Under the slanted rays of the morning sun, Darcy hurried down the staircase with the familiarity of a man who'd lived nearly his whole life in Pemberley. He'd breathed a sigh of relief last night when he'd returned to his room to find it sans Caroline Bingley. And too groggy and distracted by thoughts of Elizabeth to think much of anything else, he'd rushed off to a long night's slumber filled with dreams of warm beds and pattering feet.
Now, he was late for breakfast - an event that rarely ever happened - and he was rather determined to make up for his neglect by claiming his seat next to Elizabeth as quickly as he could. He could look for his ring later.
"Mr. Darcy!" Mr. Gardiner was the first to greet him when Darcy burst into the breakfast parlor.
"Mr. Gardiner." Darcy nodded. "Mrs. Gardiner. Miss Bennet. Bingley, Hurst."
Elizabeth sent him a winsome smile, and Darcy almost tripped over his own feet and asked her to marry him right then and there. Surely, she must have forgiven him somewhat by now? Past experience bid him to be patient, and he settled at the head of the table with the most seasoned grace he could muster.
"I hope your party is amenable to some boating today, Mr. Gardiner," said Darcy, choosing to focus on his role as host lest he blurt out yet another ill-timed proposal. "The lake is quite a scenic sight, and I thought that perhaps the ladies might enjoy the sunshine."
"A capital idea!" Bingley agreed first, as he always did, before Mr. Gardiner could just as heartily concur.
"I fear, however, that I might have to leave the rowing to you younger folk," Elizabeth's uncle said with a chuckle. "Madeline and I would be perfectly content watching from the shore."
"Oh, but Uncle Gardiner," protested Elizabeth, "would you deprive me of the joy of teasing you all about being a courting couple with Aunt Gardiner?"
"We are far past those days, I'm afraid." Mr. Gardiner chuckled again. He and his wife truly were the most pleasant guests to have around. "Besides, I do not think I would do well to draw attention away from these young bucks as they woo their ladies."
Darcy and Bingley both cleared their throats reflexively.
"Given that Bingley here would only be rowing his sisters," Darcy quickly declared, "I doubt you would be much in the way, sir."
He stole a glance Elizabeth's way as the rest of the table chuckled. He allowed himself a short sigh of relief when he saw that she smiled rather than seethed. At least he had not acted too presumptuously - not this time, at least.
"Is Miss Bingley to join us today?" asked Mrs. Gardiner, breaking Darcy's momentary fog of happiness.
Darcy sighed, trying hard not to frown too sternly, as Bingley replied, "I do not think my sister would be rising anytime before - "
"Darcy, darling!" Caroline Bingley chose that very moment to burst into the room. She was dressed in a bright, ostentatious violet dress - not remotely suited for the hour of the day. "I'm sorry for taking ever so long to get ready."
Darcy chose silence as Bingley's sister flitted to the nearest vacant chair, two seats down from where he sat.
"It had been such a long night, hadn't it?" The harpy whined in what Darcy supposed was meant to be a flirtatious way. "I barely made it back to my room by dawn!"
Hurst raised a brow, Bingley gaped with a confused look, and Darcy groaned.
"I do not know what you are about, Miss Bingley," Darcy said, his tone level. "Why you should be anywhere except your own guest room makes little sense whatsoever."
"Oh, must you make me say it?" She cooed in a way that communicated exactly how much she longed to say whatever it was she wished to say. She batted her eyelashes in an exaggerated manner. "To think you pretend to be so cold when we've spent the whole night in each other's arms!"
The whole table gasped on cue, with Mrs. Gardiner clutching her hands to her chest.
"Miss Bingley, cease this nonsense!" Darcy demanded. "There are certain things that are not to be joked about."
"Oh, but it isn't a joke, is it?" She centered her gaze, now cold and calculating, on Darcy alone. "I have spent the last two nights in your quarters, and you have promised to keep your vow."
"I have made you no vow."
"Then what is this then?" The woman flicked her wrist to present a shining object that caught the morning light. Darcy caught his breath. "You gave me your father's ring as a promise - or have you forgotten already in the light of day?"
"Darcy," said Bingley, "that is your ring, is it not?"
Darcy set his jaw. "Whatever you are attempting, Miss Bingley, shall not work."
"And what am I doing but only revealing the truth of how we have spent the entire night together?"
"But you haven't," a strong, female voice cut through the chaos. Darcy felt the gaze of everyone on the table, along with his own, drift to Elizabeth. "You could not possibly have spent the whole night with Mr. Darcy, last night or the night before - not when he had been with me."
Another, louder gasp escaped Mrs. Gardiner. And only then did Elizabeth seem to realize the weight of what she had confessed.
