Life at Fitzwilliam Manor was idyllic and luxurious, two things that Diana was quite used to. She had never wanted for anything in her whole life, and yet it was not until she had officially moved in to a room in the manor, complete with her old desk and some of her paintings, did she realize that something had been missing ever since she could remember. There was a curious warmth in the house, as if it's very halls were welcoming her and attempting to make her comfortable. Certainly, the servants did more than they ought to – Diana suspected it was because of Richard's boyish charm that all the footmen bowed vigorously every time she passed by and the maids continuously asked her if she needed something – and his family was perfect, but the atmosphere itself was almost intoxicating in its pleasantness.
"I could live here forever," she had mused to Sarah only a few days after they had settled in.
"I hope you can, mum," had been her maid's earnest response.
Things with Richard had been going well, ever since that fiasco at the dinner. There had been no more entertaining, and while Lady Fitzwilliam insisted it was because she wanted to prepare for the Darcys' ball, Diana suspected the couple's nearly-discovered rendezvous had made her ladyship decide that, for the time being, it was best if outsiders would not look in on how dysfunctional they could be.
Currently, there was no hint at anything other than normalcy, however. Diana was spending her morning in the nursery with Emily and the children. She had entertained Margaret for a while, but the baby was fussy and prone to start crying as soon as foreign hands touched her, so she had quickly returned her to her mother and taken up vigil by Henry's bed, where the little boy was confined to stay until his bout of sickness passed. The bedclothes were pushed to one side and the little boy was currently propped up on every pillow that could be spared as he scribbled furiously on a paper with a set of pastels that Richard had bought for him as soon as he his fascination with drawing had begun.
"Is this good, Aunty Diana?" little Henry's enthusiasm for his aunt-to-be's approval warmed the hearts of everyone who saw it, and Diana herself was no exception. She smiled and picked up the rather wet paper the little boy had been drawing on, working hard to ensure her face showed the wonder he obviously desired.
"It is excellent, as always," she praised, inwardly hoping he would not ask her what he had made. It had started out as a bird, but he had soon decided to turn it into a dog… with wings. "You are very talented, Henry."
"Will I be as good as you one day?" he asked innocently, peering over her shoulder at the sketch she was making. His mouth fell open in awe. "That looks like Uncle Richard!"
Diana shushed him quickly, tilting the paper to the side so he could stop staring, but it was no use. Emily had heard her, and from her perch at the other end of the nursery, where she was changing Margaret, she came rushing over.
"Let me see it," she demanded, and Diana handed over the unfinished drawing reluctantly. Emily's expression mimicked her son's. "Diana, this is –"
"I really should change for dinner," interrupted Diana, snatching the drawing back and giving Henry a quick kiss on top of his head. "We will draw again tomorrow, my darling. I will see you downstairs, Emily." And she ran out.
In retrospect, there was no reason for her to panic so much, she knew that. And yet, as she clutched the drawing closer to her chest and hurried towards her room, she knew how important this was. She had always loved drawing and painting, but she had never made portraits, despite her masters often saying that she had a knack for it. She knew there was one of her father somewhere with her old things, and she had even made one of Henry and Emily once, before their marriage. There were even idle sketches of Richard's face here and there, but she had never attempted to draw anyone like this. It was not a stoic, posed picture that she often had to compose, it was raw and natural. His expression when he had looked at her that day on the balcony had not left her mind's eye, and she knew the only way to banish it from her every waking thought was to put it on paper, but perhaps the nursery had not been the best place to work on it.
Sarah was not in her room when she entered, and Diana sighed. It was too early to dress for dinner, but now that she was upstairs she knew she might as well start. She had just finished changing into a fresh dress and was in the process of brushing her hair out of the bun it had been in all day in order to make it anew when there was a light knock at the door.
"Come in," she called out, running a brush through her long tresses idly. The quick turn of the handle told her it was Sarah. "I hope you won't mind that I dressed without you, dear, but Lady Emily almost saw my drawing, and I just had to run out," she laughed lightly and finished brushing, putting it down and sighing deeply. "I really do need a haircut, it's getting quite unmanageable. Don't you agree?"
"Not at all," answered a deep voice, full of amusement and slightly breathless.
