“It seems my past has caught up with me. Elizabeth, I am a man of twenty-eight years and have lived in the world, and I am no innocent. But because of the profound love I have for you, I tried to erase the past. I wanted to think of no other woman as being a part of my life. I wanted to be your knight in shining armor—perfect and unblemished. But now that is not possible as I have been exposed.”
Once again, she had guessed correctly, but the reason she had come to that conclusion so quickly was because she had already given his past some thought. While Kitty was reading aloud the different items in The Insider to her sisters, Lizzy had been thinking about Darcy’s romantic interests. Surely, there had been other women in his life, as he was nearly thirty years old, and although she lived in a country town, it was impossible to be ignorant of what went on in London among the social elite. There wasn’t anything odd about Mr. Darcy’s name being mentioned in The Insider. What was unique was how infrequently it appeared in the gossip magazines considering the prominence of his family, his eligibility, and his large fortune. And had anything really changed because she now knew that Mr. Darcy was, as he put it, “no innocent?” No, Madame Aumont belonged to his distant past when he was bound to no one. It would have been worse to have it remain a secret. Secrets created barriers, and she wanted nothing like that in her marriage.
Darcy came and sat next to her, and she accepted his handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes. After composing herself after such a confession, she finally said, “You worried unnecessarily about my opinion of you. I have never thought of you as being perfect.”
It wasn’t until she smiled that he realized she was in jest, and he burst out laughing. “I know I am forgiven, my love, as you only tease your friends,” and he kissed her gently on the lips. “But may I ask where you read the story about Christina?”
“I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I read it in The Insider.”
“You read The Insider?” he asked with concern in his voice. He would not have thought of someone as sensible as Elizabeth reading what he considered to be a rag filled with half-truths and, in some cases, stories made up out of whole cloth.
“Everyone in the provinces reads The Insider, Mr. Darcy. We must have some amusement.”
“Do you read every issue?” he asked with growing concern. Had she read about Miss Montford and Mrs. Conway? It would give her the impression he was inconstant in his affections.
“No, not every issue. But then I don’t have to as Kitty tells us all about the most interesting items. She has even gone back and read past issues looking for your name.” Lizzy could see that Darcy was growing increasingly uncomfortable, and she wanted to put his mind at ease. “Sir, I have no interest in your past alliances. Every relationship must have a starting point so that past errors may remain in the past. I do not wish to be reminded how wrong I was about Wickham’s character, or how I failed to recognize your goodness. So, for me, our beginning must be at Pemberley when you said that its beauty must be shared.”
Darcy smiled and nodded in agreement and then took a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. “You asked for love letters or poetry, and this is my first effort.”
“It is a beautiful piece of poetry. In my opinion, it is Christopher Marlowe’s finest work.”
“Your request was that I write love letters or verse. You did not say they had to be original.”
“Well, I shall credit you with making a start, but no matter how poorly you write, I would prefer your own composition.”
“I promise I shall try to compose my own verses. However, I am sure the task would be made easier if I had my source of inspiration before me. So can we not set a date for our wedding?”
Lizzy stood up and walked away from him because, with his arms around her, she felt her resolution to have a courtship ebbing.
“Mr. Darcy, we are very different.”
“One would hope,” he said, smiling.
“We will face many challenges, including those you mentioned at Hunsford Lodge.”
“Every marriage has difficulties, but there is nothing that cannot be overcome, got ’round, or blown away, if necessary.”
Lizzy smiled but persisted. “Because we are from such disparate backgrounds, I do have concerns.”
“Can you give me one example of any obstacle so great that it could possibly prevent our marriage?” he said with growing impatience.
“Well,” Lizzy said, pretending to think long and hard, “what if I discovered you do not know how to ice-skate? It is a sport I greatly enjoy, probably as much as you enjoy riding.”
“So this is what I have signed on for? Very well. Then I shall tell you I have concerns of my own. I wonder if you will ever learn how to sit on a horse properly,” and he said this as he moved toward her.
“And I might inquire if you will scowl at me whenever I say something you do not like?” she asked as she stepped behind a chair.
And kneeling on the chair with his face inches from hers, he answered, “And do I need to be concerned that you will turn into a scold and point out all of my defects?”
Lizzy ran her fingers across his cheek and looked into his eyes, and in them, she saw their future. There really wasn’t any reason to delay their marriage. She knew that two people who were so different in personality, but so alike in their stubbornness, would have struggles, but she also believed that love was transformative. She thought of how much they had changed in the months since they had first been introduced at the assembly.
“Yes, Mr. Darcy, we may set a date. May I suggest that we allow Georgiana to finish the season, especially since she is to be presented to Her Majesty? By that time, Jane and Mr. Bingley will be married, and they may come to our wedding breakfast. We will all celebrate our new lives together with Anne and Colonel Fitzwilliam, and possibly Lady Catherine.”
“So you are suggesting that in eight weeks’ time we shall marry? Well, eight weeks is not overly long, so I agree,” and then Lizzy kissed Mr. Darcy with a fervor that surprised him, and all of a sudden eight weeks seemed like a very long time indeed.
When Darcy returned home, he immediately informed Georgiana that Elizabeth had agreed to a wedding date two months hence. His sister was beside herself with joy. There was no one dearer in her life than her brother, and her greatest wish for him was that he would find someone who recognized his merits, that behind the money, family name, and rank was a solid man of character and understanding.
“Oh, Will, we will be very busy these next few weeks. Mr. Bingley and Miss Bennet are to be married, I am to be presented to the queen, and you are to take a wife. There is so much joy in our lives. We are truly blessed.”