Pride, Prejudice & Secrets (27 page)

But she still wished she could weep…though she was not sure for what.

Saturday, May 2, 1812: Plimpton’s Coaching Inn on the road to Derbyshire

The sun was still several hand-breadths above the horizon when the coach turned in at the coaching inn and the jolting of the wheels on the cobblestones shook Elizabeth Darcy awake. Startled, she saw the dark cloth of Darcy’s coat in front of her eyes and realized her head was against his chest. She was also conscious of his arm around her shoulders, holding her close against the jolting of the coach, and she at first wanted to simply snuggle closer to him and luxuriate in the feeling of comfort and support that seemed to radiate from his strong arm.

But it was clear they were near to arriving at the inn since the coach was clattering slower and slower over the cobblestones, so she regretfully made herself raise her head and open her eyes. She found herself looking into the laughing eyes of Georgiana, who sat across the coach with Mrs. Annesley, and she felt a sudden suspicion at the expression in those eyes.

That is the teasing expression the dear girl is starting to explore,
she thought,
and I have the sudden certainty that the recipient of that newfound ability is going to be me!

She straightened, and her eyes narrowed as she assessed the source of Georgiana’s humour. Then she looked at Darcy, who looked back at her placidly, his face carefully expressionless.

Sudden confirmation gelled in her mind, and she said, “Did I snore?”

“Snore, my dear? Why would you say that?” Darcy said.

“I notice that you did not answer my question,” she replied, smiling crookedly. “I suppose they teach that at Cambridge: how to deflect a question by asking another.”

“Rhetoric,” Darcy responded pleasantly. “The best way to do so. One of the first rules.”

Suddenly, Georgiana giggled, unable to contain herself any longer and leaned forward to clasp Elizabeth’s arm. “No, you did not snore…but you may have breathed a bit heavily.”

“Breathed heavily, is it?” she said ironically. “I hardly remember leaving the drive at Longbourn. Where are we?”

“At Plimpton’s,” Darcy answered as the coach finally came to a halt. Instantly, the door was opened and steps were laid in place to assist their descent.

“We always stay here, Elizabeth,” Georgiana said cheerfully. “The service is quite excellent and the rooms well appointed. William even sent ahead to have them prepared. You will find pleasure here.”

Then, thinking on what she had just said, Georgiana flushed and could not meet Elizabeth’s eyes. It was now Elizabeth’s turn to laugh lightly and pat Georgiana on the arm reassuringly, and the young girl rewarded her with a timid smile.

When Darcy assisted her to the ground, Elizabeth looked about curiously. The coach was stopped in a central courtyard, having entered through a high-arched gate from the road. Surrounding the courtyard were four stories with many windows and galleries looking down on the yard. Obviously, the staff of the inn was well-prepared for their arrival since the trunks were already being passed down to servants waiting to take them inside. Darcy was speaking to an elderly, uniformed man who nodded and beamed, and the whole party was quickly escorted inside.

“The evening meal is in preparation and will be ready in about one hour, sir,” the uniformed man said, indicating a wide, carpeted stairway. “Hot water awaits, and your meals will be sent to your rooms as you requested.”

“Excellent,” Darcy said.

“Now, here is Mrs. Darcy’s chamber,” the man said, indicating a door where a maid held the door open.

“Very good. Then I will see you shortly, my dear,” Darcy said, as Elizabeth entered her room.

Elizabeth looked around at the lavishly decorated room, nodding to Sarah as she gave her new mistress a curtsey and a shy smile. She took in the elegant bed, a small dressing room, and a door she presumed led to Darcy’s bedchamber. She felt more than a little out of place at being treated so deferentially, but she supposed it was their usual manner for those able to afford their services.

“Shall I ring for hot water for your bath, ma’am? Or would you prefer that I have a light meal sent up?” Sarah asked, and Elizabeth shook her head.

“I think not, Sarah,” she said distractedly, ignoring the confused look of her maid. “I have already bathed this morning, and Mr. Darcy’s coach is wonderfully immune to the dust by windows. And I am not hungry at the moment.”

More important concerns roiled her stomach, and despite not having eaten since the wedding breakfast, she was not at all hungry. At least, she was not hungry for food.

“I will ring for you if I need you,” she said. “If I do not ring by six, then you are free for the evening and may take your supper whenever you please.’

