A Pemberley Medley (A Pride & Prejudice Variation) (19 page)

Elizabeth, who had heard even less of the service than Darcy, was able to manage a small smile as she said quietly, “I will.”

“Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?”

Mr. Bennet kissed her cheek before releasing her, a suspicious sheen in his eyes. As Darcy took her hand, the warmth of his hand was a lifeline to her, and abruptly everything seemed real to her again. Her fingers tightened on his, and as he returned the pressure, she was reminded of the very first time he had taken her hand in the curricle while driving her back to Longbourn, and an affectionate smile crossed her face. Suddenly she was glad to be there, glad to be marrying him.

His face lightened as he saw her obvious relief, even if he could not understand it. His intense gaze fixed on her as he repeated the words of his vows, “I, Fitzwilliam, take thee, Elizabeth, to my wedded wife, 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, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth.”

Elizabeth's voice was stronger than it had been earlier as she in turn took him as her husband and promised to love, cherish, and to obey him. The light of the smile dawning on Darcy's face could not be denied as he slid the ring onto her finger and said in a voice rich with meaning, “With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow: in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.”

As they knelt for the prayer, Elizabeth realized that it no longer mattered to her that the marriage had been rushed, that her family was far away; all that mattered was the man at her side. The minister joined their hands again, and said the words over them, “Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder.”

It is done
, thought Darcy.
After all this time, after all the pain, it is done.
He looked down at the ring on her finger, and wished fervently that the rest of the world would disappear, leaving him alone with her. But his wishes were not to be granted; once the service was over, he knew they would have to accept congratulations from their family members, and then go home with Georgiana and Colonel Fitzwilliam. He would not be alone with Elizabeth until they retired for the night, which at that moment seemed years away.

As they walked together back down the aisle, he whispered, “You looked pale earlier. Is all well, Mrs. Darcy?”

She smiled at him, and he saw that sparkle that he loved so in her eyes as she said, “I am very well indeed, Mr. Darcy, though I shall never again laugh at a case of bridal nerves!”

“I adore you,” he said in her ear just before the others joined them.

Colonel Fitzwilliam offered them his heartiest congratulations. “Mrs. Darcy, may I present my brother, Lord Langley, and his wife, Lady Langley? Mrs. Darcy is the former Miss Elizabeth Bennet, Edward.”

Elizabeth greeted Viscount Langley, a thin man with a look of chronic dyspepsia. Lady Langley was dressed in an elegant fashion which quite outshone Elizabeth's country best, a fact which she had clearly noted. Elizabeth hid a smile. It was hard to imagine the amiable Colonel Fitzwilliam coming from the same stock as his brother.

“Bennet - I do not believe that I have heard that name before,” said Lady Langley, managing to delicately imply that there was something quite dubious about this.

“My family is from Hertfordshire, Lady Langley, and I would hardly imagine it would come to the attention of the
ton
,” said Elizabeth with a pleasant smile. Darcy put his hand over hers as if to reassure her.

Mr. Bennet and Mr. Gardiner joined them, and further introductions were made. Lady Langley's condescending attitude to her father irritated Elizabeth, and she could see that it made Darcy no more comfortable than she.

“And where is the rest of your family today, Mrs. Darcy?” asked Lord Langley.

Elizabeth, unable to resist, looked to one side of her and then the other, as if expecting to find her family. “I regret to say that I seem to have misplaced them, Lord Langley,” she said. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Darcy struggling to suppress a smile.

Colonel Fitzwilliam coughed. “Well, I must be off - I promised to spend the remainder of the day with the Major General. Edward, did you say that you were planning to invite Georgiana to dine with you? That was a kind thought; I am sure she would find Brook Street dull this afternoon.”

“I said nothing of the sort!” snapped Lord Langley, who then discovered himself to be the recipient of a look from his brother that would have melted iron. “Oh, of course. Georgiana, will you be so kind as to dine with us today?” His voice was unenthusiastic.

“Thank you, that would be lovely,” said Georgiana in a voice just above a whisper.

Elizabeth, although concerned for Georgiana in such company, gave Colonel Fitzwilliam a grateful glance for taking the trouble to ensure their privacy on their wedding day.

When they finally arrived back at the Darcy townhouse, they were greeted by the entire staff, lined up to meet Mrs. Darcy and to give the master their felicitations. Elizabeth did her best to try to learn names and faces, though afterward it would seem somewhat of a blur to her. The staff, apparently warned by Colonel Fitzwilliam as to his plans, had laid on an elegant luncheon for the new couple for which Elizabeth expressed her appreciation while noticing that Darcy, who had reached the point of little tolerance for other people, was becoming quite silent. It was not until after the footmen had cleared away the last of the meal they were left quite alone.

Darcy breathed a sigh of relief. “Sometimes I think that there are far too many people in the world,” he said to Elizabeth's amusement.

“I fear that is part of the price of being a pillar of society.”

