At the fear in Emily Gardiner’s eyes, then the immediate lift of her chin in challenge, a chuckle escaped Mr. Darcy’s lips.
“I was worried Pepper was cold, so I went to the stables to get him,” she said. “I do not want him to freeze.”
Mr. Darcy leaned over to Elizabeth, his breath grazing her neck. “Promise me,” he whispered, “if I am successful…we will have our own ‘little Lizzy Bennet.’”
She nodded, lost in his dark eyes.
A fit of giggles erupted from the doorway as Emily Gardiner exclaimed, “Oh, Lizzy! Your cheeks are pink!”
Epilogue
Christmas Day
It was an unexpected Christmas morning for more than one guest at Netherfield Park. Having not seen her daughters in a week, Mrs. Bennet was pleased with the progress her eldest had made. It was evident Mr. Bingley was more in love with Jane than ever.
Children were called from the nursery after dinner while gifts were presented. If anyone noticed Mr. Bingley, Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Bennet were tardy, no one mentioned a word. With Georgiana and Mary playing a duet they had practiced only that morning, and Miss Gardiner and Miss Emily reciting a poem, spirits were high.
Mr. Bingley began dispensing gifts—sheet music for Mary, ribbons for Kitty and Lydia, a journal for Elizabeth. Mrs. Bennet was quite happy with the deference shown to her younger daughters. Georgiana relished in the pictures of Pemberley sweetly drawn by the young Miss Gardiners, and they adored the ribbons and muffs from the Darcys.
And what of Miss Jane Bennet? Why, her present forced her mother into raptures, for Mr. Bingley offered her his hand—along with a necklace from the finest jeweler in London.
The windows shook with exclamations and joy from the entire Bennet family, save the second eldest. Although her happiness was abundant, she had been sitting in the corner keeping company with Mr. Darcy. At Bingley’s pronouncement, he reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a small package tied with ribbon.
“I spoke with your father,” he said, offering her the gift. “He has given me permission to…present this to you.”
Her eyebrows rose, and she glanced at her father. “A gift, sir? Is there an announcement that you are proposing to make?” she teased.
His dimples came unbidden, and she was flush with pleasure at the sight of them. “This has only arrived from Pemberley.”
“Pemberley?”
“Pemberley,” he said, laying the gift in her hands. “My coachman travelled there last week.”
“The night I played the duet with Miss Darcy?”
“Yes, how do you recall?”
“You left the room abruptly, and I thought my playing had displeased you.”
“You will find, Elizabeth, there is nothing you can do to displease me.” He gently raised her hand to his lips. “My coachman rode there with the promise of a substantial bonus if he retrieved this package and returned before today.”
“And when did he arrive?”
“Last night.” He smiled and indicated the present. “It was my mother’s.”
Elizabeth untied the ribbon and unfolded the muslin.
A smile spread across her lips and tears welled in her eyes. “You listened,” she whispered, allowing her fingers to trace the gift.
“I always will, Elizabeth,” he said, reaching for her hand. “Would you grant me the greatest Christmas gift by accepting my hand and saying you will be my wife?”
Mrs. Bennet’s shrill voice interjected from across the room. “Lizzy. Lizzy, what are you and Mr. Darcy discussing? Is that a gift?”
Elizabeth looked from Mr. Darcy, to her mother, and then her father, who nodded his approval. As all eyes in the room turned to her, she held up a book of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
“It appears Mr. Darcy has just proposed,” her father said.
“And I have accepted.”
An Unexpected Merry Gentleman Page 8