I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to update, I got a little distracted with reading, university and my World Book Night event! Guess which book I was giving away? Anyway thank you to all those who have sent me reviews, it's so lovely to hear people like the story and it really helped me get my butt in gear and finish this chapter!
I really hope you like it and I promise there will be more soon! =D Muchly love and happy reading!
Elizabeth woke to soft lips pressing against her own and knowing exactly who they belonged to her eyes remained closed as she pulled her husband on top of her to enjoy the feel of him pressing into the contours on her body. The thoughts of last night came racing back into her mind as they kissed, his hands tangling in her chocolate curls and hers gripping on to him for dear life as they lost sight of the real world for a while and became one. Too soon for both of them they were lying in each other's arms trying to catch their breath. Darcy watched her as the faint pink flush that coloured her cheeks rescinded, seeing how her eyes once again fluttered close and being amazed at her beauty as a smile graced her perfectly pink lips. She could feel his gazed upon her and felt she had to break the moment before he became too entranced and started the whole process again,
"And good morning to you too Mr Darcy," She said it in a breathy voice that made him want an instant repeat even more than he had seconds before, he knew from her expression that she has enjoyed the attention as much as he had; he could not help but feel an intense satisfaction in his ability to please her and a blissful calm at the fact he would be the only one ever allowed to be this close to her in this way. She was his and he was her and nothing would ever take that away from them. Suddenly he realised he hadn't replied, her teasing smirk told him she was amused by his thoughtful gaze, but really she just wanted to know what he was thinking.
"Well I thought you deserved a proper welcome to your new home Mrs Darcy." He loved the way that in the most intimate of situations they teased each other with their formal names, knowing there was no need for such formality, but enjoying the moment much more than the times she used his name in anger.
"Oh and last night was not a proper welcome?" Her voice was full of humour as she watched colour rise in his cheek, she was running her hand over his well defined torso in order to remind him of the passion that had been felt in the room the night before.
"No dear Wife. This is your first morning as mistress of your new home and should be treated thus."
"Fitzwilliam," She laughed, "You are funny." She kissed him whilst he was still bathing in the joy he felt when she said his name and he only just managed to catch her arm to stop her as she made an effort to get out of bed.
"Where exactly do you think you are going?" He held her gently, but she was still forced to stay upon the bed, mostly because she didn't feel the need to fight, but also because she loved the way his thumb was drawing circles upon her wrist. She looked at him before she answered and couldn't help but laugh at the look upon his face, which was something akin to a child losing his favourite toy or dropping his ice-cream from the cone.
"As you rightly said, it is my first morning in my new home and I would like to become more acquainted with it. Also your sister and cousin are likely waiting on us in the breakfast room and it would be rude of us not to attend to them." He was still looking at her with puppy like eyes, but sighed and released her arm knowing she was sensible in her response. He watched for a few moments as she moved towards her dressing table to start her morning toilette, ringing the bell as she went, but sooner than he really wished to he too rose from bed, unlocked the adjoining door to his chamber and disappeared through it; of course he glanced back once as he closed the door, already missing the company of his beautiful wife.
!
"Lizzie, how well you look!" Georgiana practically squealed as her new sister-in-law stepped into the breakfast room followed by her brother, and if Elizabeth had had a response it was blown away as the eighteen year old flung herself into the older woman's arms. Even before the embrace was broken Georgiana was again speaking, this time at a rapid pace that didn't allow Lizzie to even answer in the affirmative, though there was a bright smile, directed at the girl before her, firmly fixed on her face. "Oh Lizzie it's been so lonely without you to talk to. I've missed you so much and Richard is the best cousin in the world, but it's not like having you here. And your letters didn't tell me near enough how your trip was. I want to hear all about Wordsworth. Did I tell you how unbearable Caroline was after you and Will left? It was like someone had spilt something on her favourite orange dress. Poor Jane, I honestly can't believe she didn't demand Caroline leave her house immediately; though I suppose she is her Sister-in-law now. Oh I'm so grateful I have you and not someone like that witch…."
"Georgie, Stop!" Darcy finally said loud enough to interrupt his sister, for which he received a glare from both women in the room, though his tone was more humoured than harsh, "Let Elizabeth breathe and come here and hug your favourite brother." And though Georgie was still glaring, she allow herself to be enveloped into her older brother's arm, feeling all the safety and love which he had to offer;
"I've missed you Wills." She said quietly in his ear before he let her go and she was amazed at the brightness in the smile she received, married life obviously suited the elder Darcy sibling.
"I know Georgie and we missed you to." As he said it Elizabeth stepped up and took her arm,
"Come now, sit by me and I will tell you all about the Lakes, if you promise to tell me all about, what did you call her… 'The Witch,'" As they sat, Elizabeth became aware of the other presence at the table, "Oh Richard, you were so uncharacteristically quiet I didn't see you." The gentleman across from her was laughing and had been laughing at the scene before him.
"I see I am easily forgotten and I am quite offended at the idea that I am, how did our dear Georgie put it," Winking at the girl, "Not as well as you, dear new Cousin." He stood up to embrace Darcy.
