by Abbey North
He heaved a sigh of relief. “In that case, do I have your permission to move?” When she nodded, he withdrew and thrust into her silken tightness again, certain he might die from the pleasure of it. He knew he wouldn’t last as long as he’d like this time, so he reached between them and stroked her sensitive nub again, soon coaxing her to another climax.
Fitzwilliam spilled his seed inside her as he lost control. She cried out her pleasure, and his shout of ecstasy mingled with hers. He was vaguely aware of the monkeys suddenly chittering excitedly in the background, but he spared no further thought for anything except Lizzy, who was his whole world.
They spent the next few days becoming closer, learning each other’s bodies, and indulging in every passionate whim either could devise. Fitzwilliam had never been so happy, and it was for that reason alone he was tempted for the briefest moment not to light the signal fire when he saw a ship on the horizon.
Their interlude here was idyllic, with just the two of them. He couldn’t imagine a more perfect existence than this, but just as quickly, he realized how selfish that would be. Lizzy deserved to have every comfort in life, and when he imagined the horror of her having to give birth with only him there when she inevitably became pregnant, he quickly rushed to their regular fire, grabbed a stick, and hurried over to the bonfire.
It was alight within minutes, and Lizzy came running from the jungle. She carried the bark they used for water in her hand, but she’d clearly abandoned any thought of getting the water. “Is there a ship?” She sounded joyous.
He nodded as he rushed toward her. “Over there.” He pointed to it, his heart stuttering when he realized it was changing course to come their direction. That was what he wanted, but part of him couldn’t help regretting the end of their time here on the island.
She clung to him. “Oh, this is wondrous news.” Then she looked down, flinching. “I suppose it is a good thing I saved my dress.” She laughed at that as she rushed over to retrieve it from her satchel in the shelter. She disappeared into the jungle, and he assumed she must fear being seen by anyone aboard the ship as she changed, since she was comfortable being nude around him now.
When she returned moments later, the wild and carefree Lizzy he’d come to know in the last few weeks was mostly gone. Her hair was still a mess, but she was dressed sedately again in the appropriate day gown, with not even her ankles revealed. He could see the very top slope of her her chest, along with her bared arms, but that was it. He mourned the loss of his island Lizzy even as his heart rejoiced at the thought of returning to civilization so he could claim her properly as his bride.
It didn’t seem like long at all before a longboat came to shore to rescue them. Lizzy and Fitzwilliam were both waiting to board, and the men fussed over the two of them as they rode back to the bigger ship.
It was a welcome sight to see Charles and Miss Jane waiting for them, though he was surprised to see the two of them standing on what appeared to be a merchant ship. “I did not expect you to be along for the rescue,” said Fitzwilliam to Charles as Charles clapped him on the shoulder.
“Of course, man. When we could find no further assistance from the Navy, we approached this merchant vessel and asked them to take on a mission. We have sailed everywhere we could think of that might have followed the currents from the storm, and we found you.” In his exuberance, Charles reached forward and hugged him.
Fitzwilliam could hardly reject the gesture, and he admitted it was good to have his friend nearby again as he hugged him back. Then he turned to Miss Jane, taking her hand in his and brushing his lips against her gloved knuckles. “It is lovely to see you again, Miss Bennet.”
Jane giggled, and Charles looked at her with pride. “That is Mrs. Bingley, Darcy.”
He frowned as Lizzy asked, “How was such a thing accomplished so quickly?”
Jane giggled as she turned to Lizzy, hugging her for a long moment. “The captain insisted upon it.”
Fitzwilliam looked at Charles with a brow cocked. “The captain?”
“He is rather a superstitious man, and he was at first dismayed at the idea of a woman being aboard at all. When I told him we were engaged—which was true—he insisted we were married before we traveled on the ship. He married us himself just last week.” He hesitated, eyeing Fitzwilliam with concern. He was clearly bracing himself for his friend’s opinion.
