by Lauren King
“I have never received anything like this before. Why would you think that I would have?” Darcy asks quizzically. He loves anything that she bestows upon him, especially something she made with him in mind.
“I thought you just said that two young ladies have given you gifts before so I did not want you to feel obligated to use anything of mine because you really do not have to. I do not mind it if you do not have use for it. I know it is nothing fancy. I am sure you can buy much prettier and better made carriage blankets.” Elizabeth explains softly. She truly hopes that he is not feigning his regard for her simple blanket. “I know I do not embroider well so I had to make these flowers out of another fabric to use otherwise embroidering such big letters would probably have taken me six months.” Elizabeth confesses quietly.
“I know it is not as fancy as embroidering so that is why I would not be offended if you did not use it.” Elizabeth displays a small, shy smile as she squeezes her hands together in front of her and looks down at her blanket. Her feelings are hurt just to think of the possibility that William may dislike her gift and would not want to use it, but she has to accept that different people may have different tastes. She cannot expect that he likes something just because she made it. If it is bad quality, then of course no one will like it. Maybe he can just leave it inside his bedroom chambers; that way no one else will see it or he could just put it in storage. If he does not want it, then maybe she will ask to use it for when she sits in her sitting room to read; she does not want it to go to waste, but she would not want to inflict its usage upon William if he does not care for it.
Darcy puts the blanket on his lap and immediately holds her hands that are entwined together tightly as if she is anxious. “Lizzy, why would I not use it? It is a lovely blanket. This is quite a large job for you to have done by yourself. What is most important to me is your thoughtfulness of me. I adore the blanket with all the flowers that you made yourself. Anything you make for me or give me has deep meaning to me; therefore, I will always treasure your gifts – no matter what they are. I do not want you to assume such negative things again, dearest.” He caresses her cheeks tenderly.
“I do not care that you do not embroider, well; fancy or not, I do not care. I only care that the gift came from you, from your heart. I only care that you thought of me when you made this gift. One last thing, Lizzy; I was joking about receiving gifts from two young ladies. The two young ladies that I spoke of are Georgie and you, my love.” Darcy kisses her hands. “You both gave me handkerchiefs. No other young lady has ever given me anything. I was only teasing you. Were you upset?” Darcy tilts her chin up so their eyes meet.
Elizabeth silently breathes out with relief. Thank goodness! “No, upset is not the correct word. I was…kind of…umm…”
“Yes?” Darcy stares intently but lovingly at his wife-in-twenty-hours.
“I was a little bit…umm…jealous.” Elizabeth covers her face feeling slightly silly, but she cannot help feeling possessive of William. When he mentioned about two young ladies, her jealousy and self pity just flared up. “There, now you know I am the jealous type of a lady.”
“Dearest, you have nothing to be jealous of. You are my life, Lizzy. No one can compare to that; no one, alright?” Darcy removes her hands that are covering her face in embarrassment. “Do you understand the depths of my love for you?” Darcy asks frankly.
“Yes, I do because I love you just as deeply and immensely. I will wither away into nothingness if you care for some other young lady, too.” Elizabeth reveals honestly while her expression is full of sadness.
“Lizzy! How can you say that?! I do not and will not love anyone other than you. I do not want to hear you speak those words again, please. We are to be married in less than a day, how can you think that?” Darcy is actually surprised by Elizabeth’s sudden insecurity in their relationship.
“I am sorry for being insecure. I love you so much that I cannot fathom my life without you and just the thought of you and another young lady…” Elizabeth is interrupted by William immediately.
“Dearest! There is no other young lady and me!” Darcy protests vehemently.
“I know, darling; I was trying to say that just the thought of another young lady and you, even though it might be in the past, still depresses me. I will try very hard not to think like that anymore, my love. I promise.” Elizabeth tries to reassure him.
Darcy breathes out heavily. “You promise?”
Elizabeth nods innocently with a loving smile.
