Chapter 11:
"Darcy" said a hollow word, pulling Lizzie and Mr. Darcy away from each other. Lizzie reached for bruised lips, and looked downward, thankful for the darkness that hid her blushing cheeks. They were standing in a dimmed spot in the garden—the lights from the balcony shining from behind the man standing before them, who looked angry and heartbroken.
"What is the meaning of this?!" asked Lord Sandhurst, now finding his voice. They were in his mother's garden, a party which should have ended in an engagement, his engagement, when he found his expected fiancée kissing another man. Anthony was fuming. He was hurt—though if he were honest, which he was not interested in being at this particular moment, he was not surprised.
"Lord Sandhurst" said Mr. Darcy regaining his composure and looking every bit the gentleman. If he felt embarrassed at being caught kissing Miss Elizabeth, he did not show it.
"We are engaged to be married" announced Mr. Darcy, awkwardly looking at Elizabeth, who looked uncomfortable and embarrassed. Darcy wanted to reach for her hand and squeeze it—surely she must know that he would never leave her to ruin, nor that he wanted to. He loved her. He may not have admitted it to himself before but he did now. And now she was going to be his wife. It did not matter to him that he had not actually told her those words—surely she knew by his actions that he cared for her.
Lizzie was caught off guard—did he say she was engaged to him? Did he even think of consulting her? Was he acting out of guilt? Or did he truly care for her? Her head was still floating with the feelings his hands and lips caused her. She raised her delicate hand to her head and closed her eyes for a moment. This was too much.
"I would never say what I saw" said Lord Sandhurst, now looking at Miss Elizabeth as he spoke, "You do not need to marry him if you do not wish it" he added softly. "Surely you must know what my intentions were—what I was hoping to ask you tonight. If you tell me he forced himself upon you, I shall challenge him to a duel and defend your honor."
"No" said Elizabeth, her voice sounding hollow. "Please, Anthony, no." She took a deep breath and reached out for Mr. Darcy's hand, knowing this would cause Anthony pain but fearing the only way out of this predicament was to show a united front. "We are engaged, he asked and I accepted. I know this must pain you—I enjoyed your company very much but my heart was already engaged" she said, though her voice sounded hollow and pained. She did not want any more rumors. She knew Anthony would not say anything but there were surely others that saw her running into the garden and Mr. Darcy following. Lizzie felt embarrassed declaring herself thus in front of Mr. Darcy, who had yet to declare his feelings, but she hated even more being at a man's mercy. She knew Mr. Darcy would not contradict her and for that, at least, she was grateful.
"I shall like to go home" she said in a whisper, looking at Mr. Darcy with an unreadable look. She walked towards Lord Sandhurst, touched his arm softly, and with an apologetic look whispered, "I am sorry, Anthony."
Mr. Darcy walked after her, both of them leaving a very hurt Anthony behind. Though both men wanted to express more, they knew that this rumor alone would cause a scandal, they did not need another reason.
"I shall fetch your father and meet you in the front" he said, leaving her in the lit up balcony. They had walked back up the stairs, Mr. Darcy going into the ballroom to get Mr. Bennet. Within minutes, Mr. Bennet was in the front of the grand Sandhurst home, accompanied by Mr. Darcy. Mr. Bennet looked at Mr. Darcy and Lizzie, who were standing at an awkward distance, with unveiled curiosity. Lizzie could see her mother and sisters following her father.
"We are engaged to be married" said Mr. Darcy to Mr. Bennet. He was not asking—he was informing him. They were quite alone so he was not worried about gossip spreading and he was not planning on revealing what had occurred in the garden either, at least not now.
"I see" said Mr. Bennet, and Mr. Darcy feared that he did. Their carriage was coming around the corner, the minutes ticking before this hasty conversation would needed to be finished.
"I shall ask for a special license—we shall be married in three days time" announced Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth looked up in shock. She had finally recovered her senses or what was left of them. But this was not the time nor place to have a frank conversation. She hoped Mr. Darcy would call the next morning and they would speak then.
"Good night, Mr. Darcy" said Elizabeth angrily. She stepped into the carriage, followed by her father.
"I expect to see you once you have finished all the papers" said Mr. Bennet. "I thank you." Mrs. Bennet looked at Mr. Darcy haughtily, not knowing what had transpired but hating him for jilting her daughter. The other four Bennet sisters likewise got into the carriage, all with a look of curiosity on their faces.
Mr. Darcy watched his betrothed leave feeling empty—he had expected to feel elated but Elizabeth was clearly not happy. Had he ruined her only chance at happiness? Had she been desiring to marry Lord Sandhurst and he had ruined it for her? It mattered not, he was a gentleman and he would do what he must.
He touched his lips—remembering with the fervor that she answered his kisses. She loved him—she must have. But why did she look so angry at him?
Oh Lord, he was not even married and the woman in his life was already driving him mad, he thought with a chuckle. Within minutes he got into his own carriage, excited to tell Georgiana the news, and get the papers moving. They had to plan a wedding in three days time!
PNPNPNPNPNP
I debated whether to post or not because this is a very short chapter but I did not have the mental energy to write any more for tonight and since I have reinforced (for better or for worse lol) the expectation that I post every day (or try to), I did not want to dissapoint.
How do you think that awkward Anthony, Darcy and Elizabeth interaction went?
As always, looking forward to your thoughts!
EDIT 1/13/21: I realized I messed up the names, whoops, sorry! I went back and changed them to: Lord Gregory Harris and Lord Anthony Sandhurst. I know I originally had Gregory as Lord Sandhurst but once I became attached and saw him as an Anthony, I could not go back :) If you see any chapters that I did not change yet, please let me know! TY!