Inhaling the damp air amongst the trees, she
found a small creek and followed it to the point it left the woods and fed the
big lake where the swans moved lazily. To her, it felt a pity to step outside
the shelter the woods provided and with a contented sigh she rested against a
boulder, took off her bonnet and gloves and wasted several moments wondering
wistfully what it would feel like to be mistress of such a grand estate.
Moreover, what it would feel like to start afresh letting her past fade behind
her.
From her vintage point she could see around
her, especially the lake. Before the horseman entered her view, she had been
hearing the clapping of hooves for a few moments already. To her surprise, it
was the master of the estate in person, so absolutely dashing atop a massive
gelding. He called out to her but she refrained from answering, amusing herself
with the childish notion that if he indeed had pure intentions towards her, he
would sense her presence.
Her eyes feasted on his figure mastering the
beast, his searched for her around his park. When he was told she left for a
walk alone as no one wanted to be exposed to the sun, he discreetly went after
her hoping to use her given name and hold her close. But she was nowhere to be
found.
Suddenly his horse paced under him, he
tightened the hold on the reins and his eyes followed a small squirrel darting
off the woods. He smiled big, there was the woman alone, smiling, her bonnet
off her head, face upturned toward the sun.
‘Good
gad, a wood nymph.’ He breathed.
Almost in a daze he descended, tied his horse
and walked slowly to her taking off his gloves.
‘I’m breathless, sir.’ She said when he got
close enough to notice a thick sunray filtered from the tall trees directly
over her head. ‘You are quite a spectacular horseman.’
He shook his head. ‘And you here in the middle
of the woods... My Daphne.’
She laughed quietly. ‘Exactly, sir. You are an
Apollo- oh!’ She breathed a surprised sigh when he stopped close and lowered
his head to steal a kiss.
It started slow, demanding permission and he
built up the kiss until her head tilted backwards and her hands shot up to hold
his wrists as he held her neck. ‘I was going crazy not being able to hold you
these last days, my lady. There is always someone with you, my sister, yours,
Bennett.’ He whispered in her ear, his lips grazing her face. ‘How are feeling?
Are you happy here?’
Taming her nervous chuckle, she caressed his
shirt’s cuffs. ‘It’s too early, Fitzwilliam, I just arrived. But I meant what I
told last night at dinner, your estate is magnificent, overwhelming.’ She
accepted the other kiss he offered her. ‘The servants are so kind, so attentive
to me, to Ben, to Ashton even.’
‘They will be even more attentive to you, my
lady.’
‘You said something?’ She gasped.
‘I demanded attention to you.’
‘Pray, tell me, did you say anything to your
sister? Did you tell her my secret?’
‘Of course not.’ He leaned his head back.
‘Please don’t, I’ve spent years protecting my error
from the past, you said I could trust you-’
‘You are safe here.’
‘I thought I was safe with you. Georgiana
looks at me with contempt, I’m skittish not knowing if she is disgusted about
my past or jealous of you.’
‘Not contempt, Elizabeth. If she knew, I
believe she would be incredibly happy because she loved Richard, and also
jealous.’ He took a step back but kept one of her hands in both of his. ‘Georgiana
had a miscarriage.’
‘Oh, good Lord!’ She covered her mouth with a
hand and her eyes misted.
‘It seems I have a similar problem; Bennett
doesn’t seem to want a papa.’
She gasped wide-eyed and jumped to her feet. ‘Don’t
say that aloud. Ever.’
‘Calm down, my lady. You are safe here.’ He
brought her hand to his lips. ‘I love the feel of your ungloved hand.’ She
squeezed his fingers before trying to break free, but he held her frowning.
‘You may feel you have a debt with your cousin,
but it does not include me.’ She freed her hand, he pressed his lips. ‘I made a
mistake, I was naive and should have resisted his promises but it’s a burden
that doesn’t belong to you, sir. I never needed your sympathy, never asked for
it.’
‘Believe me, madam, when I say that what I
feel for you is far from pity and for my cousin I’m ashamed to say my feelings
are rather dark since I read your letter.’ He sighed. ‘Can you trust me?’ He
held her neck, his thumb caressing her throat. ‘Allow me into your life.’
Biting her lip, she looked up at him. ‘There
are things about me you don’t know.’
‘About me too. That’s why I asked you to come
here, to be properly courted; we’ll get to know each other before you accept
me.’
‘Everything seems so complicated.’ She buried
her nose in his sternum, too anxious to keep talking. He held her close to his
chest for long moments, his big hands on her neck caressing tenderly.
‘You stole my breath when I arrived and saw
you here, my lady. I’ll meet you at this same spot every morning after
your stroll.’ She nodded in his chest. ‘Did you like your chambers?’ He asked
softly.
‘Oh, yes.’ She sighed looking up at him.
He lowered his head and kissed her lips
quickly several times. ‘The mistress’ rooms are closed for a long while, they’ll
need renovations.’ She blushed. ‘You can see to that with time.’
‘The way you put it, sir, I feel like I’m
being overruled. I haven’t accepted you yet.’
‘You will.’
‘I won’t be forced.’ She stepped out of his
embrace. ‘Wealth is practical, the comfort such a house brings can hardly be
overlooked but if I had been intent on those, I would have agreed to Clarence’s
scheme long ago.’
‘An Earldom as rich as Brakenbury puts
Pemberley to shame.’ He pressed his teeth together. ‘But I am not Clarence and
I am not offering you pity, a scheme or a
pact.’ He took her by the arm and brought her to him. ‘Do you understand
the difference?’ She nodded surprised by his tone and his words. ‘This is very
different, my lady.’
