Chapter 18

The next day, Darcy waited impatiently for Elizabeth to arrive at the house on New Berkshire Street. He was sick with the thought that she had lain with Carlisle. Her note had said that she would take care of the problem, and he could think of only one way that she could do that. The thought of that monster possessing the petite but exquisite body that Darcy considered only his, made him ill.

When Elizabeth entered, Darcy came forward to pull her into his arms. "Are you all right, my love?" he asked.

"Yes, of course," she responded. "I told you I knew what to do."

"Did you – did you lie with him?" Darcy asked unwillingly, not wanting to hear the answer.

"Certainly not!" replied Elizabeth, surprised. "I simply ensured he was drunk, and then made him think he had lain with me."

Darcy felt immediate relief. He drew her into his arms again, and placed his chin atop her head. "I was so worried for you," he murmured.

She put a consoling hand to his chest. "I am very well. I should wait about six weeks before I tell him I am with child, however." She could not conceal the distress in her voice. "I am just so worried about what will happen to our child with Vincent as a father. If he is so cruel to me, will he not be equally so with a child?"

Darcy had no answer to that. He did not know what to do. He knew he would never abandon Elizabeth, but his ability to help was so limited. And what if Carlisle beat Elizabeth while she was pregnant? She would surely lose the child. He could only hope the viscount would send her to his country seat for the duration of the pregnancy, even though that would take her away from Darcy.

"I think he will send me to Campton Manor," said Elizabeth, clearly following Darcy's train of thought. "He will be glad to have an excuse to be rid of me for a time. You and I will be separated, but at least my confinement will pass safely."

"Then let us enjoy the weeks we have left together before you tell him," Darcy said.

They made love three times that day, before Darcy watched Elizabeth enter the handsome cab and drive back to Carlisle House.

Elizabeth's last six weeks with Darcy passed quickly, to her alarm. She did not want to have to leave him; but at the same time, she had the desire to keep their baby safe until it could be born. What would happen to it after that frightened her. She vowed that she would protect her child however she could from her violent husband, even if she had to give her own life to do so.

She was also hoping that Vincent would accept that he was the father of her child. He had never shown any suspicion of her affair, but when the child was not born with blond hair and blue eyes, she hoped he would simply assume that the baby took after her. Since both she and Darcy had dark curly hair and dark eyes, it would certainly take after one of them. She could only hope the baby's features did not look too much like Darcy's.

The thought of leaving Darcy wrung her heart. She knew she could not live in this state of precarious happiness forever, but their imminent separation tore at her. He was the only true love of her heart, and she considered him her true husband, no matter what the law said. Vincent certainly did not act as if she were his wife in anything but name. Why should she not behave the same way?

She no longer felt guilty for her adultery. In fact, in her mind, she did not even consider it adultery. Vincent had never really been her true husband. He was a pathetic and vicious creature, who had claimed her for a short time against her will. Her own will and love had turned to Darcy, and she could regret nothing.

Even so, she was a bit nervous as she approached Vincent to tell him of her state. His answer brought much relief.

"At last, some good news!" he cried. "I'm glad that drunken night was good for something. With all the bastards I have, I finally will have a legitimate heir. I will get you to Campton Manor to pass your confinement. But it had better be a boy, do you hear me, Elizabeth?" he said threateningly.

Elizabeth wanted to retort angrily that she had no control over such a thing, but she bit her tongue. "When shall I leave?" she asked instead.

"In the next few days. I am growing bored of London. I think I will go to Bath for Christmas."

Elizabeth knew he liked to spend his time at the social centers of England rather than his country estate, and was thankful he had not decided to go to Gloucestershire with her. Still, she felt a pang that she would be leaving Darcy.

"Very good, sir. I will be ready," she replied, then left him.

As soon as she had reached her room, she penned a note to Darcy.

My dearest love,

C. has said that I shall leave for G. in a few days. Might I hope we can meet once more before I have to go? I will miss the feel of your arms around me, but I truly think this is for the best. At least we shall be able to continue writing.

All my love,

E.

She gave the missive to Sarah to send, and a couple of hours later, she received a letter back, saying that he could meet her the day after tomorrow.

Elizabeth was lying, sated, in Darcy's arms, the sheen of sweat on her skin cooling. Their lovemaking had been tender and slow. Neither of them knew when they would be together again, and they wanted to make the most of the time they had.

"I have something for you, Elizabeth," Darcy said, pulling back to look in her face.

"Oh? What is it?" He had never given her a gift before. They had both been afraid that Vincent would discover it if he did such a thing. Elizabeth had always told him that his presence was enough gift for her, and he had said the same about her.

Darcy got naked out of the bed, and reached into the pocket of his waistcoat, which was lying on the floor. He pulled out a ring and climbed back into bed next to her.

"This was my mother's wedding ring," he said, and handed it to her. "I want you to have it. Even if we can never be married, by law, I want you to know you are the wife of my heart. I thought that, once you were away from Carlisle, you might wish to wear it."

Elizabeth took the ring with a feeling of tenderness and awe filling her heart. Darcy had told her about his mother, Lady Anne; how his father had adored her, how he had pined away after she had died; how much Fitzwilliam had loved her. It meant a lot that he would give her such a thing.

She examined it closely. It was nothing like the gaudy jewelry Vincent made her wear. It was a silver band with a simple rosette of diamonds. "It is beautiful," she breathed. "I love it, Fitzwilliam. Thank you. I will wear it when I am in Gloucestershire." She leaned up to kiss him, surprised to find tears in his eyes.

She kissed him tenderly, leaving kisses on his jaw, down his neck and to his chest. She laved his flat brown nipple with her tongue, as he so often did to her, and it tightened. She brought her hand down to his manhood, which was growing hard once more, and pumped it until he was erect again. He groaned, flipping her over to pin her to the bed, his mouth devouring hers. "I love you, Elizabeth," he panted, as he entered her slowly.

"I love you too, Fitzwilliam," she replied as she moaned with the pleasure of feeling him inside her. "There will always be only you for me."

"Same for me, my love," he said as he began to thrust. At first his strokes were leisurely and tender, but as their passion grew, he began to thrust harder, encouraged by Elizabeth's cries of pleasure. Soon they both reached their releases. Darcy groaned and shuddered, spilling his seed inside her. Then his body lay draped over hers, and he found tears in his eyes again before he started to cry. He did not think he had cried since his mother had died when he was seventeen years old, but Elizabeth held him close until the storm of weeping passed. He looked down to find tears in her eyes too. They did not speak of it, but held each other close until it was time for Elizabeth to depart.

When Elizabeth was alone in the handsome cab, she finally let her tears loose and wept.

The next morning, the Carlisle carriage pulled away from the London townhouse, another carriage following with Elizabeth's luggage. As soon as she was alone in the carriage, Elizabeth took off Vincent's hated wedding band, and donned the ring that Darcy had given her instead. She knew she would cherish it the rest of her days. At the same time, she could not stop the tears from coming again as the carriage rolled away.