"I see you have looked after my sister well Fitzwilliam, I almost expected to come back and find her completely changed, or married, or having a wish to join the army and to go off and fight Napoleon." Richard pulled a face at this accusation,
"I'm shocked you think so little of my skills Darcy. You know full well there is no one good enough to marry our Georgiana and though her fencing skills are now superior to yours…" At this point Georgie was so red she had buried her face in Elizabeth's shoulder. "I would not risk her pretty little head in sending her off to war."
"I'm glad to hear it, though I thought you said you would desist in teaching her to play with swords." Darcy loved the easiness of conversation and it made him realise how much he loved and admired the three people in the room with him at that moment.
"Excuse me, I am present you realise." Georgie remind them, as she was more than a little indignant about the present conversation. "And if I want to learn how to fence I will do so, plus you only want me to stop because you know that I am better than you Will." And with that she stuck her tongue out in the most unladylike fashion, but it made Elizabeth laugh even more than she had before and tears of mirth started to roll their way down her cheeks.
"Georgie, look what you've done to dear Mrs Darcy, I think you might have broken her." Richard commented, catching the older lady's eye, which only made her laugh harder until she found in hard to breath in between giggles. Darcy who loved nothing more than when his wife was laughing, the sparkle in her eyes and the sound reminding him of bells, grabbed her hand across the table and grinned at her as she tried to calm herself down.
"I'm sorry" she said slightly breathless, "It's just once I'd started I couldn't stop and the three of you together are like a travelling show. How have I not been permitted to see it before now?"
"Well Mrs Darcy…" Richard started before he was interrupted.
"Please Richard stop. Whilst I love being Mrs Darcy you really must call me Lizzie, or at least Elizabeth, I hate the formality, especially with family." He laughed at this but continued, though he put specific emphasis on her name,
"Ok Lizzie. As you have just said we are family and only family get to see 'The Three Musketeers' real nature." As he said it Elizabeth choked on the tea she was sipping and both the Darcy's at the table went bright red, wishing he had never uttered the nickname they had given themselves years ago, but as Lizzie continued to cough, Darcy rushed round the other side of the table to help her, knowing that she was holding back laughter as well as trying to breath. Fortunately it gave Georgiana time to have words with her cousin,
"What happened to never mentioning that again Richard Andrew Fitzwilliam? It was meant to be a secret." Her glare was enough to scare Caroline Bingley, but Richard she smiled nonchalantly at her.
"Well Elizabeth is part of our troop now and I doubt Darcy would have kept it secret forever."
"I can't believe you even remember Fitzwilliam." Darcy replied, still rubbing his wife's back as she sipped the water he had provided. "After all it must be twelve years ago now."
"Are you three telling me that you actually called yourself that…?" Elizabeth's voice was incredulous as she looked between the three new members of her family. "And when you were no less than seventeen William?"
"Well Richard was eighteen!" Her husband argued with a sheepish look on his face as he pleaded with her not to tease them.
"And very proud of the fact Ma'am," Richard gave Elizabeth a dramatic bow as he admitted to it, only making them all laugh more and in turn made Georgiana admit that it was due to this that she knew how to duel,
"I was Pathos and therefore I needed to be able to fight as well as the boys did, though I was only five and not very good at the time."
"Well how are you able to beat William now then Georgie?" Inquired the only member of the group not to understand, after all Elizabeth had never been allowed near a sabre and definitely not allowed to use one. Of course Georgiana only needed to say one word, a word that made one of them blush, one of them glare and the other two to laugh ridiculously loud.
"Richard…!" Laughing at the look on the two men's faces and enjoying the fact that Elizabeth understood the implications of such a confession, after all her brother had thought it has stopped a couple of years ago, but Richard had always seen the use in his little cousin being able to protect herself, though he had been very clear in telling her not to admit to such a skill as it was not ladylike and definitely not something a gentlewoman should have knowledge of.
"Oh this is the best thing I have heard in days," Elizabeth said in glee and turning to her husband, with wide pleading eyes she asked, "Will" Fluttering her eyelids delicately, "Can you teach me please?" And the incredulous look he gave her made her giggle even more, before he once again glared at Richard and walked out of the room sighing with indignation as he did.
"I think we upset him." Guffawed Richard as he turned back to him breakfast and ignored the look the two women at the table gave him.
!
Before Elizabeth was able to find her sulking husband, Mrs Reynolds found her saying she had the household assembled to introduce to the new mistress and before she knew what was happening she was being presented to the largest group of servants she had ever met: from scullery maids to footmen, she was given so many names her head was starting to spin. The gardeners were all present, along with the head groomsman and his staff. All of them left the hall amazed at the polite, handsome new Mrs Darcy and within an hour of the introductions the news had spread to Lambton that the Mistress was a kind and wonderful woman, though Elizabeth didn't find this out until much later. Bridget, her lady's maid was also present, along with her husband's valet who she took great pleasure in meeting, requesting that he call her Elizabeth as she had with Bridget, and last of all she was again introduced to the Butler Mr Davis, the house steward Mr Foxall and the head cook Mrs Myers. Her housekeeper was very efficient in the introductions and though she knew she would never remember all their names at once she felt she had made a good impression and spent a reasonable amount of time become acquainted with everyone, but she wanted to find William and would have if she hadn't been asked for a private audience with the upper staff, with Mrs Reynolds stating the importance of the Christmas season and due to it being so close the need for conformation on the plans Miss Georgiana had laid out.
