AN: Just wanted to say a big 'thank you!' to everyone that's left a review so far; you wanted more so here it is...
Darcy walked quickly, but steadily to where he had last seen Elizabeth and her relatives disappear from view. He quickened his pace when he realized that they would shortly be rounding the next corner and he wanted to meet them as they approached. Elizabeth was the first one to recognize his approach, she quickened her own pace to offer them a few moments alone before her aunt and uncle caught up with her.
"Until we meet again, Mr. Darcy? I had thought that you meant more than an hour in passing?" She raised her hand in greeting and Darcy bowed low over it, millimetres away from touching it with his mouth, still the whisper of warm breath was enough to raise the hairs on the back of her bare arm and she barely suppressed a shiver of delight. Darcy hid a grin as he rose to his feet and gestured over to a nearby sawn log.
"Delighted to see you, as ever Miss Bennet. I had a question to ask you, more of a favour really. Will you sit?" Darcy pulled a clean handkerchief out of his pocket and laid it down to protect the back of her dress getting soiled from the log. Elizabeth murmured her thanks and sat down expectantly. Darcy paced in front of her and then rather than seating himself beside her raised one foot onto the log and placed his hands in his breeches pockets. Elizabeth sucked in a deep breath at the memories that immediately sprang to mind from where she had last seen him strike that very same pose earlier that day. That must be his favourite thinking position, amongst other things. Darcy drew in a breath to speak and noticed Elizabeth looking a little glassy eyed, he immediately withdrew his leg from the bench; inwardly cursing. Blasted idiotic, imbecile! Elizabeth was indeed correct in her assumption, that position was in fact his favourite thinking pose and he could spend hours hitched to a wooden fence, or next to a babbling stream with a fishing pole in hand. Or propped up against a window ledge with something else entirely in hand…. Darcy remained with his back to Elizabeth struggling for composure, how was this scheme supposed to work when the very idea of her made him rigid with desire?
"Mr. Darcy? You were saying…? I don't mean to rush you but our carriage is due to take us back to the inn for luncheon shortly…" Elizabeth called out softly to his back and then continued, "Ah, here is my aunt and uncle, they must have seen something catch their eye as I was almost certain they were directly behind me." Darcy turned around and noticed the Gardiners approaching them, slightly behind them was one of the grounds men who had obviously been told to keep them occupied for a few moments. The man tipped his hat discreetly in Darcy's direction and then silently disappeared into the woodland.
"Would you do me the honour of introducing me to your companions? For what I have to ask, concerns them both as well." Elizabeth looked a little perplexed certain Darcy was about to press his suit for marriage again. He caught sight of her expression and merely smiled enigmatically back at her before walking forward to meet the other couple. Elizabeth smiled ruefully to herself and went forward to make the introductions.
"Mr. and Mrs. Edward Gardiner…Mr. Darcy." Edward held out his hand to Darcy and Lucy made a curtsey in greeting. "Lucy is my aunt, Mr. Darcy. My sister Jane stayed at their house when she was recently in London."
"I'm very pleased to meet you both. You are staying in Lambton, I hear."
"Yes, I grew up there as a girl," replied Lucy, quite at ease with the handsome young man before her. She had caught a brief glimpse of him standing with one leg raised on the log but before she could mention anything to her husband; their attention had been snagged by the attentive grounds man that had appeared out of nowhere.
"Delightful village, I remember running from Pemberley to Lambton as a young boy." Darcy turned to Edward, "Mr. Gardiner do you care for fishing?" Darcy found himself conversing quite easily with the couple, he had been quite prepared for another Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, but this couple were really quite delightful. He found that he was more at ease the longer the conversation went on and he felt himself shifting from Mr. Darcy, master of Pemberley Hall to just plain Darcy, fisherman and nature lover.
"I love it! Don't get often get the chance these days, though."
"Well, you must come and fish in my trout stream before you move on. Or there are carp, trench and pike in the lake here if that is your preference?" Darcy gestured over to the lake and the two men watched the fish jump in the cooler waters where it was shaded. Lucy sighed softly to herself, it looked as though their plans to journey on towards Matlock would have to be put off for another day. She recognized all too well what that determined look on her husband's eager face really meant; it was the same look that he used to persuade her that two children were better than one, then three children were better than two – before she knew it she was the mother of four boisterous children and had put her foot firmly down against having any more.
