Mr. Darcy's Promise (42 page)

“When did you actually have your staff make the swing? We left for Hertfordshire less than two hours after we were going to look for the perfect spot. You were in your study with Richard for most of it.”

“I had them start on it the morning before we were going to go looking, before you had even come down for breakfast. I knew it was important to you, so I assigned the task as soon as possible.” When Elizabeth looked at him with such adoration, he felt embarrassed. “It is just a board with holes that has been sanded down. It is hardly the most momentous of occasions.”

“It is to me and that is what makes it so special. Thank you.” She leaned in and kissed him, her lips lingering there a little longer than usual.

“Well then, I suppose I need to climb a tree and make you a swing!” He reluctantly let go of her and opened the satchel. He removed the paper from the seat of the swing before pulling out the ropes. He scanned the branches for the perfect candidate. “Which one would you like it on?”

“That straight one right there— facing the river. That way when I swing I can have the river under me at the peak of the pendulum. But be careful, William.”

His hands were full with the rope, but he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “I will.” He adjusted the rope, throwing it over his shoulder before he headed for the trunk. Luckily, it looked like an easy tree to climb with thick branches that would hold his weight. He climbed it easily and reached the designated branch. He used the branch above him to hold onto as he walked far enough out. He then carefully squatted down and straddled the branch before taking the ropes and draping them across the branch. He measured the height as best he could. “Is that low enough? I will need enough rope to tie to the ends of the board.”

“Yes, I think
so, they are just now at the ground.” She felt a prickle of nervousness at seeing him so high. She watched as he tied each rope to the branch and pulled hard on the knots.

“I think that will do it. I am coming down now.” He carefully made his way back towards the trunk and took carefully placed foot and hand holds as he descended. He jumped from the last branch and landed squarely on his feet.

Elizabeth was so grateful he made it down safely that she immediately ran and hugged him tightly. “That was quite graceful. I will have to add that to you list of graceful skills.”

“Hmm, I will take that as a compliment. Every successful man needs to be graceful. For when I do business deals and am at a standoff in negotiations, I shall turn their minds towards agreement simply because I am graceful at climbing a tree.”

She giggled. “Indeed, it is very important in negotiating business deals.”

He lowered his voice and brought his lips to her ear, making sure to brush up against it, “It is good you think I am graceful, for I am very good at negotiating . . .”

Elizabeth felt chills up and down her spine as his deeply sensual voice echoed over and over again in her ear. Somehow she felt like they were not talking about business deals anymore or even climbing trees.

*****

Elizabeth kept stealing glances at her husband over dinner. He would meet her eyes and give a smirk, and then she would smile and look away. A few times when this happened she gave him her most saucy look, daring him to look away first. It never seemed to work; probably because he knew her thoughts and that awareness filled her with embarrassment. He caught her staring at the rise and fall of his cravat a few times as well, causing her to blush and look away, feeling the heat in her face. She was doing just that when her very pleasant thoughts were interrupted.

Richard had seen the silent exchanges between the newlyweds and was feeling a little giddy
himself. “So, Elizabeth, do you know how chickens dance?”

Elizabeth colored; Mr. Darcy’s smiling face caught her eye briefly as she looked up from his chest. She turned to Richard in an attempt to reclaim her composure. “Even with all my experience with chickens, I must admit I cannot think of anything to say to answer that question, but I have no doubt you will tell me.”

“Indeed I will, but I shall apologize beforehand. It is admittedly not my best joke, but I have to say something before the two of you burst into flames.” Seeing the discomfort he intended to appear on both their faces, he grinned and continued, “Chickens dance chick to chick! Get it? Cheek to cheek? Chick to chick? Aw, come now! That was not that bad. Darcy, you liked my joke did you not?”

Darcy gave out a chuckle, “Of course, Richard. Your jokes are exemplary. Are we ready to hear Georgiana’s Mozart’s piece she has been working on?”

