voice level.
“Oh, nothing directly offensive; it was more what he assumed, that I would understand his motivations, since he thought my reasons for marrying you to be equally mercenary—that I was no better than he—and that I would continue to be friendly with him, and support him against you.”
He kissed her forehead. “He never understood you at all. My dearest love, do not give him a second thought; he is not worth it.”
“You are so very good to me, William.”
“That is because I enjoy being good to you, my love,” he responded lightly, trying to think of what might cheer her. “Come, there is still enough time before dinner for a walk, and you have not yet seen Hyde Park. Will you allow me to show you?”
She smiled at him gratefully.
Dinner that day began as a rather tense affair. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam had met with Mr. Bennet beforehand to inform him of the progress that had been made with Wickham, a discussion that had turned somewhat irate when it became clear to Mr. Bennet that Darcy did not plan to allow him to participate in any way in the financial arrangements.
Elizabeth attempted to improve matters by introducing conversation about her journey with the Gardiners, which led to relating the tale of her wedding. With the blatant encouragement of Colonel Fitzwilliam, she dwelt on her interactions with Lord and Lady Derby with amusement. Darcy clearly enjoyed watching her lively rendition, and embarrassed his cousin into relating the boyhood episode that had landed him permanently on the wrong side of the bishop.
“You have yet to meet my beloved brother and his wife, though, Mrs. Darcy,” said the colonel. “A true appreciation of the extent of character in the Fitzwilliam family would be seriously lacking without that reference.”
“Oh, dear,” said Elizabeth gaily. “This sounds somewhat dangerous.”
“It is,” he assured her solemnly. “There is a reason I do not stay at my family home when I am in London!”
The most surprising contribution to the discussion came from Georgiana, who evidenced a gift for mimicry that came as a surprise to Elizabeth, giving an impression of Lady Catherine de Bourgh that would not have disgraced any actress on the London stage.
It was a new view of Darcy for Mr. Bennet, who had not before seen him in comfortable company. That his new son-in-law could laugh and tease was a significant surprise, and the obvious nature of Darcy’s affection for Elizabeth could not but improve his standing with Mr. Bennet. He considered for the first time the possibility that he might someday be able to enjoy Darcy’s company, a cheering thought since visits to Elizabeth seemed unlikely to be pleasant if he and Darcy persisted in sparring at every meeting. There was a good deal he was willing to suffer for Lizzy’s sake, and he determined to make a greater effort with Mr. Darcy.
It was the first test of his resolve when Elizabeth and Georgiana withdrew after dinner. Colonel Fitzwilliam, all too clearly attempting to disguise the discomfort between the other two men, began to tell amusing stories of his army escapades, but when he finally stopped to enjoy a little of his port, Mr. Bennet took the opportunity to offer an olive branch. “So, Mr. Darcy, have you and Lizzy considered how you plan to inform Mrs. Bennet of your marriage?”
Darcy replied courteously, “I must confess, sir, that the subject has not come up for discussion in these last few days, as we have been preoccupied with these other matters. Obviously, it is something we should attend to as soon as possible.”
“If you like,” Mr. Bennet offered, “I will be sending word to Longbourn tomorrow that Lydia has been found, and I can include your news as well, but if you and Lizzy prefer to inform her yourselves, I will not mention it.”
Feeling somewhat suspicious of this sudden civility and cooperativeness on the part of Mr. Bennet, Darcy asked guardedly, “Do you have a recommendation, Mr. Bennet? I have not thought ahead to when we might be able to travel to Longbourn, as this agreement with Wickham will need to be finalized before I could depart.”
Mr. Bennet raised his glass in Darcy’s direction. “Mr. Darcy, the day that I have any useful advice on how to manage my wife, I promise to share it with you. Unfortunately, to this day I have yet to discover any.”
Darcy was at a loss as to how best to respond; certainly his relationship thus far with Mr. Bennet did not allow latitude for humor about members of his family. He grasped about for what to say, wishing for Bingley’s fluency of speech.
Colonel Fitzwilliam stepped in to the rescue. “Mr. Bennet, have you any plans for when you will return home?”
“There seems to be little keeping me here at the moment, since I am not to be allowed to be of any use to my daughter,” he responded dryly. “All the same, I would prefer to be certain that an agreement has been reached before I return to Longbourn, so if it appears that it may happen soon, I shall wait until then.”
“I would not be surprised if we reached an agreement tomorrow,” said the colonel. “We are definitely within acceptable negotiating range, if there are no surprises.”
“I shall be meeting with my solicitor tomorrow,” Darcy said. “I need to arrange a settlement on Elizabeth, and I can discuss the payments to Wickham at the same time.”
“So, in theory, you could both be free to depart London within the next few days, if all goes well,” Colonel Fitzwilliam remarked, “especially as I can hold the line here.”
Darcy raised an eyebrow. “Will not the Major General expect to see your face from time to time?”
“Hang the Major General! At least dealing with Wickham makes him seem more tolerable, and I can ask no more than that.”
Twelve
The following day saw a flurry of activity as the inhabitants of the Darcy townhouse scattered to their various tasks. Georgiana, having garnered her brother’s support on the necessity of a new wardrobe for Mrs. Darcy, took Elizabeth back to the modiste, which while not particularly a pleasure for her, at least distracted her from the tasks at hand. It was the third day in which business had separated her from Darcy for a majority of the day, and Elizabeth had discovered that she did not care for this in the slightest.
When they returned to the house, Darcy was already there, also feeling a similar lack. Georgiana began to tell him of their day, and then, noticing how the two were gazing at one another, excused herself somewhat abruptly. She had no sooner departed the room than Elizabeth was in Darcy’s arms, enjoying the exquisite sensation of completion that returning to a lover’s embrace can bring.
“Oh, William,” she whispered against his chest. “I missed you so much.”
He caught her lips in an engaging kiss. “I think that I shall never allow you to leave my side again.” He had found himself distracted all day by her absence, wondering what she was doing, and whether she was thinking of him, and to hear her acknowledgment of missing him filled him with the contentment of knowing that he was loved by the woman he adored so completely. Now that he was holding her in his arms, however, he began finding her distracting in a completely different way, and his hand began wandering down to the curve of her hips.
It was not fair, thought Elizabeth, that he could evoke a reaction from her body with such ease. She fought against the urge to press herself against him.
He pulled her closer to him as he deepened the kiss to taste the pleasures of her mouth. He could feel her response as her lips pressed against his, but her body did not melt into his in the way he so loved. When he lifted his head for a moment, he said, “Reluctant, my love?”
Elizabeth, knowing that she could be all too tempted if she allowed herself to be, said, “Georgiana is here, William. You cannot simply carry me off to bed.”
He said an ungentlemanly word, which together with the irritated look on his face, produced a soft laugh from her. He nipped at her ear. “Are you laughing at me, my love?” he growled.
She could not help the mischievous look on her face. “You
