Mr. Darcy's Proposal (49 page)
Read Mr. Darcy's Proposal Online
Authors: Susan Mason-Milks
Tags: #Romance, #darcy, #austen whatif, #Regency, #pride and prejudice, #elizabeth bennet, #austen
“Wait just a moment. You promised to tell me about my present if I came over and joined you,” she protested.
“Yes, but I did not say
when
I would tell you.”
As Elizabeth tried to push herself away in protest, he held her all the more tightly to him. “You are a most infuriating man!”
Darcy made no comment but returned to moving his lips slowly across the delicate skin at the base of her neck. Elizabeth shivered. “We are not in our own room you know. Someone could come in at any time.” She attempted to push him away again, but she was not really trying very hard.
“I have taken care of that,” he told her as he ran the tips of his fingers across her collarbone. “I dismissed all the servants for the evening with the understanding that no one should come into this part of the house unless specifically called.”
“What about Georgiana and Kitty?”
“My aunt and uncle are in town, so I obtained an invitation for the girls to stay with them for a few days.”
“And my mother and Mary?”
“The Gardiners have taken them off our hands. Lizzy, you really are talking too much.” Darcy continued to torment her with little kisses, but she squirmed in his arms.
“So you had this planned? All the servants must know why you dismissed them! Oh, William, this is too embarrassing!”
“I distinctly remember a time when you declared you did not care what the servants thought.”
“I may have been under a spell,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
“Sweetheart, the servants are so overjoyed to see us happy that they do not care what we do. Now tell me you are not enjoying yourself, and I will stop,” he offered.
“You know I cannot say that.”
“Then be silent,” he said, taking her face in his hands and putting his mouth over hers.
Elizabeth gave herself over to the pleasurable sensations invoked by his touch. After a few more minutes of this exquisite torture, he lifted her up and carried her over to the rug in front of the fireplace. After gently putting her down, Darcy pulled a pillow from one of the chairs to put beneath her head. Then he stretched out beside her and began to kiss her face and nibble on her ears.
Elizabeth rolled onto her side to face him and snuggled close. “While Jane and Bingley were reciting their vows today, I was thinking about our wedding,” said Elizabeth.
“Hmm,” Darcy murmured, burying his face in her hair.
“You are not listening, my love,” she said, pushing herself back to look into his face. “I am very serious.”
He sighed knowing she would not rest until she had talked about what was on her mind. “Of course, I am listening,” he said, rolling over on his back. Elizabeth moved closer and laid her head on his shoulder.
“Do you think we should repeat our wedding vows to each other again—now that things are so different?” she asked.
“Is this truly important to you?”
“At our wedding I tried to take the vows seriously, but now they mean so much more to me. It would be as if we were starting over knowing that we truly love each other.”
Darcy faced her again. “You forget. I loved you then,” he said, tapping her nose lightly with his finger.
“I know you did. I am sorry I was so slow to recognize my own feelings. Clearly you are much wiser than I.” Elizabeth ran her fingers through his curls, brushing them back from his face.
“If we were to repeat our vows, there is one that would have to change if you are to have any hope of keeping them,” he told her.
“And just what is that?” she asked frowning.
“The ‘obey’ would need to be removed from part about ‘love, honor, and obey’. Experience tells me that you never obey anyone, let alone me.”
“I see what you mean.” As she pretended to be thinking seriously about his comment, her eyes twinkled. “Could I say ‘try very hard to obey’? Would that count?”
He shook his head and kissed her. “There is no hope. You are simply too stubborn.”
“Ha! If we argued over which of us was the more stubborn, that discussion would go on for a very long time, and I fear nothing would be resolved.”
“Yes, but you must know I did not marry you to change you. ‘
Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds…’
” he began as he slowly slid his hand from her shoulder down to the small of her back, pulling her against him. She responded with a little shiver.
“You know that is one of my favorite poems.”
“If you remember, it is one I marked in the book I gave you on your first night at Pemberley.”
“So even then you were trying to tell me something?” she asked, rising up on her elbow to watch his face.
“I am not very good with words, so I thought I would let the Bard speak for me,” he replied with a grin.
“I had no idea you were such a romantic,” she whispered, intentionally letting her breath tickle his ear.
“I cannot reveal all my secrets at one time! How would I keep your attention if you knew everything about me?”
“Somehow I do not think you will ever have to worry about that.” She threw him a saucy look.