Diana whirled around in her chair in surprise, her eyes widening. "What are you doing here?"
"You let me in!" protested Richard, a small smile tugging at his lips. His eyes were fixed on her loose hair. "I had no idea your hair was quite that lovely."
Diana blushed scarlet and shook her head, turning back to her dressing-table's mirror. "You shouldn't be in here, Richard."
"You are dressing for dinner an hour early, my love, I hardly think that is my fault," he pointed out.
Diana rolled her eyes. "Then leave so I can continue getting ready!"
"You are more than welcome to continue while I sit here and admire the drawing you were so anxious to hide," Richard moved towards her desk, where she had carefully placed the paper face-down. "I assume this is it?"
In a trice, Diana was out of her seat and standing between him and the desk, the sketch clutched in her hand and hidden behind her back. Either she was afraid of him seeing it or her sudden movement had surprised even her, she did not know, but she was breathless, shaking her head and using her free hand to push Richard back.
"You're not to see it," she said firmly, making sure the paper was securely hidden from view.
"Why?" Richard raised his eyebrows. "Are we keeping secrets now, my love?"
"Of course not!" she protested. Even so, the endearment made her blush, as always.
"Then I see no reason for you to hide this," he made to snatch it out of her hands but she held it out of his reach, which resulted in him smirking and winding his arms around her waist. Diana glared. Richard chuckled. "You seem angry."
"I can't imagine why," hissed Diana.
"Nor can I," he agreed solemnly.
Diana groaned. "Go away, Richard."
Richard ignored her. "Perhaps I have been too gentlemanly with you," he mused, his eyes still twinkling mischievously as he twirled a thick lock of her hair around his finger. "The fact that you are more fearsome than Napoleon himself when I take liberties is certainly a part of it, of course –" Diana snorted at his comparison. "– but I do believe you think I am incapable of getting what I want simply because you want something else."
Diana rolled her eyes. "You are making absolutely no sense."
"Aren't I? Allow me to explain," his face grew closer, and Diana bit her lip, her breath catching in her throat despite her best attempts to seem uninterested. Richard was not fooled. "Put the drawing down, Diana," he murmured, his hands travelling along her waist to her lower back, where he pressed her forward until she was flush against his chest. Her cheeks coloured, but she made no move to back away. However, she did not let go of the paper. "I won't touch it," he assured her. "You have my word."
Diana hesitated, but her curiosity got the better of her and she let the drawing flutter back onto the desk, leaving her hand free. Richard nudged it with his own until it was lightly resting against his shoulder. "Richard," her voice was breathless, and the tone surprised even her. Richard smirked. Diana could not bring herself to react to his smug expression – he was far too close. "W-what are you doing?"
"I told you I would not kiss you until you wanted me to," he reminded her. His lips brushed against her forehead as he trailed them down from the crown of her head to her jaw, where he paused. "Breathe, darling," he chuckled, and Diana sucked in a breath of air, her heart stuttering when she realized she had stopped breathing when his lips had touched her skin. "I foolishly thought you would want me sooner rather than later," he continued, moving towards the hollow of her ear and pulling back just before he touched her neck, far enough so that his forehead rested against hers, but still close enough that she could count the flecks of green in his dark eyes. "I did not realize I would need to seduce you in order to get what I want."
"S-seduce me?" stammered Diana. Her hand unconsciously tightened against his shirt, and Richard's smirk grew at her flustered state. She did not notice. "W-what do y-you mean?"
"You seem to have trouble breathing when I am close to you," he said teasingly. "I intend to use that to my advantage."
Diana bit down on a corner of her lip, and Richard's eyes darkened at the action. She quirked an eyebrow, some of her courage returning to her. "It seems I have an advantage as well," she mused. Her hand travelled up his shoulder, past his neck and towards his hair. Richard was frozen under her touch, his eyes still dark with a foreign emotion and his expression carefully blank. Diana tried to ignore the slight tremble in her hand and wound it through his hair slowly. Unwilling to stop there, she stood up on her toes and, gently, planted a soft kiss on his cheek, mimicking his earlier actions and trailing her lips gently up to his temple, and then down to his jaw. She gained confidence when he uttered a low groan deep in his throat, allowing her fingers to massage his scalp gently. His stubble tickled her nose, and she smiled against his skin. "Wouldn't you agree, my love?" her words came out as a whisper.
