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Pulling her into a tight embrace, he felt her hands surround his waist as he whispered in her hair. “She came in while I was taking a bath with intentions of seducing me, but I rebuffed her. However, had Lord Greenwich not come down the hall shortly after she entered, I am afraid I would have had to summon help to toss the trollop out. She was determined she was not leaving.”

Elizabeth gasped. “How shameless! And his Lordship caught her?”

“Yes, Lord Greenwich heard everything, and he was quite upset, so I do not believe they will be escorting Lady Waltham around England ever again.”

William pushed her to arms’ length, noting that she would not look up at him. “Elizabeth, tell me what are you thinking.”

She stuttered, “I—I can see why a man might desire her. From the short time I was in her company, I realise that she is very beautiful.”

He cupped Elizabeth’s face, leaning in to kiss the tip of her nose; then, he ran a thumb over each high cheekbone, as he thoroughly examined her face for some time. Finally, her eyes lifted to his and he smiled, satisfied to have her attention.

“I will admit that she used to be a beauty, but she never possessed that same beauty inside. What I need you to understand is that she was never—in any way—as beautiful as you.”

She dropped her head, sighing with frustration. “Please do not say that, Fitzwilliam. I know that you find me desirable, but I am not beautiful. Mama said that I was passable, but that no man would ever find me beautiful like Jane.”

He tipped her chin up. “Look at me.” Finally, brown eyes, flecked with gold, met his. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever known, and I intend to tell you that every day for the rest of my life. Please do not ask me to deny what I see ... what I feel. I have not looked at another woman since the day we met and never with the love that is in my heart at this moment. You take my breath away.”

As he spoke, large tears formed and slid from the corners of her eyes. He leaned down to kiss first one, then the other, from her cheek.

“Oh, Fitzwilliam ... my William,” she whispered. “I do not know why you love me, but please, do not ever stop.”

Their lips met with great urgency, and the kiss quickly escalated, neither remembering where they were as they drank deeply from one another. He tried, but could not resist pulling her hips to meet his, to feel her body melt into him. When finally he remembered that a servant could walk in at any moment, he reluctantly broke the kiss, pleased to see both desire and regret in her eyes.

“Come, sweetheart, walk out with me.” Leaning over, he grabbed a serviette and filled it with sweet rolls, before wrapping it and taking her hand. “Now, we are prepared!”

As they departed the dining room, William barely noticed the maids standing near each door. He had no way of knowing that Mrs. Reynolds had entered the room through another entrance and had quickly backed out, pulling the door closed. Discreetly, she stationed a servant to guard each entrance, giving William and Elizabeth their privacy. Only the wide smile on the long-time housekeeper’s face gave the maids any hint as to what might be transpiring between the two people inside, as neither dared to ask.

~~~*~~~

Lost in daydreams, William and Elizabeth walked nearly all the way around the smallest body of water without a word passing between them—simply enjoying being with each other and sampling the wonderful sweet rolls. For his part, William was content to have Elizabeth near. All too clearly, he remembered his despondency after Kent, and how, at that time, it was impossible to imagine anything would ever change—that one day she would forgive him and be living at Pemberley.

Finally, reaching the far side of the pond, a sudden movement in a nearby pasture drew their attention. A small black colt with white stockings was frolicking, running and kicking up his heels. A black mare with the same markings stood nearby, watching her young and when William came into sight, the mare whinnied. This caused him to call out, “Juno!”

Elizabeth laughed as they walked over to the fence, and William pulled a small apple from his pocket. The horse ambled to him, neighing softly, and he fed her the apple.

“Juno? Goddess of Marriage? And do you always have apples in your pockets?”

William rubbed the mare’s head, glancing sideways at Elizabeth as he chuckled. “The answer is ‘yes’ to the first two questions, and I took two apples from the sideboard before you came into the dining room. Here,” he held out the other apple, “it is your turn.”

Elizabeth reached for the fruit and placed it on her palm. As the mare took it, she giggled as the velvety mouth nibbled on her hand. “She is beautiful.” She stroked Juno’s nose as she glanced at William. “Did you name her?”

“Never!” He broke into a broad smile, dimples flashing. “I told Gigi that we would be the laughing stock of Derbyshire if her choice for their names became known. But she insisted on naming Juno as well as Romeo, Juliet, Benedick and Beatrice, who are all around here somewhere.”

Pointing in the direction of a magnificent, black stallion several fences over, he declared, “And that is Romeo, the sire of that little fellow entertaining us so earnestly.” Nodding his head towards the colt, he offered, “His name is Cupid.”

“God of Love?”

William looked sheepish. “If I should ever ride him, I shall be ashamed to call out to him, so it is likely I will resort to a nickname when he is older.”

“Oh, please do not change it,” Elizabeth begged, shyly touching William’s cheek. “I love his name.”

The smile faded, and he sobered as his eyes darkened. Turning into her touch and kissing the palm of her hand, he whispered, “You win. Cupid, it is.”

She stood mesmerized, and though she retracted her hand, neither looked away. The love she felt was plainly evident, and at that moment, William knew he could never refuse her anything. His heart was beating wildly as he tried to continue the conversation. “I suppose now that you are here, Gigi will no longer insist on naming all my foals.”

“Why is that?”

“She hoped that by naming them after symbols of love and marriage, they would bring good fortune to Pemberley.” He brought her hand back to his lips before pulling her into his chest. “And they have. You are a Godsend, Elizabeth, and I am the most fortunate of men.”