Darcy kisses Elizabeth’s hand warmly. “I am sorry for teasing you like that, but I thought that you would have figured it out. I did not think that your mind would conjure up such a thing as me boasting about my past gifts from other young ladies. I am not that insensitive, am I?”
“NO, darling! You are not; I am sorry.” Elizabeth hugs William’s hand to her chest.
“Alright, no more thinking about things like that – you promise?”
“Yes, I promise. I do not mind at all that you teased me. It is endearing; please, do not be uncomfortable now just because I was naïve. Please, do not be guarded with me. I want you to be open and spontaneous with me about anything you wish, alright, darling? Please? I will not jump to conclusions like that anymore.” Elizabeth appeals soothingly. She would hate for William to be worried about what he says and what he does with her for their entire life together. “We will be husband and wife soon; I do not think we should keep anything from each other, right, darling?”
“I agree.”
Elizabeth shares some of her most inner thoughts. “I want you to trust me enough to share anything and everything with me because I would like to do that with you too.” She smiles alluringly to get her way with him.
“I do trust you that much, my love; I will not be guarded with you. You are the only one that I have been this open with other than Richard, but even Richard does not know some of the things that I have shared with you.” Darcy affirms his confidence in Elizabeth.
“Thank you for your trust, darling. You have all of mine.” Elizabeth is glad that William never did get any gifts or mementos from any other young ladies because she does not really know what she would do if he still has them. Her mind’s eye sees that gift flying right into a fireplace. Elizabeth giggles within herself. Goodness! She cannot believe how possessive she is of William.
“I am honored, dearest.” Darcy leans in to kiss her lips tenderly, and then he rubs them gently while saying, “I will always be honest; we have to be completely honest with each other so that we can care for each other and love one another the best way we know how.”
“Yes, I agree with you entirely. I am glad we are in accordance.” Elizabeth kisses Darcy’s lips passionately; she suckles his luscious lips quickly. She cannot resist.
His hands travel up to her side at the level of her breasts; he can feel them, but he does not dare to kiss her neck and chest area like last time; someone may walk in. Just one more day! He finally realizes how much bolder Elizabeth has gotten, and he is very pleased. He can tell that she will not be fearful if he coaxes her and teaches her gently with love and care. He will teach her how a husband and a wife can love each other, most pleasingly. Yes, he will love to teach her, most diligently.
“Darling, do you mind if I let Jane wear my emerald jewelry tomorrow? She does not have any fancy jewelry so I offered it to her.” Elizabeth explains frankly.
“I do not mind if you do not mind, Lizzy. They are your jewels; I know that you value them and would not let just anybody wear them. I trust your judgement and decisions.” Darcy is very satisfied that Elizabeth is thoughtful enough to ask him about these types of matters.
“Thank you, sweetheart.” Elizabeth kisses his cheek playfully again. “What time will you and Richard be at the church tomorrow?”
“We will be there by one o’clock to get settled; why?” Darcy brushes her cheeks with his fingers.
“I just want to know.” Elizabeth replies shyly a
s she looks down at her hands before continuing. “I like to know where you are at all times. I am sorry if I displease you by being so possessive.”
Darcy tilts her chin up and says affectionately, “No more apologies for such silliness. I am not displeased that you are possessive of me because I am the same way with you. I want to know where you are and what you are doing all the time. That is why I cannot wait until we are married because I will be able to be with you more, and we can do whatever we want at any time we want. Why do you think I offer to go with you everywhere? I enjoy being with you.” He kisses her cheek freely.
“Thank you, my love.” She tenderly kisses his cheek back. Lord, they are much more touchy with each other today. “I like to be wherever you are; no matter what pursuit it is, even if it is manly things like hunting, shooting, or fishing. I would like to learn the things that interest you.”
“Really, dearest?” Darcy asks with contentment.
Elizabeth nods enthusiastically. “Yes. Do you think others will think me unlady-like? Will they gossip if you teach me those manly activities?”