She paled visibly, her lips parted. But then she met Darcy's eye. She sat taller, her gaze decisive, and Darcy knew right then and there that she would never hold back if she could help him in any way.
Such was the woman he had fallen in love with.
"I'm afraid I must have misheard you, Elizabeth." Aunt Gardiner's voice quivered slightly. Elizabeth pressed her lips together. "You could not possibly have meant to say that you have spent the past two nights in Mr. Darcy's company?"
Elizabeth swallowed, her eyes trained on the man in question. He looked attentively still, as if he waited upon her answer to form his own.
She licked her lips. "That is exactly what I meant."
"Elizabeth!" Uncle Gardiner cried as he shot to his feet. "Surely, such behavior is not what - "
"It was not expected," she tried to explain, "there was a mistake, and a - "
"Oh, it most certainly was a mistake," her uncle growled.
"To spend time alone, at night, with a man - " Aunt Gardiner cried. "Elizabeth, has all good sense deserted you?"
Elizabeth sniffed. "It was not our intention to - "
"Intentions do little good in this situation, you must know."
"We did nothing untoward! We only talked, and we - "
"Pray, tell, where did all this talking happen?" Uncle Gardiner glared, looking more angry than Elizabeth had ever seen him. "Do tell me there are witnesses? Perhaps a maid or a footman in the library?"
Elizabeth swallowed. She had confessed enough of the truth to spare Mr. Darcy from Miss Bingley's schemes. Was it necessary to divulge the entire truth?
"Elizabeth?" Aunt Gardiner pressed.
"We were - " Elizabeth closed her eyes and sighed. Spouting falsehoods would make her little better than Miss Bingley. She opened her eyes and swallowed again. "We were in my guest room."
"Your room!" Both Aunt and Uncle screeched, and Elizabeth very nearly wished to shed tears for the first time all morning. Just how had her cherished conversations with Mr. Darcy evolved into this mess?
"As I said," Elizabeth explained, "there was a mistake involved that led - "
"Mr. Gardiner," Mr. Darcy's voice cut through, "if you would allow me to - "
"You!" Uncle Gardiner whirled to face a now-standing Mr. Darcy, his arm and finger extended in the most accusatory way possible. "I thought you a gentleman, Mr. Darcy!"
"I am," answered their host, his voice far too serene in contrast to the chaos unfolding. Even Miss Bingley seemed shocked enough to have forgotten to say a word in the last three minutes. "And I apologize for my ungentlemanly behavior."
"Some good an apology would do in light of what you have done, sir."
"No, perhaps not," Mr. Darcy answered with an assurance Elizabeth did not feel. "But if you would allow me just a minute, sir, I would be honored to announce that Miss Elizabeth and I are betrothed."
The room stilled once more, and Elizabeth felt her chest tighten. It was the best solution, and the best outcome. It was, perhaps, a falsehood in the strictest sense of the word - but a betrothal was highly necessary after her revelation, so it was only a premature announcement at best.
Uncle Gardiner narrowed his eyes, although he had at least lowered his arms since. "If you are indeed betrothed, why has not a word been said about the matter?"
"I was hoping to seek Mr. Bennet's blessing myself before sharing the happy news. As things stand, I suppose it would be better for me to appeal to your blessing first."
"But even if you were indeed betrothed, an evening visit to her room - "
"Is highly improper, I know." Mr. Darcy looked genuinely contrite. "But do believe your niece when she says we have done nothing truly untoward. In fact, we only conversed as if we were in the drawing room."
Elizabeth's mind flitted to the memory of Mr. Darcy in her room, his hair unkempt and his throat exposed, as they shared thoughts in confidence. Things had not been at all like a drawing room, but she supposed it would not be particularly wise to inform her uncle of the fact right now.
"I suppose we must talk then," Uncle Gardiner said, sounding slightly calmer than he did a moment ago.
"I would be honored to," said Mr. Darcy. "But first, may I request a moment with Elizabeth? There are some things - "
"I think, Mr. Darcy," said Aunt Gardiner, her tone brooking no argument, "that we've had more than enough time alone for the two of you."
Elizabeth watched helplessly as Mr. Darcy appealed to her with his eyes. She offered him a feeble smile and a powerless shrug. Was there truly anything else she could say and do? He sighed and nodded in just-as-helpless agreement.
"Very well, Mr. Gardiner, shall we step into my study for a moment?"
"Very well."
A/N: To whoever caught the signet ring thing - kudos to you! Elizabeth blurting out that line was the inspiration for the whole story, so everything else was sort of built around that. Let's hope I can keep things interesting for another five more chapters :)