Richard's fingers dug into her back painfully. "One day I will drive you as insane as you make me," he promised, his voice hoarse. "But for now…" he trailed off and let out a deep breath, dropping his hands from around her and pulling back, painstakingly. Diana raised her eyebrows at his actions, but he grimaced. "Darling, you really cannot expect more of a man's self-control."
"I did not realize seduction was all about self-control," commented Diana. She ran a hand through her hair, twisting the locks carefully and pinning them atop her head with a hair-clip lying on her desk. She caught Richard watching her movements with the same emotion in his eyes that she was beginning to identify now, and she gave him a look. "Walk away, Richard. Sarah will be in at any moment."
Richard snorted. "Your maid did a perfect spin when she saw me headed for your door a few minutes ago, I assure you she has no intention of returning so soon."
Diana blushed. "She saw you?"
"She all but encouraged me to go in," Richard smiled smugly, but Diana avoided his eyes and his expression softened. Still keeping his distance, he reached for her hand, which she gave without protest, and pressed his lips to it. "But I will go now, I think. I was merely coming to see if you would walk with me before dinner, but it is late now."
"Quite late," agreed Diana, her gaze still on the floor. Despite the fact that they could have done more, her pulse was quickening just by recalling the way they had just stood. "Will you escort me down?"
He smiled. "Of course." He squeezed her hand and hesitated for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh and making his way towards the door. As it clicked shut, Diana looked up and dazedly made her way back to her dressing-table. The woman in the mirror was a stranger – her hair, despite being tied up, was frizzy and out of place, there were patches of red on her cheeks her eyes were sparkling, the expression of mischief and elation matching the small smile on her lips. She had just tugged her hair out of its contraints when the door opened again and Sarah stepped inside, her face blank.
She got Diana ready in record time, all the while muttering something under her breath. Just as she was about to stand up, Sarah smoothed out her eyebrows and finally cracked a smile. "No need to pinch your cheeks tonight, mum, they are red enough on their own," her cheeky smile was the only teasing Diana had to endure for the night.
That was, of course, until Richard knocked on her door a few minutes before dinner with a familiar glint in his eye. "Excellent sketch," he commented as she accepted his arm. "Though you really ought to capture your jawline better."
Diana hit him with her fan, resisting the urge to laugh.
Hello, my lovelies! First off, I would like to apologize for the long wait, but I think I should set a more realistic goal of one chapter every two weeks, at least until the Christmas holidays. Hopefully this one makes up for the absence, its shorter than what everyone is used to, I know, but the content was GOOD, right? I had to make it proper and yet just a little fun, because you've all been waiting for so long for some liberties to be taken, after all.
Next chapter will hopefully be the travel to Pemberley and the first day there, maybe more if I focus more on the destination rather than the journey. I do want to make it longer next time around though, there will be less R&D action but Elizabeth, Darcy and Georgiana will make an entrance, and I know everyone loves the Darcys!
On to reviews. Despite my unfaithfulness, I would like to thank:
Motherof8: I hope you liked this chapter better!
thpeaky: Thank you for the forgiveness, I hope this one makes up for it!
LovePP: Thanks for the well-wishes, less talking in this chapter but I hope its enjoyable nevertheless.
tarlily: And how did this make you feel? Lol
LitEnthused: I tried in this one!
Jasnfamily4: Well there WAS kissing.. you ought to specify where next time! ;)
catelyntully11: Thank you so much for your kind words, I'm so glad you're enjoying the story! Hope this wasn't too improper for the times, haha!
Mpf271: I will definitely be taking that grabbing suggestion into consideration, I agree I don't think she would mind at all!
romance is my thing: She's my favourite too!
Until next time, m'dears. I expect to review by this time next week because I have this week off from classes - hence the update - but forgive me if it takes the (now) usual two weeks to update. I intend to make the chapter longer, however, so hopefully all will be forgiven. Thanks so much for the well-wishes about my wrist, its all better now and ready to write again.
Much love and see you soon! xx