"I'm sure her plans are fine," Elizabeth said, not wanting to upset Georgie or seem to be an inadequate mistress by doing something wrong, but seeing the worried look on the staff's faces, continued with "though seeing the importance of the matter I will happily look over them with you all. Mrs Reynolds will you arrange some tea for us all please." She allowed herself to be taken to a small parlour, which was obviously used for this type of business, and Mrs Myers immediately went into explanations about the menus planned for the season. Elizabeth tried hard to keep a warm smile on her face as she was presented with day after day of food plans, but even before Mrs Reynolds had returned with the tea tray Elizabeth Darcy new mistress of Pemberley was overwhelmed.
!
Much to his disgust Darcy was sulking and he hated the fact, not liking that on his first morning at home with his wife he had felt the need to storm off over something petty. At first he had done it to be dramatic and silly, but as the morning went on and Elizabeth didn't come to where he was hiding in the library he started to wonder if she actually wanted to find him. His thoughts took him to considering if she wanted to spend time with him or if she just enjoyed teasing him so much that she didn't mind upsetting him or if she had just married him for access to Pemberley. In reality he knew he was being petulant, he knew that she loved him more than anything else, but he had been planning an amazing day for her, a tour of the house, a trip to the summer house that he had reopened specially for her (it had been shut up for years and years) and a picnic lunch to be had in the upstairs gallery, just the two of them. He had wanted it to be perfect and he had wanted her to fall as much in love with her new home as he was, in fact he wanted her to consider it her home; but she hadn't searched him out and it was now hours later and he was getting more and more irritated.
In the hours he had spent alone in the library he had been able to have an impromptu meeting with his Land Steward, who gave him a full report of the estate for the time he had been away. He liked and trusted Mr Reynolds implacably, but this morning he had been sharp and impolite with him, not wanting to be bothered with the details and when the elder gentleman had looked at him with knowing eyes and said,
"Don't jump to conclusions before you know the details sir." He had just glared and 'humppppf' until the man had left him alone. He was fairly ashamed of himself for his behaviour, but he couldn't understand Elizabeth's. He started to think about her rush to leave their bed that morning and wondered whether he had done something wrong, had he hurt her or was she lying when she had said she love the changes in her suite. By the time the bell rang for food he had come up with so many mythical problems he was ready to fall to her knees and beg for forgiveness and in his head now was the right time to do so. He practically ran to the dining room only to find a shocked Georgiana and Richard staring at him and wondering where Lizzie was.
"Have you lost your wife all ready Darcy?" Smirked his cousin at the same time as Georgiana asked,
"Where's Lizzie? I thought she was with you since she disappeared after breakfast." In stark comparison to their cousin, his sister's expression held faint worry within it, she knew her brother well enough to know he had expected his wife to be here.
"I'm…um…not sure…" He faltered, but immediately wished he hadn't as Richard also looked up with concerned eyes.
"She left here just after you." He said, "She was determined to follow you and I couldn't convince her to let you sulk for longer."
"She never found me and I was only in the library." His voice was still nervous, but he was trying to hide the fact he was starting to worry about his wife. He had hardly been apart from her for over a month and to not know her exact whereabouts was getting to him, unfortunately though Georgiana knew him too well and tried to say reassuringly,
"I'm sure she is in the house somewhere, it's rather big you know and so easy to get lost in." Darcy smiled at her, silently thanking her for her sisterly actions.
"I'm sure your right Georgie," Richard agreed, "Now Darcy stop worrying and I'm sure your queen will come searching for her King in no time." His tone took on a similar light hearted note to Georgiana's as he teased his younger cousin.
"Maybe…" He didn't really agree, "But I'm going to look for her anyway, find her first, but you two enjoy your luncheon and don't worry about saving any for us." He didn't give them enough time to disagree with him and walked out of the room feeling an odd sense of de ja vu as he went from room to room looking for Elizabeth. After looking into her suite and asking her maid Bridget if she had seen his wife he was starting to consider looking outside in the snow. He had sat down on the settee by the fire in her sitting room, worried that she had tripped and fallen somewhere or had got locked in an unused room, when he heard a sobbing coming through the closed door of her study and he scolded himself for not checking in there.
He opened the door quietly so not to startle her and said,
"Elizabeth dearest I thought we had decided not to hide from one another," he made his way over to where she was curled up in a large arm chair and knelt in front of her. "Especially when one of us is upset," taking her hand and kissing it gently with a kind smile on his face and loving eyes gazing at her tear stricken face.
"I'm sorry Fitzwilliam," she hiccough, paused and then took a steadying breath, "but I'm not strong enough to be…" the tears came more freely, "or good enough to be…to be…mistress of your beautiful home." And with her broken words she pulled away from him and rushed from the room, leaving a shocked Mr Darcy kneeling on the floor, looking at the chair his wife had been in seconds before.