‘Please don’t be offended.’
‘These secrets you haven’t told me.’ He
pressed his eyes, teeth still clamped. ‘I am willing to hear now.’
She swallowed nervously lowering her eyes to
the wild bergamot bushes around her feet. ‘What about yours? You told me
Georgiana’s secret, not yours.’
For him, it was clear she was sidestepping the
question. ‘Don’t cover for Clarence, Elizabeth. If he proposed anything
undignified, tell me now and I’ll deal with-’
‘Deal with what, sir? He needed a wife who
could overlook his inclinations, someone he trusted and didn’t think him
disgusting. In return he offered a title and wealth.’ She raised her eyes to
him indignantly. ‘I didn’t accept because of my situation and because I was
silly enough to fall prey once and learned one needs more than promises to sell
her life to a gentleman, a woman needs-’
‘To be loved, appreciated, honored.’ He
answered in the same tone. ‘That is exactly the difference. I am ready to tell
you all you want to know. Ask.’
‘You don’t have to tell me anything that needs
to be asked. If you are proposing such a connection, reward me with your truth.’
She shook her arm free of his hand and took a few steps away from him facing
the creek.
He ran his hand through his hair and held his
waist. ‘I have kept a mistress for several years, an expensive professional who
attends only me when I’m in London. Before we left I put an end to the
engagement in the hopes you will accept me.’ He sighed. ‘The cad who I sent to
search for you and duped my sister reached me a few years ago asking for help
but I refused out of spite and I know he was sent to debtor’s prison.’
‘Stop, sir. Next you’ll tell me you drowned
puppies.’
He snorted and paced for a moment until her
presence was too beguiling to him. When his arms encircled her from behind, she
jumped. ‘Help me build a pleasurable memory now so we can link to many others,
my lady.’ She sighed and entwined her fingers with his around her waist leaning
against his chest.
‘It seems very difficult to start a new life.’
‘We can merely unite the ones we have built so
far.’
When, almost an hour later, Ben and Bingley
saw the beast of a horse pace calmly with a big man and a slender woman under a
trim bonnet approach the house, Darcy’s heart was still in uneasy delight for
having her at Pemberley and hers was trying to reason with her mind for in
truth, she wanted to believe all he promised was possible.
Wings
‘Pray, what is this?’
‘Pineapple.’
‘Is it edible?’
‘Of course, it’s a fruit.’
Ashton gaped at the monstrosity with spiky
leafs. ‘One can make jam and eat it like and apple? Doesn’t it hurt one’s
mouth?’
‘You have to peel it.’ The cook took a big
knife and cut the fruit in half then peeled and sliced one of the parts and
gave a taste for the maid who still had her eyes wide.
‘Oh, dear!’ She pressed four fingers to her
lips. ‘It’s juicy and tart.’
‘Acid. The lads take the peel, put it in a bottle
and bury for a week or so, the cider is quite good.’
‘It’s better when the fruit is sweeter.’
Smith, Miss Georgiana’s maid said popping a piece of fruit in her mouth.
‘I’d like to try…’ Ashton said, still in awe. ‘Miss
Bennett too.’
Both cook and the maid raised their brows. ‘A
lady the master brought to his house tasting servants’ cider?’
‘Miss Bennett is a very different kind of
lady, different from the others I worked for so far.’ Ashton tried another
piece. ‘Pray, can I take a piece for her?’
‘Of course.’ Cook hurried to call the maid. ‘Girl,
put together a big tray of refreshments, scones, biscuits, fruits too.’
‘She likes strawberries and honey above all.’
‘We know.’ Mrs. Reynolds, the housekeeper,
said entering the kitchen and everyone tried to look busy. ‘Master has already
told us about her preferences, I sent for berries from the greenhouse. Also,
the lady herself asked me to prepare her something other than pork.’
‘Oh, yes. She has poor stomach. Pork kills
her, poor thing.’
‘I never heard of anyone who didn’t eat pork,
by Jove!’ Cook sputtered.
‘Make sure we have plenty of lamb meat and
sausage, please. Master Fitzwilliam has recommended we take great care to make
her like Pemberley.’ Mrs. Reynolds ordered and the kitchen staff nodded. ‘Is
this tray for Miss Georgiana? She does not like honey.’
‘It’s for Miss Bennet, ma’am.’
‘Ah!’ The housekeeper nodded. ‘Add a solitaire
with a rose from the greenhouse. Ashton?’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘Did she like her chambers, linens? Does she
need anything else?’
‘Oh, such big rooms, ma’am! A big bedroom with
adjourned dressing room and private drawing room! Three times what she has at
Longborn, she loved it. I brought her linens-’
‘Nonsense. We already used new linens and if
they are not agreeable to her, I can send for anything she chooses. For her
dresses there is a maid expecting to wash and iron, you only have to care to
press the one she chooses to wear.’
‘I thank you ma’am, but Miss Bennett’s dresses
need care to wash and I’m used to do it the ay she likes.’
‘This is how Pemberley works, Ashton, how the
master has arranged to please the lady. He asked to fill her chambers with
roses and offer plenty of berries, all from the greenhouse. Which one she likes
best?’
Ashton blinked not believing all these
arrangements would have been made for a kept woman as Burton suggested. All
this seemed to be made to woo a lady into marriage. And where was the madam?
Walking, of course!
The manor in uproar to please her and she
chose to spend her day outdoors, tainting her cheeks pink and tiring her body.
Ashton sighed and dedicated to prepare Pemberley for Elizabeth.
 |
| rebloggy |
continues
update:
a revised & unabridged version of this story will be available in Kindle, ebook and brochure from Jan 25th, 17.
