Chapter 19:
Elizabeth tossed and turned, she put the blanket over her head, moved the pillow, switched sides and it was all to no avail. She finally threw the blanket off her head, let out a heavy sigh and got out of bed, giving up on her doomed attempt to fall asleep.
She put on her robe, tying it around her small waist, and went to the basin of water by the window, where she washed her face and hands, not being able to see her reflection on the mirror right above it, for it was still quite dark outside. She put on her boots and quietly left her room, taking care to not wake the other sleeping inhabitants of Longbourn.
She shivered under her thin nightgown, even with the robe on top, it was quite chilly. She reached for a warm coat, tossing her braid to the side and wrapping it warmly around her. She allowed her body to melt into the coat, closing her eyes to gather her thoughts.
Elizabeth had wanted to venture into Meryton the day before, wanting to know if Mr. Darcy had arrived. By her calculations, he should have already been there but by the time she read the letter enough times to be satisfied, it was too late in the day. She had paced around her room the entire afternoon, coming down only for a light supper and then hoping Mary would bore them all into sleep with a reading of sermons, but nothing, not even that, had worked. She had laid awake in her bed, looking up at the ceiling, counting sheep—anything to let her fall asleep but she could not.
Lizzy opened the door to Longbourn, looking behind her to make sure that no one was awake and closed it lightly, shivering slightly as the cold chill of the sunless dawn hit her. She hugged her coat closer to her, and took one step after the other, not seeing well, but knowing the path by heart.
As the sun began to rise, the morning dawn lit up the surrounding trees—the orange and pink hues exquisite, the morning dew all around, and the birds chirping as a new day begun. Lizzy walked mindlessly, with no clear intention in mind, but merely because she could not longer lie still in her bed…
She treaded up the hill near her house—the sun nearly there—the wet leaves crunching as she walked, her boots making light sounds as she went. She stopped by the edge, seeing something move at a distance and as if breath was sucked out of her, she gasped and looked up to see Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy approaching from a distance. His coat hung from him, his disheveled hair, and muddy boots—it was a glorious sight and Lizzy did not have time to compose herself for in nearly no time at all, or perhaps a long time, he stood before her, out of breath, his light eyes piercing into her soul.
"I could not sleep" said Mr. Darcy, staring into her eyes—not noticing anything else but her enchanting brown eyes beneath the golden sun.
"Nor could I" said Elizabeth, biting her lip nervously.
"I am so sorry" said Mr. Darcy, taking a step forward and hesitating, as if asking for permission, before reaching for her hands. "Your hands are cold" he noted, looking at them, feeling their soft skin with his thumb.
"They are warmer now" said Elizabeth, a small smile on her lips.
"Oh, my darling Elizabeth" said Mr. Darcy, emotions pouring forth as he held her hands, warming them up with his, complete paralyzed in her presence.
After what seemed like an eternity, for now the sun was in full glory, birds were singing loudly, and the dark green was now bright, the morning dew was drying up, and they were both still standing, on top of the hill.
"Am I too late?" asked Mr. Darcy, now looking up at her eyes and asking the question he was dying to know. He did not know how else to phrase it, for he did not want to make her feel guilty if she was—for she would be in right if she was engaged. It was he who was too late, not her.
"No" said Lizzy, "Mr. Rochester did propose" she added, answering his unspoken question, "But I found myself unable to answer. It seems you did not have to ask me to wait...for my heart would not let me do otherwise" explained Elizabeth. Mr. Darcy reached for her face, wiping away the tears from her eyes as she spoke and taking a step closer.
"I should have never ask you that, my dear" said Mr. Darcy, now holding her hands with one hand and caressing her face with the other, "I am so very sorry. Am I any better than Mr. Bingley?" he asked, tilting her face upward so their eyes were looking straight into each others.
Elizabeth furrowed her eyebrows—looking at him in surprise.
"Of course" she answered immideatly, "You proposed and I rejected you—in a way that I did not expect you to renew your proposal, in fact, at that moment, that was the last thing I would have wished for."
"Even so...I married Anne and did not pursue you—if my love was true perhaps..." he said, now tears falling from his eyes, remembering all the emotions of the past.
"Shh" said Elizabeth, now reaching for her face and looking into his watery eyes, "After your proposal at Rosings, I did not think we would meet again on favorable terms. Perhaps if we had met on my trip to Derbyshire with my aunt and uncle, but alas, we did not meet. Though my impression of you slowly changed, as I analyzed, as well as learned new information, I never expect a second proposal, nor did I expected you to wait until eternity."
"I should have—I should have waited until eternity, for I knew full well that you were the only woman I could ever walk alongside with" said Mr. Darcy, with such conviction and such pain. "Do you forgive me?"
"Mr. Darcy" said Elizabeth, sighing, "Will we live in the past?"
"No" said Mr. Darcy, "My dearest and darling Elizabeth, will you spend the rest of your life with me? I know we cannot get engaged for I am still in mourning, but when I am not, will you walk beside me for the rest of our lives?"
Elizabeth Bennet felt the tears in her eyes, she felt her heart swelling inside her and not being able to speak, she nodded, smiling and crying.
"Forever and always" he said in a whisper, resting his forehead on hers, both of their eyes closed.
"Forever and always" whispered Elizabeth, allowing her body to be hugged by him—squeezing her tightly, a promise of never letting go….
PNPNPNPNP
Hello friends! It has been too long and I have one cause to blame: "Love like the Galaxy" which is an absolutely lovely and beautiful Drama which I happened upon was not able to put down. 56 episodes, at each 40 min, it was so hard finding the time but I could not put it down! You have been warned if you do watch it-its on youtube with subtitles.
So I apologize for the delay and for the short chapter but this was all i could write and i did not want to delay any longer...
there are a few more chapters left in this lovely tale...
as always, looking forward to ur thoughts!