Chapter Thirty

Elizabeth

E lizabeth didn’t know when she had started running, but before she knew it, her legs were carrying her across the driveway of Netherfield Park and towards Mr Darcy. He looked as she remembered him, and yet different. He had the same kind face, the same large eyes, but he was dressed like a gentleman, as he had been when he’d come to call on her in Cheapside.

All her worries flashed through her mind. Did he know who he was? Did he even want to see her? What if he had changed his mind? Yet at the same time, the thoughts and feelings that told her he was still her beloved Georgie grew stronger by the moment.

The closer she got to him, the more she felt that her feelings were right. He was her Georgie. She didn’t know how she knew it, but she did.

“Elizabeth,” he called. “Lizzy!” He called again and ran down the stairs. Behind him, she saw a blonde-haired young woman dressed in a pretty white dress, with a serene smile on her lips that made her look almost angelic. That had to be Georgiana, his sister.

Beside her Mr Bingley flashed a wide grin as well.

“Lizzy!” he called again and then came to a stop. She ran three more steps and then she was in his arms. She felt herself being lifted off the ground and whirled through the air by him, and suddenly it was all clear.

Why had she doubted him? Of course, she had her reasons, and her reasons had been valid. But still, in this moment, as she was in his arms and inhaled his scent and felt his breath against her ear, it all seemed foolish. In her heart, she had always known her Georgie, even when—

He set her down then and stepped back, though only a fraction. He wrapped his hands around hers, and she realised that she had not been wearing gloves, even though they were going to visit polite company.

Still, she didn’t care.

“Elizabeth, I was afraid that you would not want to see me. Our last meeting was so fraught with difficulty.”

She shook her head. “I did not know how to react. I had grown so comfortable in my dislike of Mr Darcy, I…” She stopped and looked up at him. “You. I told myself for so long that you were a villain, never wanting to see that perhaps I had been wrong, that there was more to you.”

“There was,” he said, smiling. “My cousin informed me only a few days ago that the reason I came to Netherfield in the first place was not just to handle affairs for Bingley. It was to meet your sister, your family.”

She stepped back, totally shocked by this. “Truly?”

“Yes, I did not remember it, and he did not think to tell me until just recently. He said while I was staying in London, I was quite distraught by what had happened. Bingley was so very upset—and that I do remember now—over the loss of his connection to Jane that I began to doubt my actions. I was driven to come to Longbourn to meet Jane, to see if I had made a mistake.”

He had looked to right a wrong he had created, Elizabeth realised, when he was Mr Darcy, before he had been with them. Before everything. He had had a conscience, he had had a desire to make sure his friend was happy. He hadn’t been a villain. Misguided, perhaps, but even before he lost his memory, he had understood the mistakes he made and had tried to rectify them.

“Oh, Mr… I do not know what to call you.”

“It seems people call me Fitz, William, or plain Darcy. But honestly, I miss being called Georgie. If you like, you can continue to call me that in the future. I mean, if we have a future, I very much hope we do.”

“You do?” she said. “I had thought too much time had passed and that perhaps you had found another or remembered another.” She tipped her head to one side. “Do you remember the past now or if there was a lady?”

“I remember some of my past. Not everything. But I know there was no woman. Those close to me confirmed it. I seem to have been quite the confirmed bachelor. I certainly remember that I was a man who was very high in the instep, although I also know that I was always a man who was interested in justice above all else. I imagine I will be changed now, because I have been Georgie. I have lived as someone who is not privileged, which is an insight many people in my station do not ever get. Elizabeth, I am sorry for everything I have done. I should never have separated Bingley and Jane. It was a grievous mistake. I should have fought harder for us.”

“And I should not have been so quick to dismiss your idea of coming to Pemberley with you. But I was so scared. Scared that you would remember who you were and look down on me. That you wouldn’t want me.”