"Ah, Lucy dearest…?"
"Edward, I'll agree to anything except having another child!" She crossed her arms over her chest and laughed at their expression. "Sorry dearest, I was just thinking when you turned around just now, that here comes a man who wants something that he knows I am going to say no to…"
"Ah, yes the children…" The Gardiners shared a fond smile of recollection and it made Elizabeth sneak a questioning look over in Darcy's direction; certain that she would find a look of distain on his face. Instead though, he was chuckling in wry amusement and holding up his hands in surrender.
"Ladies, Edward…may I suggest that we continue this discussion over a spot of luncheon in the summerhouse? I know that you had made plans to return to the Inn but I was hoping to persuade you to spend the remainder of the day here with me at Pemberley? I thought that after luncheon I thought that Edward could join me in a spot of fishing – ladies there are plenty of gentle walks along the river or there are amusements up at the house if you would prefer?" Darcy made the offer to all but kept his gaze on Elizabeth at all times. Edward nudged his wife when he noticed the other man's rapt attention upon his niece. Lucy made a show of protest for appearances sake but was all too happy to spend the remainder of the day at this beautiful house. A beautiful smile spread across Darcy's face and it was if a weight had been lifted, for his eyes brightened and he straightened his spine and offered his arm to Lucy to accompany her towards the summerhouse. Edward took Elizabeth's hand and swung it between them.
"What ho, Lizzie, what do you think of that? Imagine Mr. Darcy inviting me to fish in his trout streams and to luncheon…and at our first meeting no less. What do you think that means?"
"It means, Uncle Edward that you are far too modest to realize that Mr. Darcy genuinely likes you. I haven't ever seen him this relaxed, not even when he is around his best friend Mr. Bingley. Just enjoy the day…" Elizabeth reached up and placed a kiss on her uncle's cheek and was delighted at the blush that rose over his whiskers.
"Steady young miss, I don't want the wife getting jealous!" Elizabeth let out a peal of laughter that sounded like softly chiming bells, Darcy and Lucy looked back to see Elizabeth resting her head on her uncle's shoulder and Edward leaning down to gently kiss her head. Darcy hadn't realized he had sighed until Lucy gently patted his hand. When he turned to look over, he immediately realized that Elizabeth must have told her aunt what had happened between them in Kent.
"Why did she refuse you, Mr. Darcy? It's obvious that you care for her a great deal, I know from what Lizzie has told me that she is not completely indifferent to you…"At these words, Darcy felt hope springing up in his chest and he was just about to question Lucy further when she held up a hand to stay his words. "No, I won't break her confidence, but I will tell you that given time, she may just change her mind."
"Well, it's funny you should mention that...please allow me tell you about an idea that I had this morning…" Elizabeth looked ahead to see Darcy lean his head close towards her aunt in intent conversation. Edward looked over and smiled secretively; almost certain that Darcy was revealing the very same plan that he had already discussed with Edward down in their brief moment at the lake. Edward was all in favour of the plan, he hated to see either of his favourite nieces unhappy and this scheme of Darcy's was just about crazy enough to work. When the two couples met at the dinner table, a quick check in his wife's direction assured Edward that she was fully in favour of the idea…now they just had to persuade Elizabeth.
As they ate the delicious meal of cold chicken salad and lemon mousse, Elizabeth couldn't help but notice the exchange of glances between her relatives and their host. She had finally had enough once the last spoonful of mousse had been eaten and laid down her napkin. She looked up at the footman standing just behind her chair. He was waiting for her to select her preferred beverage.
"Coffee, tea or chocolate, Miss?" Timothy asked, ready to memorize her choice.
"Ooh, Chocolate…no don't be a glutton Elizabeth! Mornings only, remember!" Elizabeth looked up to see everyone looking at her in amusement. "Please excuse me, I have a bit of an addiction to chocolate so I am trying to only drink it in the mornings, it's far too expensive to have with every meal. So…tea please with lemon and mint, I usually don't drink coffee at all, never really acquired the taste." She requested, and her cup was poured. Everyone laughed including the young footman, who had caught his master's eye and nodded slightly in return. Pots of hot chocolate would be offered to Miss Bennet at every meal and she should be encouraged to indulge as often as she liked. Timothy would also receive an extra shilling for recommending that small boxes of truffles should be placed on the young ladies pillow when her bed was made up. It probably wouldn't hurt if the truffles were placed on her aunt's pillow too…
"Would someone please tell me what on earth is going on? I know there is something so don't tell me it's nothing!" Elizabeth was growing increasingly concerned with the frequency of the glances between all three of them and it was beginning to annoy her.
