Page 91 of Compromise & Consequence
“I hope you are prepared to see your actions through to their finality, Mrs. Darcy.”
“Oh!” she squeaked out in a breathy gasp and scrambled to a sitting position, the sheet falling to cover him again. “I thought you were asleep.”
“I was, but a wood nymph brought me out of the depths of Morpheus into her web of desire and love.”
“I am sorry, Mr. Darcy.”
“I am not, and yesterday you called me William.”
He had not thought it possible, but she blushed an even darker shade of pink. How delightful.
“I suppose, in a moment of fear, I did call you by your given name, Mr. Darcy.”
“We are past you calling me Mr. Darcy. We are now Elizabeth and William. I will accept nothing less.”
He shifted his pillow and brought himself into a semi-reclining position, bending one knee so that his apparent desire was no longer center stage.
“Very well, William.” She studied him with wary eyes. “I had best return to my room before my maid comes in to find me gone and rings the alarm.”
“Why did you come here last night?”
“You will think me foolish.”
“Never. You are not only the most beautiful woman I know, but also one the most intelligent.”
She lowered her eyes and once again her cheeks tinged a deep pink. He could get used to this. Flirting with his wife in bed.
“Once alone in my room, I began to fear shadows. Well, notshadows exactly. My mind began to travel down roads that made me think the guard could be one of the men Lady Catherine hired. It is the perfect disguise, and he would have access to me as he holds the key to my room…” She trailed off and gave him a lopsided, wry smile. “Sounds silly when I say it out loud.”
“Not really. Your premise is sound; however, I know these men were handpicked by my cousin Richard and the only way Lady Catherine would have had prior access to them was if she had crossed the channel, entered the battlefield, and politely asked Napoleon to pause his war for a brief moment while she hired a few men to do her dastardly deed. They are loyal to their colonel first and the King second.”
“Is that not treasonous?”
“Not loyal to Richard in a literal sense. More like, figuratively speaking. They are members of the Royal Dragoons and returned to England with him after their last battle in Portugal.”
“You are telling me I am safe to cower in my bed and not worry about the guard?”
“The only way you will be safe is when you are tucked up against me. Then, and only then, will you truly survive this ordeal.”
“That is laying it on a bit thick, Mr.—” He lowered his forehead and gave her a look of warning. “William,” she said with a soft laugh and began to pleat the edge of the sheet, clearly showing her nerves.
“What is bothering you, Elizabeth?”
“I… I believe I should go back to my room, but I am not dressed properly.”
He held back a chuckle and said, “As a gentleman, I would leave the room and allow you to exit with grace and dignity. Alas,” – he waved his hand to pull her attention to the area underthe sheets where the rest of him lay in repose – “I do not wear a nightshirt and you are not prepared, yet, to see me in all my glory.”
“Mr. Darcy! I mean, William! For shame.”
“Nay, ‘tis a shame that I must stay here while you scamper across the room and give me much to feed my imagination.”
“You are absolutely wicked.”
“No, I am absolutely in love and this, us in bed together, is my deepest desire.”
Her breathing shallowed and her pupils dilated. Dare he? Dare he ask his wife if she were ready to go a step further?Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat, slid through his mind like a quicksilver.Fortune Favors the Bold. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain. He shifted until his weight rested on one elbow and with his free hand, reached across to touch her hair, which spilled down her back and over her shoulder in glorious curls. Twining the end of one curl around his finger, he leaned forward and brought it to his nose, inhaling her distinctive scent of lavender and, he assumed, honeysuckle.
Her breath caught, but she did not move away.
