Chapter 9

Lizzy

I watched in awe as Jane danced with her soulmate for the first time. All traces of worry and fear were gone, all that was left was the sweetest woman I have ever known.

I took a good look at Mr. Bingley. Something about him seemed familiar. His energy, his excitement, and his very red hair.

I headed to the refreshments, trying once again to get a glimpse of the mystery man I had spotted earlier.

I did however spot a man, who was looking suspiciously at someone on the other side of the room. He was hiding most of himself behind a column, but barely looking past it to get a better look. The whole scene made me chuckle. He was trying so hard not to be obvious, but failing miserably. I could not help it. I was intrigued and looked for myself to see who he might be trying to get a glimpse of. There were so many different people in the corner where he was looking I couldn't be sure.

Just as I was about to give up on my search, I noticed Kitty, who had been chatting with Maria Lucas. Kitty kept glancing over towards the back of the assembly where the man was hiding.

Could this be her soulmate?

She must not be sure. But I too had some of my Papa in me and could not help but be curious.

"Excuse me sir, I know we have not been introduced. But as you seem to be staring at my sister, I feel compelled to speak with you." I braced myself against the back wall, making it look as if I was just resting from the excitement- not in fact talking with an unknown man.

The man whipped his head towards me and his eyes went comically wide. As if he recognized me. Then he went back to his peculiar hiding.

I glanced towards the back of his neck and was relieved to see no soulmark there. He didn't seem familiar in that way to me, though he did feel slightly familiar somehow. In the same way Mr. Bingley had.

The man still had not spoken; I took in his attire and realized he was dressed as a valet. Though his stance and larger build did not seem to fit such a position.

Maybe he felt he could not speak to me because of him being in service. This kind of propriety baffles me greatly. To me, all should be valued, no matter the position.

"Sir, you seem familiar to me and if I am not mistaken I seem familiar to you. Could you do me the great honor of telling me why you are staring at my sister?"

He gave me a slight nod of understanding.

"I will not lie, madam. You are familiar to me and I do know your sister." He hesitated with his words, rubbing the back of his neck in an unsure manner. "It's only I was not aware of her status. For I see now she is a gentleman's daughter and I am only the son of a groomsman. I fear knowing her more could not be positive for her."

His honest words struck me in the heart. As much as I wanted to rebut his words, I understood what he was saying. This was the way our world worked. I was well aware my acceptance of such things was a rarity.

I thought of Kitty and what her thoughts might be, and how she would react to this news.

"My sister is still young, sir. She can sometimes listen to silly people and make silly decisions. But if you are who I believe you are, she will not care one bit of where you came from- only that you are with her now."

He looked down, taking a long moment to think through my words. Then all of a sudden nodded and pulled his shoulders back. It was as if he grew ten feet tall, now confident and secure.

I smiled as I watched him head over to Kitty. It looked like more than one sister would find her soulmate tonight, though they would not be matched until she turned eighteen.

I looked down towards the hem of my gown. Hems were the bane of my existence. As an avid walker in all matters of environments, I often caused great distress on my skirts. Hill scolded me so often as a child about them, she decided to teach me to sew as to not cause the servants extra work. I happily agreed knowing this would allow me more freedom to frolic in the most unladylike ways. Mother was not happy when she discovered this arrangement, but for me it only showed me how hard our servants work and to be aware of all they do for us.

I observed that all was well with my hem, when familiar green ink caught my attention. A new message from my soulmate had appeared on my forearm.

After the surprise message this morning, I had replied to my soulmate after my sisters had left to get ready. I was surprised to hear from him again so soon.

"Green. Your eyes are green. Almost like emeralds that shine in the candlelight."

I couldn't control my gasp. I looked frantically around me.

How? How did he know? Is he here?

No one seemed to stand out in the crowd around me. It all just seemed like a blur.

"Hello, my dear fig friend."

I sucked in another breath. Hearing his deep, rich voice right behind me.

He was so close now that I felt his warmth on my back.

I thought of our last dream as he held me so close while we rode on Stanton. Chills ran down my spine as I felt his breath tickling my neck.

Thankfully, we were against the back wall, not so exposed in the open but still exposed to prying eyes.

I took a few steps away from him before I turned to face him. Trying to stick to some standards of propriety.

As soon as I took in his full features I felt as if my heart would jump out of my skin. He was the most handsome man I had ever seen. I always knew he was quite a bit taller than me and on a few occasions had seen the vastness of his chest and strength in his arms. He was not a small man in any form.

