To Conquer Mr. Darcy

Twelve

The following day saw a flurry of activity as the inhabitants of the Darcy townhouse scattered to their various tasks. Georgiana, having garnered her brother’s support on the necessity of a new wardrobe for Mrs. Darcy, took Elizabeth back to the modiste, which while not particularly a pleasure for her, at least distracted her from the tasks at hand. It was the third day in which business had separated her from Darcy for a majority of the day, and Elizabeth had discovered that she did not care for this in the slightest.

When they returned to the house, Darcy was already there, also feeling a similar lack. Georgiana began to tell him of their day, and then, noticing how the two were gazing at one another, excused herself somewhat abruptly. She had no sooner departed the room than Elizabeth was in Darcy’s arms, enjoying the exquisite sensation of completion that returning to a lover’s embrace can bring.

“Oh, William,” she whispered against his chest. “I missed you so much.”

He caught her lips in an engaging kiss. “I think that I shall never allow you to leave my side again.” He had found himself distracted all day by her absence, wondering what she was doing, and whether she was thinking of him, and to hear her acknowledgment of missing him filled him with the contentment of knowing that he was loved by the woman he adored so completely. Now that he was holding her in his arms, however, he began finding her distracting in a completely different way, and his hand began wandering down to the curve of her hips.

It was not fair, thought Elizabeth, that he could evoke a reaction from her body with such ease. She fought against the urge to press herself against him.

He pulled her closer to him as he deepened the kiss to taste the pleasures of her mouth. He could feel her response as her lips pressed against his, but her body did not melt into his in the way he so loved. When he lifted his head for a moment, he said, “Reluctant, my love?”

Elizabeth, knowing that she could be all too tempted if she allowed herself to be, said, “Georgiana is here, William. You cannot simply carry me off to bed.”

He said an ungentlemanly word, which together with the irritated look on his face, produced a soft laugh from her. He nipped at her ear. “Are you laughing at me, my love?” he growled.

She could not help the mischievous look on her face. “You are very amusing, after all,” she murmured, her words cut off by a gasp as he began to assault her neck with light kisses that seemed to send currents of energy through her.

He pressed himself against her in such a way as to leave her in no doubt as to his potent arousal. “Let us see how long you can laugh then,” he replied, moving his hands seductively over her hips while his lips drifted downward to her collarbone.

“William,” she protested gently, finding it very difficult not to arch her body into his enticing touch as desire began to wend its way through her. She was beginning to gain some understanding of why his family considered him impulsive, she thought. “I did miss you today,” she admitted.

“I cannot say I am sorry to hear it, since you were hardly out of my thoughts all day,” he replied.

“I wish that we could return to Pemberley,” she said somewhat dreamily. “There were not so many people bent on taking you away from me there.”

He leaned his cheek against her hair, still finding the experience of having Elizabeth express her affection for him to be a heady one. “My dearest love,” he said, feeling his love for her to be greater than he could ever hope to express. “I would like nothing better than to have you completely to myself.”

They remained thus, murmuring endearments, for a brief while, which came to a close when Darcy told her that he had something to show her. After a last kiss, she stood, leaving him free to fetch a paper from his desk. He handed her several closely written pages.

“What is this?” she enquired.

“It is a copy of the settlement I made on you while I was at my solicitor’s office today. I thought you might like to see it.”

She gave him a grateful glance, knowing that he had no responsibility to share it with her, and that in showing it to her he was respecting her desire for involvement in decisions regarding her. She read through it carefully, noting the provisions for her future should she outlive him, and for any children they might have, and paused when she reached the section regarding her annual allowance. Without looking up, she said slowly, “This is very generous, William, but I came to you without a dowry, and there is no need to settle this sort of money on me.”

He tipped her chin up so that she looked at him. “Elizabeth, this is an appropriate settlement for my wife, regardless of how you came to me, and I will not treat you like a poor relation. You will have significant expenses in maintaining the standards necessary for my wife. You will,” he paused, and smiled knowingly at her “for example, clearly have a substantial need for replacing clothing.”

She could not help smiling at his words, but still added, “I still believe that this is far too generous.”

