“We are the worst of our enemies,” she whispered.
Darcy caressed her cheek before lifting her chin.
“Personally, I tire of fighting.”
He leaned forward to slip his lips along the curve of Elizabeth’s chin line.
“Could we not better apply our time to more pleasurable activities?”
Elizabeth’s eyes drifted closed.
“Such as?” she murmured.
“I find the softness of your skin most appealing.”
Darcy’s fingers traced slow lines up and down Elizabeth’s neck.
“As well as filling my lungs with the scent of lavender that follows you about.”
He paused to lift a loose curl to his nose.
“At Netherfield I would scratch out the scent until I encountered you.”
Elizabeth smiled in sadness with his ministrations, and Darcy’s heart leapt with gladness. Her resistance faltered.
“I wish I knew then,” she said in regret.
Darcy nibbled on her ear.
“We cannot change the past, only create a future we both appreciate,” he whispered.
Her hands rested upon Darcy’s chest, and he lifted Elizabeth’s chin where he might look fully upon her features.
“Surely, my dearest Elizabeth, you realize how violently I admire and love you. Please say you will trust me–that you will marry me. I promise I will not fail you again.”
“It is I who failed you,” Elizabeth admitted. “I was so frightened you would seek revenge for my earlier rebukes that I believed the blue devils upon my shoulder.”
“I mean to make you forget blame and remorse and celebrate a second chance.”
Darcy claimed Elizabeth’s mouth in what he thought would be a kiss of pure innocence, but which quickly transformed into one of sheer demand. A spark flared between them, taking root in Darcy’s soul. The heat melded them. Elizabeth’s hands encircled Darcy’s neck as he rose up on his knees to drag her body deeper into his embrace.
He dreamed of this moment often, but his dreams proved faulty. Nothing in Darcy’s life ever was so sweet: This kiss was not like anything he knew previously. Elizabeth lacked experience, but that particular fact did nothing to stifle the desire flaming Darcy’s blood. It took all his well-honed discipline to draw back from the kiss when every instinct he possessed screamed for Darcy to carry Elizabeth to his chambers and finish what he started.
“You have yet to accept my third proposal,” Darcy murmured against her skin as he showered Elizabeth’s cheeks and eyelids with light kisses.
Elizabeth tightened her hold about his neck. That familiar glint acknowledging a tease brightened her eyes, and Darcy’s lips turned up at the corners in preparation.
“I may require more persuasion, Mr. Darcy.”
“As you wish, Miss Bennet,” he said in mock sternness.
Darcy’s lips returned to hers. For once, he left self-control on the shelf. He kissed Elizabeth, as he always wanted to do. Like an animal marking its trail, Darcy meant to place his stamp on her–to brand Elizabeth Bennet as the woman who owned his heart.
Chapter Fifteen
“Good morning, William.”
Darcy chose items from those upon a serving table in the morning room. His sister and Elizabeth entered the room arm-in-arm. It was a sight he would cherish the remainder of his days.
“Good morning, my dears,” he said with a smile. “May I prepare you a plate?”
Georgiana shook off his offer.
“Lige knows my preferences.”
His sister assumed a chair and motioned the footman to serve her tea. Darcy suspected such was Georgiana’s means to provide Darcy and Elizabeth a moment of privacy.
“And you, Miss Elizabeth,” he said with a lift of an eyebrow.
Her delightful chin lifted higher.
“You have my permission, Mr. Darcy.”
Darcy knew Elizabeth thought he would fail, but his intended was in for a surprise. Elizabeth held no idea how often he studied her mannerisms and choices. Darcy knew, for example, that Elizabeth preferred the butter spread thin upon her toast, but the preserves spread thick. When she ate her supper, she preferred smaller portions so the foods did not touch upon the plate. Moreover, unlike many who mixed their foods–peas with potatoes and cream sauce intermingled–Elizabeth finished her peas before touching the potatoes.
He carried the plate he filled to place it before her.
“I pray my choices meet with your approval, my dear,” he whispered with a knowing look.
Elizabeth glanced to the plate, and her eyes widened.
