Gentle Reader,

This chapter was written for Shelby66, who was the only person to reply to my inquiry on the last chapter. I hope you like it.

Also, this is now twice the length of my senior thesis.

Love,

RobinDesBois

In Our Italian Restaurant

That September, William had to go to New York for a week on a business trip. They texted the entire time he was away, largely about how much they missed one another, and called one another every evening. It took her all of one night to realize she was having trouble sleeping without his warmth alongside her. William knew he would be having trouble sleeping before he even got on the plane. His solution was to fall asleep looking at the photo of her he had set as the background on his phone; hers was to steal one of his shirts for pajamas.

On the Friday of his trip, Lizzie had just finished making a reservation at their Italian restaurant when her phone lit up with William's name.

"Hi," she said. "Good timing."

"You, too," he laughed. "You'll never guess what just happened."

"Oh?"

"Yes, it was the strangest thing-I was in my last meeting of the week, and I reached into my pocket to grab my laser pointer, and guess what my hand closed on instead?"

"I have no idea."

"In that case, I would really like to know who it was that snuck into my suitcase and slipped this lacy black garter into my pocket. Since I'm staying with Bing and Jane, I suppose it could hypothetically be your sister's, but that might be a bit awkward. I'm not one to judge, but I don't think it's Bing's. I don't think it would fit."

By this time, Lizzie was laughing hysterically.

"The only other person who had access to my luggage was you. And as a wise man once said, 'Once we eliminate the impossible, whatever's left, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.'"

"I suppose it might have been me. Out of curiosity, was this wise man Sherlock Holmes or Spock?"

"Does it really matter?"

"No, I don't suppose it does."

"I'm going to get you for this."

"I'm looking forward to it. By the way, I made reservations for us at our Italian place for tomorrow night. They could only get us in right at eight, so hurry home."

"Rest assured, Lizzie Bennett, I had no intention of doing otherwise. I would ask one small favor of you, though."

"What kind of favor?"

"A very easy one. Do you remember the green lace dress you were wearing when we started dating?"

"Yes, but I'm surprised you do."

"The internet is forever, Lizzie."

"Fair enough."

"Wear that when we go out tomorrow night?"

"I think I can acquiesce to that." Lizzie laughed.

"Great. I love you, Lizzie Bennett."

"I love you, William Darcy."

The next evening, Lizzie was wearing her green dress and watching out the window when William's taxi pulled up. She leapt up from the window seat and ran down to meet him. He saw her coming with just enough time to set down his suitcase, so he was able to catch her when she leapt up to kiss him. It was a good ten seconds before he released her with one last nip to her lower lip, and put her back on her feet. They stared at each other breathlessly for a few moments before Lizzie remembered they had plans.

"Oh, dinner!" she exclaimed. He paid the taxi driver, grabbed his suitcase with one hand and her hand with the other, and they returned to their apartment. He kept her hand as he carried his suitcase into their bedroom.

"Before we go, I brought you a present."

"William, you know you don't need to buy me things."

"I like to do things for you, and you won't let me pay off your student loans."

"Well, when you put it that way…" she muttered as handed her a blue box tied with a white ribbon. "Is this from Tiffany's?" He nodded, and she opened it to reveal a silver pendant, from which hung three small diamonds over an emerald.

"Was I right that it matches the dress?" he asked, sounding somewhat nervous. "I was quite certain it matched your eyes. Jane helped choose the setting, though."

"It's the most perfect thing I've ever seen," she whispered, trying to keep her eyes from watering. "You shouldn't have."

"Yes, I should have," he replied, taking the box from her hand and carefully removing the necklace to clasp around her neck. "I thought you might like some Tiffany."

"I love Tiffany..." she replied, softly touching the emerald that did, in fact, match her dress. "And I love you."

"I love you, too, Lizzie Bennett. Oh, I have something else for you! Please, sit down."

"Not more jewelry?" she asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Not more jewelry," he confirmed, laughing. "Something of yours I need to return."

William knelt in front of her with her garter in one hand, lifting her foot with the other. He slowly raised it up her leg and onto her thigh, ensuring it was well hidden under her skirt.

