Foundation of Love: The Gypsy Blessing 2 (37 page)

“The tree house?”

“When the lawyer was talking about the house, I thought it was a joke... that he meant you were giving me the plot of land where the tree house is located...” Her voice trailed off.

William couldn’t help himself. The sound of his laughter echoed off the woods surrounding them. “If you thanked me like
that
for the tree house, what do I get for the mansion?”

When he realized Elizabeth wasn’t laughing with him, his mirth faded quickly. Concern gripped him when she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “Elizabeth?”

“What if I don’t have it in me to be
that
rich, Will? What if I embarrass you or...” A tear ran down her cheek. “Those things Anne’s mother said about Richie’s mom—”

That’s what I get for trying to impress her. All I did was frighten her!

“I don’t care about the opinions of Catherine de Bourgh or anyone like her.” He took her face between his hands and brushed her tear away with his thumb. “Elizabeth, I love
you
. All that stuff doesn’t matter to me, and it never has. I like Richie’s mom a lot more than I’ve ever liked Catherine. Money just makes everyday living more comfortable—it’s what is inside that counts. If it would make you happy, I’d live in the tree house, but only under one condition.”

“What’s the condition?”

“We’d have to build an outhouse nearby.”

She chuckled. “What about bathing?”

“We could collect rainwater in a bucket. No cook and no gardeners, and since I’m no hunter, we’d eat roots and berries. Maybe we could plant a kitchen garden.” He kissed her tenderly. “As long as I’m the man who gets to hold you close and keep you warm at night, everything else is unimportant.”

Elizabeth feigned thinking it over. After a few moments, the teasing sparkle that William loved so much shone from her eyes. “It would never work. I can just see the magazine articles now. I guess we’ll have to rough it and live in the mansion instead.”

“
Your
mansion,” William corrected.

Elizabeth shook her head. “
Our
mansion.” She slid her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a quick kiss, but he had other ideas. She drew back slightly, laughing. “It would be rather rude to keep these guys waiting for us in the cold any longer, don’t you think?”

One of the horses huffed, as if in answer to her question.

“You have a point.” William stepped away, took her hand, and threaded it through his bent elbow. “May I escort you to the carriage, Mrs. Darcy?”

Elizabeth giggled. “What a lovely idea, Mr. Darcy.”

As William helped her into the carriage, one of the drivers jumped down and walked toward the car.

“He’ll bring the car down to the house.
We
are arriving in style.”

William pulled a blanket up over both of them and told the driver to begin their journey. He settled into the padded seat, wrapped his arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders, and pulled her close to his side. Pointing to an engraved plate attached to the wall of the carriage next to her, he explained, “You’ll see a few of these around the house and grounds—they’re for the tourists.”

Elizabeth read it out loud:

Purchased in 1813 by Fitzwilliam Darcy

for his beloved wife, Elizabeth.

William explained, “The official story is that Elizabeth loved to walk the grounds. When she was pregnant with their first child, Fitzwilliam worried about her walking alone, so he bought her this open carriage so she could still enjoy the outdoors.”

“What’s the
full
story?”

He raised one eyebrow. “How’d you know there was more?”

“You wouldn’t have said
official
if there wasn’t.”

William nodded. “Since his mother had a difficult time having children, Fitzwilliam couldn’t stop worrying about Elizabeth. She insisted she was fine and should be allowed to walk alone all over the estate as she always had. Even though the doctor agreed with her, Fitzwilliam couldn’t allow it. They compromised on this carriage and short walks within sight of the house, though she didn’t know that either he or a servant was watching her at all times during her walks.”

“How could you know all that?”

“I told you, whenever it rained, I was bored and I read. Sometimes, I went up in the attics and rifled through stuff up there. I came across a couple of trunks filled with journals of former masters of the estate. There’s now a section of the library devoted to them.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re kidding, Will!” Elizabeth demanded excitedly. “I’m going to be able to read Fitzwilliam’s diaries, too?”

He nodded. “I thought you might like that.” William looked around then pointed ahead on the left side of the carriage. “See up there, at the top of the hill, where the trees end? Keep looking in that direction.”

The trees broke, and the sight was beyond compare. Elizabeth had never seen any structure so well situated. A large, handsome stone building, Pemberley Manor stood on rising ground on the opposite side of a valley, backed by a ridge of high woody hills. In front, a stream of some natural importance swelled into a large lake, which reflected the manor house perfectly. Elizabeth could barely breathe at the beauty of it all.

“Oh, Will…” she whispered, afraid that if she spoke louder, the mirage would burst and melt away.

He pulled her closer to him. “I’m glad you like it.”

“How could I not like it? It’s heavenly!”

They descended the hill and crossed a bridge. As they approached, the details of the carved stone trim became clear, and the overall beauty of the house only increased.

“This place is huge, and I might get lost, but I want to explore every inch of it.”

“I intend to spend as much time with you as I can, so you won’t get lost. Just make sure you have your cell in your pocket so if you
do
, you can call me, and I’ll send out a search party.” Will chuckled. “Years ago, we would issue two-way radios to guests.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

He kissed her quick. “Absolutely.”

~

This is truly unbelievable.
Elizabeth thought.
I feel like Cinderella!

The carriage stopped near the entrance. William stepped down and helped Elizabeth out. Again, he tucked her hand into his arm. “Welcome to Pemberley, Elizabeth.”

