His Uncle's Favorite (67 page)

His smile grew larger, and he caressed her face—flushed in the daylight—then kissed her hand. “We must leave; the carriage is ready.”

***

The second day of their journey passed uneventfully. The newlyweds planned only to change horses as necessary and not to stop for the night, as they wished to get home as soon as possible; but Pemberley was still far away.

Consequently, they stopped at an unknown inn that appeared civilised enough and asked for rooms and food. The place was crowded, and as soon as they entered the main room, many pairs of eyes were on them. The owner easily recognised a worthy customer, so he hurried to comply with their demands. It was settled that driver and footman would sleep for several hours in order to be able to continue their journey safely.

Darcy and Elizabeth retired to their room, far from the noisy dining area. Servants brought the luggage, some hot water to refresh themselves, and a tray with food and wine. Darcy inspected the dishes, tasted the wine, then looked around the chamber severely and seemed displeased with it.

“I am sorry; we should have stopped two hours ago at the inn where Miles made the arrangements. I thought we could push on to Pemberley, but I was wrong. I have unwisely placed you in an unpleasant situation only a day after our wedding,” he apologised with obvious distress, but she smiled at him.

“William, please do not worry about me; I shall be happy only to sleep in your arms.” She caressed his face and pressed her lips to his.

“Are you not hungry? We should eat a little,” he said, but their lips were already otherwise engaged. A moment later, overwhelmed by her tenderness, he sat in a chair and pulled her into his lap. The long kiss ushered in many others, their lips separating only to breathe. She felt his arms caressing her legs and lifting her dress, and all she had in mind was the pleasant anticipation of what would happen next. She briefly considered that they should move to the bed and blow out the candles as her dress was already up to her thighs. Instead, she felt his strong, demanding hands placing her astride his lap; she gasped in surprise and attempted to break the kiss, but he would not allow it. His hands encircled her back, caressing her spine, her neck, and her shoulders; then he removed the hairpins to release her heavy tresses while defeating her weak resistance with his eager passion.

After long, tormenting minutes, he finally freed her lips and withdrew his face a bit to look at her. He was smiling while she felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

“My beautiful, beloved wife…” He tightened his arms around her, and they remained in the silent comfort of each other’s arms for some time. “We should try and rest, my love,” he said eventually. “I will go to the other room to allow you to wash and change. Then we must eat a little and try to sleep a few hours.”

“Very well…thank you,” she said while trying to move as she became increasingly aware of the awkwardness of their present position. He left the chamber, and she finally dared to look around the small, simple room—the chair where she sat in his lap and her own image in the mirror. As other feelings diminished, embarrassment coloured her cheeks while she cleaned and changed herself.

Shortly, he returned, his appearance more proper; he had changed his trousers and shirt, and his slightly wet hair curled more than usual.

“You look beautiful, Mrs. Darcy. Now—shall we eat? These dishes seem quite tasty after all.” He proved to be right; the dinner was brief, but the food and wine were much appreciated, more so as both were hungry and thirsty.

Finally, it was time for what sleep could be had; they shared the same bed, gently embraced, her head on his chest, one of his arms tightened around her shoulder, the other entwined with hers. Not a single kiss was shared as he declared she needed to rest. She attempted to tease him a few more times, but he was unmoved in his decision and eventually insisted with perfect seriousness, which only made her chuckle and blush.

“Mrs. Darcy, we absolutely must rest now. You should take advantage of this rest, as I suspect you will not have much sleep tomorrow at Pemberley.”

***

Well before dawn, they resumed their journey. Despite her assurance that she was rested, Elizabeth soon fell asleep again on Darcy’s shoulder. He held her gently and allowed her to rest for a couple of hours.

When the sun was up, she woke and discovered, with happy anticipation, that they had entered Derbyshire. She eagerly inquired about each remarkable place through which they drove, and rather often, she asked how much longer they had to go.

