“Mr. Darcy, I mean Fitzwilliam, you will make a very fine father some day.”

“Am I so trans-parent, Elizabeth?” He smiled and kissed her hand. “If our children are as adorable as your brother and sisters, my love, we shall be blessed. I very much look forward to experiencing parenthood with you, for I know you will be an absolutely perfect mother.” They stood toe-to-toe, looking into each other’s eyes, and envisioned their future together until Baines cleared his throat and Alice suggested the children move along to the pond to feed ducks and geese.

The servants had each been given strict orders not to allow the two couples any time alone. Miss Edwards had assumed the duty of chaperoning Colonel Fitzwilliam and Jane, who had decided to take a stroll. The governess trailed along behind as the engaged couple led her along the garden path.

“Achoo! Oh, Miss Edwards, I have foolishly forgotten to put a handkerchief in my reticule. Would you please return to my sister and ask if she has a spare one I may borrow?”

Although young, the governess was not born yesterday. “There is no need, Miss Bennet. I have a clean one right here.” She handed a prettily embroidered linen cloth to the unappreciative other lady.

Jane rolled her eyes at her fiancé. “Thank you, Miss Edwards. Oh, look! Perhaps Kitty, Lydia, and Robert would care to join us, for I see there is a puppet booth set up on the other side of the pond.” Jane pointed across the water to where children were sitting on the grass, laughing at the antics of Punch and Judy. “It would be a shame for my sisters and brother to miss the show. Please fetch them, Miss Edwards. The Colonel and I will wait right here for you.” Jane smiled sweetly, and the governess could not believe the angelic Miss Bennet would allow any impropriety to occur in the short time it would take to follow orders. She gave a quick curtsey and hurried away.

Richard Fitzwilliam did not take time to look a gift horse in the mouth. He was more interested in much, much sweeter lips. “I have always appreciated a good Punch and Judy skit; yet, strangely enough, today I do not care for such entertainment. I much prefer the farce you just performed, Jane. Will you walk with me off the beaten path?”

Jane was a bit skittish. “But, sir, I told Miss Edwards we would wait right here. Truly, it was not pretence. I do want my sisters and brother to enjoy the puppets.”

“As do I. However, we can just take a short jaunt through these trees and return before the others arrive. Dearest, I will not act against your wishes. The decision is yours. We will remain rooted to this very spot if that is what you desire.”

Jane considered her options for a moment; still and all, what she desired was looking at her so disarmingly, she could not resist. “Very well. But just for a brief duration. We must be back here prior to the rest of our party.”

Richard grinned, snatched her hand, and pulled her off the path behind a thicket of evergreen trees. The two wasted no time but did lose track of it.

Because the others were headed toward the pond anyway, Miss Edwards soon met them on the path. Alice was concerned and drew her aside to inquire why Martha had abandoned her post as chaperone. The governess assured her the couple would be the epitome of propriety and would be found waiting out in the open by the pond exactly where she left them.

When the three children heard about the puppet theatre, Lydia and Robert ran off in different directions to get around the water, eager to not miss another minute of the show. The little boy had not gotten far before he fell and scraped his knee on the gravel; and Alice immediately hastened to care for her charge while Baines and Kitty chased after Lydia, and the governess anxiously hurried back to her chaperoning duty.

Elizabeth made sure her brother was not seriously injured and agreed when Alice decided it would be best to take the sobbing toddler home. Darcy volunteered to carry Robert, but the nursemaid assured him she was used to lifting the poppet. In her concern for the child, she did not give a second thought to leaving the lovers alone.

The gentleman turned to his beloved and said, “Well, Elizabeth, it seems I am to once again enjoy the privilege of your exclusive company. When last we were alone, you accepted my proposal; so I wonder to what you might agree this time.” Perchance, a kiss on your luscious lips?

“Do you have something specific in mind, perhaps, sir?” Perchance, a kiss on my receptive lips?

“Indeed I do have a goal in mind, madam.” He slowly raised her hand to his lips but did not stop looking into the windows to her soul. Elizabeth’s heart rate increased as Darcy kissed her knuckles, her palm, and then peeled back a bit of her glove to touch his lips to her racing pulse. She tore her gaze away from his intense regard and rather breathlessly asked, “Have you reached your goal yet, sir?”

“Not yet, Elizabeth, but I am getting warmer.”

As am I. “Fitzwilliam, we cannot possibly continue in this manner on a public path. As much as I am enjoying your … oh! … touching attentions, I must beg you to stop.” Oh, do be quiet, Lizzy!

“I am sorry, love. I did not intend to make you uneasy, and you are quite correct.” Darcy gently tugged her glove into place. “Please forgive me.” He was about to offer his arm when he was distracted by three young lads as they chased a small creature through the trees just off to the left of the path. “Here! What are you boys about? Leave off at once! Excuse me, my dear, but I must investigate.”

His long strides soon gained on the youths, and Darcy was angered to discover they were after a kitten. The small ginger cat had taken refuge in an oak tree, and two of the boys threw twigs at it to make it come down while the other gripped a low branch and attempted to climb after the feline.

“Leave off, I said!” Fitzwilliam Darcy was a tall, formidable man and could be quite intimidating when he set his mind to it. The boys took one look at his menacing approach, ditched their plan, and fled the scene of the crime. The gentleman was incensed by such mistreatment of an animal but decided not to give pursuit, as he was more concerned for the welfare of the kitten.

