Author's Note: Skipping some road travel here so we can get to the good stuff! Hope you enjoy Elizabeth's first foray into the Lake District!
PS I have tried to research the areas of this story, but given that the setting is more than two hundred years ago, there may be some anachronisms; I will take creative license in case there wasn't a dock, boat rental service, etc., in Jane Austen's time. I hope you will forgive me for the sake of having fun with the story ;)
"Wake up, my love."
At her husband's gentle words, Elizabeth stirred, surprised that she had fallen asleep. She was not normally one to doze during the day, certainly not in a carriage; yet she had slept ill at the inn the previous night.
Opening her eyes, she straightened herself from where she had been resting on her husband's chest, and glanced out the carriage window.
"Oh, Fitzwilliam," she breathed. "Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?"
"Yes."
She turned to look at him, and found him gazing upon her with a fond smile. She blushed under his subtle praise, then shifted to give him a better view out of the window.
"Look," she urged, taking his hand and pressing it in her excitement.
"It is magnificent," he agreed.
As far as the eye could see, there were deep blue waters surrounded by emerald peaks dotted with trees, boulders, and...
"...sheep!" Elizabeth realized with a laugh. She peered closer at the animals gamboling over the hills.
A soft smile touched Darcy's lips as he followed her gaze.
"Do you know," he said quietly, "I do not think I have ever enjoyed anything so much as seeing it through your eyes."
Feeling wide awake now, Elizabeth was nearly giddy in her jubilation. She leaned over to kiss Fitzwilliam.
"Oh, can we stop here?" she asked, fully aware that she sounded childish. "I cannot wait another instant."
"Certainly."
Elizabeth kissed him again, grateful that he had not complained that they only had a little farther to go until their lodgings, or asked why she could not wait a short while longer. Darcy only tapped the roof of the carriage, which, after a moment, found a safe place to halt on the roadside.
"I'll only be a moment," Elizabeth promised, as Darcy helped her from the carriage. "I know we shall have plenty of time later to explore."
"Take all the time you wish," he assured her.
With her feet on firm ground again, Elizabeth took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The air was cool and bracing; the breeze fluttered her hair and her skirts. Overhead, the sky was filled with accumulations of downy gray clouds which were mirrored in the water.
As Elizabeth took in the sights with wonder, she was unaware that her husband was just as raptly watching her. Then he heard his step behind her, and he gently put a hand on her arm.
"Take care," he murmured.
Elizabeth murmured her thanks, even though she had been on ground far rockier and more treacherous; she did not think it would be helpful to say as much to Fitzwilliam. His caution was a sign of his care.
"Do you see those boats?" Fitzwilliam asked a moment later.
"Yes."
"I shall take you out in one later, if you wish," he offered with a smile.
"I should like that very much." Elizabeth took a step closer to him, allowing him to hold her arm more closely.
For a time, they stood together in companionable silence; Elizabeth put a hand on his coat, and smoothed her palm over his back.
"I am ready," she said finally. "The sooner we arrive at our lodgings, the sooner we can see everything else!"
Soon, they were safely ensconced in their temporary accommodations: a delightful cottage, cozy and charming. Most welcome of all: the cottage was for them alone, no noisy neighbors with whom to share it.
Even though they had been alone together in the carriage, it was much nicer to be truly alone with Fitzwilliam in the privacy of their cottage.
After a short while before the pleasure of the fire, Elizabeth stood up to stretch her legs.
"What would you like to do first, my dear?" Fitzwilliam asked.
"I hardly know," admitted Elizabeth. "So many options appeal to me. Where, exactly, are we? What is closest?"
"We are in Coniston," answered Darcy patiently, "so we may go to Coniston Water. There Is Windermere to the east, and Muncaster with its castle to the west, but I thought you should not like too much more time in the carriage today."
"Certainly not," agreed Elizabeth. "I would very much like a walk."
"Then why do we not stroll down by the water? Perhaps you can decide, once we arrive, what you would like to do."
"Mr. Darcy, you shock me!" teased Elizabeth. "I did not know you to be so spontaneous."
To Elizabeth's relief, her husband uttered a short laugh.
"It is not my custom," he admitted, "but you may consider it one of your happy effects on me, Mrs. Darcy."
"Then we must continue spending time together," ordered Elizabeth; "I quite like this free-spirited Fitzwilliam."
"That is most convenient, for I quite like you."
Elizabeth beamed up at him and kissed him sweetly.
"Come, Mr. Darcy, or we shall never leave," she declared.
"Yes, my love; only, I beg you to put on your coat first."
Once Elizabeth had obliged him, he gallantly offered her his arm; she accepted it, and they strolled together down to the shore.
But for brief remarks on the sights they passed, the newlyweds remained quiet; this afforded Elizabeth's attention the chance to focus wholly on enjoying the natural marvels before her. It was quite a quaint little village, sleepy and peaceful, with few houses; the only thing that really drew Elizabeth's notice was one large farmhouse with some impressive chimneys. Otherwise, she could see only natural beauty, unmarred by human interference - which was quite to her taste.
"I cannot thank you enough," she said quietly, "for arranging all of this for me."
"I was glad to do it for your sake," her husband replied sincerely. "Surely, you must know by now, I would do anything for you."
She held his arm a little tighter, feeling too much on that matter to say.
"I wonder," she said instead, after a moment, "at your comprehension of the place, finding such a gem as Coniston."
"It was southern enough to prevent further time in the carriage if we did not wish it," Darcy explained, "and located rather centrally to a good many other sites you may wish to visit in the area; all are a day's journey or so, I believe."
Elizabeth only smiled; of course, her husband had thought of everything.
They walked for sometime along the shore before reaching the docks.
"Do you still wish for a boat-ride, Mrs. Darcy?" asked Fitzwilliam.
"Oh, yes please," replied Elizabeth eagerly. "I will write to Georgiana to tell her of our safe arrival, and I must have something interesting I can tell her."