“Congratulations are in order then. She seems like a fine match for you.” Though Fitzwilliam still had a few hesitations, since he didn’t know Jane well enough and had only observed her through interaction with his friend, he trusted Lizzy’s judgment, and she was certain Jane was in love with his friend. Charles gave every appearance of being in love with her, so how could he complain, especially since he intended to tie his future to another Bennet girl as quickly as possible?
When he looked up, Lizzy was gone, as was Jane. He looked around, catching the eye of one of the sailors. “Where has my companion gone?”
“The other miss took her belowdecks to her cabin.”
Darcy nodded, but he was intercepted by the captain before he could follow. “You shall have to work to stay aboard to earn your keep until the next port, same as your friend here.”
Fitzwilliam frowned. “Did Mr. Bingley not pay you good coin?”
“Aye, he did, but everyone works aboard the ship, except for the ladies. It is bad luck to have them aboard, but I suppose there is no help for it now.” He turned his head and spat.
Fitzwilliam guessed he should be grateful the man hadn’t spat on his boots. “What shall I do?”
“What shall you not do?” said Charles with a hint of despair.
10
Lizzy spent the next six days confined to the cabin. The captain refused to allow her to leave it, though he did let Jane move back and forth between the cabin she shared with Charles and Lizzy’s to visit and bring meals. Lizzy expected Fitzwilliam to come see her, but as the days passed, it became more and more evident he wasn’t going to.
Feeling out of sorts and concerned, wondering if everything he’d told her had just been words he’d said to convince her to warm his bed, she fell into despondency. When they reached America, docking in Boston on the sixth day, she still expected Darcy to seek her out, but there was no sign of him. The captain kept them aboard awhile, with Jane telling Lizzy he’d sent word ahead to have Mr. Collins meet them. When he finally told them they could get off the ship, Jane was there to accompany her, as was Charles, and they disembarked.
She was about to ask Charles where Fitzwilliam was when a portly man, who bore a strong resemblance to Mr. Collins, approached and she realized he must be Thaddeus Collins, the younger Collins brother, who had not inherited Longbourn. She knew he was a successful merchant, and she was hoping he was nothing like his older brother, except in appearance.
He greeted them with an inscrutable expression. “You must be the Bennet girls? I got word you would be arriving via this ship.” He looked askance at the merchant boat. At their nod, he touched his hat. “I am most pleased to make your acquaintance, though I question your choice of vessel for the voyage.” His gaze turned to Charles, and it bordered on hostile. “Who might you be, sir?”
“He is my husband,” said Jane with a small giggle, still clearly delighted at being able to announce that.
Mr. Collins scowled. “Your mother did not mention you having a husband when you set out from London, Miss Bennet.” He seemed most displeased, disproportionately so.
Jane didn’t seem to realize, but Charles appeared to as he looked aghast. “We met aboard the ship, Mr. Collins. Your cousin and I have been married almost two weeks.”
“I shall require proof of that before I can allow you to take her into your custody, sir.” Collins drew himself up, and he was quite an intimidating sight, though most of his bulk came from excess weight rather than muscles.
If Charles was intimidated, he gave no sign. “That can certainly be arranged. I have the marriage license i
n my luggage, but the captain can also vouch for us, since he is the one who married us.” He raised his hand to gesture to the captain, who stood nearby. “Captain Darren, will you please confirm for Mr. Collins that Mrs. Bingley and I are properly wed by your hand?”
“Aye,” called the captain before turning away.
Lizzy wondered for a moment if Mr. Collins would protest, but other than drawing himself up with a bit of outrage, he nodded. “Very well then. You have permission to take her.” He turned his attention to Lizzy. “You will find a nice room waiting for you, and I have engaged a lady’s companion as well.”
Lizzy looked uncertainly at Jane and Charles, wanting to find Fitzwilliam. “I am afraid I cannot leave yet, Mr. Collins. There is someone I must speak with first.”
“Nonsense. I am in a rush, and your sister has my address.” He gathered her by the arm, pulling her along with him.
Lizzy didn’t want to go anywhere and started to resist. “You are behaving most peculiarly, Mr. Collins.”
