So Long, Sentiment

by Amber Allen-King

  "We are hardly in a place that affords us much privacy, Mr. Darcy," Elizabeth laughed, as a way of warning him. Mr. Darcy glanced back toward the conservatory, where Jane and Mr. Bingley quickly looked away and Olivia stared openly, beaming at Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy tapped Elizabeth on her shoulder and pointed to Olivia, who waved at the couple. Elizabeth shook her head, laughing, and began to make her way back to the conservatory. Mr. Darcy gently grabbed her arm.

  "Will you not do me the honor of hearing my proposal, Elizabeth? I believe I am finally capable of one that is worthy of you," Mr. Darcy said grinning.

  "Your first proposal was quite enough for me, sir," Elizabeth grinned back, as she continued toward the house. "I think you should take a page from your cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and play to your strengths, Mr. Darcy!"

  "My strengths?" asked the perplexed bachelor.

  "Yes. Look what it did for the Colonel," Elizabeth said archly.

  "And what are my strengths, madam?" Mr. Darcy asked, hands on hips.

  "The same as your cousin's," Elizabeth said, reaching for the door. "He is equally inept at proposing, but like you he has an irresistible charm, or so I am told." Elizabeth opened the door and entered, allowing it to close behind her while Mr. Darcy stood in the garden, a silly smile upon his lips. Inside, Olivia and Jane could be seen running to Elizabeth and hugging her. Mr. Darcy rolled his eyes. It was then that he saw the beaming faces of the two men above.

  "I am engaged!" was all Elizabeth had to say before the conservatory erupted in squeals of joy. Olivia and Jane ran to hug Elizabeth, while Mr. Bingley stepped into the garden and walked up to Mr. Darcy, who was still staring at the now empty window. Mr. Bingley tapped him on the shoulder.

  "I say! Good show, Darcy!" Mr. Darcy turned and blinked at Mr. Bingley who pumped his hand and grinned like a hyena.

  "She would not allow me to propose!" Mr. Darcy said, slightly affronted.

  "She told us that she was engaged," Mr. Bingley said helpfully. Mr. Darcy allowed himself a genuine smile then, and allowed Mr. Bingley to escort him back to the house. When they entered the conservatory, the first thing Mr. Darcy saw was Mrs. Bennet, who was on the arm of Mr. Fowler.

  "Look who has come to see you, Lizzy," Mrs. Bennet said smugly, with a look at Mr. Darcy. "Perhaps you would be so kind as to show Mr. Fowler around the garden," she continued, just as Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Bennet entered the conservatory behind her.

  Elizabeth glanced at her uncle and father and drew herself up to her full height. She walked over to Mr. Fowler and extended her hand. Mr. Darcy watched her, his teeth involuntarily clenched. Elizabeth gave Mr. Fowler her warmest smile.

  "You have arrived just in time to join our celebration, Mr. Fowler," Elizabeth smiled.

  "Celebration? What celebration?" Mrs. Bennet asked before Mr. Fowler could utter a reply.

  "I was just coming to tell you, Mama," Elizabeth said, he eyes twinkling with tears. "Mr. Darcy and I have just become engaged." In the space of a second, Mrs. Bennet's mouth dropped open, Mr. Darcy's jaw relaxed, Mr. Fowler's sagged, and Mr. Gardiner's and Mr. Bennet's framed heartfelt smiles. Mr. Bennet and Mr. Gardiner came forward and hugged Elizabeth and shook hands with Mr. Darcy. The party adjourned back to the parlor, where Mr. Fowler begrudgingly congratulated Mr. Darcy and then hastily retreated. Mr. Gardiner ordered a bottle of champagne from his wine cellar. As it chilled, the couple fielded questions. Mrs. Bennet, who more than willing to sacrifice Mr. Fowler in favor of Mr. Darcy's ten thousand pound income, was as obsequious and obliging as she had formerly been rude. Mr. Darcy was in too good a humor to mind.

  "How did he propose to you, Lizzy?" Jane asked, as she and Olivia pressed the third future bride for details.

  "Propose? Oh, proposals are passé. Suffice to say," Elizabeth said with a sly glance at her beloved, "We thought we had rather better marry than not. After all, two people so ideally suited to one another could hardly be fit marriage partners for two other unsuspecting people. I would like to think we are doing the world a favor by marrying," she concluded airily. Mr. Darcy made a face at her, but when asked a similar question by Mrs. Bennet, he gave her an equally impertinent answer.