Then, nodding again to the girl’s confused curtsey and quick exit, she tossed her bonnet and parasol on one of the chairs and added her gloves before going to the door her eyes had never left, the door she assumed led to Darcy’s chamber.

Darcy had only a few more words to say to the head porter, telling him their plans for the next day were not fixed and that he would order meals and other services when they were desired. The uniformed man nodded sagely, well used to travellers with new wives or even young ladies masquerading as new wives. It mattered little to the establishment as long as their money was good, and the Darcy money was of the best.

Finished, Darcy entered his room, and hardly had the door to the hallway closed than the door to Elizabeth’s room opened abruptly and she rushed to him, throwing her arms about his waist and nuzzling her cheek against his chest contentedly. Darcy responded automatically, wrapping his own arms about her and squeezing her slender form before he spoke.

“Not that I am complaining, Elizabeth, but that was a greeting I would have more likely expected after a month’s absence rather than a matter of minutes.”

“I have never been a wife before,” she said happily, her voice muffled somewhat by the lapels of his coat. “I missed you.”

“I see.” Darcy knew she was teasing him but loved the way she chose to do it.

“Besides, this is the first chance we have had to speak alone since yesterday.”

“And that was aeons and aeons ago, my dear.”

“You are actually more correct than you know, William. Yesterday I was someone else. Today I am…yours.”

“And I am yours, Mrs. Darcy. Forever.”

“Yes, forever,” she agreed, squeezing with all the strength in her arms. “Beyond this life. And there is another thing.”

“And that is?” Darcy asked, after a few moments where she seemed to be searching for words.

“That is, Mr. Darcy,” she said, looking up with her dark eyes glittering suspiciously around the edges, “that I want you to know how very happy I am to be your wife. Supremely happy, William.”

She knew they both might still have certain items about their past relationship she believed were better left unsaid, but Elizabeth Darcy would not hide anything similar from this man for the rest of her life.

“I see,” Darcy said, having to clear his throat before he could speak. “Well, I could not reasonably ask for more, my love…and I am rather happy myself.”

“Good,” she said contentedly. “Good.”

She raised her head, and mischievous delight danced in her eyes. “Then perhaps, should you not do something about it?”

“Well,” Darcy said reflectively, “I suppose the usual approach would be for us to dress and go down to dinner, after which you would return to your room and I to mine, where we would prepare for bed. Then, suitably attired and after an appropriate interval, I could knock discreetly on your door and beg your leave to enter, and…”

“No,” she said firmly.

“No?” he asked teasingly.

“No,” she repeated. “I believe a truly
passionate
man could discover something better than the usual approach. I begin to be disappointed, sir. Quite disappointed.”

“And I would never dream of disappointing you, my love. So I suppose I will have to exert myself…”

“Though I do suppose I shall have to call Sarah to take my hair down and braid it,” Elizabeth said with a sigh.

“I would be pleased to take your hair down and braid it,” Darcy said enthusiastically. “Yes, and brush it for you also.”

“Ah, that is much better, William!” she cried in delight. “Perhaps my disappointment wanes a little.”

“Then return to your room and retrieve your brush forthwith, you imp,” he said, and she danced away lithely to avoid the swat he tried to plant on her backside.

Time enough for that later!
she thought gaily, as she scampered back to her room, returning quickly with her brush.

“Here, sit,” he commanded, pulling another chair close, and she lost no time in complying.

“Now, do be careful with the pins in my hair. They are often dangerous, even to me, and I am well used to them.”

“And there does seem to be an adequate supply,” he said, removing the first of them.

“Mama was quite diligent in instructing Sarah. Everything was to be perfect.”

“Everything
was
perfect,” he said cheerfully. “Make sure you tell her so from me in your first letter…”

“I will be happy to do so, William. She will be thrilled to hear of it.”

“…in a month or so,” he said firmly.

“Promises, promises, from the man who would have followed the
usual manner
if I had not taken matters in my own hands,” she said teasingly, loving the feel of his fingers in her hair as he searched out the many and varied pins and combs which held the mass of her hair on her head.

“Careful, Elizabeth,” he said, teasing her back, “lest you find yourself in trouble. I
am
the master of my own house, you know. My word! How wonderfully luxurious your hair is! Do you have any idea how many times I thought of taking it down in just this manner?”

