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“Miss Dashwood… Elinor… would you do me the honour of accepting my hand?”
“Yes, Edward… yes, yes, yes!” Elinor laughed as she threw herself into his arms and he nearly fell over.
“Oh, Miss Dashwood, you have made me the happiest of men!” Edward’s eyes shone as he cupped her face in his hands.
“You must never call me ‘Miss Dashwood’ again,” she warned teasingly, “unless you wish for me to call you ‘Mr. Ferrars.’”
“Perhaps that is more proper,” Edward mused, “but to be perfectly honest, I do not think I could bear ‘Mr. Ferrars’ from you. So… I suppose I must call you ‘Elinor,’ and the devil can take propriety.”
Elinor’s eyebrows lifted in amusement. “Strong words from a future parson.”
“Strong words from a future parson violently in love with you, Elinor.”
She shivered. “Violently?”
“Yes. Violently.”
And with that, they entered a passionate embrace with an equally passionate kiss that seemed to last for several eras, for all that the newly engaged couple were aware of their surroundings.
When they parted, their eyes were wide, their breaths ragged.
“Merciful God in heaven,” Edward breathed.
“Amen,” Elinor responded.
And with a craven, blazing look between them, they returned eagerly to their new favourite activity.
“This had better mean that you are engaged.”
Elinor and Edward’s third or fourth or perhaps fifth kiss was thus interrupted by Mrs. Dashwood.
“It does, Mama, it does!” Elinor could not seem to regain her serenity. She was too filled with happiness.
“That is, if you will—”
Mrs. Dashwood laughed and waved off Edward’s attempt to seek her permission. “As if I would say ‘no’ to the one my Elinor loves so!”
Elinor blushed, and Edward gazed at her fondly.
“Now then, do join us for dinner, Edward.”
“Certainly, Mrs. Dashwood.”
Edward had been away from the dinner table for several minutes when Elinor rose from her chair. “I shall see what is keeping him.”
Elinor had no sooner entered the hallway than a pair of arms pulled her into a side room. She gasped in fright.
“No—no—please do not be afraid, it is only I, dearest.”
She recognized the sound of Edward’s voice and that unique scent she had long associated only with him.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
“Stealing a kiss.”
And with that, Edward’s mouth descended upon her own.
A part of her believed she ought to protest, but for the life of her, she could not recall why. Not when it felt so natural and so good to wind her arms around his neck and respond to his kiss with fervency.
“Oh, Miss Dashwood, Mrs. Dashwood wishes—oh. Oh. Pardon me.”
Their kiss swiftly broke before Elinor turned to their maid Mary, who had turned crimson and was backing toward the door.
“Thank you, Mary,” Elinor responded with a gentle smile. “I will come see Mama myself.”
Following Mary’s departure, Edward suggested, “Perhaps I ought to return to the table first.”
“Oh, now you are concerned about propriety?” Elinor teased.
“Do not test my resolve,” he responded in a low voice. “I shall fail.”
“Mama…”
“Yes, Marianne?”
“I fear I underestimated both Elinor and Edward’s depth of feeling.”
“Do you, now?”
“I must have. It seems that they have thrown propriety to the wind. Every time I enter a room they occupy, they are kissing.”
Mrs. Dashwood smiled indulgently. “They are in love and engaged. And they came so close to being parted for ever…”
“I do not disapprove,” Marianne clarified. “I am only… surprised. Pleasantly so, mind. I am less concerned for Elinor’s future happiness than I once was.”
“Edward, why are you lying upon the settee that way?”
His entire body twitched before he leapt up at the sound of Margaret’s voice.
“Elinor?!”
“I… I tripped,” Edward stammered. “And fell upon the settee.”
“How unfortunate that Elinor was upon the settee at the time,” Margaret observed.
Edward and Elinor exchanged sly smiles.
“Yes,” Elinor responded, her voice hoarse. “Most unfortunate, indeed.”
“Elinor,” Margaret asked at dinner one evening, “did Edward find your earring?”
Elinor nearly choked on her wine, and Edward’s face turned crimson.
Colonel Brandon watched this exchange with interest. “Miss Dashwood lost her earring?”
“Yes. In the garden. Edward was on the ground underneath Elinor’s dress, and she told me he was looking for her earring.”
Mrs. Dashwood nearly spat out her wine, and she pressed a fist to her mouth. Marianne looked from one sister to the other in bewilderment.
“Yes,” Elinor said, her voice strained. “Yes, he did. Thank you for asking, Margaret.”
The Colonel cast a pointed look at Edward, who stared intently at his plate. Colonel Brandon could not help but notice the small smiles on both Edward’s and Elinor’s faces.
The next time the Colonel came to call, he was unsurprised to hear unmistakeable sounds emerging from a nearby grove, accompanied by voices.
“Elinor…yes…”
“Do you like that, my love?”
“You know I do, my sweet Elinor…”
His eyes wide, Colonel Brandon hurried into Barton Cottage.
“Mrs. Dashwood, I have changed my mind,” he told her. “I believe Elinor and Edward ought to marry straight away, once he takes orders.”
Mrs. Dashwood’s brows furrowed. “The parsonage will be ready by then?”
“Not likely, but Delaford is spacious enough that they may stay there until the parsonage is complete.” Colonel Brandon coughed. “I believe your daughter and her intended ought to marry as soon as possible.”
A delighted look came over Mrs. Dashwood’s face. “They are very much in love.”
Another cough. “Indeed.”
After their marriage, Elinor and Edward remained out of sight for a good two weeks. Colonel Brandon was relieved, although the rest of the Dashwoods appeared quite put out by this.
“Believe me, it is for the best,” Colonel Brandon insisted. “Give them another week or so, and I am convinced they will be happy to be in your company once more.”
“They are in love and happy,” Mrs. Dashwood said with a satisfied smile. “And they deserve their privacy.”
“I suppose,” Marianne admitted with a warm sigh. “Although, I almost miss finding them kissing everywhere. Is that strange?”
“Not for you,” the Colonel said fondly. “We all know how much you love love, and how glad you are to see your sister’s happiness.”
“If, by some miracle, I am ever engaged,” Marianne said dreamily, “I hope my intended and I are so full of love for one another that we will not care to be proper, either.”
Her soft gaze landed upon Colonel Brandon, who swallowed hard at his instinctive reaction.
And then he groaned softly and covered his forehead with his hand.
The End