My Mr. Darcy (swoon now)

Our Wedding in Cornwall 2002

I have said it once and I will say it again and again. Luke is my Mr. Darcy. Yes, I went to Bristol, England with thoughts of Jane Austen and her wonderful novels swirling through my head. I thought, wouldn’t it be amazing to be whisked off my feet by a Brit! I didn’t actually think it would happen.

Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.

Cut to, my first week in England – I spent £20 equivalent to about $30 on a phone call to my parents in a red phone booth, hysterically crying. I HATED England and I wanted to come home. I wasn’t adjusting well, hadn’t gotten into the pre-approved courses and didn’t know how to cook! So picture me – nearly hyperventilating, gushing with tears, in the very picturesque area of Clifton in a red phone box with many people walking by trying not to notice. Fast forward 7 months and I was calling home to tell my parents that I’d met someone – the one- and I didn’t want to come home yet.

I have some friends to thank for actually getting together with my husband. We were acquaintances before becoming a couple and the stars aligned on April 23rd at three friends’ birthdays (they know who they are) – a curry, a pub crawl and Odyssey (a club in Bristol) were all involved.

So, I will tell you the reasons my husband is my Mr. Darcy:

1. He was very aloof when we were about to all go out. Didn’t talk to me. Much like the snub Mr. Darcy gave Eliza Bennett.
2. He is debonair (he will disagree with this – actually probably all of this!)
3. He’s opinionated. Really he comes from a long line of seasoned debaters.
4. He is the best with children. I saw this the first time I met his family (after dating a week). Now, he is the perfect father.
5. He is protective and loving.

Luke with our nephews, 12 years ago.

The only thing that differs from Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy and my husband is that he’s not landed gentry…. You should have seen some of the places we’ve lived. Since we married straight out of uni, I always tell him, “Well, at least you know I didn’t marry you for the money!”

To quote Mr. Darcy, to my husband:

“I cannot fix on the hour, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.” (Mr.Darcy, Chapter 60)