“It is done already, my love,” he said, not without pleasure. “You may as well accustom yourself to it.”

She handed the papers back to him, and kissed him affectionately. “Well, I thank you, then, and I am glad you know that I did not marry you for your fortune.”

“Of that I am quite clear, my dearest.”

“And thank you for showing it to me; I do appreciate being involved.”

He looked rather more pleased by these thanks than her earlier ones. “I have one more thing for you as well,” he said.

“Am I required to guess what it is, or do I get a hint?”

“How many kisses is a hint worth?” he asked mischievously.

She put her arms around his neck and pulled his lips towards hers. “Kisses are free,” she said, demonstrating her point.

When she released him, he said, “In that case, I shall not require you to guess.” He reached his hands behind her neck and unhooked the chain of the small amber cross she customarily wore. From a box in his pocket he removed another necklace, this one an elegant pendant of pearls set in gold, obviously expensive yet simple enough for everyday wear, and replaced the other one by fixing it around her neck.

She lifted it to examine it more closely. “Thank you, William,” she said warmly. “It is lovely. But I hope you know that you need not buy me gifts; you are all that I need.”

He gathered her into his arms. “I enjoy buying you gifts, so you should accustom yourself to that as well.” She laid her head upon his chest, hearing the reassuring sound of his heartbeat.

A knock came at the door, and Darcy released her to open it. Colonel Fitzwilliam entered, and Elizabeth colored as he gave his cousin a look that made her suspect that he had no doubts as to why the door had been locked. “Excellent news, Darcy,” he said exuberantly. “Wickham accepted the offer with only minor alterations, and your sister, madam,” he paused to bow in Elizabeth’s direction, “is at your uncle’s house on Gracechurch Street.”

Elizabeth pressed her hand over her heart as a look of delight came to her face. “That is wonderful news, indeed,” she cried. “Thank you, thank you again and again for all you have done in this.”

“It was my pleasure, Mrs. Darcy. Your husband has the more trying position of having to foot the bill,” said the colonel, adroitly turning her attention back to Darcy, who did not appear pleased by his wife bestowing her bright smiles upon his cousin.

She turned a radiant look onto Darcy. “He is quite correct,” she said softly. “You are the one I should be thanking, and I do thank you, again and again, in the name of all my family.”

He kissed her lightly on the forehead. “It is no more than I ought to have done. Perhaps we should call at Gracechurch Street later ourselves.”

The excursion to the Gardiner home went as well as could be expected. Lydia was Lydia still: untamed, unabashed, wild, noisy, and fearless, talking constantly about her upcoming wedding and all the clothes she wished to purchase for it. Elizabeth, mortified by her behavior, tried to keep her as far as possible from Darcy, thinking he would be quite justified in thinking Lydia not worth the small fortune he was spending to rescue her. Fortunately, Lydia had no interest in someone as dull as Mr. Darcy, even now when he was known to be her brother.

Darcy spent most of the visit in the company of Mr. Bennet, a situation that placed him on the defensive even when his father-in-law was most cordial. Elizabeth, however, could tell more immediately that the brunt of her father’s anger with her husband had passed, and had the satisfaction of seeing Mr. Bennet taking pains to get acquainted with him.

After a lengthy discussion, Darcy asked Elizabeth to join them, leaving Lydia to sulk over her neglect. “Elizabeth,” Darcy said, “your father has informed me that he plans to depart for Longbourn tomorrow morning.”

“I see nothing further that I can do in London apart from fretting, and I can do that equally well in my own library,” said Mr. Bennet, with more of his old dry humor than Elizabeth had heard since their arrival in London. “Your aunt is likewise returning to London with the children tomorrow. Lydia will have to remain here until the wedding, of course. The question is as to what the two of you wish to do.”

Elizabeth glanced at Darcy, whose countenance was unrevealing. He said, “We will need to be in London in two weeks for your sister’s wedding, since that is when the financial arrangements are to be finalized, but in the meantime we can do as you wish—we can travel to Hertfordshire, or we can remain in town.”

Having taken earlier the difficult step of acknowledging that Darcy had the right to make this decision on his wife’s behalf, Mr. Bennet was pleased to see him turning the question to Elizabeth.

