Page 29 of Lord Lonbourn's Daughter
“Am I supposed to know? I thought maidens were kept deliberately ignorant of these matters.”
“They are, but it is customary for their mothers to enlighten them before their wedding night.”
“You see this is where your arguments fail. My mother died more than a year ago, and I have nomarriedsisters who could have told me.”
“What about your aunt, my aunt, any married lady you are familiar with?”
“Mr Darcy, these are private matters. I doubt you would discuss this evening with your friends at White’s, and neither do ladies in my limited experience. Do you understand what I am trying to say?”
“Yes, and you are wrong. Some men relate more than they ought at White’s, but you are right in that I am not one of them.”
“Because you have nothing to tell?”
“I would not go that far…”
#
Darcy boldly lifted his hand and let his fingers trail down her cheek. It was as soft as he had imagined, but he had not anticipated the frissons down his spine created by a mere touch. Elizabeth’s beautiful eyes widened; he did not know what it meant, though. He let one finger trace her clavicle bone to her shoulder, pulling the shift with it.
“Are you not supposed to kiss me?”
“I can if you want me to.”
“How can I know if I have never tried it?” she huffed.
It was as good an invitation as he was likely to receive. He moved slowly, eager yet allowing her time to retract if she changed her mind. She did not. Their lips met tentatively, fumbling even, before perfection was achieved and he was lost. Feeling hot and bothered as the sensation of time ceased to exist, succumbing to a primitive desire as old as time…
#
“That was not at all what I expected it to be.”
“No?” His voice was weak and trembling.
“It was almost animalistic. I have seen something similar performed at Longbourn, but that was by our livestock.”
He moved his arm over his eyes and sighed.
“Oh, I did not mean it as a criticism, Mr Darcy. How long until we can do it again?”
He removed his arm from his face and looked at her; her eyes were bright and shiny, and she had a healthy glow to her cheeks.
“I am not certain…”
She let her hands travel the plains of his chest.
“You look like a statue.”
“I have heard myself described as such before.”
She looked sharply up at him.
“By whom?”
“I should have mentioned that I was fully clothed at the time. I am regarded as aloof, perhaps even deprived of feeling. It was not meant as a flattering remark. Quite the opposite.”
Elizabeth looked at him with such compassion that he had to kiss her to close the windows of her soul. He had noticed that when they kissed, her eyes closed—the opposite of his, which could not bear to deprive him of the luxury of watching her, clandestinely.
It proved that a repeat performance was quite within his reach. It did not take him long at all to rise to the occasion and forget the outside world for a blessed moment.
