Darcy's Temptation (40 page)

While her husband helped their sisters, Elizabeth's eyes searched the area. She smiled seeing Cerberus hitched to a nearby post. Darcy turned back to her, offering Elizabeth his arm before they started to make their way through the crowd. Murmurs of “the Darcys are here,” “the master Darcy,” and “Mrs. Darcy has come” flitted through the crowd as they made their way toward the village pump. Elizabeth acknowledged
those from Pemberley and held the astonished gaze of others with her watery green eyes.

Darcy walked slowly and a bit majestically, his jaw line set in a tight grin and his eyes straight ahead. He and Elizabeth took center stage in front of the crowd gathering for Mr. Ashford's blessing. The people parted to make way for them and then closed ranks behind the couple. Georgiana and Kitty flanked them on either side. Darcy noted some of the smaller land-owners in attendance, but no one of his standing stood about.

Ashford stepped forward, and the crowd grew quiet, waiting for his words. His clear, resonant voice echoed across the square as he delivered the blessing of the water before joining the Darcy party once again.The crowd started to break apart; some brought picnic meals while others bought goods from hawkers on the village streets.

Ashford asked Kitty to walk with him at least once around the square. Darcy agreed but cautioned them to not tarry for he did not intend to stay long. As they walked away together, several of the tenants came to address the Darcys. Mrs. Fleming led the way. “Oh, Mrs. Darcy,” she literally cried joyful tears, “ye be makin' me family so proud to be knowin' ye and the Master. None of them high fluentin' other lords care enough to be showin' them faces here. We be blessed to be knowin' ye.” She made a quick bow and left the Darcys feeling a sense of pride.

Georgiana stepped to the side to look at the floral wares an old lady offered. Darcy seized the moment to address Elizabeth. “I must apologize, Mrs. Darcy,” he whispered so only Elizabeth could hear. “Your intuition proved correct; our appearance here won us much loyalty.”

“Thank you for changing your mind, Fitzwilliam.” Her eyes danced with pleasure.“I was never happier to see anyone; I feared you to be angry with me.”

“You should know by now, Elizabeth, my anger comes quickly, but reason always rules my head.” Darcy leaned in closer where he could smell her lavender rushing over him.

“I am truly pleased, Fitzwilliam.” She gifted Darcy with a huge smile.“Now, if I can find out what rules your heart, then my life may be complete once again.” She dropped her eyes, not able to look at him when he responded. She hooked her arm through Darcy's. “May we walk before returning home?” He cupped her hand with his free hand as they made their way among the revelers.

Georgiana joined them as they stepped into a village shop out of the weather. Elizabeth wandered over to a display of silk gloves, and Darcy came up behind her.“My heart is learning a new language,” he whispered seductively to her.

Elizabeth did not turn her head to look at him, but instinctively she leaned back to feel Darcy's closeness. She could detect the shallowness of his breathing. She felt his thumb caress her back above her waistline. “Do you like the gloves, Mrs. Darcy?” he said a bit louder so anyone who might be looking at them would not question his nearness to her. “May I buy them for you, Elizabeth?”

“I need no gifts to make me happy, Mr. Darcy.” Elizabeth turned to face him, the two standing closer than propriety allowed.

“It would please me to give them to you.” Darcy's voice was shallow with breathiness.

“Your happiness is important to me.” She looked at him seriously. “I would love to have them.” Elizabeth handed him the gloves, and Darcy reluctantly stepped away from her.

Georgiana caught Elizabeth's arm. She whispered,“I was so surprised to see my brother today.”

Elizabeth let out a deep sigh.“My husband surprised me, too.”

“He stands closer.” Georgiana blushed as she said it.

“I should not say this to you as an unmarried woman, but I decided your brother and I share a
passion
, and I would use
that to bring him back to me. I will do some of the things which won him before. I have no choice; I cannot live without Fitzwilliam.”

“Do you plot my downfall?” Darcy's voice made both women jump.

“Women always plot the downfall of men,” Elizabeth teased. “You are at our whim,” she said as she interlaced their arms again. Darcy consciously smiled at his wife.

As they reached the door to leave the shop, Chadwick Harrison stepped through the opening. Elizabeth heard Georgiana gasp. Trying to cover so Darcy would not become agitated, Elizabeth greeted their friend. “Mr. Harrison, what a pleasant surprise.”

