"Why does Jane get to stay with you?" Kitty asked as the Bennet sisters assembled in Elizabeth's room before retiring for the night.
"They probably want to talk about kissing and looovey things," Lydia puckered her lips and made exaggerated kissing noises as she leaned toward Kitty, who giggled and put her hand over her sister's mouth, turning her face away.
Mary joined in the teasing and took Kitty's hand and bowed over it reverently. She stepped in close and tried to deepen her voice. "Miss Bennet, you are an angel."
Kitty responded, assuming a high-pitched lilt that sounded absolutely nothing like Jane. "And you, Mr. Bingley, are so very amiable. We must marry and have amiable and angelic children."
"Girls, I am disappointed in you." Elizabeth shook her head as she scolded them. "Jane should not have said that. It is something Mr. Bingley would say, so Mary…" She gestured for her sisters to resume.
"Miss Bennet, you are angelic, and I am amiable. We shall marry and have the most amiable and angelic family imaginable."
"Oh, Mr. Bingley," Kitty batted her eyelashes rapidly.
"That is quite enough, thank you very much." Jane said as she rolled her eyes at her sisters' antics. She had seen variations of this play before.
"We have not even gotten to Lizzy and Mr. Darcy," Kitty whined. "But I do not know how to pretend to be him. I have not had as much of a chance to observe the two of you together. Perhaps I shall just stare at Lizzy all night." She looked at Elizabeth intently.
As Kitty was saying this, Lydia wandered around Elizabeth's bedchamber, touching things. Once satisfied with her examination, she stood in the middle of the room with her arms stretched out and spun around and around. "Lizzy, this is a very big room and a very big bed." Dizzy after so much spinning, Lydia grabbed onto the nearest poster of Elizabeth's four poster bed and wrapped her arms around it to steady herself. "It looks very comfortable."
"Would you like stay in my room, Lydia?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes, please. And Mary and Kitty would, too." The other girls nodded in agreement.
"Very well, but I picked your rooms especially for each of you. And they are lovely."
"They are very pleasant, Lizzy. We will certainly enjoy staying in them during our visit but tonight would be nice with all of us," Mary assured her.
"I have no objection. Jane?"
"Nor do I, Lizzy. But I am not sleeping on the edge this time," Jane declared.
"Me either." Lydia plopped onto the bed, then leaned over the side to pick up Dogberry who had been following her around the room. "He likes me. Lizzy had better check the carriage before we leave because I might just take you with me when we leave." She spoke her last sentence to the cat, letting him snuggle in her arms.
"Will you take Dogberry with you when you marry Mr. Darcy?" Kitty asked.
Elizabeth replied as she always did to these types of comments and questions, "We do not know that I will marry Mr. Darcy."
Mary was not having it. "Of course, you will. Everybody knows you will. You do not have to be shy when it is just us. So, will Dogberry go with you? I am assuming you have thought about it."
Elizabeth looked at her sisters. Their expressions showed they were all in agreement with Mary. She gave in and admitted the truth. "I have thought about it, and I do not think it right to remove him from everything he has ever known, as much as I would like to. Pemberley is home to Mr. Darcy and Georgiana, but it does sound very imposing. Dogberry's companionship would be very welcome."
"How strange it would be to live in a house with just three people. It will be only two for Jane and Mr. Bingley. It will be so quiet and boring." Lydia lightly traced the 'M' on Dogberry's head, to the great pleasure of the cat. "I can come visit you whenever you want. And when you are in London you can take me to parties and balls."
"I thank you for your kind offer. I am sure Lizzy does as well. Your lively spirits will always be welcome but there will be no parties or balls until you are out." Jane reminded her.
Lydia sighed heavily, "Dull, dull, dull. At least Mama says I may attend the garden party next week. Will there be many young men, do you think, Lizzy?
"I do not know. I have not thought much about it. I have met but a few since in the months that I have been here," Elizabeth replied. "Of course, there were many at the Twelfth Night ball. However, my family kept me close, and my courtship was announced that night, so it did not result in any gentleman visiting the next day, or rather any mothers urging their sons to visit the next day." It was Elizabeth's turn to sigh, and a slow smile appearing across her face. "For who could ever compete with Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy."
Jane gave her a quick hug. "I am so pleased with the happiness you have found, both with your family and with Mr. Darcy. Charles and I have spoken of marrying on the anniversary of the day we first met at the assembly in Meryton. If Mr. Darcy asks soon perhaps, we could have a double wedding."
"I have promised my parents that if Mr. Darcy and I were to come to an understanding we would not marry before I have had one year with my family, which is in December. That does sound lovely, though." Jane and Mary knew of the Hursts request, but her younger sisters had not.
"It would be mid-October, just two months shy of your parents' requirements," Mary tried to encourage her.
"I have made a vow, Mary. I take it just as seriously as I would any I make to my future husband. And I do not wish to hurt anyone. Marrying alongside one of my dearest sisters is very appealing, though." Elizabeth's smile turned rueful. "Believe me, I do not want to wait."
"Perhaps your parents could be persuaded, but why do you not want to wait, Lizzy?" Kitty lifted the sleeping Dogberry out of Lydia's arms and transferred him to her own. "You have not really known Mr. Darcy so very long."
