Thanks to the unconditional love she had found with the Gardiners, when she thought of her bedchamber it would be the one at Gracechurch Street and, to a lesser extent, her suite at Netherfield.
Once both brides had changed, they met in the hall and descended the stairs arm in arm. Richard and Darcy stood in the entrance hall, mesmerised as each watched his wife intently. By the time they exited the front doors they had been joined by the Lucases, Phillipses, Fitzwilliams, Gardiners, and Georgiana.
“We will all meet at Rosings Park three weeks from now, on the fourteenth day of March,” Lord Matlock reminded everyone. Lady Catherine only expected Richard and Darcy for their annual visit; she was in for a bit of a surprise.
“Until then, I hope you will excuse me if I do not write many letters,” Elizabeth stated. “You know we married ladies are far too busy to write,” Elizabeth teased.
“That sounds very much like something I would have said had I married first, as I used to desire,” Lydia mused. “Thank goodness Mother Phillips set me straight on that, and many other subjects.”
“Eliza has the right of it; do not expect a letter from me during our honeymoon,” Charlotte smiled.
“The staff at Matlock House are expecting you, Richard and Charlotte,” Lady Matlock told the newlywedded Fitzwilliams. “Unlike Lizzy and William, I do not expect you two to arise at the crack of dawn.”
“That all depends on if we have gone to sleep yet,” Richard waggled his eyebrows.
There was a chorus of “Richard!” as he had forgotten there were young children present.
“Why would Charlotte and Richard be unable to sleep?” Eddy Gardiner asked innocently.
“Have you ever been so excited that sleep has eluded you, Son?” Gardiner offered a plausible explanation.
“You mean like the night before we go on holiday?” Eddy remembered.
“Exactly like that. Richard and Charlotte are going on holiday on the morrow,” Gardiner closed the subject.
Richard looked sheepish. Darcy considered ribbing him but decided against it; he felt his cousin had experienced enough mortification without his adding to it. “I hope you will be too excited to sleep tonight,” Darcy whispered into his wife’s ear.
The only way he knew she heard him was her deep scarlet blush, as she did not react verbally or look at her husband. When her colour had returned to normal, Elizabeth beckoned her husband to her. “Just you wait,” she told him saucily. Darcy did not know if he should be fearful or in anticipation of what Elizabeth intended.
After a great deal of hugging and kissing, and May demanding her new brother pick her up, both couples boarded their coaches. As the couples waved from their own conveyances, the Darcy coachman put his team in motion. It was followed a moment later by the Fitzwilliam coach.
As soon as the Darcy coach passed through Meryton, Darcy moved to sit next to his wife. He pulled her into a warm embrace and, after placing his hands on each side of her head, gently tilted it upward. With both of their hearts racing and their breathing becoming ragged, the two kissed passionately. Now that they were alone and there was no worry of being disturbed, they were able to unleash the passion which had been bubbling below the surface.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The two coaches pulled into Grosvenor Square, then separated. Darcy House was across a little green from Matlock House. Each coach stopped in front of its destination at almost the same time.
Elizabeth had seen the exterior of Darcy House when she visited Matlock House but had never been inside. The butler and housekeeper, Mr. and Mrs. Killion, were waiting on the top step to welcome the master and mistress home.
After checking to make sure she was presentable, Elizabeth nodded to her husband, who handed her out of the coach. Then Darcy scooped her up in his arms and carried her over the threshold, much to the senior staff’s amazement. They were used to a dour Mr. Darcy. It boded well that his young wife brought out his playful side.
When her husband gently lowered her to the floor, she was about to admonish him playfully when Elizabeth sensed they were not alone. She turned slowly and was very grateful for biting her tongue as three neat rows of servants waited to greet their new mistress. Darcy gave her a playful look, understanding she had almost exercised her wit before she noticed the servants.
The master introduced the Killions who in turn introduced the rest of the senior staff, including a lady’s maid who had been hired for the mistress, pending her approval. “It is my hope I will soon learn all of your names. If you see I am not sure, or I remember the wrong name, please remind me,” Elizabeth told the servants who were thankful the master had brought a kind mistress to them, one who seemed to see them as human beings to be treated with respect.
The butler dismissed the servants and Darcy led his wife up to their apartments. Elizabeth was enchanted. There was a sitting room but also a small dining room with a sideboard so they could choose to eat in their suite if they so desired.
“Are you hungry now, Elizabeth, or should we eat later?” Darcy asked.
“No, William, I am not hungry. Will you come to me?” Elizabeth asked shyly.
“Is an hour sufficient time?”
“More than enough, Husband.” Elizabeth turned and walked into her bedchamber.
Her new maid, Hedy Kimble, was waiting for instructions. Elizabeth asked for her new, sheer yellow silk nightgown. After she changed, she sat in front of her mirror while her maid brushed out her mahogany tresses, which cascaded down her back.
Elizabeth had closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of her hair being brushed, when there was a brief pause, then a resumption of brushing. Her maid started caressing her shoulder; she was about to jump up when she heard a deep baritone laugh behind her. She opened her eyes and saw her grinning husband reflected in the mirror standing behind her instead of Kimble.
