Mary Simonsen - A Wife for Mr Darcy

Why was Lord Fitzwilliam talking to her like this, Lydia asked herself? He had said only nice things to everyone else. And what did he know anyway? He was hopelessly out of fashion, and his shoes were particularly ugly. As soon as the earl turned his attention to her mother, Lydia walked away.

“Ah, here we have yet another sister,” he said, taking Mrs. Bennet’s hand. Mrs. Bennet started giggling as if she were a young girl at her first dance, and when she informed the earl that she was the girls’ mother, he went on and on about Mr. Bennet taking a child bride. All the while Lord Fitzwilliam was complimenting his wife, Mr. Bennet was watching, and he saw, for the first time in years, the young woman he had married a quarter of a century ago. Because of Lydia’s unfortunate adventure, he had promised himself that he would take greater care of his daughters. He now broadened that promise to include his wife.

While Antony continued to enchant all the female guests, Lizzy went over to speak to Charlotte. “I cannot account for the earl’s presence, Charlotte, and I am very sorry he has come as he has drawn off all of the attention that should rightly be yours.”

“I am happy he has come. You know I do not like being the center of attention, so I can assure you that Lord Fitzwilliam’s arrival is welcome. Speaking of the devil,” Charlotte said, stepping away from Lizzy to make way for His Lordship.

“Miss Elizabeth, may I introduce you to my two little jewels, Sophie and Emmy.”

Lizzy was in complete agreement with Lord Fitzwilliam’s description of his daughters. Their dark hair, hanging in ringlets and tied with ribbons and bows, contrasted beautifully with their cornflower blue eyes. Both were wearing gorgeous dresses with frills aplenty.

“I am so pleased to meet you, Miss Amelia and Miss Sophia,” Lizzy said. “When your father and I were guests at Pemberley, he mentioned you at every opportunity, and you are as pretty as he claimed. But who is your friend?” Lizzy asked while looking at Madame Konig.

“This is our traveling governess, Madame Konig. Our real governess, Mrs. Hall, is on holiday, and Papa’s friend came with us. She tells us stories about living in Vienna,” Amelia, the elder of the two, said.

“My English is imperfect, Miss Bennet,” Madame Konig said with a slight lisp. “I am better in French, but I am happy to meets you.”

“Madame Konig, I am pleased to meet you as well,” but before Lizzy could engage her in conversation, Lord Fitzwilliam asked her what she thought of his entrance.

“With the exception of a royal procession, it was second to none, milord.”

“Then I have succeeded, as my purpose was to create a diversion, and the reason for the diversion is waiting for you in the study. From what I have heard of your past experience, I suggest you lock the door.” After bowing and smiling, he took his leave.

Looking around the room, Lizzy realized that Mr. Darcy was no longer present, and with all eyes on the earl, she backed her way out of the room and went in search of the master of Pemberley.

While Lizzy waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim light of the study, Mr. Darcy came up from behind her and put his two arms around her waist and pulled her tightly against him.

“I shall not let you go until you say that you are not angry with me for Lord Fitzwilliam’s appearance, and before you say anything, you must know that he was supposed to go to Netherfield. I certainly did not know he would be traveling with an entourage.”

“But why did you ask him to come at all?”

After releasing her, he took her hand and walked with her to the sofa, but before he sat down Lizzy suggested that they lock the door.

“That sounds promising.”

“It is nothing of the kind. We do not want a repeat of what happened in the library at Netherfield. That is all I meant by my request.”

Darcy let out an exaggerated sigh because he would not have minded a repeat of what had happened in the Netherfield library, but he went and locked the door as requested.

“Mr. Darcy, please tell me why you invited Lord Fitzwilliam to Netherfield? Is it because Mrs. Crenshaw talks too much, and you wanted someone equally loquacious to entertain her?”

“It is not just that she talks too much. Forgive me for discussing such things with you, but she is so heavy with child that I live in fear that she will stand up and from under her skirts an infant will appear.”

Lizzy started to laugh at the picture he had drawn. “From that comment, I gather that your wife will be spending a good deal of time in her apartment when she is with child.”

Darcy looked at Lizzy with that quizzical expression she found so endearing. “Why are you speaking of ‘my wife’ as if she is unknown to you?”

Lizzy said nothing. Did he really think she could talk as if they were betrothed when he had not made her an offer?

“Oh, of course, I see. Well, that is a good opening for me. Shall I stand or kneel?”

“It does not matter,” Lizzy said, and she could barely hear her voice over the sound of her heart beating. “Please proceed.”

“Elizabeth, as you know, I am not good with words, so I shall simply state that I love you from the depths of my heart, and I am now asking that you become my wife.”

Lizzy fell into his arms and clung to him and nodded her assent, and he kissed her with a passion that was even greater than their previous rendezvous, and she felt her reserve crumbling as he kissed her neck and shoulders and moved his body against hers. But even though she was enjoying it immensely, she knew that she had to stop him, and she pushed back.

“Mr. Darcy, please. We cannot continue in this manner. We must rejoin the others.” With his face flushed with passion, he asked in an elevated voice why they must leave when things were going so nicely. “Because of Ellie Timlin, the butcher’s daughter, who married Joe Egger five months ago…”

“When you see Mrs. Egger, please extend my best wishes for her health and happiness, but would you enlighten me as to why she is being discussed at this particular moment?”

“You need not be sarcastic, Mr. Darcy. The Eggers are the parents of a little boy born earlier this month,” and when he shook his head, indicating he still did not understand, she continued, “Let me repeat. The Eggers married five months ago.”

