Page 66 of Miss Gardiner
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Below stairs, Mr Darcy inquired with Mr Gardiner if he could have a private moment with Miss Elizabeth, and when the ladies came down, Mr Gardiner escorted his niece to the classroom at the back of the house and then returned to the parlour. Georgiana giggled the entire time she waited with the Gardiners for the couple to appear.
Standing before Mr Darcy in the classroom where her cousins received instruction on reading and sums, Elizabeth felt as though they were the only two people in all of existence. The gentleman thought no woman in the world had ever been more beautiful than his Elizabeth at that moment.
“Miss Elizabeth…” he began, paused, and began again, “Elizabeth, in the last year I have grown to admire your mind and your spirit. This spring and summer, I have fallen completely and irrevocable in love with you. I want you and no other as my wife.”
He knelt on one knee and said, “Tell me you will marry me.”
Her face grew even more beautiful as her eyes came alive with her love for him, and Elizabeth stepped closer, taking Mr Darcy’s hands in her own, before saying, “William, I want to be your wife. Yes, I shall marry you.”
Then Fitzwilliam Darcy rose and gave Elizabeth Bennet her first kiss. Overcome by his feelings, he kissed his fiancée a second and then a third time before he merely embraced her.
“We must return to the others…” he said. “But know that after today, I shall never let you go.”
When they entered the parlour, hand-in-hand, Georgiana squealed with happiness and ran across the room to embrace first Elizabeth and then her brother, chattering and laughing the whole time. Elizabeth’s laughter echoed Miss Darcy’s and soon everyone in the room chuckled.
“When is the wedding? May I call you ‘Elizabeth’? Brother, where will you go for the honeymoon?” Georgiana asked so rapidly that no answers could be heard. Eventually Mrs Gardiner requested a tea tray from the kitchens while Mr Gardiner poured himself a finger of bourbon.
Darcy declined the spirits, remaining close to Elizabeth as the couple first discussed a wedding date of early January, but then deciding that late December was more desirable. They decided that they would wait until next spring to honeymoon, travelling north from London to Pemberley in April and May to spend the entire summer in Derbyshire. Georgiana would spend the months of April and May with Lord and Lady Matlock before joining her brother and new ‘sister’ at Pemberley for the summer. If the summer proved to be warm, Mr and Mrs Gardiner and all their children would travel to Pemberley for the month of July and enjoy the hospitality of the Darcy family.
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After debate between Elizabeth, William, and her aunt and uncle, it was decided that Mr Gardiner would send a letter to Mr Bennet announcing the wedding planned in December and Mrs Gardiner would write to Mrs Phillips with the news to ensure it was immediately spread among the families in Meryton.
Eventually, Elizabeth received a letter from Mary wishing her well and a second one from her mother asking questions about how her daughter managed to capture such a man as Mr Darcy, what happened to Jane, and what had Elizabeth learned at Hunsford–was Charlotte Collins planning to turn her out in the hedgerows the day Mr Bennet died? There was nothing said of Kitty or Lydia in either letter.
Mr Gardiner received a note from Mr Bennet stating he had no concern for Elizabeth’s marriage so long as it did not affect him.
October and November passed quietly with almost daily visits to Gracechurch Street or to Mayfair. The four older Gardiner children enjoyed their visit to Mayfair on a dreary winter afternoon when they were allowed to run and shout in the ballroom at the top the house that Cousin Lizzy would call home after marrying ‘Darcy’ as they called the dark-haired man who called frequentlyat their home.
One morning in early December, Mr Darcy and Georgiana called at Gracechurch Street as was their usual course. Mr Gardiner joined them at the beginning of the call to finalize the plans for their pastor to read the banns for the first time that Sunday. After the third reading, they would be married the next Wednesday morning with a wedding breakfast at the Darcy home.
Mr Gardiner asked Elizabeth and William to join him in his office to discuss the settlement that must be completed. Georgiana remained in the parlour with Mrs Gardiner with a promise of a visit to the nursery to hold Charlie for a time.
Mr Darcy began the meeting with Mr Gardiner and Elizabeth by mentioning the amount of money he would settle on Elizabeth for pen money, household accounts, and as his ‘widow’ if she survived him.
“This is generous beyond any expectations I had, sir,” Gardiner said.
“William…” Elizabeth asked, “How rich are you?”
Darcy provided a general outline of his wealth that left Gardiner and Elizabeth speechless.
“So, the ten thousand a year is accurate,” Edward observed.
Elizabeth made notes as her fiancé spoke and now, she said, “Your investments with Uncle Gardiner have performed well but you may want to invest some funds with other trade concerns. And your investments in farms are growing.”
Darcy smiled and said, “My dear, our marriage will be interesting, and we shall teach our children how to grow their inheritance.”
“Speaking of inheritance,” interrupted Mr Gardiner. “Elizabeth has an inheritance from my mother as well as her own accounts. Beginning when she was eight years, she has invested in my trade ventures with her pennies.”
“Indeed?”
“Today, she holds almost two thousand pounds built from her own efforts,” Gardiner explained.
Fitzwilliam Darcy was impressed and told his fiancé, “You have a determination to lift yourself. What will that fund be in another twenty years?”
“As Elizabeth’s husband, you must direct me how to handle the monies,” Uncle Edward reminded Darcy.