"Lizzie dear, Darcy has a slight problem that he was hoping that we would all be able to assist him with. He's told me that he has a plan and your aunt and I think it's a capital idea but obviously we won't agree to it unless you are fully on board with it too." Edward leant across the table to capture Elizabeth's hand and smiled engagingly at her.
"Umm, Edward you might want to inform Lizzie what the actual plan is first?" Lucy patted her husband's arm and he sat back in his chair, visions of fly fishing dancing around his head.
"Very good idea, Lucy. But perhaps I should enlighten Miss Bennet?" Darcy was quite aware that neither Lucy nor Edward knew quite where to begin.
"Perhaps you are right, Darcy. Edward, shall we go outside and sit on that bench whilst we wait for Darcy to enlighten Lizzie?" Lucy didn't wait for Edward to respond before dragging him outside with his cup of tea, they remained in full view but just out of earshot. Elizabeth was quite shocked to hear Darcy acting so informal with her relatives in just a short space of time, heavens he had even proposed to her and they referred to each other by their formal names!
"Well, Mr. Darcy? I am all aquiver and await your master plan…" Elizabeth leant on her elbows on the table, fully aware of the rules of propriety that they were breaking that day, too many to list and at that point she was beyond caring anymore. It was very strange to be having a conversation alone with a man that only a few weeks earlier she had disliked immensely, now though her feelings towards him were confusing and jumbled; but dislike certainly wasn't one of them…
"Please won't you just call me Darcy, or even just Fitzwilliam? Every time I hear Mr. Darcy coming from your lips I think of how awful I acted when we were in Kent, and I would like to start afresh." Elizabeth thought for a moment and then suggested an alternative.
"Your friends seem to call you Darcy, but is that really what you would prefer? It still seems quite formal somehow. What did your Mother call you?"
"Just plain old Fitz, but Miss Bennet I don't really want to think of my mother when you speak my name…" Darcy's eyes shone with barely kindled desire as he leant a little closer, not wanting anyone to overhear their conversation. He needed have worried, the footman and parlour maids had all retreated to a safe distance as soon as the Gardiner's ventured outside and were all heeding the words spoken by Henry that morning – deaf, blind and mute, nothing gets overheard and if I hear any gossiping from any of you, well need I go on?
"Well in that case, I will call you 'Darcy' when we are in company and what about 'William' when we are with friends?" Elizabeth suggested and found herself blushing when Darcy took her hand and squeezed it. "I hope you will return the favour and stop calling me 'Miss Bennet'? I keep turning around expecting to see one of my sister's standing behind me! And after all, we are hardly strangers anymore are we?"
"Not strangers at all…" Darcy almost purred, "And it would be my utmost pleasure…Elizabeth," Darcy felt a tingling in the back of his neck as soon as he spoke her name aloud for the very first time in company. He had spoken her name many a time in his sleep, and had even selected his own pet name for her 'Libby' rather than the chosen 'Lizzie' preferred by her family. 'Lizzie' to him seemed hard and he much preferred the softer sound of 'Libby', especially in his more intimate of thoughts. Darcy squeezed her hand again in response and was delighted to see the hairs on the back of her arms raise up again at his touch.
"So then, William. Tell me about this master plan, you have the same look on your face as my uncle wore as when he was trying to persuade my aunt that they really ought to have more than one child…Oh Gosh, they aren't trying to use me to persuade her to have another are they?" Elizabeth gave a small shriek when Darcy suddenly burst into full laughter that made his eyes run with mirth. Edward looked over at the noise and was smiling amusingly when Elizabeth shooed him away. "William, if you don't tell me what it is this instant…I swear!" Elizabeth sat back in her chair and crossed her arms impatiently across her chest. Darcy held up a hand in apology and tried to stop his laughter, at Elizabeth's cross snort he looked over at her and suddenly all amusement left his mind as he looked at her firm breasts being pushed up higher by her crossed arms. He sat straighter in chair and dragged it in further under the table to hide his natural response to the vision before him. Darcy cleared his throat and looked away and then back at her again. When he had to take a sip of water to moisten his suddenly very dry mouth, Elizabeth looked down at where her breasts were practically pushing out of her bodice by the action of her arms, and with a shocked gasp placed her arms back onto the table.
