William approached her in the bed. “Elizabeth,” he began tenderly. “Would you like me to fetch you a robe?”
“Yes, please,” she said, her face still hidden in her hands.
He raised her face and brought his face down to hers. “You are beautiful, my love. But I will refrain from teasing you until you are more comfortable. But I hope you will soon becomecomfortable in my presence and not be afraid of sharing yourself with me.”
“I am being silly, I know,” she said.
“You are not silly. Society has taught you to feel as though you must hide your body from men, but now that you are married, those rules have changed. It is not easy to make that adjustment overnight,” he replied, speaking tenderly and understandingly. He kissed her softly at first but with rising passion.
When they eventually made it into the sitting room to eat the food delivered there, each was wearing a nightshirt that William had fetched from his dressing room. It enveloped Elizabeth, who had to fold the sleeves many times to leave her hands free to eat and was tied up on the side so she could walk without tripping. William had tried to convince her that was unnecessary as he would happily carry her wherever she wanted to go. Still, she had insisted on a certain level of mobility for herself.
The repast was good, a variety of sliced meat and cheese, along with fruit and fresh bread. A bottle of wine was included as well. Enjoying their first private meal together, they sat in the sitting room between their chambers, discussing many things, including observations about what would make the room more comfortable.
Eventually, though, they had eaten enough to satisfy one type of hunger and returned to William’s bed chamber and, much later, fell asleep again in each other’s arms, having satisfied another.
The next several days passed similarly. Only their personal servants saw them, and the only way most of the staff knew they were in residence was through requests for food and water for bathing. Finally, on Tuesday, they rose from their sharedbed at a reasonable hour, although later than usual for both, and dressed to head downstairs for breakfast. Elizabeth had an appointment with the modiste that morning, and William was delighted to escort her there, as well as accompany her on a shopping expedition to Hatchards. Lady Matlock and Mrs. Gardiner were due to join them at the modiste, which would allow William to make a quick visit to his solicitor and to place the announcement for his wedding into the papers. Lord Matlock had offered to do so immediately, but William had wanted to guarantee his peace for a few more days.
After returning to the modiste, William escorted the three ladies to the shops. They were greeted by several friends and acquaintances of Lady Matlock, and she introduced Elizabeth and Mrs. Gardiner to several.
Those whom Lady Matlock did introduce were all surprised to learn about her nephew’s marriage but were pleased to see him looking happy and content as he squired his wife and her aunt around London.
“William,” Lady Matlock said following one of the introductions. “Your lovely wife would enjoy an outing to the theatre. You should see about arranging an evening out. I believe you still keep a box.”
“That is a wonderful idea, Aunt. Elizabeth, what do you think?” William asked.
Elizabeth beamed at him. “I would love a trip to the theatre, William. You have a box?”
“Wehave a box, my dear. And I will send a servant around when we arrive home to obtain a schedule to make our plans,” William informed her.
“Elizabeth, I would like to call on Thursday morning to discuss my plans for your introduction to society. I have received several invitations, and I am certain William also has. We need to decide which events you will attend.” She held up her hand when William opened his mouth to protest. “I know you prefer to keep your wife to yourself, and I understand that, but I will not subject you to too many events. You need to be seen out and about, at least a little, but I will not expect you to attend more than two or three events a week.”
“Aunt, we do plan to return to Pemberley before too long,” William offered when he was finally given a chance to speak.
“Yes, I realise that, but you should plan on spending at least a month in town. You can return to Pemberley in October. And do not try to tell me you need to return for the harvest. You had not planned to be there anyway, and you cannot use that as an excuse now,” Lady Matlock cut off any protests and then smiled when he scowled.
He grumbled slightly but relented. “And, since the wedding announcement will appear in tomorrow’s paper, as planned, we can expect to see Lady Catherine soon to express her displeasure. Although I am tempted to bar the door for the next several more days.”
“So long as it is open for my call two days from now,” Lady Matlock agreed, smiling.
Chapter Eleven
Lady Catherine was the first to show up at Darcy House to vent their displeasure within days of the wedding announcement. That lady arrived Friday morning and, finding no knocker at her nephew’s house, still tried to demand entrance. William and Elizabeth were still in bed when she called, and her knocks were ignored by the butler, who had been told to admit no one, especially not Lady Catherine.
Unsatisfied, she went to her brother’s house. He, too, was prepared for this arrival but, as head of the Fitzwilliam family, had wanted to spare Darcy the frustration of dealing with his aunt on his honeymoon.
“Henry, I am most alarmed by what is being published in the newspapers about my nephew’s marriage to this country upstart. He has been engaged to my daughter since they were in their cradles, and I am shocked by the report that he has married elsewhere. This woman is the daughter of my parson who has been turned out of her own home by her parents,” Lady Catherine began.
“Cathy, first of all, he has never been engaged to Anne. Both have told you repeatedly they would not marry the other, and our nephew has found and married a woman he loves. Be happy for him and get over this ridiculous idea of an arrangement made while they were in their cradles. No one in the family has ever supported that match, and now that he has chosen elsewhere, you will have to learn to live with it,” the Earl replied. “He is married; he was married by his great uncle on the Darcy side, the archbishop. I witnessed the marriage myself, and I have rarely seen a couple so in love. Not only that, but I have never seen William as happy as he is with Elizabeth. My wife and I support the marriage wholeheartedly.”
Lady Catherine spluttered in her rage. “You attended the wedding? How could you betray your own family like that? You knew William was to marry Anne.”
“Catherine, you are still not listening. If you continue in this farce and spread this rumour, I will have no choice but to send you to Bedlam. William and Anne were never engaged. Such an arrangement has only ever existed in your own warped mind. No one will force William to marry your daughter, especially now that he is married to another,” Henry said.
With that pronouncement, Catherine shrieked and attempted to attack her brother with her cane. Footmen, who had been warned to be on guard whenever she arrived, subdued her quickly and forced laudanum into her mouth to calm her. Others had already retrieved her daughter from the carriage outside since she had left her sitting there, and she was in a bedroom resting when Lady Catherine was carried upstairs. A doctor was sent for, and footmen were assigned to keep watch over the rooms of both ladies. Another footman was dispatched to DarcyHouse with a note letting the residents of that home know what had transpired there that morning.
That couple was breaking their fast when the messenger from Darcy House arrived, followed by a messenger from Longbourn. William read the note from Matlock House to Elizabeth and was pleased to know they had been spared that confrontation. As Lord Matlock had it in hand, they were no longer worried about that quarter. The note from Longbourn was unexpected, and William opened it hesitantly.
Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy,
