Disclaimer: still not mine…sigh

Elizabeth clutched her uncle's arm for support as her eyes remained steadfastly on her feet. To her, the alleged protracted march to the altar appeared to pass all too hurriedly. She sensed her uncle halt and recognized that she had come to the end. She turned and placed the softest kiss upon her uncle's scruffy cheek before accepting Mr. Darcy's arm and walking the few steps up the altar.

Darcy, for one, was unable to eradicate his gaze from the form of his striking bride. Her lips had a natural curvature and plumpness, which made them comparable in allure to a budding rose. Her skin seemed almost porcelain in the dim church light and was graced with the palest flush. At this moment, his favourite pair of eyes remained downturned, their long lashes occasionally fluttering when she blinked.

The ceremony passed in a haze, both of them managing to speak when required yet not truly paying attention to the words. Elizabeth was determined to pretend that she was elsewhere and Darcy could not pay attention to anything but her.

"I hereby proclaim you, man and wife. Sir, you may kiss the bride."

Both were startled out of their reveries and Darcy was finally able to catch a glimpse of Elizabeth's fine eyes. He slowly descended, placing a kiss scandalously close to her lips, yet Elizabeth could do naught but stare.

Cheers erupted, mostly from the Bennets and Gardiners, whilst Caroline Bingley struggled to reign in her tears. Darcy laughed gaily, far too unconcerned with appearances at that moment to care. Elizabeth turned to stare at her husband in shock! Surely such a lighthearted sound had not come from such a bad-tempered man as Darcy! And in joy for his marriage to her?

Elizabeth could not continue her train of thought, however, as she felt a light tugging at her arm, and followed Mr. Darcy on to the street while rice was tossed at them by joyous guests, before they entered their elaborate carriage. Everything seemed to pass by in a hurried frenzy, her memories of just moments before becoming unclear. Elizabeth stared wistfully out the window at the happy wedding guests, ready to go celebrate in one of the small pubs while she was headed to one of the greatest tests of her life.

Marriage to Mr. Darcy.

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"Mr. Darcy!" exclaimed Mrs. Reynolds upon the couple's arrival at Pemberley. She cast a sly glance at Elizabeth, "and this must be Mrs. Darcy, I am overjoyed at the prospect of Pemberley finally having a mistress."

Elizabeth smiled appreciatively at the woman's kindness but felt slightly nauseous at being referred to as Mrs. Darcy. She shuddered slightly.

Darcy noticed his bride's slight shiver and wrapped his arm around her, thinking her to be cold. Once again, Elizabeth was astonished at his sudden affection for her. Did he simply believe that it was now his duty to act this way or did he truly fancy himself in love with her?

"It's a pleasure to meet you but I must admit," Elizabeth pronounced slowly as she bit her bottom lip, "it is a strange occurrence to anyone in acquaintance with my family that I be the first to marry. We all thought my eldest sister, superior to us all in grace and beauty, would be the first to enter such an arrangement."

Mrs. Reynolds smiled unaware of Elizabeth's intention to test Mr. Darcy's reaction. However, much to her disappointment, his face betrayed nothing.

Darcy, however, had not heard a word of Elizabeth's comment, instead finding himself enraptured by her bottom lip as her teeth slowly grazed it.

"Well, it would only be proper of me to give our new mistress a tour of the estate, Mr Darcy would you –"

"That will not be necessary Mrs. Reynolds, this is a celebratory day and you are to relax and enjoy yourself. I shall give Mrs. Darcy a tour in your stead," Darcy interrupted, as he smiled indulgently at his kindly housekeeper.

Mrs. Reynold's glowed with affection at her master and his new mistress, "I offer my thanks and another congratulations. I suppose it is well that I already prepared Mrs. Darcy's room and the marital bed, I think I shall retire to the gardens."

Elizabeth blanched as Mrs. Reynolds turned to leave, but was unable to think further on what the woman had said as Darcy lightly tugged her arm to begin the tour.

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Elizabeth stared in wonder at the grand halls and beautiful décor of Pemberley. To think! She was mistress of all this splendor! Darcy seemed pleased with her absorption and felt at liberty to pull her closer to his side.

The last stop of Darcy's tour was the gallery with portraits of the many Darcys. She felt her eyes drawn to the portrait of Mr. Darcy's likeness. She could do naught but notice that he was indeed a very handsome man. He was blessed in stature, towering over her small frame, and there was something pleasant about his aristocratic features. She attempted to subtly compare the man next to her to the painting and found that it did indeed do him justice.

Darcy found his wife's attempts at subtlety amusing, yet felt a glimmer of pride at her fascination with his portrait.

"Elizabeth," he began, enjoying that he could refer to her now by just her Christian name, "I have shown you the majority of this estate and perhaps I shall show you the grounds tomorrow. However, the sun appears to be almost completely gone from the sky and I believe that it is time for us to retire."

Elizabeth's face immediately turned scarlet. She was aware of what her marriage entailed yet could not help herself from feeling rather light-headed and clammy. She swallowed deeply as Darcy led her to her room. Her mother had warned her that the wedding night could be painful but it was also absolutely pertinent that she keep her temper in check, for this night would be the night that she would gain control over her husband.

Darcy led Elizabeth to her new chambers, which happened to be more opulent and delicately furnished than she had ever seen a bedchamber be before. She turned to remark on it to Darcy, but found that before she could open her mouth, his lips had descended upon hers. She felt at a loss of what to do, yet felt a keen disappointment that she had been caught so unaware and unprepared for her first kiss – even if it was destined to be with someone as disagreeable as Mr. Darcy. Hesitantly, she began to mimic his actions in the ridiculous hope that her compliance would make him cease. Was not it her constant resistance and recalcitrance that endeared him to her in the first place?

However, Darcy seemed to push more and more once he believed her open to it. Eventually she could not continue this farce due to the awkwardness and discomfort she felt. She stiffened and he pulled away with an understanding look on his face.

"Yes, I shall give you time to freshen up and prepare yourself, it must have been an overwhelming day for you," he ceded before turning to head to his own chamber.

Elizabeth gaped at his retreating form in shock. Surely he did not recognize someone's feelings other than his own! He was not overly affectionate by any means, yet Elizabeth noted the subtle changes in his normally cold behaviour. Why must he confuse her so?! The day had been strange enough without his new manners!

Elizabeth collapsed on her bed pondering how much time she had before he returned. She suspected not long, so she hurriedly changed into the nightgown left by Mrs. Reynolds and gently dabbed at her face with the cloth left in her washbasin. She then took to the task of unpinning her hair to let her long curls down. She had reached the end of this chore when she heard a soft knock on her door before it opened to reveal the man she had sworn to loathe for all eternity.

Her husband.

A/N: short and uneventful, I know…originally this chapter was going to include the wedding night but I thought I'd get some opinions first.

Does anyone want to read any details about the wedding night or should I skip to the next morning? I know what I want (hee hee) but I'm going to let you guys control this one.

Also, I know Elizabeth seemed kind of dull in this chapter but I'm attributing that to the fact that it was a long, hard day for her so she's kind of in a daze. It has nothing to do with me being in a lazy and tired daze myself and not wanting to be bothered to come up with fitting witticisms…not at all. Next time I swear she'll be extra witty and fiery…by my standards. BUT considering that I am neither witty nor fiery…don't expect much

OO and Darcy kind of seems like cardboard cut-out right now…but the next chapter is going to focus mainly on him…I should give him a little personality considering he is my god.

Once again, thanks to all of you awesome reviewers…let me know what you want to see happen!