  "Proposal? Good lord, I knew I had forgotten something!" He immediately rose, and taking Elizabeth by the hand, led her back out to the garden. Mr. Bennet and Mr. Gardiner laughed, as well as the others in the room, save for Mrs. Bennet, who was worried.

  "Oh, dear," she said, rising and pacing the room. "Oh, dear. Jane, fetch me my salts. I feel faint! My nerves, oh, my poor dear nerves cannot take this anguish." Mr. Bennet went to his wife and led her to a chair. Mrs. Gardiner at that moment returned from her morning of charity work at a local hospital. When she saw Mrs. Bennet in such a frenzied state, she rushed to her side.

  "Whatever is the matter, Mrs. Bennet?" she asked in a soothing tone.

  "It is Lizzy! Oh, that girl will be the death of me yet!" Mr. Bennet patiently patted his wife's hand, while Jane brought the smelling salts.

  "What about Lizzy?" Mrs. Gardiner asked with a look around the room at the others.

  "Lizzy and Mr. Darcy have become engaged, Mrs. Gardiner," Olivia gleefully announced. Mrs. Gardiner clapped her hands together in joy.

  "Do not be so hasty in your celebration, Mrs. Gardiner. Mr. Darcy, it seems, in his eagerness has forgotten to propose to Lizzy. And no doubt, just to vex me, the impudent girl will probably refuse him!"

  • • •

  "Where are you taking me?" Elizabeth laughed as Mr. Darcy led her down the corridor toward the conservatory. She nearly had to run to keep up with him. On a whim, Mr. Darcy poked his head into a room where the door had been left ajar. Finding it empty, he whisked Elizabeth inside and closed the door. He led Elizabeth over to the window of Mr. Gardiner's study and, taking both her hands in his, looked into her eyes. Elizabeth returned his smile for about half a minute, then her expression changed to one of confusion.

  "Mr. Darcy? What?" Mr. Darcy seemed to be lost in his own world. Elizabeth was about to call him again when Mr. Darcy sighed deeply and spoke.

  "I cannot believe how simple it was, in the end. Mr. Gardiner told me that it would be so, but I could not be persuaded to believe him."

  "My uncle is a very clever man," Elizabeth said archly, although she was not quite sure what Mr. Darcy was talking about. "You should believe his every word."

  "He told me that you loved me. Is that true, then?" Elizabeth ducked her head to hide her blush.

  "It must be true. As I just told you, you should believe his every word." She looked into Mr. Darcy's eyes then to confirm her message.

  "I would rather hear it from your lips, Elizabeth," Mr. Darcy said, freeing one hand so that he could brush one finger lightly over mouth. "Or are you as proscribed from discussing your love for me as I am from discussing mine for you." Elizabeth laughed and walked over to the settee. Mr. Darcy joined her and took up her hands again.

  "You are not forbidden from declaring your love, sir--only from proposing." Mr. Darcy nodded slowly, biting his lip.

  "You have not answered my question," he said after a moment.

  "No. I believe I am completely free to declare my love," Elizabeth said teasingly. She hesitated a moment, caught up in the significance of the moment. Mr. Darcy held his breath, and Elizabeth smiled at his apprehension. But before she answered her smile faded, and tears began to well up in her eyes. "I do love you. I love you so very much, more than even I imagined...." Elizabeth stared at their entwined hands and a single tear escaped her eyes and rolled down her cheek. Mr. Darcy again freed a hand to stop its progress with a finger. "I was too blind to know my feelings until I thought I had lost you forever. When I read your letter..." More tears began to flow. "After I read your letter I realized what I had been denying to myself all along. I thought...I--."

  "Shh," said Mr. Darcy, as he placed a finger to Elizabeth's trembling lips. "I apologize, Elizabeth. We did agree to put the past behind us. This is too painful...
. You have answered my question, and that is all I needed to hear." He lifted Elizabeth's chin, and would have kissed her if Mr. Gardiner had not entered the room. Mr. Darcy leapt up and stood some distance from the settee. Elizabeth rose slowly and went to her uncle. For a brief moment, the sight of tears alarmed him, but Elizabeth threw her arms around him and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

  "Excuse me. I thought you had returned to the conservatory," said Mr. Gardiner.

  "Too many prying eyes," quipped Mr. Darcy.

  "I understand that I have you to thank for our present happiness," she said as her uncle drew out a handkerchief and handed it to her. Mr. Gardiner glanced at Mr. Darcy and they exchanged smiles.

