Imperative: Volume 1, A Tale of Pride and Prejudice (2 page)

“I did?”

 Darcy nearly laughed to see her surprise.   “Why did I choose you?”

“Yes, why?”  Elizabeth demanded.

He smiled, “I like you despite myself.”

“Oh,
that
is terribly romantic.”

“I am no romantic.”  He said positively.

“
Now
who is blind?”

“What do you mean?”

Elizabeth laughed to see his handsome brow creased in confusion.  “Your proposal, sir, was the height of romance.”

“Oh.”  He blushed and Elizabeth delighted in it.  Darcy covered up his embarrassment with a question.  “If you did not realize that you liked me until moments ago, and you claim not to be a fortune hunter . . .”

“I never claimed not to be a fortune hunter, but I assure you that I am not.”  The sparkle in her eyes nearly brought him to his knees.

Darcy swallowed, and was struck with the realization that his feelings for Elizabeth were beyond the like he claimed, and had grown past the protective concern that had convinced him that she was the one woman he would ask to bring an end to his troubles.  “Then why . . .” He nearly whispered.

Her eyes lit up, “I will tell you after we marry.” 

“That is unfair, Elizabeth.” 

“You set the rules.”  She laughed and then became serious.  “You can trust me.”

“I know.  I am trusting you with my life.” 

They had arrived outside of Jane’s door but Elizabeth made no move to enter.  “Your life?”

Darcy nodded.  “I do not mean to sound dramatic.” 

“Well you certainly managed it very handily.”  Crossing her arms over her chest she hugged herself.  “Is there someone threatening you?”

“Elizabeth, please.”  His pain was evident, and she wanted to relieve it, but she could not do that without his talking to her. 

“No sir, I need to know what is wrong.” 

Darcy pushed away all of the new emotions that were swirling around his mind and began speaking in a clipped voice.  “If you wish to end this engagement now, I will understand . . .” He stopped himself when he noticed her eyes widen.  “No . . . no I cannot end it now.  Please Elizabeth, please trust me.”

“My father will ask more from you than this before he will consent.  I am twenty, Mr. Darcy, unless you plan a trip to Gretna Green, he will require a valid explanation.”

“I understand that.” 

They stood staring at each other in silence, willing their partner to say something, anything.  Elizabeth gave in to the contest of wills first.  “Mr. Darcy, please do not treat me as a child.”

“I did not realize that I had.”  He sighed.  “Forgive me; I am accustomed to being the sole caretaker for a great number of people.”

“I did not realize that . . . I know so little of your life, really all that I know is what I have heard from the gossip of the neighbours and Miss Bingley’s speeches.”

“Neither of which are terribly accurate.”  His slight smile reappeared.

“Will you at least tell me about yourself?”

Darcy took her hand.  “I would be very glad to do that, Elizabeth.  I would be delighted to tell you all about Pemberley.”

“And your family?”

He hesitated then nodded.  “Yes . . . you will learn about them.  We are not very close, I am afraid, except for my sister and cousin.  And an uncle.”

“Miss Darcy is young, I gather.”

“She . . . is fifteen.”  Thoughts of his sister brought him back to the reason for his impulsive behaviour, and he cleared his throat.  “I know that this precipitous proposal is hardly what you expected from any man or what you deserve, and that . . .” He closed his eyes with his embarrassment, “I will not ask for my rights as a husband anytime soon.  I wish for us to be friends and . . . I would not force you.” 

Elizabeth withdrew her hand from his and pressed it to her mouth as she realized all that she had agreed to with this man she barely knew.  “I . . . I thank you for that.”

His eyes opened and he attempted to reassure her.  “You will be cared for, you will forever have a home.  You will be safe and warm.  Just . . . you will just be by my side for your lifetime, if you can bear it.” He took a breath then tried to smile again.  “We came here to see your sister, did we not?”

Elizabeth started from her contemplation of his eyes. “Oh yes, she must be wondering over the voices in the hall.”  She knocked on the door and peeked inside.  “Jane?  Are you awake?”

“Yes Lizzy, what is happening out there?”

Elizabeth saw Jane was sitting up, and that she was wearing a bed jacket over her nightdress.  “May I bring Mr. Darcy in with me?  We have some news.”

“Mr. Darcy?”  Her surprise was very clear. “Oh, yes of course, Lizzy.”  