"Do you remember my mentioning how frightfully shy my sister, Georgiana has become over the past year?" Darcy was amazed to hear a normal tone coming from his near constricted throat. Grateful that Elizabeth had placed her arms back onto the table top, he felt able to form complete words and sentences once again. He looked up to see Elizabeth nod and continued, "It has become increasingly difficult for her to appear in public and even when I encouraged Charles…Mr. Bingley… to bring his sister's on his visits to expand her circle of acquaintances it still doesn't seem enough." At Elizabeth's indrawn breath at the mention of Caroline Bingley, Darcy rose his eyes to her face. "Surely you didn't think that I have invited her for any other reason…?" Satisfied that Elizabeth now realized for certain that he had never harboured any desire to further his relationship in any way other than to help his sister, Darcy felt able to continue. "Anyway, it has long been a tradition here at Pemberley to hold celebrations for the tenant farmers, local magistrates, gentry and such a number of times throughout the year. Up until a few years ago my Aunt Catherine was hostess…until she came up with the idea that it would be perfect for me to marry her daughter Anne." Darcy risked a quick glance at Elizabeth's face to gauge her reaction, and was very pleased to see that her eyes had narrowed at the idea of his marrying another woman. He continued on. "I of course, had no intention of marrying my cousin, and Georgiana was not old enough to act as hostess so I put a hold on the events until I thought she was ready. After the events of last summer and her withdrawal from society; I find it hard to believe that without a little help Georgiana may never be ready." Darcy felt Elizabeth carefully watching him and looked over to see her intent gaze, which was one of the things that he loved most about her – she looked directly at you when she was making up her mind and didn't mince her words.
"How can I help then?" With those simple five words, Darcy knew that he had made the right choice in this woman. He reached over the table and brought her hand up to his mouth. He muttered a brief thank you and then pressed his lips in a tender kiss to the palm of her hand. Her fingers fluttered briefly against his cheek before she snatched her hand away, cheeks flushed most becomingly.
"Mr. Darcy!" Shocked, she could only look down at her hands twisting in her lap. Somehow Mr. Darcy doesn't sound bad at all, especially in that husky whisper of hers…
"I apologize, Elizabeth. I got carried away for a moment, forgive me please?" Darcy begged for her forgiveness and prayed that he hadn't just missed his one chance to convince her of his plan. At her brief nod, he continued. "I have asked your aunt and uncle whether it would be at all possible for you all to come to Pemberley again tomorrow to meet with Georgiana, if the two of you get along I would like to see whether you would be able to draw her out of her shell. You are closer to her own temperament than Caroline Bingley could ever hope to be and I hope that over time the two of you can become friends."
"How much time are we talking here? Uncle Edward is due back at the solicitors' office in a weeks' time and I don't think that would be enough time to be of any use, perhaps Georgiana could return with us back to Longbourn? No that would never work, my sister's would be too much for her to handle, never mind my mother. I wish Jane were here! She would know what to do…." At the look on Darcy's face, Elizabeth stopped her reflection and just stared. "What, William? You have the strangest look on your face, was it something I said?"
"Elizabeth Bennet, I could kiss you right now…but I'm not going to. I am determined to become 'more gentleman like'…" It was Darcy's turn to break off now at the distress on his beloved's face. "Elizabeth, don't look like that….you said it most clearly to me and I'm trying to change, I really am."
"Please don't mention what I said to you that day! I am just ashamed of my actions and shudder to think how cruelly I rejected you. If you were not gentlemen like, I certainly was not ladylike either." Elizabeth closed her eyes in dismay and opened them again to find Darcy starting to kneel before her. She reached out a hand to stop him from going any further. "Don't ask me again today, William. It's clear to me now that I may have been a little hasty in my decision back then, but that said I don't think that I am quite ready to yet in my mind." She whispered softly and shyly raised up her eyes to meet his shining gaze. He sat back down again and reached for her hand instead.
"What does your heart tell you to say?" Darcy whispered in return, his warm breath tickling her palm. She didn't reply just curled her fingers into his palm in response and sighed deeply.
"Where were we?" Darcy struggled to recollect where he had got to in his plan. His grip tightened momentarily when a voice from behind them cut in.
