This pleasant interlude lasted for just over a week until Mr. Gardiner reminded everyone one night at dinner that he would need to return to his business quite soon. This statement provoked complaints from Kitty and Lydia who protested that they could not possibly leave so soon as they were enjoying their visit with Georgiana so much. Their original plan had been that they would return to Longbourn with the Gardiners.
Georgiana turned to her brother, "Fitzwilliam, I would hate to see my friends leave so soon. Is there anything we could do to allow them to remain with us longer?"
All eyes turned to him. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "If the Gardiners and Mrs. Bennet have no objections, I will certainly extend our invitation for them to remain with us for as long as you would like. I will see that they return home whenever they are wanted there."
He then turned to Elizabeth, "Mrs. Collins, do you plan to return to Longbourn with the Gardiners, or would you like to stay longer?"
"As much as I am enjoying our visit, I am missing my son very much. I should also go home to see if there are any problems with the estate, even though Uncle Philips has not told me of anything that he has not been able to handle."
Darcy had expected that response, even though he had hoped she would have been able to stay longer. He was becoming quite confident, based on her improving warm responses to him, that she would accept him at some time in the future. He turned to her, "Have you heard when your mother will be returning home?"
Elizabeth smiled, "My letters from her suggest that she wants to stay in Warwickshire for some time longer, but from what Jane has written, this may not be for as long as she would like." She turned to her aunt and uncle, "As soon as you have decided when we should leave, I will write to Mama telling her when we will be home and encourage her to arrive about the same time. That should help Jane convince her that she is needed at Longbourn."
Mr. Gardiner responded, "I see no reason why Kitty and Lydia could not stay here even if we leave. I am sure my sister can spare them for another month or so." All three young girls showed how much they appreciated this decision.
Darcy thought for a bit, then turned his eyes to Elizabeth. "When we take them back to Meryton, we should stay there for a few days at least, then Georgiana and I can continue on to London. I do have some business in town that requires my personal attention. The lease on Netherfield continues to the end of September and I am quite sure that Glenwood would allow us to stay there while we are in Hertfordshire. I will write to him to tell him our plans."
Darcy knew that he had to try to convince Elizabeth to accept a more formal arrangement with him before she left. He had hoped for more time before he asked her for a commitment, but he was quite hopeful that, at the least, she would accept a formal courtship.
The night before they left Pemberley, after hearing more very pleasant music, everyone decided they were ready to retire. The three girls went up first, then the Gardiners. As they were leaving the drawing room, Mr. Gardiner almost turned to Elizabeth to see that she would follow them; however, a slight tug on his arm from his wife forestalled this and she led him up the stairs. She whispered to him, "I think they need a few minutes alone. I think she is almost ready to accept him." She was hoping that this would be the outcome of their visit; she had certainly noticed how well they were getting along.
When Elizabeth was about to follow them, Darcy took her arm and said, "Elizabeth, may we talk for a moment?" He led her back to the sofa and sat beside her, taking her hand in his. He noticed that she did not object to his calling her so informally. "I hate the thought of your leaving, even though I understand why you want to return to Longbourn. I will miss you." He almost began to speak of his hopes, but he just sat there for a moment, enjoying the feel of her next to him.
She turned to him, "I will miss you, too."
As she was looking up at him, he gently put his fingers under her chin and lowered his face closer to hers. "May I?" he whispered, looking directly into her eyes.
Even though she did not answer, she closed her eyes and quietly sighed with just a slight nod. He took this as a 'yes' and softly touched her lips with his. He did not let them linger long, but pulled back just slightly to see how she responded. She did not open her eyes, but just sighed quietly again. This was all that he hoped for, so he once again kissed her with just a bit more pressure. He allowed himself just a few moments more before he again pulled back slightly. No matter how much he wanted to kiss her again and again, he did not want to lose the progress that he had just made, so he only put his arm around her and pulled her to him.
He sighed into her ear, "Oh, Elizabeth, please forgive me if I went too far. I have wanted to kiss you for so long. You are such a wonderful person, so dear to me." He did not dare say all that he wanted to, to tell her how much he loved her until he was sure she would accept his declaration.
She did not let go of his hand but put her free arm around him. "Thank you for that. I was so worried how I would respond to you if you tried to kiss me." She began to sob, "I was not sure if I could ever be able to feel close to any man ever again. I thought I would end up a lonely old widow, all alone."
He thought that she was ready, so he pulled her closer to him. "My dearest Elizabeth, I love you so much. You are a wonderful person, the best I have ever met. I want nothing more than to be with you forever. Do you think you could ever see us together? I promised I would not rush you, so you do not have to answer right away."
