Author's note: this is fairly unedited and posted while my eight-year-old has soccer practice (it's like herding cats and I am so glad I get to be an observer and not a coach). Feel free to message me if you see errors, inconsistencies, or just anything you think needs to change.
Chapter 10
After this first meeting, Mrs Gardiner and Elizabeth were frequently in company with Lady Anne. Georgiana accompanied the others on one or two of these shopping excursions but was left at Darcy House almost as often for her lessons. Lady Anne had brought the girl to London along with her governess to take advantage of the masters that could be more easily found in town. One morning, Elizabeth and her aunt arrived just in time to join Miss Darcy for a piano lesson, and the two enjoyed the camaraderie they were developing. Having left all her sisters behind in Hertfordshire, Elizabeth found she enjoyed the time with a younger 'sister' and took every opportunity to get to know her better during this time.
In some capacity, she was in Mr Darcy's presence every evening. He frequently visited in the late afternoon, arriving toward the end of the polite calling hours, and often invited to stay for the evening meal. One evening, he escorted the Gardiners and Elizabeth to Darcy House for a meal, and toward the end of that week, he met them with his mother at Covent Garden for a musical performance.
Darcy had been frustrated that evening as his mother had insisted he escort her to the theatre. He had wanted to escort Elizabeth, but his mother's request had forced him to send word that he would meet their party instead. Still feeling out of sorts because he had not yet seen Elizabeth that day, he was struggling to maintain his composure as he waited for the Gardiners to arrive. He felt his mother pulling on his arm and looked down at her to hear her words. "Stop fidgeting, Fitzwilliam. We are early yet, and I have no doubt that your Elizabeth will be here soon."
As Darcy scanned the gathering crowd one more time, he noted the Gardiners making their entrance. Elizabeth was a step or two behind them, and she had not allowed the footman to remove her cape just yet. Darcy guided his mother toward their guests and arrived just as Elizabeth reached up to untie the cape and allow it to slip from his shoulders. Every member of their party was surprised at the lovely emerald pendant that hung from an elegant silver chain. Lady Anne, of course, recognized the necklace and wondered if her son had something he needed to tell her. The Gardiners were likewise surprised, having not seen Elizabeth before she put on her cape, and had no idea where the jewel came from.
It took only a moment for Darcy to recover from his own surprise and to greet Elizabeth warmly. "Good evening, Gardiner, Mrs Gardiner," he said first before turning to Elizabeth. "You look lovely, Miss Bennet," he greeted as he extended his arm. As she took it, she looked shyly up at him. "I see you are wearing the necklace," he said for her alone.
"Yes," she replied breathlessly as they began to move toward their box, leaving their families behind. While neither spoke, both were very aware of the other as everything else seemed to fade around them. If anyone spoke to them as they walked, neither heard it, as their every thought was on what the necklace signified.
The Gardiners looked at the couple and then at Lady Anne, who was wearing a broad smile. "Do you know the meaning of her necklace?" Mrs Gardiner whispered to Lady Anne.
"I gave it to Fitzwilliam the night he told me about Elizabeth. He did not tell me he had presented it to her, but he asked me for something to give her as an engagement gift," she told her friend.
"Neither of them has said anything of an engagement," Mrs Gardiner whispered. The three began to follow in the wake of the couple and watched them carefully.
"Did Mr Darcy speak to you of Lizzy's reaction when he first spoke of the idea of a marriage?" Mrs Gardiner asked after a moment.
"No, he did not," Lady Anne replied, her brow furrowed. "She did not refuse him, did she?"
"No," Mrs Gardiner was quick to reply. "She, well, she did get rather upset at the idea, but that is our Lizzy. She does not do well when big changes are sprung on her, and while she had grown to care about Mr Darcy very much, she was surprised at his mentioning their marriage as though it were already decided. He had just learned of the inheritance that would be his when he married, and he had spoken to both you and my husband about it. In his mind, it was quite settled, but it was rather a shock to her. Lizzy does not react well to surprises, and had my husband informed me of the topic of discussion ahead of time, I would have warned your son to go more slowly. Instead, he rather shocked her, and it led to quite a display of temperament that I had to soothe. She just needed the time to come to the conclusion herself. Perhaps that necklace is an indication that she has."
Lady Anne nodded slowly. "That would make sense," she replied. "Either this is an indication that he has asked, and she has accepted, or she was to signal him that she was ready to be asked. Either way, do you think we have given them enough time?"
Mr Gardiner had heard most of the whispered conversation while keeping his eye on his niece and her suitor. "They have scarcely spoken a word to each other, although they both have their heads in the clouds. It is almost too bad we are in such a public setting, and they will not have a chance for time to be truly alone for quite a while," he said.
