Hi everyone! I'm pretty sure you'll like this chapter :-) , but that's for you to judge. Please let me know!
Gardiner heartily gave his consent to Bingley to marry Jane, though he said consent was not needed, and then there was only the date of the wedding to set. After some discussion a choice was made, and Elizabeth would lose her sister in just six weeks.
"But you know you will not really lose me," Jane protested, when she heard Elizabeth use the term. "Charles wants to buy an estate in Derbyshire, not far from Pemberley. And even if you do not marry Mr. Darcy we will still see each other often. Charles has already let a house in town, and if you want you may share it with us."
Elizabeth decided to pass over the reference to herself and Darcy. "Is it settled, then, that you will live in England after you are married?"
"Charles will continue to travel to Paris when his business requires it, but he thinks it will be wiser for me to stay in town. He says the worst of the danger from the revolution is not yet past, and he would feel better having me out of harm's way."
"He is delightfully protective of you! Just as a future husband should be."
Jane's face lit up. "He is everything perfect, is he not? Will you like having such a brother?"
"Nothing could please me more."
"Oh, Lizzie!" Jane clasped her hands together earnestly. "Please say you will come and live with us! I fear that he may be right, and I would be so uneasy for your sake if anything were to happen."
"Perhaps I will visit you now and then, but that is all. I plan on staying with aunt and uncle, and you and Bingley will have to make do with each other's company. No man wants to share his new wife's attention with a sister, not even a man as kind and amiable as your future husband!"
"He is kind, and generous, and such a pleasure to be with," Jane echoed, eager to echo her sister's praise. "If you marry someone half as wonderful as he is, you will be very happy indeed."
"Bingley is no better than you deserve, my dear Jane. You are quite as praiseworthy as he. But do not take my word for it. Bingley will be only too happy to tell you!"
"Lizzie." Jane hesitated before she spoke again. "Do you think you will accept Mr. Darcy, if he asks you? He is quite in love with you, you know. And although he is not much like my Charles, I believe he matches you in every way that matters. Do you not think you would be very happy with him?"
Elizabeth sighed. "I do not know, Jane. Sometimes I think I would like to accept him straightaway, and other times I am not sure. There is so much romance in the air right now! You are engaged and very much in love, and Charlotte is engaged and, if not in love with her future husband, at least very pleased with him. What if I accept Mr. Darcy for the wrong reasons, and discover later that I made a dreadful mistake? He would be terribly hurt, and I have too much respect for him to cause such injury."
Jane's voice was very gentle. "You should listen to your own words, Lizzy. You say that part of you wants to accept him, that you are concerned for his well being, and that you hold him in regard. Are you sure that you are not in love with him already?"
"I am not certain." Elizabeth shook her head. "But when I am, you will be the first to know. Or perhaps the second, after Mr. Darcy himself!"
Darcy and Bingley arrived the next evening, as arranged, to go with the family to see Il Vero Amico, a play currently in production in Paris. It was Jane and Bingley's first public appearance as an engaged couple, and Jane dressed for the evening with special care, though her aunt assured her that such worry was unnecessary. But Jane sat patiently while her newest maid, Rosalie, curled her hair and arranged it becomingly.
Elizabeth, too, took extra effort with her appearance. As Bingley's friend and Jane's sister, she and Darcy would also be pointed out and talked about. Some onlookers seeing them together might even assume that another match was in the works. But even with the gossip that would likely follow Elizabeth was sure she would enjoy herself at an event so filled with people, lights, and sound. As she surveyed her appearance in the mirror, taking in the blue satin against her skin and the charming way that her own maid had pulled her hair back from her face, she decided that on this night even the harshest critic would find nothing to criticize.
Darcy's reaction when she came down the stairs did not disappoint. For a moment he appeared dumbstruck; then he advanced and offered her a bouquet of pink lilies. When she extended her hand he bowed low before raising it to his lips, his eyes still fixed on hers. "Forgive my ill manners just now. I am not often at a loss for words, but your beauty removed my power of speech."
"Mr. Darcy!" Elizabeth let her eyes dance at him. "I did not know you were adept at flattery."
"Quite the contrary. I never flatter. I only tell the absolute truth."
Inside the theater they had a few minutes to spare before they had to go to their seats. The Gardiners went off on their own to speak with friends while the others stayed together, enjoying the sights all around. Darcy and Elizabeth examined the handbill for the play, which Darcy said he had seen in Rome, but was completely new for his companion. The play was described as a comedy revolving around the dilemma of two men in love with the same woman, presented in Italian.
"Do you speak Italian as well as you speak French?" Elizabeth asked.
"Better, or so I am told. I stayed in Rome for six months on my grand tour and during that time my tutor refused to translate a single word for me."
"I hope you are not as strict with me! I can read and write the language, but I often fail at understanding it when it is spoken. What a shame that young ladies are not sent to the continent to finish their education as gentlemen are." But Darcy shook his head.
"It is a waste of time for most young gentlemen. They spend more time carousing and wasting money than improving their understanding of the classics."
"You did not do so, I'm sure."
"Nor would you have, given similar circumstances. You have made the most of the opportunities given to you here in Paris, learning the language and becoming familiar with the city. With so many similarities between the languages, I expect you will have no problem understanding what is spoken on stage tonight."
