He concluded with representing to her the strength of that attachment which, in spite of all his endeavours, he had found impossible to conquer; and with expressing his hope that it would now be rewarded by her acceptance of his hand. As he said this, she could easily see that he had no doubt of a favourable answer. He spoke of apprehension and anxiety, but his countenance expressed real security.
– Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 34. Well educated in other ways he may be, but poor Mr. Darcy never went to marriage proposal school. In his awkward proposal to Elizabeth, he manages to make himself sound like a trapped animal. Clumsy, arrogantly confident in assuming Elizabeth’s acceptance, he never asks or talks about her feelings.