Chapter 12

Changes continued to take place at Longbourn while Lydia was contained to the nursery and waiting to go to school. Bennet had written to the Gardiners asking them to allow Kitty to visit through at least Christmas. He suggested that Lizzy might join her if it was agreeable to the Gardiners. Elizabeth sent additional letters to the Gardiners during this time, describing her courtship with Mr. Darcy and the changes being made at Longbourn since her Papa had decided to take an interest in his family. Elizabeth was pleased with the changes, although a small part of her still wondered if her Papa would maintain these changes or if he would eventually lose interest. She admitted that he was taking a far more active role than she had imagined. However, she wondered if he would eventually return to what he had been.

Elizabeth expressed these same concerns to Darcy one morning as Kitty chaperoned them to Oakham Mount. Kitty had continued to go with her nearly every day since the morning Mr. Darcy had complimented her drawing and had suggested the possibility of lessons. She was determined to draw a picture of the landscape from that point. She debated whether to include Lizzy and Mr. Darcy in it and present it to them as a wedding gift. Kitty, who was frequently able to watch their courtship advance by leaps and bounds in these early morning walks, was fairly certain that a wedding between the two was inevitable, although no formal announcement had yet been made.

Much of Meryton was aware of Darcy and Elizabeth's courtship and silently encouraged the couple while waiting for the courtship to reach its inevitable conclusion. Knowing how much Lizzy disliked gossip of any kind and seeing the same in Mr. Darcy, few would discuss the circumstances in her presence, but there was much speculation in private. Everyone noticed that at any public event, the two almost immediately would gravitate toward the other and speak to each other to the exclusion of all others. They also observed how well-matched they were since both parties often spoke in ways that most of the others could not possibly understand their meaning.

John Lucas watched it bitterly and wondered if he had acted sooner if he would have won her, or if she would have talked circles around him and merrily rejected his proposal. Even he had to admit that the pair were well-matched, and he could not in any way compete with Darcy. It had little to do with the material possessions of either gentleman. Resignedly, he acknowledged that Lizzy would have never encouraged him and realized that had Mrs. Bennet not promoted the idea, he likely would not have given it much thought.

On the morning that Mr. Bennet was to depart with Lydia, Darcy and Elizabeth were again watching the sunrise at Oakham Mount, having managed to sneak out of their respective houses without anyone else being aware. Whether this was arranged purposely or not, neither was quite sure. Still, Darcy had decided his time of waiting for Elizabeth had ended.

"My dearest Elizabeth," he said as he moved to embrace her from behind as they stood and watched the sun rise over the hills of Hertfordshire. "You know that I love you dearly and that I want nothing more than to make you my wife, do you not?" At her nod, he continued. "Might I ask … do you, I mean … could you love me in return?"

She sighed happily and turned around in his arms to look him in the eye. "Yes, William, I do love you so. You have shown yourself to be a truly admirable man in the last month, and I do not think I could have stopped myself from loving you in return. You have demonstrated your care and respect for me in many ways in this month of courtship."

He leaned down and let his lips touch hers in a brief kiss. "Marry me, Elizabeth? I know I have asked before, and although it was first offered in jest, this was always my intention toward you. I told you on the second, or perhaps it was the third day of our knowing each other, that I wanted to marry you, and your father made me promise to court you for a month. That month is over, and I know that I love you even more now than I did the first time I asked you."

She smiled at him and reached up to caress his cheek. "Yes, William, I would be delighted to marry you. But I will confess, I do not want our wedding to be what Mama will try to make it become. She will want us to wait to marry until spring and will want a large, elaborate wedding. I do not want to wait months and months and endure months of her wedding planning. I would prefer something far smaller and far more simple than what Mama will try to insist upon."

"You are suggesting we have a short engagement then?" he asked, grinning. "I will certainly not object to that plan. How soon would you like to marry?"

"Do you think we could marry before Christmas? Is that possible?" she asked shyly.

"Would it make you happy if I were to insist upon it? So your mother will think I insist on a short engagement period rather than you?" he asked. "I would certainly be content with marrying before Christmas, and I think it could be easily arranged. Do you still want to go to London next week as we have planned? You mentioned before that you would like to shop for your trousseau there."

She sighed. "Yes, I think that is an excellent plan. Papa leaves today, and you should ask his permission when you visit this morning. Then, we can leave for London in a day or two to begin my shopping."

"Would you like to spend Christmas in London or at Pemberley, dearest?" he asked her quietly..

"Oh, definitely Pemberley," she said. "I so look forward to seeing it after all you have said about it. And we could take Kitty with us so she and Georgiana could entertain each other."

"Or we could allow our sisters to stay in London with a companion," Darcy suggested.

Elizabeth shot him a look. "You would leave your sister alone for Christmas, William?" she asked.