“It is not unlady-like for you to ride out during a hunt with me. If I go fishing and you came with me, then that is like anything else that you would accompany me with; that is all. The other ladies may pity you for having to be so bored by such an activity, though.” Darcy laughs openly. “The actual waiting for the fish could be boring but with company, especially yours, then I will be perfectly satisfied to sit there and wait for them to bite. We could talk for as long as we want and about anything we want or you can bring a book to read.”
Elizabeth claps her hands animatedly. “That sounds perfect. We can talk to our heart’s delight.” Elizabeth giggles.
Darcy smiles dotingly. “As for you riding out with me during a hunt, I will teach how to ride well enough so that you can follow along. Once you ride well then you can keep up with the hunt. We will start your riding lessons as soon as you settle into Pemberley. I am eager to have you go for rides with me so we can explore all the Darcy lands; it is quite extensive. Georgie did that with me sometimes; she liked it a lot. She rides rather well. Once you ride well enough then we can go out farther with Georgie. However, no matter if you ride well or not, I never want you to go riding alone anywhere, alright, dearest?”
“Alright, darling. Do not be worried for me already.” Elizabeth teases and giggles cheerfully as she squeezes his cheek playfully and then kisses it.
Darcy likes the playful side of Elizabeth – actually, he likes all sides of her. She is easy to like and admire; once you are privileged to know her then she makes you feel comfortable to open up to her. It seems that she is only shy with him which is fine by him. When he had asked her if she was shy all the time, she confessed that she was shy with him because she liked him so much. She would have been even shyer if their relationship was not hindered by Mrs. Denny’s problem. Due to their family problem, she had to harden her feelings and push him away. She liked him very much at that time, but she had to tamp down her feelings. Goodness, he loves her tremendously!
Darcy has always wanted a love match but never thought that he could find a wife that he would love this ardently. Obviously, he had been introduced to some very pretty young ladies in the past, but they did not rouse such passion in him that he instantly felt for Elizabeth when they first met. Those young ladies were taught to be the same. He did not see their individual personalities; they did not display anything other than being agreeable to what he said. He felt no passion or enthusiasm for those young ladies or from those young ladies. He thought he was doomed to a marriage of convenience. That would have been awful.
Darcy’s entirety was awakened when he saw Elizabeth for the first time. He is still thankful that Richard and Elizabeth were not romantically attracted to one another; otherwise, he would be in great regret for not trying to meet her and to win her. Thank God because Richard and Elizabeth do look good together when they are in each other’s company. Anyone could mistakenly see them as a romantic couple – thank God, indeed!
“Darling, I am going to ring for some tea things; will you stay and join me?”
“Certainly, my love.”
As the final tea things are brought in by Mildred, Jane comes into the drawing room with Mr. Morgan. They all greet each other cheerfully.
“Jane, Mr. Morgan, would you like to join us for some tea?” Elizabeth asks.
Jane regards Mr. Morgan and he says, “Some tea would be nice if you do not mind, Miss Bennet.”
“I would like some tea and pastries too.” Jane says cheerily.
They all sit to have tea and talk like old friends. Then Elizabeth starts to take off her wedding jewels and places them back in the jewelry box.
“Darling, will you undo the necklace for me, please?” Elizabeth asks William as she turns her back and neck to him.
Darcy is happy to see that Elizabeth is confident enough to address him so intimately and have him do this for her in front of Jane and Morgan. It looks like they are a married couple already; well, they will be married tomorrow anyways. The nape of her neck is smooth and white; he can smell the scent of roses on her sitting this close to her. He just wants to kiss it and suckle it again. He has done that before, and she shivered with pleasure the entire time. Not only will he suckle her neck and everywhere else but he will mark her with his love, tomorrow. He will make sure she knows and remembers that he loved her immensely and deeply the first day they were married.