Reaching over to take her hand, he drew her onto his lap, where she settled in with a happy sigh. Cradling her in his arms, he gave her an exploratory kiss which sent tingles of excitement through her as she inevitably thought of what was to come that night. “I am glad to have you to myself finally,” he admitted, trying to find a way to raise the subject of that morning which still concerned him. Although she no longer seemed to be upset, she obviously had been earlier, and he was gradually learning the danger of being unaware of Elizabeth's thoughts and concerns. Finally he decided in favor of straightforwardness, and said, “You worried me earlier - you were so pale at the church, my love.”

Elizabeth coloured. “I feel quite foolish about it. I fear that I had worked myself up to a set of nerves which would not disgrace my mother, and all over a rather silly matter.”

“And what was the matter that you find silly, dearest?” he prompted.

“You will not laugh? I was panicked over being alone; I missed having Jane with me, or my aunt, and by the time I reached the church I would have settled for my mother or Mary! Somehow having my father there did not provide the reassurance that I would have found in having another woman with me. There - I told you it was foolish; I know that there were excellent reasons for marrying now, and that the most important part is being married, not who was present at the wedding.”

He wondered guiltily if he should have refused to compromise on the wedding date. “My dearest love, what could be more natural than to want your family around you on your wedding day? I am so sorry that you did not; I wish that we could have had the wedding you would have liked, and I know it is because of me that it had to be this way. And, while I cannot complain of being displeased with the result --” he paused to kiss her lingeringly, and ran a finger down her neck until his hand rested lightly on her exposed shoulder, “I would have rather waited and married as you had wished.”

The touch of his hand created an exquisite sense of warmth in her, and she wondered distractedly how such a slight contact could be felt throughout her. Her lips began to tingle with anticipation, and she had to force herself to concentrate on the conversation. “Had we waited, I would no doubt be complaining of how irritating my family was, and how I wished we could have married without any of them! No, William, I am simply difficult to please, and it certainly is
not
because of you that we married now; Wickham and Lydia must bear the entire brunt of that burden.” Her mouth felt suddenly dry.

He saw a delightful flush rising in her cheeks, and experimentally let his thumb explore her neck, his hand otherwise remaining in place. “I am only grateful, my loveliest Elizabeth, that we need no longer be parted. I must confess that I was finding it a difficult adjustment having you halfway across the city after being with you at Pemberley. I had become quite accustomed to having you nearby.” The look on her face and the feeling of her in his arms was beginning to wreak havoc on his sensibilities, and his awareness of her arousal made it increasingly difficult to consider waiting until the night.

Feeling that her entire being was concentrated in those few inches of skin that he was caressing so lightly, she found her eyes drifting to his lips, which looked so tempting that she could not help but to run her fingers along them. She heard his indrawn breath, and felt a shock of sensation as he took her finger into his mouth, catching it lightly between his teeth and running his tongue along the tip. She felt barely able to control her response; her entire body seemed to be demanding something more, and her susceptibility to him was rising as each minute went by.
How can he possibly induce such feelings in me?
she wondered with a degree of desperation.
This has to stop, or I will be reduced to begging him to take me, and it is a very long time until we retire!

His desire for her was mounting by the minute, intensified by her look of longing, and as she closed her eyes, moving her body against his, he knew that delaying the inevitable was rapidly becoming beyond him. His thoughts began to drift ahead to what lay before them, and before he knew it he had released her finger to take hungry possession of her mouth. Beyond the realm of thought, she whispered yearningly, “Oh, William, my love.”

The imploring sound of his name on her lips was more than he could bear, and he shifted his arms under her. “Elizabeth, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth,” he breathed as he tasted the tender skin of her neck. “I can wait no longer.” He stood with her in his arms, his heart pounding as he realized that she was making no protest, but rather held herself as close as possible to him as he carried her to the stairs. She was his wife, and she was his for the taking, and he could not imagine anything more glorious in the universe.

Afterwards Elizabeth lay in Darcy's arms, her head resting intimately on his shoulder, a slight smile upon her lips. He tangled his hand in her long curls, enjoying the pleasure of her presence beside him, and the knowledge that she was finally his. He had waited so long for this, had dreamed of it and despaired of it, and now she was in truth his wife, and apparently content to be so. He had found in her all the passion that he could have wished for, and he knew that he would be grateful for the rest of his days to have her at his side.

He was not inexperienced, but he had never known that lovemaking could be like this; that it could touch him so deeply and leave him feeling so completely accepted and yet vulnerable at the same moment. His gratitude for her love was profound, and he felt completed in a way he could never have understood in the past, and it seemed to open a capacity for happiness that was new to his experience. “Elizabeth, my most beloved Elizabeth,” he murmured, only half conscious that he was speaking aloud.

Elizabeth, feeling a sense of peace and contentment unusual to her high spirits, put her hand to his cheek. He had been a gentle and thoughtful lover, and had raised her to heights of excitement and fulfilment she had never dreamed existed. She felt astonished at the feelings he had created in her, and she knew instinctively that he now knew and possessed a part of her that no one else ever would. She said softly, “I love you so, William,” the words she found so difficult to say at other times coming fluently to her lips at this intimate moment.