“We really must go to Longbourn soon in any case,” Elizabeth said. “I suppose my preference would be to do so now, so that after Lydia’s wedding, we would be free to return to Pemberley.”

Darcy’s eyes lit at the idea that Elizabeth was anxious to go home, to their home. They shared a glance, silently agreeing that some time alone at Pemberley was what they both needed.

Mr. Bennet grimaced slightly, less than pleased to hear that Lizzy was desirous to leave the environs of Hertfordshire. In the interest of tranquility, however, he said, “I wrote to your mother this afternoon; I am not certain whether she will receive the letter or not before I return. I elected not to mention your marriage in it, Lizzy, since I did not know whether you preferred to announce it yourself.”

“We had originally planned to do so, but that was before we knew that we would be coming to London,” she replied. “I have not given it any particular thought since then, given how much else has been happening. We can tell her when we arrive at Longbourn, though.”

With a wry smile, Mr. Bennet said, “Now, as you know, Lizzy, your mother’s nerves and I are old companions, and I have no fear of her wrath under ordinary circumstances; however, were I to neglect to inform her that one of her daughters was married, I believe that neither her nerves nor I would be likely to survive the outcome. As a result, I do plan to inform her in the calmest possible manner of your current state when I return home tomorrow, unless, of course, you choose to join me and to share the joyous news with her yourself.”

Elizabeth looked up at Darcy questioningly. He said, “If you prefer to go tomorrow, Elizabeth, then we can certainly do so.”

“I think that I should prefer to tell her the story my own way,” Elizabeth allowed.

“Then tomorrow it shall be,” said Darcy.

They arrived at Longbourn slightly after midday, and it was clear that Mr. Bennet’s letter had not yet been received, as they were apparently not expected. They hurried into the vestibule, where Jane, who came running downstairs from her mother’s apartment, immediately met them. As she affectionately embraced Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth, she lost not a moment in asking whether anything had been heard of the fugitives. Mr. Bennet was so well able to reassure her as to Lydia’s status as to bring tears of joy to her eyes. “But we must tell my mother at once!” Jane exclaimed. “It will be such a relief to her nerves.”

“She is still in her rooms, then?” asked Mr. Bennet, his reluctance to confront his wife evident.

“She has not been downstairs since this all began,” Jane replied.

“Well, then, you and Lizzy should inform her at once!” said Mr. Bennet. “I shall be in the library; I need a glass of port, and I daresay that Mr. Darcy does as well, or will need it soon enough in any case.”

As they walked upstairs, Jane said, “Oh, Lizzy, how I have longed for you to be home! I cannot tell you how much I have missed you!”

“Dearest Jane, you have had so much on your shoulders—how I wish I could have helped you! And I have so very much to tell you,” replied Elizabeth, thinking, including that this is my home no longer.

Entering Mrs. Bennet’s apartment, Jane said, “Look—they are arrived! My father and Lizzy and Mr. Darcy as well! And they bring good news!”

“Oh, what is it, what is it? Is my Lydia married?” Mrs. Bennet cried.

“Not yet,” Elizabeth answered her, “though we hope she will be soon. She has been found, and is at my uncle Gardiner’s house, and she and Wickham plan to marry in two weeks.”

Mrs. Bennet’s joy burst forth, and she was now in an irritation as violent from delight, as she had ever been fidgety from alarm and vexation. To know that her daughter would be married was enough. She was disturbed by no fear for her felicity, nor humbled by any remembrance of her misconduct.

“My dear, dear Lydia!” she cried. “This is delightful indeed! She will be married—I shall see her again!—she will be married at sixteen!—How I long to see her! And to see dear Wickham too! But the clothes, the wedding clothes! I will write to her about them directly. Jane, my dear, run down to your father, and ask him how much he will give her. I shall have a daughter married! My dear, dear Lydia! How merry we shall be together when we meet!”

Elizabeth took a deep breath. “I do have another piece of news, madam, and it is that you already have a daughter married.”

Mrs. Bennet paused to look at her in some irritation. “Oh, Lizzy, how you do delight in vexing me! So they are already married! Why did you not say so at once? You teasing, teasing girl!”

