An Invisible Thread Read online

  “William, it is just beautiful. I know I will be very comfortable here.”

  “If there is anything at all you would like to change, rearrange or replace, please do not hesitate to do so. This room was decorated by my mother many years ago. These were her favorite colors but you should put your own personal touch on your chambers at some point.”

  “For now, I think this room will do quite nicely, thank you, William.”

  Her new lady’s maid approached her and curtsied. “Good day, Mrs. Darcy, my name is Martha and I shall be attending you.”

  “Martha, I am most happy to meet you. I am sure we will get along well. Mr. Darcy, pray excuse me. I will see you in an hour.”

  Darcy took her hand, gave her a brief kiss and left the room.

  “Mrs. Darcy, I took the liberty of preparing a bath for you. I thought you might wish to rid yourself of the dust from the road.”

  “Martha, that sounds wonderful. I believe our relationship is off to a good start!”

  One hour later Elizabeth opened the door of her chambers and her very handsome husband was waiting for her in the hall. “Are you ready for dinner, my dear?”

  “Yes, William, I am ready.” As Elizabeth took her husband’s arm to go to dinner, her mind was only focusing on the activities which would follow their meal. She did not want to appear nervous to Darcy, but all the things her mother and Aunt Gardiner spoke to her about the wedding night were in the forefront of her mind. She could not seem to think of anything else. Her mother painted the marriage bed in as bad a light as possible. Her Aunt Gardiner explained that there would probably be some pain the first time they came together. She also told her niece that marital relations could be a very pleasurable experience. Of course, Elizabeth chose to believe her aunt’s explanation of the event but that did not assuage her fear of what was to come.

  They dined together in the small family dining room, which was beautifully decorated and overwhelming in its understated grandeur. The cook had prepared so many delicious dishes, Elizabeth felt quite guilty about having so little appetite. She ate a little of each course and managed to push the remainder of the food around her plate. She tried to make it look like she had eaten more than she had actually managed to force down. The last thing Elizabeth wanted to do was insult the cook on her first night in residence at Darcy House. She noticed that Darcy had little appetite as well.

  When they had finished their dinner, Darcy suggested they have their dessert and coffee in the drawing room. When they entered the room, he asked her if she would play the pianoforte for him and she happily complied. She was playing the second song when Darcy walked over to the pianoforte and said, “I believe it is time for us to retire.”

  “Retire? But it is still so early,” Elizabeth said and then she looked up and saw the expression on her husband’s face. “Oh, yes, I believe I would like to retire now.” She took Darcy’s arm and they proceeded together up the stairs. When they reached the door of her chambers she told Darcy she would be ready in half an hour. Darcy simply nodded, kissed her hand and walked a short way down the hallway to his bedroom.

  As soon as she entered her room, Martha quickly came to help her prepare for her wedding night. Elizabeth changed into a beautiful nightgown and robe that Aunt Gardiner had given her as a wedding gift. Martha was beginning to braid her hair when there was a soft knock on the door which adjoined Darcy’s room. “Come in,” Elizabeth said softly.

  When Darcy entered her chamber, he was wearing nothing but his shirt, trousers and a dressing gown. When he saw Martha, he said, “Leave us.” Martha curtsied and quickly left the room.

  “Tyrant!” Elizabeth chided him for speaking so brusquely to Martha.

  “My little minx! You have no idea how ravishing you look sitting there. I have often dreamt of seeing you in your night clothes with your hair down but the reality is so much better. Please do not plait it at night. For months I have been dreaming about running my fingers through your hair.” Elizabeth looked up at her new husband as she sat at her dressing table. He extended his hand which she took in hers and he helped her stand before him.

  “Elizabeth, my love, you are so beautiful,” he lowered his face and began to kiss her. His lips gently caressed hers. “My dear, you are trembling. Please come and sit with me and we can talk.” He led her over to the bed and they sat down next to each other. Darcy cleared his throat and said, “I am going to tell you something now that may shock you or it may ease your mind a little. As you know, I have been a bachelor for a long time. I have told you that I never found any of the young women of the ton attractive. My cousin Richard has often encouraged me to seek, shall we say, certain pleasures with women who provide such comfort for money. I never went along with him because I felt the whole business was degrading to me in some way. I felt that if I went with such a woman I would be letting my parents down and I did not want to put myself in any kind of compromising situations so what I am trying to say is…”

  “This is your first time as well as mine,” Elizabeth said shyly.

