Darcy smiled and cupped her cheek. "Very wise, Mrs. Darcy. You have learned from my rambling orations after all."
"I always listen and attempt to understand."
"We have considered all options. The mill will be running for longer hours than usual, although we are limited there as well, since I refuse to allow the women and children to work for more than ten hours a day. Mr. Shultz plans to hire additional workers on a temporary basis to keep the mill operating as long as possible."
He bent for a kiss and then resumed his pose with a serious cast to his face. "I warn you now, Elizabeth, I will be busy for a time and will need to travel over the next several weeks. Day trips, for the most part, to those clients in the vicinity, and I will avoid traveling if possible. Mr. Keith will make the trip to London in my stead."
"Will you need to return to Derby anytime soon?"
A shadow flickered over his features and he averted his eyes. His jaw clenched briefly and lips pressed together for only a moment, but Lizzy frowned. "I will, yes, but on another matter."
"What other matter? William?"
He looked into her eyes, shaking his head slightly and forcing a smile. "Later, my love, later. Do you trust me?"
Her eyebrows rose. "Absolutely! Do not be ridiculous!"
He smiled again, a true smile from the heart. "Then put it aside for now and just let me love you." And without further ado, he rolled his body onto hers, fitting naturally within clasping limbs as flawlessly as lock and key. He pressed firmly and insistently but with the utmost tenderness, and captured her mouth for a prolonged kiss. He ran both palms gradually up her sides, under her arms, pressing with firm fingers the entire length of each round arm, stretching over her head until reaching her flattened palms, and holding tight with fingers laced between hers.
He left her mouth finally, traversing the expanse of her neck to an ear for teasing licks and nibbles. Lizzy was breathless with desire but managed to choke out a few words, "William, we should... the baby is... Oh God! I... that is, we should put him in his cradle."
"I want him to stay with us tonight," he murmured huskily, hot breath waving over her ear and sending shivers cascading through her body.
"But, we should not do..." Gasp! "...this with him..." Moan. "...here."
"He is soundly asleep and likes to be rocked anyway." He lifted slightly to meet her eyes, both of them smoldering with dark passion, but his additionally sparkled with humor. He clasped both wrists in one strong hand, keeping her arms extended, and leisurely rubbed back down her side, firm strokes and squeezes to a round buttock, then drawing the knee up and over his waist. "He will be unaffected, my lover. You will not be."
And with that grating declaration, he dove in, hard and all at once. He groaned deeply in his throat, eyes closing in exalting pleasure. "Oh my Lizzy! I love you!"
He was correct; Alexander never flinched. The antics of his loving, impassioned parents registered not at all unless it was to be soothed into an even deeper sleep by the rhythmic swaying and cadenced gasps. Lizzy was granted her earlier wish in experiencing a lovemaking session of highly intense enthusiasm. There was little in the way of gentleness in their uninhibited passion, but much in the way of furious innervations. Before the need was comfort and cleansing, now the need was a celebration of life and vitality. The emotion was ferocious, the energy spent exorbitant, the excitement fervent, and the release euphoric.
Darcy rolled away, shuddering and inhaling vigorous lungfuls of air. Rarely did they break intimate contact immediately, but the basic need for oxygen called for it. He clasped Lizzy's hand tightly, silence descending except for their rasping respirations.
Lizzy recovered her faculties first, reaching to brush her knuckles over Alexander's rosy cheek, and then turning to her husband's side. She kissed his shoulder, sighing in utter contentment. He kissed the crown of her head, rubbing against the soft tresses, his voice rough and low, "I fear I may need to rescind my earlier promise."
"Which promise is that?"
"That I keep you awake all night with constant loving. I believe you have unhinged me and depleted me wholly. Not that I am complaining, mind you."
She could feel the smile and giggled, kissing the sweaty muscular shoulder again. "I can live with the disappointment. Until some time tomorrow, that is." She lifted, running a hand down the damp hairs on his chest while peering into sparkling blue eyes. "I love you, Fitzwilliam Darcy, with all my being."
