Travel, as Elizabeth had discovered on her trip to London, was slow and could be frightfully boring. She daydreamed on the way, and was very relieved when they stopped for a late tea in the afternoon. Mr. Darcy stepped down from the carriage first and offered her his hand, murmuring a quiet, "Mrs. Darcy," as he did. There was something more to the way he said her name, a subtle texture in his voice that added so much to the feelings hearing him speak pulled up inside her.

It was an admission of affection, she realized, as they picnicked out in the sun beside a small, quiet inn that was their stop for the afternoon while the horses were changed. He said her name with such love and care, that 'Mrs. Darcy' could not mean anything but 'I love you'. The thought made her shiver despite the warmth of the day as the sun poured down over her.

"I must say, it is rather nice to have a wife who enjoys taking her tea out of doors," he commented idly as the serving girl poured them both another cup. Elizabeth looked at him in surprise, as it was more words than he had said for most of the journey (although she could not mistake his countenance to be anything but happy, as a small smile had remained upon his lips for almost the whole trip so far).

"Are you not used to keeping company with women who enjoy the fresh air along with their meal?" she asked, reaching for a buttered scone and biting into it with relish. It was good, country fare, the flavor fresh on her tongue. He took a long, pensive sip of his tea and shook his head.

"Most would be afraid for their complexions, to start, and then after that the list grows long. The amount of sins the out of doors has committed on womankind, I have been assured, are numerous." He watched her over the rim of his teacup, his eyes lively instead of somber. She rather liked the change in him, for once he did not seem so focused on remaining upright, concerned with how others might perceive him. He was wholly, completely, devoted to the moment they were in with not a thought for anyone but her.

It charmed her thoroughly, and all thoughts of any of his flaws had quite readily flown away. It certainly did not hurt that he looked ever so handsome in his wedding suit, the sunlight setting a glow about them that did Mr. Darcy every favor.

"I would apologize for my lack of concern towards my complexion, sir," she commented tartly, pleased to see him smile, "but since you had already seen my face before the vows of our marriage were made, I had come to the conclusion you knew of my love for the sun and the fresh air that came with it." It had stung, some, when she'd been in London and she'd overheard the not-so-quiet whispers of other ladies commenting on her browned skin.

"Indeed I had known from the first time I looked upon you, that the sun was your friend, and you had found many hours enjoy its company, a fact that recommended your strong character to me, quite definitively," he replied with a smile. She felt a blush color her cheeks, and was pleased. They finished their tea in a comfortable silence, and were on their way again. It wasn't until they stopped at an inn, for the overnight rest and sleep they would both need, that her general feeling of joy melted into discomfort and concern.

She had only ever shared a bed with her sisters, and then mostly Jane. She cast a long look at him as he gave an order to the footman to have the trunks brought up to their room. Singular. When they were in Pemberley, as in all great houses, she was certain that they would sleep apart as men and women did in their own separate apartments. Certainly Longbourn was no large manor and yet Mr. and Mrs. Bennet had kept separate beds for all their marriage.

This, however, was an inn, and for all its charm that it showed in the neatly painted shutters, and the freshly white-washed walls, it would not have the numerous accommodations required to house married couples separately if it wanted to be considered profitable.

So she followed Mr. Darcy up to their room, where he bowed and left her politely to her evening toilette. Her maid, a woman that had been hired for her personal and singular use by Mr. Darcy, followed Elizabeth into the room and began about setting her hair for the evening and helping her change out of her wedding gown and into a dress more appropriate for dinner.

"They've got a private room to dine in the master has had reserved for you both," the maid, a young woman named Helen Cooper, said as she finished fussing with the lines of Elizabeth's dress and stepped back with a nod of approval. "Looks lovely on you, Mrs. Darcy, and I hope you would think so as well."

Elizabeth turned and looked at herself in the mirror, feeling pleased and a little touched at the kindness that Helen had shown her in the last few days before the wedding and now. She had done Elizabeth's hair up nicely, in soft curls that flattered her, and not so severe that they pinched.

"Thank you Helen," she said softly and Helen curtsied.

"I'll tell the master that you're ready, then," she said, and left the room and Elizabeth to her thoughts. When she was sat across from him, eating at the table in the private room a short while later, she found herself unable to keep looking at him nervously.

It was such until he put down his fork and asked,

"Mrs. Darcy, you look discomfited. Is there a problem I could have seen to?" His eyes were serious, and while he did not seem upset, she got the sense he was concerned. She cursed herself thrice for being so very transparent and then managed a half-hearted smile.

"It is a matter between husband and wife," she said, her eyes flicking to the serving maids who stood off to one side, their heads bowed. Mr. Darcy's eyebrows raised and he nodded.

"Perhaps later then, when we retire to sleep," he commented, and returned to his meal. She felt a flutter of fear and anticipation under her breast.

But that precisely is the problem, Mr. Darcy, she wanted to say, but she kept silent instead, and made a show of eating her food when she did not think she could stomach more than a few mouthfuls.

Author's note:

Oh my goodness... thank you for your kind words. I hope wherever you are, you are safe, happy, and healthy. Thank you for your lovely support. SO many of you went to buy the book in full this week, something my publisher has relayed to me! Thank you thank you thank you. I try to do my best, and I could not write without you.