Elizabeth turned to smile bravely at him, and he followed her into the room, closing the door behind him.  “You look much better, Jane.”

“Yes, Miss Bennet, I hope that you are feeling well.”  Darcy said quietly.

“I am, sir.  Thank you.”  Jane looked expressively at her sister and Elizabeth cleared her throat. 

“Jane, Mr. Darcy has . . . proposed to me and I have accepted.”

“Pardon?  I mean; congratulations.”  She stared from one to the other.   Darcy stood straight and stiff, but his hands were at work furiously twisting a signet ring.  Elizabeth was trying hard to appear relaxed but Darcy’s unceasing movement was driving her to distraction.  At last she reached over and clasped his hand, and instantly he calmed.  Meeting his gaze she saw the corners of his mouth lift and felt his grip tighten. Jane watched the interaction with a growing smile.  “Oh, I
knew
that you were a good man!”

“You did?”  He tore his eyes away to see Jane.

“Charlotte and I have talked about it between ourselves.  We were sure that you would recognize how lovely Lizzy is, and now we are proved correct!  Oh Lizzy!”  She held out her arms to her and Elizabeth let go of Darcy to embrace her.  His hand was suddenly cold and he immediately returned to twisting his ring.  “When did this happen?”  She smiled at them both.  “Lizzy, why did you not tell me Mr. Darcy was courting you here?”

“It was a surprise to both of us, I believe.”  Elizabeth looked to him.

“Tell her the truth, Elizabeth.”

“You are one to talk, sir.”

“As are you.”  The slight twinkle was back in his eyes, and she smiled, and drew courage in seeing his grow in response.

She turned back to Jane.  “Mr. Darcy compromised me in the library in front of Mr. Bingley and his sisters.  He . . . kissed me and then proposed.  We are on our way to see Papa.”

Jane stared at them then looked at Darcy.  “You compromised her?”

“I did, Miss Bennet.”

“You could not simply court her, or speak to her of your intentions?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“That is what I would like to know but he will not tell me.”  She raised her brows and he shook his head.

“Because I wish to marry as soon as possible.”

“When precisely did you plan on this wedding taking place?”

“Within the next fortnight.”  He said softly, then reached out to take her hand when her eyes widened.  “We must not wait longer.”

“Why?”  She demanded.

“You were compromised.”

“I was kissed, sir.  I am not with . . .” She saw Jane’s shocked expression.  “We need to know each other better.  Is that not what the engagement period is for?  There is no true need to rush.”

“There is.”  He said steadfastly.  “There truly is.” 

“Well.”  She tried to gather her thoughts and found that it was impossible.  “I suppose that we should go to Longbourn.” 

“Yes, perhaps you would like a moment of privacy with your sister.  I will be in the hall.”   He looked to Jane.  “Miss Bennet it is entirely possible that your father will not allow your sister to return here, given our situation.  If that is the case, would you prefer another sister to come, or would you like to have the coach return you to Longbourn?”

“Oh, well, Mr. Bingley has agreed to allow us to use his coach to return home after church tomorrow, has he not, Lizzy?”

“Yes, we . . . we were planning to depart, in any case.  We have been enough of an imposition here.”  Elizabeth looked down while she was speaking to avoid Darcy’s intense observation.

“You wished to go?”  He asked.  There was a slight edge to his voice.

“You said yourself that Miss Bingley was most unwelcoming to my presence here.”  She looked up to him and met his unblinking gaze.

“So I did.”  He bowed stiffly and left the room, closing the door after him.

The sisters looked at the door then to each other.  “What on earth is happening, Lizzy?”

“I do not know.  There is some grave reason why he must marry soon, and I sense that he thinks it is important that I do as well.  He admits that he cares for me.”

“He did not say love?”

“No . . . no not in so many words, like yes, but he did not say love.”

“And you?”

“I like him, I realized . . . and I feel, Jane I am overcome with far too many emotions, but I also somehow feel that this is exactly the right thing to do.   I can . . .
feel
how much he needs me.”

“But
why
?” 

“He will tell me after we marry.” 

“Lizzy!  You barely know him!”

“I trust him.”  Elizabeth said simply and looking up tried to speak convincingly.  “I have nothing to offer him Jane, and he has everything to give.  He is the one who loses in this, not I.  There must be something to be said in that.  He could have anyone.  Even Miss Bingley would be a more prudent choice than I with her dowry.”