"I feel like I'm back at the Gibson wedding. I think since I took it to a business meeting, you can wear it to dinner."

"That seems fair," Lizzie laughed, then gasped as he bent forward and kissed her leg right below where he had placed the garter. His eyes had noticeably darkened when he pulled back to look at her again.

"Dinner. We've got reservations," she whispered.

"Right. Dinner," he rose and extended his hand to pull her to her feet, and they walked hand in hand to the restaurant. Lizzie tried to ignore the feeling of the lace against her legs.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they were shown to a table in a dimly lit corner of the restaurant. William subtly shifted his chair closer to Lizzie's and placed his hand on her thigh, directly where he had placed her garter. He enjoyed the slight blush that spread across her cheeks as she read through the menu. He removed his hand when the waitress came for their order, quickly replacing it when she had retreated, this time slipping the tip of his finger under the hem of her dress, and just brushing the edge of the lace.

"William, is it your intention to distract me like this through our entire meal?"

"Very much so, yes; you distracted me quite thoroughly through my entire meeting, after all. I just have the added benefit of being able to do so in person." Lizzie bit her lip as the waitress returned with her lasagna al forno and William's bolognese bianco, along with a bottle of Meroi Sauvignon Blanc.

William withdrew his hand to pour the wine, this time replacing his hand further up her skirt, slowly running his finger between the garter and the soft skin of her thigh.

"I can't wait to get you home, Lizzie," he whispered in her ear. "I've missed you this week, you have no idea how badly."

William ended up ignoring his food for most of the meal, focusing instead on whispering into Lizzie's ear all the things he wanted to do to her, occasionally punctuating it with a nibble to her earlobe or a kiss to her hand. By the time they paid their bill (and fought about who would be paying; she won, having made the reservation to welcome him home), neither of them knew if the blush on her cheeks was from him or the wine. In reality, it was a strong combination of both.

On the walk home, William's hand strayed below its usual placement on Lizzie's waist, softly exploring the curve of her hip instead. On the stairs up to their apartment, it strayed even further, blatantly cupping her ass while keeping her side flush to his. The moment they entered the apartment, all pretension of propriety fell away. He pulled her into a fierce kiss, backing her into the living room. As soon as he felt them make contact with the back of the arm chair, he broke their kiss.

"Do you trust me, Lizzie Bennett?"

"Of course I do," she whispered.

"I want to try something with you," he whispered.

"Do it," Lizzie, her courage rising.

"Tell me if anything I do is too much, Lizzie, promise me."

"Yes, William, of course I will."

Having obtained her consent, William quickly turned her towards the chair, and bent her at the waist. Lizzie's hands automatically reached down to balance against the seat of the chair. She felt William lightly trace his hands down the sides of her hips and the tops of her thighs to the bottom hem of her skirt. He tugged the fabric up over her hips, revealing red satin panties.

"Are these new?" he asked, giving her left cheek a firm squeeze.

"Yes, I thought they'd be a fun surprise for you to come home to."

"They are, indeed," he replied, grinding his hips into her to ensure she felt his arousal. He smiled at her soft whimper of pleasure. He slowly pulled them down her legs, making sure his fingers brushed her legs all the way down, and carefully leaving the garter in place. When he stood back up, he used one of his knees to nudge her legs apart.

Watching Lizzie closely to gauge her reaction, William gave her a soft swat followed by a firm squeeze and rubbing his palm across her newly exposed skin. He was gratified by the familiar gasp and whimper that followed. He kept one hand on her waist, allowing his thumb to trace small circles on her skin while his other hand freed him from his pants. They both moaned from the familiar pleasure when he entered her; he had hoped to continue teasing her, but the result of the week's separation and day's teasing was that they both came in minutes.

They took a few moments to catch their breath before Lizzie returned to her standing position; she wobbled slightly when she did, so William deftly swept her off her feet and carried her back to their room.

William reclaimed possession of the garter as they changed into their pajamas; he declared "finder's keepers" and hid it in his night stand, right next to the engagement ring.