He shook his head, looking disgruntled. “Is it no wonder? I thought I would have the choice between the two of you. I prepared myself to take on the guardianship of the other sister, for how could I not take care my wife’s family?” He smiled after a moment, though his expression revealed little true pleasure. “Of course, you are a fine choice, but Miss Jane is much more attractive, as I am certain you must concede. You no doubt hear that often.”
Lizzy frowned. “I do, but I do not understand…” She trailed off as she realized suddenly that Mr. Collins had invited her and Jane here with the intention of wedding one of them and accepting the other as his burden, the price he must pay to wed one. She gasped and pulled away from him. “I shall not marry you, Mr. Collins.”
He glared at her. “You most certainly shall. Not only did I pay for your passage, but I advanced your mother a hundred pounds.”
Lizzy gasped, shocked at her mother’s actions, though she supposed she shouldn’t be. It was entirely like Fanny to send Lizzy and Jane into such a situation without warning them they were about to be married, whether they liked it or not.
When he reached for her again, she jerked away. “I cannot marry you, Mr. Collins. You see, I am already ruined.” She took great pleasure in revealing she had been stranded alone on an island with Mr. Darcy for weeks.
He flinched. “Mr. Darcy? Fitzwilliam Darcy, relation to Lady Catherine de Bourgh?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea about his relation to said lady, but it is Fitzwilliam Darcy.”
He scowled, his displeasure clear. “Since he is such a fine gentleman of quality, and my brother speaks highly of Lady de Bourgh, I shall overlook the indiscretion.”
Lizzy’s eyes widened. “You still wish to marry me even though I was marooned alone with a man?”
He scoffed. “There will be no marriage. I shall set you up in an apartment and keep you as a mistress. It shall be a fine living for you, and it will allow me to select a more appropriate woman while still fulfilling my obligations as agreed upon with your mother.”
Lizzy’s jaw dropped when she tried to wrench away from him and hissed with pain when he tightened his grasp. “I highly doubt my mother agreed to me being your mistress. I will not go anywhere with you, Mr. Collins.” She turned away, calling out, “Mr. Bingley, I need your help.”
He and Jane had remained a few feet away, appearing undecided about how to handle Mr. Collins, but as soon as she called for him, he sprang into action. Mr. Bingley rushed toward them. When he saw Mr. Collins holding Lizzy’s arm, he frowned in censure. “You will release her at once, sir.”
“This is not your business, sir.” Mr. Collins glared at Mr. Bingley. “I do not know who you think you are—”
“I am Charles Bingley, and that is my sister you are manhandling. You shall release her at once.” As he spoke, Charles reached out and grabbed Mr. Collins, evidently undeterred by his larger size. He shoved him away and took Lizzy’s hand, spiriting her away from their cousin. Lizzy expected the man to follow behind, but all he did was shout a few insults before he turned away, clearly disgruntled.
As soon as she rushed to Jane, she confessed what she had learned. The two sisters embraced, sharing mutual horror at their mother’s actions.
Mr. Bingley looked disapproving. “I shall ensure the man is reimbursed for the money he advanced your mother and the cost of your tickets, dear ladies. We have no wish for him to try to maintain any claim to either of you.”
She let out a sigh of relief, though she couldn’t help thinking this should be Fitzwilliam’s obligation, should he actually plan to live up to his promise to marry her. She looked around again, further confused. “Where is Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley?”
He frowned. “No one told you?”
She shook her head. “Told me what?”
“Mr. Darcy has been rushed to the hospital. He had a healing injury on his leg from a boar, I believe he said, and he acquired another one during our forced labor for the captain. It is infected, so he is with the physicians now.”
Lizzy had never been more relieved and terrified at the same time. Fitzwilliam hadn’t abandoned her or his promise to her. Yet he was in mortal danger, or so it seemed, and she grasped Charles’s arm. “I must get to him immediately. Will you see a hansom cab comes for me?”
