal. After the last mouthful had been tasted, they each laid down their spoons and looked at each other in silence. Finally Elizabeth broke the ice.
"William, we have each been sitting here for over an hour waiting for the other to speak of matters other than the weather, the gardens and our families. Won't you just ask me and put us both at ease?" Darcy looked startled at her surprised outburst and then laughed.
"Oh, Elizabeth, you never cease to surprise me. Other women might be sitting quietly waiting for the man to speak first, but not you. Tell me then, my dear, what is it exactly that you wish to hear?" Darcy teased as he toyed with her hand across the table.
"You could start by telling me that your feelings have not changed…"
"You know that they haven't…" Elizabeth glared at him for his interruption and he held up his other hand in surrender. She nodded regally and continued.
"You could ask whether my feelings have changed, after all I was the one to refuse last time…" Elizabeth paused, waiting for Darcy to catch up with her train of thought. He seemed to catch on quite quickly and rose from his seat to kneel before her. He looked directly into her eyes and held one of her hands clasped over his heart.
"My dearest Libby, when I first saw you on the staircase here at Pemberley I thought I was dreaming. I had seen you here so many times in my dreams, that I was frightened to speak afraid that you would vanish into the mists as you were wont to do in my dreams."
"I am almost afraid of asking…you say that you saw me on the stairs, when exactly was this?" Elizabeth asked slowly, almost not wanting to hear the reply. Darcy merely raised an eyebrow and slowly lowered one eye in a wink, not wanting to give too much information away to whomever might overhear. Elizabeth moaned and lowered her head against his chest in mortification. She had wondered whether Darcy had seen her watching him, but to have it confirmed was another matter entirely!
"Libby, stop. I have nothing to feel ashamed of and neither have you." Darcy gently forced her eyes to meet his own gaze, hoping that she would see the absolute certainty of his words reflected back at her. "Now, where was I? Ah, yes. I was delighted when you arrived as I thought that it was a message from God, letting me know that I had another chance to win your affections..."
"Ahem…Excuse me Mr. Darcy, sir…" A slight cough from the doorway had Darcy rising to his feet and muttering a harsh expletive under his breath.
"Yes, Henry what is it?"
"Another guest, sir. Your cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam." Henry hated to interrupt yet again, but the Colonel was most insistent on seeing Mr. Darcy immediately.
"Blast! I'm beginning to think that someone up there doesn't want us to ever…"
"No, William don't say that…I know what you mean to ask and my answer is…" Elizabeth reached up to stroke the frown that appeared on Darcy's brow.
"That's not the point, Libby. How am I to explain to our children and our children's children that their father never actually got around to completing one full proposal?"
"At least you acknowledge that there will eventually be some children!" Elizabeth exclaimed, Darcy's eyes twinkled as he ran a finger in a gentle caress over her soft lips.
"Oh, if we are not to be blessed in that way, I can assure you it will not be from lack of practise…" She smiled against his finger and saw the promise in his eyes. Elizabeth removed his finger and reached up to run a hand through the curls that insisted on drooping over his forehead.
"Go and see to your cousin, perhaps we will attempt this again on another moonlit walk through the gardens."
"I will look forward to it immensely, until then…Miss Bennet." Darcy formally bowed over her hand and then after a quick look to ensure that Henry was looking the other way, placed a swift kiss onto her lips and then pivoted on his feet and went to the house.
Elizabeth sank back into her seat and wistfully propped her chin on her hand. She too was beginning to think that their whole relationship was doomed to failure. If he had only let her give her answer last night, they might have been secure in their engagement by now.
"Can I get you anything, Miss Elizabeth?" Henry asked, concern for her lack of spirit. Elizabeth looked over at the aged footman and waved him in to take a seat.
"Tell me Henry, is Mr. Darcy always so much in demand? It seems that there is always some matter of business that he just has to take care of, or someone else arriving at the door. Is there anyone else in his family that are likely to drop in unannounced?"
"Well, Miss now that the Colonel has arrived, we may well expect his parents to turn up any time now. The Colonel is under pressure from his father not to give up his commission in the army; he has long since had the ambition to study the law. His arrival can only mean that he has had yet another argument with Mr. Fitzwilliam and has come to seek guidance from the master." Henry sank down slowly in the wrought iron chair and looked over at the young lady.
"Hmmm, I think that I may be able to assist the Colonel…Henry what if my uncle were to intercede with the Fitzwilliam's? As you know he is a partner in a rather prominent law firm in Town, and may be able to offer the Colonel some advice or even an internship." Elizabeth's face brightened at the thought, Henry nodded slowly in agreement.
"That would free up some of the Master's time, at least until he returns to Hampshire with your aunt and uncle. I'm sure if someone were to offer to assist him in his day to day running of the estate and household…"
"I could ask Georgiana to start meeting with Mrs. Reynolds in the mornings, to assume some of her mother's duties…" Elizabeth's voice faded as she noticed that Henry didn't seem at all pleased with that suggestion at all.
"Begging your pardon, Miss. But wouldn't it be better if you assumed these duties rather than Miss Georgiana? As you know, she is a fragile sort and does not interact very commandingly with the staff; she tends to end up reversing every decision she tries to make as she doesn't want to put anyone to any bother." Both of them knew that this behaviour was not in the best interests of the house, the staff needed firm guidance; someone to make hard decisions at times and be able to stick by those decisions.
"I see, what if I take on most of the work but aim to show Georgiana the ropes. One day she will need those skills to run her own home and this will be good practise for her. We could sit in Lady Anne's study if Mrs. Reynolds thinks that it wouldn't cause too many painful reminders for Mr. Darcy." Elizabeth tapped her fingers reflectively against the table top, deep in thought. Henry smiled, here was a young miss with a sensible head on her shoulders; not one to weep and wail at the obstacles along the path to matrimony, but one that was willing to share half of the Master's burdens.
"If you can get the Master to do this, I am sure I can arrange for cook to provide a picnic hamper for one luncheon. I leave it up to you to decide who you wish to share it with though…" Henry rose from the table and held out an arm to Elizabeth. She tucked her arm into the crook of his elbow and let him escort her up to the house.
"Tell me, Henry. Is Mr. Darcy still offering a shilling to anyone who brings him news of my fondest wishes?" She asked as they strolled along. Henry hid a smile of surprise, he might have known that she would have picked up on that little tidbit.
"I do believe that he is, Miss."
"Perhaps you might to drop into conversation that I have a particular fondness for plum jam and jasmine bath salts?"
"Indeed, I will Miss." Henry bowed over her arm as he left her at the garden door before he went back to supervise the clearing of the luncheon dishes from the summerhouse and Elizabeth went in search of her uncle Edward.