*This work is copyright protected.
Elizabeth awoke alone… she sat up in bed and tried to recall the end of their evening, briefly remember leaning into him on the settee in their sitting room. She must have fallen asleep! She wished he had still stayed with her. It would have been nice to wake with him here.
Looking longingly towards the adjoining door, she wondered if William would be awake yet. Outside the sun was fully risen in the sky and she remembered Lady Matlock saying they were all early risers… Emily halted her from going to him as she chose that moment to enter her chambers, "Ah, you are awake." she said smiling warmly as she curtseyed, and opening the curtains. "I have taken the liberty of setting aside your lavender day dress."
"Good morning, Emily. Thank you, the lavender gown will be wonderful. Pray what is the time?" she asked
"It is just half past eight, Mrs Darcy," said Emily.
"Please, you may call me Elizabeth when we are in my chambers. Do you know if Mr Darcy has left his chambers yet?"
"Yes, he went down to breakfast but a moment ago, his valet mentioned he had to inspect some of the fencing on the horse's paddocks. I do not suspect he will be back before this afternoon, once he has left."
"Thank you, Emily. I best get ready as I have another day with much to learn." she said, throwing back the covers.
She needn't have bothered rushing to get ready however, when she had gone down to the breakfast room, he had already left… Elizabeth sighed heavily and helped herself to a small plate, eating quickly and then went in search of Mrs Reynolds, to continue the tour.
"The Master, mentioned he would like to show you the library himself, so I thought we could begin by inspecting the menu's and then start touring the second floor. Is that agreeable Ma'am?" asked Mrs Reynolds.
"I have to admit, I am not a fussy eater and see no need to alter to the menus. I believe I should like to revisit the menu's when entertaining guests but otherwise, I am happy to leave them unchanged, we keep an excellent cook here." she said, eager to see more of the house instead.
"Of course, we shall make a start on the second floor. If you will follow me." Mrs Reynolds said, leading the way.
The second floor seemed to be the floor of entertainments. The rooms seemed to be much larger, one even had a small stage and seats arranged like a theatre. Each Darcy sibling seemed to have a different room dedicated to their individual pursuits and interests. Mrs Reynolds, said that the library was the main room that Mr Darcy used, and he took great pleasure in procuring rare volumes and first editions.
Hugo had a large masculine studio, filled with swords, bow and arrows and the like, but Mrs Reynolds said that he only used it when he was raining and could not go riding or swimming, although that was rarely a hinderance. Georgiana had a music room with every instrument imaginable, but the pianoforte was her favourite, and Mrs Reynolds said that she was most diligent in practicing and composing her own pieces.
Elizabeth laughed loudly when she was shown into Ella's room, which had been decorated with white, rabbits, after the demonic rabbit incident. This was the notorious room she had secreted them away in, and where they had copulated and multiplied beyond containment! Mrs Reynolds could not hide her amusement at the scratch marks made by the rabbits along the skirting around the room.
The room was filled proudly with many of her paintings and sculptures. And a few original sonnet's framed upon the wall.
"Miss Eloise, showed a real promise for writing at a very young age, her penmanship was superb from as young as eight, and I was sure she would compose poetry and the like, but alas her calling was watercolours. I…." she trailed off when a knock on the door interrupting them a moment as a young maid entered and asked for Mrs Reynolds presence below stairs.
"Of course, I am quite happy to end the tour here for today, I might take some time to revisit the rooms alone," she said, warmly.
"Very well, Mrs Darcy. Please do not hesitate to call for assistance should you need it. We are never to busy." she assured. Elizabeth could tell she felt bad to have to leave but was also pleased that her new Mistress had a kind and understanding nature.
Once alone, Elizabeth walked the parameter of the room, trailing her fingers along the wall, and over the frames of the mounted artwork as she came to it, when she knocked one, catching it before it fell with a clatter upon the floor. Breathing a sigh of relief as the glass panel would have surely shattered had she not caught it. She turned to hand it back upon the wall but saw a small door in the wall where the painting had been sitting. She knew she should put the painting back and leave, but her insatiable curiosity would not allow it.
