26. Elizabeth

Chapter 26

Elizabeth

A week in bed and she was more restless than she had ever been. A maid helped dress her for her first outing, and it was going to be a good long one. She swished her skirts. “This is a lovely color, don’t you think?”

“It matches your eyes. Miss Georgiana’s too, when she wears it.”

“I think it would make her look more beautiful than ever.”

“And it does the same for you, miss.” The maid who had been helping her was becoming a trusted advisor in everything that had to do with the Darcy household. And she appreciated every word.

“Now, you know I’m not supposed to be saying anything. Mr. Darcy has strict rules about keeping everyone’s privacy…” She looked around dramatically as if someone in the room might be hearing her. “But he did ask me to treat you extra special, like you were already a Darcy.”

Lizzie grinned. “I’m absolutely certain you were not supposed to tell me that.”

“Oh, they know I can’t keep secrets.” She winked. “Which means, you were supposed to hear it!”

“Wait. Are you telling everyone my secrets?”

“Not at all, miss. I was told really and truly to keep yours. He was kind of forceful about it. I was quite surprised.”

“Who?”

“Mr. Darcy, the heir, miss. He reminded me my place and told me your privacy was private or I wouldn’t be the one hired to help you.” She curtseyed. “If you approve, of course.” She colored. “And you agree to marry him.” She placed a hand on her lips. “We all love you, miss. We hope you say yes. We’re just so sad to see Mr. Darcy go. But I hear his estate is just lovely. And it will be all your own.”

Lizzie couldn’t believe the audacity of this maid. She surely could not keep a secret. “Thank you. I love you all dearly. And the tenants. I think we all have become close living here together like this.”

“And the Darcys are the best people that ever were, miss. All of us feel blessed to be here.” She finished the last of Lizzie’s hair, curled around her face and piled on her head.

Lizzie turned this way and that, admiring. “You work wonders, my dear. Thank you.”

She stood, not feeling a bit of the dizziness that had plagued her whenever she stood all week. “I think I’m getting much better.”

“Your color has certainly returned. You’re the most beautiful I’ve ever seen you.” She smiled with such warmth, Lizzie had to love her, loose tongue and all.

“Could you let them all know I’m ready?”

“I expect he shall meet you at the front door?”

Lizzie shook her head. “Just let them know, please.” She was inordinately pleased to know something her maid did not know. With a huge grin, she slipped out the door and down the hall.

The barn was close. As soon as she stepped in the door, Mangy jumped up on her, licking her furiously.

His owner, the lad from the pit, Heath, called to her. “Oh, stop that. She’s got a pretty dress on today, you mutt, can’t you see?”

“He’s just fine. We love this mangy mutt, don’t we?”

“Yeah, he’s alright.” Heath stood in front of Lizzie. “Are you going out in the carriage, then?”

“We are. For a picnic and a journey to see the other house. I’m quite excited to see it.”

“It fits you.”

“Have you seen it?”

“I have. I like it better than Pemberley, though we aren’t supposed to have favorites.”

“I think we can have favorites, why not?”

He shrugged.

The stablemaster called out, “Heath!”

He bowed and scrambled back to the horses.

She turned in a circle, breathing in the delicious smells of the barn. Arthur was going to meet her there. She wanted to bring the dog with them.

Lizzie felt him before she saw him, the hair on her arms flirting delightfully with the breeze and standing up in expectation. “My maid didn’t know we were meeting here.” She turned.

“Oh?” His eyes lit in appreciation as he saw her. “Did we manage to keep something from her?”

“We did.”

He smiled and reached for her hand. “You are so beautiful. This dress suits you.”

“Georgiana is so kind to share.”

“I think she’d give you half her clothes. It’s part of the fun of having a sis—another woman in the house.” His face colored in an adorable pink, and she let his almost slip go without comment. But a thrill rushed through her.

“I can’t express how happy I am to be out of the house. I cannot wait for this outing, to feel the beautiful breeze, to see the countryside, and to experience your home.” She swallowed back a bit of emotion. “I can’t think of a time I’ve been more excited.”

He pulled her close and then into an embrace. “I want nothing more than to share it all with you. Shall we?”

She nodded against him. “Can we keep the window shades open?”

He grinned. “Of course.”

“And let Mangy ride with us?”

“I had them bathe him just for this moment.”

“Perfect.” She linked their fingers, and as their hands swayed between them, they made their way out the barn doors to the carriage.

