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“Who does he work for? The estate or the lawyer?”

“The estate. You have heard my thoughts on the inadvisability of acquiring additional land unless it is a complete bargain. He may approach you with the details of an estate to purchase. Be very cautious of such deals. There are investment opportunities elsewhere that will produce much better, and much safer returns. We will talk with him when he is here and make sure he acknowledges that every proposal must go to Lawrence first. The danger with Agents is that they often are getting something under the table for arranging the deal, and especially at an inflated price. Lawrence will keep a close eye on him.”

Peter was determined that Elizabeth was not going to be taken advantage of.

--

Elizabeth changed in a surprisingly short time. In less than two months she had gone from being on the perpetual edge of panic to feeling loved and secure. And it was the strangest thing. She truly loved her husband. He was kind, attentive, generous, and spent his remaining days worrying about her after his death rather than relaxing himself.

There was not an ounce of attraction for him. He was an old man and she was barely 21 years of age. But that did not stop her loving him. The phrase that kept recurring in her mind was that of her youth. She would only marry ‘for the deepest love’. She had to shake her head. Before Mr. Darcy opened his poisonous mouth, in the two hours when she had merely observed him, she had been taken in by the outer appearance. Tall, dark and handsome was a romance novel cliché breathed into life in the body of Fitzwilliam Darcy.

How wrong she had been. It was more than a little galling that Charlotte Lucas had been right all along. There was no attraction to her husband but there was love. She also knew that he had a great deal of attraction for her. They both slept well sharing her bed. Within a week she found herself awakening with him snuggled in behind her, his arm draped over her waist. It was intimate yet utterly asexual.

Elizabeth Napier was his wife. But Peter Napier had treated her with nothing but respect, the utmost respect. He had heard Elizabeth’s deepest fear in her medicine induced confession and was careful in how he treated her. Nothing was demanded of her and so she had no fears about her next action.

First she extracted herself from his grasp, but rather than slip into her bathroom she pulled her nightgown up and over her head. It was a warm May morning and she was now wearing nothing but her drawers. Before thinking about it for too long, she rolled Peter onto his back and straddled his thighs, making sure not to crush them. And then she waited. Perhaps what was most remarkable was her lack of blush. She watched the sleep leave his eyes. Suddenly they popped wide open.

“Elizabeth?”

“Who else would it be?”

“I, I, I…”

His vocabulary failed him. She just smiled and sat up straighter. He finally managed to find some words.

“You are truly breathtaking, but could you explain please.”

But rather than say anything she started the final part of her plan. She had remembered his phrases when they were first engaged, including him telling the tale of not noticing that the wife was winking. She decided to put it to the test. She had no idea how long she sat there winking but it was at least half a minute. Finally her husband looked up and laughed out loud.

“Hoisted by my own petard!”

He gently rolled her off his legs and they lay side by side on the bed.

“You do realise my birthday is not for six weeks.”

Nothing but an impish smile.

“Can you help an old man understand please?”

Elizabeth did not say she found her husband unattractive. There was no need for such a cruel, if honest, comment. But she went through the rest of her thought process.

“But this was your darkest fear.”

She gently kissed him.

“No. My darkest fear was having no choice. This is the exact opposite. This was completely my choice. You have been so patient with me and it struck me I am your wife. I know it seems a big deal, but is it really? Husbands have been fixated on their wives’ bosoms for all eternity.”

She kissed him again.

“It is going to be the last thing you see when you fall asleep and the first thing you see when you wake up.”

Peter held her close, surprised at the strength of his emotions.

“Do you know what is most disappointing?”

Elizabeth looked upset.

“Disappointing?”