Work Text:
O excellent lady,
my most esteemed patroness,
I have great tidings!
Most excellent tidings—that is to say,
that Your Ladyship shall be glad—no, no,
I expect that Your Ladyship shall be pleased,
quite pleased,
by my most excellent information.
I have received this knowledge from a very respectable source,
a very reputable one, and I expect Your Ladyship concur,
especially when that most joyous news is unveiled,
yes,
Your Ladyship will be most pleased.
Here, here is the news, Your Ladyship—
My cousin, Miss Elizabeth Bennet—
who as Your Ladyship may recall,
did reject my own suit many months ago,
though Your Ladyship may rest assured
that I have retained no bitterness from the occasion,
and I must not be surprised,
for her heart must have been engaged most thoroughly by another,
for the news I have heard is that she is soon to be
Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy.