by Linda Wells
“Now may I kiss you?” He dragged his lips down her neck.
“So you are ready to embrace the future? If that is the case, I believe that Dr. Howard gave you a charge.” She smiled up at him with a gleam in her eye.
He laughed. “And what was that, my love?”
“I believe it had something to do with fatherhood.”
His eyes twinkled at hers. “Ah, yes, I do believe he did mention something of that sort. What do you propose, Mrs. Darcy?”
She raised her brows. “I think that it is high time that you act on it.”
“I seem to recall doing something of the kind last night, or was it so forgettable, that my lovely wife missed the event entirely?”
She waved her hand, “No, no, I recall it all precisely. But you see; I have been researching the topic.”
“You have?” He laughed.
She nodded her head vigorously, “Indeed! Most diligently! And there are a great many theories and suggestions for achieving the goal. I think that we should, as prospective parents, pursue this wise advice.”
“And what is the advice, my sweet Lizzy?” He pulled her close to him, running his hands over her breasts while suckling her neck.
“Frequency, Mr. Darcy!” She declared with enthusiasm. “And position, why did you know that the Kama Sutra describes any number of positions for lovemaking? Some particularly designed to encourage pregnancy?”
He stared at her. “How on earth do you know about the Kama Sutra?”
“Why Mr. Darcy, am I not a great reader?” She batted her eyes, and began unbuttoning his breeches.
“Yes.” He said suspiciously, looking down to watch her busy hands.
“And are you not proud of your library, the work of many generations?” She continued, gently freeing his decidedly erect member from its confines, and stroked the warm silky skin the way he taught her.
“Ohh, yess.” He closed his eyes and swallowed hard, even while lifting her skirts to her waist.
“Then do you not think that such a fine example of literature would be located within the vast collection that is the Pemberley library?” She rose to straddle his lap.
His eyes still closed, he brought his hands up under her skirts to caress her bare bottom and his voice cracked with anticipation. “I thought that was well hidden.”
“It was, sir, but you left me alone far too long one day, and well, you know, I am quite determined to discover your secrets.” She whispered, and bringing her lips to his, she held his head in one hand and guided him into her with the other. “Mmmm. Will, my riding lessons are nothing like this!” She moaned, moving faster.
He opened his eyes and looked into her beautiful face. “I have not taught you to jump fences yet, my love.”
The carriage rolled on, and the happy couple paid no heed to the volume of their voices. The carriage driver turned his head to glance back at the footmen positioned directly above their seat, and grinned at their wide smiles, displayed as they listened to the Master and Mistress work to create the next generation.
“I SIMPLY cannot understand what has happened, Louisa!” Caroline Bingley declared as she sat heavily on her bed at Netherfield and watched as the servants rushed to unpack her things.
“Well, perhaps your friends did not know that you were in town.” Louisa offered weakly.
“How could they not? I sent my card around to everybody telling them that I had returned, and on every one of them I noted my connection to Mr. Darcy! That has always gained my entry into the most exclusive events!” She stared angrily at a maid who was hurrying to leave the room.
“I cannot imagine what went wrong, then.” Actually, Louisa could. Charles told her that Darcy had wearied of Caroline using his name, and assuming a closer relationship than what truly existed. Now that he was married he was able to cut off his connection to anyone without any question. He made a point of letting his closest friends know that they were not to invite Caroline Bingley to their events based solely on her supposed connection to him, because one did not exist. Of course, Louisa was not hurrying to tell her sister that.
Caroline’s eyes lit up with wonder. “Louisa, do you suppose that the ton has rejected Mr. Darcy because of his marriage to that chit, Elizabeth Bennet?”
Louisa’s eyes grew wide, sensing danger. “Caroline! May I remind you that Jane Bennet is very soon to marry Charles and disparaging remarks about Mrs. Darcy reflect poorly on your own sister?”