His fingers brush up against her soft neck as he unclasps the necklace and he can see the goose bumps form on her lovely, smooth, soft skin. “Here, dearest.” Darcy hands her the necklace. “I will put your other necklace back on for you.”
“Alright, darling.” Elizabeth hands William her daily necklace; she tilts her head back and to the side while smiling warmly at him. “Here you go.”
Darcy dutifully clasps Elizabeth’s other necklace back on for her.
“Thank you, darling.”
“You are welcome.”
Jane and Mr. Morgan can feel the love and tenderness in the air around Elizabeth and Darcy. It feels natural for them. Jane is mesmerized at the scene before her. Her soon-to-be-brother is lovingly helping his soon-to-be-wife with her necklace. The exchange is so warm and affectionate that no one can deny the love they have for one another. Anyone seeing this would want such love for themselves too; Jane absolutely does. She hopes that she will have that with Mr. Morgan. He seems to be a loving man from what he has shown her, thus far.
Morgan can tell that Miss Bennet is affected by the loving scene before them. Darcy is a very fortunate man. Morgan hopes he will be just as lucky one day with…Miss Bennet.
As the two couples converse with each other, there is a lot of laughter because Morgan mentions that more gentlemen at their club do not believe that Darcy will be married soon.
“They want to know who the lady is before they believe that the infamous Fitzwilliam Darcy is truly engaged. Needless to say, I spoke up and said that you were getting married tomorrow; however, I did not volunteer Miss Elizabeth’s name.” Morgan states affably.
“Is it very unbelievable that you would marry, darling?” Elizabeth asks ingenuously as she gazes at him warmly. She wants to be bold and reach for his hand to hold, but that would probably look too brazen with Mr. Morgan present; she is not daring enough, yet. Had it only been in front of Jane, then she would hold William’s hand. She just feels very close to William today; maybe it is because they will be truly married tomorrow. She called him ‘darling’; that is daring enough. Once they are married then she will be bolder.
Both Morgan and Darcy chuckle then Darcy says, “These gentlemen are men that I have known for years, and since I have not shown interest in any young lady before, they simply cannot believe that I would be getting married without anyone knowing about the young lady.”
“Everyone knows how…shall we say…fastidious – no, no, let us say – particular…they all know how particula
r Darcy has been for all these years; therefore, to suddenly hear of him getting married is a shock for all that know him, Miss Elizabeth. Since Bennington, Whitney, Rutherford, and Samuels are also invited to Darcy’s wedding then more club members believe me.” Morgan laughs candidly.
Darcy grins and shakes his head at Morgan’s story. “I cannot help it if I was waiting for the love of my life to come along, Morgan. I could not have settled for anyone other than Elizabeth.” Darcy reaches for Elizabeth’s hand to kiss chastely, and then he continues to hold it in his lap while his thumb brushes over her knuckles gently. She blushes at his display of affection for her in front of the others. Well, Mr. Morgan cannot think that she was brazen; William is the one that grasped her hand to hold. “And since my love has come along, my lonely days are over. There is no reason not to get married straight away. Why wait and waste more time apart?” Darcy states without ado as he kisses Elizabeth’s hand eliciting her blushes again.
Elizabeth gazes at William with pure joy and love. She will marry the man of her dreams. She could not ask for anything more. By this time tomorrow, she will be Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy, forever!
“Well said, Darcy!” Morgan applauds. “Cheers!” Morgan raises his tea cup playfully and then the other three follow suit to cheer each other joyously.
The four continue to talk about their younger days when Mrs. Bennet and Lydia come into the drawing room. The two men stand to bow in greeting; Darcy’s well-bred manners are too ingrained for him not to greet Mrs. Bennet cordially. However, if he has to forbid hers and Elizabeth’s relationship, then as Elizabeth’s husband he will. He will not allow Mrs. Bennet to degrade Elizabeth in any way, anymore.
Elizabeth breathes in deeply but calmly without looking at her Mother. She just prays that her Mother will not say anything else embarrassing or shameful.