Page 31 of Wickham Likes 'Em Young
Elizabeth watched as her father removed his spectacles, wiped them with his handkerchief, and perched them back on this nose. He seemed quite discouraged. But he stood and said, “Will you join us in the dining room for some luncheon?”
Darcy accepted the invitation gladly but said, “And straight after that, I fear I must go back to Netherfield to sleep for, perhaps, a week.”
“You are welcome back whenever you are rested,” Mr Bennet said to Elizabeth’s suitor. “Day or night; you have earned an entrée whenever it suits you.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“But it had better not be anentireweek,” Elizabeth said, a smile threatening to break out.
“No, not a week,” Darcy whispered as he followed her out of the room.
The next morning, after breakfast, Elizabeth was putting on extra layers to ready herself for a walk. The day was sunnier than usual for November, but shockingly cold.
As she opened the door to the back garden, she heard a knock on Longbourn’s front door. She wondered if it could possibly be Darcy, and she rushed back in and saw that it was. She smiled into his happy eyes.
Oh, and Mr Bingley had come, as well.
Darcy could see that she was dressed for a walk, so he did not remove any of his outerwear. Instead, he offered his arm, and she gladly took it. They exited just as Hill announced Mr Bingley to a parlour full of women.
“Good morning, my love,” Darcy said.
“Good morning, Fitzwilliam,” she murmured. She was elated to see his delight in her use of his Christian name. “I hope you are well rested.”
“I amazed myself,” he answered. “Not only did I sleep straight through tea and dinner yesterday, I was able to go back to sleep again at my usual bedtime, and I slept the entire night. I normally only sleep six hours per night—but after I left you, yesterday, I slept around fourteen hours.”
“You were such a weary warrior, and I am so happy you finally got a chance to rest!”
“Warrior? It was you, not I, who fought Wickham, dearest, bravest, scariest Elizabeth.”
“Scariest? Do I frighten you?”
“Never. But Wickham seemed shocked at your strength and cunning, from what I could tell as I hauled him over to the magistrate.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Cunning? I like that.”
“I have always found your person, as well as your brain, cunning—in all the most appealing connotations of the word, of course.”
“By the by, William, I feel happy to see Mr Bingley here, but I do so wonder what he knows of…well, everything.”
Darcy looked at her sadly. “Unfortunately, he knows what I know. I had thought that Mrs Nicholls and I successfully worked it so that only servants well-known to Mrs Nichols, and trusted by her, helped deal with cleaning up Miss Bennet and transporting her here to Longbourn.” He closed his eyes briefly and said, “But I gather that a tenant saw me leading your sister and my horse to Netherfield. The night was extremely dark, and if you recall, I had no idea how muddy your sister’s clothing was until we arrived at the lantern outside of the Netherfield kitchen—but this tenant saw us just as the moon broke out between clouds, and he recognised me and Miss Bennet. The word spread at least a short ways, and when I arose this morning—feeling delighted to finally be free to court you, ready to forget all this nonsense of the recent past, and focus on the future—there was Bingley, ready to drag me back to the past. He demanded that I tell him all, and I could not see that I had any other choice than to do so….”
“You said that the word spread. Does that mean that Jane’s reputation is ruined? And mine, and my other sisters’?”
“No. I asked my valet, Wilkins, to combat any rumours he discovered with the truth (or most of the truth)—that Miss Bennet had become lost, and that I helped your father with his search. There were enough people involved with the hunt to be able to swear to her being missing for a short time but then being found unharmed. I gave every searcher, including your servants, Smith, James, and Franklin, compensation for their loyal and discreet service that night.”
“Thank you for doing so!”
“Also, I asked both Wilkins and Mrs Nicholls to spread the word of our formal courtship. That should be enough excitement for the gossips, and I think it likely that most people would notwant to risk angering me by spreading ugly stories about my soon-to-be-sister.”
Elizabeth laughed softly. “It almost seems to me, Will, as if you have actually asked me for a formal courtship or even, perhaps, given your adoption of my sister as yours as well, that you have asked for my hand in marriage. I do not recall such questions being posed, and I myself have not been so deprived of sleep as you, so I feel strongly that I would remember such questions.”
“Yes, events have…delayed this conversation. But I must say that your every expression, your every gesture, and even a fair few of your words, have informed me that your answer will be ‘yes.’”
He laughed when Elizabeth stopped walking and put her fists on her hips, but he hurried on, “Still, now that Wickham is finally handled, conversations must be had and questions must be asked. Miss Elizabeth Bennet, please allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you. Pray, would you be so kind as to tell me if I should ask for a courtship or a marriage? I confess that I have a favourite of these two questions, but I hesitate to force my choice on you.”
Elizabeth could not help but release a peal of laughter, and she said, “I thank you for your consideration, Sweet William, and I shall gladly choose—but onlyafteryou tell me about Mr Bingley. How didhefind the information about Jane’s disappearance and discovery?”
“He seemed upset beyond measure. He believed that your elder sister was entirely perfect. Not perfect for him, but perfect in all ways and to all viewers. I have reasoned with him on this topic—this inability to see the nuance in people, their faults as well as their virtues, and he always agrees with me on an intellectual level, but he never seems to ‘get it’ emotionally.”