As the doors opened, more than just the carriage awaited. Her parents; all her sisters; the Lucases—even Charlotte and Mr. Collins; and a sour-faced woman who must be Lady Catherine greeted her. The carriage was covered in spring flowers of all kinds making their first appearance—many from her beautiful Longbourne, some from Pemberley, and some from other exotic places. It smelled of a beautiful garden.

She clasped her hands together. “This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.” She hurried to hug her mother and father who kissed her head.

“I’m so grateful you are well.” The tears in his eyes warmed her heart.

“Thank you, Papa.”

Jane ran to her then, with Mr. Bingley in tow. “We have something to announce later.”

“Then today will be the happiest I can possibly imagine.”

Jane’s eyes filled with tears. “For me as well.” She kissed Lizzie’s cheek.

Mary hugged her tight. And close behind Mary stood Mr. Miller, the vicar from the house party. “Now that’s a man I am very pleased to see.” And behind him, Lord Shackley.

Lizzie laughed. “Oh, I’m so pleased to see you!”

He nodded. “As am I to see you.”

Lydia and Kitty both squeezed her tight, though Lydia did not look convinced.

“I promise, with the right person this is lovely, indeed.”

A flicker of hope lit her face, and she nodded.

And then the door opened, and Arthur helped her up.

As they drove away, everyone she most loved waving and smiling, she turned to Arthur, unable to stop her tears. “What a lovely surprise. Will we dine with them tonight?”

“Yes, I think they are staying for a bit.” His eyes held promises. She let those soak deep inside her. Unspoken, she heard them, cradled them, allowed them to fill in all the cracks of loneliness she’d always known and settle inside.

Two footmen and a coachman traveled with them. A maid sat up top. The windows were wide open, and the breeze smelled of the flowers that covered the carriage.

“This is quite a flower feat. I love it so much.”

“I’m so glad. I know how much you love flowers.”

“I really do. How far are we going?”

“It will take a couple of hours. And in that time…” He pulled out some books. “I have come to fulfill my promise as your book reader.”

She laughed.

“No fire or blanket today.”

“But that can come.”

“Yes, it most certainly can.” His gaze filled her with warmth. She daringly kicked off her slippers and rested her feet in Arthur’s lap. “What are you reading today?”

After many pages of Sense and Sensibility , which left the both of them quite in angst and frustration about the fate of dear Elenor, they put the book aside. “We are arriving near the estate.”

She rushed to the side of the carriage near him and peered out the window. Everything about them was green. Everywhere they looked, fields and fields of rolling green hills and low stone walls poured over the world like a blanket. “It’s amazing. I wish to walk over the whole of it.”

“I’ll join you. Might we also ride?”

She laughed. “Of course.”

They peered together out the carriage window, Arthur pointing to things, or Lizzie pointing to things, and both completely contented with everything around them.

They turned down a drive and continued on in between a row of trees with a high stone wall running down one side.

She breathed in great contentment. “Everything here is so peaceful.”

“The fountains, rose gardens, and greenhouse are even more so. I do hope you like it, that you approve.” His eyes filled with so much hope, yet with a touch of insecurity—so much so that she wished to kiss it away.

Completely embarrassed by her thoughts, she tried to hide the blush by looking out the window again, but Arthur turned her head to face him again. “With me, there is never anything to fear, no need to be embarrassed, and an openness to say and act freely, please.” He pleaded with his expression, and Lizzie didn’t quite know what to do.

She laughed. “Oh, Mr. Darcy. Some things are best shared after an anticipating wait.”

He moved closer to her than he ever had, so close that she could feel his breath on her skin. “I could not agree more. I shall have to wait and it shall be ever sweeter because of it.”

Her whole head pounded with the beating of her heart. She swallowed and then tried to wet her very dry mouth. “Well then, Mr. Darcy, shall we see your grand estate, then?”

He waved the footman over who opened the carriage door then swung down quickly to turn and offer his hand to Lizzie. “Yes, we shall. But it’s not like Pemberley. Please know that it will grow…”

“Oh, my Darcy. It is far better.”

He opened his mouth to protest.

But she held up a finger. “Because you have created it, and for that, I shall treasure it as a part of you always.”

He stood so still she wondered if he’d forgotten to breathe and then wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. “Let’s be off then, please may I escort you?”

“Yes, my good Mr. Darcy.”

“Why all this Mr. Darcy all of a sudden?”

She shrugged. “I like it. And now that I know the preferred Mr. Darcy, I love it even more.”

“At least call me Arthur sometimes.”

She just grinned.

