Chapter 2
Elizabeth and Darcy returned to the drawing room where her aunt and uncle were waiting. "How did you find the library?" Mrs. Gardiner asked, turning toward the couple as they entered. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were both grinning widely and there was a glow in Elizabeth's face that had not been there before.
"Mr. Gardiner, may we speak for a moment?" Mr. Darcy asked abruptly.
The two men stepped out of the room, leaving Elizabeth alone with her aunt, who stared at her in amazement.
"Oh, Aunt, he asked me to marry him," Elizabeth said.
Mrs. Gardiner was taken aback. She had noticed the stolen glances between the two but was surprised at things moving this quickly between them.
"What happened in the library, Lizzy?" she inquired.
"We spoke – do you remember when I told you we had met again in Kent?" she explained. "We argued there, but he explained what I misunderstood, and I have been coming to think better of him for some months now. He loves me, and I must admit have come to love him in return. It has been several months since I have believed he was the man most suited to me and when he asked me to marry him again, I could not help but agree."
"Again?" Mrs. Gardiner asked.
Elizabeth winced. "He asked once before in Kent, which lead to a rather heated argument where neither of us behaved well. I was misinformed on some points, and he was judgmental, but we, uh, met again the next day and he offered an explanation for some of the accusations I had leveled against him. Then we did not see each other again until today and we spoke again, much more calmly. He is a good man, aunt, and I will admit, Mrs. Reynolds's words about him played a role in helping me to see that as well."
"When will you marry?" Mrs. Gardiner asked.
"We have not discussed that yet, except I think that he would like it to happen soon," Elizabeth said. "But, oh, I dread Mama's reaction to this and fighting with her over the wedding plans. I hate the idea of being drug around to teas and parties and fighting Mama about the amount of lace on my wedding clothes, and Mr. Darcy will despise it. We are close to Scotland, Aunt …" Elizabeth let the sentence hang and then grinned at her aunt.
Mrs. Gardiner started at her last comment but then saw her niece's teasing grin. She reflected for a moment before speaking, "Let us write your father a letter tonight and suggest you come back with us to London to obtain your trousseau before you go back to Longbourn. You can give yourself a month or two to get to know Mr. Darcy better before you marry – I do not doubt your commitment to your choice, but I also do not want you to rush into things. If Mr. Darcy has guests arriving tomorrow, they will not want to rush back to London immediately, and we know that Mr. Darcy will be in town in September. Perhaps can participate in the little season before the wedding so you can become accustomed to society."
"We will discuss it, aunt, but I do not think that Mr. Darcy is particularly fond of participating in society, at least not balls and parties," Elizabeth said, hesitating on behalf of her betrothed.
The gentlemen came back into the room just then. Mr. Gardiner looked at his wife and she nodded, the two silently communicating as happily married couples frequently do.
"Well, Elizabeth," Mr. Gardiner began. "Mr. Darcy says he has asked for your hand, and I have given my tentative permission, until he can meet with your father. I do know you do not need my consent, for you are of age, or your father's for that matter. However, I know that I wholeheartedly support the match and I will convey my thoughts in a letter to your father. I do believe, from what I have seen so far, the two of you are well suited to each other.
"I will write a letter tonight as well, and we can send the packet of letters by express tomorrow. I can come to the inn in the morning to arrange to send the letters as a packet to Longbourn." Mr. Darcy offered. "I have a courier who can make the trip easily enough."
Mr. Gardiner agreed to the plan.
"Might I make one other request?" Mr. Darcy began. "If I understood Miss Elizabeth correctly, you will be staying for another week or so in Lambton?" Mr. Gardiner nodded, and Darcy continued. "I would be very pleased if you would relocate here to Pemberley instead of staying in the inn for the remainder of your stay in Derbyshire. My other guests will be arriving tomorrow so we have plenty of chaperones about, and I think that Georgiana would enjoy Elizabeth's company as well. This would give them an opportunity to get to know one another as well as give Elizabeth a chance to meet with the staff and discuss any changes she would like to make to the house before she takes over as its mistress. You do not have to, but I would like to offer my hospitality, if you will permit me to do so."
The Gardiners looked at each other in that same silent exchange. At a brief nod from Madeline, Mr. Gardiner agreed. "Thank you, Mr. Darcy. We would be delighted to stay here beginning tomorrow. We have dinner plans for the night in Lambton, but we would be happy to join you here at Pemberley tomorrow morning for the duration of our stay. My wife has several visits and tours planned, but they can easily be accomplished from Pemberley as easily as from Lambton, if you do not mind."
"Wonderful," Darcy replied cheerfully. "I will call in the morning to obtain your letters to Longbourn and send them with my own messenger. Perhaps I could escort Miss Elizabeth on a walk through Lambton as well. My other company will arrive in the afternoon, but you are welcome to come to Pemberley as early or as late as you would like."
