“Lizzy, I wanted to tell you how very happy I am that you and Mr. Darcy have reached an understanding,” her aunt said warmly, taking her by the hands.
“Thank you. I had noticed you seemed to look with some favor on the idea,” she replied. “But I must thank you for the little pushes you gave us in the right direction.”
“My dear, that was my pleasure entirely. But as delightful as that subject is, I was hoping to have conference with you on a different matter.”
Elizabeth, with some curiosity, invited her aunt to sit.
“The subject is somewhat delicate, and in many ways I feel Mr. Darcy should be telling you this himself, but he requested, I believe out of natural modesty, of your uncle that we be the ones to speak with you of this. He did not wish you to know of it earlier, but feels it is inappropriate to keep it a secret from you any longer, especially as some of the parties to the secret are not particularly trustworthy.”
By this juncture, Elizabeth was burning with inquisitiveness and more than a little anxiety, wondering what could be so terrible that Darcy would be unwilling to tell her. “You are keeping me in suspense, aunt. What is this dread secret?”
Her aunt, however, seemed unable to be direct about the subject. “I told you, I believe, that Mr. Darcy called on us at Gracechurch Street several times after our return from Derbyshire, did I not? I did not, however, disclose the true purpose of his visits, which your uncle had, without my knowledge, been expecting from discussion with Mr. Darcy on our last day in Lambton. The first time he called, he was shut up with your uncle for several hours, and it was not until afterward that I learned that he had come to tell your uncle that he had found out where your sister Lydia and Mr. Wickham were, and that he had seen and talked with them both.”
“He had done what?” Elizabeth asked, in utter astonishment.
“His goal was to secure and expedite their marriage. As you may have guessed, it was never Wickham’s design to marry your sister, but he was in some rather serious financial straits, and was not proof against the temptation of immediate relief. Mr. Darcy met with him several times, as Wickham of course wanted more than he could get, but at length was reduced to be reasonable. After they had reached a settlement, Mr. Darcy acquainted your uncle with the situation, and then they spent some time battling out the question of who was to settle the matter. At last your uncle was forced to yield to Mr. Darcy’s demand that nothing was to be done that he did not do himself, and agreed to his one request, which was that no one in your family be informed in any way of his part in this. This went sorely against the grain for both of us, but given how much we owed him, we did not deem it reasonable to refuse, though I will say it put me in quite a difficult position a few weeks later when you told me that Mr. Darcy would never be able to tolerate being in the same room as Wickham! And that, my dear, is the entire story.”
Elizabeth’s astonishment at this recounting was great, and left her briefly speechless. Finally she asked, “But why did he not want me to know?”
“My dear, as I understand it, he was in hopes of winning your affections, and was concerned that if you knew of his role in this, you might accept him out of a sense of obligation, which was not his desire. I gather this is no longer a concern.”
Elizabeth hardly knew what to think. That Darcy would have taken on himself all the trouble and mortification attendant on finding Wickham and Lydia, that he would agree to meet, reason with, persuade, and finally bribe, the man whom he always most wished to avoid, and whose very name it was punishment to him to pronounce—despite her high opinion of him, this went far beyond what she could have expected.
She had many more questions for her aunt, and the next hour was spent in conversation.
The following day Elizabeth, knowing her chances of finding time alone with Darcy were slim, made a point of capturing him as soon as he arrived at Longbourn with Bingley, who was newly arrived at Netherfield. Drawing him off into the dining room, she took some time expressing her appreciation for all that he had done for Lydia and her pride in his actions. Darcy, who was less than comfortable with discussing the matter, made a concerted effort to change the subject, and eventually managed to work Elizabeth around to discussing wedding plans.
They resolved it would be best not to announce a date for their wedding until after Jane and Bingley’s was past, to avoid any explanation that might ruin Jane’s honeymoon surprise. However, it seemed prudent to tell a few select people whose plans would be affected by their idea, and so Mr. Bennet, Georgiana, Bingley, and the Gardiners were informed. Mr. Bennet was not best pleased with the plan, since he was by no means ready to lose Elizabeth quite so soon, but he resolved to hold his peace after one look at Darcy’s face when he suggested a delay.
Elizabeth did not in fact get a moment alone with Darcy until she saw him out of Longbourn when he prepared to depart that evening. Darcy, who had clearly been waiting for this opportunity the entire day, lost no time in finding a shadowy and secluded spot by the gate where he could pull her into his arms.
“Promise me you will reserve tomorrow afternoon for my exclusive use, or I will not be responsible for the consequences!” he whispered, feathering kisses behind her ear and down her neck.
“With or without chaperones?” asked Elizabeth, with what she thought to be remarkable aplomb given the sensations he was inducing in her.
“We seem to be rather troublesome for our chaperones. Perhaps we should not force anyone to struggle through the experience.” He turned his attention to her hairline.
“You are very charitable, Mr. Darcy.” Their mouths met in a hungry kiss that Elizabeth had been longing for all day.
When he released her, she leaned back against the wall and looked up at him. Darcy was breathing hard. “If you were charitable, Miss Bennet, you would marry me tomorrow,” he said.
She pretended to consider the idea. “No, I’m afraid not. We would have to stay at Netherfield until Jane’s wedding, and I do not plan to spend my wedding night as a guest in someone else’s home.”
She felt him stop breathing for a moment. He stepped toward her, and trapping her against the wall by placing his hands on either side of her, he said, “Miss Bennet, this is friendly advice which you can accept or disregard as you choose, but I would suggest that when you are alone in the dark with a man who is quite violently in love with you, it would be advisable to avoid mention of your wedding night.”
She stood on her toes and proceeded to brush her lips against his unyielding ones tantalizingly until he could deny himself no longer and kissed her deeply. After a moment, she leaned back and said quite deliberately, “After all, I want you all to myself on our wedding night.”
Darcy’s hands gripped her arms tightly, but Elizabeth did not notice the discomfort. “I think you should go back to the house, Miss Bennet,” he said with tight control.
She raised an eyebrow. “I fear that will not be possible, sir.”
“Why is that?”
She glanced down at his hands with an amused smile. “Because you are not allowing me to, Mr. Darcy.”
“Ah,” he said, sounding surprised. “What a good idea of mine.” He leaned forward, effectively pinning her against the wall, and proceeded to explore her mouth with a thoroughness and unrestrained passion that left her breathless. The exquisite sensation of his body against hers was augmented by the stirring feelings caused by his hands wandering down her arms and into the sensitive reaches of her back, caressing and demanding at the same time.