Elizabeth’s involuntary gasp of pleasure brought her attention back to herself, and, with a Herculean effort of will, she sought to extricate herself from his embrace, and laid her fingers lightly over his lips. Meeting his eyes, dark with passion, almost destroyed her resolve, but she somehow managed to maintain her distance.
Darcy forced his breathing to slow. “I hope you are not planning to insist on a long engagement,” he said.
“That would appear to be unwise,” Elizabeth allowed, sounding a good deal calmer than she felt.
“Then perhaps we should take appropriate steps,” he said softly. He removed a small box from his pocket, and, taking her hand, opened it to show her a ring of sapphire and diamond. “I was carrying this when I called on you at the inn in Lambton,” he said as he slid it slowly onto her finger. “My father gave this to my mother when he asked her to be his wife.”
The sight of the ring on her hand brought her a new sense of the truth of their engagement, and she found herself thinking of all the changes it would bring to her life. Darcy’s thoughts ran along a similar path; the physical reality of her acceptance of his ring made it true that she would be his, that he had at long last won her love. He lifted her hand to his lips, then held it gently to his cheek in a gesture of trust which touched Elizabeth deeply.
“Your mother must have been a very fortunate woman,” said Elizabeth shakily.
“They were both fortunate,” he responded softly. “My parents had an exemplary marriage, full of affection and respect. I have always told myself I would settle for nothing less.”
Elizabeth’s breath caught in her throat. “I hope I will live up to your faith in me.”
With a slight smile, he said, “I have no doubts of your success. We do, however, have a few matters to resolve regarding our wedding, and I believe I have a somewhat overdue meeting with your father as well. Perhaps there is a place where we could sit while we talk?”
Elizabeth gave him an arch look. “Always assuming that we could behave ourselves long enough to resolve anything?” With a smile, she led him to a shaded bench across the garden.
“I do not recall making any promises about behaving myself,” Darcy said as they sat. Suiting his actions to his words, he took her hands in his and brushed his lips lightly across hers. “I believe I can manage to hold a conversation between kisses, and if it should prove distracting to you, so much the better for making plans to my liking.”
“And may I ask what those plans would be?” asked Elizabeth.
A playful look entered his eyes. “I thought the idea of getting married this afternoon had a good deal of merit,” he said with an innocent air.
Elizabeth laughed. “I fear that is hardly possible, sir. There is no time to obtain a license, and my mother would never forgive me if I married in an everyday dress. I am afraid you will need to wait at least a few days!” she teased in return.
“I cannot help with the matter of your dress, except to say I would find you beautiful in sackcloth. As to the other matter…” He withdrew a paper from his pocket and held it up teasingly between two fingers.
Elizabeth looked at him suspiciously as she took the document. Unfolding it, she was taken aback to find it to be a special license, issued in their names the previous day at Doctors’ Commons. “You cannot be seriously suggesting…” she said with some disbelief.
“I believe I could force myself to wait as long as a week, given proper incentives.”
“But that is when Jane and Bingley are to be wed!”
“We could have a double ceremony.”
“How could we be ready in a week?”
“You are being far too argumentative,” he replied with a mocking threat in his voice, and proceeded to run his finger seductively beneath her neck. “I see I shall have to distract you after all.” He proceeded to trail a line of light kisses from her ear to the base of her neck. Elizabeth bit her lip in an attempt to deny him the satisfaction of seeing her response. “Now, about that double ceremony…”
“You cannot be serious!”
He traced her cheek with his finger. “More so than you think, my loveliest Elizabeth, but not without reason. To explain, however, I will need to ask you to keep a secret from the future Mrs. Bingley.”
“As long as I do not consider it to be doing her a disservice, you may rely on me.”
“I rely on you constantly, my sweetest. But to the subject at hand, last week I received one of Bingley’s illegible letters telling me it was his intention to surprise your sister with a honeymoon on the continent—more specifically, spending the winter in Italy.”
Elizabeth’s eyes lit up. “Oh, Jane will love that! She has always wanted to travel.”
“Knowing how close you and she are, I knew you would want her to attend our wedding. Since we will not be waiting six months to marry”—he gave her a pointed look to indicate the nonnegotiability of his statement—“this leaves the choice between a hurried wedding attended by Jane now, or a more leisurely one without her later. Hence my trip to London, where I consulted with Bingley regarding a possible delay to their departure plans, and my early arrival here, so as to be able to offer you the choice in the matter. The double ceremony was Bingley’s suggestion. Alternatively, Bingley feels they could delay their departure up to a week after their wedding to give us more time.
“Next week?” Elizabeth said faintly. It had never occurred to her that Jane might not be at her wedding, and she felt grateful to Darcy for his consideration.
“You are repeating yourself, my dearest,” Darcy said, allowing his lips to explore her hair with complete disregard for his own ability to concentrate.
“You were very confident of my acceptance, it seems,” she said.
“It would be more accurate to say I was hopeful, and I confess to enough impatience that the idea of having to marry sooner rather than later has a certain appeal to me.” He paused to steal a quick kiss. “I understand that you may have other priorities, however; it is more of a change for you than for me.”
“I don’t know…” Feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the change he was proposing, she let her head rest against his shoulder.
Darcy’s attention seemed distracted for a moment. “Have you told your mother about us yet?” he asked.
“No, she has no idea, though I have discussed it with my father.”
“I fear that she may have just found out,” he said.
Elizabeth turned quickly to see Mrs. Bennet retreating rapidly toward the house in the company of Mrs. Philips, who was clearly offering consolation to her distressed friend. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. “I had best go to her, then,” she said with some trepidation, knowing the scene to follow had the potential to become quite unpleasant and undignified. “Perhaps you could return to speak with my father this evening.”
“I think there is no time like the present, and I certainly do not wish to leave you to face the inquisition on your own.”
Reluctantly, she said, “To tell the truth, this is likely to be embarrassing at best, and likely much worse, and I would prefer not to subject myself to the mortification of having you watch it.”
He touched her cheek. “Elizabeth, I can tolerate your mother. Please have faith in me.”
This being an approach Elizabeth would have been hard put to reject, she agreed to allow him to accompany her. He paused only to kiss her lightly. “Remember that I love you,” he murmured in her ear.