by Wells, Linda
Darcy stopped his careful manoeuvring to the door. “Are there any schools for the children of the county?”
“Schools?” The man stared. “Well … a few, I suppose.”
Darcy nodded and turning, he walked down the aisle. “I will be in touch.”
“Yes, sir.” Opening the door, the couple stepped out into the light.
“Schools?”
“Yes.” He smiled and saw the curiosity in her eyes. “I think that you will enjoy this topic.”
“I have a feeling that I will.” She tilted her head. “What were you about today?”
“The workers are worried about the new farm machinery taking their positions.”
“Of course they are! It is only natural, one of those machines can do the work of ten without ever tiring.” She was looking ahead as they walked and Darcy gazed at her in surprise.
“You realize this?”
“Naturally.”
“Amazing.”
“It does not take much brilliance to realize what the result of this new equipment arriving will have on the populace, educated or not.”
“Then why did I not see it?” He demanded.
“Because you cannot see everything! That is why you have people around to help.” She stopped when he did. “Will, you were focussing on the good it will bring. That does not mean that you are wrong.”
“But how could I miss something so obvious? Barnes pointed it out and now you have …” He sighed. “I thought that I had become more empathetic to people?”
“You never stopped. You are a great hen opening her wings to encompass her brood.”
“Did you just insult me?”
“I believe that I complimented you, did I not?” She smiled and squeezed his forearm.
Shaking his head, Darcy sighed. “Sometimes you have my head spinning so fast I do not know.”
“Now that is a compliment.” She winked as he chuckled softly. “Fine, you are the lion protecting his pride, and you have proven that you were thinking of your people by considering education for the children who will not be needed in the fields.”
“Yes.” Darcy smiled with her look of admiration. “But what can we do with the parents? You know that the work will go to the men.”
“Of course. The women are not allowed to do anything but marry and bear children …” Seeing his concern she squeezed his hand. “Remember, Will, I am still not so far removed from the realities of my situation before you loved me.”
“I thought that you only remember the past as it gives you pleasure.” He said seriously. “I cannot embrace your tenets if you do not wholeheartedly.”
“I do, but that does not mean that I forget what it is to fear for your future and curse your inability to control it at all.”
“But you are a gentlewoman.”
“But I can empathize with any woman’s helplessness. Why do you think that I wanted Mrs. Annesley to be Georgiana’s companion, despite her inexperience? Why do you think that I agreed to help you in your scheme to save Georgiana and the baby?”
“I … I do not know.” He bent to her ear. “Why do you think that I made very sure that you would never face such a situation in your life, nor would our daughters?” Darcy looked from her warm eyes to her soft mouth. “What I would give to kiss you right now.” Her lips curved in a smile and sighing, he squeezed her hand. “Your eyes are lighting up. What are you thinking about?”
“Besides my desire to kiss you?” Nodding happily, he tilted his head, “All of those baby clothes that Georgiana and I made for the poor house and the orphanage … we employed many of the tenant wives and their daughters. They earned a little extra money for their families …”
“By working at home.” Darcy considered it thoughtfully. “Hmm.”
“Well, it was hardly a vast income and not meant to support anyone, but … I know that the lace Mama bought in Meryton was not from Ireland. It was likely made by a woman sitting by the fire, rocking a cradle with her foot while her husband’s dinner bubbled in a kettle nearby.” She laughed. “Fitzwilliam! Why are you staring? This is hardly a surprise! How many families in Derbyshire are employed spinning Pemberley’s wool to thread and weaving it to cloth?”
“Not as many as there were. There are machines to make cloth now.”
“And all of those poor people are without work, or soon will be.” She sighed.
“What is the world coming to?” He murmured.
“You told me that times were changing ages ago, when I ran away to Gracechurch Street. Do you remember?”
He held her hand possessively and rubbed over her ring. “I will never forget that horrible day.”