Gently placing the painting upon the floor, she, opened the door, groaning in protest at being disturbed, to reveal two books. Upon closer inspection, she could see that they were not books, but journal.
'12th September 1796 - Tonight Papa had joined us for Dinner, as usual he ignored us and seemed to be very angry with William. Hugo tried to make a joke and Papa snapped at him. But, William always looks after us and laughed, then patiently explained the joke to Papa, but he didn't smile or laugh. And I saw as he grabbed William's arm beneath the table, twisting it. None of the other's saw, because William did not even flinch, but I was the closest and could see everything. Georgiana, almost saw but he distracted her by pulling at her nose and telling her to eat her peas, even though he did not eat his!
She turned the page to see the next entry. How could anyone be so cruel? Shame on him, there is no excuse for grown man to harm a young boy, let alone his own son!
'1st October 1796 -Today it is William's fourteenth birthday, and Papa asked to see him as he always does on his birthday, but this time it feels different.'
"1st October 1796 – William, seemed sad when he returned from visiting Papa, so I went to his room past bedtime and asked him to read to me. I had almost fallen asleep when Papa came into his room…'
Throwing a look over her shoulder, Elizabeth moved to shut the door and locked it, before sliding down it to sit on the floor, re – opening the journal where she had left it.
'… I pretended to be asleep, Papa smelled funny and William said if he wished to speak, they would go out of the room. I heard raised voices but was too scared to open my eyes. I couldn't understand what was being said, but I heard something connect with the door a few times… William came back in soon after, wiping blood from his nose and pulled the blanket up to cover me. Then he went to sit against his window near his new toy from our aunt and uncle. Neither of us slept that night.'
Snapping the book shut, Elizabeth could not read anymore, her heart racing. She wanted nothing more than to be close to her husband. Tonight, she would tell him she wanted him in her bed, even if they were to just sleep, but she hoped that would not be the case this evening. She could not talk to him of this, she knew enough to know he needed to tell her himself when he felt comfortable, at the same time she could not erase what she had found out and needed to take comfort in his embrace.
She wondered through the halls towards her apartments, thinking to choose a book from their sitting room to provide a reprieve from thinking about William's childhood. Her had been without material possessions, but her mother and father loved her and Jane dearly. Certainly, her mother could be trying at times, but hers was because she cared too much and would by any means secure the best and securest futures for her and her sister.
Standing in the centre of their sitting room, Elizabeth realised she had not seen his bedchamber yet. Since they had been here, they had spent their time together in her rooms or their shared sitting room… He had only used his room to sleep away from her or for the usual morning and evening rituals.
Walking over to the ominous door to his chambers, she paused, resting her hand upon the gold doorknob and taking a deep breath, twisting it and entering.
His bedchamber was intensely masculine decorated in rich navy, grey and white colours and smelled comfortingly of him. A large four-poster bed dominated the room, she wandered over to it wondering which side he preferred to sleep on. His glasses lay upon the bedside table with a book on crop rotation underneath it. Glasses? She thought with a frown.
There were a few other pieces of fine furniture scattered about the room, but the thing that grabbed her attention was the telescope positioned by the floor to ceiling windows. It was beautifully designed and gold in colour. The telescope rested pointing up wards, her father had told her about these, saying the lens was magic and could see past the sky. Unable to resist she bent to look through it, but all she could see was darkness. Elizabeth straightened puzzled, perhaps there is something on the lens…
"You will need to remove the lens cap to see anything." A richly, masculine voice said from behind her, nearly making her jump a foot in the air.
She turned sharply to find William, standing leaning against the bedpost. His jacket had been discarded, his cravat had been loosened, his hair mussed, and his shirt sleeves had been rolled up to reveal his muscled forearms dusted with dark hair and the veins she was oddly fond of. His dark, amused stare bore into her watching to see if she would apologise for being caught in here or leave.
Instead, she turned her back to him and reached around to the lens and removed the cover over it. Resisting the urge to look back at him she bent once more, arching her back more than was needed, provocatively.