  "I did what I could, Lizzy. It did not take very much, just a good shove in the right direction, eh, Mr. Darcy?"

  "And did you also send for father?" Elizabeth asked.

  "No, he came of his own volition. When you came to us and told us your story, I decided to write to your father. I hope you will forgive my indiscretion--I told him everything you had told us. He had been worried about you since your return from Kent. We had corresponded about you earlier, you see. After I chanced to meet Mr. Darcy at the theatre, I resolved to take action. I had a meeting with an acquaintance near Mr. Darcy's residence and on a whim I decided to call upon him in ______ Street. He was not at home, but I was informed that he had gone to the park. I sought him out there, and we had a long talk. I advised him to quit wasting time and get on with it," Elizabeth's uncle laughed with a twinkle in his eye.

  "Yes," Mr. Darcy said, coming forward. "Without your uncle's help I do not know how much longer I would have vacillated. After I spoke with my cousin and Miss Crenshaw, I began to grow more confident and I went home and wrote Mr. Gardiner to thank him for his assistance and to beg a private audience with you today. Instead of a reply from your uncle, however, I received a call from your father. We had a long talk, and after a luncheon at your father's club...well, you know the rest. I am greatly indebted to your uncle. I was getting nowhere on my own," Mr. Darcy confessed.

  "On your own?" Olivia said, entering the room with Jane. "Hardly-your cousin, Mr. Bingley, Jane, and I have been trying to help the two of you individually and together since March!"

  "Forgive the intrusion, Lizzy, but Mama wants to know if you have accepted Mr. Darcy's proposal." Elizabeth grinned at Mr. Darcy.

  "It is amazing that I should wish to ally myself with a man of such faulty memory. He has still not proposed," she laughed.

  "She told me not to!" Mr. Darcy cried defensively.

  "Why not?" asked Jane.

  "It is apparently not the forte of men of the Fitzwilliam line," Elizabeth said with a wink at her friend. Olivia laughed, while Mr. Gardiner and Jane exchanged quizzical expressions. Olivia took Mr. Gardiner and Jane by the hand and led them to the door.

  "Give him one more chance, Lizzy. After all, my dear Colonel was given two tries before he gave up. You can do no less for Mr. Darcy." When the door closed behind Olivia and the couple was alone, Elizabeth turned and looked at Mr. Darcy with a wicked smile. A few minutes later, they returned to the parlor, where the others awaited expectantly.

  "Well?" cried Mrs. Bennet. "Did you accept Mr. Darcy's proposal?"

  "No," Elizabeth said, trying to hide her smile. Her mother's wail reverberated through the neighborhood so that she did not hear the rest of Elizabeth's statement. "But he accepted mine." When the laughter subsided, Elizabeth went to her mother and whispered in her ear. Her mother finally understood the joke and was able to join in the rejoicing. Mr. Gardiner opened the bottle of vintage champagne and toasted the happy couple.

  • • •

  Mr. Darcy could not stay very long after the assembled party toasted the happy couple with champagne. His sister Georgiana was to arrive in town, and he wanted to be at home to receive her.

  "I cannot wait to tell Georgiana our news. I have spoken to her of you a great deal and I am sure she will be delighted to learn that you are to become her sister," Mr. Darcy said to Elizabeth as he made his leave. He extended an invitation for everyone to dine with him the following evening--which was quickly accepted--and then, with a last loving look at Elizabeth, took his leave with Mr. Bingley, who was somewhat eager to return home to his own sister. Mr. Bingley still had hopes of convincing his sister Caroline to remain in London. He realized, however, that the news of Mr. Darcy's engagement to Elizabeth would in all likelihood decide things.

  "She will not take it well," Mr. Bingley said to Mr. Darcy as the carriage turned off Gracechurch Street. "Although I daresay, she must have seen it coming. You have made no effort to hide your feelings for Miss Elizabeth for some time." Mr. Bingley grinned and said, half to himself, "And even when you did try to, you failed miserably." He expected some sort of retort from Mr. Darcy, but that man had not heard a single word his friend had uttered. His mind was much more agreeably engaged.

  She is mine at last! Just a fortnight ago I would have believed it impossible. I was bereft of hope and the most wretched of beings. And today...today she said the words I never dared hope to hear. To think that she has loved me all this time...I hope I am now worthy of her. A jolt of the carriage crossing a rut in the road brought Mr. Darcy back to his surroundings. He discovered that Mr. Bingley was watching him with a tolerant grin.