“I will never forget how you struggled to explain yourself to me, and how concerned you were for Pemberley. Do you know how impressive that was to me? My goodness, Fitzwilliam! I came from a home where nobody planned for the future, where everything was chaos and thoughtful preparation was laughed at. Do you know that listening to you express your concerns to me was every bit as appealing as … the joy I feel seeing you wander about in your bare feet?”
Darcy’s mouth opened and closed. “What on earth do I say to that?” He laughed. “Oh Lord, Lizzy!”
“I love your impressive feet.”
“Hence the tendency to nibble my toes.” His eyes twinkled. “I have heard tell that you love my brown boots as well.”
“Oh my, yes.” She sighed and pretended to fan herself. “They drive me to distraction!”
“What else drives you to distraction, Mrs. Darcy?” He asked softly and felt his heart begin thumping as her gaze passed over him from head to toe. “Tell me.”
“I will tell you … later.” She laughed at his growl. “Come, this is the place.”
“I should have known.” Darcy spotted Harris seated in the curricle. “Harris!”
“Sir, I wondered when you would happen along, Barnes said you were about when he passed by.”
“Ah good, you spotted him. Why do you not ride Bruin home and I will drive Mrs. Darcy?”
“I suspected you would suggest that.” Harris made sure that the brake was secure and that the horses were tied off. “Should I leave any messages for Mrs. Reynolds?”
“We will be along in a few hours.” Darcy smiled at Elizabeth. “I suspect that we have earned some honeymooning time for today.”
“I think so.” Elizabeth smiled and waving off the coachman, they started to enter the little jewellery shop, but Darcy stopped and looked back at the curricle. “Will?”
“You did not walk.”
“No.” Her cheeks brightened. “I … I considered it … but … I am Mrs. Darcy now, and this is Pemberley. I represent you, and …” She looked up and saw the warmth growing in his eyes. “Please do not look at me like that!”
“Why?” His thumb rubbed her palm in gentle circles as he held her gaze.
“I do not remember.” She whispered and drank in the scent of his cologne as he leaned past her and opened the shop door.
“After you, Mrs. Darcy.” He said softly.
The tinkling of the shop bell finally reached her brain and shaking her head, Elizabeth determinedly entered before her smiling husband. “Mr. Eurig?” She called a little too loudly. Behind her, Darcy chuckled.
From the back room an elderly man with a magnifying loupe seemingly permanently attached to his eye appeared. “Ah, madam. And you are with Mr. Darcy, I see. Sir, it is a pleasure to have you in my establishment.”
“Have you good news?” She asked with a smile and turned to Darcy. “Mr. Eurig implied that I destroyed your watch in a fit of passion and was attempting to have it fixed without your knowledge.”
Darcy’s smile disappeared. “Sir, that is quite a conclusion to leap to, how did you arrive at that?”
“I have seen quite a number of watches that received the boot, if you take my meaning, sir.” He raised his brows and the loupe fell from his eye. He caught it with a practiced hand and disappearing for a moment, returned t
o them with a folded piece of velvet containing the dissected timepiece. “Your case bears the marks of a moment of passion.”
“You could say that.” Darcy murmured.
“I do.” Mr. Eurig laughed, and seeing no amusement from his patrons, he continued on with a cough. “The crystal is standard, that is not a problem to replace, the works …” He prised open the back and started pointing. “Swiss?”
“Yes.” Darcy looked at the mess of gears in fascination.
“It is a spectacular bit of work.” The jeweller said with admiration. “A few bent bits, a new spring perhaps here … but I think that we can give her a good cleaning and have her ticking along soon …”
“And the case?” Elizabeth asked anxiously.
“That … is a problem.”
“That is the most important part.” Darcy said seriously.
“Well.” Eurig rubbed his chin. “I could try heating it to work the case back into shape, but really, you are better off just popping the works out and …” Seeing the penetrating stares of the frowning couple, he stopped. “I see.”
“Take your time, and get it right. Recast it if necessary. But it must be that shape, that gloss, that gold.” Darcy’s tone made his wishes absolutely clear.
“Yes, sir.”
