A New Bride for Pemberley

by Anna Harlow

  “You’ve been alone with him?” Elizabeth chuckled. “Did he ever kiss you?”

  “Of course not,” she said, blushing. “Until just now, he believed he must offer for Mary. But as soon as she ran out of the room, he confessed to me that he was quite relieved, for the notion of marrying someone for duty alone weighed on him quite heavily. He has made me no official offer, but I am certain he soon shall.”

  “If you can find happiness with such a man, Charlotte, then I am quite happy for you,” Elizabeth told her. “And also for my sisters, for not one of them could have endured!”

  “Oh, Lizzy, hush!” she complained. “Truly, he is not so terrible.”

  “On that, I must simply take your word.”

  “Elizabeth, will you come back here please?” called Darcy. “And, you may as well bring your friend with you.”

  The young ladies rejoined their men to hear what they had to say. It did not take long for them to be told, since Mr. Collins was not the soul of discretion.

  “Cousin Elizabeth, such a happy honor!” he enthused. “I had thought, surely, that once this business with your sister had transpired your family might wish to shut me out, just as we have all been before we met one month since. Yet now, to be asked to perform your wedding! You cannot begin to understand how pleased and relieved I am, to know that we might still be friends!”

  Elizabeth’s eyes widened, and she glanced at Darcy. “Sir?”

  “You recall, my darling, that I did not wish to delay our joining,” he explained. “Who better to marry us privately than a clergyman so wholly connected to the bride’s family? And then, when we are married, there would be nothing to keep us from traveling to our townhouse in London, where I could continue to heal more comfortably. For, though you may not know it, I grow quite weary of Caroline and all her needling. Many of the things she says about you are not meant kindly, and I can no longer endure listening. If Bingley were not my closest friend in the world, I would have set her down for it long ago, but I find this would be far too rude, particularly while lying on a sofa in her own home.”

  “I commend you sir, for your fortitude,” said Mr. Collins with a little smirk. “I was subjected to the barb of that lady’s tongue while you were all to dinner at Longbourn. She can be quite shocking, really. In particular because she and I had only just met at the time. I had understood her to have been educated at a school in London, yet for all her decorum, I would have suspected she’d been schooled in a foundling home.”

  “Sir, you are too cruel,” Elizabeth scolded him. “I’ll hear nothing more on it from either of you. Though Miss Caroline might sometimes be unkind, it is unnecessary to take such behavior for our own example.”

  “Lizzy is right, of course,” Charlotte told them. “But if we have only three days to prepare some form of ceremony, I shall certainly need to return here tomorrow to help in the planning. Mr. Collins, you probably ought to join me.”

  “I shall, indeed, my dear,” he agreed. “We shall tryst with Darcy and Lizzy over the next few days as much as possible.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Elizabeth was not the least surprised when her parents soon came over to speak to her and Darcy once Mr. Collins and Charlotte had gone. Her mother surely wanted to complain about Mary’s behavior, but Elizabeth wished the woman would not do so in front of Mr. Darcy. It was certain he could not be quite so comfortable with her family yet that he would wish to witness such a display.

  “Of course we shall return to Netherfield for your ceremony, my dear, though I am amazed that Mr. Collins would still wish to perform it, after Mary put on such a display. You can be sure, sir, that Lizzy could never have such a want for decorum. But Mary? She has always been a difficult and unpredictable young woman.”

  “Mr. Darcy did quite well, to procure the daughter he did,” said Mr. Bennet, casting Elizabeth an amused wink.

  “I see you conspiring behind me, Mr. Bennet,” complained Mrs. Bennet as she glared at him. “Lizzy is not one jot better than your other daughters, though you like to think so. Except, perhaps, in a case such as this. For she would never have made such a public spectacle of herself.”

  “Mama, please!” Elizabeth complained. “You know Papa is only trying to tease you.”

  “I have come over to say that we shall soon depart, and gather my wife to that end,” Mr. Bennet told them. “I still cannot believe I shall have a married daughter in just three days. Elizabeth, my child, I pray that you will not marry in haste, if you have not worked out within yourself that you are ready for it.”

  “I am quite ready, sir, I assure you.”

  “Very well, my dear, you shall not hear another harsh word pass my lips on the matter,” her father said. “Come, Mrs. Bennet, let these two be for now. We can easily talk to them again upon our return three days hence.”

  “Saying good-bye to one’s children when they have just realized it will be quite some time before you will meet them again is hard, sir. One must feel so forlorn without them!”

  “Oh, Mama, do not become a watering pot, please,” Elizabeth complained. “We will not be so far away. I will write to you as often as I can, you may be sure.”

  “No, I doubt you will find much time to write to me, daughter, not when you shall be newly married. There didn’t seem to be enough hours in a day when your father and I were first married, and becoming better acquainted with one another. I shall have to satisfy myself with the girls who remain.”

  “Better acquainted?” Elizabeth repeated, and then her eyes widened as she thought about what her mother was implying. A blush crept fully onto her cheeks.

