Page 24

“Ohhhh...” moaned the young lady. Truly, she had never experienced such feelings…

never even dreamed that her own body was capable of feeling so.

Her lover was kissing her neck, her earlobe…

and then a new sensation began, lower down, making her shiver and unconsciously arch her back toward his hand … he was stroking her stomach, her side…

“Ahhh….” Was that his hand? On her breast?

“Oh Lord!!!” she whimpered and pressed her face into the pillow to keep from making any more unladylike noises. When he had first kissed her, she had worried about the impropriety… but now she was somehow certain that she would die if he stopped…

“CHARLES BINGLEY!” Fitzwilliam Darcy stood frozen in the doorway of Netherfield’s drawing room, appalled by the sight of one of his closest friends, currently fondling his fiancée’s bosom and inching one hand up her skirts.

Miss Jane Bennet, usually a vision of demure serenity, was laid out on the sofa, flushed and oblivious.

Her arms, freed from their sleeves, were stretched out above her head and her face was still pressed into the cushion where she had muffled her moans.

Bingley sprang to his feet and stared at his friend wide-eyed, clothing rumpled and hair standing on end.

The only reason that Darcy did not set upon him that instant was the flash of shamed comprehension on the younger man’s face, followed immediately by horror when he looked back upon Miss Bennet.

In an instant, he had plucked his discarded coat from the floor and draped it across her.

At the same moment, Darcy heard footsteps approaching in the hall. Giving Bingley a searing look, he turned and shut the door behind him.

“Mr. Darcy? Have you found my sisters?”

Although Darcy was attempting to be more open with Elizabeth’s family, in this instance he was grateful to don the mask he was accustomed to wearing in public. “Miss Catherine, would you check in the music room for Miss Mary? I’ll meet you there in a minute.”

Kitty gave her sister’s fiancé a mildly confused look but agreed without question and disappeared down the hall. When she was out of sight, Darcy leaned back against the wall, shut his eyes, and wished mightily that he had never stepped through that damnable doorway.

That morning, he had bid his sister farewell and departed London with the marriage contracts tucked into his saddle bag along with several gifts for his fiancée and her family.

The weather had been fine and the roads good, with the result that Darcy was dismounting in front of Longbourn not long after the sun had reached its zenith.

His day had become even brighter when he entered the house to discover that Elizabeth and her father were all alone; Mrs. Bennet had taken the other girls to Netherfield to tour the house and determine what should be changed before Jane’s wedding.

(Darcy had mentally thanked his ancestors for settling in northern Derbyshire where visits from Fanny Bennet would be few and far between.)

After exchanging a tender greeting with Elizabeth, he had settled in Mr. Bennet’s book room and shared an hour of friendly conversation with his future father-in-law and that gentleman’s favorite daughter.

He had described his trip from London, passed on messages from Georgiana, and related Miss de Bourgh’s decision to relocate to another cousin’s London house even as her mother had retreated to Rosings to lick her wounds.

Darcy had sipped his coffee as Elizabeth talked of the comings and goings at Longbourn and her mother’s eager planning for the double wedding.

With chuckles all around, she had reenacted a conversation carried out over the breakfast table that very morning, in which her father had declared that he would be working on estate matters that day and required his favorite daughter to assist him, even if meant she would miss the outing to Netherfield.

The pair of Bennets had grinned at each other conspiratorially and Fitzwilliam had been warmed by their easy camaraderie.

After coffee, Mr. Darcy had brought out the settlement contracts. Although he would have preferred to simply enjoy their company, it was in his nature to deal with business before pleasure.

Fitzwilliam was uncomfortable conversing about the extent of his wealth with anyone and, after his mistakes at Hunsford, he was particularly ill at ease discussing it around Elizabeth.

Mr. Bennet displayed his usual, sardonic humor, making jokes about how disappointed the Meryton gossips would be to know just how severely they had underestimated Mr. Darcy’s income.

At first, Mr. Bennet’s levity lightened the atmosphere but gradually his teasing began to make Fitzwilliam uneasy. In truth, this was precisely the sort of document to make Thomas Bennet keenly aware of his own inadequacies as a husband and father. “You are being very generous, Mr. Darcy.”

