“You are much attached to Pemberley, Georgiana.” Jane observed, taking Miss Darcy’s now-still hand as they walked. “You must love it here.”
Georgiana met her eyes and smiled.
“Even as a child she hated leaving home. She feels safe here.” Darcy explained.
Slightly humbled, Elizabeth trailed behind at the back of the group. She had already been wrong twice today - about Bingley and now about the walk - and it was not yet noon!
They returned to the meadow. One of the servants shook a blanket out over the grass. Darcy carefully laid Georgiana down, and the servant quickly constructed a nest of cushions and folded blankets for her to relax against. She lay still in the dappled light, looking peacefully up at the wispy white clouds that drifted lazily through the blue sky.
Jane sat down beside her, cheerfully unpacking one of the baskets to find a flask of apple juice and Georgiana’s little blue China cup. Elizabeth eyed the blanket. The temptation to ignore it and throw herself down onto the sweet green grass was almost unbearable.
But… her dress! Herconduct!
I have already been wrong twice today. What is one more?
Thus resolved, Elizabeth sat decisively down on the grass and smiled. It was warm and soft against her hands - and then against her forearms and wrists, when she leaned back to rest on her elbows. She ignored her sister’s slightly scandalisedLizzie!and tipped her head back. Sighing happily, she let the warm breeze slide against her throat and shoulders.
“Elizabeth,” Darcy said, half laughing, half stern, “Don’t do that. Your dress…”
Lizzie’s eyes flew open and she was ready to retort when she saw the way her husband was looking at her. It was far from the expression of an annoyed man. He was certainly not thinking ofclothing.
He was irresistible. Lizzie held his eyes while she slowly sat up. Darcy could not look away.
“If I get this dress dirty it shall not matter. It is my dress, and I can do what I want with it. I may go and roll in the mud, Darcy, just to prove it to you.”
“There is no mud, Mrs. Darcy.” he sounded resigned, but his eyes were like jet.
Lizzie stood up and brushed blades of grass from her sleeves. “I am sure I can find some, sir.”
Jane gaped after her sister as Elizabeth wandered purposely off into the trees. “I am so sorry, Mr. Darcy. She has been in such a strange mood of late, but this is…”
“It is not your place to apologise for your sister, and I am not offended.” he said, smiling, “I shall follow her. Will you stay with Georgiana?”
“Of course, sir.” Jane beamed and stroked Georgiana’s hair. “There is nowhere else I would rather be.”
Elizabeth would be easy to find, for Darcy knew exactly what she had in mind. She would be somewhere dark and well-hidden, so that they would not be seen by curious eyes. It was a great surprise to her husband that Mrs. Darcy was not hidden at all; she had found a little pool of sunlight between a close copse of trees and was contentedly sitting in the centre picking daisies. When he approached, she looked up, raising a teasing eyebrow.
“I see no mud, Mrs. Darcy.” Darcy said, rising to her challenge at once. “What do you mean by it?”
“I thought that grass stains would suffice, sir.” she replied peacefully, “Would you like to join me? You may want to remove your jacket, since you are so concerned with people’s clothes.”
“Only yours, madam.” he pulled his coat off anyway, sitting beside her with a sigh of happiness. “It is good to be alone, is it not?”
“We are not so very alone.”
“Alone enough, I mean.”
“For…?” she tried to tease him, then stopped with a gasp when he kissed her.
It was what she had wanted, and more. She was so used to their courtship taking place behind closed doors and in quiet corners that she was starting to feel almost embarrassed about it.
The wonderful, warm freedom she and Darcy had found in each other’s company had withered away ever since their guests had arrived. They could no longer share a kiss in the library or spend a leisurely evening walking about the gardens with their hands entwined. The price of being reunited with their friends was the loss of their blissful privacy. Ever since their arrival, their courtship had been hidden behind strong brass locks in the evenings and turned into hasty, snatched whispers of affection in the days.
Kissing Darcy in the sunshine felt wonderful. It feltdecadent. It made Elizabeth’s head spin. It was only when she felt the ground against her back that she realised that the world had moved with it. Gasping, laughing and pulling him down against her, she let her husband press her soundly into the dirt.
He pulled back after a moment to look rather severely into her eyes. “I must urge you not to make a habit of this, madam. We cannot afford to replace as many dresses as you are sure to ruin.”
“I? I was not planning on spoilingany,sir. I was rather hoping thatyoumight.” she retorted pertly and then kissed the end of his nose. “You are trying to make me into the grand Mrs. Darcy, and I shall not have it. Let me be your Elizabeth, my love, at least when we are alone.”