Darcy sighed. "No, I would not, despite how much I might want to," he said, then continued to consider. "So, we could marry as soon as the banns can be called - at the end of this month - and then you and I could go on a short wedding trip before we take our sisters to Pemberley for Christmas. Or we could simply go on to Pemberley and have my aunt and uncle escort Georgiana and Miss Catherine when they return to Matlock for Christmas."

"Would they be willing to do that?" she inquired.

"Yes, I believe they would," Darcy replied. "We could introduce them to you and your sister when we visit."

"We can discuss this further with my father before he departs with Lydia," she suggested. "We should each return to our home, and then you can pay a visit to Longbourn before my father departs."

Darcy agreed, and after one final kiss, they separated, each to their home. Elizabeth snuck back in without anyone realizing she had left. Quickly changing into a more appropriate dress for receiving callers, she called the maid to fix her hair and soon descended the stairs to the dining room for breakfast.

Bennet was sitting at the table when she came down, along with Mary and Kitty. Jane was still upstairs, likely preparing for their expected callers, as Bingley had visited nearly as frequently as Darcy. However, that gentleman had not yet declared himself or asked for a courtship. He had announced a day or two ago that he was planning for a ball near the end of November, but that still depended on his aunt's willingness to come and be hostess for him.

Jane had just joined them when the two gentlemen were announced. Both frequently arrived early enough to join the family for breakfast since Lydia and Mrs. Bennet had been confined to their rooms. Since Lydia's last escape attempt, Mrs. Bennet had not stopped complaining about Bennet's determination to go to school, and she had likewise been confined to her room.

Darcy and Bingley joined the family for breakfast, and the conversation was lively. Soon enough, however, the meal ended, and Mr. Bennet rose to depart. Darcy's voice stopped him. "Mr. Bennet, might I speak with you for a moment before you go?"

Bennet knew what was coming - he was in some ways amazed that Darcy had managed to restrain himself for the full month as had been demanded. Therefore, when Darcy requested his daughter's hand in marriage, he did not even toy with him as he would have a month ago. He readily agreed to the gentleman's suggestion for a short engagement and simple wedding. The older gentleman suggested Darcy acquire a common license and only notify Mrs. Bennet upon their return from London. It was quickly decided that Darcy would escort Elizabeth and Kitty to London in two days, and they would remain there for a week.

Nearly as soon as it was all decided, the two gentlemen left the study to announce the engagement to the family - all except for Lydia and Mrs. Bennet. As expected, they were all pleased for the couple. The plans were shared - a wedding within the month, a trip to London for Elizabeth and Kitty in a few days, and Mrs. Bennet was not to know until everyone had returned. Bennet expected to be home within a week, and Darcy, Elizabeth, and Kitty would return a day or two later.

Bennet retrieved Lydia from her room, and the two soon departed for her school. Bingley proposed a walk, which was readily agreed to by all but Mary, who chose to stay home and practice on the pianoforte. For part of their walk, Kitty accompanied Darcy and Elizabeth, and he spoke to them about his sister. He told them Georgiana was terribly shy, but he intended to bring her to Netherfield when they all returned from this foray into London so she could attend his wedding and get to know her new sisters better.

They had walked into Meryton and visited a few shops as they had done before. Kitty joined Bingley and Jane on the return trip, and Elizabeth and Darcy lagged behind the others. "Dearest," he began, "your father suggested I obtain a common license so we may marry before the end of November. Bingley intends to hold a ball on November twenty-sixth, and I wondered if you would like to marry before or after that event."

"If the ball were after the wedding, where would we stay until the ball was held?" Elizabeth asked.

"That was what I wondered as well," Darcy admitted. "I confess I would prefer not to stay at Netherfield for any length of time after our wedding. I jealously would like to have you to myself after our wedding."

She smiled at him. "I think I would prefer that as well. Might we marry on the twenty-eighth of November? The ball could serve as an engagement celebration of sorts and would please Mama, but then we can have a much quieter wedding and breakfast two days later."

"And depart for London afterward," he stated before checking to see that no one in the other group was paying them any attention. He immediately leaned down and kissed her quickly. "I cannot wait to make you my wife, dearest Elizabeth."

"And I cannot wait to be your wife, William," she responded, standing on her tiptoes to press her own kiss to his lips.

Looking around, Darcy pulled her off the road and behind a tree, kissing her deeply and passionately, leaving them both breathless when they finally stopped. "I love you, Elizabeth," he whispered as he attempted to catch his breath.

She leaned against his chest and listened to his still rapidly beating heart. "I love you too, William," she whispered back. "We will go to London in two days, and then, in less than four weeks, we will be married."

Despite the temptation for more, Darcy settled for a brief kiss before the couple returned to the road and continued to make their way toward Longbourn, where they continued to make plans and speak of the amusements they would partake of in London.