When the information finally sunk in, Darcy released Elizabeth.

“Mr. Darcy, I am a lady, and, therefore, until we are married, we must appear together only in public or with a chaperone.”

“Of course, you are a lady, but a few kisses do not make you less so.” After looking at her expression, he added, “All right. More than a few. But, Elizabeth, do you realize that once we announce our engagement, all eyes will be upon us?”

“Of course, I do. Perhaps you can condole with Mr. Bingley,” she said, teasing him.

“Very well. In that case,” he said, “it would be best if I returned to London.”

“Oh, I see how it is. Because I will not meet with you in secret, the next time I see you will be at the church door on the day of our wedding?” she asked as she moved away from him.

“No, you misunderstand me,” he said, taking her hand and gently coaxing her to his side. “What I meant to say was that I would not see you until Jane’s wedding. After that, I shall speak to your father, and then we shall make the announcement of our engagement.”

“But what about our courtship, Mr. Darcy?”

“A courtship? Have I not been courting you?”

“No, you have not. One letter and two secret meetings is hardly a courtship. And speaking of letters, you must promise me that when you write in the future that all your letters will be like the second one, and none like the first.”

“That is unfair, Elizabeth,” he said in high dudgeon. “I was in a crowded room with Mrs. Forster, the colonel, and his aides, and with Gregg waiting for me to finish the letter, and I felt as if everyone in the room was watching me.”

“I understand, but was it necessary to sign the letter, ‘Yours, F. Darcy’?” Seeing that he had hurt her, he said, “You are right. I should have signed it, ‘Yours, Fitzwilliam Darcy.’”

Lizzy laughed. “You are lucky you wrote that second letter before I saw you again, or you would have received the cold shoulder from me.”

“I will take your shoulders however I can get them,” and he moved to kiss her, but she held up her hands and gently pushed him away.

“As I was saying, as part of our courtship, you must visit me at Longbourn and call on my parents, and when you cannot, you must write me letters. Now that I have had a letter from you, I know you are capable of it.”

“But I am out of stationery,” he said with a smile, which Lizzy did not return. “Was not my letter self-explanatory with no need for elaboration?”

“Self-explanatory. No need for elaboration. Such words of love, Mr. Darcy. I think I shall faint. You put me in mind of Benedick’s failed attempts to write poetry for Beatrice.”

“But the play ends with Beatrice and Benedick marrying, so all’s well that ends well.”

“Clever response, Mr. Darcy, but you have the wrong play.”

When Lizzy returned to the drawing room, she quickly made her way through the crowd to stand next to Jane and Mr. Bingley. With a knowing smile, Charles took his leave, and Lizzy found herself blushing at the idea of someone knowing that she had met Mr. Darcy in secret.

“Was I missed?” Lizzy asked, scanning the crowd.

“Not at all. Lord Fitzwilliam claimed everyone’s attention by asking Charlotte to dance and suggesting that Mr. Collins ask Mrs. Konig to do the same. Have you ever known of an instance where a governess, even a traveling one, danced with her master’s guests? I cannot wait to hear what Mrs. Draper and Lady Lucas have to say about all this.

“I was able to speak with Mrs. Konig,” Jane continued. “Her English is not the best, and she cannot pronounce th. But the effect is absolutely delightful, and she is charming everyone. Despite her relationship with the flamboyant lord, she is very reserved. But enough about Madame. Do you have news to share?”

And Lizzy whispered to her sister that Mr. Darcy had proposed, and looking around to see if anyone was listening, she told Jane that she was insisting on a courtship. “We do not know each well enough, and I do not want him to have any regrets. I shall tell you more later; Charlotte is coming.”

“Charlotte, you appear winded,” Lizzy said after having watched her dance a jig with Lord Fitzwilliam.

“I am. His Lordship is a vigorous dancer.”

“Are you enjoying your day, Charlotte?” Jane asked. Like Lizzy, she was concerned that the uninvited guests were stealing the show.

“I truly am, so please stop worrying. In another hour, it will all be over as we are running out of food and punch. I know that you both have had reservations about this marriage, so I wish to reassure you. When everyone’s attention was focused on His Lordship, Mr. Collins came over, and after taking my hand, he said that he only wanted three things in life. The first was to be a good husband, the second was to be a good pastor, and the third was to be a good neighbor to Lady Catherine and her daughter—in that order. It touched my heart in such a way that I am no longer worried about other things.”

“Oh, Charlotte, that was so sweet.”

“Yes, Jane, it was. Despite his peculiar behavior and his propensity to talk too much, he is a good man, and I am fortunate to have him. And what about you, Lizzy? Are we soon to have another wedding? Oh, please do not look at me like that. Granted, you are better at concealing your feelings than the gentleman, but it is obvious to a friend of so many years that you are in love. When are we to wish you joy?”

“Not until after Jane’s wedding. The gentleman must first speak to Papa, and we must have a courtship. His life is so different from mine. I cannot imagine having a duke as neighbor. His sister was named after Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire. I try not to think about it because, if I do, I shall get cold feet.”

“You must forget about all those other things and enjoy your courtship,” Charlotte told her friend. “He is much changed since he first came into Hertfordshire, and you are the reason.”

While Darcy waited in the study for sufficient time to pass following Elizabeth’s departure, he decided that she was right. There were good reasons why young ladies were not left alone with their suitors. If she even suspected the content of his dreams, she would not have sat next to him on the sofa.