"Bad tidings from town?" asked the duke as he approached his Elizabeth who sat under her favorite tree at Huxby with a pensive look on her face as she read a letter. It had been almost two months since that fateful meeting at Pemberley and he was even more hopelessly in love with her, though he knew not how she felt about him.
"I beg your pardon, Your Grace, I did not know you had come to call" Elizabeth said as she made to rise before he stopped her, and surprised her by taking a seat next to her. It had been two months since she found out he was not the man she thought she had met in Hertfordshire, and against her better judgement, she was hopelessly in love with him, though she knew not how he felt about her. His visits were always a pleasant surprise and she looked forward to seeing him almost daily at either his estate or her uncle's. "I would not say bad tidings, though they could be called troublesome" she said as she turned her eyes back to the letter her Aunt Gardiner had lately sent her.
"Oh? Do tell" he said in interest, surprised when she handed the letter over to him, though he was happy to see how much she trusted him. "This is more than troublesome, my lov…Miss Bennet" he said in such a panic that he almost called her my love as he did in his dreams, once he finished reading the missive detailing the residents of Longbourn's visit to her uncle's home in town. "They no longer believe the ruse, you have over a month to go before you reach your majority, and your aunt is afraid they may think to look for you here!" he added with no little alarm.
"Fortunately for me, no one is clever enough to even consider I would be here" said Elizabeth as she took the letter back from him, cheeks blushed red at the slip she had most assuredly caught. He had most definitely almost called her my love. What could he mean by that? Dare she hope he still had affections for her as Georgie guaranteed her he did? She was too afraid to hope, and she had other things to worry about "Besides, my uncle Linton would never let them onto his property. So even if they were to guess, they would have no access to me, and I could always relocate after they have left the area."
"This is not to be borne!" said the frustrated duke, wishing he had the power to stop the upset to her life.
"But not unexpected" said Elizabeth. "We have planned for all contingencies. I knew that the ruse would be seen through eventually, and I can only imagine that it was Mary who enlightened my mother as my aunt suggested."
"She also said that she overheard this Mary whispering to your mother that they should check your uncle's estates when you were not discovered in town."
"Where, as you can see, I am not located" she teased, trying to lighten the tension.
"But what is to stop her from suggesting they come here next? It has to be an obvious location if they really thought on the matter. There are no other estates in your aunt or uncle's family where you could be hidden away."
"And as I said, they may come, but they will not be allowed to search for me. And once they leave I can always relocate to my uncle's estate that would have already been checked by them. Would they go and check it a second time when I am not found here?"
"But what if you are on the grounds as you usually are when they arrive? They can come upon you just as easily as I have" he reasoned as he got to his feet. "This will not do. Come" he said as he handed her up. "I must speak to your uncle."
"To what purpose, Your Grace?" asked Elizabeth, choosing to find amusement in his highhandedness that she now knew to be an intricate part of his personality, though it was usually kindly meant. It was not new for him to tell them of the activities they would partake in or the places they would visit as he and his sister showed her around Derbyshire and the neighboring counties, instead of asking their preferences. Though it was unnerving at times and she often fought against him, she did not hold it against him.
"To gain his permission for you to join Georgiana at Pemberley for the remainder of your stay in Derbyshire" he said matter of factly as he took her arm, wrapped it around his, and led her back to the manor house. "It is the safest thing to do at this time. Even if they were to come into the area, I am sure they would never even know of Pemberley, let alone suspect you were residing there."
"Of course they would not" said Elizabeth, highly diverted, though she had no plans to follow his dictate. "Who would ever suspect little Lizzy Bennet to be somewhere as grand as Pemberley?" she asked in sarcastic amusement, causing him to stop abruptly and turn to face her.
"Dearest, you must know that is not what I meant, just as you must know that you belong at Pemberley more than anyone else ever has" he said to her complete and utter shock, causing her to stare at him, mouth agape, which brought a smile to his face as he tenderly used his finger to close it. "You cannot be surprised by what I have said, Elizabeth."