Darcy cupped her chin, feathering fingertips along her skin. He stared, simply stared, for several minutes, only then pulling in for a soft kiss. Lizzy brushed the hair away from his noble brow, bestowing a tiny nibble to his upper lip. She tried to withdraw, but he held her close, airily skimming pecks and nuzzles about her face.
"Elizabeth," he whispered. "My beautiful Elizabeth. You heal me with your devotion. You infuse me with your life and verve and goodness. I now have the strength to share the remainder of my trip with you."
She shook her head. "You are tired, my love. I can see the circles under your eyes and hear the weariness in your voice. Your adventures can wait until you have slept."
Darcy, however, was shaking his head negative. "I appreciate your concern, dearest, and I do need to sleep. First, though, I want to tell you all. It is important to me."
"You are frightening me, William. Are you sure you are well?"
"Forgive me! I do not mean to imply anything ill with my health. Have I not proven my vigor?" He grinned and Lizzy chuckled despite her unease.
"You are incorrigible! And you should not jest with my worries. I have sensed from the moment I saw you in the arbor that something serious was amiss, but convinced myself it was merely weariness or thought it related to the fire. Now I am truly alarmed."
He pulled her closer and kissed tenderly. "I accept your chastisement, love, and beg your pardon. I have a story to tell, it is true, but I desire to keep it from you completely. I abhor the very idea of causing you pain."
"William, sharing your life means sharing everyth--"
He halted her with another kiss. "Do not say it, Elizabeth. Trust me, I have learned the lesson of hiding anything from you or making an attempt to shield. I cannot say it is easy, as I always endeavor to bring you only joy and contentment, but I promised to be forthright at all times and I will. This is why I want to reveal all, so I can sleep with you in my arms knowing there are no lingering secrets to disturb my blissful dreams."
She was staring intently into his eyes, frowning. "Thank you. I could not bear it if there was turmoil in your soul or some actual circumstance transpiring that I was not aware of and given the opportunity to alleviate. I love you, William, far too much to allow you to suffer if there is anything I can do to help."
He smiled and nodded, bringing her hands to lie against his chest, and with a sigh, began.
"Richard and I left Derby the day before yesterday."
"Two days ago? During the blizzard?" She blurted, biting her lip instantly. "Sorry."
He chuckled faintly. "Yes, it was appallingly foolish. I allowed my impetuosity to rule, as you recently scolded me. We barely made it unfrozen to Belper, finding shelter at the inn. I was in a foul mood, Elizabeth, I admit with shame. I wanted to be home so dreadfully, missed you and Alexander, and wholly ignored my normal wisdom and temperance."
He closed his eyes and, in a muted tone, told her the entire tale, leaving only the most gruesome details out. Lizzy gasped a time or two but remained silent until he reached the part where he almost left against the Sheriff's command.
"I am ashamed to admit that I nearly slugged Richard. Thankfully, he spoke sensible words that penetrated my thick skull, or I probably would have acted rashly and still be clapped in irons as he predicted."
Surprisingly, Lizzy was giggling, her smothered chuckling breaking Darcy from his narrative. "You find this amusing, Mrs. Darcy?" He cocked an eyebrow.
"I suddenly had a mental picture of you and Richard grappling about on the floor, pummeling each other as unruly boys."
She continued to giggle, Darcy chuckling as well. "Nearly, but I finally called upon the restraint and forbearance generally a chief character trait. I saw reason, or more aptly accepted the futility of my situation."
"So, did they catch the villain? He is not still running loose, is he?" Her voice unconsciously raised an octave, eyes wide with fright.
Darcy draped her with one arm and a leg, drawing her closer and kissing her forehead before tucking under his chin. "We caught him. A young man just eighteen on a pleasure tour with his brother. Fancied himself in love with Miss Hazeldon and thought she returned his affection, and..."
