Darcy Proposes -- Sort of
Posted on Sunday, 25 March 2007
Fitzwilliam Darcy did not know how much more of this he could stand. With Bingley now engaged to Miss Bennet, Darcy had not had a moment of peace. Either Bingley spent all his time extolling the virtues of his beloved angel, which of course brought to mind the “angel’s” sister. Or Jane was present and Darcy found himself observing her intently, noting the similarities and differences between her and her sister. Or, worse, Jane was there with her sister and Darcy was torn between his desire to be in her presence and the very real wish to escape the awkwardness that ensued when they were together in company. He really did not know how much more he could take!
With a wry smile on his face, he heard an echo of Mrs. Bennet at the Netherfield ball last November. “And this will throw my younger girls into the path of other rich men!” She had no idea how truly prophetic she was. Darcy felt like he could not turn around without some mention or reminder of Elizabeth if not her actual appearance. It was both agony and ecstasy.
He had tried to escape for awhile. After he had told Bingley of his interference with Jane he had returned to London. He had fully intended on staying there for at least two weeks if not a whole month. But, as soon as he had news of Bingley’s engagement he could not stay away. Two days later found him back at Netherfield, anxious to try to win the hand and heart of his own beloved Elizabeth.
Unfortunately, he found it difficult to converse with her. The only thing he wanted to discuss with her was his desire to ask for her hand in marriage – again. Obviously, one rejection was not enough for him. But two would be too much. Thus, he could not find the courage to do so. Nor, for that matter, could he find the opportunity. There always seemed to be entirely too many people around.
He was a good deal more civil in society than the last time he had stayed at Netherfield. His manners had much improved as he had taken Elizabeth’s reproofs to heart. But, uncomfortable as always in a group, Darcy once again resorted to his old behavior – practically stalking Elizabeth around the rooms. Hoping to learn more about her, learn more of her opinions and preferences, he listened to as much of her conversations as he possibly could. He was actually becoming disgusted with himself. For heaven’s sake, he had even read a novel that he had heard her discussing with her friend, Mrs. Collins! “Under the Loggia” by Elena Lavish.* Complete drivel! And yet there was a scene or two in there that spoke to his yearning heart. A heart that did not have the courage to either leave altogether or to once again offer himself to her.
Today had been a trying day, at best. As had happened before, Miss Bennet and Eliza…er…Miss Elizabeth had arrived in the early afternoon at Bingley’s request. He wanted Jane to get a chance to decide on any alterations she wished to make at Netherfield. Thus, the Bennet sisters had come to be shown around by Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst. Then they had simply stayed for the remainder of the afternoon, awaiting the arrival of the rest of their family for supper that night.
But, though they had been there for hours, Darcy could not manage to get Elizabeth on her own. And there was no way he was going to alert Miss Bingley to the possibility that he wished to! So, once again he had to see her, hear her, and yet keep himself aloof.
As Darcy finished dressing for the evening, he took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself for another night of torture. He did not go downstairs until he knew the Bennet’s coach had arrived. Thus, by the time he went down to the sitting room, everyone was already in there. Except Elizabeth. Looking around, trying to spot her, his attention was caught as he heard Mr. Bennet ask the very same question.
“Where is Lizzy?”
Bingley answered, tearing himself away from his conversation with Jane. “She decided to read in the library while waiting for everyone to get here.” Then, looking to the door and seeing Darcy standing there, he addressed him.
“Darce, do me a favor. Can you go tell Miss Elizabeth that everyone’s here?”
Bowing his head in acceptance, he exited the room and went toward the library. As he realized that he would have at least a few moments alone with her, he began to get nervous. Should I propose to her now? Will I have the courage? Do I really want to risk being rejected at the beginning of the evening?
Still somewhat undecided, Darcy quietly entered the library and froze. His breath caught at the sight before him. Silently, he watched Elizabeth read, admiring her beauty and grace, longing to twine around his finger that curl that insisted on escaping its knot, yearning to kiss those lips that were pursed in concentration. As she smiled at the words on the page, he smiled with her.
“Elizabeth!” he breathed.
Though barely a sound escaped his lips, she was suddenly attuned to the fact that she was no longer alone. Looking up, seeing him standing there, watching her, she hastily stood up. Neither of them said a word – they just stared at each other, caught up in the moment.
Later Darcy would castigate himself for allowing his reading selection to influence him. “Under the Loggia”, indeed! But for now, the words he had recently read played through his mind. “There came from his lips no wordy protestations such as formal lovers use. No eloquence was his, nor did he suffer from the lack of it. He simply enfolded her in his manly arms.”*
And he did just that. As Elizabeth’s eyes widened in surprise at his approach, he said not a word as his arms encircled her and, pulling her towards himself somewhat roughly, he bent his head to kiss her sweet lips.
Elizabeth’s first reaction was to protest at being manhandled. But before she could suit thought to action, Elizabeth found herself participating whole-heartedly, her arms finding their way around his neck. She happily concluded that it very much depended on who the man was that was doing the handling!
Lifting his head finally, Darcy looked down at his beloved uncertainly, afraid to see censure in her eyes. What he saw, instead, was loving acceptance, as she breathlessly moaned, “Fitzwilliam!”
He was lost after that. One arm encircled her waist as he bent her over his other arm, once again delving into the delights of her kiss.
Until something niggled at the back of his mind. Some sound sought to make itself known to his consciousness. But he valiantly ignored it.
“Uhh, …Darcy?”
Briefly disengaging his mouth from its preoccupation, Darcy stated clearly, “Go away, Bingley!”
Strangled laughter followed as another voice, with sterner tones, stated, “MR. DARCY!”
