Heeeeelllllooooooo everybody! My favourite couple of all time is Jane and Charles, so I simply HAD to write his proposal! I, very unfortunately, do not own the wonderful 'Pride and Prejudice.' If I did, this proposal would have been in the original work. You would also see my name on the cover, not the lovely Miss Austen's. Let me know what you think, and enjoy!
It was too much for Mr. Bingley, simply too much to bear. He'd gone to bed the previous night with his head full of thoughts of her. Her sweet disposition, which never saw a trace of evil in the race of mankind. Her beautiful face, always openly smiling and kind. Her ocean blue eyes, her sky blue eyes. Her soft blonde hair that he longed to run his fingers through, longed to see it down and framing her lovely face. He longed to be the one to take the pins out of her hair and-
No! That was not proper thoughts for a gentleman to have about a lady! But he couldn't help it. He loved her so much…
And now he was here with her, alone at Longbourn in the sitting room. He wasn't quite sure how he'd managed it. He knew her family was only a few rooms away, but he still knew someone must have been looking out for him to give him a few minutes alone with his love.
Suddenly, he was overcome by a fit of nerves. What was he thinking? A creature so very good as his Jane –What had come over him? Miss Bennet! - could never love him. And there he went again! She was not his, though he desperately wanted to make her so.
Mr. Bingley realized with a start that she was looking expectantly at him. "Is there something you wished to discuss, sir?" She asked politely. By everything good in the world, even her voice enchanted him.
"Oh, yes. Ja- I mean, Miss Bennet! Please excuse me; it was a slip of the tongue." He couldn't believe he'd nearly called her by her Christian name! What a fool he was! Can you see, my love? He thought to himself. Can you see what a mess you make of me?
But she simply gave him her sweet little smile, blushing slightly. "Of course, Mr. Bingley. Do not distress over it."
"Thank you, Miss Bennet. Yes, there is something I wish to ask you." He swallowed almost audibly, and tried to force away the butterflies in his stomach. Darcy had said Elizabeth was adamant that Ja- Miss Bennet did in fact feel something for him. He must believe that now.
He bent down on one knee and looked up at her.
"Ja- Miss Bennet. I must confess to you. I… I love you. I love you like I have never loved anyone before. Every time I think of you, I blush and feel my heart beat faster. When I get the chance to catch a glimpse of you, I cannot look away or see anyone else." Mr. Bingley tried not to remember the time he'd seen her with her sisters in Meryton, and had only avoided crashing into an innocent bystander thanks to Darcy.
He continued. "And those times when I am blessed enough to actually speak with you, I… I lose myself. I lose myself in your voice, what you are saying, your manners, everything about you. I am constantly captivated by you." He looked into her eyes, afraid he was being too forward. But now that he'd started, he couldn't stop.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I mean, not all of it, that would be ridiculous. I would like to spend the great majority of my life with you. I mean… oh, this is a disaster, isn't it?"
Miss Bennet gave a delicate, bell-like laugh. "Not it's not. It's sweet."
He felt like sighing in relief, but felt that would ruin his proposal even further. What kind of idiot was he? 'I want to spend the great majority,' indeed! Desperate to salvage his performance, he trudged on.
"If any man should ever claim to love their wife more than I love you, they will be telling a falsehood. You shall forever be my angel, whether you should accept my hand or not. I will always be in love with you, and I'm convinced that my love for you will only grow."
He was delighted when he saw her eyes glazed over, and her face smiling. Perhaps she really did feel something for him? Oh, what a joy that would be! To be able to call her Mrs Bingley, and hold her in his arms, and never have to let go.
"But why did you leave?" She asked quietly. "Why didn't you at least write to me once?"
Mr Bingley felt his heart drop. How was he to explain it to her, that he had been so easily fooled into thinking she did not care for him? How would he be able to present himself in such a way as to make the offer of his hand tempting? His heart broke when he looked in her eyes and realized how badly he had hurt this amazing woman. How could he ever have been so stupid?
Before he could stop himself, he reached forward and took both her hands in his. They both started- neither had expected him to do that. But she didn't pull away.
"Miss Bennet… I think we can both agree I was a fool. A horribly ignorant fool. I believed you indifferent to me, and I couldn't take that pain. I was a coward and left, without even a proper good bye. I cannot apologize to you enough, though I swear I shall try."
A small smile graced her lips, but something was troubling her still. "I was in town. I went to London and stayed with my aunt and uncle. I even called on your sister, and she returned the favour a few weeks later. Did you not know of my presence there?"
Mr Bingley's eyes widened. "You were in town?" When she nodded, he felt like cursing. That she had been in town and it had been hidden from him was outrageous! "I promise you, I knew nothing of your being in town. It was most skilfully hidden from me."
At that, his love's eyes filled with tears. "You really knew nothing of my being there?"
He nodded. "I had no idea until now that you were ever there. My dear Miss Bennet, please say you will do me the extreme honour of becoming Mrs Bingley."
She beamed. "Yes," She whispered. "Yes, yes, yes!"
His heart exploded. This beautiful human being was consenting to being his? Oh, he had never known such joy!
Mr Bingley stood up and took her into his arms. "I love you." He whispered in her hair.
"And I love you," She responded. "Charles."
She was his.
She was his!
His lovely, lovely Jane was really his!
So, how'd you like it? Love it? (Unlikely, but I can hope.) Kinda like it? Hate it? Let me know! Even if it's a flame, but I would very much appreciate if you could tell me WHY you didn't like it, so I could improve for my next story. As I said in the summary, I was listening to Lifehouse's 'You and Me' when I wrote this. It's my new fave song. Go check it out! It totally reminds me of Jane/Charles.
If people like it, I'm considering turning this into a series of oneshots. So tell me if I should!
Oh, and Faith. I know you told me to post a story about a book you'd actually read. Too bad. ;) Maybe now you'll read it? Or at least the modern version of it, Prom and Prejudice. It's quite abridged, and reeeeeaaaaalllllyyyy really good!
Byebye!