“Send a note up to Pemberley House as soon as it is finished. I am trusting you with something very precious.”
“Yes, Mr. Darcy.” Mr. Eurig looked at the broken watch curiously.
Elizabeth focussed on the timepiece.“How long will you be without it?”
Darcy took her elbow and guided her to the door. “Mrs. Darcy, there are some things you simply do not rush.” He nodded to Mr. Eurig and ushering her outside, he smiled down to her. “As I shall thoroughly demonstrate on our way home.”
“SHE HUNG YOUR FATHER’S PORTRAIT in the dressing room opposite the commode.” Darcy repeated for the third time.
“Fitzwilliam, it is not funny!”
“Yes, Lizzy, it is.” He wiped the tears coming from his eyes after laughing so hard. “Forgive me, but I do not like Mr. Collins, I never will.”
“He married Mary! He could have married anyone …”
“You, for example.”
Elizabeth noted possession in his expression. “He is a good match for Mary, she wanted him and … he keeps Mama from living here.”
That remark drew his attention immediately, “Dearest, as much as I love you, I would never have let your mother live here. I was obligated to care for, but not host her.” He raised his brows. “And, I believe that you would have been vastly unhappy if she did come here.”
“Yes.” She said softly and held his hands.
He rubbed his thumb over her ring. “Did you not say that you felt your father was snickering at the news from Longbourn when you spoke to him in the church? I am sure he enjoyed hearing that his portrait was moved to your mother’s room. I know that I admire Mary’s retaliation. I think that your father would, as well.”
“I am not sure about that. Now he is spending all of his time with Mama and her nerves.” She smiled as he laughed again. “You are awful, Will.”
“I am a realist. Your mother and your sister will have to work out their differences. They have to determine their places in that household just as you are feeling out your place at Pemberley. You may be caught in the middle, but thankfully, you have distance as your friend.” She sighed. “So, Jane and Bingley are searching for an estate far from Hertfordshire? It seems that distance will be their friend, too. Good for Bingley discovering this problem before he signed another lease!” Smiling, he bent his head and catching her eye, grunted when she elbowed his ribs. “Careful, love. I am injured.”
“You are not that injured if your enthusiasm for lovemaking is any indication.”
Darcy wrapped her up in his arms and nuzzled her neck. “You make me feel better.”
Holding his hands, she closed her eyes. “At least Jane seems to have moved on from the guilt she was making me feel over Papa.” Darcy cleared his throat and said nothing. Elizabeth looked at him. “You disagree? Or … is she … Am I correct, was Jane fishing to see if we would host a house party?”
“No, she was fishing to see if we would host Miss Bingley. That is what is done, dear. The ladies who have unsuccessful Seasons have a last gasp chance when sealed up in a remote mansion with eligible men who have spent the day hunting and the evenings drinking. Assignations between willing guests are often arranged by the hostesses via her room assignments.”
Elizabeth stared. “Will!”
“Yes, dear?” He smiled. “Shall I tell you the tale of the guest who leapt upon the bed of his lady love crying like a rooster in the middle of the night, only to find that he was in the wrong room?” Laughing heartily he squeezed her when she gasped. “I love shocking you.”
“Is that why you were invited to Netherfield in September? To match you with Miss Bingley?”
“Bingley would never admit to that, but I am certain that was his sisters’ intention. As you may recall, my room was not far removed from hers.”
“That is horrible! You were there all alone!”
“I was not helpless, Elizabeth.”
“That is not the point!” She said fiercely. “What if that woman leapt upon you!”
Darcy laughed and hugged her again. “Thank you, dear.”
“I am not ever hosting that … woman in my home.” Darcy tilted his head and she closed her eyes. “Oh all right, she is my sister’s sister and she may come. But do not expect me to be turning cartwheels with the prospect.”
“I doubt that Bingley and Jane were very happy about asking for the favour. I can imagine that being in Scarborough amongst the relatives, they were feeling very pressured to do something about Miss Bingley. As he is the head of the family, it falls to him. I think that we are really just being asked to provide them a refuge from your mother until his lease is up and then … hopefully by then a home can be identified for them.”