The Gardiners thanked Mr. Darcy for his hospitality and called for their carriage. Darcy held out his arm to escort Elizabeth and placed his free hand over hers where it rested.
He hesitated a moment as they approached the door and bent to briefly kiss her lips again. "How soon can we marry, my love?" he asked quietly as they began walking again. "Did you speak of it with your aunt?"
"Yes, she has suggested I go back to London with them when we leave here to shop for my trousseau," Elizabeth answered. "She has also suggested that we participate a bit in some social events before we are wed. I do dread Mama's ideas of wedding planning and all she will deem to be necessary. I confess that am wondering how to avoid as much as I can for both myself, and for you. I would prefer a shorter engagement with less fuss made for the ceremony and wedding breakfast, certainly far less than Mama would likely to deem necessary."
As they approached the carriage, he patted the hand on his arm. "We can discuss it further tomorrow. I find I am less averse to the idea of attending social events with you by my side, but I would prefer to introduce you as my wife. I will defer to your wishes, of course, and those of your family." Kissing her hands again, he handed her into the carriage. "I will call on you in the morning at the inn," he said, bowing slightly.
In the carriage, both Aunt and Uncle Gardiner congratulated Elizabeth once again. "I confess I was surprised when he asked for my permission to marry you, Lizzy," Mr. Gardiner said. "But he seems an amiable enough fellow, if a bit reticent, and it seems that you like him. He will be able to provide for you well enough, I should think."
Elizabeth colored a bit at that comment. "He is a good man, Uncle," she said. "And Pemberley is beautiful, but that is not why I am marrying him. I misunderstood him in Hertfordshire and even in Kent, but I understand him better now. "
"He is very much in love with you, I should say," her uncle replied, looking at Elizabeth carefully.
She colored even more deeply. "I believe you are right," she said quietly.
Her aunt looked across at her husband and he quieted. "What will you write to your father, dear?" Mrs. Gardiner asked. "We have not spoken yet, but the last we spoke of Mr. Darcy I remember you rather disliked him and thought him arrogant. You will need to account for your changed opinion somehow."
"He and I have been at cross-purposes, perhaps, but I have always felt strongly about him," Elizabeth admitted. "His comments at the assembly last October gave me a reason to dislike him and then I foolishly listened to George Wickham and his lies, which further colored my opinions of him. But after I came to understand a different side of his character and learned the truth of his dealings with Mr. Wickham, I started to reflect differently on our interactions – starting with our time in Hertfordshire and continuing into Kent.
"He injured my vanity that first night in Meryton and I must admit that I had looked for opportunities to think ill of him. When I stopped doing that, I was able to honestly look over our entire relationship and find many good things in him. And at some point in there, those strong feelings turned into something very different. When I saw him again today, and he was gentle and kind, I realized those feelings had shifted into love.
"Uncle, umm, I must tell you that this is not the first time he has proposed to me. He asked me in April, when I was visiting Kent, and I refused him then, rather strongly. We quarreled about several things, some related to the way he addressed me, and some related to those misconceptions I had. After that, he acquainted me with the truth of Mr. Wickham, and that was also when I started to adjust my views on him."
"Well, Lizzy," Mr. Gardiner began. "That is quite a story, and it appears that you have been rather sly. So, you have discovered that you love him in return and have accepted him willingly this time? I know that you are not avaricious and would not accept a man for his wealth alone, but are you certain of your regard for him?"
Elizabeth looked at her hands. "I am, Uncle," she said firmly. "I do love him. While I do not doubt we will not always see to eye-to-eye, I believe we will always find a way to work things out. I look forward to spending this next week in closer company with him to know him even better. But I am convinced there is not another man in England more suited to me than him.
"Aunt, I told him of your idea of my return to London with you. If Papa is agreeable, I would very much like that, but we will also need to discuss that plan further with Mr. Darcy. The biggest difficulty will be with Mama. I do not want some grand, elaborate event. I prefer to present her with a fait accompli regarding the wedding date with as little time as possible to forestall her elaborate plans."
"I think that could be accomplished, but it may take some careful coordination with your father," Mrs. Gardiner cautioned. "You know your father is an indifferent correspondent, which may help us in this case, but an express rider will draw attention that you may not want to your missives. We may want to revise our plans for how to share this information with him."
Elizabeth considered that. "When Mr. Darcy comes in the morning, we should discuss these ideas. It may be best to send the letters by post instead and just inform Papa of our plans, rather than asking for his permission. I will write my letter tonight but leave it open so we can add details about a possible wedding date and other pertinent details after we have had a conversation with Mr. Darcy."
"I will do the same," Mr. Gardiner replied.
With that, they arrived at the inn. Mr. Gardiner stepped down and then helped Mrs. Gardiner and then Elizabeth down from the carriage. The three went inside to their rooms and readied themselves for their dinner with an old friend of Mrs. Gardiner.