Darcy took her face in his hands and gave her a lingering kiss. He had just returned to the ribbons on her dressing gown when she put a hand on his chest to stop him. He sighed. “What is it, my love?”
“Seriously, do you think we should consider repeating our vows? Perhaps on our first anniversary?”
“I have one vow in particular on my mind at this moment.”
Elizabeth wrinkled her brow. “And which is that?”
“I remember promising to love…and…cherish,” he breathed, planting a kiss on her neck with each word.
“Hmm, cherish? And in what way do you plan to cherish me, sir?”
Darcy silenced her effectively with a kiss. This time when he reached for the ribbons, she made no attempt to stop him.
Elizabeth walked up the hill ahead of Darcy, almost pulling him along. “Why are you so slow? At this rate, we will never reach the top,” she said.
“Should you be walking so quickly?” he asked.
“You worry too much, my love. I am accustomed to walking and I feel very well, thank you. Now come along. I am anxious to see the view.”
“Are you certain it is good for you to be out in the summer’s heat?”
“It is early—the sun is barely up. We will be home well before it becomes too hot.”
Darcy sighed. He worried constantly about Elizabeth and the child she was carrying. His child. Just thinking about it almost made him light-headed. This was not what he had expected. The child was not yet born, and he still felt as protective of it as he did of his wife.
Upon finally reaching the top, they stood together looking out over the valley. In the distance, they could see Pemberley with all its grandeur. She was reminded of another time when they had stood just this way, looking out the window of her old bedroom at Longbourn on the day of her father’s funeral. That seemed so long ago now. At the time, she had not loved him, and every touch of his had felt strange and awkward. Now having his arms around her seemed the most natural thing in the world.
Elizabeth leaned back against her husband’s strong frame and relaxed. “So much has changed in the past year,” she said. “I lost my father. We married and moved to Pemberley. Now my dearest Jane is married, and she and Bingley have moved closer to us in Derbyshire.”
“I know you must still miss your father.”
“Yes, every day, but my grief is not as sharp around edges as it once was.”
“Now there is a new life to occupy your thoughts,” he said, laying his hand gently on her stomach.
“It is difficult to think of much else when the evidence is right in front of me,” she said, placing her hand on top of his. Darcy’s lips tickled the back of her neck causing shivers all through her. “Now tell me again when you first knew you were in love with me,” she asked.
“There is no specific starting point I can name. I was in the middle before I even knew I had begun,” he replied.
Although she could not see his face, she knew he was smiling. “I love to hear you say that. I am so thankful you were patient and waited for me to catch up.”
“It took you long enough,” he teased.
“Some things are worth the wait,” she responded.
“Indeed they are.”
Finis
My everlasting thanks to…
My brother, Will Mason, for spending endless hours with me skyping from Australia so we could discuss ideas and review edits. This book would never have happened without him.
My dearest friend, Mindy Woll, for helping me cultivate my imagination when we were kids.
My friend and business partner, Beth Hannley, for letting me bounce ideas off her and for listening when I read chapters aloud to her in the car while we were driving to work.
Friends (especially Ramona, Barbie, Carol, Denise K., Dorothy, and Denise A.) for encouraging me, reading drafts, making suggestions, and most of all, for believing in me.
Jane Austen for creating such amazing characters who continue to live in our hearts and stimulate the imagination.
And last but not least, to my husband, Norm Milks, for his patience which has allowed me to pursue my dreams even when I know he thought I was a little crazy.
You might be surprised to learn that when Ms. Mason-Milks read
Pride and Prejudice
for the first time in the eighth grade, she was not impressed. That changed when she saw the now famous 1995 mini-series version of the story. Deciding to give Austen another chance, she read all of Austen’s novels and fell in love.
About five years ago, she was delighted to discover that there were dozens of web sites devoted to everything “Jane.” After reading the fan fiction posted on various web sites, she decided to try her hand at writing a story herself.
She says, “Writing stories inspired by Austen’s books offers a way to spend more time with the characters I’ve grown to love. Just because the book ends, it doesn’t have to be the end of the story.” Her favorite Austen book is
Pride and Prejudice
with
Persuasion
a close second.
In addition to writing, her other loves include singing in a women’s
a cappella
chorus, reading, and yoga. She currently lives in Seattle with her husband and four very naughty cats.
You can visit her blog at http://www.austen-whatif-stories.com/.
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