Elizabeth could not help laughing at her mother’s countenance. “I fear that you misunderstand me. It is not Lydia who is married, but I.” Jane gasped in astonishment, and Elizabeth gave her an apologetic glance as she turned back to her mother. “It is true; once we were at Pemberley, events took on a life of their own. Mr. Darcy’s godfather is the bishop of Matlock, and it turned out that he was absolutely determined to officiate at our wedding, and Lord and Lady Derby to be in attendance, and Mr. Darcy unwilling to wait until such a time as my family could journey to Derbyshire. So we were wed last week in Matlock Cathedral by the bishop himself, just as the most fashionable folk do.”

“Lizzy,” Mrs. Bennet said weakly. “Can this be true? My sister Gardiner said nothing of it!”

Elizabeth smiled warmly. “It is true enough; we pledged Mrs. Gardiner to secrecy when we discovered that she would be coming here before we ourselves arrived. I am sure that she was longing to tell you the entire story; it was quite the event! I wore a lovely gown that belonged to Lady Anne, Mr. Darcy’s mother, as well as a necklace of sapphires and diamonds that Mr. Darcy gave to me for the occasion, and lace in my hair. I have never been so well dressed in my life—you would not have recognized me. Lord and Lady Derby hosted the wedding breakfast for us at Derby House, and it was a very elegant affair indeed.” Inwardly, she was highly amused by this presentation of the affair, so tailored to her mother’s desires.

Recovering herself, Mrs. Bennet cried, “Oh, my dearest Lizzy, this is too much! Married by the bishop himself in the cathedral! And Lord and Lady Derby present! Oh, Lizzy, you must tell me all about them! This is delightful, delightful! Lydia’s is nothing to it! How Mrs. Long shall envy me when I tell her! Mrs. Darcy! How well it sounds. But what shall you do about your trousseau? Oh, we must discuss this immediately, Lizzy! There is so much that I must tell you!”

“I look forward to hearing all of your excellent advice, but will you not come down to greet my husband?” asked Elizabeth with amusement.

“Oh, yes, of course! Dear Mr. Darcy! Ring the bell, Jane, for Hill. I will put on my things in a moment. And I will go to Meryton, as well, and tell the good, good news to my sister Phillips. And as I come back, I can call on Lady Lucas and Mrs. Long. Jane, run down and order the carriage. An airing would do me a great deal of good, I am sure. Oh! Here comes Hill. My dear Hill, have you heard the good news? Miss Lizzy is married, by the bishop himself and in the cathedral! And Miss Lydia is to be married as well, and you shall all have a bowl of punch, to make merry.”

Mrs. Hill began instantly to express her joy. Elizabeth received her congratulations amongst the rest, and then in order to take refuge from the scene claimed that she must return to her husband. She hurried down to the library where she joined Mr. Bennet and Darcy, who seemed to be enjoying some dry humor when she arrived. She sat down by Darcy and said plaintively, “Well, I have told her. May we go back to Pemberley now?”

Catching her hand and kissing it, Darcy laughed. Surprised to see him so relaxed in the presence of her father, Elizabeth said, “Well may you laugh, sir! She will barely trouble you for a moment before going off to inform Mrs. Phillips, Lady Lucas, Mrs. Long, and anyone else she can find of this astonishing news!”

“I have great faith that she will find some opportunity to corner me in this next week,” he reassured her cheerfully, “and I shall count on you to defend me, Elizabeth.”

“And I can see that I will not dare to emerge from my library except for meals!” grumbled Mr. Bennet, as his wife’s excited voice was heard from without.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrow, unconvinced by this unusual show of amity between Mr. Bennet and Darcy. They had been perfectly civil on the ride from London, which was surprising enough by itself, but to appear as if they were enjoying each other’s company seemed a bit unlikely.

“I have invited your father to visit us at Pemberley this autumn, Elizabeth,” Darcy said, further straining her comprehension, but Elizabeth decided that if they intended to behave as if they were civilized gentlemen, she was not going to interfere.

“That would be lovely. I hope you will be able to join us,” she said with just a hint of mischief in her voice.