  Darcy took Elizabeth’s hands into his. “So my wife, now you know. I resolved long ago that I would never be with a woman who was not my wife and I have never regretted my decision in that matter. My greatest hope is that we can learn from each other. I will try to be gentle with you and you must tell me if anything I do is hurting you in any way.”

  “William, I am most pleased that we will be learning these things together. I was terribly worried that you would compare me to your previous lovers and find me lacking.”

  “Never, my darling, you lack nothing any man could desire in a wife.” With those words, Darcy turned to Elizabeth and took her face in his large hands and softly stroked her cheeks. After a short time gazing into each other’s eyes, Darcy began to kiss her. He was very gentle at first but slowly the intensity of his kisses increased. Elizabeth had her hands around his neck. As if it was the most natural thing in the world, she pulled Darcy down so that he was partially on top of her. As he continued to kiss her, Darcy’s hands started exploring Elizabeth's body. He caressed her neck and shoulders and then, her breasts. At her first moan, Darcy said, “I think it is time for our educations to begin.” They spent the rest of their wedding night happily learning from each other.

  When Elizabeth awoke the next morning, it took her a few moments to realize where she was. Then she remembered what she and Darcy had been doing most of the night. A deep blush appeared on her face. She turned to see her husband sleeping beside her with a grin on his face. Before she could turn to slide off the bed and gather her robe, Darcy reached out his arm and pulled her back toward him in the bed.

  “You, my little minx, are going nowhere!” He said mischievously.

  “You, Mr. Darcy, are a tyrant!” She laughed.

  Darcy pulled Elizabeth into his embrace and gently kissed her lips. Elizabeth put her hand behind his head in order to bring his lips closer to hers. Darcy pulled away and looked at her lovingly, “How are you this morning, my beautiful wife?”

  “I am quite well. How are you, my dearest husband?”

  Darcy sat up and leaned against the pillows that were piled behind him. He brought Elizabeth close to him and put his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “Elizabeth, I am happier than I ever dreamed possible. You are everything I ever dreamed of in a wife and now, I must say, lover. You are everything I want and need and I plan to feel exactly this way for the rest of my life. I am well, my love, very well indeed.”

  “Your feelings may change as time goes by, but for now those lovely words fill my heart with joy. I keep thinking about the way I felt about you before I read your letter in Kent. Now my feelings are so different from what they were. I am so happy you were waiting for me on Oakham Mount. You have changed my life forever and I could not be happier about it.”

  Darcy adjusted his body so he faced Elizabeth and began kissing her in a most passionate way. As his hands started to caress her hip, Elizabeth s
tarted to push him away. “My love, am I hurting you?”

  “No, but Martha will walk in here any minute and it will not do to have her find us, well, you know, learning our lessons.”

  “That will not happen, my love, because Martha, Kenton, who is my valet, Mrs. Winters and all the other servants at Darcy House have been given very strict instructions. The master and mistress are not to be disturbed under any circumstances and they are not to come near us unless we ring for them. Does that ease your mind, my dearest?”

  “That was very good planning on your part. I am troubled by only one thing.” Elizabeth was teasing Darcy again.

  “What is troubling you, dearest?”

  “I believe I did not learn enough last night. Fitzy, do you think we might continue our educations?”

  “Fitzy? So you are back to that again. And, no, I do not think we have learned our lessons well enough, that may take many years. My little minx, what was that sound? Oh, yes, I hear the school bells. Time to learn.” Before he could move toward her, Elizabeth climbed on top of Darcy and began kissing his face, his neck, his chest and then began to explore the rest of her husband’s body. Her initiative thrilled, surprised and excited him. Darcy thought to himself, “it may be worth it to have her call me Fitzy if this is the way she behaves. But I will never tell her that!”