"I assure you that I am, Your Grace" said Elizabeth once she was able to actually speak.
"Have you no idea of all that I still feel for you?" he asked.
"I must admit that I suspected, even hoped…"
"Hoped?" he interrupted in delight. "Dare I hope my feelings are returned?"
"I still know not what your feelings are, Your Grace" hedged Elizabeth, trying to gain time to get her emotions under control.
"Dearest Elizabeth, I still love you, ardently, and can only hope that you feel the same. I think I have loved you since I first saw you at assembly those many months ago" he said, making her gasp in surprise. "You are too generous to trifle with me. If your feelings are still what they were that horrible morning following the ball, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject forever."
"You felt it too?" she babbled in shock, choosing to focus on his acknowledging what passed between them when they first looked upon each other. "Why have you never mentioned it?"
"I knew not how. I cannot even begin to explain all that I felt from that one short moment, how dare I talk about it? I just held it close to my heart as the moment I met my future duchess, though my first thoughts were to deny it" he admitted, making Elizabeth snatch the hand he had been holding away from him and step back.
"Why? Could you tell I was not of your sphere with that one glance and thought I meant to entrap you?"
"Of course not, my love, though I must admit I was afraid of you. I have shared my life with you, my relationship with my family and the experiences I have had amongst the ton. Tis those same experiences that led me to think as I once did. I was devastated by your rejection! Although I initially gave no credit to your words, I shortly began to realize that every word you spoke of my behavior was accurate and I could only flee from town to avoid your presence once I knew you were there."
"I beg your pardon?!" Elizabeth said incredulously. "You fled town to avoid me?"
"That is not quite what I meant" said the duke in frustration as he ran his hand through his hair, hardly fathoming that he was botching this so…again. Damn his habit of making, though honest, highly unnecessary declarations at the worst times. "Please let me explain" he said as he retook a seat under the tree and helped her to sit next to him, cringing when she sat decidedly further away than she was previously. "I was immediately attracted to you like I have never been to anyone before in my life" he continued. "I knew not what to do with myself. I told myself that giving any woman such power over me would be a mistake, and I admittedly wanted not part of it. After so surprisingly meeting you in Hertfordshire, I was lost. Though I tried to fight it, I could do naught but fall in love with you. And though I vowed to never act on my feelings, I could do no less after hearing your sister speak of you so. When I saw you retreating as I joined my sister in the park after the scare you all had with the horse, I again wanted to know you, while at the same time thanking providence that I had arrived too late to encounter you" he admitted, again unnecessarily, causing Elizabeth to scoff in insulted disbelief as he continued. "I then saw you again in Hatchards and wanted you even more after overhearing your conversation. I almost followed you around the shop for goodness sake. I knew I had to get away before my heart overruled my reason. Though my cousin advised me that you may have given credit to my words, I would not listen and left town soon after."
"Only to again meet the very vixen you were fleeing, in your own gardens no less, where she had no doubt come to trap you into an advantageous marriage" Elizabeth said angrily.
"You cannot believe that I think that way! Those were the thoughts of an irrational man who has been hunted for most of his adult life for his wealth and status and never looked upon for himself, not even by his own family. I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle. I was given good principles, but left to follow them in pride and conceit. I was spoilt by my parents, who, though good themselves allowed, encouraged, almost taught me to be selfish, to care for none beyond my own family circle; to think meanly of all the rest of the world. So your conjecture of me being proud and insufferable was correct, until I realized that the woman that I loved most in the world, could hardly abide my presence. I thank providence for blessing my ignorance with a chance to change my ways. I love you, Elizabeth, and I would never say such a thing lightly. I have never even said such a thing in my life outside of my immediate family, other than to you. Please do not let my irrational behavior of the past and my remarkable inability to propose correctly keep us apart" he pleaded as he gently caressed her face, ecstatic when she did not pull away from him.
