AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“William,” she said quietly.
“Yes, love?”
He contemplated her little nose as it crinkled and felt a powerful need to kiss those three small lines. He closed his eyes instead, to focus on her words. She would be angry if he did not.
“What will you do to Mr. Howard?” she asked.
Darcy had not anticipated that particular question at this moment. Elizabeth must be more distressed than she let on to ask it. He took a deep breath. He stroked the length of her right arm with his fingers. “I have not challenged him, if that is your concern, love. Not in any dangerous way. I have no doubt I can best Howard with both the pistol and the sword, but when men are angry, they are not always wise.” He did not mention that they were also less inclined to follow the rules. “I would not purposefully do anything that would leave you vulnerable. I have responsibilities—to you, to Georgiana, to Pemberley—that do not allow me to take such risks.”
He felt something wet on his arm, and realized it was a tear. “Elizabeth?” he asked, alarmed. “What is it?”
She shook her head. “It is nothing, only . . . thank you, William. After all we have suffered to reach this place—I could not bear it were Mr. Howard to succeed in harming you.”
Darcy sighed. “He will not. But we will cross swords at Angelo’s.”
Elizabeth frowned. “The foils will have buttons?”
He was a bit surprised she knew the parts of a foil, but he should not have been. She possessed a strange but extensive menagerie of facts. Darcy nodded before he realized she could not see it. “Of course,” he assured her.
“And the colonel will be there, so you are not alone?” she pressed.
“Yes. Henry too, for whatever good that might do me.”
Elizabeth touched her top lip with the tip of her tongue, and Darcy’s own mouth went dry.
“I am probably wrong,” she ventured to say, “after all, you know him far better than I. But there is something almost . . . dangerous about Henry.”
“Dangerously foolish, perhaps,” Darcy said wryly. “Idle. I believe we all apprehend as much.”
She shook her head slowly. “Dangerous as in a man who plays a role so you do not see what is underneath. Sir William plays a role as you know, although he is not dangerous.” She tipped her head to one side. “Well, I suppose he is, in his own way. But your cousin is something more.”
Darcy considered the notion. “I think I would prefer that we not discuss Henry or Sir William while in our bed, dearest.”
Elizabeth snorted, her pensive expression disappearing. “Very well.” She laid one small hand over his wrist. “You will be careful when you meet Mr. Howard at Angelo’s.”
He hated her distress but was proud of her strength. She did not wish him to go but supported his need to protect her. “I will be careful.”
Very slowly, she turned to face him, folding her legs beneath her and sitting back on her heels. Her dark eyes bored into his. “What we did last night . . .” she began but paused.
Ah, here was a more promising subject. “Yes?” he prompted.
She blushed but did not look away. Instead, she took his hand in hers. “It made me feel so close to you.”
“Perhaps that is why it is called the ‘marriage bed,’” he said quietly, rubbing his thumb lightly over her fingers.
“Perhaps,” she concurred, leaning forward unsteadily to place a kiss on his chest. The faint scent of jasmine mingling with citrus set him aflame.
He held in the groan he wished to release. Instead, he asked hopefully, “Perhaps we might try again?”
“Perhaps . . .” She smiled. “Perhaps yes.”
He pulled her to him gently, then rolled them over, pushing himself up on his forearms so as not to rest his weight on her. He kissed her left eyelid tenderly, then the right. “I did vow to worship you with my body,” he whispered.
Her breath hitched as he began to trail soft kisses down her neck. “So you did,” she whispered back, “And that is one vow I shall always wish to obey.”
One day. One blissful day of solitude was all they had been afforded. Elizabeth knew that Mr. Howard must be dealt with, and of course she would not miss farewelling Jane. Still, she selfishly desired that she and William had been able to carve out a week, even two, before leaving their chambers.
The physical expression of love that they shared was not at all like it had been described in Papa’s books. Well, maybe a little, but the mechanical act was the very least of it. None of those authors had ever explained how it could make the woman feel! The man, too, if William’s extraordinarily good mood was any indication. He had even hummed a tune as he left their chambers for his dressing room.
