AN: So here it is the long awaited final chapter! Apologies to all of those how have been asking for an update for so long but I have been taking care of my very sick Grandmother and was only posting pre-written works. I may continue with their lives together at a later date, but for now - thank you for reading!
Elizabeth rose from the bed, wincing a little at the soreness between her legs. She walked over to where a pitcher of water stood on the wash stand and taking the cloth, gently wiped the last traces of her innocence from the top of her thighs. She pulled her hopelessly wrinkled dress over her head, and hoped that there was no one lurking in the corridor to notice her lack of underwear. Before leaving the bedchamber she quickly walked over to the bed and inspected the linens for traces of blood, there was just a tiny speck on the sheet not enough to warrant any suspicions though. As Darcy rolled onto his back, Elizabeth noticed there was traces of dried blood and semen across his thighs and manhood, not wanting to wake him she left the pitcher of water and washcloth next to the bed and gently pressed a kiss to the forehead of the man she loved.
"Darcy, I'm going to change my clothes and then head back downstairs. I've just remembered that we've left both doors locked and it will soon be time for dinner. We've probably caused all sorts of rumours already, having already missed afternoon tea."
Darcy rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up in bed, covers falling to his lap as he did so. He patted the seat next to him on the mattress and Elizabeth eyed it ruefully before shaking her head.
"Oh, no. If I sit down, I'm not sure I will ever get down to dinner."
"Please, Libby just for a moment." Darcy asked quietly. She carefully sat down and he reached over to clasp her hand. "I want you to know what a precious gift you have given me this afternoon, and I promise you that no one will ever know what has passed between us." Elizabeth turned slightly to face him on the bed and reached out to tuck his hair back into place.
"William, I love you, and I also know what a gift you have given me too." She leant closer and placed a gentle kiss against his cheek, "I overheard everything that you said to Uncle Edward in the study, and believe me no one would ever realise that it was your first time as well." Darcy shifted uncomfortably under the sheets and pulled them a little higher in his lap.
"Well, my father had a lot of reading material that fascinated a young boy…"
"I hope that you've gotten rid of them now, I wouldn't want our children to come across them unexpectedly!" Elizabeth stated roundly and they both chuckled, Darcy's laughter died as he pressed a tender hand to her stomach.
"Elizabeth…."
"William, it is fine. My cycle is very regular and this is a completely safe time for me. There should be no unwarranted consequences from our actions today." Elizabeth coloured a little and placed her hand over his as it lay over her womb. Darcy nodded slowly and then threw back the covers so that he could stride across the room to where he had ripped off his shirt and breeches, uncaring about his nudity in the slightest. Elizabeth watched his buttocks clench as he bent down to retrieve something from the floor and as he turned she could see the heavy weight of his manhood lying against his thigh, it stirred a little under her gaze and Darcy narrowed his eyes at her warningly. He passed Elizabeth the envelope and then walked over to retrieve the washcloth from the pitcher. Keeping his back to her, he washed the traces of their coupling from his body and tugged on a clean pair of underclothes.
He turned back to face Elizabeth as she sat staring at the little envelope. Opening it up, she scanned the contents before a surprised smile flickered across her lips. "You've had this since April? Oh, William, I promise I will think about it truly I will. It's just that I really wanted Jane to be here…"
"Darling, there's no date on that…it can wait until Jane arrives or it can be tomorrow. I just wanted you to know how serious I am – and always have been – about my desire to make you Mrs. Darcy." He leant forward to wipe a stray tear that had slipped from her eye. "Tears, Libby? Happy ones, I hope."
"Very happy ones. William, I don't need to think about it anymore…"Elizabeth reached up to touch his smiling face, "I will marry you as soon as my sister can be here with me."
"Elizabeth, are you certain? I have no wish for you to do something that you would have regrets for later. We could have that grand society wedding, if that it your wish…"
"No, darling. I have no wish for society weddings or grand parties. I only wish to start my life with you, here at Pemberley as soon as I can share the day with my beloved sister." Darcy closed his eyes at the endearment that slipped from her lips, and reached down to swoop her up in his arms to whirl her around in delight.
"Does this mean that I can start to tell everyone that we are officially engaged?"
"I think that this," Elizabeth waved the hand wearing the ruby around in front of his face. "Might just give it away. But feel free to tell anyone that you wish in the meantime. However, I would appreciate it if we could marry first and tell my parents later; unless you wish to be bombarded with the entire Bennet household before we have even had a wedding trip!"
"Ah, no I really don't think so."
"I thought not, you might want to drop that little snippet of information into my uncle's ear just to push the point home. I will miss having my father present, but my mother not so much. Unless….no that would never work."
"What were you just thinking?" Darcy nuzzled against Elizabeth's throat wanting to chase away the sudden sadness from his beloved's eyes.
"I was just thinking whether there were some way we could get my father to journey here with Jane, but leaving my mother and the rest of the family behind."
"I'm sorry my darling, I just can't see that as possible. However, I promise that as soon as we have settled down a little into married life, I will take you back to Longbourn for a visit." Darcy kissed her gently, knowing that the whole situation was causing her distress. "Or, we could just put this whole special licence into the fire and wait for the banns to be called out of Longbourn." He held his breath waiting for her response.