He shook his head. “I shall do no such thing. I have a driver waiting already, and Jane and I will accompany you to the hospital.”
She smiled in gratitude, soon finding herself in the cab beside her sister. Jane reached out to hold her hand, offering silent comfort, as Lizzy tortured herself imagining how ill Fitzwilliam must be if he had not been able to see her off the ship, or to see her at all in the last six days.
11
He was more alert than she had expected, though he was still burning with fever. The doctor she consulted with told her he was likely to make a full recovery, but he needed rest first. Lizzy took the seat beside his bed, holding his hands. “This is a familiar sight,” she teased gently.
“Will you kiss me again now that I am feverish?” Even though he was clearly unwell, he still managed a playful tone.
Her eyes widened. “I did not think you remembered that.” She flushed, though it was silly to be embarrassed after the intimacies they had shared during the last week of their stay at the island. “You never mentioned it.”
He shrugged. “I feared it would embarrass you to do so, and I had no need to remind you when you fell right into my plans.” He winked at her.
“You had plans for me, Mr. Darcy?” She fluttered her eyelashes, even as she flinched at the heat in his skin when she brushed her hand against his brow.
“Most nefarious ones. As soon as I realized being stranded on the island afforded me the perfect reason to make you my wife, a reason no one could object to, even my fearsome aunt, I fully intended to take advantage of it.” He lowered his voice. “I had wanted you from practically the moment I met you, Lizzy. Part of the reason I reacted so harshly to you was because I knew the match was not a suitable one. The more time I spent with you, the less I cared, until it did not matter at all. Now, will you live up to your promise to be my wife?”
Lizzy didn’t hesitate. “I shall marry you the very second we are able to. I would even accept the captain marrying us as he did for Jane and Charles.”
He grimaced. “If I never see Captain Darren again, I shall be too happy. He worked Charles and I like slaves. The threat of being tossed overboard kept us from protesting, especially when trying to protect you and Miss Jane. I did not have even a moment to slip away to see you.”
She gasped, relief filling her again. “Oh, thank goodness.”
He frowned. “You did not wish to see me?”
She patted his chest. “Do not be offended, dearest. I am simply relieved you had a reason not to visit me for the six days we were trapped on that ship. The captain was a superstitious man, and he would not allow me to leave my cabin and move around. He said having any woman a
board was bad luck, but particularly an unmarried one. I could not come to see you, and you did not come see me, so I started to think certain things.” She blinked rapidly, looking down. “Dark thoughts I do not wish to revisit.”
His expression was full of tender concern. “They were nothing more than horrible flights of imagination. I have every intention of marrying you, and we shall reside happily, whether it is here in America or back in London.”
Quickly, Lizzy shared Mr. Collins’s plans for her and Jane, and she found herself laughing toward the end. “He was a most horrible fellow, and I think he gives me a new appreciation for the elder Mr. Collins. His brother can be a loquacious fool, and he has his moments of smugness and insults as well, but he is nothing like his younger brother.” She shuddered. “I cannot imagine where we would be if my mother and I and my sisters had been at his mercy instead of Mr. Collins’s.”
“None of you shall be at any of the Collins’s mercy from now on. Once our affairs are settled, and everything is in order, I shall ensure your mother and sisters receive a generous allowance and a house suitable for them. They will no longer be reliant on the munificence of Mr. Collins.”
She couldn’t resist the urge to lean forward and kiss him. She meant to kiss his cheek, but he turned his mouth at the last minute and engaged her in a passionate exchange instead. Regretfully, she pulled away, though she didn’t want to. “I suspect you are not in any shape for this yet, Fitzwilliam.”
He frowned. “I do not know how to take that.”
She cocked her brow. “Pardon?”
“When I am in your favor, I am Will. When I have displeased you, I am Mr. Darcy. So, I do not know how to interpret Fitzwilliam. Are you pleased with me, but not as pleased as you could be? Or are you displeased, but not as displeased as you have been in the past?” His eyes gleamed, and though it could’ve been from fever, it appeared to be from wicked delight in his banter instead.