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Chapter 18
The morning came sooner than Fitz had expected. All night he’d tossed and turned with the knowledge that Diana was just across the hallway. He wanted to go to her badly and finish what they’d started in the sitting room. Her body felt so soft in his arms, and he’d felt the heat coming from her core as he traced his hands up her thighs underneath her gown. Fitz greatly desired Diana and wanted to tear the gown she’d been teasing him with all night from her body and finally have his way with her.
Thankfully, Diana had been the stronger of the two of them and had stopped him before he went too far. Sometimes he wasn’t sure what had possessed him to be so bold and forward with Diana. And when she immediately responded to his touch and kisses, it was hard to stop what he wanted to do to her.
As instructed, Mr Bingley came and woke him at the crack of dawn so he could be up and ready for the morning’s outing. He knew that most people of the elite class slept well into the mornings and often didn’t have breakfast until almost noon. Today he was willing to challenge all of the wedding guests not only to rise early but enjoy the day fishing with him. He was certain all the children would be early risers with the excitement of the day before them.
After getting ready for the day, Fitz left his bedchamber and looked at the one directly across from him. He wondered if Diana was already awake and if she’d be joining them that morning as well. He hoped that she would because he was looking forward to any time they could spend together.
Fitz didn’t know why he was so drawn to Diana though he could give himself a few guesses as to why. There was so much about Diana that he liked, that he was growing confident with each passing day that he’d enjoy his marriage with the woman.
Fitz made his way to the bottom floor and was heading to the dining room when he started to hear a bunch of excited voices. Wondering why they were coming from the sitting room, he made his way over there and popped his head inside to see that not only had all the children risen early, but they were joined by Lord and Lady Casey, as well as Diana.
“Good morning, Your Grace,” came the voice of Lord Douglas’ oldest son as Fitz came into the room. The children all came to him then and either bowed or curtsied since there were two little girls amongst them.
“Good morning, children. I hope you all are eager for what a splendid day this shall be,” Fitz said in a soft voice. They immediately began to cheer with excitement, and it took all four adults to quiet them down once more.
“Now, now. We must not be so loud. There are many people still sleeping, and we wouldn’t want to wake them. Let this be practice for how we must be around the pond because if we are too loud, we’ll chase away the fish,” Fitz said. “Let us go into the dining room for some breakfast, and then we’ll go out to the front lawn.”
The children talked excitedly with one another as they followed Fitz out of the sitting room and into the dining room. Once they were all settled, with Lord and Lady Casey quick to help them make a plate of food, Fitz took a moment to stand outside the room with Diana as they looked on from the hallway.
“How did you sleep, my dear?” Fitz asked while they had a small, private moment together.
“To be honest, I slept so soundly that I didn’t awake before my lady’s maid came for me. It is by far the soundest sleep I’ve had in probably my entire life,” Diana explained. Fitz chuckled, thinking that it was a good thing that he didn’t go to Diana last night because she looked so well this morning after a good night’s sleep.
“I’m certainly glad to hear so. Let us get something to eat before the children have picked it clean,” he suggested, holding his hand out in front of him to allow Diana to go first. Together they joined everyone at the dining table and happily talked about how the day would go.
“Now, once we are full, we shall go out to the front lawn and to the pond where all the fish live,” Fitz said.
“You sure they are in the water, Your Grace?” came the youngest boy of the lot.
“Why, where else would they be?” Fitz replied.
“In the kitchen,” he replied, causing them all to laugh heartily at the young boy’s imagination.
“I promise you, young sir, that there are fish to be caught in the pond that can then be brought to the kitchen for Cook to prepare. How fun would it to eat the fish we caught this morning?” Fitz said.
“I shall try my hand at fishing as well,” came the voice of one of the young girls. Fitz was impressed by this and was quick to encourage everyone who wanted to try to fish to do so.
“But girls aren’t supposed to fish,” said Lord Duncan’s oldest son. Fitz fixed his gaze on the boy, quick to have a certain word with him.
“Young man, you should never discourage a young lady like that. Your cousin may very well like fishing, or she may not. It is not for us to say whether she should or should not do something simply because she is a girl. You should be willing to help your cousin learn to fish instead of looking down on her like that.”
“Forgive me, Your Grace. I did not wish to offend anyone,” the boy replied with his head lowered.
“Then let this be a lesson, young man. It is better to think about your words before you say them. You never want to speak ill about someone, even if they’re not in the room because those words can travel like lightning across the sky during a terrible storm. A sentence can change the course of a person’s life. Remember that your words hold more power than you could ever imagine.”
Fitz looked around and saw that everyone had their eyes on him as he spoke. He hadn’t meant to appear so authoritarian, his only intent to leave the boy with a certain impression. Fitz reasoned that if a young man learned to treat a young lady with respect from a young age, then there would be less gentlemen in the world that seemed to do as they pleased with woman, regarding them as lesser creatures.
“Well said, Your Grace,” said Lord Casey as he nodded towards him. Fitz gave a sheepish smile as he returned to his food, thinking he better hurry up and eat so they could all go out to the front lawn to enjoy what appeared to be a rather good day. Fitz looked at Diana then and saw the way she was smiling at him. He couldn’t help returning the gesture as the children began to excitedly talk amongst one another again.
When everyone had their fill, Lord and Lady Casey escorted all the children out of the front door of the manor where footmen and servants were at the ready to help each child with their own rod and line. Fitz joined Diana as they left the dining room together, and since everyone else seemed to be occupied with the day’s adventures, he laced his fingers with Diana since they had a small private moment together.
“You really seem to have made a grand impression on my nephew,” Diana whispered to him.
“I couldn’t resist sharing a bit of advice with the lad. If he learns at this age how to respect a young woman, then there is hope for him yet,” Fitz explained.
“I think what you did was very caring and considerate for him. I suppose there are major perks to being a duke and having a sense of authority over others,” Diana mused. Fitz chuckled as they walked out the front door to the sound of children laughing.