"I love you for suggesting that, but I don't think that would make either of us very happy in the long run. And besides, now that I know that you've had it all of this time it makes it so much more special to me. I just need a dress, some flowers and my sister and then we can marry. No more prevaricating, and that's final."
Darcy pulled on his breeches and looked at the bunch of keys in his hand before pulling one off the bunch and made a great production of unlocking the interconnecting door and leaving it wide open. He took the key out of the lock and pressed it into Elizabeth's trembling hand. He closed her fingers around the key and pressed it against her heart.
"That key and the one to the secret stair belong to you now. When you need time alone, for any reason all you need do is close the door between our rooms and I will respect your need for privacy. The same applies downstairs, I want you to treat that reading room as your own private space and whenever you feel the need too, just close that door as well." Elizabeth gave Darcy a tremulous smile, he had instinctively known exactly what would have brought her most pleasure as a gift; privacy. Elizabeth had never had that before, even her bedchamber at Longbourn was not completely private as any one of her sisters were known to barge in at any given time.
"William, that is the most thoughtful thing that anyone has ever done for me; and you know the same things apply to you as well, with the doors, I mean." Elizabeth smiled at Darcy's bemused reaction.
"I don't think that I will ever not want to be near you, my darling; but I appreciate the sentiment. I'll just go and check whether there is anyone lingering in the hallway and let you know whether it is alright for you to go and change." Darcy pressed a quick kiss to her forehead and led her into his bedchamber where she looked around interestedly. It had a definite masculine air to it, with a massive four poster and bureau in dark wood, with lots of blue and green in the rugs and bedspread. Darcy peered out into the hallway and motioned for Elizabeth to come over. "Go change your clothes and then meet me back here in a few minutes, we'll go downstairs together." He quickly kissed her firmly on the lips and pushed her gently out into the corridor. "Don't be too long, I'll be waiting right here."
"Yes, dear." Elizabeth grinned cheekily over her shoulder, and scampered along the corridor to her bedchamber. Darcy waited until she had entered her own bedchamber before collapsing against his door and sinking to the floor. He struggled to regulate his breathing as he recalled the events of the past hour, and then surged to his feet as he remembered that Elizabeth had mentioned that both study doors were locked from the inside; this would only arouse unwanted speculation if one of the housemaids were to try and deliver his afternoon tea. Most of the staff knew that Elizabeth had been using his Mother's reading room – no make that Elizabeth's study, for the preparations of the Fayre and someone was bound to have questions for her. Darcy pulled himself together enough to race through a quick wash and change of clothes; making sure that he selected trousers that were an exact match to the pair so recently discarded. A quick look at the clock on the mantle had him racing back through to the adjoining chamber and down to Elizabeth's study where he silently unlocked the hallway door. He repeated the actions with the door within his own study and checked that there were no obvious signs of their earlier dalliance. He raced back up the small staircase and reached his bedchamber just as a hesitant tapping on the outer door. Darcy opened the door to find Elizabeth pressed against the wall in an effort to blend in with the shadows. He reached out a hand to bring her into the chamber fully and pressed a finger against his lips in an effort to ensure that she remained silent. She nodded as he pointed back towards the other room, and walked his fingers to indicate that they should go back into the study. Elizabeth immediately realised what Darcy intended, and nodded her head in agreement. She leant over to whisper softly into his ear as they stepped onto the staircase.
"Henry knew that I had locked both of the doors and agreed to keep everyone occupied as far as he could."
"Remind me to thank him later." Darcy squeezed her hand and led them through the door back into the study. Although she closed the door, Elizabeth made sure that Darcy caught sight of the fact that she did not engage the lock. A satisfied smile crept over his face and he held open the connecting door so that she could pass by him to re-enter his inner sanctum. Taking a seat in the same armchair that they had so delightfully occupied earlier, Elizabeth arranged her skirts around her comfortably. She too, had redressed in a similar attire, as to not cause unwarranted gossip. She looked up to find Darcy staring at the chair and gently coughed to bring his attention back to the present. They both looked up at the soft two knuckled rap at the door. "Yes, enter." Darcy called out and Henry popped his head around the door.
"I was just wondering whether you and Miss Bennet would be emerging to join the rest of the party for dinner." Darcy looked up and smiled at his oldest friend, clasping Libby's hand tightly in his own.
"Henry, please tell our guests that my fiancée and I will be along to join them shortly." Henry choked back a tear as his wrinkled face wreathed with a smile as he offered his congratulations.
"Oh, lad…Lady Anne would be very proud of the choice you've made with Miss Elizabeth, very proud indeed."
"Thank you, Henry…that means a great deal to me to hear you say that."
"It's the truth lad, you could have had your pick from scores of young misses but you waited until just the right one for you came along, I hope the two of you will be very happy." Henry coughed to clear his throat and then quickly walked away before his emotions got the better of him, leaving Libby and Darcy to make their way into the dining room to share their joy with their family and friends.