Page 66 of Eavesdroppers Never Hear
For the first time in a very long time, Elizabeth Bennet was happy, peaceful, and contented in the moment.
She finally released his neck, but only long enough to pull her arms down to wrap around his waist while his arms went around her so she could lay her head on his shoulder.
She whispered into his ear. “William, I had quite a surprising thought. Being held at knife point was terrifying beyond description, but can you guess the worst part of it?”
“I imagine you experienced ten times the terror I felt, where a tenth part would be sufficient to turn my hair grey. Tell me the worst?”
She sighed. “I worried I would not have the chance to tell you something important that I have been afraid to admit, even to myself. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”
He squeezed her and kissed the side of her neck for some time, and finally said, “How did this come about in only… what… eleven days? It defies imagination.”
She laughed and playfully kissed his ear. “I suppose, like you, I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun. The only difference is you said it was so long ago you could not remember, while for me it has been barely a week, but quite a lot has happened.”
She sighed and snuggled closer. “I suppose there is something to be said for the pleasure of being loved so fiercely. You were caught out with ungentlemanly conduct, corrected it at the first opportunity, then did not beat around the bush. You presumptuously staked your claim with Mr Bingley and went after me with ruthless efficiency. It is a case of…” then she paused for some time, looking for the exact right phrase, finally whispering, “…virtuous presumption.”
With a laugh, she leaned back, boldly gave him another teeth-rattling kiss, then took his hand with a laugh. “We should go rescue the colonel from Lydia.”
Instead of the shivering and half-frozen sister they expected, they found her happily chattering away at the colonel wearing her cloak, which Elizabeth had to presume Jenny had a hand in. She saw Jenny and Simon standing off to the side guarding Lydia’s reputation, and considering how well armed they were, she thought it safe enough.
Darcy pulled them aside. “I cannot thank you enough, but I shall make the attempt. With your permission, I suggest you will both be in the service of Mrs Darcy, and I would ask you to always keep your slings handy. Naturally, you will both have a reward, and when you marry, your own cottage and a good living.”
They bowed and curtsied, and with bright smiles, brother and sister went back to finish their evening’s duties.
The colonel asked, “By the way, who is Antonia?”
Lydia laughed. “She is from ‘The Monk.’ She screamed like mad when Ambrosio assaulted her. Lizzy was just telling me to scream. She knew full well I am capable.”
The colonel chuckled, then ushered everyone back into the manse.
~~~~~
A half-hour more saw the happy couple being toasted by the assemblage with backs slapped, drinks consumed, toasts made (most of which suffered from some slight slurring), Mrs Bennet beaming in pride (and surprisingly, mostly silent), and Mr Bennet looking on in amusement.
Every single person in the room, with the surprisingly notable exception of Mrs Bennet, loudly proclaimed some variation of ‘I knew how it would be. I always said it must be so…’Naturally, everyone had jumped straight from an announced courtship to a presumption of marriage, which was not a bad bet when you got right down to it.
Mrs Bennet for her part, simply gave her now-favourite daughter the first embrace in quite some time and even managed a kiss on the cheek from her soon-to-be-son. She felt no great need to crow when the rest of the assemblage was doing such an excellent job of it on her behalf (and it was not as if she could not start on the morrow).
The Longbourn party were the last of all the company to depart, and, by a manoeuvre of Mrs Bennet, had to wait for their carriage a quarter of an hour after everybody else was gone. For her part, the matron was perfectly ready to get to her bed but suspected she did not have the wherewithal to separate her daughter from her beau. Everyone remaining, apart from Jane and Mr Bingley, were having a marvellous time anyway, so truly, what was the hurry?
They finally left in good order. Jane was full of questions, and dawn was well breaking before the sisters finally lay their heads down for some well-deserved rest.
26.Engagement
"I publish the banns of marriage between Fitzwilliam George Darcy, bachelor of Kympton Parish in Derbyshire, and Elizabeth Rose Bennet, spinster of Meryton Parish. If any man can show just cause why they may not lawfully be married, let him now speak, or else hereafter forever hold his peace."
“Oooohhh, how wonderful,” the future bride heard from her mother, but since it was said breathlessly, barely audible from a few feet away, she simply smiled and reached over to squeeze the matron’s hand.
Elizabeth had revised her feelings for Mrs Bennet substantially since their heartfelt conversation the previous week. Learning the uncomfortable truth that her mother considered herselfa failure at five and twentydue to the entail and becoming increasingly aware she would face the same responsibilities herself in a few months, left her feeling surprisingly charitable. Oddly enough, she was far more in charity with her mother than her father, thus reversing the usual course of her life.
For the past week, she had devoted considerable time reflecting on her mother’s life. It seemed that, against all odds, Mrs Bennet produced five daughters worthy of respect. It was true a fortnight earlier Elizabeth would have put the number at two or three out of five, but after Lydia’s harrowing experience at the ball, her younger sisters were rapidly becoming less irritable, less ignorant, and less insipid. She imagined that soon enough, she would be raising her own children, and it was probably harder than it looked. Perhaps… just perhaps… her mother might offer sound advice.
She held Mrs Bennet’s hand tightly, smiled at her beau, and looked towards Mr Turner, who abandoned the pulpit toread the banns in the exact spot her William had delivered his apology from a lifetime earlier.
She glanced to her sisters, wondering how things would change for them as sisters of Fitzwilliam Darcy, and trying to picture possible futures—which looked bright indeed.
She was in no way prepared for the loud exclamation of,“I object!”thundering from the back—followed by a massive thump on the flagstones. She joined the parishioners in a startled gasp, and even more startled wrenching around of necks to look back seeking the disturbance.
She was only half-surprised to find Darcy stalking down the aisle, seemingly considering going back for the colonel’s sword. She saw the colonel watching the scene in amusement. Elizabeth surmised he believed his cousin had things well in hand, but Georgiana looked frightened, so he stayed to relieve her anxiety. Of course, it was also possible the colonel and the loud woman did not get on well and he simply did not want to deal with her.