But his eyes were the most striking blue. So light that they almost looked gray. I felt like I could stare into his enchanting eyes forever.

How many hours did I spend pondering his eye color alone? Too many to count. But here they were, right before me.

"Hello, my dear." He gave me a soft smile. Conveying so many emotions in that one gentle reaction.

Could this be true? Is this really happening? Is he really here, in front of me?

There stood the confident, stoic man I have always known. But as I took in his features, I could see how his eyes tracked my every movement and how he subtly worked his jaw back and forth to soothe himself. I wondered if he was not as sure of himself as I originally thought. Something in me wanted to place my hand on his jaw to help comfort him, give him some kind of peace, and remind him of the strong man he is.

"Hello." The small word was all I could say back. His knowing smirk did not go amiss as I knew he was thinking of how I had tore him apart for his one word message to me not too long ago. And here I was spouting the same kind of eloquence.

We were both quiet for a time as we took in every inch of each other's faces.

I took in the dimple he had hidden away on the right side of his smile, the length of his dark eyelashes, and the intense look in his light-colored eyes.

The kind of look that caused an eruption of butterflies to awaken in my stomach.

"You are truly the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." His sincere look made me want to blush. Causing a desperate need to lighten the mood.

"You once told me that in a dream, but then promptly changed your mind. Should I expect that now dear sir?" My cheeky smile was out in full force. Knowing I was pushing the limits addressing one of our shared dreams that we had said to never speak of.

"I deserve that. But I thought we were starting anew, or had I been mistaken?" There was a glint in his eye that told me he was relaxing into the flow of our conversation. The ease our banter always brought.

With every comment, we grew closer and closer to one another. As if the Soul Connection magic were pulling us in more and more.

Now just a breath apart, the chaos around us faded away. As if it were only the two of us in the large room together.

"We did indeed, sir."

"Fitzwilliam."

My eyebrows rose high into my hair line and I had to cough to cover up an unladylike guffaw that came out.

"Excuse me, sir. The thick air must be getting to me; my cough was most unfortunate." I patted down my dress, trying hard not to laugh as I truly wanted at that moment.

"Are you laughing at me, my Lizzy?"

"It would not be the first time, sir. And did I tell you my name or do we have that supposed mind link you wrote to me about?"

"I must admit, I might have overheard it earlier in the garden. You and your sister happened to sit close by."

"You dare to overhear our private conversation, sir?" I tried my best to look aghast, but failed miserably.

His lips turned up, then he invaded my space even more and leaned in to whisper into my ear.

"Will you not call me Fitzwilliam? Or how about William?" As he pulled his face away from my ear, he slowly slid his strong jaw across my cheek. Causing my knees to go weak and chills to form from my ear to my arms.

"How about-" My words were cut off unexpectedly by the last person I hoped to see us at that moment.

"Oh Lizzy! Is this your soulmate? He has your mark! Mr. Bennet! Mr. Bennet, come quickly!" Mother rushed off to find Papa who had been comfortably hiding off to the side. Most likely sneaking glances at a book he had brought with him. Which mother abhorred greatly when she caught him from time to time.

If my heavy sigh didn't give away my frustration at being found, I'm sure my dramatic closing of my eyes most definitely did.

"I must apologize si- I mean Fitzwilliam. William. No that's not right, Will? I'll have to think on that one. I digress, soon you will be bombarded by my loud and sometimes inappropriate family. Proving every reason you had for not wanting to connect your life with mine for so many years, it is about to become extremely clear. If you need an out, this is it."

A bright smile lit up his face in a way I had yet to see. It transformed him and broke down any walls I still had constructed around my heart.

The ones that I had built up over the years from every message that went unnoticed, every snarky comment, and every time he stood there with his arms crossed, not saying a word.

As my family made their way towards us, he made to grab my hand, but then stopped himself. He looked into my eyes, holding his hand hovering over mine. Giving me the final decision. If I was ready to be matched with him. That selfless gesture alone took away any apprehensions I still had.

With a slight nod and a smile, I took his offered hand.

He intertwined our fingers and pulled me swiftly towards the back gardens.

We ran as if fire nipped at our heels. I chuckled in amazement at this man I had only known to be stoic and serious acting in such an improper way.

We came to a stop behind the bench I had previously sat on, nestled in the overgrowth.

I watched in awe as the Soul Connection magic wrapped around our joined hands and felt like it burst inside of us.

