Page 116 of A Most Beloved Sister
Will you stand up with me tomorrow? Please?
Kitty
Elizabeth’s eyes stung as she reread the note. When it came her time to marry Darcy, who would stand up with her? Jane would be gone; Mary was… well, Mary; Lydia was not an option; and Kitty might be following the drum. Would Georgiana have the courage to do so? If not, then who? Maybe Charlotte?
She shook her head. Now was not the time to think of these things. Aware of the time, she sat and wrote a quick note in reply.
My dearest Kitty,
It would be my great honor to stand up with you tomorrow. Just let me know what you are to wear so I do not dress in something that won’t match!
I am proud of you, Kitty. Jane would be so happy for you. I’ll be there with bells on.
Lizzy
∞∞∞
Bright and clear, the sun rose the following morning, and Elizabeth decided to take a quick walk before breakfast to rid herself of the nerves she felt on her sister’s behalf. Things were progressing quickly, and there were too many things that could go wrong.
What if Jane were to pass on before Kitty could exchange her vows? What if Lydia misbehaves? What if Wickham’s commanding officer decides not to give him leave from his duties for the wedding? What if—
“Oof!”
Elizabeth was jolted out of her panicked anxieties when she crashed into something hard along the path up to Oakham Mount. She looked up into the somber face and dark eyes of the man she loved most in the world.
“Darcy!” she cried in delight. “I didn’t expect to see you this morning.”
“I could say the same for you,” he said, a wry smile on his lips. “Do you not have a wedding to prepare for? It is my experience that young ladies require hours of time at their toilette to prepare for a special event.”
“Are you saying my looks are such that it’s necessary for me to spend an extended amount of time in front of the mirror in order to appear well?”
The expression on Darcy’s face reminded Elizabeth of a hare being caught in a trap. He stammered before she allowed her humor to show with a grin. When he understood her to be teasing him, he sighed with relief, causing her to laugh.
“You will have to be more accustomed to being teased, Mr. Darcy,” she said pertly, “for I dearly love to laugh.”
“As it means you will be with me to do the teasing, I will gladly bear it,” he replied with a wink.
Blushing at his flirtation, which reminded her of her boldness from the other night, she said, “I am glad to hear it. I would hate to think I was not wanted.”
“Oh, you are most definitely wanted.”
The husky tone of his voice and the emphasis on his words caused her cheeks to burn, and she pressed her hands to the skin to cool them. In a shaky whisper, she said, “You are as well.”
His stare pierced her soul as they gazed into one another’s eyes. Then, the regret evident in his tone, Darcy said, “I am glad to see you this morning… for more than this. I need to speak with you about something.”
“Yes?” she prompted when he hesitated, her hands dropping to her sides.
He pressed his lips together in a firm line, then said, “I’m afraid I must go to Pemberley for a few weeks, at the least. It’stime for the spring planting, and I have been away for much longer than I usually am. I am needed there.”
“Oh,” she said in a small voice.
“I was thinking,” he said in a rush, “that I would stay until Mrs. Bingley’s funeral and attend on your behalf. I would go to Pemberley, then return in three months when your mourning is over. What… what do you think?”
Elizabeth blinked back the moisture that was forming in her eyes. “I think… I think I will miss you very much.” She took a deep breath. “But I do understand. You have quite a lot of people whose livelihood depends upon you.”
He took her hand in his. “But I do not want to leave with things as they are now between us. It is too vague, too uncertain. Elizabeth, I love you, most ardently. You are the most important person—nay, the most important thing—in the world to me. My affections and wishes for you have only grown in our time together, and I beg of you to relieve my suffering during our time apart and consent to be my wife so that we may write to one another.”
She took a quick, deep breath, and he grabbed her other hand, holding them both together between his own large ones. “I will not be easy unless I can address you directly by letter every day, and read the words written in your own hand as to your comfort and security. But more than this—when I return, I will not want to waste another day with being apart; I will want to marry you immediately. Please, Elizabeth… do say you will marry me.”