Martha Edwards hastened to the place where Miss Bennet should have been waiting with her handsome officer. She glanced to the left, ahead, and across the pond; but the affianced couple was nowhere to be seen. The governess stomped her foot in frustration at quite literally being led along the garden path by the innocent-looking eldest daughter of her employers. When Miss Edwards looked behind, she saw Baines, Miss Kitty, and Miss Lydia approaching. Not wanting to alarm the girls, she explained the situation to the footman in a low, urgent voice.

Baines was aghast. “Miss Edwards, I am shocked. But is a tryst certain, absolutely certain?”

“Well, no. Nonetheless, I do suspect they have made a May game of me. How are they to be discovered? I have not the smallest hope. It is in every way horrible, and I shall surely be dismissed.”

The footman shook his head in silent acquiescence and made no answer. He seemed scarcely to hear her and was walking up and down the path in earnest meditation, his brow contracted, and his air gloomy. His position was on the line as well, for he had been entrusted with guarding the reputations of Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth. Miss Elizabeth!! He swivelled his head around in search of her pretty face, chestnut hair, deep red pelisse, and matching bonnet. “Miss Edwards, where are Miss Elizabeth and her young gentleman?”

“Baines! I thought they were with you! Please do not tell me we have lost both young ladies we were ordered to protect!”

Elizabeth had followed her fiancé off the path and found him pacing back and forth, raking his fingers through his hair, and peering up into the tree. He was distracted from the plaintive mewling of the stranded creature by a twig that snapped as Elizabeth approached. He startled and said, “Ah, Elizabeth. My dear, would you mind very much if I remove my coat? I will attempt a rescue but know from past experience a tight coat can be quite constrictive during such an activity. I know it is improper. Would you be offended?”

“Mr. Darcy, we are engaged; and you forget I have already seen you in far less.”

“Oh, God. I had forgotten. Thank you for reminding me, though. One needs a good dose of humiliation now and then.”

“You must not feel humiliated, sir. I quite enjoyed seeing you less formally attired.”

Darcy smirked and considered teasing her about ‘handsome barbarians’, but he was curious. “What really was your first impression during that encounter?”

He passed her the discarded coat, limbered up, and hefted himself onto the most easily accessible branch. The kitten stared down at him in alarm for a moment and then climbed up another level. Lizzy admired her future husband’s obvious strength as he effortlessly pulled himself higher and higher.

“Here kitty, kitty. Come on, kitty. Come here, sweetheart,” he cooed.

Elizabeth was glad Kitty was not present and also thought herself quite ridiculous for being jealous of his calling an animal ‘sweetheart’.

“I am still waiting, my love. Please answer the question about your first impression of me,” he called down.

She was mollified by the endearment. “Well, I remember thinking you were a buffoon.”

Darcy nearly lost his balance as he twisted around to glare down at his beloved tormentor. “Miss Elizabeth Bennet! I cannot believe you thought of me as an ass!”

Because she had been ogling a particular part of his anatomy as he climbed, the young lady lowered her gaze and blushed at being caught. When asked if his second appearance improved her opinion, she spoke honestly. “Yes. I distinctly remember admiring your rich brown hair and brazenly wondering how it would feel to run my fingers through it.”

Darcy briefly closed his eyes and imagined how it would feel. “Elizabeth, please. I am trying to concentrate on my rather precarious position here. You, my dear, are proving to be quite a distraction.” … especially since you insist on standing directly below me. Your neckline is something I can look down on and approve of at the same time.

“Speaking of precarious, Fitzwilliam, I may be going out on a limb, but I do not think it wise for you to venture onto that particular one. The branch does not seem sturdy enough to support your bulk.”

“I assure you I have rescued injured birds and stranded cats from trees more times than you could shake a stick. I certainly know what I am doing.”

“Uh, speaking of shaking a stick, the branch you are currently on is quivering in an alarming manner, sir. Please come down and allow me. I am much lighter and am also an expert tree climber.”

“Certainly not, madam! If the confounded feline would just cease climbing higher each time I ascend … here, kitty, kitty!”

CRACK!!!

“Good Lord, Fitzwilliam! Back up and get down immediately before you fall and break your neck.”

“You sound like my mother, but perhaps you are correct. This branch does not seem able to support my weight. Can you really climb trees?”

Instead of answering, the intrepid Lizzy Bennet glanced around, saw no one in their immediate vicinity, hiked up her skirt, and gracefully scaled the oak as effortlessly as had Darcy. When she reached his level, she sat on the branch beside him and met his incredulous stare with an impertinent one of her own. The sassy smirk was instantly wiped from Elizabeth’s face by the sudden, impetuous brush of his warm lips against hers. It was a quick and chaste kiss; nevertheless it left them both breathless, although Lizzy was already somewhat in that state from her ascent. Darcy pulled away to look into her face, hoping for approbation instead of apprehension. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes still closed. When she opened them, they were filled with affection and warmth. The couple ignored the mew from above and was about to kiss again; unfortunately, they could not ignore the unexpected singsong taunt from below.

“Lizzy and Darcy, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G …”

Jane admonished, “Lydia, stop that! Lizzy, Mr. Darcy, I am sorry. I thought you heard our approach; perhaps you were preoccupied. What on earth are you doing up there in that tree? Whatever your reason, I strongly suggest you come back down before Baines and Miss Edwards arrive here with Kitty. They were not far behind us.”