"Well, from where I'm standing it looked as though you were about to kiss her and then remembered that you were a gentleman…" Edward and Lucy were standing in the archway of the summer house, looking on in amusement at Darcy's obvious discomfort. "Come along, man. Tell her the rest of the plan and make it quick. We're wasting the best of the afternoon with the two of you making cow eyes at each other." Edward gave a bellowing laugh and for a moment Darcy was reminded that Edward shared the same parents as Elizabeth's mother and at certain times, like right at that very moment, it was clear that the same forthright manner was obviously a family trait. Luckily, Edward was, on the whole, a far more likeable character and Darcy realized that he had better get used to it if he wanted to keep Elizabeth in his life.
"Edward, dear maybe you had better tell Elizabeth the rest of the idea. From the sounds of it Lizzie had already made up her mind to help anyway." Lucy sat down at the table and accepted a cool glass of lemonade to quench her thirst. Edward paced in the doorway and glanced over to where Darcy was absentmindedly tracing a pattern on the inside of Elizabeth's palm, every now and then she would wrap her fingers around his hand and they would remain still before the same pattern would start over again.
"Elizabeth, your aunt and I have agreed to not continue our journey any further into Derbyshire but to remain at the Inn at Lambton for the rest of the week. We will journey here to Pemberley every day where your aunt can assist you in trying to draw young Miss Georgiana out of her shell. Mr. Bingley, Darcy and I will spend the mornings fishing and then will return to the house every afternoon so that Miss Georgiana will only have to practice her social skills for a short time each day. It's Monday now, on Thursday I shall return with your aunt and Mr. Darcy to Longbourn where we propose to collect your sister Jane and the children and then Mr. Darcy proposes that he brings Lucy, Jane and the children back to Pemberley where you can all spend the remainder of the summer. The hope is that by the end of August, Miss Georgiana will have come out of her shell enough to act as hostess for the Lady Anne Summer Fayre which will be held on the last Saturday of the month. If not, then your Aunt has offered to act as hostess with your assistance. I shall return myself on the Monday before hand to assist in any way that I can, and then I can escort you all back to Longbourn after the Fayre. I think that just about covers it, doesn't it Darcy?" Edward finally finished running through the whole scheme and it somehow the whole thing made perfect sense to Elizabeth, except for one small detail.
"How long will the two of you leave me alone with that woman?" Lucy and Edward automatically assumed that Elizabeth was talking about Georgiana and drew back in shock. Darcy however knew exactly who she meant, Caroline Bingley who would delight in making her feel like the imposter once Darcy had left. Darcy reached out to take Elizabeth's hand.
"Libby, someone needs to escort Lucy, Jane and the children back into Derbyshire. I can hardly ask Charles to go, he doesn't know the Gardiners and I think that he would be very uncomfortable travelling that distance with Jane, knowing this are still unsettled between them." Darcy wasn't even aware of the little pet name slipping out until it was too late, he was tense for a moment until he realized that Elizabeth didn't appear to mind at all. She grumbled a bit under her breath and then reluctantly agreed, knowing full well that Caroline would probably not hesitate in making her feel like an interloper in Darcy's house as soon as he left. He out a finger to smooth the worry line that appeared between her eyes and before he quite realized what he was doing, he found himself pressing a reassuring kiss to her forehead. The Gardiners found that something outside had caught their interest and turned away from the younger couple to give them a brief moment of privacy.
Darcy groaned a little under his breath and the suddenly swept his intended bride into his arms for a crushing embrace. Elizabeth watched, mesmerized as his head slowly lowered to hers. Her lips parted slightly and welcomed the touch of his sensual kiss. Desire raged over his heated skin, causing his pulse rate to leap and speed up. Her open-mouthed reaction to his seeking tongue caused his groin to stir. He pressed her tightly against him for a moment or two and then just as swiftly released her before she could feel his excited body betraying him and strode out of the archway. He paused for a moment to catch his breath and then called over to the other man who was amusing himself by counting how many fish were jumping in the stream.
"Edward, shall we walk down to the lake to see how the fish are biting today? I fear it may be a little too warm for them and we may have to wait until tomorrow morning when it is likely to be cooler." Darcy called out the invitation and without waiting for the other man to catch up started to walk down to the lake.
