I felt incredibly warm, almost suffocating. The blanket that was draped over me was very heavy, and then suddenly the blanket moved, and so did the warmth. I cracked my eyes open and it felt like the entire brightness of the sun was shining directly into my eyes. My head split open like a watermelon and I heard a loud groan beside me. I turned my head slightly to see Darcy rolling over. The blanket that was originally suffocating me turned out to be Darcy's arm, which he dragged off of me and put over his eyes.

It took us embarrassingly longer than it should have to realize what had happened. That the piercing sun was merely the slight slants of light coming in through the curtains, and that we both had splitting headaches from the wine last night. As I lay there I felt almost numb, like I didn't even care that Darcy was lying next to me. My brain didn't feel like it was functioning correctly, I couldn't quite bring back the hazy memories from last night and I didn't particularly care. All that mattered was my aching head.

Next to me, Darcy let out another groan and muttered, "Too much wine."

Then it all hit me, everything. The ball, the wine, and then... oh dear. Had Darcy and I really kissed last night? And if we did, then why wasn't I feeling any sense of regret? No, the more I thought about it, and thinking about it was good because it took my mind off of the nails rattling around in my brain, I didn't regret kissing Darcy at all. Suddenly, Darcy rolled back over toward me and buried his face under the covers and into my hair.

"Make the light go away," he insisted in a pained voice.

I remembered then that Darcy had had much more than I to drink, and that his headache must be quite a bit worse than mine.

"I'm sorry, darling," I murmured, wrapping my arms around him. We both stilled and looked at each other. I was just as surprised as he at my use of the word "darling." He then smiled hesitantly, and I returned it.

"Your headache must be much worse than mine, you drank more than I did," I commented, voicing my thoughts out loud.

"How could you even have a headache?" Darcy asked, wincing as his voice scraped out of his throat. "You only drank two glasses of wine."

"Apparently two glasses was more than enough for me," I replied dryly.

"I'll have to keep that in mind." Darcy smiled then, a real smile. And then he winced, threw a glare at the offending window, and once again curled back towards me under the covers.

I used it as an excuse to wrap my arms around him once again and run my fingers through his black hair, which was standing in all different directions. We lay like that, painfully yet happily for several minutes.

Suddenly though, Darcy pulled his head back up and looked worriedly about the room, wincing with every movement. "What time is it?" he asked.

At that I sat bolt upright, and immediately regretted it. What time was it? Oh dear, the ship. We were both tumbling out of bed then, and I felt ready to throw up from the combined effects of the headache and standing too quickly. Darcy finally found his pocket watch and his shoulders slumped.

"What is it? Are we late?" I asked, stumbling slightly as I walked over to him.

"No," he replied, turning around with a smile. "We are doing quite well on time actually, we have several hours. Your ship does not sail until this afternoon, it is only ten in the morning."

I breathed a sigh of relief, and then turned to crawl back into the bed. I burrowed under the covers and then peeked my head out to look at Darcy. He was standing there, looking at me with a look that was torn between worry and smiling.
"Do you remember what happened last night?" he asked me.

"Of course I remember last night," I said, confused.

"Then why haven't you kicked me out of here screaming yet?"

"Why would I do that?" I asked, sitting up. I was genuinely confused now, did he regret that we kissed last night?

"I mean," Darcy started, taking a few steps closer now, his expression beginning to look hopeful. "You are not angry at me, for becoming drunk and kissing you and possibly making a fool out of myself?"

"Darcy," I started. And then I just stared at him incredulously for several minutes. What on earth was the man thinking?! I had been just as drunk as he was, well, not quite. But I had still been drunk, my head was proof enough of that. "Darcy..." I tried again, "We were equally drunk and we were kissing each other! You didn't overstep any boundaries and..." I didn't know why but I was slightly mad. "And besides, we're married! It's not illegal for a married couple to kiss!"

Darcy was outright grinning at this point, he walked over to the bed and leaned down so we were eye to eye. I was still fuming, and was getting angrier by the second. Of all the preposterous ideas! Darcy's doubt of our kiss made me madder than I had ever been.

I glared at him, but he was still grinning at me like a fool. I opened my mouth and was about to tell him exactly what was going through my mind when suddenly Darcy was pushing me back. I gave a squeal of surprise, but that was cut off by Darcy's lips on mine. This kiss was different, the one we shared last night was amazing yes, but this one was better. Possibly because we were both sober without the haze of alcohol clouding our thinking.

Darcy climbed into the bed with me, and continued to kiss me as he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. How long we stayed like that I don't know, it felt like forever yet only a few seconds. We finally pulled apart, gasping for breathe. We looked at each other for a long time, when I had a sudden thought.

"Darcy, something that you should probably know..." I hesitated, unsure of how to proceed exactly. "None of my former owners managed to take advantage of me. They may have tried, but never succeeded." I looked at him worriedly, hoping that I had made my point clear enough.

Darcy looked at me with such sudden affection that it stunned me. "I know," he replied with a gentle smile.

I stared at him, shocked. "How? At first you make it quite clear that you thought I was a whore."

Darcy winced at the word, and then explained, "I may have jumped to a hasty conclusion, but it became quickly obvious that you were... how do I put this? Your actions and your manner, especially when you make it clear that there would be no wedding night, made it obvious that you were a virgin," he stated plainly. "And honestly, at this point it hardly matters anyway."

He leaned in and pecked me on the lips once again, and I was struck suddenly with the knowledge that I was going to leave. I would be going all the way to England! And I had no idea when I would return, nothing was certain right now and it scared me.

I whimpered slightly and curled up in Darcy's arms. He held me tight and we both lay there until we finally dozed off into fitful slumbers.

