Page 13 of The Gossip War
She asked quite gently, “In what way?”
The answer seemed clear once I tried to stand in her dancing slippers, and I whispered, “You hoped for better of me!”
She tucked her head tighter in my chest. “Yes, I believe that is it. I was powerfully attracted to you from the start, and then—”
I understood the full magnitude of my crimes, but from that, I began to comprehend the full scope of my pardon. I brought my horse to a stop, just outside the gates of Longbourn. I had been pulling her tighter to my chest ever since Meryton, but I pushed her away just enough to look down into her beautiful eyes and ramped up my courage. “Might I hope that I am past forgiveness?”
She nodded shakily. “A heart does not weigh and measure before it falls in love, Fitzwilliam. If it did, you would have proven yourself tonight through your ready acceptance of your faults. I loved you from almost the first moment I truly forgave you in the library, but it might only be because acted in a loving manner before that moment of decision.”
She put her hand back against my cheek softly. “I love you, Fitzwilliam Darcy, and I will be honoured to be your wife. Let us face all those obstacles you mentioned together.”
I smiled down at her. “Us and them?”
She smiled brilliantly, then gave me another kiss that had enough passion my horse was nearly struck dead just from being so close.
I have no idea how long the kiss went on, but I eventually decided we had left Jane out of doors long enough, so I guided us to the Longbourn stables.
Jane had already dismounted, lit a lantern, and dragged a young stable boy from his bed.
She gave me another of her brilliant smiles. “Welcome home, brother.”
Longbourn Stables, 3 AM, Jane
I will not say how precisely I knew, but I did.
The moment I saw the way Lizzy looked at my new brother’s eyes, I knew they had not only come to an understanding, but gone well beyond that and quite a long way into the path of true love—perhaps all the way.
She certainly looked at him in a way that was unmistakable and not the least bit subtle. Lizzy had always been a woman of extremes, and it seemed she was only capable of two emotions regarding Mr Darcy. I vastly preferred her current state.
I welcomed him as the brother I now considered him, and he replied exactly as a brother should. “Thank you, Jane. I am the luckiest man alive.”
Feeling astoundingly forward, I ran the two steps that separated us and threw him into a most indecorous, brotherly hug. “You have no idea.”
He smiled at me and returned the hug, although since he had a death grip on Lizzy with his other arm, it ended up being more of a group effort.
Poor Simon looked like he was vacillating between annoyance at being dragged from his bed at three in the morning, and excitement that he was seeing something no other servant would be allowed to even hear about. He was only fifteen, and as the fourth son of a tenant, who had been nursed by Lizzy and me many times during his rather sickly childhood, he was as trustworthy as the moon or stars.
I saw Mr Darcy and Lizzy starting to lose themselves in their own gazes again, so decided to move things along.
“Mr Darcy,” I began but was surprised when he held up his hand.
“William, please. My given name is Fitzwilliam, as the Darcy tradition is to name the first son with his mother’s family name.My present sister calls me William, and I would prefer my future sisters do likewise.”
I nodded, unaccountably happy about having such a simple pleasure. I suspected I would be only one of three privileged to use that name. “Well, I am obviously Jane to you… it is hard to shorten that to a diminutive, although Lizzy calls me Janey sometimes.”
Then getting down to business, I pulled Simon forward. “William, this is Simon. He is entirely trustworthy and silent as a tomb. He will return Miss Bingley’s horse before anyone notices its absence, but then—”
William caught the import of my suggestion easily.
“Simon, can you get into Netherfield and to my apartment with nobody but servants the wiser?”
Simon, to his credit, thought about it before giving a flippant answer and finally looked up at him.
“If I wait ‘til five, I can go through the kitchen quietly. I worked in Netherfield as a footman a few times when they had big gatherings. I can even put on spare livery if you need me to move about more.”
“Good… good… If you please, find Mr Samson. He is my valet and is fully aware of all that happens. He is my eyes and ears in Netherfield. If you would be so good as to be at his disposal, you can run messages back and forth or fetch and carry, as necessary. While I am happy for you to use my horse, it might be better if you took Jane’s and staked her out in the South pasture. Samson will give you a handful of shillings, and a few crowns, in case you need it to convince others to help. Spend as freely as you feel you ought to carry out your tasks and ask Samson for more if need be.”
Simon’s face lit up like the sunrise.