"Go to him, Edward. He needs a little time away from her. It's been a very intense afternoon and I think that they both could do with a little perspective." Lucy gave her husband a little shove and then watched whilst he hurried to catch up with Darcy. Lucy entered the overly warm summer house and saw that Elizabeth was still standing in the same spot that Darcy had left her in.
"Lizzie, dear are you quite alright?" she asked gently, Elizabeth turned a shocked look at her aunt.
"He….and then he just left..! He left…!" Lucy smiled in amazement and the young woman standing before her, it was just like Lizzie not to be cross with a man for kissing and holding her tight, but no – Lizzie Bennet was angry that he left!
"I mean, really! One minute he's about to propose….then he starts talking about his sister….the next thing I know I'm practically being asked to move into his home…and to prepare his sister for society! It's really all very confusing and I'm not sure what I have really agreed to do…" Elizabeth suddenly slumped over the table and groaned. "Ah, this is probably what being married to him would be like, he's so changeable that I won't ever really know what's going on his mind."
"Lizzie, dear. If you really don't want to do this, we'll simply go on as we planned and say no more about it. But I think that if you refuse, well…" Lucy let her voice trail away and noticed that her niece was sitting very straight in the chair.
"He'd never ask again, would he?" The thought of Darcy leaving her alone and marrying someone else suddenly made Elizabeth's heart wrench in her chest and her mind was made up. She suddenly knew that she was absolutely certain of her rightful place in the world, here at Pemberley wrapped securely in Darcy's arms and his heart. No one else was going to take her place if she could help it.
"No dear, I don't think that his heart or his pride would let him." Lucy reached out to console her niece and was very surprised to see Elizabeth patting her hair in place and tucking a very masculine looking handkerchief into a hidden pocket of her dress.
"Well, we can't have that now can we?" Elizabeth took a breath and made a decision there and then.
"Can't have what dear?" Lucy was very confused now and had lost track of the conversation completely. The heat of the afternoon was making her headache slightly and she was longing to go up to the main house and just sit for a while in the cool back parlour to rest. Elizabeth looked over at her aunt and smiled, "We're just going to take a short walk down to the lake to see the menfolk and then we'll go and find a nice cool lemonade up at the main house and rest for a while. In fact, why don't you head there and wait for me? I just have something to say to Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and then I will join you."
"No, I think I might enjoy the breeze from the lake and you still haven't answered my question – what can't you have?"
Elizabeth just smiled secretly and started to stroll down towards the lake. Lucy shook her head and followed her niece, she winced at the sun and wished that she had remembered to bring her parasol with her. A gentle cough from behind revealed the same young footman that had served luncheon. He was holding out a delicate white parasol that he offered to Lucy with a gentle smile. She accepted with delight and opened it up to immediately feel the effect of gentle dappled shade peeking through the lacy holes. Lucy hurried her steps, anxious to catch up with Elizabeth before she missed any of the drama. She huffed a little in exertion and finally caught up with her niece as she was making her final approach to where the men were watching the lake with intent.
"Mr. Darcy, might I have a quick word with you?" At Elizabeth's strangely cooing voice, Darcy immediately turned around and found himself staring into the face of an extremely annoyed young woman. You've really done it now, Darcy. She'll never accept you now, why did you kiss her like that?
"A little closer please, Mr. Darcy. I don't want to have to shout." Elizabeth took a single step closer, hoping to encourage Darcy to do the same. She looked over at her aunt and made a little gesture to indicate that Lucy should move away slightly. Darcy stopped moving and allowed Elizabeth to come up to him. She looked him directly in his eye as she grasped him firmly by the lapels of his morning coat to pull him up firmly against her.
"Listen to me very closely, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy! If you ever, ever do that to me again I will never allow you to ask that question! Do you understand what I am trying to tell you?" The very nearness of his Elizabeth holding him so close had him struck dumb, Darcy realized that Elizabeth was waiting for his response and could only assume that she didn't want him to kiss her, so why then did she still want him to ask her to marry him? The only possible explanation was so that she could continue to reject him again and again.
"Men! You can be so hard to understand sometimes!" Elizabeth nearly growled in frustration, which only made Darcy even more befuddled. Elizabeth heard Lucy gently clearing her throat to get her attention.