  “I see you have a small understanding of the concept,” she said. “Perhaps you might now comprehend that when your father teases me, it is not so vexing as you might suppose. But more than that, I will not divulge. I shall miss having you around, Lizzy, but I know you will be quite happy in your new home. Perhaps before your ceremony, you and I might find a chance to talk alone.”

  Elizabeth blushed further. “No, madam, I do not think I could hear you. My husband will tell me what I need to know.”

  Her mother kissed her cheek. “Give it some thought, my dear. I will tell you whatever you need me to. And good-night to you as well, sir. We shall see you both soon.”

  Elizabeth was too drained, both mentally and physically, to have any desire to sit up talking with Darcy once all the guests were gone. Darcy, too, seemed like he wished to sleep. The men carried him back to his room, and she trailed along behind them. When they were alone, she moved into his arms at his beckoning.

  “I’m so tired,” she told him with a yawn she could not suppress.

  “Would that I could hold you just like this all night,” he said with a soft sigh, and kissed the top of her head. “Sweetheart, did you fully comprehend what your mother was just talking about?”

  Elizabeth laughed. “Enough to realize I do not comprehend all, sir. But I meant what I said; I would much rather receive my instructions in that regard from you.”

  She was not wholly surprised when one of his hands, which had been placed at her hip until that point, moved with a slow precision over her side, and he next began to fondle the skin beneath her collar bones. As the hand sank lower, and his fingers dipped just beneath the fabric of her décolletage, Elizabeth sucked in a breath, remembering the look he’d worn when her lace had been used to tie on his splint that night. She turned up her face to look at his, and found that same look of desire, only greatly amplified.

  “S-sir?

  Darcy did not answer her with words. Instead, he claimed her lips and tongue hungrily. She felt his hand slide over a fabric-clad breast, massaging at her hardened nipple. She couldn’t be sure if the sound she made was a gasp of surprise or a moan of delight. Probably something of both. Desire swirled in her belly, hot and insistent. Their breaths mingled.

  “My sweet, beautiful fiancé,” he muttered softly. “I should not take such a liberty. Lizzy, do you know what touchi
ng you like this does to me? I do not think that you do. And, as I would like to keep it that way for another few days, you should probably go to bed now.”

  Elizabeth clung tighter instead, whispering, “Sir, can you not offer me just a little more enlightening?”

  Darcy chuckled. His hand returned to her décolletage, but this time he did not stop at the edge of the fabric. With a deft tug, he pulled her current bit of lace free, tossing it onto the floor. Elizabeth felt a little shiver of delight as his fingers crept inside to take its place. His other hand fiddled at some of the buttons at the back of her gown until several had come free. All the while he fitted his mouth to hers, kissing her hungrily.

  Heart pounding at their daring, Elizabeth knew that she would give him anything in that moment. She would give him everything, if he asked her to. The heat in her body left her breathless and wanton, and she began to wonder how the deed might be accomplished. Darcy had suggested, had he not, that the leg ought not to deter them much?

  Thanks to the loosened fabric, he managed to free one of her breasts to his view. He lifted her more fully on top of him, so that her bum was seated on his lap, and the breast was quite close to his face. So close, it was an easy matter for him to take the nipple into his mouth, teasing it mercilessly with his tongue.

  “Sir! Will!” she gasped, capturing the sides of his face between her hands. “Oh, my!”

  “Hush, love, remember the walls,” he teased her, his voice a husky version of its usual self. “This will not do, my Lizzy. When we are married, we must find a chance to be free with whatever sounds we may wish to let out. Right now the house in town is mostly closed. There will be very few servants about, and we could have the place mostly to ourselves.”

  Elizabeth opened her eyes and looked down into his as he looked up at her, his tongue still flickering over her flesh in a manner that completely took her breath. She could not speak, and so she simply nodded her encouragement for him to continue.

  “As soon as the ceremony is concluded, I will wish to leave,” he said, then kissed her nipple and smiled. “Georgiana, Fanny, and the others will soon follow, but for a few nights, I want us to be alone.”

  “Yes, I would like that too,” she whispered as he let her go, and circumspectly buttoned her up again.

  “Good night, my darling,” he said, kissing her again. “I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. You had better go now, while I still have the strength to let you.”

  Elizabeth moved to retrieve her lace, and then she was gone.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Darcy was most pleased to see Elizabeth when she finally came down the next morning. Though he had been tired, he had lain awake for hours after she left, longing for a different outcome, which he knew would soon occur—but not nearly soon enough, as far as he was concerned. He felt too much like a randy teenaged boy longing for his first time, and he was quite amused by it.

  “There’s my beauty,” he called out amiably as she stepped into the room. However, Georgiana, the children, and Mrs. Avery were already there, and a squeal of delight soon came from that quarter. Looking over, Darcy perceived his daughter pull herself onto her feet and begin to walk toward Elizabeth.

  “Lizzy! Lizzy!” she called happily and latched onto her leg. Not one of the ladies seemed shocked by this turn of events, though all of them were amused.