“No, no, that is it exactly! Oh Louisa, I must tell him the damage that Elizabeth Bennet has done to his reputation! He will see the danger of destroying his sister’s welcome into society, and he will immediately seek to divorce her to save his family’s name!” Caroline’s eyes were gleaming with the prospect of her plan’s success. “And then, once she is gone, he will have to work hard to restore his name to its greatness! You know how proud he is of his heritage, he will not hesitate to instantly remarry, and find a proper wife to be Mistress of Pemberley, and to display her at all of the finest gatherings!” She laughed at the prospect.
“Caroline. . .”
“I will find him alone and tell him this news, and when he stands there, infuriated at his mistake, I will graciously offer myself to help him through this time of need!” She turned to her sister, her eyes wide with avarice and anticipation. “Yes, and then I will not have to find my own home! I will have Pemberley and Darcy House! Surely Charles will not force me to continue looking for accommodations when I am engaged to Mr. Darcy!”
“Caroline! You will not be engaged to Mr. Darcy! If he had wished to marry you, he could have done that any time in the years that he has known you! And you know that he cannot divorce, and with the grounds you suggest it would not be granted without an Act of Parliament, and his future children would be considered illegitimate. That is certainly something that he would never entertain! You must let go of this ridiculous delusion!” She put her hands on her sister’s shoulders, shaking her. “What has come over you, Caroline? Surely you know that nothing will take Mr. Darcy from his wife. Is this all about Charles asking you to find your own home?”
Caroline looked up at her sister, the maniacal light dimming in her eyes. “Louisa, if nobody will ask me to their balls, I cannot find a husband, and if I cannot marry, I will spend my life as a spinster aunt. I do not wish to live alone.” Finally the truth was out.
Louisa sat down and wrapped her arms around her. “Caroline, have you ever thought about why people would invite you to their balls and dinners in the past?”
Caroline looked at her. “Because they liked me!”
“I think it was because of your freely claiming a connection to Mr. Darcy. Those people wanted you at their parties because they thought that it would get them closer to him.” Louisa looked seriously into her sister’s confused eyes. “They were doing the same thing that you were doing, using him. He knew this Caroline, and he never liked it. Not from you, not from the ton, not from anyone. The first woman who did not look at him with greed in her eyes was Elizabeth Bennet. That is why he married her. She saw him as a man, not a means to wealth and recognition.”
“But is that not why you married?” Caroline asked, trying to justify herself.
Louisa sighed. “Yes, it was. I made a marriage of convenience, not love. Gilbert and I have grown to have affection for each other, but it certainly is not what the Darcy’s have, or I suspect, what Charles will have with Jane. You still have time to change yourself, and hopefully attract someone who will love you, and not your dowry. Do you think that you can do that?”
“I do not know. I do not know if I have the ability to change even if I decided to, and I certainly do not know how.” Caroline, for the first time in a very long time, began to cry.
“I think that our new sister will help you, if you let her. Perhaps you should simply start by behaving civilly to Mrs. Darcy when she arrives. Watch and see her and Mr. Darcy’s reaction to you. That should tell you if you are on the right path.” She handed
her a handkerchief and kissed her forehead. She rose and left the room, closing the door behind her. When she was alone in the hallway, she let out a breath.
Inside the room, Caroline sat, her tears stopped. “Can I change? Do I want to?”
Chapter 27
Upon arriving at Netherfield, Darcy and Elizabeth went to their bedchambers to change from their travel clothes and then descended to the sitting room to greet the household. “Lizzy!” Jane flew across the room into her sister’s arms. Darcy stood, abandoned, and smiled at their enthusiasm.
“I did not know that you were here or I would have seen you before going upstairs!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “You look beautiful, Jane! Is everything ready?”
“Oh Lizzy, there is so much left to do. I am so glad that you are here. I especially need to talk to you about Mama and Papa.” Jane was gripping her hands, staring eagerly into her eyes.
“What is it, Jane? From your behaviour, it seems to be good news?” Elizabeth felt cautiously optimistic.
“It is wonderful news!” She smiled, and noticing Darcy she looked at him and blushed. “Forgive me, William, I did not mean to ignore you.”
