Chapter 22
The new Mrs. Darcy was gently shaken awake by her husband. She felt disoriented and could tell the carriage was no longer in motion. “We have arrived, Mrs. Darcy. We are at Darcy House, one of your new homes.” Darcy gazed lovingly at his wife.
“I am so very sorry, William. I did not realise just how tired I was. I did not manage to sleep much last night, for some unfathomable reason I was very excited.” Elizabeth looked up at him playfully.
“Nothing to apologise for, my beautiful wife, my Lizzy. I too slept for the same reason as you did. I only awoke a short while ago, but you looked so peaceful I did not want to wake you.” He hugged her tightly to himself.
Lizzy noticed the door was still closed, so she fixed her clothing and hair and when she was done, her husband knocked on the door and the waiting footman opened it for them to alight. The Killions were ready for the master and new mistress on the steps in front of the house.
“We wish you and Mrs. Darcy congratulations on your wedding. We are sure you will be very happy for many years. Welcome home master and mistress,” the housekeeper offered as the Darcys started up the steps.
“Thank you, Mrs. Killion, Mr. Killion,” Elizabeth Darcy inclined her head towards Mrs. Killion.
The Darcys followed the housekeeper and butler into the house while footmen unloaded what had come with them, which was not much as a carriage with the bulk of their things, Darcy’s valet and Elizabeth’s lady’s maid had left for town directly after the wedding ceremony.
As Killion closed the door, Mrs. Killion started to introduce Mrs. Darcy to the Darcy House servants that were lined up in two neat rows. Some of them were known to Elizabeth from her tour and the time she had spent at the house while they were all in London before the wedding.
Once she had greeted and said a few words to each of the servants, shocking the ones she had previously met by remembering their names, the newlyweds went up to the master suite to change out of their travel attire.
Darcy’s valet was ready for his master with a change of clothes.
The lady’s maid was waiting for Mrs. Darcy in her chambers.
Lizzy remembered her chambers from her tour and was very happy with the redecorated rooms and the newly arrived furniture from Chippendale.
Everything that had been removed from her chambers was being stored until Georgiana had a chance to examine it and determine if she wanted to retain any of her late mother’s old furniture.
Her lady’s maid had just helped her mistress change when there was a knock on the door between the shared sitting room and Lizzy’s bedchamber.
“Come in, please,” Elizabeth invited.
“Thank you, Arseneault. You may go,” Darcy instructed.
“Oui monsieur.” She curtsied and quietly exited the rooms.
“Why, may I ask, did you summarily dismiss...” Elizabeth started to tease her husband but anything else that she was about to say remained unsaid as her husband silenced her with a very deep kiss.
Her arms slid around his neck as his passionate wife pulled him against her body until there was no daylight between them. When they finally broke the kiss, her husband looked down at her and they looked intently into each other’s eyes.
“I think we should lock the doors,” Darcy suggested, his voice husky with passion and desire for his wife.
At his wife’s nodded agreement, Darcy walked over to do just that then quickly was back and urgently pulling his wife into his arms once again.
‘Now I will discover if what I have studied in the books about giving my Lizzy pleasure can be put into practice,’ Darcy thought as he again kissed her, the urgency of the kisses intensifying with every sigh or moan.
His hand roamed over her breasts, and she let out a moan of desire.
She managed to open his waistcoat and shirt, and for the first time, she rubbed her hands over his muscled torso with a light downy covering of hair on his chest. The feel to both of them was electric.
He undid the buttons at the back of her dress, and he marvelled at her lily-white pert breasts with the pink nipples that were already hard. His hand ran down her leg and then under her skirt toward that private place that was pulsing and already moist.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Afterward, with their naked bodies intertwined, they languidly lay on her bed. Her mother had been correct; there had been a little momentary burst of pain. Her William had stopped when she had winced and waited until she signalled him to continue.
No, she had certainly not laid there unmoving like some said should be done, she had followed her mother’s advice and when they both achieved release, the ecstasy had been unimagined.
