Such Peculiar Providence
Page 18
“You may tease me all you wish to this evening, Charles, I am immune to it!” Darcy saluted him with his own glass, relishing the warmth of the brandy as he swallowed. “I can scarcely believe I am to be married, and yet I can scarcely imagine my life without Elizabeth in it.”
Charles nodded, his smile dimming just a little as he regarded his friend.
“But what of you, Charles?” Darcy pressed him, feeling that his happiness was such that he could stand to inquire into his friend’s affairs. “You intend to ask for Miss Bennet’s hand, do not you?”
Charles nodded.
“I hope to. Perhaps. If I may be sure that she will accept me.”
Darcy laughed, the sound still evidently unsettling to his friend, who flinched, then laughed himself.
“It is plain that she cares for you Charles, so why tarry? Come, speak soon, for you will win yourself no joy by remaining silent.”
Charles downed his drink and helped himself to a second.
“I scarcely recognise my friend before me,” he said, with a sly smile. “Where has Fitzwilliam Darcy gone to, that this enthusiast stands in his place? Darcy, who lectured me on the wisdom of silence, on patience, on fortitude.”
“All admirable qualities.” Darcy finished his own drink and allowed Charles to refill his glass. “But do not allow patience to become procrastination. What do you have to lose?”
He frowned, considering the future.
“You are still considering taking an estate, are you not?” He recalled a number of conversations that the two friends had shared about Charles’ plans for the future. His friend was not content to remain indefinitely in London, yet was undecided on where to move to.
“I have scarcely had the opportunity to think any more on it!” Charles confessed. “Caroline is still eager to remain in London, but she has lately spoken more and more warmly of Derbyshire.”
“Then, why not consider taking a property here?” Darcy gestured with his glass towards the window. “There are a number of suitable places, and I would be more than happy to tour them with you. We might find you a very pleasant place but a few miles away, and that would allow you to see as much of Miss Bennet as you chose...” he grinned. “And your old friends. I know Georgiana would be delighted to have you stay in this part of the country.”
Bingley appeared to be giving the matter serious consideration.
“Tomorrow,” Darcy said, determined to strike while he was most enthused. “We might take a ride out to the Walker place, it is ten miles to the south. And there is Frobisher Park.” He named two estates he knew of that were in the market for tenants and that he thought would appeal to his friend’s love of both comfort and countryside.
“You are sure you will be allowed to roam tomorrow?” Charles ventured, a teasing smile sneaking back onto his face. “Your bride will willingly relinquish her hold on you?”
“‘Tis more a matter of whether I will relinquish my hold on her,” Darcy said, momentarily unashamed of his affections. He would not talk so freely with many folks, but Charles had known him forever and would not judge him for sentimentality. Indeed, he had displayed his own vision of it often enough that Darcy had borne with and indulged him in without question or comment.
“Are you happy, Darcy? Truly?”
“Truly, Charles,” Darcy said, reflecting on the truth of his words. He was happy. He had not thought such a thing possible. Indeed he’d never thought it likely he would find a love as great as that which he felt for Elizabeth. He had known he would marry, for it was what was expected of him, but had been certain that affection in marriage was something he could never come to hope for. He had never yet met a woman who ignited even the slightest feelings of admiration in him until Elizabeth Bennet had crossed his path. How could it be, that in offering to help her and her family, she would turn out to be the one to help him. She had rescued him - with her family - from isolation and a loneliness he had not been entirely aware of.
“Then I congratulate you,” Charles said, nodding, thoughtfully. “And only hope that I might find similar happiness in my own future.”
“Heed my example, then,” Darcy said, making a move towards the door, that they might return to the ladies and, however reluctantly, draw their evening to a close. “Do not wait too long, Charles. You shall regret it if you do.”
Epilogue
Charles took Darcy’s words to heart, and one fine winter afternoon, some days later, Mrs Bennet was once again rendered insensible in surprise and delight at the announcement that another of her daughters would marry.
The weddings were arranged together, for the two sisters wished to share their joyous days, and the two grooms were not ill-disposed to wed simultaneously. The first flush of joy at his engagement waning, Darcy began to feel a sense of rising dread at the thought of the ceremony, until it was agreed it might be small and conducted in the very chapel of Pemberley if he wished it. Charles Bingley was hard-pressed to find a suitable alternative, for the estate he had but recently taken occupation of, Frobisher Park, had no chapel of its own, and he preferred the notion of a small family wedding than a large, showy affair. Even Caroline, who could normally be relied upon to pour cold water on such reasoning, seemed poised only to support the wedding, becoming great friends with her new sister, and often found in Jane’s company. She was less often in the company of Elizabeth, but the two had reached something of a detente, choosing to dwell on their shared interests rather than their differences.
Georgiana was delighted to be winning a new sister as well as a dear friend, and the presence of every Miss Bennet in and out of Pemberley became so regular an occurrence that in a fit of generosity, Darcy invited the entire family to reside there, rather than in the cottage, which was scarcely inhabited enough to be considered let at all. He set his agent the task of finding new tenants, and soon the wild, isolated Pemberley estate became thoroughly occupied and a hive of friendly activity.
The day of the wedding dawned bright, and, as Darcy was the first of all the household to wake, he decided to take a walk, enjoying the bracing morning air. It was on this walk he stumbled across Elizabeth, who had had the same idea. They laughed at this synchronicity, reflecting alike that it had been on any number of these walks that they had gradually fallen in love, little realising that they would one day be poised to wed.
“I had never fully appreciated the beauty of walking until I began to walk with you, Lizzy,” Darcy said, as they turned away from the house, determined to wring every moment they could of their secret freedom.
Elizabeth smiled, and leaned a little closer to him, letting out a long, contented sigh.
“After today, we shall have the rest of our lives to do so, Mr Darcy!”
The End
Also by Meg Osborne
A Convenient Marriage
A Convenient Marriage Volume 1
Longbourn's Lark: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Three Weeks in Kent: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Suitably Wed: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
A Visit to Scotland: A Pride and Prejudice Variaton
The Consequence of Haste: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
A Surprise Engagement: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Fate and Fortune
Too Fond of Stars: A Persuasion Variation
A Temporary Peace: A Persuasion Variation
Pathway to Pemberley
The Collins Conundrum
The Wickham Wager
The Darcy Decision
Three Sisters from Hertfordshire
A Trip to Pemberley
An Assembly in Bath
An Escape from London
Standalone
After the Letter: A Persuasion Continuation
Half the Sum of Attraction: A Persuasion Prequel
A Very Merry Masquerade: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Novella
The Other Elizabeth Bennet: A
Pride and Prejudice Variation Novella
In Netherfield Library and Other Stories
Mr Darcy's Christmas Carol: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Such Peculiar Providence
A Chance at Happiness
The Colonel's Cousin: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Captain Wentworth's Christmas Wish
Midwinter in Meryton
Watch for more at Meg Osborne’s site.
About the Author
Meg Osborne is an avid reader, tea drinker and unrepentant history nerd. She writes sweet historical romance stories and Jane Austen fanfiction, and can usually be found knitting, dreaming up new stories, or on twitter @megoswrites
Read more at Meg Osborne’s site.