He offered the Darcys a polite bow. “Mr. and Mrs. Darcy,” the words tumbled from his mouth, “Mr. Ashford told me you were in the village; I felt I must pay my respects.”

“Please join us, Mr. Harrison,” Elizabeth offered before Darcy became aware of the change in the makeup of their little group. Harrison knew he would have no chance of speaking to Georgiana alone, but he was happy to be in her presence and thankful to Elizabeth Darcy for “covering” for him. He missed Georgiana Darcy desperately, and Harrison savored every moment with her.

 

On the other side of the village, Mr. Ashford bought Kitty a seed cake at a local bakery.They found a private wooden bench and sat down to share the warm cake. “Katherine,” Ashford spoke her name softly,“I am so happy to be here with you.”

“And I, you.” Kitty fed him a bite of the cake, and Ashford allowed his lips to touch her fingers seductively.

“Katherine—Miss Bennet,” Ashford stammered, “you know my feelings for you.You would make me the happiest man in the world if you would agree to be my wife.”

Kitty froze; she knew Mr. Ashford would eventually ask her to marry him, but she did not expect him to do so today.“Mr. Ashford,” she, too, began to stutter. Ashford's eyes searched her countenance, praying he did not anticipate her response incorrectly. “I would be pleased to be known as Mrs. Ashford.” She finally got the words out.

“Miss Bennet.” Ashford's happiness burst forth. “My life is now complete.You bring me such joy.” He wanted to embrace her, but instead he took her hand in his. Ashford reached in his pocket, removed a ring from it, and placed the ring on her finger. “The ring belonged to my paternal grandmother.”The emotions choked him.“She wanted me to give it to my wife.”

Kitty looked down to see a diamond-and-emerald-encrusted setting. It was nothing compared to the sapphire and diamond ring Mr. Darcy gave Elizabeth, but it was still a respectable offering, almost gaudy in some ways.

“It is magnificent, Sir,” she gushed, while admiring the stones in the light.

“You are magnificent,” Ashford whispered close to her ear, and Kitty turned to caress his face.At just that time, Kitty heard Elizabeth clear her throat in warning.

Kitty jumped to her feet, leaving Mr. Ashford to look embarrassed for being caught in an intimate moment. “Oh, Lizzy,” Kitty grabbed her sister in a happy embrace, “look.” Kitty displayed her hand so all could see; she wiggled like a new puppy.“Is it not beautiful?”

Elizabeth began to laugh. “I assume you gave Mr. Ashford an affirmative response?”

Ashford recovered from his disconcertion. “Your sister agreed to make me the happiest of men, Mrs. Darcy,” Ashford's exuberance flowed forth.

“I must say I hoped for this fine day, Mr. Ashford; we are so happy for you.”

“Of course, I still need to write to Mr. Bennet for his consent,”Ashford reasoned.

“My father should be no obstacle,” Elizabeth told him.“He expects his daughters to know their hearts.”

Kitty added impetuously, “Our father already gave Mr. Darcy permission to act in his stead.”

All eyes turned to Darcy; he never thought he would act as the head of Elizabeth's family—to make decisions for the Bennets. Kitty's presence at Pemberley shifted that role for him, and Darcy did not want to acknowledge that responsibility and that connection to his family. Kitty lived in his household, but Darcy wanted to separate his feelings for Elizabeth from his responsibility to his family name. He only recently delineated how he could have both in his memory and his future; now Kitty's engagement to Clayton Ashford, a man who depended on Darcy for a living, blurred those lines. “It would still be prudent of Mr. Ashford to seek Mr. Bennet's blessing,” Darcy finally responded to their inquiring eyes.

If Ashford married Kitty Bennet, the entire community would realize his wife's connections. He did not anticipate these concerns, and an uneasy feeling crept through his system. His wife's sister would marry Darcy's cleric, and everyone in Derbyshire, as well as much of London, would know of his new relations.This development necessitated his moving up his plans for Georgiana's future. Hopefully, his sister would find a suitable match during her first Season; then he could insist on a long engagement, keeping Georgiana at Pemberley with him until he was ready for her to become the mistress of her own estate.A great deal depended on a successful first season.