“I took the liberty of buttering your bread the way you prefer it,” Darcy said under his breath. “I asked Cook to include both blueberry and strawberry preserves upon the table.”
Elizabeth’s eyes misted with tears, but a smile of approval graced her lips.
“The coddled eyes,” she murmured. “And the preserves and even the cut tomatoes.”
Her hand brushed against Darcy’s.
“You knew.”
Darcy leaned closer to speak to her ears only.
“I am not yet as well acquainted with you as I wish to be, but I promise to devote my life in learning each facet of your personality.”
Unable to say more, Darcy stood to give his footman instructions.
“Murray, I would prefer tea, but Miss Elizabeth indicates a desire for chocolate.”
Within moments, Mary Bennet and Mrs. Annesley joined them.
“Does not Miss Lydia mean to break her fast?” he asked Elizabeth who sat upon his right.
“Lydia claims a headache, and for now, I will permit my sister her dramatics. She cried most of the night: I am certain Lyddie is frightened by the prospects of marrying a stranger.”
She paused to nod her appreciation to Murray’s service.
“I asked the maid you assigned us to deliver my sister a tray and to include a drop or two of laudanum in her tea. Lydia requires rest so she might make a reasonable decision. The laudanum will permit her to sleep. Mayhap Mrs. Bennet will join us soon.”
Darcy wished to offer his comfort: Elizabeth worried for her younger sister’s future.
Last evening, after Darcy’s reason returned, he encouraged Elizabeth to sit at his desk to write her missive to Mrs. Bennet so he might add it to the express to be delivered to Mr. Bennet with the morning light.
They were both reluctant to part and so Darcy convinced Elizabeth to sit with him. They held hands and talked of childhoods. At length, Elizabeth rested her head upon Darcy’s shoulder. When she fell asleep, Darcy carried her to her room and settled her upon the bed.
He was tempted to crawl into the bed with her, but it was too soon to claim more than he was entitled. Darcy would see this business with Lydia Bennet finished, not because it would prevent Darcy from making Elizabeth his wife, but because Elizabeth would more freely give herself up to him once she realized Darcy meant to protect her family.
“I am certain Mrs. Bennet will have your request by now. I will engage a coach after we break our fast. It will bring your mother to Darcy House tomorrow. I suspect it will be several more days before Mr. Bennet joins us. I assume he has not yet returned from Brighton.”
“You are very kind, Sir,” Elizabeth said softly.
“Like you, Miss Elizabeth, I am of a practical mind. I am certain that Mrs. Bennet will comprehend the need for her influence.”
He would prefer to say more, but much of what Darcy had to say to Elizabeth required privacy.
To the table, he said, “Miss Darcy requires my escort to Bond Street. Might I convince the Misses Bennet to join us?”
Mary Bennet flushed with color.
“I fear I gave Mr. Sloane permission to call. If I held some idea…”
Elizabeth caressed the back of Mary’s hand.
“You must enjoy Mr. Sloane’s company. I am certain Mama will wish to shop for cloth for new gowns while in Town. Other opportunities to partake of London�
�s shops will occur. But please know I mean to claim a special memory of us together in London. You so rarely come to the Capital, and I mean for us to share many of the sights.”
Georgiana suggested, “If you remain for more than a few days, perhaps a picnic upon Richmond’s greens would meet your approval, Miss Mary. I promise a delightful day.”
Mary Bennet smiled, and her features took on a softness Darcy never noticed prior. The girl would never be considered comely, but she possessed mud brown expressive eyes and enticing dimples to set off her thin lips.
“Like your brother, you are all kindness,” the girl said in earnest. “Once we know more of our mother’s plans, I shall be pleased to claim your company if it is within my power.”
Darcy winked at Elizabeth.
“Then it is only Georgiana and Miss Elizabeth.”
* * *
Elizabeth sneaked into Miss Darcy’s room for a quick talk before they met Mr. Darcy for their outing.
“I thought perhaps you might require my assistance,” Elizabeth offered in explanation when the girl bade her to enter.