When Darcy told her they would arrive at Pemberley in less than an hour, Elizabeth’s anxiety increased significantly and unexpectedly; she watched for the first appearance of Pemberley Woods with great perturbation. The park was large and contained a great variety of ground. They entered it at one of its lowest points, and drove for some time through a beautiful wood, stretching over a wide extent.

Elizabeth eagerly admired every beautiful spot and point of view, her mind and heart overwhelmed by a myriad of emotions. They gradually ascended for half a mile, and then found themselves at the top of a considerable eminence, where the wood ceased, and the eye was instantly caught by Pemberley House, situated on the opposite side of a valley into which the road, with some abruptness, wound.

Elizabeth gasped in wonder and asked to stop the carriage. Darcy smiled as she quickly exited and stood spellbound, her hands pressed over her chest to quiet her emotions as she marvelled at her future home.

It was a large, handsome, stone building, standing well on rising ground and backed by a ridge of high woody hills, and in front, a stream of natural importance was swelled into a greater width but without any artificial appearance; its banks were neither formal nor falsely adorned. It was simply perfect in its natural splendour.

“I have never seen a place more beautiful,” she whispered, and he put his hands on her shoulders; she could feel his warmth near her back and leaned against him. “It is just breathtaking. I never would have imagined it to be so wonderful!”

He wrapped his arms around her. “I am glad you approve of it.”

“Approve of it? It is as impressive as it is astonishing in its beauty. You know, until now, I did not fully comprehend what it means to be the ‘master of Pemberley.’”

“Pray tell me, had you known before what it means to be the ‘master of Pemberley,’ would you have accepted my first proposal? After all, the beauty of the house should compensate for my faults,” he said, laughing.

“No, I would not have! But I surely would not have teased you so when we were in Hertfordshire, and I might have offered to mend your pen as Miss Bingley did.” She joined him in his amusement, and he laughed louder.

“Well, my dear Mrs. Darcy, now you will have the chance to rectify your errors. Come, I am in quite a hurry finally to be home, but I promise I will show you every spot of the estate during the next few days. You will come to know it and love it as much as I do.”

When the carriage stopped in front of the manor, Elizabeth forgot to breathe. She looked around, her eyes wide, her heart racing. She took Darcy’s arm, but her feet seemed unable to obey her will. Darcy kissed her hand and put his arm around her shoulders.

“We are finally home, my love.”

“Oh, dear Lord! Mr. Darcy, you arrived early, sir! We did not expect you until dinnertime! I hope you are well. Oh, forgive me, Mrs. Darcy; we are honoured to receive you at Pemberley. Welcome! Oh, I am such a fool; please enter. I am standing in the way; I heartily apologise… Oh Lord, and we are not completely ready; I am so sorry…”

“Mrs. Reynolds!” Darcy’s voice was gentle but decided and immediately silenced the anxious housekeeper. “Mrs. Reynolds, there is no need to be nervous or to trouble yourself. We are happy to be home at last. Everything is well, I trust?”

“Yes, everything is well, but I am afraid Miles misled us; he said you would arrive later in the afternoon; and the meal is just—” Darcy started to laugh, and his amusement seemed to disturb the woman even more.

“Mrs. Reynolds, in four and twenty years I have never seen you so distressed! I will show Mrs. Darcy around for a short while; in the meantime, please send Miles to take care of the luggage and prepare us something to eat. We shall need our baths ready as soon as possible. We are very tired and will retire early today.”

“Very well, sir. Oh, and the staff are eager to meet Mrs. Darcy; shall I fetch them now in the main hall?”

“I would rather have Mrs. Darcy meet the staff tomorrow. She has not slept well for two nights, and she needs to rest.”

“Oh, you are right, of course; forgive me,” Mrs. Reynolds said, lowering her eyes.

Elizabeth glanced at Darcy briefly then put her hand over his.

“In fact, if it is acceptable to you, William, I would like to meet the staff now. I am eager to make their acquaintance,” she said, looking from Darcy to Mrs. Reynolds. “William always speaks so highly of you, Mrs. Reynolds, and of his entire staff that I would be delighted to see them. Would half an hour be acceptable? I would like to refresh myself a little and to arrange my appearance. I would not make a poor first impression to them,” she said in confidence.