“I do not wish to hurry you away from your family, my love, but since Bingley does not know to expect us, I imagine that we should try to reach Netherfield as soon as we conveniently may,” Darcy said, rising to his feet.

“Go on then,” Mr. Bennet said dryly, waving them away. “Desert me to the tender mercies of my family—I feel certain that I will survive it somehow.”

They emerged to accept the congratulations of Mrs. Bennet, which were mercifully brief as she was anxious to reach her sister as soon as possible. Once she had departed, Jane and Mary immediately requested an explanation of the happenings in London, which was provided in brief by Mr. Bennet. Elizabeth decided that he and Darcy must have reached an accommodation on the subject, since no mention was made of her husband’s role in the settling of Lydia’s situation.

Elizabeth could not help but notice that Jane was unusually quiet and looked rather drawn, and before they left she took the opportunity to take her aside. “Jane, you look sad,” she said. “Is there anything I can do?”

Jane made a valiant effort at a smile. “No, of course, I am delighted at how well everything has worked out. You and Mr. Darcy seem very happy together, Lizzy.”

“Jane,” Elizabeth said with warning in her voice, “I am not so easily deceived as all that. Is everything well between you and Mr. Bingley?”

“Of course, Lizzy! I do wish that I could have been at your wedding, that is all, but I can understand why it was important to Mr. Darcy’s family to have it there.”

It had not occurred to Elizabeth that Jane’s feelings might be hurt. She leaned close to her sister with a smile, and said very quietly in her ear, “Do you really imagine that I would marry without my dearest Jane beside me merely to please his family?”

Jane looked at her in confusion. “I do not understand you, Lizzy! Is that not what you said?”

Elizabeth smiled at her mischievously. “Should I have told her the truth instead, that we married quickly because we had to?” she said in a whisper.

Jane’s eyes grew wide. “Lizzy!” she said in deep shock.

Looking amused, Elizabeth turned up her hands helplessly. “Will you not come to Netherfield soon, so we may talk more privately? I have missed you so, Jane, and you cannot imagine how much I wished you were with me in Derbyshire.”

Darcy appeared at her side. “We should be leaving, my love. Poor Bingley does not know to expect us, so we must give him a little time to have preparations made for us.”

She gave Jane an apologetic glance, but her sister appeared to be recovering her equilibrium. After giving her a brief embrace, she bid her adieus to the rest of her family before Darcy handed her into the carriage. As they pulled away from the house, she smiled at him ruefully. “You survived that very well, William,” she said.

“To which part do you refer—the best wishes of your family, or spending the entire day without having the least opportunity to hold you in my arms?” he asked, carefully switching seats so that he could be beside her. “There are altogether too many people in Hertfordshire.” He took her into his arms and kissed her hungrily.

The trip to Netherfield had never been so enjoyable. On their arrival, the butler showed them in, and announced them—incorrectly in Elizabeth’s case—to Bingley. Elizabeth turned to correct him, but he had already departed. Bingley, a broad smile on his face, leaped to his feet to greet them. “Darcy! What a wonderful surprise to see you here! And Lizzy, it is a pleasure, as always! Jane will be so pleased that you have returned. Or is she with you?”

“No, we just left her at Longbourn, but I am hoping that she will visit later,” Elizabeth said warmly.

“Wonderful!” Bingley announced. A look of disturbance crossed his open face as he realized that they were unaccompanied, and he said, “Errr, Darcy… I hardly think this is a time to be violating the proprieties. The talk here has mostly died down, but it would take very little to refuel it.”

Darcy looked at him in confusion, and then comprehension suddenly came to him. He clapped Bingley on the shoulder. “Bingley, my friend, may I have the honor of presenting my wife to you?”

“Your wife?”

With a laugh at the stunned look on his friend’s face, Darcy explained the situation. Bingley shook his head, smiling, and said, “Had I only known that it was the rapid route to matrimony, I would have insisted that Jane and I accompany you to Derbyshire. You do have all the luck, Darcy!”

Darcy looked at Elizabeth warmly. “I certainly do.”