To Will’s ear, the other man’s tone made the statement sound oddly like an accusation. “Err… it is no more than she is due, truly.”

Sensing his discomfort, Elizabeth looked up from the papers and gazed at him with such a warm look that he quite forgot her father was even in the room.

While her father’s mockery meandered to the well-worn topic of her mother and silly sisters, Elizabeth turned back to the papers.

Keenly aware of Longbourn’s finances, it made her deeply uncomfortable to see the contrast when Darcy’s wealth and properties were laid out in such stark terms. In addition to the allocation of her pin money, he appeared to have considered every possible need: the inheritance for their eldest son as well as other offspring (male and female), arrangements should they remain childless, terms by which he would support her mother and sisters upon Mr. Bennet’s demise, and a dower for Elizabeth to live independently should he die first.

This last made Lizzy shut her eyes for a minute as a chill swept through her. She knew such arrangements were necessary but it seemed very wrong to be considering such unhappy outcomes when their love was so young and strong. She felt rather than heard Darcy come to stand beside her.

He leaned over her shoulder and recognized the section that she was reading. “I know it isn’t pleasant to think about but we can never know what the future holds. I’ll rest easier knowing that you would be comfortable should the worst come to pass.”

Elizabeth sighed before nodding, though she could not bring herself to meet his eyes. His logic was sound but that didn’t mean that she had to like it.

It didn’t take long before Mr. Bennet peevishly admitted to himself that his daughter’s attention was largely focused on her beau rather than her father.

Disliking the feeling that he had only a half-hearted audience for his wit, he turned back to the legal documents Mr. Darcy had delivered but quickly became bored and dropped them carelessly on his desk.

“Well, Mr. Darcy, it’s obvious that your solicitor earned his pay packet preparing all of this. ”

The younger gentleman was rather disconcerted by the negligent manner that Elizabeth’s father waved at the settlement.

Observing the older man closely, he spoke carefully, “Of course, you will want to read it privately and consult your own solicitor. Once you’ve noted all the changes you wish made, we can meet again to discuss them and then I can have my man draft a fresh copy. ”

However, Longbourn’s master had already turned his attention to a new translation of Plutarch’s Parallel Lives that he had recently acquired. “Yes, yes… I’m sure that will do very well.”

Elizabeth took notice of the exchange and recognized her father’s mood; if they did not vacate his bookroom soon, he was likely to become irritable.

Standing and gathering the papers back into their leather binder, she quietly informed her father that she would see Mr. Darcy out.

Mr. Bennet, nose already in his book, barely noticed when the pair shut the door behind them.

Although Lizzy would have much preferred to abscond with her fiancé to the garden and reacquaint herself with his kisses, she knew that they might not have another time alone for some days.

Therefore, she led him to the sitting room and bypassed the comfortable sofa for the straight-backed chairs at the table.

Smiling apologetically as Fitzwilliam settled beside her, she spoke softly, “I hope you don’t mind; there are some sections I didn’t understand and, as you say, it is better to deal with it now and be done with it rather than worry about what might never be. ”

To her relief, Darcy had nodded seriously. “I agree completely. Please, show me what you did not understand.”

The couple had spent nearly an hour reviewing the document, as certain details had led to discussion of other aspects of the Darcy properties, investments, livings, and charities.

Finally Elizabeth pressed her chair back and sighed, shutting her eyes for a full minute. “I thought I understand… at Pemberley… Oh stars, Will—I’d no clue there was so much. You must think me such a simpleton!”

Feeling the warmth of his hand on her own, she glanced to see that his eyes were soft but twinkled with humor.

“You know that isn’t true—with your intelligence, I have no doubt that you would know every detail of England’s wealthiest bachelors if such was your interest. Instead you have spent your time much more wisely. ”

Elizabeth managed to raise an eyebrow. “Through extensive reading?”

Darcy chuckled softly and then could no longer restrain his desire to be alone with her in a place where they did not have to worry about being interrupted. He stood and held out his hand. “Come,” he said softly, and Elizabeth rose and followed without a word.

The couple left the house and walked quietly across the garden to the little wilderness beyond.