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Bingley was on the verge of responding to his sister’s retort when the door of the breakfast room was opened and in walked the woman of Darcy’s dreams. The sight of her compelled Darcy to his feet.
Her eyes were even brighter now than when they parted earlier, giving him to wonder if it was due to the exertion of her early morning walk or their night of passion. Whatever the cause, seeing her thus took his breath away.
And this is the stunning creature with whom I spent the best night of my life.
As telling as Darcy’s reaction was in seeing her, apparently, Bingley had not noticed. He, too, stood and went directly to Elizabeth’s side. Darcy was not far behind.
“I am delighted that you chose to join us for breakfast this morning. Come, my friend Darcy arrived late last night after the household had retired for the evening. I am anxious for the two of you to make each other’s acquaintance.”
“Darcy,” Bingley said, “allow me to introduce you to my sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Tilman. She is my dear wife’s younger sister.” Bingley shook his head. “What I mean to say is she is my wife’s eldest sister, well actually, the eldest of four younger sisters.
“Dearest sister,” he said after catching his breath, “this is my friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire, whom you have heard me mention of late.”
Ignoring his friend’s eager, albeit awkward, attempts in making a proper introduction, Darcy stepped forward and took Elizabeth by her hand. Bowing slightly, he raised it to his lips and kissed her bare knuckles. Standing upright, he did not relinquish her hand.
“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my lo—” His voice trailed off.
Of course, he wanted to refer to the amazing creature standing before him as my love. He no more wished to refer to her by her proper name - Mrs. Tilman – than she wished to be referred to as such, not after the unspoken promises they had made. Moistening his lips, he said, “My lady.”
If anyone noticed that both of his hands now clutched hers, the tender way he held them in his, or the gentle brushing of his fingers against her skin, they did not say anything.
“I assure you, Mr. William—” Elizabeth colored a little, but there was a hint of playfulness in her eyes. “I beg your pardon—Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, the pleasure is all mine.”
Darcy’s heart slammed against his chest!
William. She called me William.
Never had the sound of a single word filled him with so much joy, so much pleasure, and most of all, so much hope that the night they had shared together was but the promise of so many more such nights like that to come.
Doing everything in his power not to belie the notion of this being their first introduction, Darcy fought back the happiness that threatened to overtake his countenance. His busy mind, however, would not be so easily subdued.
This incredibly bewitching woman will be mine from now until the end of time. I promise to do everything in my power to make it so.
Everything.
* * *
♥♥♥
After Last Night with Mr. Darcy
“All the privilege I claim for my own sex … is that of loving longest, when existence or when hope is gone!”
* * *
Jane Austen
Chapter 1
Elizabeth fought to keep her hands from trembling. Finally, the formidable formal introductions were over, and one of her greatest challenges was just beginning. She had to act as if she had never laid eyes on the gentleman who had held her so tenderly throughout the previous night. Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.
He was the man who had made her feel like a woman for the first time in her life, despite her being a widow and despite her being on the heels of marrying another man.
Mr. Darcy stood just over six feet tall. He was solidly built and wore an impeccably tailored suit. The way his eyes pored all over her and the gentle touch of his hands flooded Elizabeth’s senses with memories of being with him.
Last night was not a dream—the consequence of an excitable imagination. Instead, he is before me: the most beautiful man my eyes might ever wish to behold.
Everyone else in the room fell away; it was only Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth in that moment together. The others in the breakfast room might just as well have been part of the décor along with the ornate walls and curtains tied back with golden tassels—her brother-in-law, Charles Bingley, and his sister Caroline, and several uniformed footmen attending their posts. Instead, Elizabeth only saw Mr. Darcy standing before her—someone who possessed the power to throw all her carefully laid out plans for her future into utter and complete chaos.