The dock was bustling with people, everybody seemed to have somewhere to go and they had to get there fast. There were sailors, merchants, shoppers, street children, everybody having something to do and somewhere to be. The whole scene reminded me all too well of the many indentured servant markets I had been at, and I clung to Darcy's side.
Darcy carried my only carpet bag in one hand, and had his other hand wrapped firmly around mine as he led me through the bustling crowd. We finally found my ship, and stood there staring at it.

I have no idea what I had been expecting, yet this ship seemed to fit the bill perfectly. It was large, with several masts and it seemed to have character. Despite the masts, Darcy explained to me, it was a steam ship. He pointed out the great smoke stacks, and said that the sails were only meant for emergency. The steamer seemed sturdy and shiny yet at the same time it seemed to be saying that it had been across the ocean several times and knew what it was doing. I stared at the ship, entranced. It was truly a beautiful vessel, and the thought of it carrying me over 3,000 miles across the wide and vast ocean frightened yet thrilled me.

Everything that was about to happen sunk in once again, along with a slight melancholy. I didn't want to leave Darcy or Georgie, but I did want to see what kind of family I could have, and did have, in England.

I turned to Darcy for what felt like the millionth time, and he saw that I was about to voice my worries and fears once again. He pulled me in close, ignoring the hundreds of people around us and the spectacle we must be making. Respectable people do not show such affection in public.

"It will be fine, Lizzy," Darcy reassured me once again. "You will go to England, meet your family, spend time with them, and then somehow we will be reunited. It will be fine!"

I breathed in Darcy's calming scent and words, and felt myself calm down considerably. Yes, it would all be fine. But...

"How will we be reunited? You haven't exactly explained that yet," I asked, worried all over again.

Darcy just pressed his lips to my forehead reassuringly, "Either I will come to you or you will come back to me, after you feel that you've spent enough time with your family. That decision is still months away, but one way or another we will be back together." He put the carpet bag firmly between his feet lest some random thief should come and pluck it away, and then set his hands firmly on my shoulders and looked me in the eye. "Everything is going to be all right and it will all work out."

I found myself becoming lost in his eyes once again, and had to restrain myself from leaning in for another kiss. Once we had woke up back at the inn, we had begun packing. Yet every time Darcy and I looked at one another one of us would go and start kissing the other. We had also started getting a little more familiar with one again. Darcy would kiss my neck randomly when we passed each other, and I would return the gesture. It was all so sweet and new and exciting for me, and I found myself wishing all over again that we had more time together. Or at least one more night...
I shook myself out of my thoughts once again, and looked up to see Darcy looking at me with that wonderful grin on his face, as if he knew exactly where my thoughts had been leading.

He leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Don't worry darling, when we are reunited again, I will ensure that we will never part again, and then we can do whatever we want."

I shivered at the suggestion that his tone and words held, and fleetingly wished once more for the privacy of our hotel room.

Someone bumped into me then, and I was pushed off balance momentarily. Darcy grabbed me with one hand, and the carpet bag with the other. We were both shaken out of our slightly lust induced stupor then, and looked around.

Darcy checked his pocket watch, "One hour," he announced, and I felt like crying all over again. We made our way to the gangplank of the ship, and Darcy showed the steward my ticket. There were people milling around us, and Darcy asked to meet with the captain concerning my trip. The steward obligingly led us to a kindly looking gentleman who was obviously the captain.

Darcy spoke with him quietly for a few moments, before taking my hand and leading me onto the ship. We found my room and Darcy helped me to get settled in.

"The trip will take approximately 20 days," Darcy told me. "The captain assured me that you will be well taken care of, and that the rest of the passengers aboard the ship are respectable people. You shouldn't have any trouble."

"Darcy," I stopped him by laying a hand on his arm, "You forget that I have taken care of myself amongst many unrespectable people for many years," I reminded him.

"Yes, but that was before you were my wife and it wasn't on the confines of a ship. This is just an extra precaution. I don't believe you will have any trouble, but I suppose I am being a little overprotective," Darcy admitted with a sheepish smile.

"That is quite all right.I rather enjoy it, actually. Having someone look after me and worry about me," I replied as I leaned in. Darcy took the hint and swooped me into his arms.

We were interrupted a few minutes later by a knock at the door, and Darcy pulled away from me, muttering a curse under his breathe. "Just a moment," he said in the general direction of the door. He leaned in and placed several quick kisses on my forehead, cheeks, neck, and then lips again. It deepened once more before he pulled away. We stared at each other for a few moments before straightening up and then opening the door.

A steward stood there and asked if we needed anything. We replied that we didn't. Though it was quite clear that he was there to make sure that Darcy left the ship before it set sail. We followed the steward onto the deck where he then left to resume his duties. Darcy and I stood there before he began to slowly walk toward the gangplank.

Darcy turned to me, "It will only be for a few months. We will write each other and everything will be fine." Now it was Darcy who seemed to be needing the confirmation of this plan and I smiled at him. Our fingers wove together, but we didn't dare kiss in public.

We stared at each other, and then Darcy looked right into my eyes and said, "I love you." I could feel the tears threatening to well up.

"I love you, as well," I murmured. Darcy pulled me into his arms again, and I breathed in his scent one more time before he released me, and then gave me a swift kiss on the forehead and walked away and down the gangplank.

I watched him as he stood on the dock and just looked at me. The deck of the ship began to fill with people, as did the dock, if that were even possible because it was already stuffed. People and families cried out their goodbyes around us, but Darcy and I just stood there and looked at each other. But then the crowds milled around us until I couldn't even see him anymore. I looked almost frantically, but then the ship was pulling away from the dock. I caught a last glimpse of him just before the crowds and the dock slid out of sight.

Hey everyone! My beta and I were wondering, is anyone doing National Novel Writing Month? My beta, Edelmira, is. Thanks again for all of your reviews! They really help motivate me to write.