She nodded, accepting his compliment complacently, for she was proud of her hair. She knew it was an affectation, but she did not try to deny it.
If he has his pride, and if I admit some parts of it may be justified,
she thought,
then I shall permit myself a bit of vanity myself. I am only human, after all.

“It must reach below your waist. I never dreamed it was so long!”

“That is why I braid it before going to sleep. Otherwise, it would be terribly tangled in the morning and would take hours to comb out.”

“Especially given what I have planned for you tonight,” he said slyly, laying all the pins he had removed aside and picking up the brush. “Sarah would have her hands full removing tangles in the morning.”

She said something inaudible as he began to brush her hair in long strokes, but he only smiled and continued working. Finally, he finished, divided her hair into three equal sections, and commenced braiding it in a loose knot.

“You appear to know far too much about the care of a woman’s hair, William,” she said archly. “I thought your experience was limited.”

“Ah, jealous already!” he said cheerfully. “But the answer is straightforward. At times, when Georgiana and I travelled, she preferred for me to provide assistance rather than her maid. So I at least learned how to brush and braid her hair.”

“A most excellent brother, as she said.”

“She is too generous — I have not been as good at the job as I should have been,” he said darkly, remembering the near-disastrous day at Ramsgate when he barely prevented George Wickham from accomplishing his nefarious plan. Elizabeth heard the darkness but firmly clamped her lips together; if he wanted to speak of the past, she would let him. But she would not enquire. It was unnecessary to
their
life.

“Nearly finished,” he said finally. “How should…ah, thank you.”

Taking the ribbon she handed him, he quickly tied it around the end of her braid and inspected the result before nodding in satisfaction.

“Good enough,” he announced; then he put his hands around her waist and pulled her onto his knees with her back toward him. Elizabeth made no objection as his hands began to move over her shoulders, squeezing gently at the muscles on the tops of her shoulders and exploring down the line of her slender back. It felt strange, new, and quite exciting to be touched in such a way, for her innocence was complete and she had never felt anything similar in all her life.

She shivered as his hands moved to her sides and then downward, following the line of her figure as it nipped in at her waist; then she shivered again as his hands moved around her to her stomach. She involuntarily sucked in her stomach as she felt his strong hands on her belly.

Then she felt his touch move upwards, toward her chest, and her desire was as urgent as his as she suddenly gripped the backs of his hands. Surprised, he paused, thinking she was stopping him.

His surprise vanished as she whispered, “Please, yes…yes,” and moved his hands up to her breasts, arching her chest against his palms. They remained like that for long moments as her head sagged back against his chest, the top of her head just below his chin.

Finally, he said, his voice soft and tender, “I have also wanted to do that for some time, Elizabeth.”

“It passed through my mind on occasion,” she said, equally softly.

“But now I am afraid that we are reaching the limits of my patience,” he said, his voice somewhat ragged. “Since you have challenged me to find a way to satisfy my beastly urges without recourse to your maid…”

“You are a man of surprising possibilities, William” she said demurely. “I am sure you will think of something.”

“I already have, my dear. I shall begin to remove your clothing myself…”

“Beastly urges indeed!” she cried happily.

“Do not forget that I promised to kiss you everywhere, dearest Elizabeth,” he said, his lips nuzzling her ear, and Elizabeth gave an involuntary gasp as she imagined his lips moving over her bare skin.

“Oh, my,” she whispered.

“Yes,” he responded, inhaling her fresh, clean scent mixed with the delicate jasmine of her perfume. “But we shall explore together, my dear. I shall remove an item of your clothing, and you shall remove an item of mine, and so on.”

She felt a shiver of delight run down her spine, and she pressed his hands harder against her breasts. But her spirit was inspired to merriment, and she said coyly, “Your idea does have an exploratory spirit, William. But how long do you think we can continue your game?”

“That is an intriguing question,” he said as his hands left her chest and moved to the back of her neck, where he began to unfasten the first button. “We can only answer that question by trying.”

By now, Darcy had unfastened several buttons, and he opened her dress enough to lightly kiss the bare skin of her back.

“Then,” she said, her voice suddenly as ragged as his, “might I suggest that you hurry? Please?”

“Your wish is my command, my love,” he said earnestly, and his fingers began to fly.