I Met Mr Darcy Via Luton

by Fredrica Edward

  "Did he only misbehave in the carriage?"

  "No! He's been possessive of Jane the whole time! I went to give Jane a tickle when she was cutting some flowers in the garden at Longbourn, and the damned dog ran out and nipped me!"

  "Really, I can't recall him doing anything like that before!" replied Darcy.

  "We had to chain him up at the stables, and then he had an altercation with Mr Bennet's goat."

  Darcy raised his eyebrows at this. "I hope the goat wasn't injured!"

  "No, he proved pretty stout in defending himself–the stable hands had to run in to break it up, tho'."

  Darcy rubbed his dog's ears. "You have been getting up to some mischief, haven't you?"

  Argos perked up his ears on being directly addressed by his master and looked appropriately apologetic. Darcy thought he had never had such a smart dog before–in some ways he was more like a small child than an animal.

  Taking a sip of the brandy, he turned back to his friend. "So how is married life suiting you, Charles?"

  "She is everything I have ever dreamed of Darcy, and more," said Bingley. "These first months have been sheer bliss, but she is with child now, and we will have to slow down."

  "Congratulations!" said Darcy enviously.

  His eyes slipped to the flickering flames of the fire. If only he had been sensible earlier, he too might already be experiencing connubial bliss. If he had offered Elizabeth marriage at Hunsford, she would be his to enjoy now. His loins ached at the thought. Instead, they had both suffered months of heartache; and now he was experiencing this new torture of not knowing when he could finally bed her.

  "Just between you and me, of course, old man," said Bingley, stretching out his boot towards the fire. "She hasn't told her mother yet. Doesn't want to raise expectations on the chance they might be dashed down. I expect we'll keep it quiet 'til she starts to show."

  "Of course," said Darcy, wondering whether Jane would tell Elizabeth.

  After finishing their brandies, they joined the ladies. Mary and Georgiana took turns playing pieces on the piano. Although Mary's playing did not approach that of Georgiana's, who had been tutored by one of the best masters in London, it had improved substantially over the course of their acquaintance. Mary could now be deemed 'reasonably accomplished' by the Caroline Bingleys of the world.

  After they had played half a dozen pieces, Jane daintily suppressed a yawn and declared herself ready to retire. Her husband solicitously helped to her feet. This was the signal that broke up the party.

  As they headed up the stairs, Darcy grabbed Elizabeth's hand and held her back. Georgiana and Mary twittered on together ahead of them like two birds.

  "Can we meet in an hour?" he whispered urgently.

  "Oh, Fitzwilliam, I will have dark circles under my eyes!"

  "Please! Just for a short while," he pleaded.

  "Oh, very well!" she agreed reluctantly, "but only for a short time. Meet me in my room."

  This concession surprised Darcy, but he wasn't about to complain.

  An hour later, he knocked lightly and stepped through the wardrobe. He was fully clothed, save for his town coat of black superfine–it fitted so well that only Finn knew how to ease him out of it, and thus he had dispensed with it before dismissing his valet.

  He found Elizabeth reading by candlelight on the chaise longue. Her pastel pink dressing gown was wrapped round her–the cape-like one he had seen when they first met at Netherfield, but as her hair was unbound and her feet bare, it was more than enough to inflame him.

  He knelt down beside the chaise longue to kiss her. This started as a gentle touch of lips but soon escalated to the passionate before Darcy pulled himself away to regain his equilibrium.

  "Oh, my love, I burn for you!" he murmured, bestowing a kiss on the back of her hand before turning it over and licking her palm.

  A giggle escaped her.

  Surprised by her light-heartedness, he looked at Elizabeth questioningly.

  "There seems to be a disparity in our dress codes, Fitzwilliam. I expected you to be wearing your breeches and shirt as you have before."

  "I will quite happily remove whatever you require to address the inequity."

  "Perhaps you would be more comfortable without your boots," she suggested.

  He retreated to lean against the bed to allow her to draw them off.

  Grasping the heel, she admired how beautifully they sheathed his flesh as she pulled them off. The leather was so supple.