An invitation was rapidly dispatched to Longbourn, and to Bingley’s delight, Jane was able to join the Netherfield party for dinner, although when word of her acceptance arrived, Darcy could not help whispering to Elizabeth that he was surprised her father considered them adequate chaperonage under the circumstances.

“This is Jane,” Elizabeth replied with amusement. “She does not need a chaperone; such wicked thoughts would never cross her mind!” She was a trifle worried herself as to what her sister might be thinking of her own impetuous confession earlier, though she could not imagine what else she might have told her to relieve her hurt feelings.

When Jane herself arrived, Bingley was beside himself with pleasure. It was evident that since the first news of Lydia’s elopement had been received, he had not been able to spend as much time with Jane as he would have wished, owing to Mrs. Bennet’s demands upon her time. Jane herself seemed slightly subdued, though Elizabeth did her best to draw her out about the events during her absence, which had clearly taken their toll on her.

Jane was equally eager to hear about the proceedings in London, and Elizabeth dwelt with some warmth on the subject of Lydia’s irresponsibility, avoiding any mention of the role she had played in the negotiations with Wickham. She caught Jane stealing glances at Bingley to see how he was taking their tale, as if concerned that he might be distressed by it. Feeling that a change of subject was in order, Elizabeth began to describe her pleasure in the sights of Derbyshire. When she reached the subject of Pemberley and the delight that she had taken in it, Darcy took her hand in his with a warm smile, kissed it lightly, and then retained it in his as she went on. Somewhat inured to this behavior on his part by this point, and feeling as if they were among close friends, if not family, she gave him an affectionate look.

By the end of dinner, however, Elizabeth was fully convinced that Jane was out of spirits. She was not happy; her normal tranquility and warmth seemed somehow lessened. However, the gentlemen were determined not to permit the ladies to withdraw after dinner, so they all adjourned to the drawing room, somewhat to the distress of Elizabeth, who had been hoping for some time alone with Jane.

She was sufficiently concerned to raise the subject when they had just a few minutes apart from the gentlemen at the pianoforte. “Jane, is aught the matter? You do not seem yourself tonight.”

Jane’s fair skin colored delicately. “What could be wrong, Lizzy?” she asked a little too quickly. “Lydia is found and to be married, you are here and happy, and I have my dearest Bingley.”

Elizabeth looked at her skeptically, but was reluctant to press the subject under the circumstances. However, after she had delighted the gentlemen with her musical abilities, she found the opportunity to speak quietly to Darcy. “Would you be so kind as to take Mr. Bingley off to play some billiards, or whatever it is that men do when they are by themselves? I need to speak to Jane alone.”

Darcy acknowledged her request with a barely perceptible nod, but to avoid being obvious, he waited several minutes before saying, “Bingley, it has been weeks since I have had the pleasure of thrashing you at billiards. Shall we have a game?”

Bingley groaned. “Must we, Darcy? The outcome is a foregone conclusion, is it not?”

“Think of it as an opportunity to improve your skills,” Darcy said with an ironic smile.

“Oh, well, if it will make you happy, I suppose we could,” Bingley grumbled good-naturedly.

Darcy caught Elizabeth’s hand in his for a moment as they excused themselves, giving her a warm look. Bingley laughed. “Oh, for God’s sake, Darcy—we are only going as far as the billiard room!” Darcy pinned Bingley with a haughty stare that made Elizabeth burst into laughter before he himself smiled.

Elizabeth moved to sit beside Jane and took her hand between hers. “Now, dearest Jane,” she said in an engaging voice, “tell me about everything.”

“There is nothing really to tell; I have spent much of my time with our mother, although aunt Gardiner was more than kind in helping with that. I do hope that this can all be hushed up, though so many people know about it already.”

“And you and Mr. Bingley? How goes the romance?”

Jane colored. “There has been little time for romance, I fear. Charles has been quite attentive in visiting, though.”

But could you speak to him of what you were feeling, Jane? Elizabeth wondered. “I am sorry that I could not be here with you,” she said aloud. “I have worried about how you were feeling. I know how much I missed having my dearest Jane to talk to and to comfort me when I was in Derbyshire, and you were facing much worse on your own!”

