Page 118 of The Governess of My Heart
She looked up at him with her tear-stained face; it was evident to him that she had been crying the whole night.
“Since yesterday, I assumed you had returned with a change of heart. I misjudged the anger in your eyes,” she said with distress.
“I was angry because you chose to hide your love.”
“Are you still angry with me?”
“No, but you could have spared us the misery of being apart. I have no words to express my happiness now that we are engaged. However, I need your permission to do something.”
Elizabeth looked at him with confusion.
“I left Hertfordshire fighting the urge to confront your so-called parents; now it is time.”
“But… but…”
“Elizabeth, I know you struggled with your disguise; I have often seen the discomfort and sadness in your eyes and wondered what it could be. You do not have to be Miss Smithanymore, and the people who caused you so much misery must pay for it.”
“What do you want to do?”
“The way they treated you and their plans to ruin you are offenses that cannot be pardoned, and that toad Mr. Collins, I will not spare him.”
As for Elizabeth, everything moved too fast, and she understood that if she married Darcy, she would have to leave the position of governess. She wanted to marry him, but she was certain she could not move on so easily.
“I do not know how much Mary revealed to you. There is so much I need to discuss with you.”
“Tell me.”
“Even though I did not want to stay with Mr. Gardiner, he is my uncle, and I am very close to my aunt. They must know about our engagement, and I still have many questions about my past.”
Darcy understood her struggle.
“Lady Martha already knows my true identity; I declared it to her the day I arrived in Ashton Park.”
Darcy looked at her with surprise at the new piece of information.
“I do not know what to say. You have suffered too long with all of this. We can head to her right away and discuss what needs to be done,” he said, not wanting to waste an instant.
Elizabeth was silent.
“Elizabeth, what is it? You agreed to marry me, and I promise you no longer have to worry or be afraid of anyone. I will stand by you in any hurdles that come our way. Why do you hesitate?”
“Because I still don’t know so much about my past. I do not doubt your love for me, and I cannot express how happy I am to be your wife, but I cannot be at peace unless I know what exactly happened to my mother. Without that, confronting my parents will not do any good.”
“We can head to town, and I have sources to find out the truth about your mother. I understand how you feel; I do not want to force you to forget everything in the past and live with me happily because you agreed to marry me. Shall we head to Lady Martha now? I am not willing to procrastinate anymore.”
“Can we keep our engagement to ourselves for a few more days?” Elizabeth asked.
“Good God. Why?” Darcy asked in shock.
“Because I want us to have some time to ourselves without the privy of society.”
“I don’t think I can stay in the same room with you once again, staring at you from a distance, unable to let the world know what you mean to me,” Darcy cried in agony.
“Can you give me, give us, a few more days? We need time for ourselves before we let the world know.” Elizabeth pleaded.
As much as Darcy wanted to head to Ashton Park with her and declare their engagement, he understood Elizabeth’s hesitance.
“Elizabeth, honestly, I do not want to. But I agree that we may need time to ourselves.”
