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“Such as yourself!”

“Precisely!”

They both convulsed in laughter.

That night

Soft curves yielded under his hands as he ran them over her body. She sighed, as deeply affected as he, and as he leaned in to capture her lips, he could feel her fingernails burrow into his bare back. Elizabeth!

William sat up abruptly, looking around the silent, dark room. This was Darcy House, not Pemberley. He groaned, disappointed to realise that he was only reliving Elizabeth’s visit to his dressing room the morning he left for London.

Adams had left him sitting in the barber’s chair while he went to sharpen his scissors for a quick trim of the Master’s hair. Thus, eyes closed and clad only in breeches with a towel lying across his lap, William startled to hear Elizabeth’s soft voice at the door.

“William?”

The dressing room door slowly opened and seeing that he was alone, she slipped inside. A vision of loveliness, she was clad only in a white satin nightgown and robe, her hair loose about her shoulders. Holding a finger to her beautiful lips, she smiled mischievously. “Shhh!”

Then she turned and locked the door before taking in the scene. Obviously the bath water had already been used, and for a brief moment she grieved that Gwendolyn had seen him in this tub, and she had not. However, as their eyes met, hers widened in surprise at how very nearly naked he was. Surprise was immediately replaced by a look of hunger as she followed the fine, dark hair across his toned chest down a trail that led across his slim abdomen and stopped at his breeches. When her tongue swept across her parched lips, William could not sit still any longer.

Throwing the towel to the floor, he had barely gained his feet when she ran to him. Her arms wrapped around him tightly and her fingernails began to trace patterns on his bare back causing him to shiver. Luxuriating in the feel of her, he buried his face in her hair and took a deep breath of the lavender scent wafting up.

“Elizabeth, my darling, what are you doing up at this hour? We agreed that you would not awaken to see me off. That is why we said our goodbyes last night.”

“You agreed, not I!” She murmured into his chest, all the while placing kisses on every possible place. “I could not bear for you to leave me without another embrace, another kiss.”

He was unprepared for the way his body reacted to her proclamation. Instantly aroused, he quickly untied her robe, pulling it off and throwing it aside before he kissed her hungrily. As they kissed, he backed her towards the wall. Once against the barrier, he cupped her bottom, lifting her as her legs immediately clasped around him. Holding her this way, his throbbing shaft was just where it longed to be, and as they continued to kiss, he rubbed slowly back and forth. She moaned softly causing him to harden even more.

A knock at the door and then a much louder one seconds later, finally broke the spell, if not the embrace. They quit the kiss to stare passionately at each other. Finally he let her slide down to her feet, and then stooped to retrieve her robe. After replacing the satiny clothes, he tried to dissuade his arousal but ended up opening the door for his valet holding a carefully placed towel. If Adams was surprised to find Elizabeth inside the room when he entered, he was well trained not to show it.

He began to apologise. “Excuse me, sir. I shall wait in the hall until you summon me.”

“No need, Adams. Just wait here,” William ordered, tossing the towel aside and grabbing Elizabeth’s hand. In one fluid motion he pulled her past the surprised valet into the hallway.

Adams nodded absently as the door closed. Picking up the discarded towel, he sat down to wait as William swiftly led Elizabeth back to her bedroom for more pleasurable pursuits. At some point, lost in the ecstasy of her kisses, William remembered that Adams was waiting.

“I must go, darling,” he said breathlessly. Elizabeth’s head shook in disagreement as she brought his lips back to hers. A few seconds more and he pulled away to stare into her eyes, his own now black with desire.

“Know this, Elizabeth. The next time we are in this circumstance, I shall not stop until I have made you my own.”

William thought of how startled Adams had been when he opened the door to find him dozing in the barber chair. He smiled wanly as he reached up to run his fingers through his long, dark curls.

I suppose I shall have Mr. Noble cut my hair while I am here.

~~~*~~~

Chapter 30

Pemberley

Elizabeth blinked several times at the papers in her hand, and unable to stop her legs from buckling, sank slowly to the floor. The papers had fallen out when she picked up her Bible, fluttering in all directions. As swiftly as she had stooped to retrieve them, she recollected why they were inside the sacred book in the first place, and for several seconds, she felt as though she were suffocating.

When William had brought her small keepsake chest back from Northgate, she had glanced inside it to ascertain that her Bible was still there before putting it aside. Later, after Mrs. Drury had helped her retrieve it from the closet to inventory its contents, she had chosen to spend time with William in lieu of tending to the task. But with William in London and Mrs. Drury visiting her ailing aunt, there was little to occupy her time. So this morning seemed the perfect opportunity to re-examine the contents of the small trunk that had once held symbols of her future—her dowry chest as her father had called it. Only after finding the papers did every detail of the impetus for her escape from the count become instantly clear, and she remembered in painful detail what had occurred.

Addie explained that she had been dusting the room next to Lord Stanton’s study, when she heard shouting between father and son. Stunned to hear Lord Stanton call his son an adulterer and a forger, Addie had pressed her ear to the door. Though she could not make out all their conversation, some words were easily distinguishable—counterfeit marriage certificates, bigamy, Gretna Green. Already suspicious of Stefano, Addie had long been convinced that he was involved in illegal activities, so without delay, she hurried to share all that she had heard with Elizabeth.

Eager for the truth, Elizabeth determined to search for evidence of his father’s charges the next time Lord Stanton and his son were both away. That opportunity came quickly, as both men abandoned Northgate shortly after their argument. Fortunately, Addie was able to pilfer a set of keys from Mr. Johnston, the steward, a clumsy, rather dour fellow, who had a habit of leaving the keys with which he was entrusted lying about. True to his nature, he said nothing to anyone about the missing keys, but simply had more made as it would not do for Lord Stanton or his son to find out he had been so careless.

With the purloined keys, the friends had access to all the previously forbidden rooms, and as luck would have it, the steward’s set not only included door keys, but also keys to everything that had a lock within each room. Thus they began their search late one afternoon when the understaffed household servants were required for other duties. Fortuitously, on their very first foray they decided to search Lord Stanton’s study. Elizabeth chose to begin with his lordship’s desk, which she had found locked, while Addie went through an unlocked chest.