Jane seemed a little relieved by her words. “I confess that I could not understand at the time why you did not return to Longbourn as I asked, and did not even send a letter or a message to me with our aunt, but now that I know of your marriage, I can see why of course you had to go with Mr. Darcy.”

With a slight grimace, Elizabeth said, “I thought of writing, but felt as if I would have to tell you the whole truth if I did, and I did not want to add to your burdens. I can see, though, that failing to write added to those burdens as well.”

“I can see how happy you are with Mr. Darcy, Lizzy. I recall how unhappy you were before you left for Derbyshire, and I am so glad that you were able to work it out with him.” Despite her smile, her words had an undertone of wistfulness, and Elizabeth realized Jane could be envious of her new intimacy with Darcy.

A playful look came to Elizabeth’s face, and she said, “It was more a matter of accepting the inevitable! But yes, I am very happy. I confess that I had not quite understood how much closer he and I would be once we were married, and I believe that it has been good for both of us. Oh, Jane, I do want you to know him better, since you and he are the dearest people in the world to me!”

Her smile became more genuine at Elizabeth’s words. “I am so glad that he and my dear Bingley are such good friends! But, Lizzy… will you tell me what happened at Pemberley? Were you discovered by someone? I know you had permitted him… some liberties before you left here.”

Elizabeth colored. “Oh, Jane, if I tell you, you will be so ashamed of me.”

“Lizzy, I could never be ashamed of you!”

“Well, Jane, if you are certain you wish to know, I will tell you, but you will not like it!” Elizabeth found herself surprisingly overcome with embarrassment faced with this admission.

“If you do not wish to tell me, I shall not be offended,” said Jane hesitantly.

Putting her hands to her hot cheeks, Elizabeth said, “No one found us; I fear that we found ourselves out, and it was in William’s bed.”

“Lizzy!” Jane’s voice exhibited the deepest of shock.

“So there was only one thing to do, and… I told you that you would be ashamed of me!”

“Not ashamed, but, oh, Lizzy, how could you have, that is, did he…” Jane was clearly unable to even bring the words to her lips. “I am not upset, but… a bit shocked, yes. I cannot understand quite how… venturesome you and Mr. Darcy have been.”

Elizabeth smiled with amusement. “Well, dearest Jane, if you wish an explanation, I will do my best to give one to you, but it is rather difficult since I do not know what license you have permitted Mr. Bingley, nor how you have felt about it.”

It was Jane’s turn to blush. “I am not so daring as you, Lizzy! We have been circumspect; he holds my hand when we are alone, and I have allowed him to kiss my cheek.”

“And have you never wanted more? No, do not try to answer; that was an unfair question. If the truth is to be told, I found William’s kisses very… pleasant, and they grew even more so with time. And the more we indulged in that pleasure, the more tempting it became to do more, and one night the temptation became too great for us. Despite everything our mother has told us about the duties of the marriage bed, it truly can bring great joy and happiness as well.”

“That is reassuring, I suppose, after what she has said! But Lizzy, was it not upsetting for you, afterwards?”

Elizabeth could not prevent a smile. “Well, I was quite shocked at myself, I must admit, and disappointed at my weakness. Certainly I would not have chosen to have it happen so. I had so hoped that you and I would share a wedding! But there are ways in which it was not as surprising as it might have been. He and I have always been out of step with the usual procedure—our time here was more like an engagement for us in many ways. I know that Mr. Darcy saw himself as committed to me very early on, which affected his behavior towards me, and while I would not admit to myself what was happening, I knew some time before I accepted him that I would be marrying him.”

“Yet you always denied any interest in him so vehemently!”

With a rueful smile, Elizabeth said, “My very vehemence was probably the best evidence against me! I believe as well that you saw through me on more than one occasion as far as that goes.” She thought back, wondering when in fact she had gained an inkling that it was inevitable, and a memory came back to her of that first day when he had surprised her with his appearance at Longbourn, when she had asked him how long he would be staying in Hertfordshire, and he had replied, ‘As long as necessary.’

Jane squeezed her hand lightly. “Dearest Lizzy, I hope that we shall always be the best of friends, and that marriage shall not separate our hearts, no matter how far apart we may live.”

Elizabeth heartily endorsed this sentiment.