Not even a second had passed, and William had me in his arms. He hugged me tightly for a long moment. I let his warmth fill and strengthen me.

How on earth did Jane break away from Mr. Bingley so quickly?

I feel that if I did so at this moment, I would weep for days.

He pulled back and pressed his forehead to mine.

"May I call you Elizabeth, my dear?"

I smiled up at his intense blue eyes.

"Is that all one word? I fear that will become a mouthful when you decide to scold me."

"I shall never do such a thing! How could you think something so atrocious of me!" His voice rose, and his face turned stern.

I can only imagine it was a look he often gave me throughout the years. Probably the same amount of time my eyes looked toward the sky in frustration, as they often did while we were forced to be around one another in our dreams.

We both laughed together and stared deep into each other's eyes.

"I found you, my dear." His voice dipped low. The way it often did in some of our very private dreams.

I gave him a quick nod, knowing exactly what he wanted to ask but was holding back for propriety's sake.

He took that nod as all the acceptance he needed and leaned down and kissed me with great passion. Drawing me close to him by framing my face with his warm hands.

This was not the kind of kiss you gave to an inexperienced maiden. No, this was the kind of kiss shared only between those who had been perfecting these skills for many years. For this was not our first shared kiss. No, we had kissed hundreds of times in our dreams and many times with far less clothing on. My face heated as I thought of our scandalous dreams.

William was not fazed by my reaction, but only continued on in his particular attentions.

He teased my lips with his tongue, forcing me to open wider for him. I eagerly agreed as I wholeheartedly kissed him back with all the passion bound within me. I let my dream memories take over and fell into the perfect heated dance with him.

William's lips broke from mine and began kissing light kisses down my cheek and right behind my ear, as he often did in our dreams.

I am not sure when or how, but William guided us to a nearby tree that was further into the garden. We were fully surrounded by tall hedgerows and overgrown plants.

I felt the rough bark at my back, bracing me up as I became powerless in William's strong arms. He continued kissing that delicious spot behind my ear, causing me to moan most wantonly as I always did in our dreams.

My eyes went wide in realization and I pushed William away knowing for sure we would be caught. For we were not alone in our dreams, but not far from the very populated garden.

"William, we must stop. We are not dreaming. They will hear us."

William's eyes went dark and somehow playful as he slowly stepped back towards me and kissed me ever so softly.

My chest rose and fell so hard that I was worried my corset would not stay in place.

"You called me William. I love hearing my name come from your beautiful lips- Elizabeth." He said my name so deep and slow I felt flames awaken within me, a feeling I had only known in our dreams.

He went back to kissing down my neck like my comment of being caught never happened and somehow it became a distant memory for me as well.

One of his strong hands found its way to my hip, pulling me even closer to him. Feeling his warm body against my own. He slowly caressed my hip with his thumb in tight circles. His other hand slid up my body unbelievably slow landing just above my breast. Causing a line of heat to follow in its wake.

"Fitzwilliam, oh Fitzwilliam. Truly we must stop." He silenced me with a hard kiss, plunging his tongue even deeper into my mouth. Causing me to gasp. But also making my bosom need something desperate from his hand that was resting upon them. Something I had experienced before, but could never ask for in real life.

"I believe I adore it when you call me Fitzwilliam even more. Let me show you how it affects me, my dear Elizabeth." He held my hand, seeming to guide it towards his stomach, but before he could reach his destination a female voice reached our ears.

"William! Where did you go? I know you want to spend time with your soulmate, but don't forget about Richard!" The sweet young voice sounded familiar. This must be his sister.

William took our hands and placed them over my heart. His resting on top of mine. He cursed under his breath. One I only knew from being outside around our servants quite often.

He leaned his forehead down to mine and took a moment to calm our rapid breathing.

He cupped my cheek with his free hand.

"My dear that is my sister Georgiana. She is correct we do have urgent matters at hand. But as soon as they are taken care of we will find ourselves back in this position once again. For you are forever mine, my dear, and we will never be forced to be away from one another again."

*Author's Note*

FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!! I knew I had to write out every bit of them finally meeting or I would get cursed out in every language for cutting things off too early. Tis the reason it took me extra long to post.

Also if AI could come up with a Regency filter that just automatically changes every "Like" "cool" "awesome" that wants to always come out in my writing to the regency equivalent that would be amazing ;) Ha!

Thank you! Thank you as always for commenting, following, and favoriting my story. It's the best feeling ever. I knew you guys were so ready for this chapter, so I'm really hoping I did it justice.

Have fun, friends!