"It is our engagement day, Elizabeth." Darcy said, searching her face for any sign of disagreement.
"It is our engagement day, Fitzwilliam." She agreed, happily.
"Though I suppose we have been engaged this entire time since we knew it would come to this end."
"The time we have taken is for other people, so they are comfortable with the decision we have made.
They sat in silence by their tree, Frank acting as chaperone.
"Well, I am waiting." Darcy declared. "Are you going to ask me?"
As she sat thinking, Elizabeth untied the yellow ribbons on her bonnet and removed it. She stood and removed his hat from her head and put it on her own. It slipped down over her eyes, so she had to tip her head back in order to balance the hat in its precarious position.
"Do I have to wear you bonnet? Blue is more my color," he said, referencing the blue and grey waistcoat, her favorite, that he wore.
You do not. I think it would be even more ill-fitting on you than yours is on me." Offering her hands, she guided him to stand in front of her. Just as he found his place, she knelt on one knee before him.
"Mr. Darcy, if your feelings are still what they were last month, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged. I love you." Once again, the hat fell over her eyes. When she raised it, she found Mr. Darcy's face before her. He, too, was kneeling. "I do not think it is customary for both members of the couple to be on bended knee during a proposal, sir."
"Remember that day when I told you I loved you for the first time? You said we should not compare ourselves to others, this is just us. We will never do things as others do. What I will do is try my very best to make you happy every day and I will love you always."
"Marry me." They said in the same breath.
~~OJ~~
XX November 1811
Dear Lord Matlock,
You and I are unacquainted; however, I asked your nephew, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy to serve as courier for me. Please pardon my presumption in sending this communication.
I am Elizabeth Laurel Bennet, the daughter of Mr. Thomas Bennet, of Longbourn, Hertfordshire. I could share my lineage with you at length, but it means little. Just know that I am a gentleman's daughter. I have little when one considers what society values most. However, I have in abundance the things that truly matter.
Chief among them is my love for your nephew. And I do love him so very dearly. Over the course of our courtship, which may come as a surprise to you, I have come to know the man who is strong, decisive, and steadfast. This is the Mr. Darcy most people know. I have also discovered a man who shows his teasing and playful nature, delights in the absurd, and feels most deeply. And this, I think, is a side he shows to very few. I am fortunate enough to be both witness and partner to such displays.
He encourages me to enhance my understanding and challenge myself. He believes in me as no one ever has before. He expands not only my mind, but my heart. I have never felt such love and care as I do from him.
What he has not done, is curb my impertinence. Nor does he have any intention to do so. So, you see, he is the perfect man, in my eyes. Thus, it is with that impertinence intact that I humbly ask for his hand in marriage. My Lord, I wish for your approval and blessing. I am available at your leisure if you wish for an interview. You may send your response via Mr. Darcy.
I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth L. Bennet
"What am I to make of this?" asked Lord Matlock. Darcy had entered his London home with an uncharacteristic brightness about him. When he asked what caused of spring in his step, his nephew handed him the note. "Did Richard put you up to this?"
"I wish to marry, uncle. Elizabeth is merely being thoughtful in asking the head of my family for my hand. I think it shows very good breeding."
"Let me get this straight, a woman I have never heard, who I did not know you were courting, proposed to you, and is now asking for my permission to marry you. Is she addled? Are you?"
"If she is, the only evidence is that she overlooks the worst of personality traits. Or loves me despite of them. And she did not propose to me, not really, well, we both did. This," he gestured to Elizabeth's note, "is a bit of a joke between us, but we thought it a fitting gesture for our relationship."
"Have you read the note?" Lord Matlock asked.
"I have not. She wanted you to read it first. May I?" His uncle handed it over and watch him as he read. Lord Matlock had never seen such a wide smile on his nephew's face.
"Is it true? Are you in love with this girl?"
"Very much so."
"But, reading between the lines, she is poor, has no family of note, and is not among the upper circles. Is that correct?"
"That is correct."
"And you want to marry her?"
"Also correct."
"The only opinion on marriage you have ever shared with me is that you did not want to marry Anne."
"Very, very correct."
"Why have you said nothing about this girl? How long have you known her?"
"It has been three months; I met her my first day-."
"Three months! Really, Darcy. I do not expect this of you."
"Read the note again. Is there anything else you would not expect of me?" Darcy handed the letter back to his uncle, who did as Darcy asked.
A man who shows his teasing and playful nature, delights in the absurd, and feels most deeply. On the initial reading, that sentence had stood out to Lord Matlock before he became distracted by the implication of the letter as a whole. He did know that his nephew felt things deeply, but it usually was in terms of responsibility and duty, not love or any other tender feelings. He wondered what this lady, and her relationship with Darcy, must be like if she could draw out those characteristics. "Tell me about her, Fitzwilliam."
In animated fashion, Darcy enthused about Elizabeth for a good thirty minutes, and, also, admitted to the fact that many will look askance at the relationship, both for its brevity as well as the disparity of their stations. "It matters not, however. I, we, will not be dissuaded."
"You are sure of your path, then, regardless of the duration of your acquaintance?"
"I am. Sometimes you just know."*
"I would have to agree." He held up the note. "Reading this, there is something here that I cannot articulate but I feel as if I know as well. You and your Miss Elizabeth will do well together. In truth, there is little I can say to challenge you. Your aunt and I had an arranged marriage, we knew of each other, but we did not really know each other before we wed. We managed quite nicely. Most of the ton marriages are similar. Certainly, London courtships do not allow for the depth you seem to have enjoyed in yours."
"Thank you for understanding, uncle."
"I know you did not need to truly seek my approval, but I am happy to grant it. And you have my blessing. I would like to meet your Elizabeth though. May I entrust my response to you, in the meantime?
~~OJ~~
* I just want to give a shout out to reviewer BillR whose relationship I unknowingly paralleled. He and his wife were engaged six weeks after they met, and they have been together for 37 years. As he says, sometimes you just know.