“That is most kind of you,” Miss Darcy said with a frown in her mirror. “It is moments such as these that I wish I inherited my father’s thick hair rather than Lady Anne’s fine locks. I find it most frustrating to pin the curls in an appropriate fashion.”
Elizabeth shooed the girl’s hands away.
“With four sisters, I am an expert with hair.”
She removed the few pins Miss Darcy attempted and began again. Elizabeth spoke as she wrapped the girl’s long blonde curls into a stylish knot upon the back of Miss Darcy’s head.
“Then Mr. Darcy favors your father?” Elizabeth asked with false nonchalance.
Miss Darcy watched Elizabeth’s efforts with great interest.
“William possesses our father’s features and manners, but George Darcy’s sternly square characteristics are softened on my brother by Lady Anne’s classic lines. William is the best of our parents. There is little of Papa in my features.”
Elizabeth kept her hands busy, but she listened carefully to what the girl shared.
“Do you possess any memories of Lady Anne?” Elizabeth inquired.
Georgiana started to shake her head in the negative, but then thought better of it.
“Lady Anne survived my birth for nearly a year, but my mother remained abed. My father grieved for his wife for nearly twelve years before he joined her in heaven.”
“It grieves me to hear so,” Elizabeth said honestly. “From my observation, a mother is a girl’s staunchest defender and her greatest foe. At least, Mrs. Bennet is such.”
Georgiana admitted, “I would gladly suffer any punishment Lady Anne meted out if I could spend one day with her.”
A long silence followed.
“Then Mr. Darcy has held your guardianship for some years?’
“Officially only four years, but Papa was never quite what he was when I was younger: He lost his spontaneity. I sometimes feel my father only waited until William reached his majority before he gave up. He was often ill those last three years of his life.”
Elizabeth finished the girl’s hair by releasing several wisps to caress Miss Darcy’s cheeks.
“I adore it,” the girl exclaimed. “William shall be so surprised.”
Miss Darcy turned one way and then the other to admire her appearance.
Elizabeth sat on the edge of the bed.
“Would you tell me about your brother? I admit I am slow coming to this agreement. It is obvious Mr. Darcy studied me over a period of time. I wasted the months at Netherfield to learn of Mr. Darcy’s nature. In truth, I feel quite out of step.”
Georgiana turned to look upon Elizabeth.
“What do you wish to know?”
“Anything you think significant,” Elizabeth encouraged.
Miss Darcy’s nose wrinkled in concentration.
“It was William who convinced our father I did not cause Lady Anne’s demise. Although George Darcy recognized the dangers of a woman in childbirth, Papa’s grief had him limiting his interactions with his children. Later, I thought it was because I resembled Lady Anne, but again William took it upon himself to assure me the fault did not lie with me. A thirteen-year-old Fitzwilliam refused to return to school until father agreed to call upon the Pemberley nursery daily, and when he was home on holiday, William spent long hours entertaining me with games and stories. He said he never wished for me not to know the love of family.”
Elizabeth felt her throat thickening with tears, but she managed to ask, “What makes Mr. Darcy appear so severe in public?”
Georgiana laughed lightly.
“If you ask William he will tell you his actions are necessary to ward off the Society mamas. You would not believe the extent some matrons practice to trap a rich husband for their daughters.”
Elizabeth smiled mischievously.
“Mrs. Bennet has five daughters. I am well acquainted with manipulating mamas.”
“Perhaps.” Miss Darcy returned Elizabeth’s tease. “But I heard some outrageous tales at my school.”
“I shall give you those,” Elizabeth encouraged. “You explained Mr. Darcy’s reasons. What is your estimation of your brother’s unease in public?”
Georgiana’s eyes twinkled in delight.
“Mrs. Reynolds, the Pemberley housekeeper, says Papa should have included a governess along with a tutor in William’s education. Lady Anne’s long illness isolated William from company other than when the cousins Fitzwilliam called upon the estate. Even so, William had few interactions with females beyond the estate’s servants, which he always treated with respect. A comely woman makes him quite tongue-tied.”
Elizabeth thought again of Mr. Darcy’s letter. There was nothing deficient in the gentleman’s thoughts.