"You are one frustratingly complicated man, Fitzwilliam Darcy! And your remarkable inability to propose correctly is quite shocking in such a learned and normally well-spoken man" she teased. "But I cannot help but love you too. You must also know how I feel about you. I am sure all of Pemberley and Huxby does, though I have tried to fight those feelings, telling myself you could no longer care for me as you once did. It was as if you seared yourself into my soul that night at the assembly when our eyes met, and I have not been able to forget you since" Elizabeth admitted as she gently caressed his face in return, wiping away the tears that fell from his eyes at her declaration, as her own poured down her face.
"Will you marry me, my Elizabeth? Will you let me love you and keep you safe? Will you become my other half?"
"Happily" said Elizabeth before she found herself crushed into a tight hug as they both cried together. It was the only way they could end up. Together and violently in love. Where they belonged, she thought as he pulled back and gently kissed her.
He nudged her mouth open as they both clung to each other and got lost in the kiss, their untrained tongues learning the dance of love as they sought each other out. She felt as if she was melting into that first, magical kiss as his arms wrapped even tighter around her and he dragged her upon his lap and deepened the kiss. Her arms instinctively went around his neck and she held the back of his head as the kiss blissfully continued and he ran his hands down her back, sending shocks down her spine before he reluctantly ended the kiss.
"As soon as you reach your majority, we wed, my Elizabeth" the duke said as he caught his breath and tried to rein in his ardor, thankful that he had not allowed Davies to accompany him this day, and that the ever watchful Adams was nowhere to be seen.
"But, Fitzwilliam, that is only a little over a month away!" said Elizabeth in shock, his name falling as easily from her lips as it did it in her dreams, to his pleasant surprise.
"Are you saying you need more time to plan our wedding?" he asked in confusion.
"Absolutely not, I am saying we just got engaged. Is not that too soon?"
"If it were up to me alone, I would secret you away to Gretna Green as we speak" he said as he tenderly played with her curls as he has always wanted to do. "Do you not think the time we have already spent together, added to the time that it will take you to reach your majority is enough? Do you not want to start our life together as soon as I do?"
"Well, yes but…"
"No buts my love" he said empathically as he pulled the ring he had been carrying around with him for months now from his pocket. He slipped the diamond anchored by two emeralds on a delicate gold band on her finger to her complete surprise, causing her to gasp at the beautiful adornment.
"Oh how beautiful" Elizabeth cried as she held her hand out to admire the brilliant diamond that shone in the sunlight. Never had she seen such a big stone though it was not gaudy. "I love it!" she said as she grabbed his face tenderly and kissed him appreciatively. "Do you always carry such beautiful things on your person, Your Grace? Or are you in the habit of carrying rings so that you may propose to unsuspecting maidens you find sitting under trees?" she teased, earning her another kiss for her impertinence.
"I assure you that this is my second and last proposal to the only woman I could ever love" he said as he kissed her hand that now wore his ring. "The emeralds were originally sapphires when my mother wore it, but I had the stones changed to emeralds to match your fine eyes. Though I know it is not usually done, it is a Darcy tradition to gift our bride to be with an engagement ring. This very ring for many generations in fact. I have been carrying this ring with me since my fourth call upon you, waiting for a chance to put it where it belongs." he said as he kissed the finger that held the large stone that covered a good deal of it.
"Fourth call?" asked Elizabeth in confusion.
"The one where you told me of your intended" he teased, earning him a jab from her elbow.
"Never did I think you could bare to call another my intended, even in jest" she retorted, thinking about his unguarded jealousy when any man dared to even look upon her, let alone speak to her, as they traveled around Derbyshire.
"Neither did I" he said honestly. "I can only blame my sheer happiness for the lapse."
"When shall we tell Georgie?" asked Elizabeth as she admired her new ring, happy that she had come out of full mourning, so it would not be improper for her to wear it.
