Elizabeth only looked heavenward. “Justice and a healthy dose of assurance that such a man as he should not be the spiritual guide for anyone, let alone an entire parish.”
“I cannot agree with you more. Before long, I expect some emissary from Mr. Collins’s bishop will wish to speak to us.”
“And I shall not hesitate to tell them all.”
Pleased with his fiery, determined wife, Darcy drew her close. “What do you think about the possibility of your family name surviving at Longbourn?”
“It is a strange concept, to be certain,” said Elizabeth as Darcy nibbled at her ear. “I have grown to become an adult knowing that the Bennet family would leave Longbourn when my father no longer remained with us.”
“But it is welcome,” said Darcy, trailing kisses down her cheek to her chin and then up the other cheek.
When Elizabeth spoke, her tone was breathless. “Of course, it is welcome. I love Longbourn, William, for I know more about its nooks and crannies than even my father. Should our legal maneuver succeed, and the estate remain my family’s possession, it will bring me much joy.”
She pulled away and looked him in the eyes, a hint of mischief coming over her. “It will also provide my mother with a home for the rest of her life.”
Darcy laughed and returned to his ministration. “Your father made that exact point, Elizabeth. I shall tell you what I told him: enduring your mother is no hardship. If nothing else, Pemberley has a dower house, and failing that, Netherfield itself might be an option she would appreciate. With our home now in the north, my mother might like to have your mother’s company.”
“Yes, I suppose she might at that,” agreed Elizabeth. “You have heard nothing yet from Lord Matlock about Mrs. Younge?”
“Nothing since he brought word of the entail on Pemberley,” said Darcy.
Taking his attention up a notch, Darcy leaned in and kissed her full on the lips, dragging her attention away from such musty subjects as entails and her mother’s future support. As was her wont, Elizabeth gave as good as she got, her returning affections swelling his heart with love. But she was not yet done, for she withdrew again and fixed him with a playful smile.
“For shame, Mr. Darcy. Do you propose we engage in such behavior in the light of day, where our innocent sisters might wonder what we have gotten up to?”
“I care little for their speculations,” growled Darcy, swinging her into his arms and making for the bed. “As for the light of day, that does not give me a moment’s concern. If I can see you, I am better positioned to love you as you deserve.”
Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak, but Darcy silenced her with a torrid kiss. Thereafter, words became superfluous. What the members of their family might have thought on the subject they never learned, though they received several glances from her father that appeared quite knowing. The girls appeared oblivious, and that was likely for the best.
Chapter XXX
Little though they might have wished it, the season still had a claim on their time, though their participation was much more muted. Chief among the amusements in which they indulged was a dinner party or two, and a ball given by a family acquainted with the Fitzwilliam family. Had it been one of Darcy’s friends, he might have begged off, knowing they would take no offense. As it was a member of higher society and a family friendly with the Fitzwilliams, they decided they had little choice but to attend.
“Do we need to go?”
Pleased with the amused smile he provoked with his overly dramatic question, Darcy watched his wife as she sat before her vanity preparing for the evening. Darcy had learned within the first few days of his marriage that if he prepared for an outing early enough, he could enter his wife’s chambers and watch while the maid prepared Elizabeth for the evening. It was gratifying to see her transformation, though Darcy did not think his wife required any enhancements to her beauty, and it allowed them a few more precious moments in each other’s company with only the maid in attendance. Perhaps it was unusual behavior in their society, but Darcy had never cared much for such things and did not mean anyone else to learn of it, regardless.
“Was it not your opinion that we must put aside our preferences tonight?” was her rhetorical question. “I know you do not appreciate a ball, William, but I enjoy them. We areattempting to pass ourselves off with credit, so it is sensible that we perform to the masses or at least give the appearance of it.”
“The appearance is about all I will offer,” said Darcy. “Anything more and what I see of society might just cause me to cast up my accounts.”
The tinkling sound of Elizabeth’s laughter sent Darcy’s heart soaring, and even the maid sported the ghost of a smile as she continued to arrange Elizabeth’s hair, her deft fingers inserting pins or brushing strands of her silky tresses until they gleamed. Though Darcy had heard more comments about the unfortunate nature of his prior engagement when a more “proper wife” would have fit his current position in society, anyone who spouted such drivel was nothing more than a rank dullard. Far from being trapped in a relationship with a lesser woman, Darcy was inclined to think that the good fortune was all on his side. There was no woman in society more remarkable than Elizabeth, and anyone who could not see it was not worth his time.
“Then I suppose we must attend,” said Darcy, though offering an exaggerated sense of resignation he knew did not mislead her. “If I must endure all the puffed-up dandies, the drunkards, and those looking to curry favor, then I must have your company to sustain me. I think about half of the sets this evening should do the trick.”
Elizabeth regarded him in the mirror, the laugh lines around her eyes showing her merriment. “I am curious, Husband, for I might have thought I was worth more thanhalfthe dances. Should you not have demanded themall?”
“If I thought I could do so, I would in a moment.”
“Unfortunate though it is, for I prefer your company, I am afraid we would scandalize all of London and forever brand ourselves as lacking the ability to behave if we did so. Thus, I believe you must content yourself with my first, supper, and last sets.”
“Then that must suffice,” replied Darcy. “I shall regret every moment we must be apart, every other man who commands your attention, for none of them are worthy of you.”
“Perhaps they are not,” agreed Elizabeth. “But I must endure them anyway. If you wish to spend the time we are separated in less objectionable circumstances, you might offer to dance with the young ladies, though they will not, of course, be my equal.”
“Not by half,” averred Darcy. “The notion does not fill me with pleasure, Elizabeth, but I shall do my best if only to please you.”
Watching Elizabeth dance with other men, Darcy reflected later that evening, was no less than torture. Though he had no concerns for her devotion to him and knew she preferred his company to those she was forced to endure, the masses of gentlemen who looked on her as a target were not hidden from Darcy’s scrutiny. Not everyone was so, of course, and Darcy did not descend to painting them all with the same brush, but there were enough who set his teeth grinding to take much of the pleasure out of the evening.