  Once this was accomplished, Darcy pushed himself back to sit, hopefully, upon the mattress. His silk stockings shone white on his muscular calves.

  "And I do not wish to be stuck with your diamond pin," Elizabeth said, removing it along with his cravat, and carefully placing them next to the ormulu clock.

  "That will do," she stated, disappointing him slightly.

  Darcy was hoping his waistcoat and stockings would follow. But she was standing between his thighs, and the pressure of her leg against his inner thigh was exquisite. Hardly daring to move, wary that she might flinch away at any moment, Darcy realised he was holding his breath.

  Elizabeth kissed his cheek; then lifted her hand to feel the stubble that was pushing through the skin.

  "I am so glad that Jane is so happy," she said, dreamily. "She positively glows! I knew she and Mr Bingley were right for each other!"

  Ah, thought Darcy. Perhaps that is what is responsible for the thaw!

  "Yes," he replied, "they seem very happy together."

  He decided to risk sliding back onto the bed, lightly clasping her wrist to pull her towards him.

  Before he knew what was happening she was on top of him, straddling his hips with his wrists pinned on either side of his ears. He was instantly aroused.

  Elizabeth looked at Darcy from her superior position. His eyes were wide. In the dim room, they seemed like dark bottomless pools.

  "We should go to bed," she suggested, releasing him, and twisting off him to the side.

  Oh Lord! How I wish we could go to bed! he thought. "Yes," he replied, reluctantly getting up.

  Darcy picked up his boots and dropped his cravat into one of them.

  "Goodnight," he said, and with a last look, he disappeared into the wardrobe.

  Chapter 61: Daisies

  Darcy awoke early, aching. It had proved difficult to adapt to celibacy since he'd stopped going to Madame Amelie's, and the situation was infinitely worse now when the object of his desire was within his reach. He had hoped they might become more intimate now they were engaged, but it was clear that Elizabeth was only going to allow so much. Both times he had sought to tryst with her since his first disastrous attempt to get some of her clothes off, she had sought to take control, and she had put the brakes on. But the manner in which she did it! Jumping on top of him and pinning him down! It instantly inflamed him.

  He had always been in control of the lovemaking with Genette. She had been like a doll that he used for his pleasure, and that had suited him very well. He had studied his Ovid, read the copy of The Perfumed Garden his uncle had loaned to him, and systematically implemented what he'd learnt there with his dutiful paramour. Despite her silence, he knew Genette had responded to his ministrations, and he had considered himself a proficient lover. But nothing had prepared him for Elizabeth. It was so much more difficult to control himself: he felt as if he was wrestling with a horse that had bolted. Her lovemaking had been clumsy. There was nothing of the courtesan about her. But it didn't matter. She overpowered him. He believed she could bring him to completion by sucking his big toe.

  But he respected her for her principles. He would do as she wished and wait for the consummation on their wedding night, as much as it might test him; but there were things they could do in the meantime, if only she would trust him.

  Now he was faced with a more immediate problem: he knew he could not get through the day in such pain, so he asked Finn to draw him a bath. The warm water brought partial relief as s
oon as he submerged himself.

  Darcy waited patiently for Finn to wash and rinse his hair, before dismissing him so that he could soak in private. With the help of a bar of soap he was able to find temporary relief from his troubles.

  Lizzy's eyes fluttered open as she emerged into full wakefulness. She was worried about how to proceed with Fitzwilliam. She knew she had a powerful effect on him. She had felt his heart beating fast from their first kiss, but it had been only in their last two encounters that she had felt the full evidence of his longing for her. To be truthful, their lovemaking frightened her: it was more than stepping out into the unknown; he got such a weird look in his eyes when he was powerfully overcome, like he was no longer a rational creature. She might have been staring at a wolf.

  After haring off scared to her Aunt Gardiner after the first time he had partly disrobed her so easily, Elizabeth had realised the wisdom of her aunt's advice: the wedding night would be less daunting, and less likely to be a disappointment if she was more at ease in intimacy with her fiancé.

