back upon the bed, and inhaled sharply.
Elizabeth climbed atop him, dragging her body along his frame, moaning as his arousal brushed against her. She was about to take him into her, when Darcy rolled them over, showering her lips and face with kisses while his hands found their way to her breasts, his thumbs teasing her nipples, sending shivers of pleasure coursing through her. His hands continued to roam over her curves, exploring, tantalizing her flesh. When Elizabeth moaned his name, Darcy let out a strangled sob of longing, alerting her to the urgency of his need.
“Fitzwilliam,” she gasped, “I need you. I need to feel you.
Her words, spoken so quietly, yet with a commanding insistence that only served to further inflame his desire for her, penetrated the last fragments of Darcy’s self-restraint, granting his body permission to take action over the more tender sentiments of his heart and mind. He slid into her depths with a shuddering cry that drew forth an identical response from Elizabeth as their bodies began to move together in a rhythm that heightened the intensity of his pleasure. His movements soon grew frenzied.
It was not long before Elizabeth was soaring toward her completion.
Darcy felt her muscles tightening around him as he buried himself within her, time and again, deeper and deeper, until, finally, with a loud cry, he suddenly felt one of the most powerful releases he had ever experienced.
They did not speak, but lay together, hands and bodies entwined, rapid breathing slowing, frantic heartbeats calming, the silent reassurance of the other’s presence enveloping them. Darcy bestowed a lingering kiss upon his wife’s forehead as he closed his eyes, exhaustion finally claiming them at last.
Lydia, you are insufferable! Surely, you must see the danger and impropriety of indulging in such disgraceful behavior with a dangerous scoundrel! You permitted him to take outrageous liberties with you that many respectable married women will not even allow their husbands, and you were in public! Have you no shame at all?” Elizabeth found Lydia’s refusal to see the error of her ways regarding her scandalous conduct with Wickham the night before infuriating. To further inflame her anger, Lydia merely turned her back to her sister and sulked.
Jane’s approach was more sedate. “Lydia, you must understand that with your lack of fortune, your virtue and reputation are all you have to recommend you to a respectable gentleman. You cannot continue to conduct yourself in such a degrading manner with a man like Mr. Wickham. Surely you must know by now he cannot be respectable if he insists on taking advantage of you in such a way and encourages you to bestow your favors upon him. Your scandalous behavior not only reflects poorly upon your own reputation as a respectable young lady, but that of your dear sisters, as well. By indulging in such sinful behavior, especially with a man of questionable character, you are greatly lessening the probability of Mary and Kitty making prudent marriages. Even if you are not concerned with your reputation, you must at least consider those of poor Mary and Kitty.”
“Lord, Jane, you sound just as droll as Mary when she is reading from Fordyce!” exclaimed Lydia. “I cannot see how I have done anything so very wrong. I daresay no one would have been the wiser had Lizzy not stuck her nose into my affairs last night instead of minding her own business like she ought. I am heartily disappointed in you, Lizzy, for turning out to be so disloyal and hypocritical!”
Elizabeth stared at her with incredulity. “Whatever do you mean by saying I am hypocritical? That is hardly a term I would associate with myself in any case, particularly in such an instance as this! And certainly, Lydia, you must know my loyalty must lie with preserving the respectability of my family, not with the utter degradation of it!”
“Lord!” Lydia snorted. “That is certainly rich coming from you, pretending to be so high and mighty now that you are a married woman. But admit it, Lizzy, you cannot, in all honesty, say you appreciated Mr. Collins’s bothersome interference in
“How dare you, you insolent, ungrateful little—”
Elizabeth’s uncharacteristic shouts resonated throughout her father’s house, startling servants and sending members of the family rushing toward Lydia’s bedchamber with surprising alacrity. The first to reach them was Darcy. He threw open the door with a thud and entered the room with an expression of alarm. He was stunned to see his elegantly dressed wife lunging toward her youngest sister while Jane struggled to hold her at bay. Lydia was in the midst of hollering something especially appalling in reference to the size of Darcy’s fortune and Elizabeth’s willingness to bed him before they were married. Darcy’s jaw dropped open.
“I swear I shall strangle you for your vulgarity, Lydia!” Elizabeth yelled as she finally succeeded in shoving Jane out of the way. Lydia jumped back, and Darcy bolted forward, seizing his wife around her waist. With very little effort, he managed to carry her flailing form to the other side of the apartment. “Unhand me this instant, Fitzwilliam!” she commanded. “I must throttle my impudent sister before I regain my senses!”
Lydia stuck out her tongue and laughed. “Ha! I’d like to see you try, Lizzy!”
In an effort to escape, Elizabeth elbowed Darcy in the ribs, hard. Rather than gaining her freedom, however, she succeeded only in ensuring her continued captivity, for her husband responded to her act of aggression against his person by throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her, kicking and screaming, out of the room. They passed an incredulous Mr. Bennet on the stairs, who very wisely gave them a wide berth, his look of complete astonishment soon giving way to amusement as he watched the staid master of Pemberley struggle with his daughter.
Darcy stalked into the first room he encountered, which happened to be his father-in-law’s library, and slammed the door behind him. He turned the key and then pulled it from the lock. Only then did he release his wife. He deposited her onto a chair by the fire and stood before her, his breathing hard, his hands curled into fists upon his hips. “Pardon my language, madam, but what the
He began to pace, one hand raking through his hair. “For God’s sake, Elizabeth! What if you had injured yourself or the baby? And over what? Some ignorant piece of idle nonsense your sister spews forth from her accursed mouth?” He made an inarticulate sound of disgust and threw himself into the chair next to the one she was occupying. Rubbing his aching ribs, he growled, “You need not have taken your fury out on me, Mrs. Darcy. It was most underhanded of you, not to mention unsportsmanlike. I shall expect far more respectful treatment from you in the foreseeable future, madam, effective immediately.”
Elizabeth, her arms crossed over her breast, merely scowled before turning away her head. After several long minutes of uncomfortable silence, she ventured a glance at Darcy, who was still staring at her. Several more minutes passed in much the same manner before she finally forced herself to say, with some small degree of contrition, “I am sorry I injured you, Fitzwilliam. It was certainly not my intention. I hardly know what has come over me this morning, except to say I have simply not felt like my normal self as of late.” She expelled a breath of air and drummed her fingers upon the arm of the chair. “My aunt Gardiner mentioned to me that sometimes a woman may experience some inexplicable alterations in her mood and temperament when she is expecting a child.”
Rising from his chair, Darcy rolled his eyes and mumbled, “Apparently,” in a particularly bitter tone as he walked over to the nearest window, where he stared at the road for some time. Before long, there was a knock upon the door. Lost in his own contemplations and forgetting for the moment he was not in his study in Town, Darcy called out, “Come.”
Elizabeth raised a speculative brow.
He was startled back into reality, however, when he heard Mr. Bennet’s amused voice say from the other side of the door, “How gracious of you, Darcy, to grant me admittance to my own sanctuary! However, I currently find myself unable to take you up on your generosity, as you seem to have taken it upon yourself to lock me out of my