"Fitzwilliam, I enjoy being with you every time we are together. I thought I would never be loved or to able to love anyone. I do want to be with you, but are you willing to take a chance with me? What if my fears come back again? Will that change how you feel about me?"
"No! I love you for what you are—a wonderful person who has suffered unimaginable treatment. My love for you will never change. I only hope that you will come to love me as well."
"I do admire and respect you, more every time I am with you or even just think of you. I worry that I may not be good enough for you."
"You are the best person I have ever met. I admire your strength and everything about you. I cannot imagine ever not loving you." He pulled back from her and looked directly at her. "Elizabeth, will you take a chance and accept my hand in marriage? I promise to be patient with you and will not ask you to do anything until you are ready."
"I have thought about this ever since you talked about it that first morning just after I arrived here. As I said then, my main worry was if I could ever be a complete wife to you. Tonight, when you kissed me, I felt only how wonderful it was; I felt something inside me that I never imagined was possible, such incredible feelings. I had no idea. Now I believe that I will be able to accept your attentions; I am even looking forward to them. If just a kiss can do that to me, I cannot imagine what I will feel if I am your wife. Is there really more?"
"Elizabeth, yes, there is more; much more than you can imagine. I promise I will be patient with you and do everything in my power to have you enjoy being with me as my wife." He kissed her on her forehead. He could only whisper this promise to her: "If just a kiss makes you feel that you want even more, I will do everything I can to give you more pleasure than you could ever imagine." He once again lifted her chin and kissed her more passionately than before, but not as fervently as he wanted. He had to force himself to release her lips while he still had some control over his urge to do even more.
Elizabeth did not want him to stop. She could not stop herself from pressing herself against him, reaching up to kiss his neck above his collar. This almost caused Darcy to lose control, but he just managed to restrain himself from picking her up to take her to his bed. He was sure that she would not resist.
"Elizabeth, do you know what you do to me? I want nothing more than to make you happy. Please say you will be my wife."
"Fitzwilliam, I had no idea that I could ever feel this way. If there is even more, I am sure you will make me happy. So, yes, I will marry you."
This resulted in another even more passionate kiss that Darcy had to break off while he still could. "Elizabeth, we have to stop while we can. I want to do this right and not do anything we might regret later. You deserve nothing but the best." He got up and pulled her to her feet, pressing her closely to him. "We can talk more in the morning. Right now I have to stop while I still can."
He led her up the stairs, not wanting to part from her but knowing that he had to. One more kiss at her door, then he went down the hall to his own room. Before he entered, he looked back to see her just where he had left her; she was still standing there, smiling at him. He almost went back, but managed to return her smile before he forced himself to go to his lonely bed. He kept thinking that it would be so easy for him to get up and go down the hall, but somehow he resisted the urge.
They both rose early and met at the side door where they always met to take an early walk. Only the presence of a footman kept them from running into each other's arms. They walked out as close together as possible; finally stealing a lingering kiss as soon as they were out of sight. Darcy managed to leave her lips much sooner than he wanted.
"Elizabeth, we need to talk about practical matters. I will speak to your uncle at breakfast and ask him to have the banns read when you get back to Meryton. I assume you will want to be married from Longbourn. I hope this will be as soon as possible, even if your mother wants a longer betrothal." He smiled at her, "The Dowager Baroness managed to forestall this with your sister, so I hope you can as well."
He looked down at her, "I know that there will be a number of decisions that we will need to make. I promise not to make any decisions that affect us without your approval, but I have some thoughts. After a wedding trip, we will likely need to stay at Longbourn until we find a steward, then I hope you will agree to make our main home here. Of course Tommy will be with us, as well as any of your sisters who want to come to be with Georgiana. We usually spend Christmas here, then some time in town after the New Year to enjoy the season, but that will depend on what you want. I certainly would like to introduce you to my friends and relatives."
Before she could respond, he continued, "I will write to Glenwood to ask if I can stay at Netherfield until we are married. I assume you will be writing to your mother and sister to tell them our news. If we marry quite soon, it will mean your sisters will not be here as long as we had thought. Our news will give your mother a good reason to return to Longbourn right away." He did not add that he believed that Glenwood would be pleased to hear this.
When they returned to the house, everyone else was in the breakfast room. Their news caused as much excitement as he had expected. The Gardiners and Elizabeth did not leave as early as they had hoped as there were many plans that needed to be discussed.