"Lizzie, dear I think a little payback is in order don't you?" She gave a little smile of encouragement to her niece, making sure that Elizabeth was in no doubt of her support and then called out to her husband. "Edward, you may want to step away from Darcy just a little bit. In fact, why don't you come over here for a moment so that I can explain things a little better?" Edward looked at his wife who nodded pointedly at where Elizabeth still held Darcy firmly by his coat and then followed her nod at the river below. Lucy kept moving her head from Darcy to the river and back again and Edward finally understood what was about to happen.
"Oh…yes, I see. Well, capital idea…just what the boy needs." Edward blustered a little and then place his hands in his pockets to watch the afternoon entertainment.
"Which part, dear?" Lucy enquired softly.
"Well from the looks of things, I would say both of them…" They looked over to where Elizabeth was drawing Darcy closer and closer and then suddenly leant down to kiss him firmly on the lips. Darcy was utterly shocked for a second, and then was an active participant in the kiss. At Elizabeth's soft moan, Darcy took immediate action and darted the very tip of his tongue into the moist cavern of her mouth, where it slipped over the surface over her teeth to encourage her tongue to follow his. The feel of her shy response as her tongue briefly darted into his mouth before quickly retreat only encouraged his hands to slip from her waist to cup her firm buttocks and urged her even closer to his throbbing arousal. As their thighs touched, Darcy felt his hips jerk forward in response. One of his hands left off caressing her bottom to make a slow upwards journey….Darcy groaned as Elizabeth tore her mouth away, gasping for breath, he moved his head desperate to have that contact back again, only to find that Elizabeth had moved his hands away too.
"Aaah…Elizabeth." Darcy kept his eyes closed as he felt the soft flutter of tiny hands caressing his chest…wait a minute they weren't caressing; they were pushing hard! Darcy's eyes flew open as he fought to regain his footing on the slippery edge of the lake, unsuccessful he found himself up to his waist in cool, silted water.
"What….? Elizabeth…? ELIZABETH BENNET….! You get back here right now!" Darcy struggled to his feet and waded to the edge of the river. Edward reached out a hand to assist but Darcy was too angry to accept. He scrambled up the side of the river and looked up at Elizabeth, who was still standing where she had pushed him in.
"Now you know how I felt when you left me in that summer house and walked away without a word…" Darcy groaned when he finally realized what this whole mess was about, she wasn't angry about the kiss or the way that he held her. No, not his Elizabeth, she was more annoyed at the fact that he had reverted back to his arrogant self and stalked away without a word. Elizabeth knew that she had finally broken through, and knelt on the bank and reached out a hand to help him up. Darcy reached up to caress her face and before she knew it, Elizabeth was chest deep in water with him.
"MR. DARCY…!" Elizabeth coughed and spluttered on the stream water and Darcy could hear the shock in Lucy's voice as she scolded him from above.
"Lucy, would you mind sending word up to the house that we would like two baths prepared please, and ask if Mrs. Reynolds could find out some clothing of Georgiana's for Elizabeth to change into? Edward would you mind lending Elizabeth your jacket, I'm afraid that her dress is a little worse for wear?" Darcy called out instructions to the river bank and gently patted Elizabeth on the back to help her catch her breath. "Elizabeth dear, I'm going to need you to keep your back towards the bank whilst I go and fetch Edwards's jacket. No don't turn around, just stay there a moment until I return." Darcy waded over to where Edward was holding out his jacket. Both men leant towards each other in a whispered conversation.
"Darcy, she needs to get out of the water and soon. She could catch a chill in that water, I'll wait here until you get that jacket over her, I'll help you out and then clear the way for you to get Lizzie out without drawing too much attention to her." Darcy was in full agreement, he didn't even want Edward to see her and both men agreed they would try to do it as swiftly as possible. Darcy waded back over to where Elizabeth stood shivering in the water. He held the jacket over his shoulder so that it wouldn't get too wet before crossing around to stand in front of Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth, I'm going to guide you back slowly to where the shallows start and then I'm going to wrap Edwards's jacket around you and get you out of the water, alright?" Elizabeth just nodded her head in mortification, her muslin dress had soaked straight through and was now completed transparent. She could see the shadows of her privates where the current was gently pressing the damp cloth against her. Without even looking she could feel that the cold water had caused her nipples to swell and harden against the wet front of her bodice. Darcy placed one hand on her hip to slowly guide her backwards into the shallows and tried desperately to keep his eyes fixed firmly on her face and not to stray downwards where her erect nipples were almost rubbing against his chest. He moved a little further back from her and wondered why the cold water was having absolutely no effect on his arousal pressing insistently against the flap of his breeches. The cold water had made his trousers plaster against his muscular legs and he knew that his risen manhood was clearly visible through the thin material, he only hoped Elizabeth wouldn't notice.