Mrs. Reynolds looked at her master, slightly disconcerted but pleasantly surprised, waiting for his indication. He smiled. “Mrs. Darcy is right, of course.”

“Oh, that is wonderful! Thank you, Mrs. Darcy. Should I come to help you refresh yourself? Not that you need it—you look beautiful if I may be so bold as to say so!”

“Mrs. Reynolds,” Darcy interrupted her again. “We thank you, but we do not need your assistance for now. I shall ask for the maid later.”

He took Elizabeth’s arm and directed her along the main hall, stifling a laugh. “She is nervous because of you,” he whispered. “She wrote me several letters, asking me if you wished to change the furniture and what your favourite dishes are.”

“She seemed very kind and quite fond of you. I think we shall get along well.”

“I have no doubt of that. I must thank you for being so considerate; I believe it meant a lot to them that you wish to meet the staff today. So, what else do you wish to see?”

“Whatever you wish to show me. I am overwhelmed by so much beauty, and I imagine it would take a long time to see everything.”

“Indeed… I would rather have a longer tour of the house tomorrow. For now, we shall go and see your apartments then return to meet the staff, and then I intend not to leave our rooms again until late tomorrow. Is that acceptable to you?”

“Do I have a choice, Mr. Darcy?” She laughed.

“Not really; I plan to lock the doors and throw away the key if necessary.”

“Such a demanding husband! I cannot possible contradict you, so I had best obey.”

“Very wise, indeed,” he concluded and stopped in the middle of the hall to claim her lips.

Finally, he opened the door widely. “These are your rooms, Mrs. Darcy.”

She entered tentatively and remained near the door, looking around in silence. He placed his hands on her shoulders and she put her hands over his.

“This is exquisite,” she whispered. “Splendid…”

“I am glad you like it. And here are my rooms,” he said, opening the adjoining doors. She stepped inside, holding his hand tightly.

“The apartments are perfectly matched,” she said in deep admiration. “So beautiful…”

“Yes, they were furnished to belong to the master and mistress of the house. And they must be matched as I expect never to keep the door between them closed,” he smiled and attempted to kiss Elizabeth again, but she resisted.

“I had better arrange my hair a little before I meet the staff. I cannot afford to let you kiss me again, or we shall never be downstairs in time,” she said teasingly.

She admired the rooms in silence for some time, bewitched by the view from her balcony. The beauty around her overwhelmed her again and her husband’s tender caress was not enough to put her at ease. She allowed herself to rest in his arms for a short while, then they returned together to the main hall, where the entire staff was in line, waiting for them.

With no little nervousness, Elizabeth glanced at the staff; she had not imagined so many. One by one, Mrs. Reynolds introduced all thirty-five servants to Mrs. Darcy. They were of many different ages, with different responsibilities but equally nervous and somehow worried at meeting the new mistress.

Elizabeth greeted each of them with a smile; after the first five, she suddenly stopped and confessed that she was nervous and wanted to make a good impression. She also said she hoped they would help her to learn her responsibilities and thanked them for greeting her so warmly. Immediately, everyone’s faces lit with relief, and whispers of approval could be heard. The introductions then continued in a calmer and lighter manner. At the end, Mrs. Reynolds introduced to Elizabeth her new maid, Molly—a girl close to her age who seemed unable to breathe in front of her new mistress.

The staff finally returned to their duties, and the Darcys enjoyed a light, hasty meal, to Mrs. Reynolds obvious disapproval; she insisted they should eat more to regain their strength after two days of exhausting travel. Afterwards, they retired to their apartments; Molly came to help Elizabeth while Darcy entered his own rooms.

After the lengthy journey, tired from lack of sleep and heightened emotions, Elizabeth looked forward to a warm bath and abandoned herself to the huge tub, allowing the water to wrap her exhausted body while her mind wondered about what would come next.