"If he was alerted to the trip the night before they left and immediately sent the express, that means they are no further than a day behind this missive" said the Duke of Derbyshire after having been urgently summoned to Huxby by its master.
"Which means we have mere hours to remove Lizzy and any traces of her from the estate" said Mr. Linton. "Why the devil they suddenly thought to check here, I know not."
"Elizabeth and her aunt believes if they were to come this way, it would be at the behest of the third Bennet daughter" said the duke. "What damnable luck that they would do so when she still has over a fortnight until her majority!"
"My thoughts exactly. We all thought we had passed the period of alarm" said the stressed out Mr. Linton.
"Apparently not" said the frustrated duke. "I want her at Pemberley immediately. Elizabeth expressed some concerns about the propriety of her staying at the estate now that we are engaged, and I would like to invite your entire family to ease her concerns. There could be nothing improper seen in such a thing."
"While I can only agree with you, I am hesitant to leave the estate, only to return and immediately head to town for two months. Margaret will be more than happy to accompany her there, and I am sure she will want to bring the children with her. That will be everything proper as well" said Mr. Linton.
"Yes, I am sure it will help alleviate her concerns" said the duke gratefully. "I will send Elizabeth's under ladies' maid and one of her chamber maids from Pemberley to help her pack. I know you have your own servants and she has her maid, but I want to make sure no trace is left of her here. Not even so much as one of those things ladies use to hold their hair up."
"They call them pins, Your Grace. Hair pins" said Mr. Linton in amusement.
"Right. I do not want even one hair pin of hers left here!" the duke declared before he and Linton got down to planning how to handle the residents of Longbourn on their arrival.
FD****************************FD
"Mr. Darcy!" cried Elizabeth in shock that night as she spent her first night at Pemberley as its future mistress after her hasty removal from Huxby. The duke had just seemingly walked through her wall to her complete surprise, and she knew not what to make of it as she scrambled to put on the dressing gown she had just discarded.
"Shhh, dearest" he said as he stalked towards her. "You would not want to alert anyone to my presence in your bedchambers."
"What are you doing in my bedchambers, sir?! And what if someone has seen you enter?" asked a still shocked Elizabeth.
"I assure you I came undetected. I did not put you on the floor beneath my chambers to adhere to propriety as I said, my love" he said as he took her into his arm and kissed her passionately, which she at first resisted but was soon willingly returning his ardor.
He ran his hands down her back, thrilled at being able to feel her skin through her thin dressing gown and nightdress, able to kiss her properly for the first time since the day he asked her to marry him. The kisses that he had to sneak while chaperones were inattentive, or after pulling her behind a tree as they walked in full view of others were inadequate. She buried her hand in his hair as she sank into the kiss before she knew what she was about, the feel of his gentle touch so close to her skin sent shivers down her spine.
"I am sorry for intruding on you so, dearest, but I could not stay away a moment longer" he said after breaking off the heated kiss, still holding her in his arms. "You being here in our home as my future wife brings me such pleasure, and I just wanted to be near you."
"How did you get in here? I did not notice a door in the wall" she said as she left his arms to go and inspect the wall he had appeared through.
"Hidden passages" he explained as he came over and opened the hard to detect door. "I put you here because there is a direct passage from my chambers into this one. I only have to walk through a similar door, and down a few stairs, and here I am" he said as he closed the door and took her back into his arms. "Are you upset that I have imposed upon you so? If you are I shall leave immediately, never to return" he said hesitantly, now not so sure about his impulsiveness.
Instead of a verbal answer, she stood on her toes and kissed him soundly. Bringing a smile to his lips before he took hers. Before he knew what he was about he had swept her up in his arms and deposited her on the bed. He paused to stare down at her handsome countenance, hardly able to fathom that she was in his home at last, before kissing her with all the love he had for her.
"I cannot wait until we wed and I can make you mine in every way, dearest" he panted in between kisses. "Can I lie with you and just hold you awhile, my Elizabeth?"
She answered by scooting further into the bed and silently lifting the covers. He quickly and happily divested himself of his dressing gown, and joined her in the bed. Holding her close while they held a whispered conversation, exchanging declarations of love between passionate touches and kisses before he softly kissed her to sleep.
Elizabeth's eyes flew open as she heard someone moving outside of her bed, the heavy drapes thankfully closed. She shot up in shock at seeing her smiling betrothed still in her bed. He quietly pulled her back down with his finger over his lips to silence her as a chambermaid stoked the fire only a few feet away. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she looked at him with widened eyes, upset to see that smirk still on his face.
"Mr. Darcy!" she whispered angrily before he immediately silenced her with a kiss, making her quickly forget the maid that was still moving around her chambers.
"Quiet, my love" he whispered in her ear, his warm breath sending shivers down her body. "It would not due to have to marry immediately because I was caught indecently in your bed by your chambermaid" he said as he kissed her again, his hands roaming over her body.
"Mr. Darcy!" she repeated, not knowing whether to be angry or amused at his daring to find humor in their awkward situation.
"Yes, Mrs. Darcy?" he whispered as he kissed down her neck, making her swallow a moan at his exploration.
She abruptly sat up and pushed him away as soon as she heard the maid leave the room, causing him to chuckle in amusement.
"I am not yet your wife, sir! Why are you still in my bed?" she asked, having chosen to be amused at the situation she never thought she would find herself in as her betrothed displayed his beautiful dimples for her.
"I tried to remove myself several times, madam, but you would not comply. You were wrapped around me like a beautiful little monkey, and I could not free myself from your clutches."
"A monkey?!" she exclaimed, insulted by the comparison.
"Yes. I saw a family of monkeys at the Royal Menagerie years ago before the great tragedy saw them removed. The father was warding off onlookers who were poking at them, while the baby was wrapped around his mother, holding on for dear life, its limbs seemingly everywhere as he clung to her. His arms and legs seemed extraordinarily long and looked as if they were wrapped twice round" he laughed "Even while she ran or swung on the bars surrounding them, he held on. You were like that last night whenever I tried to free myself from your clutches, my beautiful little monkey" he said with a kiss.
"Because I am such a very large woman who you could not overpower and extract yourself from?" she asked in amusement as she hit him with a pillow.
"Precisely" he said as he pinned her beneath him and kissed her. "You are uncommonly strong for such a tiny slip of a woman, monkey" he said, loving the new appellation he had given her as he suckled on her earlobe, causing her to moan which made him smile.
"Get out of my bed, Your Grace" said Elizabeth who felt as if she was melting under his roaming tongue. "Go!" she said against her will. "My maid will be moving around my dressing room soon, and I am sure the maids that attend your chambers are wondering at your absence."
"My drapes are drawn, they shan't know I am missing, monkey" he said as he continued to kiss her before reluctantly breaking off his kisses, willing his ardor to cool as he got up and put on his dressing gown before leaning down to kiss her goodbye. "That was the best night of my life, my love, and I cannot wait until we wed" he said before leaving the way he came, leaving behind a smiling and blushing Elizabeth who could not believe she spent the night in his arms.