“There is a time when perhaps I might have thought that way, but that is in the past. I will never make such a mistake again. Elizabeth, I love you. I have missed you every single day. I have thought of you so often. Indeed, I think my sister Georgiana and my cousin Richard feel as though they already know you because I have talked about you so much.”

She chuckled. “Have you indeed? I am glad to hear it. And I owe your sister an apology, she wrote me the loveliest letter. I shall have to apologise to her for not replying, I did not know how.” She glanced back at the blonde woman and realised she had been babbling. “I must beg your pardon, I have turned into a gabster your absence.”

He chuckled. “You have not. If you think you were a chatterbox, you have not met my aunt, who is exactly as we had thought she was, by the way.”

“Do you remember how you ended up here?” she asked.

“A little, I have been able to trace my steps. I hired a coach to take me here because I had planned on taking Bingley’s coach back to Town. The coachman let me off at an inn, and for reasons I cannot quite fathom, I decided to walk the distance to Netherfield, which was three miles.”

“I see,” she said. “So you were dropped at the posting inn three miles from here but you do not know how you came to be injured?”

He shook his head. “No, I do not. I have a feeling Wickham was involved somehow. My footman said that he was at Darcy House the night before I set out, and we had some sort of argument. I’ve discovered that he has been spending a lot of money in gambling halls. I suspect that this is in part funded by whatever money I had with me—which from what I gather from my bank, was quite a considerable sum. I had taken sufficient funds to ensure that I could settle any of Bingley’s outstanding accounts.”

“It seems our fantasies were not quite so wrong. You are a rich man.”

“Indeed, I am,” he said. He bent forward and lowered his voice. “Bingley tells me I am worth ten thousand pounds a year. Can you believe it?”

Elizabeth’s eyes grew wide and she gasped. “Goodness gracious!”

“Indeed. So, do you think your mother will accept me as a son-in-law then? Even though I almost separated her daughter from a gentleman worth five thousand pounds a year?”

They both chuckled, although it had not escaped her that he’d alluded to marriage. “You will be her favourite son-in-law. Pray, what about Mr Wickham? Do you think he will be found and perhaps be able to shed light on what has happened?”

“I should hope so. For the time being, I must assume that perhaps he followed me. Our argument appears to have been about money, which I am told is not unusual for Wickham. It is possible that because I said no, he followed me here and we had some sort of altercation.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Perhaps he left his coat to distract people? To make people think you were him and he could escape?”

He shrugged. “That is what I thought as well. Or perhaps he thought I was dead or as good as and believed his coat would delay my identification. But let us not speak of him anymore. Elizabeth, too much time has passed. I have missed you dreadfully. Now, I cannot wait another moment.”

Elizabeth watched him, unsure of what he was going to say next, but then he took her hand, “I know that I already proposed to you once, but that was when I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t know what future I might be able to give you. But now that I know who I am, I want to propose to you again as myself. Elizabeth Bennet, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?”

Elizabeth wrapped her arms around him as he held her close. “Of course. Of course, I will be your wife. I cannot wait.” He pulled her close, and then his lips found hers and Elizabeth felt as though she had taken flight. A hot tingle flooded her body, and she heard nothing but the sound of their breathing and felt nothing but his kiss.

When they parted, she saw Jane walking past with a beaming smile on her lips as she linked arms with Mr Bingley, who had come down the stairs with Georgiana. The two whispered to one another and then Charles clapped his hands.

“Well, if that doesn’t call for a celebration, I don’t know what does! Indeed, I think we should have a double wedding.”

Mr Darcy let go of Elizabeth and helped her get up as the two of them faced Charles, Jane, and Georgiana.

“What a wonderful idea!” Jane said. “I could think of nothing better than to get married on the same day as my beloved sister. What do you think?”

Elizabeth beamed at Mr Darcy, who nodded. “I think it’s a grand idea.”

And so, it was decided. Jane and Mr Bingley, and Elizabeth and Mr Darcy would have a joint ceremony in front of their family and friends, right here where their journey had begun, and where the future was just taking shape.