Page 64 of A Different Impression

Elizabeth smiled at the eager lady. “Thank you, Mrs Reynolds, for the welcome and for your thoughtfulness in arranging a special dinner for us today. I have been looking forward to meeting you as well and am anxious to begin learning from you about how to run this magnificent manor.”

Mrs Reynolds beamed at the praise. “Aye, Mistress,” she said before curtsying.

Servants quickly took their outerwear and disappeared along the corridors. Darcy requested tea be served in their private sitting room in an hour, allowing them a few minutes to change and for him to show her around their rooms. He led his new wife up the stairs and down the hall into the family wing, where he showed her their suites.

Instead of summoning their servants, Darcy helped Elizabeth out of her travelling clothes, and she returned the favour. Their intention of changing for tea was soon forgotten as they took advantage of their privacy to test both beds within the suite.

Some time later, faint sounds from the sitting room awakened Darcy. Elizabeth stirred beside him, and for a moment he could not recall why they were lying in her bedchamber. Then the memory returned, bringing a broad grin to his face.

“Elizabeth,” he whispered, nudging her gently. “We fell asleep. I daresay our tea has grown cold, and we shall be late for Mrs Reynolds’s special dinner.”

Elizabeth stretched before smiling up at him. “I am beginning to believe, sir, that you possess remarkable stamina.”

“I assure you, my dear, that I shall gladly demonstrate it as often as you permit. We have not been married a month, but I am beginning to suspect I shall never have enough of you.” He glanced around the unfamiliar room. “Have you formed a preference regarding which bed we should share?”

A becoming blush spread across her cheeks. “I believe further investigation may be required before I can reach a decision.”

Darcy laughed and kissed her.

The robes folded across the foot of the bed and the renewed warmth of the fire made it evident that someone had entered whilst they slept. Their servants had undoubtedly discovered the trail of discarded clothing as well.

“I believe we were discovered,” Elizabeth said as she stood and reached for her robe. “They must have come looking for us when the tea arrived.”

“No one will say a word, dearest,” Darcy assured her. “We are still newly married, after all.”

His reassurance had the opposite effect. The colour deepened and swept down her throat before she hastily pulled the robe around herself, leaving Darcy to wonder how much farther the blush extended beneath it. The thought made him briefly reconsider attending to their neglected tea at all.

“That may be true, but I dislike the thought of the servants discussing what we do in private,” Elizabeth said, drawing a steadying breath.

Darcy moved to where she stood, drawing her close as he kissed her forehead. “Mrs Reynolds permits very little gossip amongst Pemberley’s servants. Come, let us see whether our tea can be rescued. I should like to show you a few important rooms before dinner.”

Once they had refreshed themselves and dressed, Darcy took Elizabeth downstairs and showed her his study before leading her into the adjoining library. He had imagined introducing her to this room almost from the beginning of their acquaintance and watched eagerly for her reaction.

The library rose through two storeys, its walls lined with books and encircled by an upper gallery reached by a spiral staircase. Rolling ladders provided access to the highest shelves, whilst tall windows admitted the last of the winter light. Comfortable chairs and couches stood near the great fireplace, offering numerous secluded places in which to read.

Elizabeth moved slowly into the room, her gaze travelling from the crowded shelves to the upper gallery. She trailed her fingertips along the spines of several volumes as she passed, and the wonder in her expression pleased Darcy even more than her reaction to the first view of Pemberley.

“Your library is truly magnificent, William,” Elizabeth said, stopping to look at him seriously. “I look forward to spending many hours with you here.”

“Our library, dearest,” he said, his tone slightly husky. “I have imagined you here with me for almost the entirety of our acquaintance.”

He had envisioned her seated near the fire with a book in her lap or sharing the sofa with him as they read together. Now that she stood before him as his wife, however, some of the images entering his mind involved considerably less reading.

Darcy stepped behind her and rested one hand lightly upon her waist. With the other, he brushed a loose curl away from her neck before pressing his lips just beneath her ear. Her breath caught, and the sound sent a familiar warmth through him.

An idea occurred to him as he glanced towards two chairs positioned beside the fire.

“Perhaps we could dine here tomorrow evening,” he suggested.

Elizabeth followed his gaze to the low table between the chairs. “Something simple?”

“With a bottle of wine.”

“And blankets so that we might sit together before the fire?”

His imagination immediately supplied an image of Elizabeth curled against him beneath those blankets, her hair loosened and her face warmed by the fire and wine. Dinner might not be the only appetite requiring satisfaction.

“As many as you require,” he promised, allowing his hand to linger at her waist.