Closing his eyes briefly, he straightened himself and Elizabeth, and very reluctantly turning to face Mr. Bennet. As he turned he stepped in front of her to allow her the privacy she would need to pull herself together.
“Sir.”
“Mr. Darcy, I assume you need to talk to me about something!”
Darcy’s heart sank. Once before he had assumed that Elizabeth would accept his proposal, and that had been disastrous. He would not, could not, make such an assumption again. But, how would he explain to the very irate gentleman in front of him that he had not yet broached the subject with his daughter. That they had only been engaged in the activities, but were not, in fact, engaged.
Swallowing hard, Darcy started “Well, … well actually, Sir, …”
He felt a tug at his back. Elizabeth, leaning slightly against him for support, stood on tiptoes as she whispered toward his ear, “Fitzwilliam?”
When he leant his head back toward her, she softly said, “Yes and yes”.
Confused, he murmured back, “What?”
Smiling, she answered, “Yes, I will marry you and yes, you do need to speak to my father!”
Quickly turning he caught her hands in his, and stared into her eyes, searching for any sign of reluctance.
“Are you sure? Have you’re feelings changed toward me?”
She smiled at him as she shyly nodded. As he fully realized her acceptance of him, she was able to see how well the expression of heartfelt delight, diffused over his face, became him. He kissed her hands as he murmured, “My love, you have made me the happiest of men!”
“MR. DARCY!” Mr. Bennet was not going to be ignored.
Turning back to his future father-in-law, Darcy, with a wide grin that rivaled even one of Bingley’s best, stated very clearly, “Yes, Sir! I do indeed need to speak with you. Most urgently!”
Once the interview with Mr. Bennet was over, he and Fitzwilliam went meet the rest of the party, where Elizabeth was waiting impatiently and Bingley was trying hard not to burst out laughing at the scene he had just witnessed.
Fitzwilliam was so happy at the announcement of his engagement, and so enthralled with his new fiancée, that he was totally oblivious to everything happening around him. Thus he missed the many effusions emanating from his future mama-in-law and the squeals of delight from his sisters-to-be as they foresaw the delights of many upcoming balls. Unfortunately, he also missed the delightful sight (as Bingley would later inform him) of Miss Bingley being carried out by two footmen when she fainted at the announcement of his engagement.
EPILOGUE
It was a week after their engagement that, upon reaching Netherfield with Jane, Elizabeth asked Bingley for the whereabouts of her fiancé.
“I believe he is in my study. He said something about writing to his sister, Georgiana.”
Puzzled, Lizzy went to find him. Pausing at the door, she smiled tenderly as he seemed to be struggling to find those four-syllable words he liked to use.
“And what are you doing so secretly, Sir?” she teased him with the words of Miss Bingley.
“It is not a secret,” he looked up, smiling. “Well,” he admitted, looking somewhat abashed, “it is somewhat of a secret.”
Mystified, Lizzy questioned, “Mr. Bingley says that you are writing to your sister. Is she not arriving here tomorrow?”
Embarrassed, Fitzwilliam responded. “Yes, she will be here tomorrow. I’m not actually writing to her, but, well, I guess you can say I’m writing for her. And I could certainly use your help!”
Walking to his side, Lizzy scanned what he had written so far. Which only served to confuse her further.
“Fitzwilliam, this seems to be a … a proposal?”
“It is.”
Lizzy raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry if I’m being obtuse, but I don’t quite understand.”
Sighing heavily, Darcy closed his eyes momentarily and then looked down at his hands. “My dear, you know what young girls can be. And Georgiana in no exception. She is something of a romantic. I know the first question she is going to ask is how I proposed to you and …” glaring at his fiancée as she struggled to hold in her laughter, “ … I am not going to tell her what REALLY happened! So I thought we could write up a believable scenario to tell her. It would also help if we told the same story!”
Though Elizabeth thought the idea hilarious, she could certainly see his point.
Getting into the spirit of the exercise, she told him that she thought his first effort “you must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you” was actually pretty good. “But,” she sternly admonished with a militant gleam in her eye, “I suggest you leave out the bit about ‘in vain I have struggled’!”
Fitzwilliam meekly agreed with her.
However, at a further suggestion of hers, he adamantly refused.
“I love you very dearly, Elizabeth. But I refuse to sound like a love-sick swain in front of my little sister!”
She laughingly acquiesced. She did not really think he would have used her suggestion. She just wanted to see how far she could go before he protested.
Of course, she protested herself when he thought to include how she “swooned with gratitude at his offer.”
Thus they spent the greater part of the afternoon concocting a proposal that never happened. Much laughter and mock arguments were heard as they discussed and wrote it out. Needless to say, it took many revisions before they were both satisfied.
Once that was done, they “tried it on for size”. Revisions were again needed for they found that, when acted out, parts of the scene were just too ridiculous.
‘This is a lot harder than I would have thought!” Lizzy complained.
“Yes, I agree. It certainly explains the drivel written by Elena Lavish,” said Fitzwilliam.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Lizzy smiled at her fiancé with a slight blush on her cheeks, “I certainly thought some of her book had merit!”
A gleam came to Darcy’s eyes as he leaned forward to..uh.. replay the scene of his “sort of" proposal.
Much later, as the engaged couple strove to regain their composure, Darcy, with his arms around Elizabeth, murmured softly into her hair.
“Elizabeth?”
“Yes, my love?”
“Georgiana is NOT allowed to read anything by Elena Lavish!”
“Yes, my dear, I quite agree!”
THE END
* References to and quotes from E. M. Forsters A Room With a View