"If I understand anything amiss, I shall count on you to correct me."
During the first act they all sat in the same row, almost at the front of the balcony, and Elizabeth had no trouble following the humorous, quickly moving story, for what she did not understand in speech could be taken in through other means. The exaggerated gestures the actors made, along with their comical facial expressions, communicated their intents and motives almost as much as the spoken word. The plot was amusing, the players talented, and Elizabeth laughed as much as any person there.
But after the intermission there chanced to be a rearrangement in their seating. A lady in the front row complained of a draft and nothing would do except for her to be accommodated elsewhere. She was part of a large group that all wanted to sit together. This, along with the discovery of a broken arm rest elsewhere in the section, made it necessary to reseat almost everyone in that area of the theater. At length the Gardiner party found themselves separated, each couple now in a different row. Jane and Bingley were closest to the front, where the light was better and everything was easy to see. Their aunt and uncle were a row behind them. But Elizabeth and Darcy were last of all, near the back, and had to strain to see the stage.
As soon as the curtain went up on the second act Elizabeth gave up all hope of understanding what was happening. The players were too far away; her view was too obscured by other people. And the main character, Florindo, broke into a stylized, poetic soliloquy to woo his love, Rosaura. The elaborate language was beyond Elizabeth's rudimentary skills in Italian, and she sighed in disappointment as she sat back in her seat.
Darcy took in the situation at once. Leaning towards her in the dark he brought his head to her level, keeping his voice low so as not to disturb the other patrons. "Florindo is telling his love that her beauty is beyond his ability to describe," he said quietly, almost in a whisper. "He is speechless in her presence. and his heart beats passionately for her alone. He asks, how can she be so cruel, to deny his desire?" There was a pause while Florindo spoke again, and then Darcy translated, "How long must I exist in my uncertainty? Your face is like the sun in the sky, ever shining, but never pouring its warmth upon me." Another pause. "Your name is a silver bell in my heart, and when it rings, I hear . . . "
Elizabeth expected to hear Darcy finish the sentence with, "Rosaura," but instead she felt his breath against her ear as he whispered, "Elizabeth . . . Elizabeth."
She should not have been surprised, and yet she was. She turned her head to look at Darcy and was instantly caught by his eyes, so close to hers. Even in the darkness she could see the tenderness in them. They were so intense that she could not bear to look at them, yet could not bear to look away.
"Elizabeth," Darcy whispered again, and this time Elizabeth felt a soft touch on her cheek, light as a feather. She closed her eyes as he brought his face closer to hers. "Sweetest Elizabeth." He touched her lips gently with his.
The kiss was swift, over almost before it began. Elizabeth opened her eyes to find Darcy's face barely inches away from her own, his eyes fixed on her intently. He kissed her again, more lingering this time, and then leaned away to see her reaction. What he saw must have pleased him, for he smiled broadly. He reached for the hand in her lap and took it in his own, gently enfolding it. A little thrill went through her and she turned her hand so that her palm was against his. Their fingers interlaced, coming together naturally.
They sat this way for the rest of the play, silently, with only their hands touching. Darcy did not attempt to translate again for her and Elizabeth would not have heard him if he did. Overswept by a deep joy she had never felt before, she could think of nothing but the man beside her and what had just transpired between them. Jane's happiness was nothing to hers, she felt. Nobody in the world could be more thrilled, more filled with speechless delight, than she was at this moment. She pressed lightly on Darcy's hand, and felt him squeeze more tightly in return.
On the carriage ride home Elizabeth and Darcy were nearly silent. They sat across from each other and said nothing while the Gardiners, Bingley and Jane discussed this actor or that actress, this costume and that scene. But Elizabeth knew that everything between her and Darcy had changed. And though Darcy said nothing with his lips, the soft glow of his eyes confirmed that he, too, was aware of what had passed between them.
They were the last couple to step out of the carriage after reaching the Gardiner's house. Her aunt and uncle went inside first, disappearing inside as Jane and Bingley lingered on the doorstep. Elizabeth extended her hand and Darcy took it as he helped her out of the carriage, but he did not drop it after she stepped down. Coming as close to her as good manners would allow, Darcy took her hand in both of his and drew it to his chest, next to his heart. "My dearest, loveliest Elizabeth," he murmured, with his head bowed over hers. "How very happy you have made me."
Elizabeth held her breath. Was he going to propose now, in the darkened street, with passers by and a stern footman as witness? It was not a promising location. Darcy looked up and down the street, then at the footman standing impassively nearby. He must have reached the same conclusion she had. "I will call on you tomorrow," he said meaningfully, and Elizabeth nodded. The words, and the look that went with them, were a promise. Darcy would call on her the next day and ask her an important question. And now she knew what her answer would be.
The play referenced in this chapter is real, and it could have been performed in Paris at this time. However, most of the dialog in it comes from Cyrano de Bergerac. I would have preferred to have Elizabeth and Darcy see Cyrano together, but it was not written until the 1890's. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. if you did, please be sure to leave a note! I live for your feedback! Have a great rest of July and I'll see you back here in three weeks. -Elaine