  The following days passed in a very similar fashion. Mr. and Mrs. Darcy remained in their rooms and the staff was told they were not to be disturbed. They left their bed chambers only to bathe and occasionally to dine in the small family dining room. Most days found them requesting a tray be sent up so that they could dine alone in their chambers. They talked for hours and hours about anything and everything that came into their minds. They often read passages from their favorite books to each other and participated in some ‘heated’ debates. They really did not disagree about many issues but they both enjoyed the mental challenge of a lively discussion. During those first days of marriage, Elizabeth saw her husband in a completely new light. He was very kind, interesting and intelligent. She also discovered that Darcy had a rather good sense of humor. If their future life was to be anything like their first days together, Elizabeth thought that she would be very happy. A man who was virtually a stranger to her when they married.

  Darcy was happier than he had ever been. Elizabeth was everything he had dreamed about. Of course she was beautiful but he also came to see so much more of her true nature, she was intelligent, kind and generous. She had a joy for life which filled his heart. Elizabeth was not from the higher circles of the ton and he could not care less. He was quite wealthy, his uncle was an earl and he was accepted in London’s highest social circles. His entire adult life was spent looking for the “right” woman to call his wife. After the few short weeks he spent in Hertfordshire last year, the only woman he ever envisioned as his wife was Elizabeth Bennett. Elizabeth Darcy, his wife, the woman he had dreamt about for months and months, was here with him in bed. She was sleeping peacefully beside him after another night of wonderful lovemaking which left them both sated and exhausted. Darcy thought himself a very lucky man, indeed.

  Chapter 10

  On the morning of the seventh day of their marriage, Elizabeth and Darcy were still in bed, embracing each other after an early morning of shared passion. Elizabeth had almost fallen asleep in her husband’s arms when they heard knocking on their bedroom door. Darcy said softly to his wife, “There had better be a good excuse for disturbing us or whoever is knocking on that door is no longer employed at Darcy House! Stay here, my love, I will see who is causing this racket and return to you as quickly as possible.” Darcy kissed Elizabeth on her head and stood to put on his banyan. As he was slipping into his robe, Elizabeth admired her husband’s beautiful, muscular body. Although they were no longer quite so shy about seeing each other without clothes on, she blushed to realize that just one week ago she had never done anything more than innocently kiss her fiancé. Now she was totally comfortable with all the lessons she had learned in their marriage bed.

  Darcy opened the door and was about to give whomever was standing in the hallway a piece of his mind. However, when he opened the door, Mrs. Winters was standing there with a tortured look on her face.

  “Mrs. Winters, what is wrong? I know you would not disturb us if it was not something urgent.”

  “Yes, Mr. Darcy, it is rather urgent. Lady Matlock is here. I repeatedly told her that you left strict orders not to be disturbed. Mr. Darcy, she says she will not leave Darcy House until she speaks to you. I am so sorry to trouble you this morning but I did not know what else I could do.”

  “Do not worry Mrs. Winters. Show my aunt to the sitting room and tell her that I will be down shortly.”

  “Thank you for understanding my dilemma, Mr. Darcy. Again, I am so sorry to have disturbed you and Mrs. Darcy.” Darcy closed the door gently and turned to his wife, who had already left their bed and was wearing her dressing gown.

  “William, what is wrong?”

  “Nothing is wrong, my love, just my meddling relations. I must dress quickly and speak to my Aunt Patricia. Please wait for me here, there are certain lessons I feel we should review before breakfast.” Darcy briefly kissed her and then went through the door to his adjoining suite to tell Kenton that he needed to dress quickly.

  A short time later Darcy entered the sitting room and found his aunt drinking some tea. He had planned to tell her how inappropriate her intrusion was but stopped when he saw the distraught look on her face. He quickly walked over to the sofa and sat beside her, taking her hand in his. “Aunt, what is it that is troubling you so? Please tell me.”

  “Nephew, it is your uncle.”

  “Is Uncle Hugh unwell?”