When they were about halfway up the steps, the door opened and a middle-aged woman sporting a pleasant smile appeared.

“Hello, Mrs. Finn. This is my
wife
, Elizabeth.” William proudly made the introduction.

“Welcome, Mrs. Darcy.”

Elizabeth stepped forward and extended her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Finn. Please call me Lizzy.”

“Then I’d prefer it if you’d call me Helen.” Mrs. Finn stepped forward and shook Elizabeth’s hand. “The maids are already unpacking your bags. Would you like to eat something now, or freshen up in your rooms first?”

William answered, “I know it’s now closer to lunchtime, but as always, as soon as I touch down on English soil, I start thinking about a proper English breakfast. Can we have that sent up, Mrs. Finn? After their lunch, the indoor staff can take the rest of the day off—we’re planning to take a long nap. I’m sure we can fend for ourselves in the kitchen later.”

“Certainly.” Mrs. Finn tried to hide a smile, but was unsuccessful. “The change in time zones
can
be quite tiring.”

“Something like that.” William looked at Elizabeth in a way that could only make her blush.

Elizabeth changed the subject. “Is it a British custom to have conversation outdoors, or am I not allowed inside the house?”

“None of the above.” William smiled mischievously. “I just wanted to get that out of the way before I did this.”

Elizabeth squealed as William scooped her up into his arms and carried her across the threshold. He took several steps into the entry hall and stopped. Taking full advantage of his nearness, she threaded her fingers through his hair, and she pulled him closer. She realized that they were acting very rudely toward Mrs. Finn, but she was too easily distracted by William’s kiss to care. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was aware of the sound of the door closing and the clacking of Mrs. Finn’s heels as she walked away.

When William broke the kiss, Elizabeth couldn’t tear her gaze from his. “Thank you for bringing me here…the carriage, the costumes…everything! It’s all so perfect.”

“You haven’t even seen the inside of the house yet—”

“It wouldn’t matter to me if it were gutted and covered in fluorescent paint; it would still be perfect.” She stretched upward for another kiss.

He obliged her briefly but pulled back when Elizabeth’s stomach growled loudly. They both laughed.

“I guess ordering a meal was another perfect idea?”

She nodded. “Aren’t you going to put me down?”

“Nope. Because of enduring your mother’s rule of not allowing us to see each other for three days before the wedding and my idiotic idea of flying directly to England after our wedding reception, this is the closest I’ve been to you in days. I’m carrying you up to the family wing just like this.”

Elizabeth giggled. “I won’t argue with perfection.”

When William started walking, Elizabeth took the opportunity to look around her for the first time. The entrance hall was spectacular—marble floors, stunning wooden mouldings, vintage furniture, and a wooden vaulted ceiling carved with intricate designs. She wanted to examine everything thoroughly, but there’d be plenty of time for that later.

Elizabeth was proud of herself when she successfully hid her mirth as William’s steps slowed on the third flight of stairs. His pace picked up once again as he made his way down the hallway.

“This is the family wing. Our rooms are at the end of the hall on the right.”

“Rooms? Plural?”

“Yes, you’ll see. Time for a little history. This has always been the family wing, but we moved the original furnishings to the opposite wing on the second floor for posterity’s sake. This area has been kept up to date as times have changed, although the floors, walls, and ceilings have been preserved.” He stopped before a handsomely carved doorway. “Can you reach the latch?”

She could, so she pushed the door open. He was right—it was a mixture of modern and antique, charmingly blended. Nothing seemed out of place. As was the case with everything else in the house so far, this room was huge. A gigantic hearth took up a good portion of the wall to their right, with a comfortable sitting area nearby. On the outside wall were French doors, through which she could glimpse a balcony. Taking up a good portion of the left side of the room was a gorgeous four-poster bed, which was stripped of sheets at the moment, framed by two large windows.

“This is the original master’s bedchamber. The dressing room was converted into his-and-hers walk-in closets and a bathroom. The shared sitting room for the master and the mistress is through this door here.” He pushed open a door near the corner of the wall with the fireplace, and they entered what looked like a modern living room with an entertainment center housing any type of electronic device one’s heart might desire. This room claimed another massive hearth. Her trained eye caught that the fireplaces were not back-to-back. She smiled thinking that it could prove embarrassing if they were. Voices would carry through the flue and into the other room.

In the corner, she saw what must have been a bar at one time, but now was a small kitchenette with an array of soft drinks and water on display instead of liquor.

William placed her feet on the floor, but did not let her go. “I would have put you down in the other room, but I wasn’t sure I could trust myself…”

His eyes lingered on her mouth. Instinctively, she moistened her lips. The rise and fall of his chest quickened against her. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his expression had changed. “We’ll eat at the bar in here, if that’s okay?”

“Sure.” Her breathing was shallow, quite affected by finally being alone with him.

His arms tightened around her briefly; then he took her hand from his chest and released her. William led her to another door, opposite the one through which they had entered.

“This
was
the mistress’s bedchamber, but from what I understand, it hasn’t been used in that way for a very long time. There were no more
marriages of convenience
after Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth’s love match.”

He opened the door to reveal an office, as well equipped as his home office in Meryton. This room and the living room both had French doors like the bedroom.

“The mistress’s dressing room was converted into a bathroom that allows access from both this room and the living room. The door from the bathroom to the sitting room is the only alteration to the structure of the house in the past eighty years. Everything else has been updated with additions that can be removed without harming the original walls.”