He fell silent, trembles and pounding heart felt by Lizzy. He did not speak for several minutes, and when he did, his voice was agonized. "I thought of Georgiana, Elizabeth. I have never seen anything quite this horrible, but I know what unscrupulous men are capable of, what they believe is their right, what is somehow owed them as the natural conclusion to a flirtation and roused desire. How some regard women as property and worthy of only what pleasure can be taken from them, forcefully or willingly it matters naught. Wickham was such a person, as I knew so well. When I arrived at Ramsgate, unexpectedly discovering his plot, my greatest fear was that he had violated Georgie. I knew it to be a real possibility. Praise God, I was in time, as I am absolutely convinced he would have taken her virtue either to secure her or wound me without the slightest consideration to her fragility or sensibilities. Yet never did it occur to me that she could have died. Some say rape is a fate worse then death. As a man I cannot judge whether this is true or not, but I believe I am sensitive enough to fathom the horror of it. However, nothing could be worse then what happened in Belper," he finished in a bare whisper.
"You were correct to scold me for being foolhardy," he continued, "for forgetting my responsibilities to you and my family. I will not forget it again. My place is here, protecting you and our son, and all the others dependent on me. I cannot allow myself to brainlessly or selfishly bring harm to my person because I must be diligent in my duties! I will not fail you, Elizabeth."
"I know--"
"I promise to safeguard you, my wife, and you must promise to be wise, wary, sensible, and aware. Elizabeth, I cannot survive without you. I know this to be true as a mere five days drives me insane!"
Darcy trailed his fingers and lips airily over her face. Exhaustion washed over him in waves as the final vestiges of the tragedies were illuminated and scattered. He ached deep into his bones with sleep clawing at the edges of his consciousness, yet he could not halt hands and mouth which urgently required the final cathartic sensation of touching his wife's vibrant flesh.
Lizzy, by the same token, experienced a similar abrupt weariness of heart and body. Her husband's troubles had shaken her, and she felt his sorrow. Yet, with each unifying act of lovemaking, with each cleansing conversation, and with each current kiss and caress, she knew he was healed. Although weary, her heart nonetheless leapt for joy in the knowledge that their unique bond had worked another miracle.
Considering the expended energy and emotions of the evening thus far, it was a marvel that either would respond sensually. Then again, never could Darcy touch his wife without desiring to arouse her. He was well down the luscious curves of her body before fully comprehending her rising ardor, the lush swell of her breasts his personal undoing.
"I love you immeasurably, Elizabeth," he whispered between tender licks and kisses, fingering through the tousled curls cascading wildly over their pillows. "Always and for all eternity you are mine. Only mine."
Darcy was quite certain he could fall asleep in seconds and not budge for hours, but the titillation of his wife was irresistible. While his increasingly foggy brain fought succumbing to the oblivion of sleep, his potent manliness responded to her enchantment and touch.
Lizzy took charge. Rolling him onto his back, she rapidly straddled his hips. Darcy groaned weakly, hands slack on her thighs, misty eyes shining with profound contentment at the electrifying feel of her surrounding him and the captivating vision of her feminine figure with luxuriant tresses tumbling rising above him.
"I love you eternally, Fitzwilliam. Only for you, my life and breath. Always and forever, you are mine."
It did not take long. A few minutes of tender motions and he yielded to the comforting surge of pleasure procured only with her. His satiated, stuporous brain was only vaguely aware of her moving away afterwards to add a log to the fire. He opened his eyes briefly, ponderously scooting closer to Alexander and laying one broad hand onto the baby's back before falling into a daze. A brief rush of air over his back was quickly supplanted by the radiant warmth of Elizabeth nuzzling between his shoulder blades. Her arm snaked over his waist and her breath soothingly wafted across the nape of his neck.
"Good night, my darling. Sleep well." A tender kiss planted at the top of his spine was his last memory. His final thought was a reciprocated wish for refreshing sleep, but the sentiment would remain unspoken as consuming, blissful, therapeutic, and revitalizing sleep overwhelmed.
Chapter Seven