Darcy bowed to her, smiling. “Not at all, Jane, I just thought it best to stand out of the way of the sisterly effusions.”
“She is your sister, as well, sir.” Elizabeth noted, smiling up to his amused face.
“So she is, and soon my best friend will be my brother.” He looked at them both, and taking Jane’s hand, he bestowed a kiss. “I am very happy to see you again, Jane. I see that you are bursting to speak to my wife, so I will graciously leave you alone.” He bowed and walked across the room to speak to Bingley.
Jane immediately dragged Elizabeth to a sofa and sat down. “Lizzy, Mama and Papa are courting!”
“Excuse me, Jane, but they are doing what?” Elizabeth stared at her in disbelief.
“It is the strangest thing. It happened the day that your letter arrived. Papa still was not talking to anyone, all those weeks after you married. But he watched for the post every day, looking for a letter from you. Well, when the letter came he shut himself in the library, and I could hear him. He was in tears. What did you write? Whatever it was it certainly changed him. He left the library and went in search of Mama, and then he kissed her, and made her tell him all about the wedding plans! Can you imagine? He wanted to hear every detail. Then every day after that he has been spending time walking in the garden with her, and talking together, and Charles and I even came upon them embracing one evening!” Jane was incredulous, telling her own story. “What was in your letter, Lizzy? It has to be something that you wrote that made him change!”
Elizabeth listened to Jane, her eyes growing wider with each new bit of information. “I simply told him of an event that took place at Pemberley, and then told him how much I love William.” She knew that her letter detailed what happened with Wickham. Was that what drove her father’s epiphany?
“What happened at Pemberley, Lizzy?” Jane asked eagerly, sure it was something wonderful.
This was not the time for that particular story. “I will tell you later, maybe we can take a walk together?”
“Oh, of course.” She said, disappointed. “Did you hear of Lydia’s news?”
“Yes, she wrote to me that she was engaged to Lieutenant Denny. How did Mama react?”
“She was thrilled, naturally. She ran about the house saying, ‘Three daughters married!’ for the longest time!” Jane grinned. “I suppose that we will have to find husbands for Kitty and Mary now!”
“Well, if Lydia can find one, the other two should have no trouble at all.” She laughed. “How is Mama responding to the new Thomas Bennet?”
“You will not recognize her, Lizzy. She is so calm. I think that she acted so oddly before just to get Papa’s attention.”
“And instead it just drove him further away.” Elizabeth said, thoughtfully, wondering if the opposite was the real truth.
“You will see yourself, soon enough. We will have dinner here tonight, but I hope that you will come to Longbourn tomorrow to help me with the wedding preparations and visit. Aunt and Uncle Gardiner and the children arrive tomorrow, and we will be having dinner all together.”
“I look forward to everything that you have planned, Jane. I am sure that William and Charles will be able to keep each other occupied while we fuss over the wedding.” She looked up, and as expected, Darcy was seated speaking to Bingley, but his gaze was centred on her. She blushed, and he smiled.
Further conversation was ended by the entrance of the Hursts and Caroline. After exchanging greetings, Caroline seated herself near Darcy. It seemed that she had made her decision.
Louisa looked sadly over to her sister, and turned to Jane and Elizabeth who were next to her. “Mrs. Darcy, I must tell you now, my sister Caroline may try to come between you and Mr. Darcy. She seems to think that if she convinces him that you have ruined his standing in society he will divorce you and marry her instead.” Elizabeth looked at her in disbelief. “She has recently discovered that her old practice of using his name to gain entry into balls is no longer effective.”
“Of course not. William told everyone after the Carrington ball that they were not to extend their invitations to her based on a supposed connection to him. He was highly offended when she wrote to the Carrington’s to be invited to their ball. But to try to break up our marriage? Is she delusional, Mrs. Hurst?”
“I do not think so, merely desperate. She does not take kindly to Charles telling her to form her own household upon his marriage.”
“Perhaps she could continue to live with us.” Jane said weakly.