They all agreed to listen to Georgiana. Darcy made sure to escort Elizabeth to the chaise away from the piano and away from where Richard had seated himself. Darcy then sat down next to her and put his arm around her. Surprisingly, in front of both Richard and Georgiana, Elizabeth tucked her feet up under her on the chaise and leaned against him, effectively eliminating his ability to appreciate the music as he would have done otherwise. It was quite some time before he realized that Georgiana had finished, and he belatedly applauded her efforts. “Quite wonderful!” he exclaimed.

Richard had had enough of the pair of lovebirds over in the corner. They were nearly entirely preoccupied with each other. “Come, Georgiana, let us go to the library and check on the cataloging process, I hear it is coming along quite nicely. I even hear the books are being replaced on the shelves which may just leave us a place to sit.” He turned to Darcy and Elizabeth and winked at them. “We will leave you two to enjoy each other’s company.”

Elizabeth watched as Richard escorted the confused Georgiana out the door of the music room. She giggled.
Poor Georgiana, she had such an emotional day and first I steal her brother from her for the entire afternoon, and now the evening.
The sympathy only lasted briefly as now the silence between she and her husband was tangible. They sat there for ten minutes with his arm around her, each in their own, but very similar, thoughts. Elizabeth spoke first. “I think I will get ready for bed. I might need my strength if I am going to have to do any
negotiating
in the future.” She heard him chuckle as she sauntered off to her room, letting her hips sway a little more than usual.

*****

Elizabeth had rung for Serafina several minutes ago and waited in her bedroom, impatient to begin the evening. When the knock finally came, she opened the door herself, eager to ready herself for the evening that awaited her. “Serafina, thank you for coming. I think I would like to ready myself for bed.”

“Yes, madam.
Would you like a bath as well?” Serafina had hoped that Mr. Darcy and Mrs. Darcy had finally come together but there was no indication that it was the case. She couldn’t help but be disappointed. They both deserved to be happy and she knew that meant giving of oneself fully.

“I think a bath would be pleasant, but we can wash my hair another night.” Elizabeth was too preoccupied to notice the disappointment in Serafina’s face. Tonight she would fall asleep in William’s arms and wake up as a truly married woman. She watched as Serafina took out her old gown and placed it on the bed. She smiled as if hiding a secret. “Serafina, tonight . . . I think I will wear the silk gown.”

Relief washed over Serafina, “Well it is about time!” She brought her hand to her mouth in embarrassment. “I am sorry madam, I just think you and the master . . .well it has been so long . . .I simply . . .”

Elizabeth let out a laugh, “It is quite all right. I assure you that I am fully aware of how long it has been.” She put her hand on Serafina’s arm. “Thank you. Thank you for helping me see what I seemed to be blind to for so long. You truly were invaluable in making sure this night finally come to pass. I have valued your advice, used it often, and I suspect will make use of it tonight as it has shown to be quite helpful— and successful, I might add.”

“And which advice will you be following, madam? Because I do not think I have ever given you advice on a wedding night, for I do not know anything about that myself. Indeed, I am certain that I would remember a conversation about that,” Serafina said a little archly, a glimmer of teasing laughter appearing in her eyes.

Elizabeth laughed. “I will have to be direct and give him only one thing to think about at a time.”

“Do not worry, Mrs. Darcy,” Serafina assured her, “in that gown I guarantee he will only be able to think about one thing and it will not matter if you try to distract him with other matters.”

For a brief moment Elizabeth’s heart fluttered. She had hoped he was just as excited as she was. Would the night would be everything it could be? She watched as Serafina left to fetch the water for the bath, then combed out her hair and twisted it up again. She still had a faint feeling of trepidation, not knowing precisely what to expect, but mostly she was eager to simply be with him. She was eager to kiss him without restraint, without one or the other pulling away.