"You mean tell her that it is finally official, since she has been calling you her sister since your second call on Pemberley? I am sure the servants have a bet going on as to how soon you will become their new mistress" he said.
"No!"
"Just as you said all of Pemberley and Huxby knows of your feelings for me, they most assuredly know of mine. They may very well think that their master has lost his senses as he goes about his duties with a smile on his face, when he once barely exercised the muscles used to effect the occurrence before your arrival."
"Where shall we marry?" asked Elizabeth.
"I will leave that for you to decide, my love" said the duke as he tenderly caressed her back.
"My aunt thinks we should get married in London with a society wedding that befits your station" she answered unknowingly.
"Your aunt has planned our nuptials has she?" he asked in amused surprise.
"No!" said a mortified Elizabeth. "Though she has complete knowledge of how I feel about you, she would never dare to assume your feelings, Your Grace. She only mentioned that were I to marry, I should do so within the purview of Longbourn's residents. And if the elusive Duke of Derbyshire should ever wed, he had best bring his intended to town for the ton to see, even if he chooses to wed away from society. Though she suggested you do so in the purview of your estranged relations as well, to blatantly show them their machinations to get you to wed their daughters have truly come to naught. That is not to say that she expected you to offer for me again" she hurriedly added in embarrassment now that he knew she discussed such hopes with her supportive aunt.
"I cannot but agree with your aunt's suggestions, though she was, of course, not alluding to our nuptials" he teased his blushing fiancé, happy that she had shared such wishes with her aunt, even as she doubted his feelings for her. "What say you if I take you to town for your birthday so that you may shop for your trousseau, and visit your aunt as the banns are read in our local town parishes, with a society wedding to follow the day after they are completed?"
"I know a society wedding is the last thing you would want to suffer through, and I assure you, I could care less and could do without the spectacle it is sure to bring."
"I agree, but it may be for the best for both of our sakes. Our families can do nothing but acknowledge the event that will be held for only the most exclusive members of the ton to witness as I proudly make you my beautiful duchess. You shall come out of mourning by that time, and it would be everything proper."
"Oh there is so much to do" said Elizabeth, now excited for her wedding, and sounding more like her mother than herself as she quickly stood up and headed towards the manor house. "I do so wish my father was here to see me achieve such happiness! Georgie swears by her local modiste when it comes to her wardrobe for the Derbyshire winter, so I shall write my uncle for access to more funds so that I may place an order immediately. I need to write my Aunt Gardiner and give her the latest news, as well as have her start making plans for our wedding. Aunt Margaret and I could start our own list and give her any suggestions we may have…"
"Dearest" interrupted the duke as he caught up to his runaway fiancé, who had leapt to her feet and started to return to the house before he knew what she was about, speaking faster than he had ever heard her speak before. "I think that we have something more important to discuss" he said as he grabbed her arm to stop her progress and pointed at the letter she still held in her hand. "We must have you removed to Pemberley immediately. I am sure your uncle shall agree, both of your uncles will."
"But that would not be entirely proper now that we are engaged, Fitzwilliam, and I am sure I am safe here for the moment. My uncle had a chance to pull the carriage driver aside before my family left town, and give him extra coinage to keep him abreast of their movements. Simmons, our driver/stable hand, held me dear to his heart and would have heeded his request without any provocation. I will surely be warned if they come this way."
"At which time you will immediately remove to Pemberley" said the duke, brooking no argument. "It is not improper for you to reside at your new home, especially as a guest of my sister who also has a companion in residence that could be considered a chaperone. Nothing was said of the nights you have spent there so far."
"Yes, but I was not there in the capacity as your betrothed, Mr. Darcy. Nevertheless, I shall agree to your officious interference if I am indeed alerted to their arrival" she promised before leading him into the house where they acquainted her hosts with their news, to the surprise of neither.