“No, Jane, do not give in to her. Do not let her see you as vulnerable. You and Charles must stand together on this. Believe me, William and I have learned that it takes both of us to overcome adversity. You should talk to Charles before Miss Bingley does any damage to your relationship. Perhaps his steward could find her a suitable home if she has not already.”
Louisa nodded. “That is an excellent suggestion, and I will speak to Gilbert about his secretary finding somewhere for her, the sooner that she is established, the better.”
DARCY WAS APPALLED when Elizabeth told him of Caroline’s hopes while they prepared for the night. “Is she out of her senses?” He asked as he joined her in the bed. “How can she possibly think that I would leave you to go to her? I never gave her so much as a hint of encouragement. Even when we were first introduced, I saw her as artificial and conniving. I just do not understand why she would continually attempt to pursue a man who was so obviously disinterested. Surely there must be someone in London who wants her dowry, if not her!”
“Mrs. Hurst said that she tried to talk her into changing her ways, and that a divorce between us is out of the question, but I suppose that her instincts are too much ingrained. You represent everything that she has always dreamed of attaining.” Elizabeth hugged him tightly.
“You do not think that she would do anything drastic, do you?” Darcy said, wondering at just how desperate Caroline was.
“Such as?”
Now he regretted mentioning it. “Oh, never mind, I was just wondering out loud.” He knew it was too late.
“William.” Elizabeth sat up and looked at him sternly. “What are you not saying?”
He closed his eyes and sighed. “I am sorry, darling. I am probably being overly dramatic, but after what happened. . . I thought maybe she would try to hurt you, somehow.” He opened his eyes cautiously.
Elizabeth continued staring, but understanding him, she stroked his cheek. “I think that you are assuming that she is insane. I think that she is merely angry.”
“Angry people do insane things.” He drew her back down to his embrace.
CAROLINE MADE no move that evening. She decided to observe instead. What she saw made her realize how difficult her plans to come between Elizabeth and Darcy would be. She watched how, when separated, their gazes were always on each other, and
when they sat near, they were always touching. She gave a passing thought to preventing Charles and Jane from marrying by telling her of his past amorous affairs, but she surprisingly found that she did not have the heart to hurt her own brother.
She was considering what to do when she retired that night. The Darcys had gone upstairs an hour earlier, and when she passed their door, she heard an odd thumping noise. She stopped, curious, and heard what sounded like moaning. Alone in the hallway, she pressed her ear to the door and heard the muffled sounds of the couple calling out each other’s names and declarations of love. She blushed, realizing what was occurring, and suddenly a burning desire to see the act came over her. Caroline looked quickly down the hallway and seeing it still empty, she tried the handle of the door. To her surprise and anticipation, it turned. Quietly she opened the door and slipped into the sitting room for the suite. She crept to the open bedroom door, and looked in. The light of a single candle provided the feeble illumination, but it was enough. The naked forms of the lovers were moving together on the bed. Elizabeth’s legs were wrapped around Darcy’s waist, and he was bending over her, his bare bottom moving with a constant rhythm as his powerful thrusts moved not only her body, but the bed so that it hit regularly against the wall. The room was filled with the sounds of the thumping bed, the creaking mattress, the slap of flesh, and the whispered words of the lovers. Caroline stood fascinated, watching them touch and stroke and kiss, and felt a deep desire building within herself. She was taken aback when Elizabeth cried out, clutching Darcy tightly, and thrilled when she saw that he continued his relentless motion. When he roared out his moment of pleasure, and collapsed on top of her, Caroline felt a distinct ache that she had never felt before. As she watched them, she had unknowingly walked into the room, inexorably drawn closer and closer, feeling the heat, and breathing in the scent of their union. When they finished, she was only a few a feet from the bed, staring at their sweat-slicked bodies, breathing heavily, and wanting to be the woman to lie beneath that man. It was when Darcy rolled off of Elizabeth and pulled her into his embrace that Caroline was discovered. Darcy’s back was to her, but Elizabeth had just settled her head on his chest when she opened her eyes to look straight into Caroline’s.