“I am certain Mr. Darcy waits below. Mrs. Annesley volunteered to sit with Mary and Mr. Sloane while we are away.”
* * *
“William,” Georgiana said softly as she glanced over her shoulder to where Elizabeth examined gloves upon display at a modiste.
Feeling a bit uncomfortable in the shop, Darcy stood looking out the window upon a busy Bond Street. Some of the men with whom Darcy customarily did business spoke of these establishments because the shops offered intimate apparel for the men’s mistresses, but Darcy never kept a woman to sate his masculine needs, and so until Georgiana left the classroom, he did not enter the female realm.
“Yes, my dear,” he murmured.
Georgiana shot a second glance to Elizabeth.
“Did you notice how often Miss Elizabeth returns to the gown with the dark green and gold overlay?”
Darcy had not, but he would make it a priority.
“The gown would be exquisite upon Miss Elizabeth, but she would not hear of our interference,” Georgiana observed with more maturity than Darcy expected for a girl on the short side of sixteen.
“I am certain Miss Elizabeth would refuse if I made the offer to purchase the gown,” Darcy assured in quiet tones.
Georgiana bit her bottom lip, a sign of his sister’s indecision.
“What if I distracted Miss Elizabeth in the fitting room, and you could order the gown delivered to Darcy House? Surely once you marry the issue would no longer exist. If you think it might be more appropriate if the gift came from me, deduct the cost from my quarterly allowance.”
“The gown remains unfitted,” Darcy protested, but he recalled when she attacked Sloane, Elizabeth’s claimed her wedding gown in rags.
He paid no attention to her charges then, but in hindsight, Darcy suspected his feisty bride-to-be tore her original dress to shreds.
“Madame Nouri can leave the seams with a basting stitch until a seamstress can fit it to Miss Elizabeth.”
Georgiana’s eyes pleaded for Darcy’s cooperation.
“If you believe Miss Elizabeth will appreciate the gift, I will return later to place the order,” Darcy assured.
“Elizabeth will be the most beautiful bride ever,” Georgiana said with a giggle.
* * *
Elizabeth noted the bookstore along a cross street.
“Would it be inconvenient for me to call upon the bookseller? I hoped to find a particular book for Mr. Bennet’s upcoming birthday.”
As she spent less upon her adventure than she expected, Elizabeth retained enough of her precious sums to purchase a book for her father.
Mr. Darcy nodded his agreement.
“I have an errand to which to attend. I will return for you and Miss Darcy in an half hour.”
“If you are certain it is no impediment?” Elizabeth questioned.
“It is perfectly acceptable, Miss Elizabeth, for you to make a request,” Darcy assured. “Miss Darcy and I welcome your presence at Darcy House and are inclined to give you sway.”
Elizabeth dropped her eyes; she prayed Mr. Darcy would not think her gesture of subjugation a means to manipulate him. It was so uncharacteristic of her not to challenge every spoken word that Elizabeth felt off kilter.
“Thank you, sir. I am unaccustomed to asking for permission.”
Mr. Darcy lifted her chin with his gloved fingertip.
“I imagine the same could be said of forgiveness.”
Elizabeth accepted his test.
“One must err or there is no need for forgiveness.”
Mr. Darcy winked at her, and Elizabeth experience a rush of pleasure in the pit of her stomach. She was not certain she liked the idea of being so susceptible to the man.
“Such is true, my dear, and you are quite fond of pronouncing my faults while I neglect to give name to yours. I suppose I will spend a lifetime pleading for forgiveness while you will be spared such piety.”
“Absolutely, Sir,” Elizabeth said with a gentle taunt.
She was sore to admit how much she enjoyed sparing verbally with Mr. Darcy.
“Is it not exhilarating when we agree?”
To her amusement, Mr. Darcy appeared to ignore the urge to kiss her, but Elizabeth recognized the flash in his eyes, which announced the gentleman’s desire. It was comforting to her to identify the emotion. Perhaps she knew more of the gentleman than she initially thought.
Elizabeth Bennet's Excellent Adventure: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary Page 19