A Very Meryton Christmas
Page 10
Time seemed to stand still for Elizabeth as she realized that Mr. Darcy was not in London dining or concerting or smoking a pipe in some club. No. He was there in Meryton. He was not an apparition in the smoke, but very real, and he was walking swiftly toward her.
She stood speechless as he approached and upon reaching her, he made a short bow, a halo of fire lighting the dark sky behind him.
“Good evening, Miss Elizabeth Bennet,” he said, enjoying the surprise apparent in her fine eyes.
Finding her voice, she said weakly, “Good evening, Mr. Darcy. You are not in London?”
“Ah, no. I found it was not as easy to leave Meryton as I thought it would be. I made it as far as packing and then getting into the carriage, but alas, found myself inexplicably getting out at the first market town. I’ve been there this whole week so that I could send you my little gifts. I trust they were all received?” he said, a slight anxiety evident in his address.
“Yes, received with much gratitude. Mr. Darcy, I beg your forgiveness, but I did not know your London address so that I could write to you with my thanks,” she explained, suddenly afraid she seemed ungrateful.
“No letter was necessary. You deserved every gift and more, for graciously bearing with the abhorrent behavior of a woman whose name we do not need to mention.”
“You are too kind.”
“No. The kindness is all yours. And thanks to this snowfall, I feared I would be prevented from making it back to Meryton for tonight’s celebration. You see, I had one more gift for you that could not be sent via messenger.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “You have spoiled me beyond what I deserve. I do not need another gift,” she protested.
“Perhaps I have, but isn’t it my prerogative to spoil the best woman I could ever hope to court?” he asked boldly.
“Court? Me?”
He took a deep breath and clasped Elizabeth’s hands in his.
“Miss Bennet, I hoped to give you gifts that could rival the Magi’s. But tonight, I come with no package to unwrap. Tonight, the gift I mean to give you is my heart.”
Elizabeth let out a small gasp at his words but Darcy held on tight to her hands. “You have shown me kindness and friendship this Christmas season—a gift that was priceless to me. I lost my father in the month of December and my memories at this time of year can be quite painful. But to my surprise, this Christmas I found the pain subsiding, replaced by more and more moments of hope and good humor. And as my carriage pulled away from Netherfield, I suddenly felt a great resistance rise up within me. My heart, it seemed, could not bear any more loss or emptiness. I realized quite clearly that my parents are gone forever, but you are still here. I mean to keep you close to me, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, for the rest of my Christmases, if you will allow me the honor?”
Elizabeth’s hands trembled as he spoke. She thought of the odd beginning of their acquaintance and then of the rapid, but seemingly permanent shift her heart had made toward him. A cautious inner voice questioned how she came to change her mind so quickly, but then a wiser voice prevailed, and she blurted out with great relief, “Yes, Mr. Darcy.”
“Yes? You’ll have me?”
“Yes, I will. All the light went out of my Christmastide too when you departed. I only just realized tonight, right before you appeared to me, how much I longed for your return. “
“The timing of my arrival then, was perfect?”
“Yes, as perfect as you are,” she exclaimed. “Oh, happy New Year, Mr. Darcy.”
“Happy New Year to you, my love, my future Mrs. Darcy,” he said. Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed Elizabeth softly. Then, taking her hand in his once again, he turned toward the raging fire.
“Let us go and tell your parents how happy you have made me.”
“But my father! You must ask him first,” Elizabeth hesitated but Darcy only grinned widely in response. “But my dear, he gave his permission tonight already. You must not worry.”
“When? Where?” Elizabeth asked, eager for the details.
“I sent word earlier today that I would be staying tonight at the Meryton Arms and asked to meet with him at his convenience. He came to me immediately after dropping your family off at the assembly hall.”
“He did?”
Mr. Darcy nodded. “But your mother still does not know. Shall we tell her now, and do you think she will be pleased if I invite her to spend some of next Christmas with us at Pemberley? Lambton has plenty of its own charming holiday traditions, very much like Meryton.”
Elizabeth saw her mother chatting animatedly, standing with her friends near the bonfire, Lady Lucas among them, oblivious to the surprise announcement headed her way.
“Yes, Mr. Darcy. Let’s go tell her now. I do believe the news will make her very happy. Very happy, indeed.”
Elizabeth squeezed his hand in hers a little tighter and together they walked toward the bonfire.
Note from the author
Thank you for reading A Very Meryton Christmas; I hope you enjoyed it.
If you’d like to be notified when my next book is released, you can sign up for my new release mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/dpcibv
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Fondly,
Olivia
Also by Olivia Kane,
Trouble with the Earl
Trouble with Wickham
Elizabeth Bennet’s Wedding
And …
The Five Graces of Longbourn (January 2019)