  She appreciated from her past dealings with him that Darcy was an honourable man, however misguided his notions of their respective social status had been. He would not hedge off, but he still scared her.

  Physically, he was big and powerful; and although the hauteur which had personified him had disappeared in her presence, she knew it was there, just under the surface, waiting to be unleashed on her family, or heaven forbid, herself, should she err. It was a daunting combination. But she had known that from the start, hadn't she? It was the combination that had both attracted and repelled her from the time of their first meeting after the carriage accident.

  His demonstrated experience in love titillated and frightened her simultaneously. She knew for certain now that he was a practiced lover. His caresses were sophisticated: he knew how and where to touch her, as if he were playing her like a musical instrument. She felt herself immediately respond, but she was hesitant to abandon herself to the sensations.

  Darcy had made it clear that he considered every intimacy available to them under the terms of their engagement. She had made it clear that consummation would not occur until their vows had been solemnised, but while she seemed to have his acquiescence, she had also felt the evidence of his passion.

  The question then was how to tread the fine line to advance their intimacy without being consumed by his desire.

  She had climbed on top of him during their tryst in the library in an innocent effort to return some of the intimacies he had already bestowed on her, while retaining control, not realising the powerful effect it would have on him. He had shown himself honourable by shutting down their session, but she had to admit she felt more at ease when she was in control. She had felt distinctly uncomfortable when he began undressing her as if she were a doll on their first night together.

  Last night, she had sought to gain the ascendancy in her bedchamber by repeating her actions, hoping to force him to withdraw from the lists again; but he had been ready for her this time, expecting it and welcoming it. His eyes had dared her to go further, but she had reached the limits of her knowledge. What did come next? She knew she was going to have to let him take the lead again and trust him to stamp out the fire before it turned into a conflagration.

  Elizabeth rang the bell, and the maid soon appeared with the hot water: it was time to ready herself for another day. The piano started up as Elizabeth was laying out her clothes. She smiled; it was really like having two little birds living in the house. Mary and Georgiana were her London birds, sent to replace the real Hertfordshire ones she was already missing.

  When all three of them descended to the breakfast room they found Fitzwilliam already at table. He looked at Elizabeth anxiously, and when she returned a comforting smile, she saw him visibly relax.

  The ladies had a last day of shopping planned–for shoes. As Darcy and Charles were heading for the City on business, Jane had happily agreed to accompany them. She had exclaimed on how the fine shoes in London had seemed so expensive when she first looked during her honeymoon that she had only purchased a couple of pairs. Georgiana had reassured her that the shops that Caroline frequented were among the most extortionate and that very good quality shoes could be purchased elsewhere in Bond Street at more moderate prices. But the eldest Bennet sister was noticeably absent from the table.

  Jane finally appeared, red-faced and flustered, in the breakfast room at quarter to ten and ate a hurried breakfast in preparation for Mrs Gardiner's expected arrival. Their aunt arrived promptly on the hour in a hackney. Despite Jane's late appearance, she was ready, and they set off in the Darcy carriage. The men took Bingley's vehicle.

  The ladies had decided to try Georgiana's two favourite shops in New Bond Street to buy some special pairs of shoes before venturing to Wood's in Cornhill; where, Mrs Gardiner assured them, very high quality goods could be found for bargain prices.

  "For I'm sure," said Mrs Gardiner, "that while you will need some expensive shoes for balls and Ton parties, more moderately priced shoes will do for every day, particularly when you are at Pemberley or travelling."

  The shoes in New Bond Street were exceedingly fine, and all the young ladies chose a pair of kid dancing slippers. Georgiana insisted Elizabeth buy several pairs to match the various ball dresses that had been ordered with Madame Bouchet. Elizabeth had only purchased silk dancing slippers before and thought the kid wonderful to wear. Georgiana then set about finding heeled shoes that would match the dresses. These were necessary for functions at outdoor venues like Covent Garden and Vauxhall.