She heard his footsteps muffled by the plush Aubusson carpet coming towards her.
"I think you might need to turn it as it is facing the wall, wife." he teased with a chuckle.
Elizabeth had every intention of giving a witty retort, when he came to stand behind her, so that her buttocks nestled into his pelvis as he moved the telescope so that she could see the landscape. She gasped at the feel of his arousal pressing into her bottom but did her best to act as though she were unaffected.
"Where did you get this? It is beautifully crafted." she asked, her tone uneven.
"It was a gift from Lord and Lady Matlock for my fourteenth birthday, I find it calms me to look into the sky and realise how much we have yet to learn of this world."
Unable to speak, her emotions all over the place she just nodded and focused her attention on the landscape. But her mind consumed with questions; Did the Matlocks know? Is that the reason for the gift, so that he could escape in some way? If they knew why did, they not stand up to his father? Shaking her head Elizabeth, distracted herself by concentrating on all the different colours she could see and took comfort in the strength of William behind her and his voice a soothing balm, as taught her how to use the telescope.
Soon, she became absorbed with the telescope, and viewing the rolling countryside, and William showing her how to adjust the zoom and for a short while maintained his position, but allowed her to enjoy the novelty of the telescope. Every so often she would lean a little further than necessary back into him, or allow her hand to drop and caress his thigh, and he made no move to stop her.
However, she knew the instant his impatience grew thin. It started with his hands gripping her hips roughly and pulling her back into him, then his hands travelled up along her spine, coming around to rest on the back of her neck, applying pressure and bending her further. A wicked excitement thrummed through her entire being, this was what she needed, she did not want gentle she wanted to work through her tension in something new and unknown, she wanted oblivion. He rolled his lips letting out a hiss of air. Then moving his hand to rest upon her neck, he straightened her body flush against him, causing her to shudder. Elizabeth moved her hands behind her to rest on his hips to urge him on, she could feel the steady thump of his heartbeat against her back as she caught a whiff of the subtle scent of horseflesh and leather mixed with his soapy cologne.
Then just as quickly, William relaxed his grip and turned her face to kiss her upon the lips. She brought her hand around clap the back of his head, willing him to deepen the kiss, but he resisted and stepped away from her.
"Where are you going?" she demanded, a little more forcefully than intended.
He looked at her from where he now stood across the room, "I must bathe, I have been riding all day, I must look a fright!"
"But I thought…I have missed you William, have you not missed me?" she asked, suddenly feeling hurt.
"Of course, I have, I just did not…I didn't want… I had thought" he stopped fumbling for an excuse, looking up to find Elizabeth coming closer. He tensed unsure of what she would do, but to his surprise she continued straight past him and through the connecting door.
William stood breathing heavily, staring after her, and when he heard Elizabeth slam her door, he swore under his breath. Turning suddenly, he braced his hands on the wall above him, before placing his forehead upon it in frustration. Letting out a sigh he went over to the far side of the room intending to pull the bell for his valet; Steven's, but just as quickly changed his mind and went storming after Elizabeth.
He barged into her room, and found Elizabeth in conversation with her maid. William gave Emily a withering look, who to her credit looked loyally to Elizabeth to dismiss her.
"Well? Explain yourself?" he demanded once she had left.
"Explain myself? Ha, you must be joking!" she snorted.
"Do I look as if I am joking?"
"Well after toying with me as you did before, I would assume you were either joking or playing a game. Which is it?" she said, clenching her fists at her sides.
"You were still sore last night. I am trying to be considerate!" he spat, "Which, I can assure you most husbands would not be so accommodating!" his eyes flashed with anger, but it only served to spur Elizabeth on.
"Well I wish you wouldn't! I wish you would stop showing me glimpses of you. If you are this cold and unfeeling man, then be him. Either way, you should learn one thing about your wife here and now! If I do not want to do something, trust me, I will make you aware. I am quite capable of speaking mind, Mr Darcy!" she said, squaring her shoulders.