"You suggested a license, did you not, Mr Gardiner?" Lady Anne asked. "Although, at this point, your niece has been in residence with you for nearly a month."
"Yes, very nearly a month, and of course, Darcy is a resident. If he waits another week, we could begin having the banns called, or he could simply purchase a common license. I have not heard much from Longbourn, though I still think it best that Lizzy marry before we inform her parents and Jane," Gardiner replied.
"Fitzwilliam shared a bit with me about her family," Lady Anne mused. "I cannot understand how a rational person would not value Elizabeth. She is a wonderful person, so warm and intelligent. She is the perfect match for my son as she will encourage him to look beyond himself and his books, as is his tendency when left on his own."
"And his steadiness will be good for her," Mrs Gardiner replied. "They are well suited to each other."
"And Lady Anne, there is a flaw in what you said. You cannot understand how a 'rational' person could not value Elizabeth as we do, well, that is because my sister is not rational," Mr Gardiner countered. "At one point, I believed Bennet to be, but he has become less so as he has become more and more absorbed in his books. I do wonder how Longbourn will survive without Elizabeth or Mary there to care for the tenants, but it is unfair to either of them to insist they remain at that house where they were so unappreciated. I look forward to bringing Mary here and will insist that Bennet give me her guardianship permanently."
Their conversation came to an abrupt halt when Lady Anne heard her name. "Lady Anne," came the shrill voice, "how lovely it is to see you again?"
Rolling her eyes at her guests, she turned to speak to the newcomer. "Lady Thornhill, how are you today? Might I introduce you to my companions?"
The lady glanced at the other couple before ungraciously acknowledging them. She was a tall, imposing lady of a similar age to Lady Anne. The Gardiners got the impression from their host's reaction that this lady was an inveterate gossip. "Certainly, Lady Anne," she cooed.
As Lady Anne conducted the introduction, Lady Thornhill's eyes wandered the room, clearly uninterested in the couple she deemed unimportant. After briefly acknowledging them, she turned her attention back to her quarry. "I thought I saw your handsome son with you here tonight. Was it your eldest son with you, or is he still rusticating in the country?" It was obvious that learning his location was the purpose of her approach.
"George is still at Pemberley and will remain there until the spring planting is completed. I was escorted tonight by my younger son, Fitzwilliam," Lady Anne replied.
"Oh," replied a disappointed Lady Thornhill. "Your sons do look alike, do they not?"
"They share a few traits; they are both tall and have dark hair like their father," Lady Anne agreed. "However, I think that is where the similarities end. Now, if you will excuse us, my son has likely already arrived in our box, as he was ahead of us. We need to join him and his young lady."
"Oh, is he engaged?" Lady Thornhill inquired, suddenly curious.
"No announcement has been made at this time, Lady Thornhill," Lady Anne replied.
Nodding, Lady Thornhill rushed off to share this latest on dit with her friends. Knowing this, Lady Anne sighed. "It will be all over the theatre before the evening is over, and no doubt, the story shared will be nothing close to the truth. I do not know if she will interpret that as an engagement is pending or something else entirely."
"Well, perhaps now we have given them enough time to come to some kind of understanding. They have been on their own for much longer than we intended," Mr Gardiner replied.
The ladies agreed, and they quickly made their way to the box, where Darcy and Elizabeth were standing together, lost in conversation. Judging from the smiles on their faces, things between them had been settled. As soon as they entered the box, Darcy turned and saw them and stepped immediately to Mr Gardiner.
"Sir, might I speak with you a moment?" he asked quietly.
"There is no need, son," Gardiner answered just as quietly. "You know you have my support, and I have already concluded that you and my niece have reached an understanding. So long as you tell me later about that lovely pendant my niece is wearing, all will be well. Is it safe to assume you already have the settlements drafted?"
Darcy grinned. "Yes, although there are some details that I need your help to fill in, especially regarding Elizabeth's dowry. You mentioned £20,000, but I was not certain if that was an exact figure. There are also other details related to the legacy from my grandfather that I will need, but I thought we could probably add that later since I will not actually come into the inheritance until I am wed."
"And how soon will that be?" Gardiner asked.
"Elizabeth suggested a fortnight," Darcy replied. "She is also of the mind to keep the news from her parents until it is done. I know you said the same, but I am still amazed that a family of five girls would not be pleased to see a daughter well settled."
"But you see, if Jane knew about you, both your attractive person and now the estate, she would think she was entitled to your attention, not Lizzy," Gardiner said, laughing lightly at his companion's obvious embarrassment at his words. "It was taken for granted that Jane would marry well and 'save the family' while Lizzy was told she would never marry since she could not attract or keep a man's attention. I know Lizzy has said some of this to you, and while I know it is nonsensical, it is what both of them have been told their entire lives."
