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"That would be a terrible shame. Here, let me help," he said gently, taking the comb from her and beginning to attend to her hair.

Elizabeth regarded him in the mirror as he worked, his brow furrowed in concentration as he carefully teased apart the knots. It was a wonderful thing, she thought, to be married to a man who could spend the day attending to the business of a large estate and the evening patiently combing his wife's hair. She doubted many of the gentlemen of her acquaintance would have considered such a task worthy of their attention. She was sure the Mr Darcy she had first met in Hertfordshire would have been horrified to learn how he would come to occupy his evenings.

He worked in silence, slowly and carefully, until her hair no longer resembled the rat's nest it had before. He placed the comb on the dressing table and ran his fingers through her curls, bending to press a gentle kiss to her neck. "My love is as beautiful as ever, with such silken tresses," he said, pressing his face into her hair and breathing deeply. "You can hardly blame a man for wanting his wife to wear it down. I love how it tumbles over my shoulder and chest while you sleep. It is like being wrapped in the most delectable silk ribbons."

Elizabeth laughed and rolled her eyes, but she felt the familiar little flip in her stomach that she always did when her husband was this close and looking at her with that dark gaze she had come to know so well. It was ridiculous that after several months of marriage he could still affect her so, and she wondered if she would ever become fully accustomed to the pleasure of being his wife.

"You have a very pretty way of justifying your dreadful behaviour, Mr Darcy, but I shall remind you of these compliments tomorrow morning when I am obliged to spend another half-hour restoring my hair to some sort of order."

"I shall be happy to help you again tomorrow, my love. Although I make no promises about leaving your hair braided tonight."

"William!" she exclaimed, swatting at his hand, which was now gliding across her collarbone, although she was laughing as she did so.

"But what am I about?" he said at last, glancing at her reflection. "It is All Hallows' Eve! Have I disturbed you looking in the mirror for your next husband?"

She stood then and turned to him, wrapping her arms about his waist. "I find one husband is quite enough trouble for me, thank you. Indeed, I could not endure a second if he were anything like the first."

"I do not know whatever you mean, my darling," he said, all wide-eyed innocence, and then, in one sweep of his arms, he lifted her bodily, strode across the room and threw her onto the bed. She bounced and landed in an ungainly tangle of limbs, her hair spreading across the pillows, and looked up at him with an expression of exaggerated outrage.

"You illustrate my point for me very well, William! I was perfectly comfortable sitting at my dressing table, and now look what you have done. My hair is in disarray again, and I shall have to begin the whole business from the start."

"It is not so much trouble," he said, joining her on the bed and drawing her beneath him as he kissed her until she was breathless and laughing.

"I suppose your company may be tolerable," she said, accepting his ministrations as his kisses trailed down her neck. "And although I did not see my future husband in the mirror this evening, I may have seen something of our future."

"Hmm?" he murmured against her neck, clearly not attending. His tongue found a sensitive spot just below her ear, and Elizabeth struggled to remember what she had been saying.

"As I was trying to tell you, I saw you, my handsome husband, and I saw your wife grown very fat."

He lifted his head and regarded her with a frown. "What are you rambling about, my love? You are as lovely and slender as the day I married you, and I cannot imagine why you should be troubling yourself with such nonsense."

"But I shall not always be so, Fitzwilliam," she said, using his full name and giving him what she hoped was a significant look. "I believe I shall grow very round indeed." She used her hands to mimic a large belly, looking at him expectantly, but his expression remained one of complete bewilderment.

"Elizabeth, if you are concerned about your figure, I assure you that I shall find you beautiful whatever your shape. I cannot imagine what has possessed you to think otherwise."

She stared at him for a moment, hardly able to believe that a man of such intelligence could be so completely obtuse. "Good heavens, William! Must I spell everything out for you? I am telling you that your wife is going to have a baby!"

"You are..." he began, sitting up so quickly that Elizabeth was almost knocked sideways. His eyes widened as he looked from her face to her stomach and back again. "Elizabeth, are you telling me that you are with child?"

"Well, I have been trying to tell you for the last several minutes, but you have been far too busy kissing me to listen! I thought the mention of growing very round might have given you a clue, William, but it appears I shall have to be more direct with you in future."

He sat staring at her, his mouth slightly open, and Elizabeth wondered whether she ought to be concerned. She had imagined all manner of reactions to her news, but she had not expected to render her husband mute.

"William? Are you quite well?"

He blinked, and then a smile began to spread across his face, growing wider and wider until she thought it might split his face in two. "Good God, Elizabeth. A baby? Our baby?"

Darcy looked down at her stomach, then back at her, and Elizabeth was surprised to see tears in his eyes. He moved to gather her into his arms, then hesitated, his hands hovering uncertainly at her waist.

"Will I hurt you? Should I be holding you so tightly?"

"Oh, William! Women have been having babies for centuries, and I assure you that I will not break because you wish to embrace me. Now, will you please kiss your wife?"

He needed no further encouragement, pulling her into his arms and kissing her so enthusiastically that she could scarcely breathe. "Oh, Elizabeth! My darling, wonderful Elizabeth! You have made me the happiest man in England."

He laughed and drew her closer. "To think that we shall have a little boy or girl of our own, that we shall watch them grow here at Pemberley..." He paused, his expression softening as he looked at her. "I have thought of having children for many years, but I do not believe I ever truly understood what it would mean until now. A little person who is part of you and part of me. I cannot imagine anything more wonderful."

"Well, I hope you shall continue to think so when that little person is keeping us both awake at all hours and making a dreadful mess of this grand house."