Mr. Darcy Takes the Plunge

glances. Tell me, is there more behind those tantalizing looks than just appreciation for this uniform? Do you have any affectionate regard for the man beneath the red coat?”

Jane blushed but steadily looked him in the eye as she brazenly whispered, “What the eye does not admire, the heart does not desire … Richard.”

Colonel Fitzwilliam groaned and then instinctively, heedlessly claimed her mouth; Miss Bennet definitely did not wish to be released from his warm embrace, ever. The couple was oblivious and did not hear the approaching soft footfalls and swish of expensive silk gowns.

Lady Anne Darcy: “Nephew!!! Miss Bennet??? Oh, Lord!”

Miss Anne de Bourgh: “Whoo-hoo! The fat is in the fire now. I mean, tsk, tsk. Shame on you, Fitz!”

Miss Anna Darcy: “Cousin! (Gasp!) Jane! What are you two doing?”

The military officer groggily disengaged his lips from the intoxicating osculation, and his passion-filled eyes suddenly opened wide as he became conscious of his surroundings and the scorn of three female relatives. Still, he did not release Jane from his protective embrace as she hid her flushed face on his chest.

“Richard Cosmo Fitzwilliam! Unhand Miss Bennet this minute! Be a good soldier and march into the library while I send for your father. Anna, please go tell your uncle he is needed immediately. Anne, please escort Miss Bennet somewhere and ascertain whether she was … under duress.”

“Pardon me, Lady Anne. There is no need. I can assure you right now that I was under no duress. I am thoroughly ashamed of my conduct, but please do not blame your nephew. The fault was not the gentleman’s.”

The Colonel protested, “Miss Bennet! The fault was most assuredly mine, and I most willingly take full responsibility for my ungentlemanly actions.”

“Richard, I told you to wait in the library.”

“Um. I cannot go in there right now, Aunt Anne.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“Uh … well, it is currently occupied.”

“By whom?”

Sorry, Darce, old man. “Your son is in there.”

“Well, I shall certainly just boot him out of there.” Lady Anne jangled the knob, yet the door remained closed. “Richard, why is this room locked? You just informed me Fitzwilliam is inside. Is he unwell?” Lady Anne narrowed her eyes at her nephew, who at once looked anywhere but at his aunt’s face. In an ominous voice she said, “Is there, by any chance, someone in there with my son?”

The normally brave military officer cringed and said quietly, “Miss Elizabeth Bennet is in there with him, ma’am.”

The lady swooned and would have crumpled to the floor if not for her quick-thinking, fast-acting niece, Miss Anne de Bourgh. 

Behind the closed library doors, Fitzwilliam Darcy slowly turned to determine whose feminine gasp he heard before his fickle fiend of a friend fled and the military officer deserted. When he beheld Elizabeth, he experienced mixed feelings of relief as well as intense humiliation. There she stood, with her back pressed against the door, as she stared at him with huge eyes. He held his hands out in supplication and said, “It was not what I think you think. I think.”

“Well, Mr. Darcy, that is probably not quite true; because I certainly do not know what to think. Though I believe I just saw Mr. Bingley in a position in which I was rather hoping to find myself later tonight.”

“Miss Elizabeth, I shall not bear false witness. I … I do not bear waltz fitness.”

She stepped away from the door, paced a few steps, and unthinkingly ran gloved fingers through her hair, dislodging a ringlet Rachel had so carefully arranged. “Mr. Darcy, are you a trifle foxed? You are not at all speaking in your usual articulate manner.”

“I apologize, madam. I assure you I am stone cold sober. I hope you and I shall always be straightforward with one another and avoid any further misunderstandings. The simple, unvarnished truth is I am not an accomplished waltzer. I did not want to be an embarrassment to you or, heaven forbid, humiliate myself. I did actually learn the steps last year but was not a great proficient.”

“Sir, the dance is just now making its way to our shores; so none of us are truly proficient … well, with the exception of some young officers like Lieutenant-Colonel John Dun perhaps. He spent some time on the continent and learned to waltz there, but … Mr. Darcy! Did you just … growl, sir?”

“Please tell me you did not waltz with Dun.”

“Oh. Very well then, sir. I will not tell you.”

“Miss Elizabeth, the waltz is considered quite immoral, you know, because of the … close … embrace … madam, what are you doing?”

She stood directly in front of him and had reached for his right hand. “I am offering my services as waltzing instructor, unless you would rather recall Mr. Bingley to continue.”

“Who? I do not recall a dance instructor by that name.”

“Very good, Mr. Darcy. Now, move in a bit closer. Closer. Stop! My goodness! Back up a bit, sir.”

“Must I?”

“Yes!”

He reluctantly complied but rakishly smiled at her.

“There. Good. Now, sir, take your right hand … and … very good. See. You know just where to put your hand. Oops. Ah, Mr. Darcy, that is no longer my waist … Perhaps this is not such a wise course of action … Oh! My! Very, very good, sir. You move so … wonderfully and … masterfully. You are actually making it difficult to concentrate when you look at me in such a manner. Whew! It is rather hot in here, is it not? Sir, I really do think it would be best if we return to the ballroom now, before we … ah … Mr. Darcy, I can certainly guide you through these steps while on the dance floor, although you really do not require instruction at all. It is quite easy … and beautiful … and … my goodness! You are a very apt pupil, sir. I believe you could teach me a thing or two. Oh, how did we end up so close together again? Mr. Darcy, we simply must return to the ballroom now, so we can put this rehearsal to practical use.”

“Not just yet, my love.”

They had stopped dancing but held their positions. Fitzwilliam Darcy prepared in the highest spirits for the conquest of all that remained unsubdued of her heart, trusting it was not more than might be won in the course of the next few moments. He smoothed her wayward curl back into place, and then his hand slid down to cup the side of her face.

“I grow impatient with this drawn-out courtship, Elizabeth. I need to know, for certain, you will forever be mine. You were quite right earlier today. I have been courting you for the past fortnight; and although it may be somewhat unconventional, those elapsed two weeks shall have to serve as our official courtship. Since parting with you this afternoon I have struggled to find a perfect way to propose, yet words utterly fail to express what I feel for you. You deserve the sentiments of a poet, but I refuse to employ another man’s words.” He roguishly smiled at her and continued, “Although I did toss around the idea of discovering what a certain army officer said during his failed offer and then saying the complete opposite. I thought that way I might be assured of a positive response.”

“Oh, Mr. Darcy! Sir, how dare you bring up the thought of another man during such an intimate moment; and you were doing so splendidly up until that point.”

“I was?” His other hand had found its way to her face as well, and his long thumbs caressed her rosy cheeks. “Then please immediately forget that nonsense. You must allow me to continue in the previous vein and tell you how ardently I admire and love you. For love you I do, Elizabeth Bennet, with all my heart and soul, and always will. You are the most beautiful woman, both physically and intellectually, I have ever beheld. I love your wit, your joie de vivre, your kind and caring nature, and the way you look at me … like you looked at me on the lawn at Pemberley, and the way you are looking at me right this moment. Please say it means you return some measure of what I feel. Please say you will make me the happiest of men by consenting to be my wife and the mother of my children. Elizabeth, my one and only love, please say you will marry me.”

Elizabeth moved even closer, raised her right hand to his face, and dazzled him with the full force of her