She stepped into the water and Serafina began washing her back. When she was clean, Elizabeth did not rise, but leaned back against the tub and soaked there for a while. Serafina seemed to know she needed some time to soak and stepped out. Elizabeth simply closed her eyes and thought of his moving speech in the carriage yesterday where he told her he loved her. His words echoed in her mind once again, just as it had numerous times since then. “I love you dearest Elizabeth, I cannot spend another moment without telling you, showing you, and proving to you that I love you.” She let her mind wander, imagining all that he would do to show her and prove to her his love. She knew that without a doubt that he would be kind and gentle. She recalled this afternoon’s flirtations and numerous stolen kisses that they had shared. Their moment on the swing after he finished it was beautiful and peaceful. It wasn’t exactly like the dreams she had— she wasn’t with child and he didn’t place his hands on her lower abdomen— but he had wrapped his arms around her and kissed the tender part on her neck by her ear. After a while she heard Serafina in the room again and she opened her eyes.

Serafina smiled back at her very peaceful mistress. “Let us not keep the man waiting, for I believe he has waited long enough.” Elizabeth nodded. “While you were bathing I pressed the gown. Now it will hang on you like it should for this first time instead of looking like it was in a drawer for almost six weeks.”

Elizabeth let her dote on her more than usual, allowing her to apply her lavender oil liberally, and comb out her hair until it shined. Serafina was starting to pull it up into a plaited hairstyle when Elizabeth spoke, “I think Mr. Darcy likes my hair down. At least he said it was one of his weaknesses.”

“Then the only thing left for you, madam, is to get dressed into the silk gown.”

Elizabeth felt her heart beat a little faster. It was time. She removed her dressing gown before she slipped the nightdress over her head. The fine fabric felt cool, but immediately warmed as it slid smoothly over her skin. Serafina tied it in the front and adjusted the shoulders. Elizabeth looked in the mirror and took a deep breath. She was ready. She did not want any more delays. “Thank you again, Serafina. I think I am ready now.”

Serafina eyes widened with tears. “I know I should not cry, but you are beautiful. You are not nervous in the slightest, are you?”

Elizabeth found that she was not, and tried to think of why. “I suppose it is because I know we both have had such a natural progression of our relationship so far and to make this step seems only natural. And when you love someone emotionally so deeply, it feels impossible not to take those physical steps when the time is right because it will only make a marriage stronger.”

Serafina wiped her eyes and embraced Elizabeth briefly. “Go
now, I do not want to be the cause of making the master wait any longer.”

Elizabeth felt like she had just been embraced by her sister Jane. She watched Serafina leave the room and close the door behind her. She looked one last time in the mirror at the flowing fabric and then turned towards the door that connected their rooms. She realized that she had never entered his bedchamber before. She gently knocked. After a brief pause, she heard his masculine deep voice say,
“Coming.” So she waited. It was only a moment or two before the door was opened and she saw her husband standing in front of her. He had removed his frock coat, and waistcoat and cravat. The top buttons of his shirt were undone, exposing a very handsome chest with a hint of hair escaping from the opening. She didn’t realize how moving seeing his chest would be, and she drew in a deep breath.

She came! She is here! She is really here!
He stood there for the longest moment, allowing himself the time to just take in her beauty. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a hoarse whisper came out. “You look magnificent. I am sorry, I think I may just be content just looking at you.”

She smiled and raised her eyebrow, “Well, we may have to
negotiate
on that.” She blushed slightly, and then she watched as a slow smile crept across his face, finally reaching his handsome brown eyes.

“Indeed, I think we might have to negotiate on that later, but at the moment you take my breath away and I might just agree to anything.” He realized after speaking that they were still standing at the door, and he motioned for her to come in. He watched her beautiful form walk across the threshold, the fabric flowing and clinging to her body as she walked. The fire seemed comfortable a moment ago but he felt quite warm all the sudden. She had only taken a few steps into the room when she turned around, her hair cascading over her shoulders, and he could not help himself. He took those few steps with long strides and took her face in his hands and kissed her. He kissed her urgently and thoroughly. He felt her warm lips part against his, and the kiss deepened. His desire soared to new levels but he reminded himself if he did not stop it would not go as he planned. He reluctantly pulled away, but her hands had already found his chest and the movements were quite distracting. He took her hands in his and held them in his to regain his composure. “Wait, Elizabeth, I want to do this right.”