He led her straight up the stairs where it looked like his entire staff waited outside to meet them. Their livery was a deep royal blue with white trim. Sun gleamed off of the buttons. A woman and man stepped forward, presumably the housekeeper and butler.

“Mrs. Wilkins. Hobson. I’d like you to meet a woman who is very special to me and to my family. Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”

The curtsey and bow from the two very proper and stately servants were also kind in their own way. The two main household staff seemed to be the good, solid sort of no-nonsense workers that Elizabeth knew she could respect and appreciate if given the chance.

Everything was so obviously important to Arthur. She knew he cared. She saw where this was heading. And she was overly excited. This life, this man, this estate; she would never have guessed that one day she’d be so fortunate. And to marry for love. What a gift, indeed. Her smile filled her face and she didn’t even attempt to dim it.

“And what are you smiling about?” Arthur laced their fingers together.

“I’m just happy.”

“So this pleases you?”

“Oh, yes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a situation quite so pleasing.”

He laughed. “I hope very much that you like it.”

They walked through the house together, touring every room, Arthur asking Lizzie’s thoughts on colors and furniture. The adjoining master suites filled one wing of the upstairs with sitting rooms and large closets and servants’ quarters and an oversized bath. They moved to the grounds and the many gardens around the home, and the barn. Inside a horse knickered, and Arthur introduced her to a horse that would be just right for her. The animal nuzzled her palm. They moved out around the side of the house to a gate to a walled-in space.

He turned the key and pushed open a door to a small inner courtyard with a fountain. The walls were lined with beds of flowers. A tree rose up in the corner and from one of its branches, a swing moved gently in the breeze. The grass was soft. The earth smelled lovely, and even in the chill of the evening air they’d been having, everything seemed to be thriving. She smiled and breathed it in. “Now this place, I could spend every day of the rest of my life.” She spun in a slow circle, wanting to take everything in, one bud at a time.

“It would be for your own particular use, though I might visit you from time to time?” He grinned and pointed to a door leading into the house. “That is your study, with a starter library of books.”

She blinked back tears at this point. “Mr. Darcy. It is all too much. I don’t need… That is, we haven’t specifically discussed this, but I don’t need any of this to make me happy. I would spend the rest of my days quite satisfied with just you.” A tear ran down her cheek which he quickly wiped away.

“What is this? Tears, my dear?”

She nodded. “You are too good.”

He shook his head. “It is my opinion that nothing could be too good for you. Now, please, if you can indulge me, I wanted to be right here when I asked this question.” He dropped down to one knee in the soft earth in front of her. The fountain trickled water behind her. The sun shone in dappled rays through the trees. The flowers scented the air. And Lizzie was overcome.

“Lizzie, would you please do me the honor of being my wife? I cannot promise the decades of history of a grand estate, but instead one of new beginnings and a strong and willing heart at your side.”

Happiness filled her as well as what felt like every other emotion. She struggled to even swallow. Wiping at the tears on her face, she nodded. “Yes. I will do everything I can to fill your life with sunshine.” She rested a hand at the side of his face. “You are so deserving of it.” She kneeled down at his front, their faces level, his tender eyes staring into her own. “I love you, Arthur.”

His smile filled his face and he closed his eyes. “The sweetest words ever spoken to me.” He took her face in his hands, gently running fingers down the sides of her cheeks and then through her hair. “I love you too, my Lizzie. Thank you for making me the happiest of men.”

His eyes shown with the joy that coursed between them. Then his gaze moved to her lips. He captured them within moments, wrapping his other arm around her back. When she leaned into him, returning all her affection as best she could, he kissed her over and over, pulling and nibbling and pressing until she was quite content to stay in his arms forever. He rested his forehead against hers, slightly out of breath and very clearly wanting to keep kissing her. “And now, the rest of that will have to wait.”

She giggled out of pure embarrassment that he’d dare bring up anything of the kind in conversation.

But he just laughed and then he swung her up into his arms. “I would like to show you your personal study.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck while he carried her through the door to her own library and received a very thorough tour of a small study, in between a very thorough round of kisses. He pulled her into his lap on a lovely oversized chair, both laughing at the enjoyment and freedom of it all.

“So is this what life with you will be like, my Darcy?”

He pulled her closer. “And more. So much more. I promise to love you and laugh with you and probably cry with you until the day we die.”

She rested her head on his shoulder, perfectly content with that picture of how her life would be. “How soon can we be married?”

She felt his chuckle all through her body as he rested his chin on top of her head. “As soon as you like.”