Page 168 of The Governess of My Heart
“That cannot be possible. She never wanted to marry anyone else.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Elizabeth, who looked worried.
“Shall we leave?” Darcy asked her and smiled at her reassuringly.
“Yes!” she said and looked at her uncle.
“It might look rushed to you that I am marrying Mr. Darcy, but it is not something sudden. I have known him for many months and have never been happier than now. I hope you can give us your consent, Uncle,” she said with hope.
“You are of age, my dear; you do not need my consent.”
“But we would like to have it nonetheless. I promise you that her welfare and happiness will be my utmost priority in life,” Darcy said.
“I can see that you both are very much in love, and I am happy that Elizabeth is marrying you, Mr. Darcy; you have my consent and blessings.”
Elizabeth and Darcy felt content with his words, especially Darcy, who was apprehensive about the meeting. The day passed quickly as Darcy took Elizabeth to meet his aunt and uncle. It was Elizabeth’s turn to be anxious, not knowing how she would be received. But to her surprise, Darcy’s relations welcomed her with warmth, and she understood that they knew everything about her.
“My dear, when we heard about your engagement, we were very certain that Darcy was very much in love with you. We have wanted him to marry for a long time now, and I can seethat he has finally found a woman who has captured his heart. I understand that you both have a quest here, and I hope you find your answers. As your family, we too are here to support you in this. I speak on behalf of my husband and son as well,” Darcy’s aunt said, sensing her temperament.
“I thank you. Honestly, I was apprehensive about this meeting, and Georgiana told me so much about you.”
“She is such a sweet girl, and I am relieved that she finally has someone like you as a sister.”
Richard was very impressed with Elizabeth and found her to be the best match for his cousin.
“Good Heavens, Darcy! She is exactly your opposite; she seems to laugh. How did you find her?” he teased him.
Darcy frowned at his cousin, and Richard laughed.
“You have quite the love story here, and I am so glad you are getting married. Is Mr. Bingley here yet?”
“I should see him tomorrow.”
As Darcy left the study, he was surprised to find Elizabeth alone in the music room.
“Your aunt gave me a tour of the house,” she said.
“That was very wise of her to do and even more considerate to leave you alone,” he said, not wasting a moment to pull her into an embrace. Elizabeth rested her head on his shoulders and heaved a sigh of relief.
“I was very worried to meet your relations.”
“Why do you say so?”
“Even though you deny it, the truth about my past and my current status makes our match questionable. I am happy that your relations have accepted me, but it pains me to put you in this position.”
“Elizabeth, we have discussed this before. I am proud to marry you and do not care about anything else. If anyone chooses to question the match, they will have no place in ourlives. I cannot allow you to feel guilty or sad for something as trivial as this. From the moment you agreed to marry me, I have felt nothing but happiness and peace.”
“I don’t know what I have done to deserve you, Fitzwilliam,” she said, touching his cheek.
Suddenly, they heard a noise outside and quickly moved away from each other, and Darcy was grateful for the intervention. Inwardly, he doubted his resolve when he was alone with her. They returned to Charlotte’s house late in the evening, and Elizabeth acquainted her friend with all the details.
“You seem to have had an exciting day, and I am glad you chose to return here. Seeing the look on Mr. Darcy’s face as he left, there might have been a good chance he wanted to take you to his house,” Charlotte teased, and Elizabeth laughed.
“You were tense for nothing, Lizzy.”
“I certainly had my reasons to be skeptical. First, meeting my uncle and then his family, it seemed as if we had to convince a lot of people. Especially his relations as I was worried, they would not accept me.”
“I do not believe anyone would oppose your match. You seem to look at yourself as a governess and tie yourself to the unfortunate status given to you due to the past. But everyone who knows you looks at you in a different way. We see a confident, intelligent, and beautiful woman who would do anything for the people she loves. Especially Mr. Darcy; I can see how much he admires and loves you. I wish you would stop distressing yourself with these thoughts.”