“Is it uncharitable to feel a certain amount of satisfaction that they have to bear some difficult relatives, too?”
“Probably, but I do not hold it against you.” He smiled and kissed her cheek when she closed her eyes. “I think that you should reserve determining your opinion of your sister and her motives to when she is actually here. I know how hurt you were with her letters, and how hard it was not being able to defend your absence from Longbourn.”
“I should not have had to defend myself! I said my goodbyes! That is what is most upsetting. My name is Darcy, not Bennet.”
“Thankfully, yes. But … just … I have learned the value of letting things go. You have taught me this, have you not?”
She looked at him and pursed her lips. “Unfair.”
“No. What is unfair is that we will have people visiting.” He sighed, “So much for our peace.”
“They are not coming tomorrow, dear. Neither is Georgiana.”
“Forgive me; I am possessive of this time alone. What of the Gardiners?”
“They will be in Derbyshire next month. I cannot wait to see them.” She smiled when she saw his smile return. “I am so glad that you like them.”
“So am I, and I do miss Bingley and you do miss Jane.” Darcy closed his eyes. “And that leaves Aunt Catherine’s letter.”
“I could not bear to open it without you near. Am I a coward?”
“No, merely cautious. Who knows what is sealed within those pages?” He kissed her temple. “Relax love; let us enjoy our solitude while it lasts.”
The two settled into companionable silence. They were just beginning to nod off when a breeze ruffled Elizabeth’s hair and she opened her eyes. “It looks as if a good stiff wind blew the laundry from the line.” She observed sleepily from her position within Darcy’s embrace. The two of them sat reclined beneath a tree upon a blanket found in the back of the curricle. Their bare feet were entwined and warmed by the dappled sunlight shining through the leaves. Around them were sc
attered nearly all of their clothes, save for Elizabeth’s unfastened gown and Darcy’s breeches and loose shirt.
“mmmm.” He buried his nose in her hair and breathed in the scent.
“More cider?” She giggled when one of his eyes opened and looked to the nearly empty jug lying on its side by one of his discarded boots. “Are you drunk, Will?”
“I am … very relaxed.”
“Too bad. I was just considering what more I could do to relieve the stress of the day for you …” Her fingers slid up his chest beneath his shirt to caress the soft nest of dark hair that bloomed there. “But … if you are already relaxed …”
“Lizzy …” Darcy’s palm glided up over her waist to her shoulder, and pulling down her dress, he cupped her breast and gently took the nipple in his mouth. Her breath caught and she rested her cheek in his hair. Satisfied with her soft moan he fixed her gown and kissing her forehead, hugged her to him. “We have all of the time in the world to relax each other. We are on nobody’s schedule but our own.”
“I keep forgetting that.”
“Did you not just remind me of that?” He chuckled and she looked up at him. “Perhaps you are a little drunk?”
“Maybe … You spoke of wanting me in a meadow …”
“Do you know why?” She shook her head and he entwined their fingers. “I have anticipated this since … since I saw you walking one day, alone as usual. You were going up to that little knoll you favoured.”
“Oakham Mount?”
“Yes. That is the place.”
“It is not so little.” Darcy raised his brows and looked around them. “Well, in comparison to the Peaks …” He laughed and she slipped one hand under his bottom and pinched. “You were spying?”
“Not intentionally.” He saw her brows rise. “Very well, it was intentional. I wanted to see what you were about, walking alone … so very alone.”
“Were you having lascivious thoughts?” She gasped.
“Oh, yes.” He nodded unrepentantly. “Most definitely, yes. I saw you climb that hill so vigorously and I saw you remove your bonnet. Your hair became unbound and …”
“Your heart is pounding!” Elizabeth held her palm to his chest and stared open-mouthed. “Your cheeks are flushed, and …” She looked at his breeches, “Fitzwilliam Darcy!”