  "I know exactly what you are feeling, Darcy. The world is suddenly a very different place, is it not?"

  "Well put, Bingley," he said, ducking his head. "Knowing now the joy of finally being united with someone whom I once thought lost to me...Charles, I feel even more remorse for my actions in separating you and Miss Bennet." Mr. Bingley reached across the carriage and offered his hand. Mr. Darcy took it a bit doubtfully.

  "We will speak no more of it. Today marks the beginning of our future. What is past is no longer important."

  "'Remember the past only as it gives you pleasure,' I think it goes," said Mr. Darcy sitting back in his seat. "An amazing woman told me that."

  "Really?" said Mr. Bingley, his imagination titillated by his friend's confession. "Who was she?"

  "Elizabeth Bennet," Mr. Darcy smiled, and slipped back into his dream-like state until he reached Mr. Bingley's door. After depositing Mr. Bingley, Mr. Darcy returned to his home where he learned that his sister and her companion, Mrs. Annesley, had already arrived. He found them in the rear parlor, having tea.

  "Where have you been, Darcy?" cried Colonel Fitzwilliam, who had come out into the corridor at the sound of someone at the door. "You asked me to be here an hour ago!" Mr. Darcy did not answer him; he caught a glimpse of his sister behind the Colonel and went straight to her. After he shared a warm hug with his sister and received a more restrained greeting from Mrs. Annesley, Mr. Darcy was ready to disclose his news. He cleared his throat and waited until he had the attention of the others.

  "I really must apologize for my tardiness. Fitzwilliam is right--I was planning to be here an hour ago. But I hope you will forgive me when I give you my reason." Colonel Fitzwilliam crossed his arms and leaned upon the mantle, observing his cousin's changed demeanor. Mr. Darcy was, for lack of a better word, radiant. But even the Colonel was surprised by his cousin's revelation. "This afternoon, Miss Elizabeth Bennet and I became engaged." Colonel Fitzwilliam pulled himself upright and rushed to embrace Mr. Darcy.

  "This is wonderful news, Darcy! I could not be happier for you both! But how did it happen? When?" The Colonel was forced to retreat slightly so Georgiana could hug her brother with an equally effusive exclamation.

  "Oh, Fitzwilliam! Is it true? I know how much you hoped...I was so eager for things to go well between you when you went to Hertfordshire. And now you are to marry! And I am to gain a sister at last!" Mrs. Annesley sat and smiled serenely as she surveyed the scene. Mr. Darcy could hardly speak for all the questions he was barraged with. He looked helplessly to Mrs. Annesley, who rose in her usual dignified manner and closed the distance between herself and the trio of happy people.

&
nbsp; "Colonel Fitzwilliam? Miss Darcy? You might stand a better chance of hearing Mr. Darcy's story if you let the man speak," she smiled. Like two scolded children, the pair skulked over to the settee and sat down. Mrs. Annesley, however, stepped up to Mr. Darcy and placed a motherly kiss upon his cheek and wished him joy before retiring to her seat near the window. Mr. Darcy, a bit startled by her impulsive gesture, chuckled as he took the chair near her and told his tale. When he had done, he informed Georgiana that she would be hosting a dinner party for the Bennets and Gardiners next evening.

  "You come, too, Fitzwilliam. I have invited Miss Crenshaw; we may as well have all the happy couples present," Mr. Darcy smiled

  "I have never hosted a dinner party for strangers before, Fitzwilliam. I am not sure I am up to it," Georgiana said almost in a whisper. Mr. Darcy reached out and patted his sister's hand reassuringly.

  "You will do fine. Mrs. Annesley and Cook will assist you in all the particulars. I am very eager for you and Elizabeth to meet and I thought that it might be easier to become acquainted here at home rather than at our aunt and uncle's dinner party in two days."

  "If you insist, then brother. I will do everything in my power to make a good impression," Georgiana replied.

  "Splendid! Now I do not know about you, but I am exhausted. Will you excuse me until it is time for dinner?" When Mr. Darcy left the room, Georgiana turned with wondering eyes to her cousin.

  "Is it not wonderful? Fitzwilliam looks so happy."

  "I daresay that news of this engagement will make many people happy, Georgiana. A great many people...."

  • • •

  One who would not be made happy by this news was sitting in her room sorting out her wardrobe when her brother knocked upon the door.

  "May I come in, Caroline?" Mr. Bingley said, opening the door a crack.