Page 54 of The Heir and Spare
But she held up a finger. “Because you have created it, and for that, I shall treasure it as a part of you always.”
He stood so still she wondered if he’d forgotten to breathe and then wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. “Let’s be off then, please may I escort you?”
“Yes, my good Mr. Darcy.”
“Why all this Mr. Darcy all of a sudden?”
She shrugged. “I like it. And now that I know the preferred Mr. Darcy, I love it even more.”
“At least call me Arthur sometimes.”
She just grinned.
He led her straight up the stairs where it looked like his entire staff waited outside to meet them. Their livery was a deep royal blue with white trim. Sun gleamed off of the buttons. A woman and man stepped forward, presumably the housekeeper and butler.
“Mrs. Wilkins. Hobson. I’d like you to meet a woman who is very special to me and to my family. Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”
The curtsey and bow from the two very proper and stately servants were also kind in their own way. The two main household staff seemed to be the good, solid sort of no-nonsense workers that Elizabeth knew she could respect and appreciate if given the chance.
Everything was so obviously important to Arthur. She knew he cared. She saw where this was heading. And she was overly excited. This life, this man, this estate; she would never have guessed that one day she’d be so fortunate. And to marry for love. What a gift, indeed. Her smile filled her face and she didn’t even attempt to dim it.
“And what are you smiling about?” Arthur laced their fingers together.
“I’m just happy.”
“So this pleases you?”
“Oh, yes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a situation quite so pleasing.”
He laughed. “I hope very much that you like it.”
They walked through the house together, touring every room, Arthur asking Lizzie’s thoughts on colors and furniture. The adjoining master suites filled one wing of the upstairs with sitting rooms and large closets and servants’ quarters and an oversized bath. They moved to the grounds and the many gardens around the home, and the barn. Inside a horse knickered, and Arthur introduced her to a horse that would be just right for her. The animal nuzzled her palm. They moved out around the side of the house to a gate to a walled-in space.
He turned the key and pushed open a door to a small inner courtyard with a fountain. The walls were lined with beds of flowers. A tree rose up in the corner and from one of its branches, a swing moved gently in the breeze. The grass was soft. The earth smelled lovely, and even in the chill of the evening air they’d been having, everything seemed to be thriving. She smiled and breathed it in. “Now this place, I could spend every day of the rest of my life.” She spun in a slow circle, wanting to take everything in, one bud at a time.
“It would be for your own particular use, though I might visit you from time to time?” He grinned and pointed to a doorleading into the house. “That is your study, with a starter library of books.”
She blinked back tears at this point. “Mr. Darcy. It is all too much. I don’t need… That is, we haven’t specifically discussed this, but I don’t need any of this to make me happy. I would spend the rest of my days quite satisfied with just you.” A tear ran down her cheek which he quickly wiped away.
“What is this? Tears, my dear?”
She nodded. “You are too good.”
He shook his head. “It is my opinion that nothing could be too good for you. Now, please, if you can indulge me, I wanted to be right here when I asked this question.” He dropped down to one knee in the soft earth in front of her. The fountain trickled water behind her. The sun shone in dappled rays through the trees. The flowers scented the air. And Lizzie was overcome.
“Lizzie, would you please do me the honor of being my wife? I cannot promise the decades of history of a grand estate, but instead one of new beginnings and a strong and willing heart at your side.”
Happiness filled her as well as what felt like every other emotion. She struggled to even swallow. Wiping at the tears on her face, she nodded. “Yes. I will do everything I can to fill your life with sunshine.” She rested a hand at the side of his face. “You are so deserving of it.” She kneeled down at his front, their faces level, his tender eyes staring into her own. “I love you, Arthur.”
His smile filled his face and he closed his eyes. “The sweetest words ever spoken to me.” He took her face in his hands, gently running fingers down the sides of her cheeks and then through her hair. “I love you too, my Lizzie. Thank you for making me the happiest of men.”
His eyes shown with the joy that coursed between them. Then his gaze moved to her lips. He captured them within moments, wrapping his other arm around her back. When sheleaned into him, returning all her affection as best she could, he kissed her over and over, pulling and nibbling and pressing until she was quite content to stay in his arms forever. He rested his forehead against hers, slightly out of breath and very clearly wanting to keep kissing her. “And now, the rest of that will have to wait.”
She giggled out of pure embarrassment that he’d dare bring up anything of the kind in conversation.
But he just laughed and then he swung her up into his arms. “I would like to show you your personal study.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck while he carried her through the door to her own library and received a very thorough tour of a small study, in between a very thorough round of kisses. He pulled her into his lap on a lovely oversized chair, both laughing at the enjoyment and freedom of it all.
