“You, my love, are a menace!” exclaimed Darcy.
“Is that a complaint, sir?”
“Not at all! I am quite content to have been seduced so effectively. And, as Shakespeare says, ‘Therefore ’tis meet that noble minds keep ever with their likes; for who so firm that cannot be seduced?’”
“Sir, I cry foul; learning quotes on seduction is not a part of a young lady’s education. You shall have to choose another topic.”
“Perhaps it should be part of their education—there are many gentlemen who would think it a good cause.” He caressed her cheek.
“Then seduction, perhaps, is one of the skills a truly accomplished young lady must possess, along with a thorough knowledge of music, dancing, and singing?”
“I would say so,” he said with mock gravity, “though I might point out that if you wish to truly excel at seduction, you will need, as my aunt Catherine would say, to practice it quite constantly.”
She nipped his shoulder affectionately. “I will have to consider how to obtain my practice, then.”
“Solely in the interest of furthering your education, I will volunteer to be the subject of any further experiments you choose to undertake.”
“That is one of the many things I admire about you, William—your constant attention to the improvement of my mind.”
“‘Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediment,’ my love.”
“A much fairer subject, sir. ‘Young men’s minds are always changeable.’”
“But hardly a kind response! Let me see—‘Nature that framed us of our elements, warring within our breast for regiment, doth teach us all to have aspiring minds.’”
Elizabeth smiled mischievously. “‘Beauty stands in the admiration only of weak minds led captive.’”
“Unkind again! I shall refrain from continuing this battle, and kiss you instead.”
Elizabeth had no objection to this plan. “I wish that I could stay with you like this forever, and never have to leave to face the world.”
“I believe that I could find it in my heart to share that sentiment, but is the world so difficult to face?” He stroked her hair, enjoying the fine texture of it, and wound a curl around his finger, thinking of all the nights he had dreamed of tangling his fingers in her tresses. He still could hardly believe that she was his.
Elizabeth colored, not wishing to burden him with her daytime distress, especially as she could hardly claim any lack of responsibility tonight. “Not so difficult, no,” she said. In the silence that followed, she realized that some of her comfort had been lost with her misleading words, and thought of her resolve to share more of her thoughts and feelings with him, as she wished he would for her. Before she could think better of it, she divulged the truth. “But I had a difficult time of it today. When you are with me, this feels so right, so… predestined, but when we were apart today, I felt…” She could not quite bring herself to say the words.
He caught the serious intent in her voice. “What did you feel?” he asked gently.
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, and she turned her face into his shoulder, shaking her head in response.
Worried, he said, “Please, Elizabeth, tell me. Do not shut me out, I beg you.”
She took a deep breath. Her voice was quiet, and somewhat muffled by his body, as she said, “It is uncomfortable to feel I am your mistress.”
Her words were like a sudden wound in his side. He caught her face in his hands, ignoring the pain of his burns, and forced her to look at him. “Do not ever think that way again! You are not my mistress; you are my… please bear with me; what I say may disturb you, or even seem heretical, but it is how I feel… you are my wife, Elizabeth. It has not yet been blessed by the church, but last night you and I took one another as husband and wife. Every word I will say during our wedding is already true, and as God hears prayers, he knows that my commitment to you is every bit as solemn and holy to me now as it will be when we kneel before the altar; and he knows that in my heart I have already taken you to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.” He came to a sudden halt; he was not accustomed to revealing his private beliefs, and he was afraid that he might have shocked her.
She looked searchingly at him, considering his words. She would never have thought of it that way, and was surprised to discover that he held such radical ideas, but could see how it was consistent with his attitudes, values, and sense of honor. She could see this was an issue of some solemnity to him, and wondered what other depths he had yet to reveal to her. Slowly she nodded; she could accept what he had said.
He let out his breath in relief that her reaction was so temperate. Yet he was still concerned regarding her worries. “Do I shock you?”
Her face lightened with the playful smile that he loved so much. “No, I am not shocked, though I had not known that I was marrying a closet Anabaptist!”
“Hardly that!” he said with a laugh. “No, I value the worth of the Church in our society, and I believe in the importance of public ceremony and blessing. Why are you smiling at me like that?”
She laughed, nestling close against him. “This is an unusual setting for a theological discussion.”
“I cannot argue your point. It is, however, an excellent setting for telling you how much I love you, my dearest, loveliest Elizabeth.”
She allowed her kisses to speak for her in reply, and enjoyed holding him close to her until the fatigue of sleepless nights overtook them both.
Darcy had, as planned, ridden off at first light, shortly after Wilkins had hunted him down in Elizabeth’s rooms, much to that lady’s chagrin. She took the opportunity, however, to steal a few more hours sleep before she rose for the day, finding herself in the unusual position of being last to the breakfast table. Once she was finished, she found Mrs. Reynolds anxiously awaiting meeting with her, to which Elizabeth readily consented.
“Miss Bennet,” the housekeeper said, “I would just like to give you my personal best wishes, as well as those of the staff. I was delighted to hear that Mr. Darcy has finally chosen a bride, and I must say that I do not think that he could have done better.” And what a relief that he did not choose that Bingley woman—we would have lost half the staff! she thought.
Elizabeth thanked her, and assured her that she was looking forward to working with her, and that Mr. Darcy had told her that she could do no better than to rely on Mrs. Reynolds.
“Well,” said Mrs. Reynolds briskly, visibly pleased with this praise, “I understand that we have a wedding to plan in very short order.”
Elizabeth hid a smile. “I am afraid that Mr. Darcy has his mind quite made up on this.”
Mrs. Reynolds shook her head. “Do you know, he told me first that he wanted to have it tomorrow? Well, I set him straight on that, so we have a little time. But tell me, Miss Bennet, about what you would like for your wedding.”
“Well,” said Elizabeth somewhat hesitantly, “It will obviously be quite small, with no one outside immediate family—such family as I have in Derbyshire!—in attendance, and I believe that it can be quite simple, as well.”
Mrs. Reynolds’ skeptical face said very clearly that Miss Bennet had no idea of what marrying the Master of Pemberley involved. “Well, Miss Bennet, I appreciate that you are concerned with limiting demands on the staff in such a short period of time, but we must recognize that a certain degree of formality is to be expected on such an occasion. I assume that the Bishop will be wanting to officiate, so it will need to be held in the cathedral at Matlock, of course.”