  “What is this?” he demanded, grinning broadly.

  “It would seem, sir, that Fanny has at last discovered the one thing which was enticing enough to walk across the room for,” said Georgiana, her tone teasing.

  Darcy laughed. “Yes, it would appear so. Betrayed by my own child! How shall I ever live with the knowledge that every Darcy must fall blissfully in love with Miss Elizabeth Bennet?”

  Georgiana chuckled at this. “Brother, I care for Lizzy deeply, to be sure. But I do not think I would go quite that far.”

  “Your love for her is of a sisterly nature, of course, but still it is there,” he amended. “And Fanny? Well, it is plain to see that she will easily accept Lizzy as her mother.”

  “Oh, yes, I suppose she is meant to,” said Elizabeth, blushing now.

  “You have got Fanny walking, love, now if only you could do the same for me,” he teased.

  “But sir, what possible incentive might I offer to entice you across the room? I confess, I’ve no idea. You are such a proud, self-contained person, I hardly think just walking into the room would create the same effect on you.”

  “With such enticements as I perceive, Miss Bennet, I can assure you that were nobody else here, I would not walk across the room. I would be running.”

  “Brother!” Georgiana gasped, blushing now. “Can you not save your lovemaking for when you are alone? I am certain I don’t want to know what sort of enticements you are talking about!”

  “Come, Lizzy, bring our daughter to me,” said Darcy, smiling.

  Elizabeth blushed at his comment, but lifted Fanny up into her arms and crossed the room. She was not surprised at all when he tugged her down to sit beside him as usual, and when she released the little girl, Fanny happily crawled over and kissed her father on his nose.

  The greater part of the morning passed most enjoyably, with the children’s antics and the adults’ banter livening it up with mirth. Mr. Collins and Mary arrived together, and it was obvious by the smile gracing Charlotte’s face that the gentleman had made his offer for her, and had been accepted.

  “Charlotte!” Elizabeth exclaimed, seeing her. “Are you engaged now?”

  “I am,” she said, her tone still one of wonder. Though Darcy could imagine that a young woman of twenty-seven years who had finally found herself a husband might well have such a tone. Especially one who did not possess good looks or a good dowry, though from what he’d been told by Bingley it was much larger than the one Elizabeth would soon be owed.

  “It is decided since last night,” Darcy said. “Elizabeth and I will want to immediately quit Netherfield once the marriage has been accomplished and head for my townhouse in London. But, as for Georgiana and the others here, they must wait a while before they follow.”

  Mr. Collins grinned slightly. “A most understandable decision, sir. Though, not much of a honeymoon.”

  “For the current circumstances, it is all the honeymoon we can attempt, I think,” said Darcy, glaring down at his leg briefly. “We will take our honeymoon as part of our first anniversary.”

  “Unless Elizabeth might be busy nursing a newborn or something,” Mrs. Avery pointed out. “Don’t look at me for that, as my child and yours will have already long been weaned.”

  “That is not so difficult, madam,” Darcy teased. “If Lizzy starts increasing, I’ll just send you to see your husband for a couple of weeks.”

  Her jaw dropped at such a statement, made so openly right in front of a member of the clergy. However, Mr. Collins joined right in with all of the laughing.

  “Sir, I am not sickly at all,” Elizabeth protested. “I will nurse my own children, if you please. Not that I mean any disparity toward you, Mrs. Avery, for all the help you are giving. It is just my own maternal feeling I am expressing.”

  “In all honesty, I understand you completely,” she admitted, blushing. “I never could have endured it if Little John were fed by anyone other than me. It must be difficult for any mother to relinquish her little darlings.”

  “Although I am quite pleased to be included in such a domestic conversation, we must still discuss the topic for which I am visiting,” said Mr. Collins. “As it was a necessary part of this service, I have brought along some legal documents which must be submitted today, if we wish to perform the ceremony on Friday. They will require the signature of each party, and also that of Mr. Bennet, whom I shall visit directly before returning them to the local church as I have been directed.”

  “Yes, of course,” Darcy agreed readily. “Georgiana, Mrs. Avery, please take the children to play elsewhere, while we are busy. It should not take long to
accomplish my part in things—though I suspect that my fiancée will want to talk about clothes and decorations with her friend.”

  “Most definitely,” Elizabeth heartily agreed. “I am sure, now that we are both engaged, that the two of us shall wish to compare notes for the greater part of the morning.”

  Darcy laughed at this. “Nothing too revealing, if you please.”

  “It doesn’t sound as though there’s much to discuss other than when to hold the event,” Mr. Collins pointed out. “If you wish to head for London afterwards, perhaps I might suggest you have it earlier in the day, sir. Twenty miles of travel with that leg will do you no favors, so you will want to go slow.”

  “Yes, that is so,” Darcy nodded. “But I do not wish to have it too early either. Though we will invite very few guests, I am certain most of them would balk at the notion of arriving much before noon.”