  “I really do not know what is wrong with him. Darcy, since he heard about your marriage, and your defiance of his and Catherine's wishes, he has not been himself. He keeps ranting and raving that no one in the family has met this woman you married. A woman not of our circles with no connections and no dowry. He feels you have made a very poor match and that you are embarrassed by your wife. He is mad at the world and thoroughly frustrated because he now realizes that Rosings and Pemberley will never be united. The power of combining those two great estates has been denied him. He cannot get over the idea that you have ruined his ambitious plans. I have never seen him act this way, Darcy, and I fear he will have another heart incident. He is also angry that you have not been to see him. Why are you hiding? Georgiana told us that you and your wife returned to Town a week ago. Mrs. Winters told me that you and Mrs. Darcy have rarely left your rooms in the past week. Nephew, you must explain yourself!”

  “Aunt Patricia, you must make Uncle Hugh understand that I married Elizabeth for love. I have not been hiding her nor am I embarrassed by my wife. We wished to be alone with each other as we begin our marriage. Elizabeth is the only woman I have ever met who has made me happy. It might appear to be a poor match to the ton but it is not a poor match for me. I have been Master of Pemberley for five years and have been making all of my own decisions and I would never allow Uncle Hugh or Aunt Catherine to decide who I should marry. I certainly never planned to marry Anne and she has never wanted to marry me. For five years I have been thrown in front of every ‘eligible’ woman in the ton. None of them made me feel the way I felt when I met Elizabeth. As for her lack of a dowry and connections, I do not care. Do I need any more money? I care nothing about what the highest social circles in London think about me or my wife. If they refuse to accept her, that is their loss. My wife is the most loving, caring and intelligent person I have ever met. I know you will feel the same way when you meet her.”

  “That is the point, Darcy. Your uncle is telling everyone that you married without a proper period of betrothal and for all the wrong reasons. You are hiding her here because you are too embarrassed to be seen with her. When shall we meet the elusive Mrs. Darcy?”

  “Right now, if it pleases your Ladyship.” They both turned to see Eliz
abeth standing in the doorway. Darcy rose and walked to Elizabeth. He smiled at his beautiful wife, took her hand and kissed it. He led her over to where his aunt was sitting.

  “Aunt Patricia, please allow me the honor of introducing you to my wife, Elizabeth Darcy. Elizabeth, please meet my aunt, the Countess of Matlock.”

  Elizabeth curtsied and when she looked up, Darcy’s aunt was smiling warmly. “Welcome to the family, Mrs. Darcy. I have been looking forward to meeting you.”

  “Thank you, your Ladyship. But please call me Lizzy, as my family does. Only William calls me Elizabeth,” she said with a slight blush to her cheeks.

  “Lizzy, please sit beside me so we can begin to get to know each other.” Elizabeth sat beside Lady Matlock and they shared several anecdotes about their families and siblings. Elizabeth told Lady Matlock a story about the time when she was ten years old and she got stuck in a tree she was not supposed to be climbing. When Elizabeth explained that she did not know if she should call for help and thereby incur her mother’s wrath or spend the night in the tree, they were both laughing. Darcy was watching them and was quite happy that Aunt Patricia was being so kind and receptive to Elizabeth.

  “Darcy, I was planning to have a dinner party at Matlock House in honor of you and Lizzy to celebrate your marriage. If you come, your uncle will have no choice but to accept this union. He would never make a scene at a social event in our home. Lizzy, you can be introduced to some of our family and closest friends and dispel some of the rumors about you that are flying around London.”

  Elizabeth looked at Darcy and he gave his head a barely perceptible nod. “Thank you, your Ladyship, that sounds like a lovely idea. When are you thinking of giving this dinner party?”

  “On Friday night, but do not worry about what you should wear. I made an appointment for us to visit my modiste today so we can start working on your new wardrobe. Georgiana told me that you had not yet purchased your trousseau and today is as good a day as any to begin. And since you are married to my nephew, you should probably start calling me Aunt Patricia. I will return in my carriage at one o’clock. You know, Lizzy, I have worked very hard for years to find my nephew a wife. Now I see he has done the job very well all by himself. Goodbye, Lizzy. Goodbye, Darcy.” Aunt Patricia rose and quickly walked out the door to her waiting carriage.