The Viscount put his arm around Richard and cheerfully quoted Lord Byron. “Man, being reasonable, must get drunk; the best of life is but intoxication.” 

“Well, brother, Lord Byron also said, ‘The great art of life is sensation, to feel that we exist, even in pain.’ The sensation you are feeling now will not exist long, and the pain is certain to come later. Please take good care of this poor sot, Lady Isabelle.” 

The Viscountess, who was with child and rather exhausted, gently took her husband’s arm. She smiled at her brother-in-law and said, “Colonel, you and I have had our differences in the past; all the same, I sincerely wish you and your wife much happiness. Years ago at our own wedding James and I vowed for better, for worse; and we have had quite enough worse, so we are attempting better for a while. Is that not true, husband?” 

“Ah, Isabelle, I never knew what real happiness was until I married you … and then it was too late.” He winked at his brother and then placed a loud, wet, sloppy kiss on his wife’s cheek. 

Richard rolled his eyes, patted James on the back, and led Jane over to take their leave of Lord Matlock and Lady Rebecca. 

There had been tears and laughter as the Bennets, Darcys, and Fitzwilliams said farewell to the newlyweds; and servants cheerfully tossed shoes, for luck, toward the departing carriages of Mr. and Mrs. Fleming and Colonel and Mrs. Fitzwilliam. Finally Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy stood alone on Pemberley’s front steps and waved as their families pulled out of sight. 

Darcy and Elizabeth were to spend their first week of connubial bliss at Pemberley before heading to Northumberland. The Gardiners planned to spend several days in Lambton before returning to London; and the Bennet family, Anna Darcy and her parents, Mr. Bingley, and the de Bourghs would all be guests of the Earl of Matlock at his Derbyshire estate before traveling onward to their own homes.

Alone at last! Darcy tucked his wife’s hand into the crook of his arm as they turned toward the entrance hall. “Elizabeth, I could not help but notice you hardly ate anything at all this afternoon. You must be famished, but would you prefer to rest and refresh before we dine?” 

She nodded and said, “I admit I did far more chatting, smiling, and dancing than anything else, and it is certainly later than I imagined the celebration would last. But, oh, Fitzwilliam, everything was simply perfect! Your parents are the quintessential host and hostess; and I fear, as mistress of your estate, I shall be unable to live up to your expectations.” 

“Dearest, I do not expect you to be perfect.” He smiled at her as they ascended the staircase to their rooms. “Just please understand why I am not.” 

“Agreed.” She nudged him with her elbow, and he nudged back. 

“Is everything to your satisfaction here at Pemberley, Elizabeth? Are your chambers comfortable?” 

“Yes, and you have asked me that exact same question at least a thousand times since my arrival. How could they not be? I understand, from Anna and Mrs. Reynolds, that my apartments are those normally reserved for the likes of a marchioness or duchess. I am duly flattered and honoured, sir.” 

“It is true. We once had two duchesses staying here during the same week, and we thought they were going to duke it out over which of them would be accommodated in those particular rooms. Fortunately, they did not resort to fisticuffs.” 

“Finally, a pun! I was beginning to speculate over our lack of knack for wordplay, sir.” 

“This evening, Elizabeth, shall be reserved for play of a different variety. I will come to escort you to dinner in, say, an hour?” He kissed her hand and left his blushing bride to the ministrations of her abigail, Ann Cillary. 

The romantic, candlelit repast was served in a private dining room with a small fireplace and a table only large enough for two place settings. After their hunger was sated, Darcy asked if Elizabeth would care to join him for a short stroll along the river. Never one to pass up an opportunity for a walk, she agreed; and servants fetched their outerwear. 

As they sauntered alongside the bourn, the gentleman repeatedly peeked at his fob watch. “Sir, why do you so secretly and frequently verify the time? Do you have an assignation tonight, perchance?” 

Darcy startled at being caught, put the timepiece back in its waistcoat pocket, and smiled down at his wife. “As a matter of fact, yes; and the rendezvous must be perfectly synchronized.” 

She began to solicit his meaning, but her words were cut off when his warm lips claimed hers just as a shrill, whizzing whistle pierced the silence. An unexpected boom made Elizabeth jump; and as she stepped back and opened her eyes, the night sky above the stream was alive with colour. She laughed with delight and clapped her hands. “Fireworks yet again, Fitzwilliam! And finally they are authentic.” The impressive display lasted another few minutes, although its splendour was totally wasted on the newlyweds whose senses were more agreeably engaged. 

As they ambled back to the house, gloved hand in gloved hand, the gentlemen stopped just shy of the entrance and spoke softly. “Mrs. Darcy, I just want to reiterate that to have and to hold you from this day forward shall be my greatest pleasure; and I will do everything within my power to keep the promises I made today before our family and friends.” 

“Fitzwilliam, I promised to love, honour, keep you in sickness and in health, forsake all others, and keep only unto you so long as we both shall live; and I absolutely have no qualms as regards those pledges. I must caution you, however, that I may struggle mightily with the obey aspect.”

Less than an hour afterward, Darcy, barefoot and clad only in trousers and open-necked shirt, tentatively tapped on the door to his wife’s chambers. Elizabeth had previously dismissed Ann Cillary and, therefore, opened the portal herself. “Come in, Fitzwilliam.”