  From New Bond Street, the ladies repaired to Gunter's for refreshment before venturing to Cornhill. Again Georgiana was ushered to a reserved table and Elizabeth wondered whether Signore Negri was a personal friend of the Darcys. Mrs Gardiner smiled and raised her eyebrows slightly at her niece–she knew it was the Grosvenor Square address.

  Signore Negri arrived at the table to recommend some of his macaroons. After trying a selection of these with their tea in a range of flavours including pineapple and pistachio, Mrs Gardiner ordered a box of a dozen and Georgiana followed suit. Having a less prestigious address, Mrs Gardiner paid cash, while Georgiana's purchase was added to the Darcy reckoning. Signore Negri was all affability and personally opened the door when they left. Georgie felt pleased she had negotiated her first purchase at Gunter's without Mrs Annesley. It wasn't hard at all!

  The trip to Cornhill through the traffic was slow, but at least the Darcy carriage was very comfortable. They chatted about what might be obtained at Wood's. For Elizabeth, a priority was good walking shoes, but she had also resolved to buy her wedding shoes at the less expensive establishment if she could–ivory was not a colour she favoured, and she doubted she would wear them more than once.

  Arriving at Wood's, a suitable pair of formal shoes in a silk damask was found almost immediately. Elizabeth also purchased a lovely pair of nankeen boots and another pair in exquisite Cordoba leather. Wood's far exceeded Georgiana's expectations, and she ended up purchasing a pair of beautiful brocade mules for herself.

  The ladies repaired to the Gardiner residence for a late lunch before making the trip back to Grosvenor Square. On their leave-taking, Aunt Gardiner bid Mary and Elizabeth a fond farewell before their removal to Hertfordshire on Saturday and expressed a wish to see Jane on the following Monday.

  When they arrived back at Darcy House, it was four-thirty and Jane expressed a wish to lie down before dinner. Darcy and Bingley had not yet returned from the City; and Elizabeth was contemplating taking Argos out alone, when Jane begged to have her sister's company while she rested. When a footman volunteered to exercise Argos, Jane was sanguine and suggested they retire to Elizabeth's room on the second floor.

  Elizabeth felt a little guilty as they entered the room. She glanced at the wardrobe to check the door had not been left ajar.

  There was a small package on the bed, which Jane handed to Elizabeth.

  "I hoped
to catch you in your room before you went downstairs this morning," she explained. "I made a wedding present for you."

  "It's a little premature, isn't it?" asked Lizzy.

  "It's just something small," Jane blushed. "I'll get another proper present for your wedding day. I didn't want to give this one to you in Hertfordshire where Mama might see it."

  Elizabeth's curiosity was now piqued. She unwrapped the small package to reveal a delicate linen construction with embroidered daisies.

  "Is it a chemisette?" asked Elizabeth, holding it up.

  "No," said Jane. "It's a nightgown."

  Elizabeth blushed a deep red before managing, "It looks like it is constructed from several handkerchiefs."

  "I made one for myself from a longer gown that got torn," Jane blushed slightly before hurrying on: "It seemed a shame to throw such a pretty garment away. I thought at first it would do as a chemise, if I cut it down; but Charles said he thought it made a very nice nightgown."

  "But it hardly covers your legs at all!" exclaimed Elizabeth.

  Knowing it was a little immodest, Jane blushed again. "Charles says it looks very well. He liked it so much that I made some more from handkerchiefs. They are very economical," she rationalised. "Perhaps they are only appropriate for summer, but Charles much prefers them to the longer gowns, so I thought I would make one for you as a wedding gift."

  Lizzy blushed again. She was not sure she had the temerity to wear such a thing, but she hugged her sister and tried not to let her dismay show.

  "The daisies are very beautiful, Jane! You know they are my favourite flower. They will be on my wedding gown!"

  "Well, you could wear this on your wedding night to complete the theme!" suggested Jane.

  Lizzy was not sure she or Darcy was ready for that. She hugged her sister, and they made themselves comfortable on the mattress.

  "So, it is not as bad as Mama portrayed, Jane?" asked Lizzy.