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By mutual agreement, the couple headed toward their rooms. “The visit to the Wrights’ estate seems to have gone surprisingly well.

The only fly in the ointment appears to have been Mrs. Wright’s mother who happened to be visiting at the same time.

By Kitty’s description, the woman sounds astonishingly like Mama and, needless to say, the two developed an instant antipathy. ”

Darcy merely raised an eyebrow, preferring not to dwell on the existence of two Mrs. Bennets in the world.

“Of course, both women wished for their daughters to make better matches… which has had the happy result that Kitty and Mrs. Wright understand one another very well.” Lizzy was pleased to hear Darcy chuckle.

“They plan to marry in the autumn; Kitty had to return to Hertfordshire with our parents, but Papa is allowing her to exchange letters with young Mr. Wright.”

Mr. Darcy smiled and Elizabeth raised her own eyebrow. “I enjoyed exchanging letters with you during our courtship,” he admitted quietly .

The smile she gave him was as glorious as any sunrise over the Peaks.

Elizabeth had good reason to be pleased with her gown.

The bodice and skirts were of a rose silk that complimented her complexion perfectly.

The sleeves and trim were formed from the same fabric dyed some shades darker, and for the bodice, Madame Lavoisier had devised a cunning pattern of ruching decorated with tiny seed pearls that drew attention away from the wearer’s bump and toward her bosom.

When she first appeared, Mr. Darcy announced, “You must go back and change,” in such a stern manner that Elizabeth actually froze for an instant on the stairs, but when she descended the final step and stood before him, there was a twinkle in her eye.

“Shall I send it to the ragman, then?”

Will attempted to think of a suitably teasing reply but eventually just shook his head in wonder. “You are too beautiful for words.”

Lizzy blushed very deeply, as she always did when her husband paid her such heartfelt compliments. “’Tis just fine feathers and some pretty tinsel.”

Darcy took her hands and leaned in to kiss her lightly on the lips. “No—it is you … you are positively glowing.” The reverence with which he spoke left her quite speechless.

There was no telling how long the pair might have remained in that position if Miss Darcy had not come tripping down the stairs while simultaneously trying to pull on one of her long white gloves. “Oh! You’re both already here! Am I late? Has the carriage come yet?”

Fitzwilliam blinked several times at his sister while Lizzy moved to help the young lady with the recalcitrant glove. “You look lovely, Georgiana”

Darcy struggled manfully against ordering his sister to return upstairs and change into a less… womanly gown. “You’re not late; the carriage is just being brought around.”

When she turned to him, gloves in place and eyes full of anxiety, he sighed and admitted in a gruff voice, “You look very pretty, Georgiana… and very grown up. Mother would be happy to see you wearing her necklace.”

Georgiana touched the jewel at her neck. “I felt as if I should have something of her with me, tonight.”

Darcy nodded, took a deep breath, and then offered an arm to each of his ladies.

Since her marriage, Elizabeth had been invited into any number of grand houses for balls and parties, dinners and soirées, and more teas than she could count.

Some had been gaudy, some tasteful, and some had hinted of the uncertain solvency of their owners.

To her mind, none were the equal of Derwent House.

The Duke of Grafton’s mansion came close, however.

“I do believe it is larger than yours, my dear,” she teased her husband .

Darcy’s lips twitched. “There are, perhaps, more rooms. Derwent House is likely to have more of the modern conveniences, however; Grafton House is of similar age to Etherow House,” he added, referring to the residence in Bloomsbury that Sir James was leaving to Georgiana, who nodded thoughtfully.

“You Darcys do love your rivers! Why not simply call it Darcy House?” inquired Elizabeth with genuine curiosity.

“My grandparents had the house on Grosvenor Square built when they first married, but Worthington Darcy’s parents remained at Etherow House until they died and then left it to their younger son, my uncle. I assume the new house was named after the River Derwent to follow tradition.”

Observing that he had the attention of both ladies, he expanded, “The land and the water of Derbyshire have always been the lifeblood of the Darcy family… without it, there would be no houses in London… or pretty stones to decorate our ladies’ necks,” he nodded toward his wife and sister with a smile.

“The motto on the Darcy coat of arms… Terra, aqua, sanguis … Earth, Water, Blood… I hadn’t really understood it, before,” mused Elizabeth.

“I knew it, but I didn’t really consider it…” murmured Georgiana.

“Well, if you find yourself searching for topics of conversation, you might ask His Grace about the Somerset coat of arms… I’m certain he would be pleased to tell you all about the family history.” Will suppressed a painful twinge at the thought of his sister trading the name of Darcy.

Sensing her husband’s discomfort, Lizzy teased, “Yes, please do, Georgiana. That sounds far more interesting than listening to your brother and the Somerset gentlemen discuss horses all night!”

The Darcys were shown directly into the drawing room to be greeted warmly by the Duke and Duchess, while Lord Jonah proudly took his place at Georgiana’s side.

Most of the Somerset siblings and their spouses had been introduced to the Darcys on one occasion or another, but here there appeared to be a plethora of cousins as well as aunts and uncles still to be met.

Mrs. Darcy was quickly drawn into a conversation with several of the ladies who wished to arrange a day to go shopping with Miss Darcy.

She was pleased to see Georgiana exerting herself to know Isabella and Harriet better; the three ladies were close in age and had similar interests, though their quieter natures were often overshadowed when the family gathered together.

Over the last months, Elizabeth had maintained a steady correspondence with Ava and Violet and had come to consider them close friends; the ladies could never replace Jane in her heart, but they were extremely amiable and she particularly appreciated their willingness to share advice after a lifetime in the first circles.