He chuckled darkly, "You have no idea what you are inviting. You think that, because you are no longer an innocent, you understand man's baser needs?"
"And you think after laying with me twice, you know exactly what my needs and wants are?" she took pleasure when she saw him falter slightly, "Well, have you finally run out of excuses?" she pushed.
He stepped forward and thread his fingers roughly through her hair and displacing the pins so it tumbled down her back. Then pulling her nearer, so face was almost touching his before her spoke, "You do not know what it is you are asking for." He warned.
"I know exactly what I am asking for, I do not wish to be treated like a china doll, I do not want you to hold back. Stop telling me what I want and STOP being a coward-"
Quick as lightening he spun her around so that she pinned facing forward against the wall with his breath hot against her neck. He kicked her feet apart and wedged his knee at the apex of her thighs, creating a delicious friction before he spoke, "Place your hands on the wall before you and do not move them, do you understand me? If you remove them, there will be consequences."
Elizabeth quickly did as he said and placed her hands upon the wall as he stepped back, she let out a small whimper at the loss of his contact. William grasped her hips and dragging them back, so she that was bent as she had been before. Then flipping her skirts up over her hips, he became impatient, he was pleased to find she only wore her chemise beneath it, lifting its hem to bare her to his greedy gaze. Using the back of his hand he appreciatively caressed each cheek, before landing a resounding, whack upon each one. She cried out in surprise but did not remove her hands.
"That was for calling me a coward." He chuckled.
She whimpered feeling vulnerable and exposed, but she could not deny the thrill of pure wantonness that ran through her, being at his mercy. She arched her back towards him provocatively, but he still did not touch her again. Elizabeth had only managed to remove one hand before his hands landed a little harder this time, on each cheek, the sound echoing around the room.
"William," she gasped in stunned pleasure, she wanted more…
"Tsk, tsk, I warned you, that you are not to remove your hands from the wall," he said, as his hands gently soothed the sting. She moaned, as the sting began to turn into that familiar building ache pulsing at her core. She could hear him undoing his breeches and licked her lips, in anticipation. She knew she should feel ashamed for wanting him in this manner but not being able to see what he was doing, only seemed to arouse her further…
He placed both hands on her smarting plump buttocks, pulling the cheeks apart before slapping them together causing them to bounce. Then she felt his fingers at her entrance and heard his growl of approval at her readiness for him, giving her hidden bud a pinch as he entered her in one smooth thrust, lifting her feet completely from the floor, filling her to the hilt. She screamed, not caring who heard.
William stilled a moment to allow her to adjust, but lost control when she started moaning and rocking back onto him. He began thrusting into her in a slow, strong rhythm. Each thrust lifting her to the tips of her toes, before he gradually sped up, one hand upon her hip the resting on where her neck connected with her shoulder.
"Am I hurting you?"
"Oh, God, please don't stop," she cried out. Her arms growing tired and shaking in an effort to maintain her position
He simply grunted and continued unrelentingly, until she fell apart shouting his name over and over. When she finally came down her legs buckled but he caught her, pulling her up against him as he continued to thrust, one hand reaching into her bodice to play with her sensitive nipples and one hand playing within her wet folds at her bundle of nerves. This new position meant that he hit her other pleasure point, the one within her, head on. She began to squirm again but this time she was not sure she would survive it. Her eyes rolled back, as she rested her head back on his shoulder as she exploded her body going limp as her climax triggered his own and with a roar, he found his release. She felt tears streaming down her face, as he staggered backwards withdrawing from her. When a sob escaped her and turning her to face him he sat on the stool by her vanity table, cradling her still quivering body in his lap.
"What have I done? Elizabeth, I am sorry have I hurt you? Oh God…" he said, his voice panicked.
But she could not answer, she just wept in his arms. She wept for him, she wept for Ella, Hugo and Georgiana who had all suffered in their own way and she wept for all she had learnt of his childhood. Elizabeth was too sated to be able to hold it all back, but she was not sorry for what they had just shared. She did not care if it was wrong, but just now she had needed exactly what he had given her, and she would be make sure he knew that.