experienced.
Leaving her luscious mouth, he plants moist kisses all about her face. He kisses the top of her head, inhaling deeply of the lavender scent in her lush hair that he began associating with her months ago. Intoxicated beyond the effect of a fine wine, he rains soft kisses along her scalp to her ear and then to the sensitive flesh behind her lobe. He moans her name, utterly lost to love and rising passion and gently drawing her earlobe between his lips while his hands caress over her arms and then to her upper back, unwittingly pulling her closer to his body. Returning to her open, receptive mouth, he ardently pours his very soul into this rapturous expression of their mutual love and craving. She matches each motion, responding to him with greater boldness that escalates rapidly to a wild abandon.
She groans loudly, unconsciously pressing her entire body tightly against his, arms over his shoulders and clutching his back and head with alarming power. Cold reality crashes over him with the awareness of his marked physical arousal, evident to them both as indicative of the strict line he has allowed himself to cross. Utterly mortified and shamed, he clasps her shoulders and frantically pulls away.
Unable to meet her eyes, agonizing at the reproach and horror he expects and deserves to see there, he hoarsely stammers, “Elizabeth… Miss Elizabeth, I beg your forgiveness! My behavior is ungentlemanly and unforgivable. Please, accept my heartfelt apology.”
She is confused and dazed with strange but pleasant currents racing through her, her heart fluttering so alarmingly that she is light-headed. Feeling bereft at the sudden abandonment of his warmth, she stutters, “I… I am so sorry… I thought you wanted to… I should not have…” Shy and insecure for the first time since encountering him that day, tears well in her eyes and she hangs her head to avoid his gaze.
For a few moments they stand there not touching, breathing heavily, and collecting their befuddled thoughts.
“What you must think of me…” she mutters.
“Can you forgive me, my love… ?” he blurts at the same instant.
“Forgive you… what?” she asks in surprise.
“Whatever do you mean, ‘think of you?’” again speaking over each other.
“I behaved so wantonly…”
“I lost control of myself…”
Halting mid-sentence, they stare at each other. Slowly she begins to smile and laugh quietly. He watches her in perplexity, flushing and then gradually lifting his lips in amusement as her laugh deepens.
“She is laughing at me again.”
“On the contrary, I am laughing at us! Mr. Darcy, let me see if I understand this: you are apologizing for enjoying kissing me, your betrothed, while I am apologizing for responding to said kisses?” He nods, flushing brighter. “Therefore, in effect, we are apologizing for being in love?”
He opens his mouth and then snaps it closed, glancing away from her enchanting face. “It does seem rather ludicrous when you state it thusly.” He looks at her, countenance serious, and clasps her hands. “Elizabeth, you surely understand that it is not merely the enjoyment of our love that concerns me, but the appropriateness of its expression before we are wed. It is shockingly improper for us to even discuss these matters, let alone experience them!”
She bites the corner of her lip and averts her gaze. “William, I appreciate your concern, although I submit that little about our relationship has been proper or appropriate, and yet here we are. You are correct, of course, in maintaining decorum until we are married, but…”
“Elizabeth, please, I…” he begins, but she interrupts with a fierce, teary stare.
“Mr. Darcy, I will not apologize for communicating openly with you! Nor will I hide my love for you. We have done far too much of both, nearly losing each other in our stupidity, misconceptions, and pride.”
He studies her eyes, grinning happily. “You are amazing, Elizabeth, and I love you ardently.” Embracing her comfortingly, he kisses her sweet lips lightly.
“Lizzy!” Jane’s voice calls from the corner of the house. “Luncheon is ready. Mr. Darcy is welcome.”
“Thank you, Jane. We will be in directly.”
Holding each other, he strokes her face and she runs her fingers over his features, smiling happily and wholly content. Another tender kiss and then he pulls away, bringing her hand to his lips. “I shall leave you now, dearest. Extend my gratitude to your mother, but I am not presentable and, frankly, my heightened emotions would render me unfit for polite company. I will return this evening.”
He takes a step to leave, but she grips his hand to halt him. In a burst of enthusiasm, she wraps her free hand around his neck, pulling him toward her as she lifts on her tiptoes, kissing him soundly. When she releases him finally, they are breathless and his eyes are smoldering afresh, having so briefly been restored to a state of calm.
“From here on, I promise to behave as I should and not tempt fate. So, remember these kisses, Fitzwilliam Darcy, and do not doubt my love for you!”
He can only nod as she propels him out of the garden. At the back door, they part with formal salutations and proper hand kisses. She watches him until he is out of sight, and then, with a giddy laugh and a twirling dance, she joins her family.
“Perhaps you should not enter the water, William. Your wound is not fully healed.”
Darcy looked down at the twin scars on his side, still reddened and puckered, but healing well despite him removing the stitches without the physician’s consent and constantly scratching at it. Lizzy was forever slapping his hands and scolding him. The laceration on his chest had mended quickly, a residual fine pale line the only evidence. His bruises had faded rapidly, although his left foot still pained him if he stepped the wrong way. She joked that they were a pair of invalids. He joked that they therefore must each nurse the other with tender loving.
“It is well sealed over and no longer pains me, well, not too terribly that is. Do not fret. Come.” Taking her hand, he led her as they cautiously waded over the rocks to the middle of the pond. At its deepest a mere four- and-a-half feet, the temperate water was blissful. Crouching down, the water rising to mid-chest, he held Lizzy in his arms as they floated leisurely about.
“Oh, this is delightful,” she sighed, lying backwards to float on top of the water. Darcy firmly clasped her waist and thrilled at the sight of her. “I have not done anything like this since I was a small girl. The lake near Longbourn was a favorite haunt on hot summer days. Sadly, when a girl reaches a certain age, it is considered unseemly to play in the water.”
“Yet you did it anyway, am I correct in assuming, Mrs. Darcy?”
She opened her eyes and grinned. “Oh, how well you know me, husband. Of course I did! My mother nearly fainted each time and insisted my father punish me, which he did not do.” She laughed. “You might remember this and reweigh any wishes for daughters resembling me, beloved. Two or more of us may prove beyond your endurance.”
“Obviously Mrs. Reynolds has been remiss in her duty to regale you with stories of my exploits as a youth, or have not my scars convinced you? My temperament may be serious, but I was reckless. Combine our attributes and, regardless of sex, I imagine we are both doomed to early gray hairs.”
She sat up in his lap, winding her wet arms around his shoulders. “I heard past-tense words in that sentence. In light of recent events, I deem not much has changed in respect to your recklessness.” She kissed him.
Grinning, he declared, “I have been properly chastised for my mischief, may I remind you, and owing to how well you administer spankings, perhaps our children will not be so intolerable after all.”
“Ha! Children, I am to understand, are not supposed to
“Maybe you need to practice the discipline further. I will be happy to oblige, for the sake of your increased excellence and our children’s upbringing, of course.” He nuzzled her neck, delivering tiny bites.
“Incorrigible! Perhaps we should pray for girls after all.”
“Oh yes, because you, Mrs. Darcy, are all that is sweetness and light!”
Lizzy laughed gaily, hugging her husband close and resting her head on his shoulder as he gently glided about the pond. They bounced along in silent contentment, Lizzy actually beginning to fall into a doze, while Darcy held her and softly kissed any available skin.
The afternoon continued in much the same manner. They bathed until fingers and toes were wrinkled like summer prunes, drying in the filtered sun as they strolled about the glade. Lizzy snipped flowers while Darcy