When Elizabeth had a moment to look around the room for Mr. Darcy, she observed that he appeared to be involved in an intense discussion with Lord Worcester and the Marquess’s next eldest brother, Lord Granville. Quietly detaching herself from the ladies, she moved to take her husband’s arm.

Darcy looked down to see his wife and pressed her hand.

All three gentlemen had such an air of schoolboy mischief about them that she expected to be subjected to bloody tales of cricket pitch heroics.

However, she soon learned that the bloody tale being shared had been played out on a very different sort of field.

“Lord Guy Westinghouse has been arrested and is to be tried for treason, Earl of Corning or not,” announced Worcester gleefully.

“I beg your pardon?” was all Elizabeth could think to say. She knew enough about that man’s personal life to consider him despicable, but she had never heard anything that hinted of treachery toward the crown.

Lord Granville spoke with slightly more circumspection; “Apparently the Prince of Wales took a liking to Corning some months ago and has been admitting him into the Royal presence for parties and such. Hoping to curry Royal favor, the fool brought a bunch of… errr…”

Granville flicked a look toward Mr. Darcy and only continued when that gentleman gave a slight nod.

“errr… well, that is to say… prostitutes… to a house party for the Prince Regent. The girls turned out to be French refugees and, when they realized whom they had been brought to entertain, at least one decided to rehash the Battle of Waterloo, hoping for a different outcome, I suppose.”

“Good heavens! Whatever happened?!?” exclaimed Elizabeth in astonishment.

“Fortunately, the fruit knife she armed herself with was blunted, and the only injury His Royal Highness suffered was a result of the lady’s nails.

However, although the Prince Regent’s retainers were able to subdue the women as soon as they realized what was happening, some drops of Royal blood were spilled, not to mention the Royal ego being greatly offended. ”

With no small amount of glee, Worcester added, “As if the fact that he was the one who procured the girls was not enough, Westinghouse appears to have had some sort of fit during the affair… incapacitated by laughter was the report I heard. The best he can do now is pray that he is hung before he is drawn and quartered, and not the other way around.”

All Elizabeth could manage was to say, “Good heavens.”

Such news was not easily set aside, though the dinner table was magnificent and the food delicious.

The Duke was an amusing conversationalist and Elizabeth (seated at his left) had given herself the responsibility of keeping Georgiana (seated at His Grace’s right) involved in the exchange.

Lizzy’s attention drifted occasionally, however, and, though she could barely see Mr. Darcy, seated as he was at the opposite end of the table, she suspected that their minds were similarly distracted.

Service was in the new style, á la russe , and Elizabeth found that she liked the cleaner look of a table that was not groaning under dozens of serving platters, particularly as the Duchess had not bothered with the grand epergne so many of Society’s hostesses deemed necessary to demonstrate their wealth.

Instead, in honor of the betrothal they were celebrating, Her Grace had decorated the table with a long plait of ribbons and ivy threaded with primroses, myrtle, and violets that reached from end to end in a charming serpentine around the candelabra.

When the guests stepped away from the table to allow the footmen to complete the remove and set the deserts, Mrs. Darcy was amused to observe Lord Jonah craning his neck to catch a glimpse of his betrothed.

Beside him, his mother and elder sister were clearly diverted by his inattention, while Mr. Darcy appeared to be wavering between amusement and disapproval.

Lizzy caught his eye with a pointed look.

With only a subtle eye roll, Darcy turned to his future brother-in-law and, after two failed attempts, finally succeeded in gaining the younger man’s attention.

The two entered into a conversation that carried them through the final course and extended into the gentlemen’s separation from the ladies.

Later that night, Fitzwilliam admitted that he had asked Lord Jonah about his estate in Oxfordshire.

“It is called Pennyworth Manor and, though he claims to be unstudied in such matters, Jonah appears to have a very good understanding of its management. He has been in charge of it since he finished university; Worcester in particular seems to have spent considerable time there helping him learn to manage it.”

Elizabeth curled up beside her husband and tucked her feet up under her robe. “And is there a steward?”

“Yes; in fact, he is the son of Grafton’s steward at Fairlee, the ducal seat in Gloucestershire.” Beginning to relax, Will stretched one arm out across his wife’s shoulders and began playing with her hair.

“So, shall we be visiting Pennyworth on our trek northward?”

In truth, Darcy was becoming distracted by the sight of Elizabeth’s toes peeking out from beneath her robe.

“Hmmm… yes? Yes, Worcester and his wife will accompany Lord Jonah so that the Lady Lavender may act as his hostess while we are there. It will only be for a few days, and then we are bound for Derbyshire.”

Lizzy did not bother to suppress her giggle and turned to smile up at him. “Beloved husband, lord of my heart, I fear it is incumbent upon me to pass on a most critical piece of information.”

Will could not resist stealing a kiss and for a moment she dissolved into laughter as his hand traced a ticklish spot on her side, before quieting under a long, warm kiss. “And what is this key fact, my precious intelligencer? ”

It took her a moment to recall her train of thought.

“Ah… yes. If you ever call Ava ‘Lady Lavender’ to her face, she will either ignore you or slap you.” Lizzy was very pleased when her husband actually guffawed.

Assuming a very prim attitude, she commented, “What will people say when they discover that you married me merely to counsel you on matters of etiquette?”

Deciding that he had suffered quite enough teasing for one night, Will whispered something in her ear about why he had married her that made her giggle and then sigh. No further conversation was to be heard in the Master’s bedchamber at Derwent House that night.