Chapter 1.25 #6
As much as he was incredulously happy about the passion they had shared, David was even more delighted about Cassandra’s choice to remain nestled in his arms afterward.
He still remembered vividly the first time they made love and how completely she had changed by morning.
This time, however, it was different; he felt her fingers entwine with his and caress his hand—and that small gesture filled his heart.
“There is something I want to tell you too, Cassandra.”
“What is it?” She turned her head to face him; her hair tickled him and he buried his face in it to reach her ear.
“I love you. As the months have passed since I proposed to you, I find that I love you more.
Cassandra looked at him silently. He waited for her reply, but it did not come; instead, she rose from the bed covered only in a sheet and unlocked a drawer of her dressing table. David watched her, puzzled and slightly worried. She returned and handed him an old notebook.
His confusion increased. “What is this?”
“It is my diary. I want you to read these pages. It was written after my coming-out ball.”
Half an hour of deep silence followed as he read, looked at her with disbelief, and then read three more times, his expression gradually changing; finally, she took the book from his hands and silently cuddled up to his chest.
She could feel his heart racing and his body tense as his arms enveloped her. “You could have been mine all this time.” He tightened his embrace until she could barely breathe. “All the pain could have been avoided if—
“David?” He did not reply, only kissed her temple.
“I spent years buried in regrets, sorrow and lost happiness, but now my tears are spent. I shall never forget my past, and part of my heart will always belong to Thomas. My future happiness will sometimes be shadowed by painful memories—that is true—but I do love you deeply; I love you with a seventeen-year-old’s shattered dreams as well as a twenty-five-year-old’s hopes.
So if you are sure you want me, let us not waste any more time. ”
She nestled against him and stretched her hand to caress his face; she startled and rolled in his arms to look at him. “David, are you crying?” she asked incredulously, her green eyes smiling through her own tears.
“I certainly am not, madam,” he replied soundly. “Who could imagine a colonel in His Majesty’s army crying? That would be unacceptable.”
“Unacceptable, indeed,” she laughed and kissed his cheeks.
David held her hands and kissed them tenderly many times, and then his lips brushed hers.
“We still have many things to discuss, Cassandra. We have to decide what to do; tomorrow I shall speak to Darcy, and he will help me to apply for a special license. And you—to whom should I apply for your hand?”
“You already said these could wait until tomorrow. I am too exhausted and incoherent to speak now.”
“I am sorry. Should I leave and allow you to sleep? I shall see you tomorrow morning; there is no hurry.”
“I said I am too exhausted to speak,” she repeated in a lower voice.
“Oh…I see,” he smiled and kissed her hands again. “So am I to understand, that, if I do not require you to speak, I may stay longer?” he asked between kisses along her throat.
“You certainly may stay, Colonel, as long as you do not expect me to speak…coherently,” she managed to say before his hands greedily explored her skin, banishing all her thoughts and words—the coherent ones.
∞∞∞
Darcy had quite a stressful night; for the first time since their marriage, Elizabeth was already asleep by the time he entered their rooms, and she looked so tired that he had no heart to wake her only for his pleasure. So he allowed her to rest, which greatly affected his own.
He finally slept at dawn; when he awoke, Elizabeth was gone. His man informed him that the mistress left word she would be downstairs.
Darcy finally found her, but she begged him to wait for her in the breakfast room as she was occupied with making proper arrangements for their guests’ journey to London.
She promised she would join him for coffee in five minutes, and Darcy had no choice but to obey.
He spent more than half an hour alone, reading newspapers and wondering whether he should buy Elizabeth a new watch as her old one did not accurately measure how long a minute was.
“Good morning, Darcy.” He was greeted by a cheerful Cassandra.
“Look who is here so early in the morning! I cannot believe my eyes,” he said, and was rather shocked when Cassandra placed a quick kiss on his cheek as she had not done since they were children.
“All right, that demands an explanation,” he said soundly as she poured herself a large cup of coffee.
“I, too, would like an explanation about why you kissed my husband, Lady Cassandra.” Elizabeth sat by Darcy, smiling, waiting for an answer. “I dare say you are feeling much better today. I imagine you slept quite well.”