Jane regarded her sister and tried to help her.  “I have never felt that he is the terrible person that you built him to be in your imagination, Lizzy.  I think that he must have had a reason for behaving so uncivilly to you at the Assembly.  See how he was just now, he seemed to realize that part of the reason we were anxious to leave tomorrow was because of your dislike for him.  He was hurt.”  She took Elizabeth’s hands as she looked down at her twisting fingers.  “I do think that he has always paid you particular attention, in his way.”

“In his way.”  Elizabeth murmured.  “I see that I will be rethinking every encounter with him now that I own this new knowledge of his admiration.”  She noticed Jane’s gentle smile and bristled.  “But it does not excuse his incivility to everyone else of our acquaintance!” 

“Perhaps not, but . . . why does he have to give attention to those below him?”

“Perhaps because it is gentlemanly?”  Elizabeth huffed to covered up her embarrassment for being so blind.  “There is no reason to be dismissive.”

“Lizzy, are you sure that you wish to marry him?”  Jane asked worriedly.  “It is a very sensible choice, but you have always wished for a marriage of respect and mutual care.”

Elizabeth looked to Jane in surprise and covered her mouth.  “I am in such a state of disbelief; I do not know what to think.”  There was a soft knock on the door and the girls looked up and at each other.  Jane grasped Elizabeth’s hand and felt her shaking, then watched her square her shoulders.  “Come in.”

Darcy opened the door and met her eyes.  “The carriage is ready.”

She rose to her feet, and took his outstretched hand.  His grasp was warm and strong.  “So am I.”

“SIR, ARE YOU DEBATING how to approach my father, or have you merely misplaced your tongue?”  Elizabeth asked from across the carriage when they crossed the bridge outside of Meryton.  Darcy had been rubbing his ring beneath his gloves and staring out at the passing scenery. 

“I know what I must say to Mr. Bennet.” 

His reticence was exasperating.  “Mr. Darcy, if you have something to say to me, I wish that you would before we arrive at Longbourn.” 

At last he turned to look at her.  “You wished to leave Netherfield to remove yourself from me.”

“Not just you . . .”

“You honestly did not find anything likeable about me?”  His voice was a combination of disdain and defeat, and Elizabeth was not sure how to reply.

“I greatly admired the challenge you presented.  I have never before experienced a man treating me with such equal footing in a debate.  And I enjoyed how skilfully we shut out Miss Bingley during our conversations.”  Darcy sat forward and listened, clearly eager to hear more.  “I . . . did not understand what you were about, engaging me so, and clearly it made Mr. Bingley uncomfortable to think that we were arguing.”

“But we were not.”  Darcy leaned closer.  “At least, I did not believe that we were. I thought that we were . . . becoming closer.”  He sat back and contemplated her.  “You were not flirting with me.”

Elizabeth’s eyes grew wide.  “No!”

He sighed.  “You are the most intriguing woman I have ever known.  You are the only young woman I have met who was not actively trying to court my attention, and you won it without trying.  And you liked me without knowing it.  If I had not kissed you in the library today, and left Hertfordshire to address my concerns, would you have come to regret me?”

“Would you have regretted not kissing me?”

Again the pair sat in silent contemplation of each other and hardly noticed when the coach stopped.  The door was opened and Darcy looked at the house, then to Elizabeth.  “I would.”  He stepped down then turned to offer his hand.  “I hope that you will not regret accepting me.” He tucked her hand onto his arm and walked unflinchingly through Longbourn’s front door. 

“Lizzy!  What are you doing . . . Mr. Darcy!”  Mrs. Bennet’s exclamations ceased when she spotted Elizabeth’s hand held on the gentleman’s arm.  “Sir, what an unexpected surprise!”

Letting go of Elizabeth, he bowed.  “Indeed, madam.   Most unexpected.  May I speak to Mr. Bennet, please?”

Mrs. Bennet’s eyes darted between him and Elizabeth, clearly trying to determine what was happening and failing, sought to send the potential suitor in to her husband before he changed his mind.  “Yes, yes, right this way.  He is in the bookroom.”  She looked back at Elizabeth.  “Take off those muddy things, Lizzy!”  She smiled up at Darcy.  “It was so good of you to escort Lizzy home, sir, but you have left Jane behind?”

“Miss Bennet expects to return tomorrow, madam.”  He said stiffly.