“Fitzwilliam,” Elizabeth's voice brought his thoughts back to the moment, “before you go to London, may we celebrate Kitty's engagement at Pemberley this evening—just something informal, among the family.”

“Certainly, Mrs. Darcy,” he spoke formally again,“whatever you wish.” Elizabeth's words of sharing Pemberley with her family brought Darcy's objections to his questionable marriage to Elizabeth Bennet to the forefront. Only this morning Darcy wondered if he could make his marriage to Elizabeth work; now he wondered if he should not pursue a way to extricate himself, his sister, and his family's name from a connection to his Hertfordshire relations.

“Elizabeth, may we stay for the unveiling of the mosaic before we return to Pemberley?” Georgiana asked. She wanted to delay their departure in hopes of speaking privately to Mr. Harrison. She had to let Harrison know somehow her brother's plans for her first season.

“That would be interesting to see. Should we all walk that way?” Elizabeth's excitement bubbled as she turned to Darcy to take his arm. Everyone fell in step, but only Darcy and Elizabeth held arms. They would all set an example of perfect propriety among their Derbyshire neighbors.

“Are any of your tenants in attendance, Sir?” Georgiana asked shyly as Harrison moved naturally to a place beside her at the back of the party.

“A few—but most attend similar celebrations closer to my estate. I came in hopes you might be here; it seems I have trouble staying away from the beauty of Pemberley, Miss Darcy.”

“You have not found the beauty of Pemberley today, Sir,” she blushed lightly.

Harrison chuckled.“The music of my heart tells me otherwise, Miss Darcy.” Harrison watched as Georgiana diverted her eyes from his. “I promise not to say more of music.” He stepped briefly toward her, touching Georgiana's back for only a few seconds.

A shiver went down her spine, followed by the warmth of Harrison's touch. “Mr. Harrison,” Georgiana said, taking her chance, “my brother goes to London on Monday to make
arrangements for my presentation. I will spend much of my time there soon; do you ever venture into London?” She knew she should not speak so boldly, but Georgiana had to let him know her dreams still rested in him.

“Usually, I do not prefer London's society, Miss Darcy, but I may choose to give it another chance this season.” Harrison smiled broadly with the thought of spending time at the theatre or at museums with Georgiana Darcy. He knew she would make the most mundane venture into society an event to remember. If Georgiana Darcy were to live with him in London as his wife, perhaps he might reconsider Mr. Wilberforce's suggestion he seek a Parliamentary position.

“Did I say something amusing, Mr. Harrison?”

“Forgive me, Miss Darcy, I was woolgathering.” Harrison continued to find his thoughts of Georgiana very desirable.

By now, the Darcy party came to the cloth-covered mosaic. The crowd prevailed upon Mr. Ashford to help with the unveiling. The tenants from Pemberley pressed forward; after the Festive Season celebration, they wondered if the mosaic would once more portray the Darcys or whether it was a pure coincidence. When Ashford helped to lift the cloth covering the well dressing mosaic, a hushed murmur ran through the assembled throng. Immortalized in seeds, nuts, small stones, and other natural materials stood a nearly four-foot picture of an auburn-haired woman standing in an open field. She wore a yellow muslin dress, and the woman lifted a dark-haired child in the air, as if offering it to the light of the new day. The woman's face could not be seen in the mosaic as she faced away from the viewer, but the eyes of all the Pemberley tenants came to rest on the countenance of Elizabeth Darcy.There she stood, over four months with child—with Mr. Darcy's child, the heir to Pemberley.

Elizabeth knew the expectations of all who looked so intently at her and Mr. Darcy. So much rested on her delivery
of a healthy heir for the estate. “What do you think, Fitzwilliam?” she asked softly.

“Do not let the superstitions of a bunch of good Protestants dictate your life, Mrs. Darcy,” he cautioned.

Kitty touched her sister's shoulder. “Look at the bottom righthand corner,” she whispered in Elizabeth's ear.

Elizabeth's eyes left the central image of the woman and looked to where Kitty indicated. A blond-haired woman stood in a wedding dress before a small chapel; dark seeds showed the shadows of five children exiting the back of the church. Elizabeth stifled her desire to laugh out loud. “Georgiana,” she exchanged a nearly inaudible message with Darcy's sister.