When Darcy realised the rest of the party had been delayed, he knew he had been granted an opportunity to speak to Elizabeth privately. Hurrying them to the box, he escorted her inside, moving in a way to make it difficult for others in the theatre to see them. Taking her hand in his, he quickly sought confirmation of her meaning in wearing the necklace.
"Dearest, do you recall what we spoke of when I gave you that necklace?" he asked.
She turned her beaming smile at him. "I do," she replied.
"Then, Elizabeth, you must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you. Please end my suffering and consent to be my wife," he whispered. "I know we have not known each other long, but when I met you, I believe my heart spoke to tell me you were the one I was meant to be with for the rest of my life. In this last fortnight, I have spent more time daydreaming than ever before in my life, and I have been jealous of the time you have spent with anyone other than me. Ridiculous, I know, but I wanted to be able to spend that time with you. I know that your aunt and uncle have been generous with the time we have been given, but I wanted more. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, my dearest, loveliest, Elizabeth."
Her breath catching, she responded, hesitantly at first but growing in confidence the longer she spoke. "Yes, Fitzwilliam, I would be honoured to become your wife. I have discovered that I quite love you, too and desire to spend all my time with you. I have hated every moment we have not been together, and I confess that I was rather agitated that I could not see you before tonight. I have missed you terribly."
He brought her hands to his lips and kissed them. "You torment me, woman," he breathed into her ear. "You could not have worn that necklace any one of the afternoons I have visited you at your uncle's house? Or the night we had dinner at Darcy House? At either one of those locations, I could have sneaked away with you to steal a kiss, but here, half of London could see us if I did so."
She laughed merrily. "If I promise to marry you in a fortnight, will that soothe your frustrations a bit, Fitzwilliam?" she inquired.
He sighed and ran his hand down his face. "I believe it will do much to help, but all that does is lessen the length of time I will be in this state. I am not even escorting you home, as Mother insisted that I escort her tonight, and I will have to accompany her to Darcy House when the performance is over. At least we can hold hands once again during the performance. Might I speak to your uncle when he arrives?"
"Please do. I apologize that it took me a bit longer to determine my feelings. Had I accepted you when you began to discuss marriage …"
He interrupted her. "You needed time to sort out your feelings, and I cannot fault you for that. I prefer you to be certain when we wed and not have any lingering concerns."
"You are a very good man, Fitzwilliam," she replied. "I look forward to spending my life with you."
The two stepped apart when the curtain to the box opened, and Lady Anne and the Gardiners entered. Immediately, Fitzwilliam approached her uncle. The ladies went directly to Elizabeth.
"Well?" her aunt asked. "Are we to offer our congratulations?"
"We are engaged," Elizabeth replied and was immediately pulled into her aunt's arms.
"Congratulations, my dear," Lady Anne said as she hugged her soon-to-be daughter next. "I welcome you to our family, and I am thrilled to be gaining another wonderful daughter. The Darcy women will outnumber the men in our family for a time, or at least until you give my son a son of his own."
Elizabeth coloured at this thought. "Please, Lady Anne, can we just get married before you begin speaking of grandchildren?"
"Elizabeth," Lady Anne began, taking a new level of familiarity for granted, "would you mind calling me Mother as my children do? For you are my daughter now, and although you are not yet wed, I intend to go ahead and adopt you as my own."
"Thank you, Mother," Elizabeth said hesitantly. Darcy approached just then and grinned widely at hearing the woman he loved referring to his mother on such intimate terms already.
"Elizabeth has already shared our news?" he inquired of the ladies.
"It was fairly obvious, but yes, she did. Congratulations, Mr Darcy," Mrs Gardiner said. "We will begin making plans tomorrow; will you join us for dinner?"
Lady Anne interjected, "Perhaps you ladies will join me for tea in the morning. We can then begin shopping for Elizabeth's trousseau."
Elizabeth protested. "Have we not shopped enough yet, Aunt? We have commissioned so many dresses already, surely I do not need more."
"You still need more items, most particularly a wedding dress," Mrs Gardiner answered.
Elizabeth was saved from having to hear any more about plans for shopping by the bell signalling it was time to be seated. Once again, Darcy managed to arrange the seats so he and Elizabeth were able to hold hands surreptitiously. It was slightly more difficult since the lights were not completely extinguished, but they hid their hands within her skirts, and the others merely smiled at the couple and turned a blind eye to the impropriety.
It was an enjoyable evening. When the performance was over, Lady Anne invited the Gardiners and Elizabeth to Darcy House for a late dinner. Darcy was pleased by this and managed to steal Elizabeth away from her chaperones for just a moment to steal a kiss. They returned from this interlude slightly breathless and a little dreamy, and their relatives were amused at how often they both lost track of the conversation after that.