Darcy thanked his lucky stars his father had left the special educational books for him locked in the study, and he was nothing if not a good student.
He was beyond pleased he had been able to translate his theoretical knowledge into practice so effectively as he had worried just before their coupling whether he would be able to do so.
One time had not been enough for either of them.
There had been a second time which was sweeter, slower, and more deliberate but just as pleasurable if not more so.
There was some blood on the sheet, but it did not embarrass her, it was expected of a maiden.
After agreeing to meet in their private sitting room once they had both refreshed themselves, they reluctantly climbed off the bed.
Once her husband had returned to his chambers, Lizzy rang for her abigail.
“Oui madmois...I am sorry, I mean yes, Mrs. Darcy,” the abigail offered in deference.
“Jacqui, please have a bath filled for me. And if you could have some maids remake my bed, I would appreciate it.” Now she did blush some as she instructed her maid.
“Right away, Mrs. Darcy.” Jacqui curtsied.
The new Mrs. Darcy luxuriated in her bathtub. She thought about how good it would be to share the one in her husband’s bathing room with said husband. Thinking about what they would do in the bath made her feel warm in anticipation of the pleasures that could be enjoyed.
After her maid assisted her to bathe and then dry off, Lizzy got dressed in one of her new day dresses. She noticed the bed had been remade and looked like it did before she had become William’s wife in every way.
Thinking about the sublime enjoyment of the act with her beloved husband caused her to blush while her lady’s maid was styling her hair.
Yes, loving one’s husband did not have to be restricted to any certain time of the night.
It was the right time when they wanted it to be, and they were assured of privacy.
When his wife sashayed into the shared sitting room, Darcy was struck by her beauty and poise all over again.
‘Thank you, oh Lord our God, for allowing me to find then fall in love with this woman. She is beauty itself both inside and out, and I still cannot believe she condescended to be my wife.’ His reverie was shattered when his wife threw her arms around his neck as she sat down on his lap and kissed him soundly.
“Husband, do you not think the time has come to share where we will be on our wedding trip for the next three weeks?” she asked coyly.
“You already know I can never deny you anything that you ask of me, my Lizzy.
Tomorrow morning, we travel south toward Brighton.
My honourable departed father took my mother to the area for their wedding trip.
He leased a cottage that sits on a bluff and has a good view of Brighton, and my dear departed mother liked it so much he purchased the cottage for her.
“It is named Seaview Cottage. It is staffed by a housekeeper, a cook, two maids, and two footmen. We will only take Arseneault and Carstens with us. The carriage, driver, and attendant servants will be housed at the Fox and Bugle Inn close by. If we require the use of the coach one of the footmen will ride to summon it. The servants at Seaview are very discreet, and we will only see them when we need them.” He watched her happiness grow.
“That sounds perfect, William. You have no idea how much I love the sea, and I adore sea bathing,” Elizabeth shared excitedly.
“Then you are in luck, my love. There is a secluded cove with some beach below the house that can only be reached by a path from our property. It has been a warm summer, so I am sure we will go sea bathing and whatever else we decide to do while we are in the water.” Darcy wiggled his eyebrows as he said the last to his blushing wife with a very devilish look on his countenance.
The newlyweds sat and talked until they heard the dinner gong.
Due to their afternoon activities, they both had a very good appetite.
Darcy House’s cook was seen to beam with pride at the evidence the master and new mistress liked her cooking exceedingly, judging by the small amount of leftovers the footmen returned to the kitchens.
After dinner Darcy requested and was granted some music by his wife, she sang with her divine angel-like voice as she accompanied herself on the pianoforte.
The servants privileged enough to hear the new mistress sing agreed they had never heard better.
The Darcys did not dally in the music room for long, they soon ran up the stairs hand-in-hand, very keen to reach the privacy of their suite.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
For most of the more than four hours of travel of the final leg, the newlyweds slept in each other’s arms. They had gone to bed early the previous night but had only finally gotten to sleep in the wee hours of the morning.
They were both very sated but tired, so they had fallen asleep one after the other just after the carriage departed Darcy House.