"Why did you leave me alone like that?" Elizabeth questioned, desperate to keep her mind off the chilling water of the stream. She had really thought that the water would have been warmer, the July sun had been blazing down for weeks now.
"Might we discuss this a little later, perhaps when we have at least gotten out of the water?" Darcy was trying hard to keep his gaze averted and his mind off of his arousal but it was an almost impossible task. Edward was leaning off of the bank with his arm outstretched ready to assist Darcy and to hand over his jacket. Darcy took hold of the jacket instead of the arm and wrapped it around the shivering Elizabeth, who was now only up to her knees in water. He scrambled up the bank and stretched out both arms to lift her clear out of the water, without any outward signs of effort at all. Edward quickly turned away from this sight of Darcy's obvious discomfort and the fact that the muslin of Elizabeth's dress might as well have been tissue paper.
"I'll…just…see you both back at the house." Edward cleared his throat uncomfortably and quickly scurried away up the incline toward the house, leaving Darcy and Elizabeth alone on the banks of the stream.
"Well William, I am still waiting for an explanation." Elizabeth shivered as the cold, smelly water dripped down her neck. Darcy set her on her feet for a moment and pulled the jacket completely around her, enclosing her in the warmth. He then lifted her back up into his arms and started toward the house, searching for the right words.
"Elizabeth, when you returned my kisses back in the summerhouse it…well it excited me a little too much." There he had said it, whether she understood his meaning, remained to be seen.
"And that meant you had to leave?" Elizabeth was a little confused, she had only seen him from behind in his bedchamber earlier and had assumed that he had been taking a bath and she had caught him naked; what had he been doing that had made him call out her name like that?
"Well, when a man gets excited…it means that…well I wanted more than your kiss!" Darcy was feeling quite uncomfortable, her unblinking gaze and forthright questioning had dampened his arousal so much that he was now merely feeling cold and irritated. Surely her Mother had explained these things to her when she first entered womanhood? I thought that all young girls were advised about these things to prepare them for the marriage bed!
"How much more? What do you mean?" Elizabeth was not satisfied with the vague answers that Darcy was giving her, what did he really want from her?
"Libby! You must have realised, or seen in the water that I…well, that I was aroused." At her blank look, Darcy stifled a wry grin. "You really have no idea how you tempt me, do you? Elizabeth, darling, in the summer house I was ready and willing to make you my own…in every way possible." At these last words, Elizabeth finally caught his meaning and flushed with embarrassment. How naïve could she possibly get? She had heard vague stories of what happens to a man's appendage when excited but it was only now that she realised exactly how it affected them; which also helped her to understand what he had really been up to in his bedchamber earlier.
"Oh…!"
"Yes, oh indeed. Now do you mind if we change the subject, or I think I may just have to excuse myself again." Darcy shifted Elizabeth higher in his arms and strode onwards up the hill. The expression on her face when she had finally made the connection had made him shiver in reaction and it appeared that he had a very fast recovery time indeed. He fully expected Elizabeth to turn on him in disgust but she snuggled deeper into his embrace instead, making him thank the Lord in a quick Heaven sent appeal.
As they topped the rise and neared the house, neither one saw that they were being looked upon with shock and surprise. It was only as they reached the even ground that Darcy looked up from his wet burden to meet the horrified gaze of Mr. Charles Bingley and Miss Georgiana Darcy who had arrived a day earlier than expected in hopes of surprising him.
"Georgiana, Charles. This is a surprise. Tell me, Charles where are your delightful sisters?" Darcy managed a few words through his shock, surprised that he could even manage to form those few words. Of all the times to arrive! Impeccable timing, Mr. Bingley as ever.
"Caroline and Louisa are staying on with friends in Matlock, they won't be arriving for another few days. Georgiana wanted to surprise you, so we came on ahead." Charles stuttered out, horrified by the sight of the once impeccably dressed Mr. Darcy covered in pond scum and looking filthy.
"Surprised is an understatement." Darcy muttered and shifted a very cold and now shivering Elizabeth in his arms.