When she finally spoke, Elizabeth's voice was quiet, "I love Mr. Darcy. I want to make a home with him. It is not just waiting to marry; I feel as though I am waiting to start my life. I feel trapped between three families and three homes – past, present, and future - and not fully belonging to any one of them. Yet, I want to do well by them all. I am quite fatigued by it all."
"Do we fatigue you, Lizzy?" Kitty laid her head on Elizabeth's shoulder.
"Of course not, dear Kitty. It is the situation that is fatiguing. You all, Bennets, Hursts, and Lees alike, bring light and joy into my life, from grandpapa down to little Sam." At that moment, Dogberry gave a squeaky meow that turned into a great stretching yawn. "Of course, it goes without saying the young master Dogberry is a source of light and joy as well. But Mr. Darcy has not even proposed yet, so we shall take things as they come."
~~IOAF~~
"It was a very nice Easter service. The parish is fortunate to have Mr. Harmon as their rector," Mr. Darcy said, as he and Elizabeth wandered the parterre garden that Lady Catherine had so recently wanted to use as a site of confrontation. Jane and Bingley also explored the garden, keeping a generous distance away from the other couple.
"Mr. Harmon and his wife are very kind. From what I understand, he was the curate here when I was…lost. Have you ever heard one of Mr. Collins' sermons? I admit to being very curious, in general, but my imagination runs away with me as I speculate how he might try to include Lady Catherine in an Easter service."
"I have not had the pleasure. Mr. Collins' predecessor was in the role when last I visited Rosings Park. I imagine Lady Catherine's beneficence, regardless of the fact that she has none, would be frequently mentioned."
A strong breeze cooled the late afternoon air, causing Elizabeth to shiver. "You are chilled. Would you like to return to the house?" Darcy asked. He closed the few inches between them as they walked side by side, her arm in his. Suddenly, neither of them felt the cold, their hips brushing with each stride.
"I am well. I prefer to remain as we are for the moment," Elizabeth said, providing Darcy with the moment he had been seeking.
"Elizabeth, I know I am not the most demonstrative of men. I have long sought to keep my emotions under good regulation. However, I hope my love and admiration for you have not gone unnoticed. If they have, please know I love you and I will ensure that you never doubt that for the rest of our days. You are the best thing in my life, the best piece of my world. I feel to the very depths of my soul that we belong together. If I must wait one year or five, that will not change."
Elizabeth had stopped the second Darcy spoke of his love and admiration. He now turned to stand before her and raised a hand to caress her cheek. "Will you do me the honor of marrying me? Be my wife, Elizabeth."
"I will, Mr. Darcy, for I love you so very dearly." The simple kiss Darcy intended to mark her acceptance turned more ardent before they heard Bingley cough nearby.
Darcy rested his forehead on hers and whispered to her, "Thank god."
"Sir?" Elizabeth looked amused.
"Every day I wake up thinking this will be the day, but it never felt like the right time, so I waited. You deserved a proposal far removed from the taint of Lady Catherine, to know that I was not asking you to prove a point or get a reaction from my aunt. Then there was the news about the investigators and that certainly was not an appropriate time. Nor did I want to detract from your excitement of your family's visit. I wanted a moment just for the two of us." he said in explanation.
"Meanwhile, I eagerly awaited your proposal every day," Elizabeth said. "I was wondering if I might find a ring in my slice of apple tart last night. Or perhaps I was just hoping I would."
"The ring! I forgot the ring!" Darcy groaned. He glanced in the direction of Clessondale and took a few steps as if he was about to make for the neighboring estate to retrieve it.
Elizabeth grasped his hand to stop him. "It can wait. I am not marrying you for a ring."
"No ring, a deferred proposal, ridiculous relatives, I am lucky you will even have me." He gave her a quick kiss.
"Do you not think that Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine cancel each other out? In terms of ridiculous relatives, we are equal."
"I was speaking of Richard, actually. I have been thinking on all the modifications to the Solemnization of Marriage he might suggest. '…duly considering the causes for which Matrimony was ordained. First, it was ordained for the procreation of children, to be brought up in the fear and nurture and name of Colonel Richard Joseph Fitzwilliam.' The vicar might find such irreverence a bit cheeky." Elizabeth could not help but laugh at his feigned annoyance. "It is fine to promise to endow upon thee my worldly goods, but how will you feel about any future goods that he may insist bear his name."
"Well, Richard II would be an appropriate name for a horse and would also fit the Shakespearean naming scheme of my family's animals. Richard III could be the dog." She laughed more at his expression. It was her turn to take his face in her hands. "Oh, I cannot wait to marry you, you darling man."
"But wait we must. Elizabeth, there will be times that I will have to return to Pemberley to see to the estate and we will be parted. However, I was hoping that you and your family might visit Derbyshire so you may tour the house and grounds and meet the senior staff."
"I would like that. I am sure my family will be happy to accept an invitation to Pemberley. You can ask when you seek my father's blessing." Elizabeth was excited to make their understanding official. "Has Mr. Bingley mentioned that he and Jane would like to marry in October? Jane asked if we would like to have a double ceremony with them."
"I can appreciate that you wish to marry alongside your sister, but a year and a half is so long—"
"A year and a half! No, they mean to marry this October."
"We promised your parents a year. This October is too soon. We could not withdraw our agreement." He paused. "Could we?"
"We can ask."